TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Tag: murder

  • Underwood discussed cannibalism

    Underwood discussed cannibalism

    Prosecutors allege Underwood discussed cannibalism:

    For those of you new to the party, Kevin Ray Underwood was arrested in the death of 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin.

    He killed her, sexually assaulted her (in that order), and then was preparing to consume her flesh.

    The reason he landed here is that after he killed her and while the police were looking for her, Underwood just casually logged into his MySpace and Blogger accounts.

    It’s no secret that Underwood had an obsession with cannibalism. It seems that it was about as far as a secret that you can get…

    The claims about Kevin Ray Underwood’s behavior are contained in a witness summary report filed by prosecutors prior to a hearing yesterday in McClain County District Court.

    According to the report, Underwood talked to a childhood friend about cannibalism and also talked to a worker at an Oklahoma City haircut shop about cooking organs.

    Way to keep it to yourself there, Hannibal. I hope your taste for flesh is worth the needle.

  • Castillo will not face death penalty

    Castillo will not face death penalty

    Orange County school shooting suspect will not face death penalty:

    Earlier, when I said that we’ll find out tomorrow if Alvaro Castillo will face the death penalty or not, I lied. The article stated Wednesday, and I was thinking today was Tuesday for some reason. Human error.

    Anyway, District Attorney Jim Woodall said today that he will not seek the death penalty against Castillo.

    Woodall says Castillo’s mother did –not– want her son to face the death penalty.

    Remember that the victim in this crime is Castillo’s father. Still, justice needs to be served. The best way to do that is with a lengthy stay behind bars.

  • Castillo may face death penalty

    Castillo may face death penalty

    School Shooting Suspect Awaits Fate:

    Tomorrow, we should find out whether or not Rafael Alvaro Castillo will be facing the death penalty. Castillo shot and killed his father, videotaped the aftermath, then went to Orange High School in Hillsborough, NC and fired rounds at the school. Luckily, there were only a few slight injuries.

    Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall is expected to announce Wednesday whether Alvaro Castillo, 19, of Hillsborough, will pursue the death penalty or time in prison.

    Detectives said Castillo sent a homemade video tape and a letter to a local newspaper the same day of the incident. On the tape, Castillo seems to become animated and agitated when talking about alleged abuse at the hands of his father.

    Investigators also said Castillo sent an e-mail about the alleged rampage to the principal at Columbine High School, where two gunmen shot 13 people before killing themselves in April 1999. In the e-mail, Castillo reveals his obsession with that massacre.

    Personally, I’m rooting for the death penalty, but I’ll settle for life without parole. Anything less than that is an injustice.

  • Castillo e-mail probably inadmissible as well

    Castillo e-mail probably inadmissible as well

    Castillo e-mail can’t be linked:

    Just a follow-up to yesterday’s post about the computer evidence being suppressed in the Alvaro Castillo proceedings. Since the computers were ruled inadmissible, the e-mail that Castillo sent to Columbine High School Principal Frank DeAngelis cannot be linked to Castillo.

    Again, the videos should be all the prosecution needs.

  • Evidence suppressed in Castillo case

    Evidence suppressed in Castillo case

    Hearing Held for Suspected Teen Killer:

    The computers seized from the house of Alvaro Rafael Castillo have been ruled inadmissible as evidence. The defense argued that the computers were not listed as part of the search warrant, and the judge agreed. Prosecutors aren’t too worried though, saying there wasn’t much evidence on the computers. Not only that, but considering he basically confessed on videotape to killing his father before sending the tapes to the media, I wouldn’t be worried either.

    The next hearing is set for April 25th where Castillo will probably learn if he’s facing the death penalty or not.

  • Underwood trial gets change of venue

    Underwood trial gets change of venue

    Murder trial moved:

    Kevin Ray Underwood, the accused killer of 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin, has been granted a change of venue in his murder trial.

    Kevin Ray Underwood, 28, will be tried in Cleveland County instead of McClain County, Judge Candace Blalock decided.

    Defense lawyer Silas R. Lyman II filed a motion for a change of venue Jan. 12, arguing that an impartial jury could not be obtained in McClain County.

    To support his motion for change of venue, Lyman submitted a survey of McClain County residents that showed most already assumed Underwood’s guilt.

    For those of you who are unfamiliar with the case, Underwood is accused of killing Jamie Rose Bolin, sexually assaulting her after death, attempting to decapitate her after death, and had plans to consume her flesh. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

  • Seized computers can’t be used in Castillo trial

    Seized computers can’t be used in Castillo trial

    Judge: Prosecutors in school shooting case can’t use computers:

    A judge has ruled that the computers in the home of Alvaro Castillo cannot be used as evidence by prosecutors because the computers were improperly seized.

    Castillo is the Hillsborough, North Carolina, teen who killed his father, Rafael Huezo Castillo, before taking shots at his former high school, Orange High.

    The prosecutors shouldn’t worry too much, since Castillo did send what was basically a videotaped confession to a local newspaper.

  • Patrick Armstrong pleads guilty to manslaughter

    Judge Accepts Plea Deal In Armstrong Case:

    It’s been almost a year since I’ve posted anything about Patrick Armstrong. The news out of Maine hasn’t been exactly forthcoming. With this story, we get a year’s worth of news all at once.

    For those of you who may have forgotten, Patrick Armstrong was 14 at the time he was arrested for the murder of 14-year-old Marlee Johnston. During the investigation, police found a website made by Armstrong where he professed his admiration for serial killers and the Columbine killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.

    Today, Patrick Armstrong pleaded guilty to manslaughter. In return for his plea, he’ll serve 25 years with 9 years suspended.

    Tell me if this sounds like manslaughter to you…

    Armstrong is accused of brutally beating 14-year-old Marlee Johnston to death. In testimony Friday in Augusta, a state police detective testified Johnston was beaten repeatedly on the head with an aluminum baseball bat. The detective also said Armstrong told a fellow inmate that he “loved every minute of it.”

    Detective Adam Kelley testified Johnston went to Armstrong’s house to see if she wanted him to join her in walking her dogs. They were neighbors in the town of Fayette.

    So Marlee Johnston befriends Patrick Armstrong and in return, he bludgeoned her to death. And now he’ll be out when he’s 30, possibly sooner.

    It could be that the Johnston family may just want to put it all behind them. If that’s true, I respect them for that. However, in my opinion, not enough justice was served.

  • Trial set for Spring in murder of Ashton Glover

    Trial set for Spring in murder of Ashton Glover

    Spring trial set for Sugar Land teen murder suspect:

    You can read all my entries about the murder of Ashton Glover and the sick freaks that killed her here.

    RICHMOND–Trial dates for Matthew R. McCombs and Sean H. Brown, charged with fatally shooting their 16-year-old friend Ashton Glover in July, has been tentatively scheduled for next spring.

    McCombs and his next door neighbor Brown are charged with shooting Glover and burying her body at a muddy construction site off of Oil Field Road. Workers found her body July 10.

    The three were seniors and classmates at Clements High School.

    In a brief Fort Bend County court appearance today Monday before state District Judge Cliff Vacek, a status hearing was set for Jan. 8 with a trial set for April, May or June.

    The hearing lasted only a few minutes and then both defendants, dressed in green jail uniforms, were taken back to the courthouse holding cell.

    McCombs and Brown disappeared from their Sugar Land homes about two hours after Glover’s body was unearthed. The suspects were arrested July 12 when they tried to cross the St. Clair River and enter Canada from Port Huron.

    Police said McCombs gave investigators a statement admitting he shot the Clements High School student out of “morbid curiosity.”

  • Castillo took advantage of loophole in NC gun law

    Castillo took advantage of loophole in NC gun law

    N.C. law protecting mental health records allowed gun buys:

    This is an interesting article that states since Alvaro Castillo voluntarily admitted himself to a mental hospital that he was still allowed to purchase firearms…

    HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. – A teen jailed on charges he fatally shot his father before opening fire at his former high school was able to buy two guns even though he was nearly involuntarily committed to a mental hospital just months earlier because of his suicide threats.

    Instead, Alvaro Castillo agreed after the involuntary commitment process had started to admit himself to the hospital. That allowed him to retain his right to buy a gun.

    For nearly 40 years, federal law has made it illegal to knowingly sell guns to a person who has been involuntarily committed to a mental institution or otherwise been found by a judge to be mentally ill.

    The difference between those who get involuntary and voluntary treatment often is small, but it can have potentially huge consequences, said Mark Botts, a law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government.

    North Carolina law encourages authorities to persuade a person to consent to treatment even when the person is considered dangerous and eligible for involuntary treatment.

    But when consent is given, the state no longer has control over the duration of the person’s treatment because willing patients are allowed to voluntarily discharge themselves, Botts said.

    In case you forgot, Alvaro Castillo shot and killed his father before opening fire on his former high school.