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Post by CCADP on Apr 16, 2006 14:48:49 GMT -5
Autopsy: Woman was shot 2 times: Gunshot wounds ruled as cause of death after body found in January.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 The Charlotte Observer
Byline: Greg Lacour
Apr. 12--Emily Anderson, a 49-year-old Caldwell County woman found dead in the tool compartment of her truck in January, was shot twice, once in the back, according to a recently released autopsy report from the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The cause of Anderson's death was multiple gunshot wounds, concluded Dr. Cynthia Gardner, the pathologist who performed the autopsy Jan. 8. Both bullets went through Anderson's body, leaving lead fragments along their tracks, Gardner found. One bullet entered her back to the left of her spine, tearing through her ribs, a lung and her heart before exiting in the left upper chest, the report says. The other entered the left side of her abdomen, passing through her ribs, spleen, a kidney and her spine before exiting in the right lower back. Sheriff's Office Capt. Jeff Stafford, the case's lead investigator, declined to say Tuesday which bullet was fired first. "All we've got are theories," he said. Gardner also discovered scrapes above both eyes, on the bridge of her nose, left cheek, chin, right hand and right knee. Anderson's husband, 47-year- old Jerry Anderson, has been charged with murder in her death; he awaits trial in Caldwell County. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty. No trial date has been set. Sheriff's investigators continue their probe of the killing, which they believe happened Dec. 29 near the dairy farm the Andersons owned in Sawmills. Witnesses have told authorities they saw the two drive into a wooded area near the farm that day, and one witness heard gunshots coming from the area, according to court documents. Jerry Anderson later emerged from the woods alone, witnesses told investigators. Jerry Anderson reported his wife missing, prompting a massive search. Emily Anderson's body was found Jan. 7 in the tool compartment of her Chevrolet Silverado pickup. The truck was in the parking lot of a restaurant in Duncan, S.C., about 100 miles from Lenoir. The Sheriff's Office hopes to present most of its investigative file to the District Attorney's Office within 30 days to allow prosecutors and defense attorneys to review evidence, Stafford said. Greg Lacour: (828) 324-0055
Copyright (c) 2006, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.
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Post by CCADP on Apr 16, 2006 14:48:13 GMT -5
Williams indicted in women's deaths. Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 The Charlotte Observer Byline: Mike Donila Apr. 12--A grand jury Tuesday indicted Union County resident Scott Wilson Williams in the brutal killings of three women whose bodies were found over a nine-year span in North Carolina and South Carolina. The indictments, which happened Monday and were made public Tuesday, charge Williams with three counts of first-degree murder; one count of first degree sexual offense; five counts of first degree kidnapping; and one count of first degree rape. He also was indicted on a new charge of robbery with a dangerous weapon. The next move in the case will be for a superior court judge to hear a request by the media to unseal search warrants in the case, said Bob Trobich, Williams' attorney. Then, he said, he expects a hearing to seek the death penalty. After that, Williams will have an arraignment in which he'll enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. It's possible during that time, however, that prosecutors could offer Williams a plea deal that would prevent trying the case in court. His attorney said it's too soon to discuss a defense strategy. Williams, 42, was arrested March 9 at his Clontz Long Road house in northern Union County. He is accused of killing Sharon House Pressley, Christina Parker and Sharon Stone between 1997 and February of this year. Authorities said he attacked other women in 1995 and 2000, but both survived. The new charge says he stole a silver colored ring with a pink stone from Parker while he carried a .25-caliber pistol, the indictment said. The indictment didn't say how investigators gained the information. Williams made a first court appearance April 5 at which he was officially appointed an attorney. State law gives the district attorney 30 days from the first appearance to file the paperwork to seek the death penalty. District Attorney Michael Parker said he'll likely seek it. Williams, who is being held without bond, was taken last week from the Union County Jail to Central Prison in Raleigh for safekeeping, said Sheriff's spokesman Brett Vines. Investigators have said little about the case, other than that four of the victims lived a "high-risk lifestyle" that involved drugs and in some cases some prostitution, and that Williams was a part of that lifestyle. They say three of the women were killed with a gun and then mutilated. The 1995 victim who survived an attack and didn't live the high-risk lifestyle was raped, investigators say. Another victim was attacked in 2000 but escaped, authorities said. Judges twice now have allowed prosecutors to seal search warrants, including one at Williams' home, that detail what authorities have discovered. The Observer, news partner WCNC, The Associated Press and WCCB-TV have asked the court to unseal the search warrants and make them public. A hearing to discuss the warrants has been set for April 17. To see more of The Charlotte Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to www.charlotte.com. Copyright (c) 2006, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.
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Post by CCADP on Apr 16, 2006 14:47:30 GMT -5
Hearing for killer taps pain, memories: Clark facing death for 1984 murder.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 The Blade
Byline: Jim Provance
Apr. 12--COLUMBUS - Shortly before Jan. 13, 1984, Mary Ellen Manning wrote the message "I love you" to her husband, David, on the bathroom mirror. He added "forever." Later, she added, "and a day." Always wanting the last word, he added, "plus one." The message, "I love you forever and a day plus one," was waiting for her on the night she returned to her home after learning her 23-year-old husband of two years had been shot to death during a Toledo gas station robbery.
"Forever didn't last long enough," she tearfully told the Ohio Parole Board yesterday as she urged the panel to recommend that Gov. Bob Taft not intervene in the May 2 execution of Joseph Lewis Clark, the man who confessed to shooting her husband. Clark did not attend the hearing. He will learn the board's decision on Monday. "He's a different person now," his Akron attorney, George C. Pappas, told the board. "He's 57 years old, laid back, soft-spoken, not aggressive. He's not a threat to anybody. He's a different person than he was 22 years ago." Mr. Pappas painted a picture of an emotionally stunted man with "dull normal" intelligence who turned to crime to feed a drug habit that began during his teen years. He said Clark is genuinely remorseful, evidenced by a failed suicide attempt by hanging shortly after his arrest. "He couldn't control himself," Mr. Pappas said. "All he wanted was to get money. He didn't want to hurt anybody. All he wanted was drugs." The state, however, painted a picture of a man whose girlfriend, the mother of his three children, prostituted herself to finance both their drug habits. He launched a nine-day crime spree after his girlfriend was arrested, cutting off his income, Assistant Attorney General Stephen Maher said. One board member, Peter Davis, questioned why Clark's legal team didn't place greater emphasis on a 1996 psychological report that stated Clark suffers from organic brain syndrome. A Chicago psychologist, the only one to diagnose the brain damage, wrote that it would have predated Clark's final spree.
Although the issue was raised unsuccessfully at lower court levels during the appeals process, no attempt was made to take an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. A tearful Domonique Stalworth, Clark's daughter-in-law, made a last-minute decision to testify before the board, despite the fact that Clark had asked his family not to attend. She said "Lewis" is truly apologetic and has the support of his family, despite what he's done. At one point, she turned toward the Mannings and the family of Donald Burt Harris, who was killed by Clark during a similar robbery a day earlier. Clark was sentenced to life in prison for the Harris murder. "Right now we're preparing for a funeral," she said. "It's one of the most difficult things we've ever had to do in our lives. We knew it was coming. Now we know how they feel."
Mary Ellen (Manning) Gordon, now living in Florida, struggled to hold back tears during Mrs. Stalworth's testimony. The two women greeted each other after the hearing. "We're all victims of Joseph Clark," Mrs. Gordon said later. Also attending the hearing was Robert Roloff, Clark's last victim who survived two gunshot wounds during a robbery at a bank ATM. That robbery ultimately led to Clark's arrest. "These victims and families have waited 22 long, painful years for justice," Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates told the board. "Please see that justice is not thwarted but is meted out under the law." Although they were not permitted to testify, the Harris family says it will experience some sense of justice if Clark is executed. "He chose to do what he did," said Donald's sister, Carrie Harris. "That's what it all boils down to. He chose to do what he did." Barring Mr. Taft's intervention, Clark would become the 21st person - and the first from Lucas County - to be executed since Ohio resumed carrying out the death penalty in 1999. Of the 23 clemency cases that have reached his desk, he has commuted one death sentence to life in prison without parole and has delayed another while modern DNA testing is conducted.
Contact Jim Provance at:
jprovance@theblade.com
or 614-221-0496.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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Post by CCADP on Apr 16, 2006 14:46:59 GMT -5
annick will not handle any of Selenski's cases.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 The Times Leader
Byline: David Weiss
Apr. 13--WILKES-BARRE -- They worked together in beating two homicide raps, but court papers say Hugo Selenski and attorney Demetrius Fannick have developed "irreconcilable differences" in how to handle Selenski's other charges.
No, not Selenski's newest homicide charges. This dispute involves his misdemeanor drunken-driving and bad-checks cases from several years ago.
Fannick on Wednesday officially withdrew from defending Selenski in those two cases. The court papers say Selenski wants to take both cases to trial.
The attorney was initially retained by Selenski when he was arrested in June 2003.
Selenski was later charged with killing Frank James and Adeiye Keiler, and, even though Selenski could no longer pay Fannick, the attorney remained Selenski's lead attorney for free.
Earlier this year, Fannick and attorneys John Pike and Steve Menn helped clear Selenski in the James and Keiler deaths. Selenski was convicted of abusing the corpses. Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty.
The 32-year-old Selenski is now charged with two more counts of homicide in the deaths of pharmacist Michael Kerkowski and his girlfriend, Tammy Fassett.
Fannick will not defend Selenski in that case because Selenski's family could not come to an agreement with Fannick on a fee to handle the case. Fannick has said he couldn't afford to handle another complex homicide case for free.
Now, Pike and Menn, who are publicly paid attorneys, will defend Selenski in that case.
They also inherited Selenski's two older cases.
Once Fannick withdrew from defending Selenski, Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. appointed Pike and Menn to handle the cases.
Fannick, in the court papers, said he had to withdraw from handling the old cases for several reasons, including:
-- "irreconcilable differences" developed between Selenski and Fannick as to how the cases should be handled;
-- trials in the cases would cause Fannick a "continued financial burden" because he is not being paid;
-- it's in Selenski's best interest to be represented by the same attorneys in all pending cases.
Selenski was charged with drunken driving and bad checks in two separate incidents in 2002 and 2003 before his arrest in the James and Keiler deaths.
In November 2002, Selenski wrote a check for $202.25 for groceries at the Mr. Z's Food Mart in Dallas. The check was processed but not honored because of insufficient funds, Dallas police said.
Store officials made repeated attempts to contact Selenski and make arrangements for payment. He could not be contacted and he ignored numerous messages, police said, leading to the filing of a misdemeanor charge.
Then, in March 2003, police said Selenski was drunk when he was driving a white Dodge on Mount Olivet Road in Kingston Township.
He drove the vehicle "within inches" of the rear bumper of a police cruiser, township police said.
Selenski then accelerated to pass the vehicle.
The Kingston Township officer, Ben Bigus, stopped the vehicle and Selenski yelled at the officer, telling Bigus to hurry up.
Bigus said Selenski smelled of alcohol and was "loud and belligerent."
Selenski said he had five beers and he failed a field-sobriety test, police said.
He was arrested and put in a cruiser, where he tried to kick out a window, police said.
Police said Selenski had a blood-alcohol level of 0.142 percent. At the time, an adult driver in Pennsylvania was considered intoxicated with a level of 0.1 percent.
The cases were scheduled for trial on numerous occasions but postponed until the first homicide case was resolved. No new trial dates have been set.
In the court papers filed Wednesday, Fannick said he was unsuccessful in reaching an agreement between Selenski and prosecutors to resolve the case.
Fannick on Wednesday said he had no comment on the move, saying the court document speaks for itself.
If Selenski, who has been jailed since police converged on his home in June 2003 and found the remains of Kerkowski and Fassett amid the remains of five to 12 people at the Mount Olivet Road property, was to plead guilty in the cases, it's likely he would not face much jail time.
The drunken-driving charge could carry a sentence as little as 48 hours in prison. The bad checks charge could carry a maximum sentence of one year in prison.
Fannick on Wednesday did say he will not be representing Selenski in his escape case, which has been appealed.
Selenski was charged after using a rope of sheets to escape from the top floor of the Luzerne County Correctional Facility shortly after being charged in October in the James and Keiler deaths.
He surrendered three days later.
The charges were later thrown out after a technical error was made by prosecutors. Prosecutors then filed an appeal of the ruling. The appeal is pending.
David Weiss, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7397.
Copyright (c) 2006, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Times Leader
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Post by CCADP on Apr 16, 2006 14:46:31 GMT -5
Slaying suspect could face death penalty.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 The Sun News
Apr. 13--The 15th Circuit Solicitor's Office announced today its intention to seek thedeath penalty for Louis Michael "Mick" Winkler, accused in the March 6 slaying of his estranged wife.
Greg Hembree, 15th Circuit solicitor, made the announcement today at a court hearing for Winkler. The judge then denied bond for Winkler on charges of murder; assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature; and first-degree burglary.
On March 6, Rebekah Grainger, 50, was found shot to death at Bay Tree Golf Colony Resort condominiums in Little River.
Winkler, who hid from police for two weeks before being captured March 20 in a wooded area near the Eagle Nest Golf Club in Little River, has been charged in her death. He currently is at J. Reuben Long Detention Center.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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Post by CCADP on Apr 16, 2006 14:45:55 GMT -5
Not-guilty pleas by pair in killing of CHP officer.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 The Sacramento Bee
Byline: Crystal Carreon
Apr. 13--Two men charged in the November shooting death of a CHP officer pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Yolo County Superior Court, after five months of postponing the legal formality. Brendt Volarvich, 20, and Gregory Zielesch, 48, appeared separately before Judge Stephen L. Mock, but county District Attorney Dave Henderson said he planned to prosecute the men together on murder and conspiracy charges for California Highway Patrol Officer Andy Stevens' death. Stevens, 37, was shot to death Nov. 17 during a traffic stop outside Woodland.
Henderson told the court he will seek the death penalty for Volarvich, the suspected gunman who also has been charged with special circumstances, including killing an officer in the line of duty, killing for financial gain and fatally shooting someone from a vehicle. Earlier this year, a grand jury indicted Volarvich and Zielesch on charges related to their alleged roles in Stevens' death, but it dropped the special circumstances additionally leveled against Zielesch after his arrest.
A third defendant, Lindsey Montgomery, 21, pleaded no contest in January to charges of being an accomplice after the fact. She has been sentenced to eight months in a residential drug program and five months' probation. Montgomery, who was arrested with Volarvich a day after Stevens was killed, testified at the grand jury hearing that Volarvich told her he "did something bad." Authorities allege Volarvich shot Stevens with a gun provided to him by Zielesch as part of an unrelated plot to kill a man who was seeing Zielesch's ex-wife. A gag order remained in effect Wednesday, barring Volarvich's Sacramento attorney, Kevin Clymo; Zielesch's attorney, Stephen Naratil, of Los Angeles; and others involved with the case from speaking with the media. Outside the courtroom, Zielesch's mother, Evelyn, continued to defend her son. "He's not this bad person that he's portrayed to be," she said before the hearing. The judge tentatively scheduled the trial to begin June 13.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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Post by CCADP on Apr 16, 2006 14:45:31 GMT -5
3 in Chester gang guilty of slaying fed witness.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 Philadelphia Daily News
Byline: Michael Hinkelman
Apr. 13--After deliberating for eight days, a federal jury yesterday found three Chester men guilty of murder, gun and drug-trafficking charges, including the murder of federal witness Tracey Saunders in 2001. All three - brothers Vincent and Jamain Williams, and Andre Cooper - could get the death penalty. The penalty phase of the trial is scheduled to begin Tuesday. The defendants - each of whom was found guilty of participating in three murders - showed little emotion as a jury foreman read the verdicts. Prosecutors and defense attorneys declined comment afterward pending the penalty phase of the trial. The Williams brothers and Cooper belonged to a ruthless Chester gang known as the Boyle Street Boys, named after a street in the Chester neighborhood where gang ringleader Vincent Williams, 27, lived. During the 10-week trial, the feds called more than 100 witnesses, including some gang members who had been indicted and who agreed to cooperate with the government. Saunders, a mother of two, agreed to plead guilty a month later to one count of illegally buying a gun for Vincent Williams. She was killed Oct. 8, 2001, just hours before she was scheduled to show up in court to enter a plea and to agree to testify against Vincent Williams. A gang member who began cooperating with authorities after he was indicted, Brian Rogers, told the jury he had fired two shots into Saunders' head after Vincent Williams ordered the hit. After Saunders' murder, the investigation of the gang intensified, leading to the indictment in February 2003 of the Williams brothers, Cooper and seven others on murder, gun, drug and racketeering charges. The other defendants subsequently entered guilty pleas or began cooperating with the government against the Williamses and Cooper. Saunders' brother, Rodney Bradley, was in the courtroom yesterday when the verdicts were announced. Afterward, he said he was pleased with the verdicts. "I'm happy for my family, my mother, Tracey's kids, that's who I'm happy for," he said. "We can begin to heal knowing that justice has been served. They won't be able to hurt another mother's child like my mother." Bradley also said he hoped that the verdicts would encourage witnesses to come forward and talk with cops when they see crimes being committed. "Hopefully, this will give them the courage to get involved. Many [witnesses] won't talk because they don't believe anything will happen to these guys," Bradley said.
Copyright (c) 2006, Philadelphia Daily News
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Post by CCADP on Apr 16, 2006 14:45:01 GMT -5
Jurors Doubted Lagrone's Attempts To Save Kids.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 The Pantagraph
Byline: Edith Brady-Lunny and Brett Nauman eblunny@mchsi.com
Apr. 13--BLOOMINGTON -- Doubts and questions seemed to lead the Maurice LaGrone Jr. jury more than facts to convict him of drowning his then-girlfriend's three children.
Several jurors talked with reporters after they were dismissed Wednesday, having found LaGrone ineligible for the death penalty in the deaths of his former girlfriend's three children. The girlfriend, Amanda Hamm, still faces murder charges and may be tried in the fall.
Jurors spent 23 hours reviewing the prosecution and defense evidence and testimony, but jurors said they ultimately couldn't understand why LaGrone and Hamm let her children drown as her car sank in Clinton Lake. Other factors, such as LaGrone's demeanor on the stand, also shaped their decision.
"From my perspective, it really wasn't the big pieces that mattered, it was the little details, like he watched them go into the water," said juror Greg Haddock.
Haddock and fellow juror Louis Villafuerte said LaGrone's testimony was believable, but his lack of emotion during the trial was troublesome.
"He showed emotion when his family was testifying, but I didn't see much emotion when he spoke," said Villafuerte.
Jurors said they did not believe a plan existed between Hamm and LaGrone to deliberately put the car into Clinton Lake with the three children inside.
Andrew Marshal, a former active duty member of the U.S. Army who is from LeRoy, said jurors did not believe the car went into Clinton Lake accidentally but it was done as a prank to scare the children -- an explanation proposed by the defense. However, jurors also could not understand why neither LaGrone nor Hamm tried to save the children, he said.
Ironically, a video prepared by the defense, which showed the car floating for between 10 to 20 seconds, helped the panel realize LaGrone and Hamm had plenty of time to save the children, Marshal said.
"We wanted to believe they tried to save those kids, but that's not what the evidence supported," Marshal said. "They did very little or nothing to save those kids. They could swim and they were responsible for those children."
While that inaction helped lead to a guilty verdict, Marshal said none of the jurors thought the prosecution's case was strong enough to show LaGrone and Hamm intentionally killed the children.
"If I was betting, I'd say, 'Yes, I think they went out there to do that,'" Marshal said. "Do I think they proved that? No. I don't think they proved intent. We all agreed we couldn't vote for death because of that."
Jurors spent more than three days going over evidence from the trial, but never voted about whether to convict LaGrone until late Tuesday afternoon, Marshal said.
Jurors confirmed the speculation among attorneys that the jury reviewed all the prosecution's case before looking at the defense evidence and then moving to discuss a verdict.
After two hours of arguing about guilt or innocence, 11 jurors wanted to convict while one juror continued to hold out, Marshal said.
The juror then told other members of the panel he needed a minute to gather his thoughts, Marshall said. After taking a five-minute break, the man returned and told others he was ready to convict, he said.
After signing the verdict forms, many members of the panel cried.
The pressure of deliberations was evident on the juror's faces when they filed into the courtroom with their verdict at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Most jurors appeared more relaxed the following day when they came back to settle the death penalty issue.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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Post by CCADP on Apr 16, 2006 14:44:24 GMT -5
Conviction Has Positive Impact.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 The Pantagraph
Byline: Greg Cima
Apr. 13--CLINTON -- Some Clinton residents expressed happiness Wednesday with the murder conviction of Maurice LaGrone Jr. in the death of his former girlfriend's three children.
"I don't have any use for anybody who would hurt kids, especially intentionally," said Marvin Staton, co-owner of K & M's The Yak Shak, a diner in downtown Clinton.
Staton said he was worried LaGrone would be exonerated after reading about the jury's request to see video of the defense's re-enactment of the incident that killed the three children.
And he said other reports suggested conflicting testimony.
Leonard Spurling and Showanda Polite, both of nearby Kenney, ate breakfast in K & M's Wednesday morning as they gave different opinions on the conviction.
"I think he is getting what he deserved because he could have gotten the kids out of the car if he would've broken a window," Spurling said.
Polite, who was born and raised in the Clinton area, said she was sad about the children's deaths, and she did not know enough about the case to judge LaGrone.
"I don't know how I would have reacted in a situation like that, and I hope I never get into that situation," Polite said. "I just feel very sorry for the family and for the kids."
Spurling said he was not in favor of the death penalty for LaGrone, who later that morning was found ineligible for the death penalty and sentenced to life in prison.
"I think he ought to live it out and have to think about it all the time," Spurling said.
Staton said most people he talked to were happy with the conviction, as did John Baker, owner of Grimsley's Flowers. The flower shop is along the same downtown square.
Baker said he did not continuously follow media reports about the trial. But he said, "The jury found him to be guilty, and that's good enough for me."
Before the McLean County jury ruled out the death penalty, Baker said he thought it was probably appropriate to use capital punishment in LaGrone's case.
Baker said constant media coverage has brought added attention to Clinton, and it is "probably not the best thing for the community."
Mike Whitney, reached as he walked into a downtown store, said he was sure the jurors put great effort into examining and deliberating over the evidence, and they likely knew what they were doing before delivering their verdict.
He also said he was glad he was not in their position.
Most people did not mention LaGrone's race, but the fact he is black did affect some people's opinions.
Two men in a pickup truck and a third nearby declined to comment when approached, but they yelled racial epithets a few moments later and one said LaGrone should be hanged.
Another man in a nearby bar used the same epithet. Yet another man in a nearby shop said he was ashamed when people cheered and shouted racial epithets in a bar after the guilty verdict was announced Tuesday night.
The three children he was convicted of drowning were white.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.),
(213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.
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Post by CCADP on Apr 16, 2006 14:43:28 GMT -5
Defense: Bar guard's tape in shooting: An officer says he recorded Jason Wheeler talking in the hospital about a deputy's killing.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 The Orlando Sentinel
Byline: Martin E. Comas
Apr. 13--TAVARES -- Lying in a hospital bed, Jason Wheeler, the man accused of killing one deputy and wounding two others last year, told a corrections officer assigned to guard him that he was shooting at his girlfriend, not the deputies. "He said he was attempting to go after his girlfriend," corrections officer Richard Brown said Wednesday. "His main intent was to kill her." Brown was called to testify after defense attorneys asked Lake Circuit Judge T. Michael Johnson to suppress comments that Wheeler made while talking to the corrections officer after the Feb. 9, 2005, shootings that killed Deputy Sheriff Wayne Koester and wounded deputies Bill Crotty and Thomas McKane.
The deputies were responding to a domestic-violence call by Wheeler's girlfriend, Sara Heckerman. "He said he was sorry," Brown said.
The conversations between Wheeler and Brown took place at Orlando Regional Medical Center, where Wheeler was hospitalized after he was wounded during his capture and left a paraplegic. But Assistant Public Defender William Grossenbacher argued that Brown inappropriately interrogated Wheeler. Grossenbacher said Brown asked Wheeler questions and seemingly pressed him for more details about the shootings during their conversations. Grossenbacher said that "rises to the level of interrogation." "It's an attempt to get my client to testify," he said. "[Brown] was instructed to not ask questions." Brown said he was "stunned" when Wheeler began talking to him. He was then given a tape recorder by sheriff's investigators to keep in his pocket or hold in his hand in case Wheeler made any more comments. But Brown said he was told not to ask questions. Portions of those tapes were played in the courtroom. During one of their conversations, Wheeler started crying after telling Brown details about eluding authorities.
"Next thing I remember, I was hiding in the bushes. I didn't want to shoot anyone else," Wheeler said. Brown is heard asking him: "Are you all right?" The corrections officer testified that Wheeler nodded. Brown then told him: "It's probably a good thing you're getting it off your chest." At other times, Brown asked Wheeler, "I'm not understanding what you're saying," and "There's something you wanted to tell me about?" Assistant State Attorney Bill Gladson -- who called Brown to testify -- said there was nothing to suggest that the corrections officer was inappropriately interrogating Wheeler in the hospital. "There's no evidence that police were doing this by design," he said. With his head closely shaved, Wheeler, 30, attended Wednesday's hearing in a wheelchair and wearing a blue Seminole County Jail jumpsuit over a white T-shirt. He is being held in the Seminole jail because Lake Sheriff Chris Daniels didn't want his officers to have to watch over the man accused of killing a deputy.
Wheeler often glared at lawyers and members of the news media who sat in the courtroom during Wednesday's hearing. He sometimes crossed his arms and listened intently to Brown's testimony or wrote notes on a legal pad. Brown said he was directed to guard and protect Wheeler about three days after the shooting. During the first few days at ORMC, Wheeler couldn't speak because of a tracheotomy tube in his throat. Brown testified that after the tube was removed, nurses asked Wheeler, "Did you know what you did?" When Gladson asked Brown if he joined in, Brown said he did not. After Wheeler was moved into another room, he began telling Brown about the relationship problems he was having with Heckerman, 25. He also told Brown how he thought it was funny that he got shot in the rear by deputies before he was captured. Wheeler said he was angry when deputies arrived at the Paisley home he shared with Heckerman, Brown testified. "He saw the deputies on his property and that made him mad," Brown said. After the shootings, he told Brown how he fled into the nearby woods. Wheeler then added that if he was going to be captured he wanted to do it in a way that he would be remembered. "He said, 'I could either run or go out in a blaze of glory. I chose a blaze of glory,' " Brown said. Heckerman could not be reached for comment.
Johnson said he would rule in 10 to 15 days on whether the hospital-room conversations will be admitted during Wheeler's trial, scheduled to start in May. Wheeler could face the death penalty if he is convicted.
Martin E. Comas can be reached at mcomas@orlandosentinel.com or 352-742-5927.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.
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Post by CCADP on Apr 16, 2006 14:42:52 GMT -5
tate Proposes Using Device, Not Doctors, In Execution. (National Desk)(lethal injection) Adam Liptak.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 The New York Times Company
North Carolina officials, who had been ordered by a federal judge to identify medical personnel to supervise an execution next week, told him instead yesterday that they had bought and intended to use a device to monitor the brain waves of the condemned inmate.
The company that makes the device called such use inappropriate and said it had sold the device to the state in error on Tuesday.
A lawyer for the inmate said the state's response to the judge, Malcolm J. Howard of Federal District Court in Greenville, N.C., amounted to defiance.
''Judge Howard asked for the identity of qualified, trained medical personnel,'' said the lawyer, J. Donald Cowan Jr. ''They gave him a machine.''
The dispute arose against the backdrop of two recent judicial decisions requiring that executions be supervised by medical personnel. The decisions cited evidence that condemned inmates might have suffered extreme pain from the chemicals used in lethal injections.
But medical codes of ethics prohibit doctors and other health professionals from participating in executions.
Officials in California had to call off an execution there because they could not find doctors willing to participate. Yesterday's filing in North Carolina suggests similar difficulties.
A spokeswoman for the state attorney general declined to comment.
The device described in the filings, a bispectral index monitor, is in any event not a suitable substitute for medical monitoring, its maker and prominent anesthesiologists said.
''It's not a stand-alone device,'' said Dr. Scott D. Kelley, the medical director of Aspect Medical Systems, which makes the device and said it inadvertently sold one to a prison hospital in Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday. ''It's another information source. It turns brainwaves into clinically useful information to help anesthesia professionals guide their monitoring of the patient.''
Using only the device to discern the potential suffering of condemned inmates, Dr. Kelley said, ''is taking a leap of faith I simply cannot endorse.''
Dr. Kelley said his company, based in Newton, Mass., took no position on the death penalty or on executions by lethal injection. But the sale of the device on Tuesday was, he said, ''a regrettable system failure.''
''Any use of this technology that is not in a health care facility is outside the intended use of the technology,'' he said.
Dr. Orin F. Guidry, the president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, said the device, which costs about $5,000, was used by anesthesiologists only in conjunction with other forms of monitoring.
''One should not depend on a single modality,'' Dr. Guidry said. ''It has to be integrated into the clinical practice.''
The anesthesiologists society opposes the participation of doctors in executions.
''Physicians are healers, not executioners,'' the society said in a statement.
Lawyers for the condemned inmate, Willie Brown Jr., have until Friday to respond to the state's submission. Judge Howard has said he will enter a stay of execution if he is not satisfied with the state's response.
Judge Howard's order, issued Friday, was prompted by concerns that the series of three chemicals used to execute inmates could cause excruciating pain if the first one, a barbiturate, did not render the inmate unconscious.
The second chemical paralyzes the subject, suffocating him. The third stops his heart, delivering severe pain in the process.
Judge Howard had ordered state officials to submit the ''plans and qualifications'' of ''medical personnel who are qualified to ensure that'' Mr. Brown would become unconscious and remain so.
Should Mr. Brown ''exhibit effects of consciousness at any time during the execution,'' Judge Howard wrote, ''such personnel shall immediately provide appropriate medical care so as to ensure'' that he was ''immediately returned to an unconscious state.''
In its filing yesterday, state officials said that the otherwise unspecified ''execution team'' would not administer the second or third chemicals until the monitor showed that Mr. Brown was unconscious.
Should he awaken, the filing said, more barbiturate would be administered until the monitor again showed unconsciousness.
Article A144420072
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Post by CCADP on Apr 16, 2006 14:42:18 GMT -5
Moore Township woman to plead guilty to hammer killing: Defendant, 72, could be spared death penalty.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 The Morning Call
Byline: Tyra Braden
Apr. 13--Kathy MacClellan, the 72-year-old Moore Township woman against whom prosecutors had sought the death penalty in the hammering death of her 84-year-old neighbor, will plead guilty, her attorney said Wednesday.
Police said MacClellan, who lived at 16 Valley View Drive, attacked Marguerite "Tutti" Eyer on Feb. 7, 2005, in Eyer's home in the Hickory Hills section of the township. Eyer activated an emergency call button, and when a neighbor came to check, the mortally wounded Eyer, lying in a pool of blood, said "Kathy" had hurt her. Eyer was also able to tell police "Kathy" was her assailant. She died shortly thereafter of multiple injuries, including a fractured skull. Police found Eyer's wallet and a bloody claw hammer in MacClellan's home. Public defender Anthony Martino, who along with public defender Mark Minotti represents MacClellan, told Northampton County Judge Emil Giordano on Wednesday that MacClellan wanted to plead guilty. Giordano set a plea hearing for April 24. After leaving the brief session with Giordano, Assistant District Attorney Jay W. Jenkins said it would be inappropriate for him to discuss the plea agreement before the plea occurred. Martino said only that in exchange for a plea, the death penalty request was being withdrawn. "It is a negotiated plea instead of a trial," Martino said. Neither Jenkins nor Martino said to what MacClellan would plead. She remains at the county prison without bail, charged with homicide, an umbrella charge that includes murder of the first, second and third degrees as well as voluntary and involuntary manslaughter.
A plea to first- or second-degree murder would call for a mandatory prison term of life without possibility of parole. A plea to third-degree murder would draw a sentence of no more than 40 years. Voluntary manslaughter calls for a maximum sentence of not more than 20 years, and involuntary manslaughter results in a sentence not to exceed five years. At a preliminary hearing for MacClellan, James Peter Bicking, 37, of 2 Parkview Court, testified he was visiting a friend a few blocks from Eyer's home when the friend received a call that Eyer had activated her emergency call button. Bicking said he went to Eyer's home at 6 Springridge Road and encountered MacClellan on the porch. He said MacClellan told him, "It's too late....She's already dead." Bicking went into Eyer's home, and finding her on the floor, called 911 and tried to comfort her. Eyer suffered 37 wounds.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.
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Post by CCADP on Apr 16, 2006 14:41:29 GMT -5
Forensic psychologist dies. Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 The Hartford Courant Byline: Christine Dempsey Apr. 13--Anne Marie Phillips, a clinical and forensic psychologist who testified in some of the state's most high-profile criminal prosecutions, including death penaltycases, died Tuesday. She was 56. She lived in Avon and was married to Walter M. Phillips, also a clinical psychologist. She was on the clinical faculty at the University of Connecticut Medical School and had been on the staff of the Institute of Living in Hartford. She was an officer of the Connecticut Psychological Association and a member of other professional organizations, including the American Association of Forensic Examiners. She was a published author of original scientific research and a voracious reader. Perhaps Phillips was best known for her testimony in notorious cases, including that of Richard A. Lapointe, convicted of killing of his ex-wife's grandmother in Manchester. She also testified in death penalty cases, such as those of Terry Johnson, who fatally shot Trooper Russell Bagshaw in North Windham, and Sedrick Cobb, who killed Julia Ashe after kidnapping her from a Waterbury department store parking lot, binding her and raping her. Her family described her as compassionate, fair-minded and energetic in an obituary. They said she loved to travel and do needlepoint, and was a fan of theater and the arts. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, she also was a member of the parish of St. Ann in Avon, where she taught religious education. She was born in Staten Island, N.Y., to parents who hailed from Ireland. To see more of The Hartford Courant, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to www.courant.com. Copyright (c) 2006, The Hartford Courant, Conn. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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Post by CCADP on Apr 16, 2006 14:40:52 GMT -5
2 charged in slaying.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Byline: Lily Gordon
Apr. 13--Two Auburn, Ala., men were arrested Wednesday and charged with capital murder in the shooting death of a 72-year-old man, Auburn Police Capt. Tom Stouffer said. Henry P. Reese, of 743 Stubb Ave., was pronounced dead at his home at 10:50 p.m. CDT Tuesday by Lee County Deputy Coroner John Sawyer, police reported. Auburn police officers arrived at Reese's residence about 20 minutes earlier, responding to a report of gunshots fired in the area. Reese was unresponsive when the officers arrived. Marcus Walker, 24, and Anthony M. Roberts, 23, were arrested early Wednesday and are being held without bond in the Lee County Jail. Capital murder is a charge punishable by the death penalty or life without parole. Stouffer said Reese had suffered at least one gunshot wound, but would release no further details concerning the wounds, where Reese's body was found or any motive that might have led to the shooting. Police have recovered the weapon, but Stouffer said they are not disclosing the type of gun used. "No further details can be released at this time, because this is a very fluid and ongoing investigation," Stouffer said. Lee County Coroner Bill Harris said Reese's body has been sent to the Alabama State Crime Laboratory in Montgomery for an autopsy.
Copyright (c) 2006, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Ga.
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Post by CCADP on Apr 16, 2006 14:40:04 GMT -5
Prosecutors push for death penalty: In hearing, judge denies defendant bail.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 The Sun News
Byline: Kenneth A. Gailliard
Apr. 14--Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Louis Michael "Mick" Winkler in the slaying of his estranged wife, and he will remain in jail after a judge denied his bail Thursday. Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Greg Hembree announced during a hearing in Conway the notice to seek the death penalty. Winkler could go to trial in January, Hembree said. Winkler is charged with murder, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, and first-degree burglary in the shooting death of 50-year-old Rebekah Grainger on March 6 at her home. After Hembree issued the notice Thursday, Winkler clashed with Circuit Court Judge Edward Cottingham over who represents him. Horry County Public Defender Orrie West was in the courtroom to represent Winkler, but Winkler would not acknowledge that she was his lawyer and did not give the name of his attorney. "I didn't know about any hearing [Thursday]," Winkler said. "My lawyer saw me three times in 10 days." Cottingham said he was aware of Winkler's contention that he was represented by attorney Scott Bellamy. But Cottingham said he had heard from Bellamy and "He said he is not your lawyer." Winkler countered, "If he came to see me, I don't understand." "I can't make myself any more clear," said Cottingham, who told Winkler that he could retain other representation if the lawyer notifies the court of the substitution.
Winkler will be represented by West, the public defender, until a trial judge appoints two lawyers to represent him in his death-penalty trial. Cottingham, citing thedeath-penalty notice, said, "bond is specifically denied." West said she was aware prosecutors would issue the notice and therefore didn't expect bail. Two of Winkler's relatives who attended the hearing declined to comment. Grainger's family and friends filed out of the courtroom immediately after the hearing. "I love it," Grainger's friend Maggie Bethea said after learning Winkler would face a possible death sentence. "We came just to be sure the judge said the right things." Bethea said she wishes she had attended and spoken at Winkler's October bond hearing about charges of kidnapping and sexual assault against Grainger. After that hearing, Winkler was released on $150,000 bail for the charges of kidnapping and sexual assault and he was ordered to wear an electronic monitor. At the time of Grainger's death, Winkler's bail conditions had been changed to allow him to leave home for two hours daily to look for work. "If bond was denied, then this might not have happened," Bethea said. Grainger was one of three women killed in what police say were domestic-violence disputes within five days in March. Carma Russell, 31, was killed March 4 outside an Atlantic Beach church. Her ex-boyfriend Billy Nathan Lee is charged with murder. Sheila Ann McPherson, 49, was killed at home March 7. Her live-in boyfriend, Vladimir Pantovich, was charged with murder after police in North Carolina stopped his car and found her body in the truck. Police said she was killed in their Murrells Inlet home. Pantovich is charged in Georgetown County. Contact KENNETH A. GAILLIARD at 626-0312 or kgailliard@thesunnews.com [mailto:kgailliard@thesunnews.com].
Copyright (c) 2006, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
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