Investigation Discovery airing 3 part series on Casey Ànthony case

Investigation Discovery is airing a 3 part series called "Casey Ànthony - An American Murder Mystery" beginning on April 9, 2017 at 10PM ET.  The series takes a close look into the investigation of Casey Anthony, the trial and the verdict that shook the nation.

Participants of the series includes Anthony's parents George and Cindy, jurors and Judge Belvin Perry who resided over the circus-like trial.  As you'll recall, it all started with a frantic 911 call from the worried Cindy Anthony who was by this time suspicious of her daughter Casey because she would not bring her 2 year old daughter Cables home or let her talk to Cables on the phone. Casey and Caylee lived with Cindy and George and the grandparents were very attached to their granddaughter.

That 911 call was on July 15, 2008 and the next three years this story would be in the news daily. Untangling Casey's web of lies was fascinating. She ultimately claimed her daughter Caylee had been kidnapped by Zanny the nanny , who never existed. You all know the status storyline. Casey now lives with a man named Patrick McKenna who reportedly was the lead investigator on her defense team. She lives a fairly reclusive life and does work for McKenna and would like to become a private investigator herself someday!

Anthony maintains she has no idea what happened to Caylee and although she was acquitted of the most serious charges she faces, she realizes many people will always believe she is guilty. She stated that she doesn't give a shit about what anyone thinks of her.

Casey met an AP reporter at a anti Trump rally in West Beach and spoke to them after years of silence about her case and trial.  Over the course of a week, she participated in 5 interviews, some of which were audiotaped. She later had second thoughts and feedback texted the reporter to ask them to not publish the interviews. She cited legal reasons relating to her selling the rights to her life story to a third party during her bankruptcy proceedings. She sold the rights for $25,000 and did so to protect her interests.

Casey admitted to lying to the police about working for Universal, about Caylee leaving with a nanny and about receiving a call from Caylee the day before she vanished. This is the first time I've heard of this phone call. She threw her dad George under the bus again in a roundabout way by saying that cops lie all the time and her dad used to be a cop- "you can read into that what you want to".

When asked about the drowning defense what she says is puzzling. "Everyone has their theories, I don't know. As I stand here today I can't tell you one way or another. The last time I saw my daughter I believed she was alive and was going to be OK and that's what I was told".  What the heck does that mean?? What does she mean she believed she was alive and was told she would be OK? Told by whom?  Again, seems to point at her father.

All I have àlways said is it's hard to believe she doesn't hold some sort of culpability in whatever happened to Caylee because she only reported her missing when her back was against the wall and she could no longer put off her parents who wanted desperately to see Caylee. If she truly had no knowledge or responsibility in my opinion she would have immediately called the police to help find her missing child. That's a fact she just can't defend.

I'll definitely be tuning in to the ID special in April.  Have a great weekend!

What happened to Amber Hilberling? Suicide or foul play?

I realize this is not a new story but it's one that's had me wondering what really happened to Amber Hilberling in that prison cell. Serving a 25 year sentence for pushing husband Josh Hilberling and causing him to shatter the glass window in their high rise condominium and fall 17 floors to his death, Amber was found hanging in her cell by another inmate last October. She was 3 years into her 25 year sentence.  Prior to her high profile trial, Amber was offered a much reduced sentence to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter that would have had her serve only 5 years in prison.

Amber turned down the deal and rolled the dice with a jury and ended up losing 20 more years of her life. Amber was very pregnant at the time of the crime and gave birth to her son before her trial began.  Her defense was two fold - that it was an accident and she never meant to hurt Josh with a bit of self defense thrown in. Amber claimed Josh was coming at her and she pushed him away to protect her unborn child. 

Many people believe Amber turned down the plea deal because she believed that admitting any culpability would hurt her lawsuit against the high rise for the windows that were not up to code and shouldn't have broken so easily. I don't know if that played into her decision but she had to have been absolutely devastated when she was convicted of second degree murder with a lengthy sentence.  She could have been out soon enough to raise her son had she taken the deal.

Prison officials and the coroner were quick to call Amber's death a suicide. Too quick if you ask me. Her mother said that she talked to Amber daily and she was in a good place mentally and she talked to her young son regularly. Her appeals had been denied earlier last year, could that have caused her to lose all hope and decide to end her life? I can't understand how she would make that choice to leave the son she scored without a father and mother.  
I seem to recall that Amber tested positive for meth while in prison, although the Mabel Correctional Facility website inmate lookup page is down. That's where you can find information on prisoners and disciplinary write-ups, classification changes, jobs etc.

One statistic that stands out about this prison is that it allegedly has the highest rate of inmate rapes.

There was talk from prison guards that she had seemed depressed, but I don't think they really did much in the way of an investigation into her death. Isn't it equally possible that Amber made some enemies due her prison stay? The whole thing is a mystery to me. And this entire story is filled with senseless deaths and shattered lives for both families involved.

The suicide numbers I correctional facilities is alarming. Are people being properly screened and treated for depression and other mental problems?  Amber's parents appeared on Dr Phil's show and they want a full investigation into Amber's death. She didn't leave a suicide note. Nothing to explain things to her son and family if prison was too much for her to bear and she made the decision to kill herself.

I'm just not so sure it's that simple. What do you think? She had years to come to terms with the decision to turn down that plea deal. When Amber appeared on Dr Phil's show prior to her death she explained that she didn't want her son to grow up believing she purposely killed his father and that's what accepting the plea meant in her mind. 

This is just another one of those stories that stick with you. I'd like for Amber's family to know the truth or at least feel comfortable with the information prison officials are providing. Sad case starting with Josh's untimely death and ending with Amber's.

That's all for now. Enjoy your day!

Unable to reply to comments

Hello,

I'm so sorry but I've recently had to use a tablet to write this blog while my computer continues to be on the fritz. I want to reply to the comments from some of the old posts that I only recently read, but for some reason this tablet won't allow me to at the moment.

I am working on getting my laptop back up and running and hope to start posting again soon. I've missed reading your comments and opinions, especially Nancy  B who pointed out that one of my postings was linked on a HLN regulars Facebook page. That's exciting to hear and I probably never would have known about it if not for Nancy B.

More to follow! There has been some interesting things in the news that I'd love to discuss.  Please check back soon! Have a great week.

Where are they now - the key players in the Jodi Arias trial

It's been a few years since Jodi Arias relocated to the Perryville Prison in Goodyear Arizona. News of Jodi's activity have mostly dropped out of the media, except the occasional sensational reports of prison weddings and the desire to become a mother!

Most people are savvy enough to realize that most of this talk is pure fiction created primarily for page views or pure gossip. I guess there aren't any alien or Elvis sightings in AZ. I have found myself wondering what she has been up to in prison and a simple inmate search online gave me the scoop. 

According to public prison records, Jodi has only had that one disciplinary infraction since she was transferred to Perryville,and that was the well publicized incident of being disrespectful to prison staff. That infraction occurred on 2/3/16. The infraction cost her contact visits for a period of time but since then she has kept her conduct record clean.

Records show she's had several classification reviews and was denied a lower classification until 11/29/16 when her classification was lowered to a lower custody risk of 4 (versus 5). I believe the lower classification has allows her to have more contact with other inmates and she reportedly now has a cellmate. Prison records àlso state that since August of last year, she has been working as a building porter. 

It's likely that with continued good behavior she will gain more freedom  within the prison . It appears she continues to try to sell her artwork but I'm not sure how she's able to do so. I've heard the Alexander's still intend to go after her for the wrongful death of Travis Alexander and their attorneys should be able to trace any and all monies Jodi and her family have received from such transactions. Attorneys are good at finding cash people have tried to hide. 

I often wonder if Jodi has or will cross paths with Angela Simpson who is also serving life for a heinous murder in AZ. She was feàtured on Lockup (MSNBC series) a while back and she's one of the scariest women I've ever seen interviewed on that show. So pain basically held a disabled man hostage and tortured him slowly before finally killing him. She hates the police, she fancies herself an artist too but her drawings were mostly of pigs in police u uniforms being killed. Not Hallmark material. Arias would be wise to steer clear of this inmate at all costs! 

Marissa Default is also at Perryville and I believe they know each other from their days in the Estrella jail. Prison records show Devault has had many infractions ranging from. Promoting prison contraband to disrespecting staff, 6 infractions are listed.  Still, she also is listed as having a job as a "porter, education".

As for the attorneys involved in the trial, much has happened with Kirk Nurmi and Juan Martinez. Nurmi was facing a 4 year suspension over the writing of his tell all book entitled "Trapped withMs. Arias". I think the title captures his true feeling about his client. He reportedly plans to write more books on the trial, so he ultimately chose to be disbarred in AZ rather than face disciplinary hearings on his behavior. Nurmi was reportedly paid $1.325 million to be trapped with Arias. Not bad for a few years work starting as a public defender!

Even the much admired prosecutor Juan Martinez was placed on probation for 1 year after being admonished by the State Bar of AZ for aggressive prosecution tactics on 11 murder cases which includes Arias'.  He is still seen as a local hero for getting Arias convicted to LWOP. 

Defense attorney Jennifer Willmot is now in private practice defending people facing the most serious crimes. What an odd pairing Nurmi and Willmot made. I get the sense they both realize what a huge mistake they made with the pedophile allegations and some of the other uncorroborated allegations they centered their defense around. It further angered people because few people, if anything really believed it. It was clearly a poorly thought out smear campaign. But on the other hand it seemed to help Casey Anthony get acquitted. 

That's about all I have for now. I'm typing this on a small tablet device so please excuse any typos. My laptop is on the fritz again. 
Best wishes to all in the new year!!

Jodi Arias' Prison Life - the First Year

Well it's been a while since I've updated this blog. In addition to having no time, there has been little content of interest to write about. Unfortunately, there will undoubtedly be new crimes to discuss, but I think the Jodi Arias case and trial will remain one of the more interesting and memorable - for all the wrong reasons.

The murder shocked the public, and the defendant was a character unlike any I can recall. She seemingly loved the attention the crime and trial generated. She self promoted, she utilized social media from behind bars. She sold "artwork". She has had countless blogs, books and several movies and TV programs dedicated to coverage of her carnage.  She was the woman America loved to hate. She was the new Casey Anthony. 

Since Arias was sent to begin serving her prison term, there have been various stories posted mostly by sites such as Radar Online reporting on everything to her loss of privileges in prison for disrespecting a guard to publishing her commissary orders. The media dissects it all.  It's really not that interesting to see what she's eating in prison.  I'm more interested on hearing about any potential wrongful death lawsuits that are pending, and any appeals that are down the pike.

Books have been written by many true crime authors covering every aspect of the crime and the trial.  I was not surprised to see defense attorney Kirk Nurmi publish a book on what was probably the trial of his lifetime, but it did surprise me to see Prosecutor Juan Martinez publish one.  I suppose Jeff Ashton wrote about prosecuting Casey Anthony - these type of trials don't come along every day. 

Kirk Nurmi's feelings towards his client are obvious.  He feels he was forced to remain her attorney despite the fact that he wanted out.  Arias has gone both ways, fighting to keep him on as her attorney and then fighting to have him removed. She loved Jennifer Willmott and Maria de la Rosa, who to this day remains a little shady in my eyes.  I think she did things that could have gotten her into some big trouble, and I'm not sure if they ever investigated her involvement in Arias' online sales and fundraising.  She was busted removing art work from the Estrella jail for God's sake!  I did tend to like Jennifer Willmott, although I don't see how a seemingly bright woman could ever really believe the story Arias was trying to sell the jury and the world.

The latest rumors on the internet talk about Jodi Arias wanting a prison wedding.  Nothing has been confirmed and she would need approval for any type of ceremony.  This is probably just more of the same from the usual news outlets.  I'm sure she still has her admirers out there, and it wouldn't surprise me if she had prison proposals.  Arias has been appealing to her supporters to send books for the inmates to read, only "non-erotica" books.  She's concerned about appropriate content after all!

It's not surprising to me that Arias has also found the support of a rapper named Kareem "Lefty" Williams who penned a song about her.  I watched it recently, my curiosity got the best of me.  It's all about Jodi, the trial, domestic violence and PTSD.  If "Lefty" really believes Arias is not culpable of murder that's his right.  I disagree.  His music video shows various women holding up cards that say things like "PTSD is a real thing", "I am PTSD", "I'm a survivor of domestic violence" etc. You get the picture.  The video would send a positive message if I believed Arias was a victim in this case.  If your significant other puts you down, demeans you, uses you for sex and you feel you are not respected - you have the option of leaving. Just walk away. She was not married to Travis, she wasn't "trapped".  And the whole notion that the carnage she left behind in that house was self defense is what was so ludicrous to begin with.

Had Arias chose a different defense she may have been seen differently by the public who despise what she did and how she buried Travis Alexander in that courtroom.  Instead of honesty, she chose to accuse a man who can no longer speak of the most despicable things and her attempts to muddy his name earned her the honor of being one of America's most hated women.  Let's be rational.  Can a man be both a sex addict with women while having fantasies about young boys?  This was a ridiculous notion at trial.  This is the 21st century for one thing, who looks at a paper photo of a young boy in this day and age? Travis had a computer, if he was looking at child pornography that would've been the place to find it.

It's almost as if she thought to herself "how can I make him look as bad as possible and make people hate him enough to justify my actions"?  And this was the best she could come up with.  There may have been some emotional abuse, they probably never should have hooked up to begin with.  Once she realized he was probably using her for sex, she should've had the self respect to walk away.  Instead, she chose revenge and she will serve life in prison as a result.

That's about all I've got for now.  I wish I had more time to scour the internet and find more interesting trials to write about.  It's unfortunate we have so many murders and crimes in America and for some reason some of these trials just captivate us.  This was one of those crimes and trials.  I hope there won't be many more Jodi Arias' out there, but one thing is for sure - murders continue to occur in this country.  I worry about what that says about our society, where taking a life seems to come so easily.  Thankfully not everybody gets away with murder.  Juan Martinez thanks Arias for purchasing that extra gas can at WalMart for helping him put her away.

What a trial.  What a story.  Until next time, enjoy your week!

Shades of Arias : The Shauna Huber Murder Trial

Well it seems as if there is a new murderess in Kentucky who's antics in the police interrogation room give Jodi Arias a run for the title of most bizarre. 24 year old Shayna Huber's was recently convicted of first degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of boyfriend Ryan Poston in Kentucky and sentenced to 40 years in prison.  There were only 9 days of testimony before fhge jury came back with a verdict.

Ryan Post on was a 29 year old attorney who had just started his own firm specializing in personal injury. He came from a well respected and close family and by all accounts he was a rising star. He was a  very handsome and smart young man who began casually dating after a long term serious relationship had ended. Huber was one of the women he was seeing although close friends insisted Ryan was not serious with her and hadquicklylost interest in her. He was having a hard time ending the relationship as Shauna would not let him go.

She reportedly sent him up to 75 messages a day which qualifies as obsessive. Ryan had no shortage of women who wanted to date him and he was supposed to meet a blind date the very night he was killed. His date, set up through friends was with Miss Ohio. I sense this enraged Shauna and she killed him purposely in a jealous rage.  You may see the parallels with Jodi and Travis here, but the police interview tapes seal the crazy link.

After admitting to killing Ryan,Shauna was read her Miranda rights, but she DID NOT remain silent by a long shot! She began to explain her version of events, setting the stage for the old go-to self defense battered woman scenario. She told detectives that Ryan threw her around the room and into walls. She exposed her neck, throat and arms for photos that didn't show even the tiniest of bruising, scratches or any other injury one would expect in a self defense killing. The fact that she shot Post on SIX times didn't jive with self defense either but rather an execution.

Huber asked detectives a handful of questions about prison life. She wanted to know if she would be able to bring her phone, if she would be able to shower or if they just live dirty. She expressed shock after asking if she would  have to
Shower in front of other prisoners! Welcome to the Department of Corrections! When the detectives left Huber alone in the interview room, the crazy went out on full display as she did some ballet moves around the table, belted out a few verses of Amazing Grace and rambled to herself "I did it, I DID It" ,very creepy almost as if singing a song. 

She drank several glasses of water and paced the room. All the while the detectives were careful to not ask HER anything as she asked for a lawyer, although Shauna just kept on talking and digging a nice hole for herself throughout. The most calleous comment she made was about the victimRyan. She told detectives that Ryan was vain and wanted a nose job. She said "I gave him the nose job he always wanted". Wow, did she really just say that? 

Missing from her explanation of what happened that night was emotion, regrer, remorse or any other form of empathy for Ryan or his family or friends. Not a single tear. I'm telling you, it scares me that there are more of these women out there. I also think a 40 year sentence where she could be out in 20 is just not severe enough. She shot him 6 times in the face and many of those were to the face, as if she wanted to destroy his handsome face.

I just saw this story on 20/20, and I'd like to know more. Please post comments if you  are familiar with the case! Until next time....

In other developments, Jodi Arias has been ordered to pay the Alexander family $32,000 in restitution. That was ordered by the trial judge and I believe its separate from any wrongful death suit proceedings. I'm still having to post from a tablet, so I'm unable to do a lot other than type one letter at a time so I apologize for any typos I miss!  Take care until the next jealous nutbag strikes. 

Natural Life Sentence For Jodi Arias

It' finally happened. Jodi Arias' fate was sealed last week when Judge Sherry Stephens formally sentenced her to natural life with no chance for release. This is the harshest punishment available to the judge, who ultimately cited the extreme cruelty of the murder, the preparation and planning involved in the murder plot, the use of two weapons, her attempts to destroy evidence and her attempt to conceal her involvement as factors that contributed in her decision.  The mitigating factors cited in the defenses sentencing memorandum were insufficient to warrant leniency, according to the judge.

The judge set a hearing date in the matter of restitution for June 1st, wherein Arias' lead attorney Kirk Nurmi restated his desire to withdraw as her attorney in any and all further matters.  Jennifer Wilmott handled the bulk of the arguments at the sentencing hearing.  On behalf of the Alexander family, one of Travis' aunts spoke, as well as 3 of his younger sisters - Hillary Wilcox, Tanisha Sorensen and Samantha Alexander.  On Jodi Arias' side, only her mother Sandra was there to speak for her daughter although she stated other family members were absent due to financial reasons.  

The first to speak was Travis's aunt who lives in Ohio but had been staying with her nieces and nephews in a rented house though the trials.  She spoke about her memories of Travis and how the crime has affected her nuclear family as well as her nieces and nephews and their families. She has missed countless family functions and had to step down from her job as a store manager at Starbucks to be in Arizona for Travis.

Next to speak was Hillary Wilcox. Her words were filled with tears from start to finish as she recalled the memories of her big brother and friend.  When she was planning her wedding and didn't have much money, Travis gladly stepped up and helped pay for her wedding.  With their own father dead, Travis danced the daughter/father dance with her.  She fought through tears while explaining that she now tries to forget Travis, because the memories are too painful to face. She asked the judge to give Arias the harshest sentence available.

Tanisha Sorensen was up next.  She told the judge that her family too has been harassed and threatened by a small group of Arias supporters who send pictures of Travis' autopsy and gruesome crime scene photos to her Facebook page.  Their lives have been turned upside down and they have been thrust into the social media spotlight because of Jodi's actions.  She prayed every
day before court that Jodi would come clean and tell the truth. Instead, Arias told stories and lies. In a powerful moment, Tanisha recalled one of Jodi's journal entries in which she wrote that whoever was responsible for this crime deserves the needle - she turned to face Arias and asked "what happened to that Jodi?". 

Samantha Alexander was the last to speak for the family. She remembers the voicemail she received from her grandmother while on a boating trip - she knew from previous experience that the tone of her voice meant that someone was dead.  She just knew. But when she called back and Tanisha told her Travis was dead, she was floored. She talked about the last time he came to her home a few weeks prior to the murder and he wanted her to read the first few chapters of a book he was writing called "Raising You".  He was sharing private details of their tough childhood to inspire others to rise above their circumstances.  She was sickened that Jodi tried to use his words to aid her "ridiculous defense".  OShe pointed out that the murderer in this case seemingly has so many more orights than her victim and it's so wrong.  She challenged Jodi's claims of childhood abuse as well, telling the judge that Jodi threw her own parents under the bus to save herself.  She dragged out the trial and used the system when the family was willing to offer her a plea if she got "life row", which I'm not familiar with, but Arias refused to budge.  Samantha thanked Judge Stephens for seeing the trial through to the end and asked for a natural life sentence.

Juan Martinez spoke about hope, and how the State and family hoped for a death sentence, "but that was not to be".  He argued the same things as he did at trial but summed it up by saying they thought Arias deserved natural life not to be vindictive, but because what happened in that bathroom was a butchering.

Sandra Arias was the only family member in attendance for Jodi but said they all supported her - the expense was too great for them to attend.  This must be a mother's love because in the face of all of the evidence that says otherwise, Mom-Arias says she believes Jodi was just fighting to stay alive when she killed Travis.  Calling him "the worst thing that ever happened to Jodi, she blamed herself for not teaching Jodi how to leave an abusive relationship.  She was defiant in her statement that Jodi has been unjustly confined, caged and has had her rights stripped away, but saidc"they cannot take away her beautiful spirit. 

Jodi didn't say much, but she didn't waste any time in taking a swipe at Samantha's comment about abuse and plea bargains.  It was the Alexander family that would not budge.  In an about-face, Jodi now recalls slicing Travis' throat (as he lay dying on the floor) but insists that SHE was the one trying to escape and he was still coming after her.  I don't know how she can't see how outrageous that notion is, that a person so gravely wounded and crawling away on the floor was any threat at all while she was fully dressed, armed and had not been stabbed more than 2 dozen times - and shot in the face, as she continues to argue the gunshot came first.  Sorry, I don't believe for one minute that he was ever a threat after she plunged that knife into him the very first time.  Her claims fly in the face of modern medicine and forensic science.  

She should be off to Goodyear Arizona, where she will now only get one 15 minute phone call per week for the first several years her privileges will be few. For the woman who likes to be the center of attention, this may be the best punishment we could hand down.  No more media interviews, they are prohibited in that prison.  If Arias is lucky, maybe he I'll be housed near her old friend from Estrella Jail Marissa DeVault who is also serving natural life.  She should count herself lucky, as she came very close to being a neighbor of Wendi Andriano on death row.

Will Jodi's next court appearance be during a wrongful death suit trial?  I have no doubt Arias will appeal everything and anything she can.  We have not heard the last od Jodi Arias but I'm glad she will never enjoy the freedom she robbed Travis Alexander of.