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Below are links to my prior entries about Lisa Irwin:
There are some new developments in the missing baby Lisa Irwin case, and none of them seem to point in the same direction.
A police affidavit, released on Friday, stated that a cadaver dog hit on a scent of human decomposition inside the Irwin family home.
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| Steven Hayes, 48 (left) and Joshua Komisarjevsky, 31 (right) |
Anyone who knows me pretty much knows that I am not a death penalty supporter. I followed the Casey Anthony trial, and although I did want her to be found guilty, there was something about sentencing her to death that just didn’t sit right with me. I felt the same way about the Scott Peterson trial, believe it or not. Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes are different stories, however, and I can’t help but think that no one is more deserving of the death penalty than these two.
On July 23, 2007, Komisarjevsky and Hayes broke into the Petit family home in Cheshire, Connecticut during the early morning hours. Inside the home, fast asleep, were Dr. William A. Petit, Jr., a well-known endocrinologist, his 48-year-old wife Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and their two daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11. The day before, Komisarjevsky had spotted Jennifer shopping at a local grocery store, and, unbeknownst to her, had followed her home.
Once inside, Komisarjevsky and Hayes severely beat Dr. Petit, tied up the daughters in separate rooms, and forced Jennifer to go with them to the bank to withdraw $15,000. While at the bank, Jennifer told the bank teller that her family was being held hostage at their home and to please send help right away. The teller was able to call police, but it wasn’t in time. The teller would later testify in court that Jennifer had sounded ‘petrified.’
As soon as they arrived back at the house, Komsarjevsky and Hayes raped and strangled Jennifer, sexually assaulted one of the daughters, and then set the house on fire. Dr. Petit managed to escape and made it to a neighbor’s house to call for help, but it was too late for the rest of his family. His wife and two daughters died in the fire.
Komasarjevsky and Hayes were apprehended as they were fleeing the scene by the arriving police officers.
Hayes went to trial last year, was convicted, and was sentenced to death. Komisarjevsky’s trial concluded Thursday, ending with a conviction on 17charges which included capital felony killing, sexual assault, kidnapping, and arson. Sentencing is scheduled to begin on October 24.
Dr. Petit was brave enough to re-live the nightmare over and over again, testifying at both trials. Hopefully he can find some sort of closure now that this is all over.
To read more about this case, below are some great articles. This has saddened me on so many levels, and it just goes to show you that you are never truly safe, even in your own home.
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| Photo from the search site courtesy of KMBC.com |
Click here for my original entry about Lisa Irwin…
The massive search for 10-month-old baby Lisa Irwin is continuing today, with investigators at the scene of an abandoned house about a half-mile from the Irwin home. A well was discovered underneath the deck in the backyard of the home, and the Kansas City Fire Department is on scene to assist in accessing the well.
It is not yet known what has brought investigators to this location, but I am absolutely on edge today, hoping they aren’t going to find this little baby in the well.
I have to say that KMBC, the local Kansas City news station, is doing a fantastic job covering this story. There is an excellent live blog that they are updating continuously throughout the day. Click here to see live updates, as well as a streaming news feed directly from the search site.
The search at the abandoned home with the well in the backyard ended up being a dead end. The well was completely drained, and the house was demolished. Police confirmed to KMBC that they had received a tip that had led them to that location, and that they will continue to follow up on all tips that come in.
Local news stations also reported that they have received Grand Jury subpoenas requesting video footage of interviews with the family, friends of the family, and neighbors. One of the requests was for this interview with Lisa’s parents. In the video, the reporter tells them that the KCPD had been searching a local landfill due to reports of a dumpster fire not far from the Irwin home. I tried to see if i could pinpoint anything that would be of particular interest to investigators, but I can’t put my finger on anything. The mere fact that they are even requesting all this footage from these news outlets suggests to me that they definitely have a suspect in mind.
Another interesting development in this case today is that the Irwin family has hired a private investigator, Bill Stanton, to assist in the search for Lisa. Word is, this guy is a publicity hound (also involved in the Natalee Holloway case), but at this point, any extra hands and a fresh viewpoint might be a good thing.
SOURCES:
http://livewire.kmbc.com/Event/Live_Blog_Amber_Alert_Issued_For_Missing_10-Month-Old
Lisa Irwin, a 10-month-old baby from Kansas City, vanished from her home sometime in the middle of the night last Monday, October 3. Lisa’s mom, Deborah Bradley, put her to bed at about 7:30 p.m., and then went to bed herself by 10:30 p.m. Lisa’s father, Jeremy Irwin, was working the late shift and when he came home at 4 a.m., he discovered the front door unlocked, most of the lights on in the house, and a window with a bent pushed in screen. When he woke up his wife to ask her why she had left the lights on and the door unlocked, they noticed that Lisa was missing.
Earlier in the night, Bradley had been transferring phone numbers from an old cell phone into a new one, and she had left the phones on the counter (there were 3 phones total, one was broken). The intruder reportedly took these phones, according to Bradley and Irwin, to prevent them from calling for help. Irwin used his work cell phone to call police. Continue reading
An Italian jury is now deliberating Amanda Knox’s appeal, and a verdict could come in at any moment. For those unfamiliar with the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, Knox’s 21-year-old flatmate, a short article summarizing the case can be found here. I wont go into too many details about the actual case, but I highly suggest reading up on it if you can.
Knox’s case has always been a controversial one. Kercher, a British exchange student, was found dead in their Perugia, Italy apartment, her throat slit. Knox, her boyfriend Rafaelle Sollecito, and a drifter named Rudy Guede, were all arrested and later convicted of Kercher’s murder. Knox is serving a 26 year sentence, while Sollecito is serving 25 years, and Guede, only 16. Knox and Sollecito were both convicted at a joint trial, and are also appealing their verdicts together.
In Italy, after being found guilty of a crime, the case is automatically sent through an appeals process, which is basically a re-trial in which reasonable doubt must be proven. Knox’s re-trial began last November, and today in court, Knox and Sollecito were both given the opportunity to plead their case to the judge and jurors.
Knox, now 24, spoke in Italian for about 10 minutes, and claimed her innocence, saying, “I did not kill, I did not rape, I did not steal. I was not present at this crime.” Sollecito also addressed the court for about 15 minutes.
There are four possible rulings that could come down today, according to In Session:
If Knox’s conviction is completely overturned, she could be on a plane back to the United States tonight.
As soon as a verdict comes in, I will post it. The verdict is due to come in by 1 p.m. CST.
Supporters of Amanda Knox have started a web site for her, http://friendsofamanda.org/home_eng.html, which details their case for Knox’s freedom. Whether you are convinced of Knox’s innocence or guilt, it still makes for an interesting read.
Detailed entries on the appeal (day-by-day) can be found at this blog – http://amandaknoxappealforum.blogspot.com/.
UPDATE: 2:55 P.M. 10/3
Knox and Sollecito have been cleared in the murder of Meredith Kercher, and both ordered immediately released. Knox collapsed into tears and was seen sobbing as she was escorted out of the courtroom.
They could be freed within a few hours.
As for my own personal thoughts on the case, I honestly could never decide on whether or not Knox and Sollecito had anything to do with Kercher’s murder. Their actions the night of the murder, as well as in the days and weeks afterwards were always suspicious, however, I felt that there was never enough evidence to actually convict them.
The third man convicted of the killing, Rudy Guede, is still in prison. Guede was identified by police after his bloody handprint was found at the scene of the crime.
SOURCES:
– http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2044444/Amanda-Knox-latest-news-Court-hears-plea-freedom.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
– www.friendsofamanda.org
– http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/03/earlyshow/main20114646.shtml
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| Picture of Aliayah Lunsford released to the public |
The search continues today for a missing 3-year-old girl from Weston, West Virginia, who seems to have vanished into thin air. Aliayah Lunsford was last seen at her home at about 6:30 a.m. on September 24, by her mother and sister. It is being reported that Aliayah had been sick the night before, and when the mother went to go check up on her again around 9:30 a.m., she was gone. According to police, the mother then drove around looking for her, but gave up after running out of gas. Aliayah was reported missing at 11:30 a.m.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Department has taken the lead on the case and has been exhaustively searching the immediate area for any signs of the little girl. Search efforts are expected to resume again tomorrow.
Aliayah has long brown hair, brown eyes, and weighs 35 pounds. She is missing four front teeth, and was last seen wearing purple pajamas, a pink sweatshirt, and a ponytail.
Please “like” the Facebook page dedicated to the search efforts to find her – http://www.facebook.com/find.aliayah.
I will post updates as they roll in…
UPDATE: 8:45 P.M. 9/28
UPDATE #2: 6:45 P.M. 10/2
The State Journal is reporting that the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources have removed Aliayah’s two siblings from their home on Friday night. No reason was given. Aliayah’s mother, Lena Lunsford, has allegedly hired an attorney.
UPDATE #3: 10:20 A.M. 10/5
The case of missing Aliayah Lunsford took a sad turn yesterday. Investigators told the media that they now believe Aliayah was the victim of an abduction or homicide, and they have a few persons of interest.
Since I still have yet to hear law enforcement come out and tell the neighbors and surrounding communities to watch their children carefully because a child abductor may be on the loose, I am going to assume that they don’t believe that to be the case. This means they most likely believe this occurred inside the home, and a family member had something to do with it.
I’m predicting an arrest shortly…
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