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The Price of Murder: $24.71
According to court documents filed yesterday, $24.71 of Stephen Grant’s prison wages has been garnished as partial payment on the $50 million judgment he owes to the family of his murdered wife. At this rate, the debt might take a while to pay off.
To put this in perspective, though, this is still $24.71more than O.J. Simpson has handed over to the families of his murdered wife and Ron Goldman. (more…)
Another Stacy Peterson ”Sighting”
Joel Brodsky, Drew Peterson’s attorney, claims that on December 29, Peterson received an letter from somebody who said he spotted Stacy Peterson with another man in Kentucky, a few weeks after her October 28 disappearance
The writer claims that he approached the woman and showed her a photo of Stacy Peterson, and that the woman then told him to leave her alone and “fled.” (more…)
Mentalist Offers Help in Stacy Peterson Case
”I’m interested in becoming involved with this case, in more ways than one … This case is crying out for a breakthrough, and I don’t have to be a thought reader to say that.” -”The Amazing Kreskin”
”At this time, we won’t be granting any meeting with the Amazing Kreskin.” -Mark Dorencz, spokesman for the Illinois State Police
Ever notice how, whenever psychics get involved in missing person cases, they always say that the missing person is “near water”? (more…)
Worse Than Beating a Dead Horse
Bryan James Hathaway, a 21-year-old Wisconsin man who pleaded guilty last year of having sex with a dead deer, had his probation revoked Friday for, among other things, using alcohol and marijuana and having sexual contact with a (human) adult — which you’d think would be the sort of thing we’d want to encourage.
My problem with this whole thing is… While psychiatric treatment is definitely called for here, I’m not sure why he was ever charged with mistreating an animal: The animal was already dead and he was never accused of killing it. He was having sexual relations with venison. If we’re going to prosecute people for what they do to dead animals, we’d better all become vegetarians real quick.
Coneticut Woman Arrested for Check Fraud
If you’re going to buy items in Connecticut with forged checks, then return to the store five days later to ask for a refund, you’re already pushing your luck. If the checks purport to be from ”Rhonde Island” … well, now you’re just making it too easy for the police to catch you.
Tyshema Byrd-Eaddy was arrested yesterday on multiple charges of fraud, criminal impersonation, and identity theft.
Great Moments in Entrapment
Off-duty firefighter Robin Garrison was walking through a park in Columbus Ohio last May when he came across a woman sunbathing topless (this is legal in Columbus; I’ve been to Columbus, and I must have visited the wrong parks). They began to chat. She rested her foot on his shoulder. They flirted. She asked to see his penis. He complied. Undercover police officers appeared and arrested him for indecent exposure. This was, they said, “an undercover sting operation to catch perverts.”
Garrison was found guilty, fined $250, placed on a year’s probation, and the fire department is considering their own sanctions. He’s appealing his conviction on the grounds that the jury wasn’t properly instructed on what “entrapment” means.
Entrapment is defined as being persuaded by police (or other law enforcement or those working on their behalf) to commit a crime one had no previous intention to commit. It does not apply when the defendant is already inclined to commit the crime and law enforcement agents simply facilitate it or otherwise provide the opportunity.
Some new information: (more…)
Drew Peterson: ”It Happened to Me”
“People run away. People drown in the bathtub. And it happened to me.” -Drew Peterson referring to his claim that his wife Stacy, missing since October, left on her own; and that his previous wife, Kathleen Savio, drowned accidentally
At first glance, Peterson’s “It happened to me” sounds like a narcissistic slip of the tongue. I happen to believe his phrasing was entirely intentional, because he’s been giving every indication that he enjoys the spotlight. Like O.J. Simpson before him, he knows everybody believes he’s guilty, and he’s supremely confident that he’ll never be found guilty.
Jose Canseco: ”Vindicated”
Former baseball star Jose Canseco has announced that his new book, “Vindictaed,” will be coming out March 31, the first day of the 2008 baseball season. The title is not used in the usual sense (“I’ve been proven innocent”) but rather as “I told you so” (“Remember when I wrote Juiced and ratted out all those ballplayers who were taking anabolic steroids and Human Growth Hormone and everybody criticized me? Well now the Mitchell Report backed up everythng I said, so there!”).
The new book will name more names.
No New Trial for Donald Blom
The Minnesota Supreme Court today declined — for the third time — to overturn Donald Blom’s conviction for the 1999 abduction and murder of 19-year-old Katie Poirier. The defense had argued that his confession was coerced.
- A Preponderance of Implication: More about this case, the Laci Peterson case, the Lindy Chamberlain case, and several others
Stephen Grant Guilty
In their third day of deliberations, the jury found Stephen Grant guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his wife Tara. Grant wasn’t denying he’d killed her — just after the jury was seated and just before opening statements began, he pleaded guilty to dismembering her body — but rather the trial would decide the degree of his guilt: The prosecution wanted a verdict of first-degree murder, for which the jury would have had to believe the killing was premeditated, and which would have sent Grant to prison for life. The defense wanted a verdict of manslaughter, meaning Grant didn’t necessarily intend to kill her at all, and which carries a maximum of 15 years in prison.
Second-degree murder carries a potential sentence of pretty much anywhere in between. Sentencing is scheduled for February 21. (more…)
Inquest Witness: Princess Diana’s Chauffeur Was a Dangerous Driver. Hmm… You Think??
Today, at an inquest into the 1997 death of Princess Diana — the British will stop overanalyzing Diana’s death about the same time we stop overanalyzing JFK’s death — a witness who’d driven with Dodi Fayed’s chauffeur Henri Paul called him “a dangerous driver.”
This was headline news worldwide.
I kind of figured the whole “he was driving at more than twice the legal speed with a blood alcohol level of more than twice the legal limit” aspect made this pretty much a given.
Natalee Holloway: Case Closed
“The public prosecutor’s office and the police have gone the extra mile and have exhausted all their powers and techniques in order to solve the mystery of the disappearance of the girl”
Aruban authorities have officially closed the case of Natalee Holloway, the 18-year-old Alabama woman who disappeared there during a May 2005 high school trip.
”Tara, you better pick up your phone…”
”Tara, next time I call you, you better pick up your phone. Do not hit ignore. It is absolute bull—- you don’t call me or the kids. It’s bull—-. Call me or the kids. I know you’re mad. You travel too much. It’s not right. Just call me.”
As the prosecution concluded its case today, the jury heard a series of increasingly belligerant messages Stephen Grant left on his wife Tara’s cell phone — after he’d murdered her. Presumably the point of this evidence is to illustrate premeditation on Stephen’s part. (more…)
The Mitchell Report: Naming Names
Thursday, Major League Baseball released a report on steroid, human growth hormone and other drug use by ballplayers. Now ESPN has done the heavy reading for us and given us a list of the players named, along with the accusations against them.
