Wednesday, September 28, 2011

#AliayahLunsford : Search For Little Aliayah Expands

The search  for Aliayah Lunsford is continuing as though she is still alive.  Volunteers are still on scene and searching the woods, while the police search is stepping up a little bit.

Throughout the search efforts, the Sheriff's Department, State Police, the FBI, U.S. Marshals, and representatives from the National Missing and Exploited Children have all been involved.  The goal of these agencies is to work together to find little Aliayah.

"That morning, mother checked in on her at 6:30, child went back to sleep, and at 9 or 9:30, child was missing," Sgt. Michael Posey says of the description he received from the family.
For now, investigators believe Aliayah is still in the area.

"Until we get something leading us into a different direction, we're going to continue to search this area and it will be continued to be investigated as a missing child until we get a clue leading us elsewhere," Sgt. Posey says.

While volunteers and local police will continue to look around the Bendale area, a special team is coming with the FBI.

"It is not something that happens every day, so, having someone that's experienced in these types of cases, who has insight into things that we don't want to overlook, simply because we don't do it every day," says Special Agent John Hambrick.

The FBI will focus on an area near her home.

"I've got us a search team that is going to do a grid search that is very precise," says Hambrick.
And local fire departments are stretching their searches to other bodies of water.

"We're trying to spread our search around into possible areas. Anything that, where, theoretically, somebody could be missing or hidden, that's where we're looking," explains retired Weston Fire Chief Michael Young.

A human remains dog was brought in but hinted at nothing. The departments are using sonars to search in the water, muddied from recent rains.

"We're trying to utilize and find more of these side scan sonars. The technology is very good," Young  says.

While the search continues, investigators keep questioning Aliayah's family.

"We have talked to the parents, they have cooperated fully," says Sgt. Posey.

The FBI has set up a mobile command center near the Bendale United Methodist Church.

Additional professional search teams are on their way. 

The church will now be open 24 hours a day during the duration of the search. 

http://www.wdtv.com/index.php/home/local-news/9149-5-news-update-search-for-aliayah-lunsford-expands

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

#AliayahLunsford: Press Conference

#AliayahLunsford :Police Still Searching For 3-Year-Old

WESTON, W.Va. - A 3-year-old girl has been missing since Saturday and the outcome is not looking like it will be a good one.

Hundreds of volunteers have joined authorities in their search for 3-year-old Aliayah Lunsford, but after two days of looking, a sheriff’s department lieutenant said they “haven’t come up with anything.”

The girl was last seen by her mother and an older sister sleeping in her bed around 6:30 a.m., Saturday morning.  When her mother went to take her temperature a few hours later, she was gone.

Aliayah’s stepfather had already been picked up and left for work so her mother jumped into her car and drove around looking for her daughter, running out of gas in the process. She called the police at around 11:30.

Since then police, along with K-9 units and hundreds of volunteers, have been looking for the girl.  Divers are in nearby waters after a bloodhound detected Aliayah’s scent near a river located 150 yards from her home. The scent, however, could be three to seven days old...read more

#anthony: Hearing Set This Week For Felon.

Convicted felon Casey Anthony has another court hearing on Wednesday, September 28th at 3:00 p.m. EST USA time.  The media is requesting the Judge to unseal the jail video tape of Casey’s reactions to the remains found in the swamp.

It was considered too prejudicial for the public to view before the trial & hence sealed.  Since the trial is now over, there is great chance the video will be unsealed for the public to view … Check back for updates

—Express, The Caylee Daily

http://www.cayleedaily.com/2011/09/hearing-set-this-week-for-felon-casey-anthony/

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Rebecca Zahau Case: Max Shacknai Autopsy Review:

Maxfield Aaron Shacknai was just 6 years old when he died.
 

Rebecca Zahau case: The voice mail....

Rebecca Zahau case: The geometry in Rebecca’s fall...

Rebecca Zahau Case: A review of the autopsy report: Public interest in the death of Rebecca Zahau (RZ)

Rebecca Zahau case: A case of assumptions and factoids..

Rebecca Zahau case: New documents…new footprints?

Several interesting pieces of information were made publicy...

#RebeccaZahau : Attorney- Rebecca's death may not be suicide..

Attorney: Zahau Death Might Not Be Suicide
Nationally known attorney Anne Bremner says she's almost done with her investigation into the mysterious death of Rebecca Zahau.

And now she's revealing some of her findings, which could re-open the case and shed new light on what happened at the Spreckels Mansion on July 13 when the body of Rebecca Zahau, 32, was found hanging from a balcony...read more


Source: Attorney: Zahau Death Might Not Be Suicide | NBC San Diego

 

http://www.thehinkymeter.com/2011/07/22/what-went-down-at-the-shacknai-mansion/

Friday, September 9, 2011

#MichaelJackson trial begins.


AT LAST
FINALLY!
It's only taken two years, but at long last the thriller trial of the man accused of killing Michael Jackson has begun.
Dr Conrad Murray, who worked as the superstar's personal physician allegedly administered a fatal dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol, which ultimately killed him.
But although it's only day one, his lawyers are already arguing about the jury, which will not be sequestered during the hotly anticipated trial.
They claimed they are worried media coverage could leak into the jury pool and are asking for the trial to be put on hold.
Already more than 100 of the potential 182 potential jurors have been screened out of the trial, after filling out a 30-page questionnaire to determine their knowledge of the case.
One of those, Linda Deutsch said: “He asked them if anyone did not know about this case, and there was not a single hand was raised in the room.”
Murray’s lawyers are also unhappy they will not be able to call witnesses to testify about Jackson’s past alleged use of Propofol, the powerful anesthetic linked to his death after the judge ruled that such testimony is not relevant in the case.
They plan to claim that Jackson administered the deadly dose of Propofol himself.
A source close to his legal team revealed: "They're trying to show that Jackson had the desire for the drug and had demanded it in the past, so to say that's not relevant is ridiculous.
Opening arguments are scheduled for Sept. 27.

http://crimesceneusa.blogspot.com/2011/09/finally-michael-jackson-doctor-trial.html?spref=tw

Sunday, September 4, 2011

#RebeccaZahau: Family call her alleged suicide ridiculous !

LOS ANGELES – A woman found dead, hanging naked with her hands bound behind her back at a historic Coronado, Calif., mansion in July, killed herself hours after learning that her boyfriend's 6-year-old son was near death from injuries sustained in a fall two days earlier, authorities said Friday.
 
She attached the rope to the footboard of a bed in the guest room, slipped a noose around her neck, went through the room's double doors onto the balcony and hurled herself over the scrollwork, wrought-iron railing, he said.
Shacknai's brother, Adam, who was visiting from Memphis and was staying in the mansion's guest house, found Zahau's body at 6:48 a.m. on July 13, Nemeth said.

"When she was found in the courtyard, part of the rope was still grasped in her fingers," Nemeth said.

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said Zahau left a "message" scrawled in black paint on the door of the guest room. He would not disclose what the message said, but did not characterize it as a suicide note.

Investigators found black paint on Zahau's hand, torso and the rope around her neck. They found only Zahau's fingerprints in the guest room and on the knives and two paintbrushes left on the bedroom floor. Footprints left on the balcony match Zahau's and the boot of police officers who investigated the scene, Nemeth said. Police also re-enacted their scenario to determine whether it's possible to bind one's own hands and feet, he said.

"No one witnessed this event. We don't know in what order things were done," he said. "This was the best conclusion we could come to: She made the decision to take her own life."

Medical examiner Jonathan Lucas found no evidence of a struggle or sexual assault and said he easily removed the bindings from her hands and wrists.
"I'll be the first to unprecedented," Gore said. "There were indications she'd been unhappy for a while."

A friend told investigators Zahau had been depressed for several months, Nemeth said. Investigators also found a journal on her phone that confirmed the friend's conclusion, he said.

Nemeth also said Zahau was "distraught over Max's injury," although she never visited him in the hospital.

Police believe Zahau checked her voicemail for the last time at 12:50 a.m., when she listened to a message indicating Shacknai's son Max's condition was increasingly grave and his death was imminent. Zahau was at the mansion in the bathroom when the boy apparently ran down a third-floor hallway, tripped and soared over the balcony onto the carpet three floors below.

The fall bent Max's head backwards, injuring his upper cervical spinal, which interfered with his breath and heartbeat, Lucas said. A lack of oxygen damaged the boy's brain, which led to his death six days later.

Coronado Police Cmdr. Mike Lawton said investigators found no sign of foul play and believe Max's death was "a tragic accident." He added that Shacknai was at the hospital with his son when Zahau died.

Shacknai in a statement said the investigation provided "some much-needed answers."

"While the investigation is over, the emptiness and sadness in our hearts will remain forever," Shacknai said in a statement. "Max was an extraordinarily loving, happy, talented and special little boy. He brought joy to everyone who knew him, and we will miss him desperately. Rebecca too was a wonderful and unique person who will always have a special place in my heart."

Anne Bremner, a Seattle lawyer hired by the Zahau family this week, said the San Diego Sheriff's Department's finding "doesn't pass the smell test."

Bremner said she and the family met with investigators for more than three hours this week and that the family was distraught over the conclusion.

Zahau's sister Mary Zahau-Loehner said she disagreed with investigators and was disappointed with the conclusion.

Bremner said there is no precedent for a woman committing suicide in the manner in which San Diego authorities contend.

"This would be the first case in the history of the world that a woman killed herself like this," she said. "It's ridiculous on the face of it."

She complained that the meeting was the first time investigators had met in person to discuss the case with Zahau's relatives, who live in Missouri, and that the San Diego authorities had already reached their conclusions.

Bremner said the family does not believe the note found on the door was in Rebecca Zahau's handwriting. She said the note was ambiguous in meaning.
"They strongly believe the note found at the scene was not her handwriting," Bremner said.

She said authorities need to have an outside review of some of the evidence, including an analysis of the handwriting in the note, and that polygraph tests should be conducted of "those closest to the victim."

She said Zahau had never displayed depression or signs of suicide, and had not indicated to others that she blamed herself for the accident that led to the boy's death. She had been upbeat in an evening phone call with family before her death, Bremner said.

She said officials explained Zahau's nudity in death by saying she routinely slept without clothing.

Bremner said Zahau was not alone in the mansion when Max had his accident. She said that two of the child's teenage siblings were present and that Zahau was in the shower at the time of the accident. Max's mother and Jonah Shacknai were divorced, and Zahau had recently divorced as well.

"I really hope they will reconsider and really fully investigate this case," Bremner said. "This department needs to be more measured and careful. … My belief is she did not kill herself."

admit this is a unique and unusual case," Lucas said.

Such suicides are "unusual, but I don't think it's

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-09-02/Coronado-mansion-death-ruled-suicide-family-objects/50233234/1

#RebeccaZahau : What went down at the Shaknai Mansion ?

Quote:

Initial reports state Adam was the only one there, but new reports state that Dina (Max’s mother) was “a witness in Zahau’s death”. 

Does this mean Dina was at the home sometime in the early morning hours of July 13th? 

It should be pointed out that Dina’s home is just down the road from the Shacknai mansion. 

Friends state both of Max’s parents were at his bedside at the time of Rebecca’s death.  However, authorities have not stated that yet.  Does it mean Dina is privy to information concerning Rebecca’s death?  In either case, by the end of the day of the 13th attorney Paul Pfingst was retained to “represent someone connected with this case”, someone assumed to be a family member.

Two search warrants have been served to search the mansion.  It is reported that during one of those searches police took several photographs of the stairs where Max’s accident occurred.

What happened in that big house?

http://www.thehinkymeter.com/2011/07/22/what-went-down-at-the-shacknai-mansion/

Friday, September 2, 2011

Jennifer #Cusworth: Unsolved murder (Video)

#Cusworth jurors face strict scrutiny.(Video)

Jurors will be scrutinized before they‘re selected to hear the Neil Snelson trial.
Eighteen years of publicity about the murder of Jennifer Cusworth could taint a juror‘s view of the case. To ensure there‘s no bias, each jury candidate will undergo two levels of screening before he or she is chosen as one of the 12 jurors to hear evidence.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Alison Beames will ask each prospective juror a series of questions to test the candidate‘s impartiality. If one passes, Crown counsel Iain Currie and defence lawyer Wade Jenson can accept or reject the candidate.

Once two jurors are selected, they‘ll become the initial "triers" of impartiality themselves, said Currie. They‘ll evaluate the other jury candidates one by one. Those they approve will undergo the same scrutiny by the two lawyers until 12 are chosen.

The trial got underway at the Kelowna Law Courts on Monday. Lawyers will spend the first two weeks arguing which evidence the jury can hear.
Jury selection is set for Sept. 12. The trial is scheduled for four weeks from then.

Snelson, 45, is charged with murdering Cusworth, 19, after a party in Kelowna in October 1993.
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local.php?id=378992

Jennifer #Cusworth : Murder Timeline..

Jennifer #Cusworth: Jury selection begins in cold case murder trial.

#RebeccaZahau : 'Official version' claims a suicide !

  
Lojw54nc Rebecca Zahau, the girlfriend of pharmaceutical executive Jonah Shacknai, committed suicide at his Coronado mansion and her death was not the result of a criminal act, San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said at a news conference Friday.

Investigators based their conclusion in part on forensic evidence.

The evidence is "compelling" and points "persuasively" to suicide, Gore said.

Mary Zahau-Loehner, Rebecca's Zahau's sister, had told reporters Thursday night that the family does not believe Zahau took her own life.
Gore, backed by detectives and the medical examiner, explained how forensic evidence and interviews with people who talked to Zahau in the days before her death led to the overwhelming conclusion that she committed suicide and was not the victim of foul play.
Zahau may have been despondent over a sense of responsibility for the injury suffered by Shacknai's 6-year-old son Max during a time when Zahau was supposed to be watching him, authorities said. The boy's death was ruled an accident.

Zahau’s nude body was found in the courtyard of the historic Spreckels mansion on the morning of July 13. Her hands and feet had been tied, and a noose was around her neck and tied to a second-story balcony.

She had apparently jumped off a small table in the courtyard. Her lifeless body was found by Shacknai's brother, Adam, a guest at the mansion.

Almost immediately, a media-fanned “mystery” suggested that the 32-year-old Zahau  may have been murdered.

But investigators said that it is not unknown for suicide victims to tie their hands and feet to avoid having second thoughts about dying.

The Sheriff's Department delayed making its determination until forensic tests were completed and interviews done to assess Zahau's mental state. Shacknai, his brother and his ex-wife were interviewed.

Two days before Zahau’s death, Max Shacknai suffered what proved to be a fatal fall when he tumbled down the staircase inside the Ocean Boulevard mansion.

The home was built in 1908 by John D. Spreckels, a major business and philanthropic figure in San Diego in the first third of the past century.
Jonah Shacknai , 54, was not at home when Zahau’s body was found by his brother. Shacknai and his ex-wife, Dina, were keeping a vigil at their son’s bedside.

Max Shacknai died July 17 at Rady Children’s Hospital, a week after the fall. He had never regained consciousness. His organs were donated for transplant.
“His loving, kind and vibrant spirit will forever be in our hearts and those whom he touched every day,” Shacknai said in an email announcing his son’s death.

Shacknai is chairman and chief executive of the firm he founded, Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp., based in Scottsdale, Ariz., a leader in skin care and beauty aid products. He is active in charitable organizations, including funding the Whispering Hope Ranch Foundation, which pairs special-needs children with abused, abandoned or injured animals.

Zahau, whose married name was Rebecca Nalepa, was an ophthalmic technician in the Phoenix area before quitting her job to spend more time with Shacknai and his children. After a divorce, she took back her maiden name.
Shacknai, twice divorced, lives most of the year in the affluent community of Paradise Valley, Ariz., to be near his business. The Coronado house was considered a summer home.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/09/spreckels-mansion-sheriff.html