Well, I don't know how calm we were, but you're welcome.
Hard to believe now that it's been three years. Remember waaaayy back when we thought there might never even be an arrest? Beside the family, my thoughts this week have been with the detectives who worked the case, and maybe a wee bit more so for the Hancock County investigators. They were so determined to bring charges on some basis (recall the proposed desecration of human remains charges?) so the two would not walk away.
In regard to Speaks' conviction, it wasn't proven that he actually delivered the death blow. As far as I know (and I did miss a day's worth of testimony, so I could be wrong) it wasn't even brought into question because 1) the DA knew it couldn't be proven; and, 2) under Louisiana law, it doesn't matter. Louisiana law, essentially, makes no distinction between principal and accomplice as pertains to murder and armed robbery. TS and MAS equally were charged with second degree homicide, and as such, both face a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole. For MAS to be convicted on those charges, a jury only has to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that MAS was a principal in the commission of the crime.
Louisiana Homicide Law
LSA-R.S. 14:29
Louisiana Homicide Law is Considered to be:
The killing of a human being by the act, procurement, or culpable omission of another.
http://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2011/rs/title14/rs14-29/
These two links provide plain English, straight forward explanations.
http://thomasvalonzo.com/blog/2011/11/principal-to-first-and-second-degree-murder/
http://reganlaw.net/criminal-defense/murder-cases-louisiana-homicide-law/
As we saw today, TS has no defense, ergo, neither does MAS. Not only that, he implicated MAS in all of his actions. According to his testimony, they were together for the duration. They went home together. They had sex together. He helped MAS to clean up after she got sick. In no way did he provide an "out" for MAS, no period of time when they were separated until the next day when he brought her to work. That was by design, imo, and he's determined that if he goes down, MAS is going with him. So what can we take from that?
"You got me so pissed I want to tell everything to the people just so you can suffer like me. I did everything to clean up the mess we made and where's the thanks...You're the one they'll fry and not me,'' Speaks said in the email filed in court records.
JMO, but if I were an "eyes for lies" type, I might interpret that statement as "the mess you got us into". Just to add, I still believe TS was out for the hustle. I can't completely dismiss the notion of a third party "customer", and money as a motive. MAS was the one who brought Jaren aboard, so to speak. And perhaps later, when JL found out the "party" involved much more than dancing, she resisted, and things got out of hand. Thus, TS blames MAS for recommending the wrong person.
Or, MAS was so messed up, that she got carried away in some bizarre fantasy, which ended JL's death. Thinking along those lines, I have to wonder if MAS intended the "little treat" for herself (the boots were part of the "Jaren scenario"). Again, TS would blame MAS for getting them into "a mess". IMO, either is a possibility, and the truth lies somewhere in between. TS was in it for the money; MAS was in it for the thrill.
Ultimately, TS and MAS might keep their secret behind bars for the rest of their natural lives, and we will never know. (Tough luck for
us -- after all, what right do
we have to know, anyway.) But for the sake of Jaren's family, I sincerely hope MAS will reveal the truth. No matter how horrific, there always is hope that one eventually can reconcile to the facts. The imagination, on the other hand, never rests.