Zeigler, Part XI: On Juror Intimidation and Judicial Override You can debate all you want but I have made up my mind; Zeigler is guilty! That was what jury foreman Charles Ashley announced right after he had been elected foreman. According to other jurors, he had made up his mind about two weeks prior … […]
DNA
Was Claude Jones Wrongly Executed?
A state judge has ordered East Texas prosecutors to hand over key evidence from a 1989 murder case to the Innocence Project and The Texas Observer for DNA testing—analysis that may prove for the first time that Texas executed an innocent man. The Innocence Project and the Observer filed suit in 2007 to obtain a […]
Arrest in Trey Noah case
Murder charges have been filed against two acquaintances of Trey Noah who vanished in November 2009 and whose remains were found five months later in Gillespie County, Texas. Gillespie County Sheriff Buddy Mills said Shelby C. Moore, 19, of Kendalia was arrested late Thursday at the Sheriff’s Office in Fredericksburg, and that Brandon L. Harber, 19, was […]
Guilty Plea in 1980 murder of William Cooke
In July 1980, William Cooke (49) was found stabbed to death in the Ramada Inn, Lafayette, Indiana. Police took an ashtray with a cigarette butt with them as evidence. In 1980, DNA testing was unavailable. Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Steve Kohne said that the case went cold a few days after the murder. He even […]
The Skinner jury: what we know now…
If they knew then what we know now…read about the thoughts and feelings of the original Skinner jury! “In light of new developments that have surfaced in the 15 years since Skinner’s trial, several of the original jurors are no longer sure of his guilt. Five say they might have had reasonable doubt at the […]
New developments Quang Lu
Toronto homicide detectives believe a north Scarborough home is where a reputed gangster was killed before his body was encased in a cement-filled barrel and dumped in Lake Ontario. Police showed up with a search warrant late Monday at 12 Shallowford Ct. to look for evidence in the case of Quang Lu, 47. They are working […]
Arrest in 1984 murders of Buckels and McMahan
Thanks to DNA we now have an arrest in the 1984 murders of Buckels and McMahan. Seldon Wayne Colvin (58) was arrested for the murders of John Robert Buckels (38)and Janis Petkas McMahan (37). On Sept 28, 1984, the badly decomposed bodies of Buckels and McMahan, both of Houston (Texas), were found along Old Highway […]
Update Waldo Rapist/Bernard Jackson
Bernard Jackson was arraigned Wednesday June 2, 2010, on 18 felonies stemming from four Waldo-area sexual assaults in the 1980s. Assistant Public Defender Carie Allen entered not-guilty pleas on Jackson’s behalf during the brief appearance before Judge Brent Powell. His next court appearance was scheduled for June 22, 2010. Police are continuing to investigate the […]
Zeigler, Part X
By request, the DNA report that exonerates Zeigler. In Dec 1975, a quadruple murder took place in the Zeigler Furniture Store (Winter Garden, Florida). The victims were Charles Mays, Virginia and Perry Edwards, and their daughter Eunice Edwards-Zeigler. The fifth victim, William Thomas Zeigler, became the sole suspect because he survived. The case is riddled […]
DNA upon conviction
New York Governor David Paterson announced that he is submitting DNA legislation that will require everyone convicted of a penal law crime to provide a sample. Currently, New York state only requires DNA collection after a judge convicts a suspect of any felony crime or 18 specified misdemeanors. Once the sample is collected, the information […]