What Happened to Mollie Tibbetts?

Two weeks ago, pretty college student Mollie Tibbetts disappeared. She lived in Brooklyn, Iowa and was a student at the University of Iowa. It was late in the day of July 18 when she announced she was going for a run. She hasn't been seen since.
Pretty young women are often taken by the lowest scum in the human race, monsters who abduct, rape and then murder their victims.  Sometimes not even the body is found, causing the family years of grief and torment, wondering what happened and whether their loved one could still be alive.

There is always the chance that Mollie was taken prisoner, like the three women held as sex slaves in Detroit, who were finally freed in 2016.  There is always hope.

However, I feel that the chances are greater that Mollie Tibbetts is dead.  That's the usual ending to sad stories like this.  The best that we can probably hope for is that the perpetrator will be found and the body recovered, to give closure to her family.

Read about it here.

Oprah Winfrey Says #Trayvon Martin's Demise "Same Thing" as Emmett Till.

Emmett Till was a 14 year old black teenager who was brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955.  The two white men who did it were acquitted, but later admitted the crime.  In those days, in certain places, black people could not get justice with any regularity.  The two perpetrators should have gone to the electric chair, but instead they walked.

This is racism in its original meaning -- an irrational hatred for any and all members of a particular race, to the point of torturing and murdering one of them.  It is not the moral equivalent of shooting a member of that race while they are physically attacking you with the intent of doing great bodily harm -- as in the George Zimmerman - Trayvon Martin case.

However, some people cannot make the distinction -- and I would surmise that "some people" includes the majority of black Americans.  Take fabulously wealthy and successful Oprah Winfrey, for example.  She can't see any difference between the murder of Emmett Till and the regrettable but justifiable homicide of Trayvon Martin.  She said yesterday:

"Trayvon Martin parallel to Emmett Till. Let me just tell you: In my mind, [they’re] same thing," she said. "But you can get stuck in that and not allow yourself to move forward and to see how far we’ve come."

Oprah, dear, if in your mind the two cases are identical, then you don't have a mind -- or much of one, anyway.

Crazy Old Coot Murders Black Teenager For No Reason

Murderous Old Coot John Spooner

There's a big difference when a white man shoots and kills a black teenager without any provocation:  We non-black folks recognize murder when we see it, and do not view the crime through a racial lens.  Personally, I hope they strap this asshole to a gurney and start the drip, sometime soon.

A 76 year-old white coot did the deed, shooting and killing a 13 year old boy who was gathering the trash bins in front of his house.  John Spooner, 76, confronted the boy and accused him of burglarizing his home.  He demanded to know what the boy had done with the shotguns he had allegedly stolen from Spooner's house in Milwaukee.  The boy denied anything to do with the theft, but Spooner then executed the boy with a shot to the chest.  The boy died, cradled in his mother's arms, after she rushed to his side.

Spooner was convicted of the murder; in fact, he admits to killing the boy, claims it was "justice, not murder."  Spooner's own surveillance camera filmed the murder, providing absolute proof of his guilt.

Now there's the difference between the black population and the rest of us.  The former wouldn't care a damn if a black man shot a white kid -- in fact, black on white murder is fairly common.  But we non-blacks care about an innocent kid being killed, no matter what his color.  We are able to recognize right from wrong, justice from injustice.  Unlike most blacks, we do not determine guilt or innocence by skin color.  

Having said that, let me assure the black population that you are NOT going to murder George Zimmerman, or frame him in any future trial, and you are not going to beat up, rob or murder random whites or Hispanics as "pay back" for Trayvon Martin, who quite frankly earned the bullet that killed him (and I say that with no joy in that awful truth, as I deeply regret Trayvon's waste of his own life).  You are not going to perpetrate these injustices, not without incurring repercussions.

What goes around comes around.  Continuing show trials of Zimmerman, and continuing black on white/Hispanic racism and crime will not be tolerated.  We are sick of the hypocrisy and double standards.

Famous Crime Cases, Murder, Evidence and Who-Dunnits

I saw my last tax client of the season last night at 8 PM.  He owed.  Told him he was underwithheld.

I left the office shortly after 9 PM and went home, had a cigar and read some more from my latest book interest, one by John Douglas, a famous FBI profiler and expert on crime scene investigation and murder.  Last week I read his latest book, "Law and Disorder," where he analyzes several recent murder cases and gives his opinion on the guilt or innocence of  those convicted of the crimes:  the West Memphis Three:  completely innocent, though they spent 20 years in prison, one of them, the alleged ringleader, on death row. They were recently released.  Others for whom the evidence indicates innocence are Cameron Todd Willingham, executed in Texas for arson and the death of his three children, and Amanda Knox.

I am now reading his book on famous crimes and the evidence for and against the suspects, e.g., Jack the Ripper, Lizzie Borden, Bruno Richard Hauptmann, executed in 1936 for the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby.  The evidence against Lizzie Borden, accused of hacking her parents to death in 1892, is compelling.  Though she was acquitted of the murder, she is the only person who had motive and opportunity to do the crime.  The jury refused to convict in the absence of any direct evidence, and I cannot disagree with their decision.  Her guilt was not established beyond a reasonable doubt.

The evidence against Hauptmann appears overwhelming, but there are still those who argue for his innocence all these years later.  Personally, I believe he was guilty as sin and deserving of his fate.  There was much direct evidence against him.   Douglas believes that Hauptmann was guilty, but had to have been assisted in the planning and carrying out of the crime.  Douglas would not have applied the death penalty.  I disagree.

However, whether you agree or disagree, Douglas's analysis of the facts and evidence of famous cases gives the reader much greater insight into these cases, even though it is impossible to draw any conclusions with certainty so many years later.  Now I am going to get another cup of coffee and read Douglas's dissection of the Zodiac murders in San Francisco during the 1970's.

#TeamDorner: Chris Dorner Still Smiling After Confrontation With L.A. Police! (Photoshop)

Remember Chris Dorner, the former L.A. policeman who murdered four people, including two law enforcement officers, out of spite?

Los Angeles Police tracked him to a cabin in Big Bear Lake, a resort area, where they (accidentally) set fire to the cabin where Dorner had holed up.  Dorner would not surrender and so burned to death in the cabin.

Yes, that's old news now, but there is a positive update!  Chris Dorner was interviewed while still in the burning cabin.  His only comments were "pop, pop, crackle, crackle" (or was that the sound of the flames flickering over his charred corpse?)

In any case, here's a photo of Dorner's final appearance in the news, still smiling after his ordeal!

"In Cold Blood" Killers' Bodies Exhumed

Richard Hickock (L) and Perry Smith (R)

The skeletal remains of two famous criminals were exhumed yesterday in an effort to solve another murder case.  The bodies were those of Richard Hickcock and Perry Smith, murderers of the Clutter family in 1959 and subjects of the Truman Capote book, "In Cold Blood."

In February of 2009 I wrote about the famous murder case described in Truman Capote's 1966 book, "In Cold Blood."  That famous crime involved the murder of a family of four in Holcomb, Kansas, the Clutter family.  Two recently released petty criminals, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, invaded the family's rural home in the middle of the night on November 15, 1959.  The criminals had heard from a fellow inmate that Herb Clutter, owner of the ranch and house, had a safe in his office stuffed with cash.  It was bad information; there was no safe and very little cash.  So Smith and Hickock tied up the family of four and executed them one by one, with shotgun blasts to the head.  The victims were Herb Clutter, 48; Bonnie Clutter, 45; Nancy, 16; and Kenyon, 15.  My post, along with links to pictures and videos, can be viewed here.

Smith and Hickock were on the run for the next six weeks, and spent some time in Sarasota County, Florida.  During their stay there, another family was murdered: Cliff and Christine Walker and their two young children on Dec. 19, 1959, in their home in Osprey.  Christine was beaten and raped.  All four members of the family were murdered, the youngest child by drowning in the bathtub.  The crime was never solved, and police have long speculated that it was Perry Smith and Richard Hickock who were the perpetrators.

Smith and Hickcock were arrested in Las Vegas for the Clutter murders on December 30, 1959.  They were tried, convicted and, on April 14, 1965, hanged.  Their bodies were buried in Mt. Muncie Cemetery in Lansing, Kansas (See here and here).

The exhumation of Smith's and Hickock's skeletal remains yesterday was to obtain DNA samples to match to semen taken from Christine Walker's underwear.  The only purpose of the investigation is to provide closure to the family of Cliff and Christine Walker, since the potential perpetrators are already dead.

In 1967, a movie of "In Cold Blood" was made, based on Capote's non-fiction novel, and many of the scenes were eerily filmed in the same places where the actual events unfolded:  the Clutter's house, the Kansas courtroom.  Robert Blake played Perry Smith, and his physical resemblance to Smith gives an added realism to the film.  Scott Wilson played the role of Richard Hickcock.

During the exhumation, bone fragments were taken from each grave to use as a source for DNA.  Each body was then re-interred.  Read more about it here.

If you want to know more about this famous case, I recommend the 1967 film "In Cold Blood," as well as Truman Capote's excellent non-fiction novel of the same name.

Update:  The DNA from the two bodies was not a match to the Walker murders.  See follow up article here.

Evil Rules - How Can We Fight It?

A worthless creep murders 26 people at an elementary school. Two courageous and heroic women give their lives to save children. Once again we are outraged by unspeakable evil while simultaneously revering the heroes who died trying to stop it.

I really don't know what to say. All we can do is oppose evil with whatever tools we have and never surrender to it.

Cultural Differences Ended Marriage: Woman Cooked and Ate Husband

Be careful when entering an intercultural marriage.  Some cultures are quite compatible with one another:  my wife is Filipina, I am just a common white boy.  Our cultures are quite compatible:  she nags me constantly, makes me take out the garbage and gripes about crumbs I leave on the kitchen counter.  This is largely the same script common-culture marriages follow in the United States.

However, one poor schmuck married an Egyptian woman who turned out to be a cannibal.  After an argument, she stabbed him in the neck with a pair of scissors.  Other cultural and dietary differences were cited by the police:

Authorities said she tied up her husband of less than a month, killed him and decapitated, dismembered and disemboweled the body over the course of the Thanksgiving weekend, churning his parts through a garbage disposal that neighbors said ran nonstop in the hours after the murder.

Authorities found some of Nelson's body parts stuffed in garbage bags and mixed with leftover turkey, including a bag containing his entrails on the front floor of William's Corvette. They found "an abattoir" - a slaughterhouse - in the couple's Costa Mesa home, with blood pools on the floor, blood-stained sheets and walls, and no evidence of rape.

The man's hands had been fried in oil and his head boiled and stuffed in freezer, said Randy Pawlowski, a senior deputy district attorney in Orange County who prosecuted the case and argued against her release. His lower body and torso were skinned. Nelson sought help from two different friends, Pawlowski said, to try to remove her husband's teeth and dispose of his remains to cover her tracks - one of them alerted police.

The poor widow is now serving a 25-years-to-life sentence in California, where, surprisingly and shockingly, she was denied parole.  Too bad.  It is rumored that she has some new recipes to try out.

Read it all here.

SHOCKING VIDEO: Man Fires Gun at Florida School Board Meeting

In Florida yesterday, a 56 year old man, upset because his wife was fired by the school district, appears before the School Board with a loaded pistol. One brave woman sneaks up behind the man and attempts to disarm him by grabbing his gun, but fails in the attempt.

After talking for a while, the man aims his gun at the Chairman and opens fire, then fires at other board members as they duck beneath their desks. After being wounded by a security guard, the man shoots himself and ends his life.


Via Fox News

Going Postal: Professor Kills Three at University of Alabama-Huntsville

Some people just don't deal well with rejection.

A professor at the University of Alabama - Huntsville allegedly shot three faculty members dead today.  Apparently, Dr. Amy Bishop was upset at being denied tenure, so fatally shot three faculty members at a meeting.

A few months ago, an engineer in Silicon Valley was let go from his job.  He asked for a meeting with the CEO, the VP of Operations, and the HR Manager.  He then pulled out a pistol and killed all three.  I assume he didn't think it through before deciding on this resolution to his problem.

A few years ago, another high tech worker in Silicon Valley was obsessed with a pretty co-worker, but she wasn't interested in him.  He came on strong, writing her notes and bringing her gifts.  He broke into her apartment while she was out of town and went through her things.  Finally, he was fired for stalking her.  Soon thereafter, he returned to his former workplace with a rifle and several pistols and opened fire on anyone and everyone, killing people in offices, hallways and cubicles.  After many hours, he finally surrendered to police and is now on death row.

Some people have a self-destruct button.  Like human land mines, they walk among us undetected and unnoticed, until the day they explode.  Cho, the student at Virginia Tech who killed 32 people, is a prime example.  Harris and Klebold, the losers who killed 13 people at Columbine High, are two more.

Going postal isn't the answer, but strong emotions can overrule rational thought, especially if the perpetrator has a brain chemistry imbalance.  Many people do and don't even know it.

Rejection and failure are a part of life.  We all fail or are rejected at one time or another.  In this economy, tens of thousands of people have lost jobs, homes and pension funds.  Years of work go up in smoke and they have to start all over again.  Take heart:  you are not alone.  If others can find a way to survive, so can you.

Someone wise once noted that success in life isn't decided by how many times you fall, but by how many times you get back up.  Of course, that's hard to do if someone decides to shoot you.

The Murder of Annie Le: Was Rape the Motive?

Ray Clark, the accused killer of Yale graduate student Annie Le (right, with her fiance), has been charged with "Felony Murder" in the death of Yale student Annie Le. This is in addition to the original charge of "Murder." ABC News explains:

A new charge of felony murder was filed today against accused Yale killer Ray Clark, indicating the homicide of graduate student Annie Le during the commission of another crime.

The new charge was revealed when Clark was arraigned in a Connecticut courtroom where he pleaded not guilty to both the original murder charge and the new charge of felony murder.

Felony murder is defined under Connecticut state law as a homicide that occurs during a felony offense, such as rape or kidnapping. Under the law, prosecutors do not have to prove that a killing was intentional.The court would not release the details of what prompted this second charge, saying that it would be prejudicial to the defendant.  However, one might reasonably surmise that the charge was based on rape.  This is especially true since a former girlfriend of Clark's stated that he raped her but she chose not to prosecute.

Read it all here.

Amanda Knox conviction questioned

Senator Maria Cantwell, D-WA, has taken up the cause of Amanda Knox, a 22 year old American college student who was convicted of murder by an Italian court.  Senator Cantwell is quoted by CNN:

"The prosecution did not present enough evidence for an impartial jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms. Knox was guilty," Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat, said in a written statement. "Italian jurors were not sequestered and were allowed to view highly negative news coverage about Ms. Knox.

"Other flaws in the Italian justice system on display in this case included the harsh treatment of Ms. Knox following her arrest; negligent handling of evidence by investigators; and pending charges of misconduct against one of the prosecutors stemming from another murder trial," Cantwell said.

CNN shows just how confusing the case is.  Even though there was no motive or physical evidence tying Knox to the crime, there are other aspects of her behavior that have produced a lot of speculation.

Speculation, however, should not replace hard evidence when convicting someone to a 26 year prison sentence.  The jury seemed to have the attitude that "she might have had something to do with it, so let's convict her just to be safe."

The family of Amanda Knox will appear on Larry King Live tonight to discuss Amanda's trial and conviction. It should be interesting.

Update:  Since I posted this, I have come to believe that Amanda Knox and Raffael Sollecito are innocent of the crime.  See Injustice in Perugia, a site detailing the wrongful conviction of Amanda Knox and Raffael Sollecito.

Doubts Grow as to Fairness of the Amanda Knox Conviction

The short version of this post:
Why Amanda Knox did not get a fair trial:

1.  Overly aggressive and intimidating interrogation procedures, including physical abuse of Knox.

2.  No evidence whatsoever connecting Knox to the crime scene.

3.  No credible motive whatsoever has been described.  The wild sex game theory of the prosecution was merely a fantasy.  Before that, they claimed it was a "satanic ritual" that killed Kercher.

4.  Pollution of the jury pool -- the jury was not sequestered and were allowed to read sensationalist tabloids and watch TV shows demonizing Knox, which put forth all kinds of bizarre theories of how and why Knox murdered Kercher.

5.  Improper trial procedures -- Hearsay and personal opinions of witnesses were allowed in testimony and considered by the jury.  None of this would have been allowed in an American court.

6.  The prosecutor was a man who was, at the time of the trial, under indictment for prosecutorial crimes and irregularities, and who may be soon going to jail himself.

Here's the long version for die-hard readers:

Introduction:
Last night on the television show 48 hours,  the trial of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito (for the murder of Meredith Kercher) was reviewed for fairness and propriety.  The segment made it clear that the case against Amanda Knox and Sollecito was deeply flawed, and the trial tainted by improprieties.

This week an Italian court found both Knox and Sollecito guilty of Knox's murder. However, the evidence against them appears very weak.

The real killer who had an actual motive:  rape
An earlier suspect, Rudy Guede, opted for a fast track trial, was convicted and sentenced to 30 years.  The evidence against Guede was strong.  Guede's semen was found in Kercher, as well as one of his bloody hand prints on a cushion in the room.  His fingerprints were all over the room.

Guede was described as a "thief who carried a knife," and who had brandished that knife at others on occasion.  Rudy Guede showed consciousness of guilt by fleeing to Germany to avoid prosecution (he was later extradited back to Italy).  During initial questioning, Guede stated that he had consensual sex with Kercher on the fatal night, and that someone came into the room and stabbed Kercher while Guede was in the bathroom.  It was a transparent lie, as Kercher had bruises, scratches and cuts all over her body, indicating that she actively resisted the assault.  All of that went on while Guede was in the bathroom?  Absurd.

Guede initially stated and restated that Knox was not present the night of the murder.  He changed his story after intense questioning by police, then blamed the murder on Knox and Sollecito, saying that they killed Kercher in an argument over money.  It is obvious that Guede was merely interested in directing the blame away from himself.

No physical evidence exists that points to Knox or Sollecito
An almost complete lack of physical evidence tying Knox and Sollecito to the crime scene makes Guede's  explanation unbelievable.  The one and only bit of evidence is Sollecito's trace DNA on a bra fastener that belonged to Kercher.  However, the bra fastener lay on the floor of Kercher's apartment for six weeks before it was found, and then it was passed around and fingered by several investigators at the scene.  The trace DNA could easily have been contamination picked up from other areas of the house.

Guede's fingerprints were present throughout Kercher's room, but not a single fingerprint was found belonging to Knox or Sollecito.  Defense lawyers point out that it would have been impossible for Knox and Sollecito to wipe away their own fingerprints without disturbing those of Guede (and this while they were high on pot?).  This is strong evidence that neither Knox nor Sollecito were in Kercher's room the night of her murder.

Some traces of Knox's DNA were found on the handle of a knife presented into evidence by the prosecution.  However, the knife was a kitchen knife found in a kitchen drawer in Sollecito's apartment -- it was not found at the crime scene.  Knox's DNA was found on the handle of the knife, indicating nothing more than that she had used it for food preparation. Testing the knife for the presence of Kercher's DNA was "inconclusive," meaning none was found.  Further, bloody knife prints on Kercher's sheets do not match those of the kitchen knife.  The kitchen knife should never have been allowed into evidence.  It was clearly not the murder weapon.

No motive for Knox or Sollecito to kill Kercher
The police's belief that Kercher had been killed in a rough sex game is strictly a fanciful theory.  There is no evidence to support it.  Without it, however, the police had no credible theory of anything resembling a motive.  Indeed, neither Knox nor Sollecito had any reason to murder Kercher.  No credible motive has ever been established.

Prosecutorial irregularities cast doubt
The one potentially troubling aspect of the case for Knox is that she gave conflicting statements about whether she was in the house the night of the murder.  She initially stated that she was not in the house, but spent the night with Sollecito in his apartment.  Later, she signed a statement that she was in the house with her boss and Kercher the night of the murder, and that the boss, Patrik Lumumba, murdered Kercher.  Lumumba, however, had an airtight alibi.  Knox signed this statement, which was written by the prosecution, after 14 hours of grueling interrogation, and after one of the investigators had slapped her in the back of the head several times "to help her remember."

Knox later retracted this statement, saying that it had been made under duress.  The Italian system is not the American system, and an author, Douglas Preston, has written a book, the Monster of Florence, which details the Italian system as rife with corruption, coerced statements, lawyer vendettas, forced confessions, planted evidence and other illegal methods.  Preston was in Italy researching a series of serial murders there for a book he was writing on the subject.

Because Preston was writing a book about the serial killings, this same prosecutor, Giuliano Mignini, suspected Preston was somehow connected with the crimes. Mignini aggressively interrogated Preston and accused him of crimes. When Preston asked Mignini how he had arrived at such theories, Mignini answered that "these are not theories, but facts." Mignini appears to quickly develop fantasy scenarios which he believes are true and then proceeds to act on them. Preston was released after a few hours, but was terrified by the experience and immediately fled Italy.

The prosecutor Mignini, who tried Knox and Sollecito, is himself under indictment and will stand trial for criminal behavior such as bugging defense lawyers and other prosecutorial crimes. This fact corroborates Preston's description of the Italian system.

Conclusions:
After viewing the evidence, I have changed my mind about the trial.  It was clearly a travesty.  Neither Amanda Knox nor Rafaele Sollecito should have been found guilty.  The verdict should be overturned on appeal and both of them released.  This court verdict stinks to high heaven.


References:  
Watch the 48 Hour segment here.  It is eye-opening.

Also, see this article from the U.K. Guardian.

Update:  See a new site Injustice in Perugia, a site detailing the wrongful conviction of Amanda Knox and Raffael Sollecito.

Amanda Knox/Meredith Kercher: Rare Video of Crime Scene

Here is a rare video of the Meredith Kercher murder crime scene, complete with blood and body as Italian police collect evidence.



Update:  Since I posted this, I have come to believe that Amanda Knox and Raffael Sollecito are innocent of the crime.  See Injustice in Perugia, a site detailing the wrongful conviction of Amanda Knox and Raffael Sollecito.

Maurice Clemmons Accomplice Held Without Bail

Darcus Allen, 38, helped Maurice Clemmons in his murder of four Lakewood Police officers last Sunday.

Allen drove Clemmons to the scene and waited for him while Clemmons murdered the officers.  When Clemmons returned, bleeding with a bullet in his torso, Allen drove him away from the scene. Allen and others later assisted Clemmons to elude capture for two days.

Now Darcus Allen is in jail and may be charged with being an accomplice to murder.  If he is, he will be subject to the same penalty as the man who pulled the trigger:  life imprisonment or execution.

Allen is being held without bail.  He has pleaded innocent to the charges against him.

Read all about it here.

Washington Cop Killings: Photos from the Associated Press

The UK Daily Mail Online has some excellent photos of the crime scene and related photos.   You can view these photographs here.

Hat tip:  Atlas Shrugs

Cop Killer Suspect is Shot, Still at Large in Seattle

News reports indicate the killer of four cops in Tacoma yesterday may have been wounded before he left Forza's coffee shop.  It is reported that two of the officers were shot in the head before they could react; one got to his feet but was shot before he could pull his gun; and the fourth struggled with the perp and got a shot off before being killed.  This scenario has not been confirmed and rumor sometimes passes for news before all facts are known.  I hope that one of the cops shot the SOB, however. 

Maurice Clemmons, the suspect in the case, continues to evade capture.  Clemmons is looking more and more guilty of the crime, an impression heightened by his flight from the police.  Earlier, ABC had a report that friends of Clemmons kept him overnight after the shooting, and told police that Clemmons had been gut shot.  If true, that would confirm the report that one of the cops got off a shot off before being killed. ABC seems to have withdrawn the story so I can't link to it.  

Earlier today cops surrounded a house in Seattle where Clemmons was thought to be holed up, but later found he was not there.  Police reported that there is evidence that Clemmons was there earlier, and that he had been shot.  The UK Times Online gives greater details and says Clemmons may be dead from his gunshot wound.

Clemmons flight from the police indicates he is conscious of his guilt.  Meanwhile, the reward for information leading to his capture has been raised to $125,000.

Since Mike Huckabee commuted this criminal's prison sentence and released him from jail, Huckabee's political career would appear to be over.  Huckabee, however, has never been my choice for the Republican nomination.  One more RINO shoots himself in the foot -- and good riddance.  It's a shame that four innocent cops had to pay for Huckabee's misplaced "compassion."

Four Slain Police Officers Identified (Photos)

The officers are, left to right: Mark Renninger,39; Tina Griswold, 40;  Ronald Owen, 37, and Greg Richards, 42.  Click on each of the names to read details of the officer's service and life.

Per The Other McCain, a benevolent fund has been set up for the families of the slain officers.  You can donate to the fund at this address:

Lakewood Police Benevolent Fund
PO Box 99579
Lakewood, WA 98499

Ex-Con Maurice Clemmons Sought for Questioning in Murders of Lakewood Police Officers

Maurice Clemmons has a long criminal record in both Arkansas and Washington state and was released on bail just six days ago.  He lives and works in Tacoma, Washington, the city where four police officers were slain this morning.

Clemmons's history is one of an erratic, unpredictable criminal with a slippery grasp on reality.   One of the most startling aspects of his record is that he was serving a 60 year prison term in Arkansas, but had his sentence commuted by then Governor Mike Huckabee.  During the last presidential primaries, Huckabee's detractors pointed him out as a liberal Republican; this would tend to confirm that impression.

The Seattle Times says this about Clemmons:

Although Clemmons was judged competent to stand trial in Washington after a mental evaluation, he has a long history of mentally suspect behavior. A sheriff's report uncovered by KOMO, Clemmons' sister told police,

Maurice is not in his right mind and did not know how he could react when contacted by Law Enforcement...She stated that he was saying that the secret service was coming to get him because he had written a letter to the President. She stated his behavior has become unpredictable and erratic. She suspects he is having a mental breakdown.

Clemmons is 5'8", 235 lbs, with black hair, brown eyes, and a mole on his left cheek. He is considered extremely dangerous. Again, if you have any information about his whereabouts, please call the Sheriff's Department Tip Line, 1-866-977-2362.

Read the Seattle Times story here.

It is to be noted that Maurice Clemmons is only a person of interest in this case, he is not a suspect (yet).  Update:  Clemmons is now wanted for murder and is officially a suspect in the case.  A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Annie Le and Jonathan Widawsky: A Photo and My Thoughts

The story of Annie Le, the Yale grad student who was murdered September 8, is a sad one. She was to be married to Columbia grad student Jonathan Widawsky on September 13. That date was to have been a very special one in her life. Ironically, it was the date police found her body hidden in a basement laboratory at Yale University.

Annie was, in many ways, similar to my own wife. Annie was 4' 11", the same height as my wife, Asian like my wife, and weighed only 90 pounds, the same weight as my wife when we were married. (Mrs. Chomper has since gained a little, to a whopping 110 pounds.)

Annie was a very lovely young woman with great promise. I can only imagine how terrible this is for her family, her friends and her fiancé.

The evidence against Raymond Clark, a lab technician, appears solid. Swipe cards for restricted entrance are a key control in businesses and universities.  They are plastic cards with magnetic coding that are passed in front of an electronic reader.  The system will unlock the door only for authorized personnel.  Entries and exits to buildings and rooms are monitored and recorded in the computer system, with the individuals specifically identified as well as the exact date and time of entry and exit. Clark's swipe card records show that he entered the room where Annie was working, but there is no record of Annie ever leaving that room. These records confirm that Clark was the last person to see Annie alive.

An hour after Annie entered the lab, swipe card records show Clark wandering the building from room to room in a haphazard fashion, even to areas where he didn't work. Finally, DNA evidence showed that Annie's blood was on Clark's shoes, and her hair and DNA on his clothes.

Clark is innocent until proven guilty but the case, at this stage anyway, appears open and shut. Clark may very well have ended Annie Le's life, but if so he also has ended his own. Because life behind bars isn't much of a life.

Photo:  Annie Le and Jonathan Widawsky.  The original picture (#4 of 28) was too light and faded.  I used Photoshop techniques to sharpen and darken the photo.

Related news stories:
1. DNA and other evidence against Raymond Clark
2.  Scratches found on Raymond Clark's chest, back and arms

Update:  Annie will be laid to rest in Green Valley Cemetery in Rescue, California on Saturday, September 26.  Her funeral will be a private family ceremony.

You can sign her online guestbook at this link.