TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Category: Crime

  • Dane Abdool just panicked, that’s all

    Dane Abdool just panicked, that’s all

    Murder trial hears how girl, 17, was burned to death:

    Previously we’ve seen Dane Abdool try to claim that the burning death of his girlfriend, Amelia Sookdeo, was an accident.

    Yeah, right. I’m sure he bound her in duct tape and doused her in gasoline by accident. He claims he was just trying to scare her.

    However, during his trial, two witnesses claim that Abdool tried to hire them to kill Amelia after she told Abdool she was pregnant.

    Two teenagers testified Thursday that Abdool at one point contacted them about killing Amelia because of the pregnancy. He offered one $400 to do it.

    “I told him he was crazy,” said Julian Pinnock, who was 17 at the time. “I figured he was some spoiled rich kid.”

    The tragedy of all this, prosecutors said, was that Amelia was not pregnant.

    Abdool’s lawyer also claims he ‘panicked’ and left Amelia’s body in a ditch…

    Defense attorneys told jurors that Abdool was there when Amelia died but it was an accident.

    He panicked afterward, leaving her and went to wash his car, said Abdool’s attorney Trish Cashman.

    I’m sure he wasn’t trying to cover anything up by washing his car.

    I really hope the jury isn’t that stupid.

  • Frankie Brewster pleads guilty

    Frankie Brewster pleads guilty

    Fourth pleads guilty in Megan Williams case:

    Frankie Brewster has pleaded guilty to the charge of second-degree sexual assault. Brewster is just one of many that were indicted in the kidnap and torture case of Megan Williams.

    Brewster forced Williams to perform oral sex on her.

    Charges of assault during the commission of a felony, kidnapping/holding hostage and conspiracy were dropped in exchange for the plea, Abraham said.

    Brewster is looking at 10 to 25 behind bars.

  • Underwood’s attorney wants death penalty removed

    Underwood’s attorney wants death penalty removed

    Jamie Rose Bolin

    Underwood defense asks to strike death penalty option:

    The defense for would be cannibal Kevin Ray Underwood is trying to get the death penalty taken off the table because of press leaks.

    Underwood’s defense attorney, L. Wayne Woodyard, appearing in Cleveland County District Court, argued Wednesday that too much information about the case has been leaked to the public that the case no longer represents “due process.” He asked that the bill of particulars be struck and the death penalty be taken out of consideration for sentencing.

    The defense pointed out the latest instance of “leaks” to the media. A TV news station ran a story Feb. 11 that unnamed sources revealed a sealed judgment of District Judge Candace Blalock. Only about an hour after the lawyers received the judgment via e-mail, it was posted online that Blalock decided to let incriminating evidence into the trial, the defense said.

    The defense blamed the District Attorney’s office for the leak.

    This is what I like to call grasping at straws.

    As the District Attorney pointed out in the article, Mr. Woodyard knows that Underwood is a lost cause. Underwood basically confessed to the killing of 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin and the desire to consume her flesh. This isn’t some overcomplicated case that you might see on some crime drama TV show.

    I’d be very surprised if the death penalty is removed as a sentencing option.

  • Trial of Dane Abdool starts

    Trial of Dane Abdool starts

    Man Accused Of Burning Girlfriend Heads To Trial:

    Longtime readers may remember when I first posted about Dane Abdool. Almost two years ago, a 19-year-old Dane Abdool was arrested for setting his 17-year-old girlfriend, Amelia Sookdeo, on fire, killing her.

    It’s alleged that Amelia told Abdool that she was pregnant. Abdool allegedly wrapped her in duct tape, doused her in gasoline, set her on fire, then left her in a ditch to die. The medical examiner determined after Amelia’s death that she wasn’t even pregnant.

    Abdool’s trial started today on first-degree murder charges, with a possible death sentence.

    Today was the start of jury selection.

  • Brain exam allowed for one of Cassie Jo Stoddart’s killers

    Brain exam allowed for one of Cassie Jo Stoddart’s killers

    Judge Allows Brain Exam on Adamcik:

    Congratulations to the citizens of Idaho. You’re now footing the bill for a neurological exam for an already convicted killer.

    Torey Adamcik and his mutant buddy Brian Draper were both sentenced to life without parole in the brutal murder of 16-year-old Cassie Jo Stoddart. Don’t forget they also videotaped the murder.

    Now Judge Peter McDermott has allowed the request of Adamcik’s attorney for the state to pay for a brain scan because his lawyer claims that Adamcik has a ‘brain deficiency’.

    In his ruling, Judge McDumbass stated…

    “Mr. Adamcik is a needy person… He is being detained under a conviction of a serious crime, since he has been sentenced to a fixed life term without the possibility of parole. Mr. Adamcik does not have the funds, or the ability to generate the funds necessary to conduct the neuropsychological examination requested by his attorney.”

    So how is that the state’s responsibility? The state has already proved Adamcik’s role in Cassie Jo Stoddart’s murder. Why should the state now have to foot the bill for a ploy by his attorney to get his sentence reduced? If McDermott wants the test done so bad, why doesn’t he pay for it out of his own pocket? Better yet, why don’t all the people who think that he shouldn’t have been tried as an adult chip in? Oh, that’s right, they don’t put their money where their mouth is.

  • Indictments and guilty pleas in WV torture case

    Indictments and guilty pleas in WV torture case

    2 plead guilty, 5 others indicted in torture case:

    A lot of news coming out of West Virginia lately in the kidnap and torture case of Megan Williams. If you’re not familiar with the case, you can see my first post about it here or this search which shows the bulk of the posts related to the case.

    Anyway…

    A Logan County grand jury handed up indictments Tuesday charging Bobby Brewster, 24; his mother, Frankie Brewster, 49, of Big Creek; Danny Combs, 20, of Harts; Karen Burton, 46, of Chapmanville; and her son, Linnie Burton Jr., in the case.

    Two other defendants — Karen Burton’s daughter, 23-year-old Alisha Burton, and 27-year-old George A. Messer — each pleaded guilty Friday to one count of kidnapping and one count of assault during the commission of a felony. Messer and Alisha Burton, both of Chapmanville, were each sentenced to concurrent prison terms of 10 years on the kidnapping charge and 2 to 10 years on the assault charge, Logan County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Abraham said.

    Karen Burton is the only defendant charged with a hate crime. She also was indicted on kidnapping and malicious wounding charges.

    Burton allegedly used the N-word as she stabbed Williams in the ankle, Abraham said.

    Personally, I couldn’t care less about the color of the victim or the perpetrators. The only thing I care about is justice being served for the sick, depraved things these scumbags did to Megan Williams that you only normally see in over the top horror movies.

  • Bail reduction denied in ‘Mortal Kombat’ killing

    Bail reduction denied in ‘Mortal Kombat’ killing

    Suspect in girl’s death denied bail reduction:

    A bail reduction request for Heather Trujillo has been denied. She’s currently being held on $100K bond in the death of her sister Zoe Garcia. Trujillo and her 17-year-old boyfriend Lamar Roberts killed Garcia by allegedly imitating moves from a Mortal Kombat game.

    16-year-old Trujillo has been charged as an adult and faces up to 48 years behind bars.

  • Dana Trujillo arrested

    Dana Trujillo arrested

    Dana Trujillo, mother of murder victim Zoe Garcia arrested:

    Dana Trujillo, the mother of both Zoe Garcia and Heather Trujillo, was arrested this past Thursday on child abuse charges. Zoe Garcia was the 7-year-old killed by her sister and her sister’s boyfriend, Lamar Roberts, when they supposedly practiced ‘Mortal Kombat’ moves on Zoe. Heather Trujillo and Roberts are both being charged as adults for Zoe’s murder.

    Dana Trujillo was arrested on an outstanding warrant from 2003 in New Mexico.

    But the charges against the girls’ mother, Dana Trujillo, stem back to 2003, when Dana and three daughters lived in Socorro, N.M. Police in the small New Mexico town said Dana Trujillo is suspected of leaving her children, — then ages 12, 4. and 3.

    “There was no assault or battery,” said Capt. Mike Winders of the Socorro Police Department. “The crime was that she was not feeding or caring for them properly, and that’s why we issued the warrant.”

    It’s obvious that Mortal Kombat had nothing to do with Zoe’s murder, but the media just can’t let that go. It just shows how clueless they still are about video games. It’s not like they haven’t been around for 30+ years or anything.

  • Alleged autistic ruled competent to stand trial

    Alleged autistic ruled competent to stand trial

    Competency test result withheld:

    I’ve posted about Robert Derderian before. He’s the 19-year-old supposed autistic from New Hampshire who allegedly sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl and videotaping the assault. He’s also accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl several times.

    He’s not speaking to his attorney, which she claims is because of autism, Asperger’s, ADHD, and, as the article puts it, another unspecified learning disorder that limits his speaking abilities. That’s very convenient. The prosecution thinks he has a case of faker-itis and I tend to agree.

    Anyway, since I last posted about this, it seems that he’s had top mental competency tests. The first report found him to be mentally competent. The second one is under review as we speak.

    Like I’ve said previously, if he had the mental capacity to videotape a sexual assault I’m pretty sure he can talk to his lawyer.

  • Dyleski sentence appeal

    Dyleski sentence appeal

    Scott Dyleski files appeal of life sentence for murder conviction:

    The attorneys for Scott Dyleski are trying the spaghetti plan to get their client out of a life sentence without parole. By spaghetti plan, I mean they’re throwing everything against the wall to see what sticks.

    Scott Dyleski was the 16-year-old who was tried as an adult, convicted, and sentenced to life without parole in the murder of Pam Vitale. Vitale was the wife of famous criminal defense attorney Daniel Horowitz.

    One of the focuses on the trial was that some people felt trying Dyleski as an adult was inhumane, and that sentencing him to life without parole was worse. I’m not one of those people. He brutally bludgeoned Pam Vitale and carved a symbol in her back. If that doesn’t warrant being tried as an adult, nothing does.

    Anyway, on to the matter at hand, his appeal.

    Scott Dyleski’s sentence of life without the possibility of parole in the October 2005 bludgeoning death of Lafayette resident Pamela Vitale amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment because he was only 16 at the time, his lawyer argued in a court appeal this week.

    The 183-page brief, filed Wednesday in state appeals court, also argues that there was not enough evidence during the trial of burglary — the special circumstance that allowed Judge Barbara Zuniga to sentence Dyleski to life without parole.

    The judge also should have allowed a change of court venue because of the local notoriety; held a hearing on the reliability of DNA testing that linked Dyleski to the murder; and should have thrown out evidence from a home search that attorney Philip Brooks claims was based on a “recklessly inaccurate” search warrant affidavit, the brief argues.

    Is there anything else? Can we get you a coffee or something? Did you not care for the color of the bailiff’s uniform? Were the courtroom chairs too stiff for you?

    If Dyleski was 21 when he killed Pam Vitale this wouldn’t even be an issue, but some people just have to do things “for the children”. Even if those children are cold-blooded and callous killers.