NE NE - Jessica O'Grady, 19, Omaha, 10 May 2006

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Sioux City Journal: Chief investigator: Edwards poorly hid O'Grady murder

"I've been doing this a long time and I can tell you there was probably a large amount of blood on those walls from Jessica," Kofoed said. "The ceiling had been painted over. Most of it was gone but it was a pretty feeble, futile attempt by him..."

"There was no visible blood trail out of that bedroom whatsoever," Kofoed said. "So she was injured very severely and she never left that room..."

Edwards' sentencing has been scheduled for May 25. He faces 20 years to life in prison for the murder charge.

Lefler would not comment Saturday on the prospect of a lenient sentence in exchange for information about where O'Grady's body is...
 
Juror Speaks Of Edwards Deliberations - News Story - KETV Omaha

Juror 21, Laura Adams, sat through 11 days of jury selection and testimony and 11 hours of deliberation, along with the 11 other jurors in the Christopher Edwards murder case.

She said it has taken an emotional toll on some of them.

Adams said, "It's something I hope I never have to do ever again."

Adams said in the last two hours of deliberations, 11 jurors had decided Edwards was guilty of second-degree murder, while one was convinced of manslaughter...
 
Omaha.com Metro/Region Section

... But the mother in Adams struggled to send the 20-year-old - just a kid, she thought - to prison for what could be the rest of his life, especially since O'Grady's body hadn't been found...

Adams, a medical secretary, said she was among those who initially struggled with a murder verdict.

But by Saturday, she was convinced. About 2 p.m., the jury took a vote to see where everyone stood. It was 11-1 for murder, with one holding out for a manslaughter conviction.

After the vote, that juror asked to be left alone in the jury room, Adams said.

When the 11 jurors returned, the juror asked the others to explain why they thought Edwards had committed a murder. Edwards had tried to hide bloody evidence, they said, and he appeared to have lied about when and where he last saw O'Grady.

The remaining juror "looked at the evidence, looked down and got teary-eyed, and said, 'It's murder-two,'" Adams said...

More at link about how the jury was crying when they reached their decision, etc.
 
O'Grady's Mother Says Justice Only Half-Served - News Story - KETV Omaha

Despite a guilty verdict rendered on Saturday, the mother of Jessica O'Grady said her daughter has only received partial justice...

Shelly O'Grady said the case won't truly be over until she can properly bury her daughter...

Shelly O'Grady was convinced Edwards murdered her daughter. But before the trial, she said, she had no idea how brutal the attack was. Evidence presented by investigators was heart wrenching, the mother said.

"It is the worst thing I've ever been through," O'Grady said of the trial. "Not knowing what was coming and being slapped with some of those pictures, and the thoughts of what was going through her head. Hopefully, she was sleeping. It was draining."

Shelly O'Grady said the guilty verdict has brought her some relief, but now that she's seen the evidence, her nightmares are more graphic...
 
Omaha.com Metro/Region Section

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said Christopher Edwards should come forward and reveal the location of Jessica O'Grady's body.

But Kleine said it's too late for Edwards to curry favor with his office.

Kleine said he doesn't have the ability to dictate the judge's sentence, now that Edwards has been convicted of second-degree murder.

However, Kleine said, Edwards will have to decide whether information on O'Grady will help his cause when Judge J Russell Derr sentences him...

When asked if his client would be willing to exchange the information the family so desperately seeks, defense attorney Steve Lefler said, "I'm not stupid, I'll explore any option to help my client."

But Lefler said he won't speculate on any offer that has not been thrown their way. Then Lefler said: "It's always been our position that he did nothing to this young woman."

He said Edwards "absolutely" will appeal his conviction.

The photos introduced at the trial, Lefler said, were tough to ignore. "I sincerely wish they weren't there," he said...

(So I guess we see the beginnings of the appeals case in that statement. :rolleyes: )
 
WOWT - News

A former boyfriend of Jessica O'Grady says he'll never forget her smile. It has been more than a year since Chayse Bates has seen Jessica. Christopher Edwards was convicted last Saturday of killing her.

"I remember her smile -- that's the main thing," Chayse told us. "I remember and I'll never forget it -- beautiful smile."

Chayse and Jessica met while working at the same home improvement store and he tells us, "She was very caring and very loving. She'd do anything for anybody else before herself..."
 
Christopher Edwards Trial Jury Foreman Talks About Experience - News Story - KETV Omaha

Jury foreman Weldon Casey said it was an emotional trial...

"All of the jurors were in agreement that the DNA evidence was real and compelling," said Casey.

In spite of how hard defense lawyer Steve Lefler tried to discount it, challenging the credibility of science itself didn't go over well with the jury, said Casey.

Neither did Lefler's attempts to come up with some alternative explanations of how the blood got in Edwards' room. Casey said jurors rejected Lefler's theories of menstruation and miscarriage.

"It was groping at straws, it was throwing almost inane reasoning in front of the jury in an attempt to suggest there are other things that could have happened than what we ultimately determined did happen. It didn't help at all, " said Casey.

Casey said Edwards, effort to cover-up the blood by using the white poster paint he bought at Walgreens helped tip the scales from manslaughter to second-degree murder...
 
Thanks for updating us on this JerseyGirl. It's been so hard to read the brutal details of this case but I am glad that most of the jury followed their gut and convicted him. It is shocking to see his feeble attempts at covering up his crime. Almost sub-human :furious:

MG
 
Southwest Nebraska News - from the Republican Valley Media Group, McCook, NE

The 20th annual Nebraska Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee (LECC) Conference is being held in Kearney, Nebraska, May 16 -18, 2007, with more than 320 local, state, and federal law enforcement officials and prosecutors in attendance...

This year’s topics include: The DEA Telecommunications Center, Meth 360 program, Bullet-Proof Mind - Mental Preparation for Combat, Lessons learned from Jonesboro, Littleton and Vietnam - How Kids are Learning to Kill and Learning to Like It, Criminal Use of Commercial Explosives, Pedophilia and the On-Line Offender, and the Jessica O’Grady murder...
 
I'm curious as to what they will be talking about to do with Jessica's murder.
In just going over some of the posts I don't think I realized that the jury only deliberated for 12 hours...wow! I didn't realize either that the defense attorney did honestly throw out Jessica having her period and a miscarriage! That was really an insult to the jury to think that they would fall for that type of b.s. I think they felt insulted too.

Thank God for a jury that used their heads. A jury that listened to the evidence and made their decision based on it. Lately we have heard about some real humdinger jurys. I'm so glad that these 12 people listened to what was presented and also used common sense.

Is the defense going to appeal because the Pros showed pictures of the room and the bloody mattress? I haven't heard of a trial yet where pictures didn't come into evidence. Stupid defense attorney.
 
Utopia said:
Example of conviction without a body?
Click to expand...


They didn't have a body but they had so much evidence that it would have been impossible to believe that a murder didn't take place in that room. And then add the coverup to that and bingo...no body needed.

I still think that some of the little creeps family members should be sitting in jail too. I guess they just couldn't prove who was involved in trying to cover the whole thing up...but some them were. Hope they have nightmares :furious:
 
WOWT - News

Many viewers have asked about the original sentencing date May 25th. A scheduling conflict pushed it back to this Friday.

The sheriff plans to use this case as a call for change in the legal system...

Sheriff Tim Dunning says he is still waiting for Edwards to do the right thing.

"I just hope if there's one more last chance that Chris Edwards will come forward and tell us where the body of Jessica O'Grady is that he does that for the sake of the family. If not I hope the judge gives him the maximum sentence possible," says Dunning...

Dunning says once the sentencing of Edwards ends he and the county attorney plan to push lawmakers to pass legislation.

Dunning wants a mandatory life sentence for killers who won't reveal where their victim’s body is located...
 
JerseyGirl said:
WOWT - News

Many viewers have asked about the original sentencing date May 25th. A scheduling conflict pushed it back to this Friday.

The sheriff plans to use this case as a call for change in the legal system...

Sheriff Tim Dunning says he is still waiting for Edwards to do the right thing.

"I just hope if there's one more last chance that Chris Edwards will come forward and tell us where the body of Jessica O'Grady is that he does that for the sake of the family. If not I hope the judge gives him the maximum sentence possible," says Dunning...

Dunning says once the sentencing of Edwards ends he and the county attorney plan to push lawmakers to pass legislation.

Dunning wants a mandatory life sentence for killers who won't reveal where their victim’s body is located...
Click to expand...



Well, the sherrif might as well get ready to get that mandatory life sentence bill passed cause there is no way that little creep is going to admit that he murdered Jessica much less where her body is. I will go into major shock if he does. So he is going to be sentenced this friday? I wish they would show that on court tv but they won't. They are to wrapped up in the Duke kids and pitiful mister what's his name...Spector.
 
Edwards Faces Lifetime in Prison for O'Grady Murder - News Story - KETV Omaha

A Douglas County District Judge Friday sentenced Christopher Edwards to 80-years to life in prison for the 2006 murder of Jessica O'Grady...

Edwards also received a sentence of one-to-20 years in prison for using a weapon to commit a felony.

Under Nebraska sentencing guidelines, Edwards will not be eligible for parole until he serves 50-years in prison. Edwards will be 69-years old at that point...
 
This is wonderful news. I bet that creep wasn't so arrogant when the sentence came down. When that boy gets to the big house he is going to find out what abuse is really like. I'll bet some of those old cons in there will teach him a few lessons when they find out why he is in there and believe me.....they will know before he ever hears those door clang behind him.
 
I think Christopher Edwards was probably using Meth when he murdered Jessica. Sane people don't kill someone they way he killed her. I believe somebody else helped with getting rid of Jessica's body I have prayed every day that they'd find her remains. I still believe they will. God Bless You Jessica!!
 
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