State vs Jason Lynn Young 6-23-11

[less0305]

the unaccounted-for gas purchase would make no difference to me as a juror - he could get gas anywhere for cash

Yep, 24 hours a day anywhere. I don't put any stock whatsoever in the gas purchases. He used his credit card when he wanted to prove his whereabouts, too many other ways to obtain gas without proving your whereabouts. He's guilty as sin. He'll be found guilty I believe.

 

[cody100]

I think all attorneys did a great job today as they presented their case. It will be interesting to see the jury's take on this case. We can never predict their viewpoint.

 

[Madeleine74]

She NEVER mentioned his 3 or 4 computer searches? Big miss on that.

I give her a C+. David S. gets an A. Defense gets a B/B+. David S. had the best closing of all of them.

BH needs to be sent back to school, learn basic public speaking, and then more intensive public speaking. She has to learn how to speak without the 'umm..' 'ummmm' and to be more dramatic and elicit some emotion. She needs to learn her material backwards and forwards and not have to rely on reading from a piece of paper. When she is done speaking people should want to stand up and cheer for the closing she gave. She had some shining moments but lost focus. Her ending was pretty good.

I felt like cheering when David S. was done. With BH I was feeling sorry that the jurors had to wait until nearly 2pm for lunch. Blood sugar anyone? Couldn't they have gotten the jury some Powerbars at their 11:15am break to tide them over???

 

[cody100]

I agree. DS was in Durham and acted as DA for a while after the lacrosse case. He was highly regarded there, but if I am not mistaken he did not want to stay there. He is a nice addition to CW's staff.

 

[Madeleine74]

Oh, and GUILTY.

That SOB planned it and executed it, and I personally believe he acted alone.

I'm not buying anything he's trying to sell. There aren't hip waders tall enough to wade through that amount of horse manure.

 

[borndem]

Surely the investigators ran the numbers for gas mileage!

They not only ran the numbers, Traveler, they drove the routes he took -- more than once. That was done early in the investigation -- the detectives had to go up to the HI anyway to gather evidence and to speak with the HI employees, and then to interview the woman at the hospital where JY did his presentation, and then eventually back to Raleigh, etc., so yes, they knew the mileage particulars pretty well.

 

[JiminWilton]

Actually, that is a bit misleading. The defense said he got lost, but knew exactly how many miles he drove around lost to get to 19.5 mpg?

Defense used 20 miles at the "lost" mileage. As I remember, we're talking around 380 miles and 20 gallons each stop. The telling point was, if, as the State alleges, JY purchased ~6 gallons at King, he would have needed to average 38 mpg to make his next fuel stop.

Yes, I know that the confirmation biased crowd on here has offered numerous explanations as to how he could have gotten more gas, including one original thought that he siphoned gasoline from Michelle's car, but without proof of additional purchase, the numbers just don't add up.

And the State suggest "he could have" is just crummy.

Were I to be serving on this jury, the closing arguments of the prosecution were so out of bounds (no evidence of robbery when the correct turn was burglary) and repetitive and treating me like a child, and...um....with regard to the delivery, I'd hang the jury and give them another bite at the apple. But then, I'm a known, admitted curmudgeon.

 

[borndem]

If I counted right ....attorney said 3 times Jason got lost.He's figuring that into the mileage. Throws off his math, IMO.

Yes, glee -- there's no reason for him to add mileage for JY getting lost, because he didn't -- he was just running a bit late due to unplanned time spent in Raleigh to tidy up.

 

[RaleighNC]

I would have liked to see a closing argument that starts with "why can't people just get divorced?" Every single person here (and on that jury) has thought this exact thought and I suspect you'd get some immediate credibilty with the jury- making the rest of your closing plausible.

And then - talk about the fact that is was apparent he did not want to be married - I mean really - who says they are working on their marriage and sleeping with 3 (?) other women? Can calling one of them 30 plus times A DAY????

and all the wacky coincidences....

and that every criminal makes mistakes - like cussing out the gas station clerk, or using the meds he used to sell to drug his daughter, or not asking HOW she died or WHAT happened? WHO DOES THAT?

I'll tell you who - someone who already knows.

 

[jilly]

I would have liked to see a closing argument that starts with "why can't people just get divorced?" Every single person here (and on that jury) has thought this exact thought and I suspect you'd get some immediate credibilty with the jury- making the rest of your closing plausible.

And then - talk about the fact that is was apparent he did not want to be married - I mean really - who says they are working on their marriage and sleeping with 3 (?) other women? Can calling one of them 30 plus times A DAY????

and all the wacky coincidences....

and that every criminal makes mistakes - like cussing out the gas station clerk, or using the meds he used to sell to drug his daughter, or not asking HOW she died or WHAT happened? WHO DOES THAT?

I'll tell you who - someone who already knows.

I think Becky addressed all of the above.

 

[Madeleine74]

At least BH reminded the jurors what JLY said about how it would be more difficult to be divorced from MY than.... (he said staying married, but I believe he was thinking, 'just killing her and being done with it/her.')

 

[borndem]

I think the statements about the hotel clerk placing receipts and newspapers under/on the door is compelling. If the door was not latched, and he hung a USA Today on the handle, it seems it would have jarred the door. That was a good one on behalf of the defense IMO.

I'm not so sure -- the paper hanger was prolly in a rush to get that done & prolly did not notice. In hotels where I have stayed, there is plenty of room under the door to scoot a single sheet of paper, or one in an envelope w/o touching the door. These 2 items are insignificant IMO. Who knoze??

 

[Madeleine74]

David S. covered all the coinky dinks...

- what kind of robber or random perp would not actually steal money? Valuables? A wallet left in a purse right out in the open? Just take a wedding ring off the finger of the victim and take 2 entire drawers from a jewelry box? (staged).

- What kind of robber or random perp would overkill a pregnant woman if the intent was robbery? (the intent of that crime was murder, not robbery).

- What kind of robber or random perp would take care of the 2 yr old (leave her alive), give her adult medicine and tuck her back into bed?

Those were just a few things he mentioned out of many.

 

[LadyL]

I believe he's guilty but if I were on that jury, I'm not so sure the prosecution would have me convinced beyond a reasonable doubt. This is the worst lead prosecutor I've ever seen & I mean in courtrooms in my real life ... not on tv D).

 

[RaleighNC]

I think Becky addressed all of the above.

She did - not well, not fluidly and IMO not in a way that it was all the compelling.

 

[fromageball]

What do you all think about the possibility of a second attacker?

 

[borndem]

Where is the proof though?

Either he paid cash where they didn't canvas -- or they didn't remember him where they did canvas. After 4 Brothers, I think he would have been dayam careful not to do anything that made him memorable a second tiem. Surely he wasn't dumb enuff to cause another scene -- I would think his mini-tantrum with Gracie would have scared him to death after he thought about it. JMO

 

[otto]

What do you all think about the possibility of a second attacker?

The defense wants us to think that it was two other people that murdered Michelle. We would have to accept that those two people were able to enter the house as guests, or through an unlocked door, and that their only objective was to murder Michelle. That again points back to Jason - as no one has a good reason to murder a well-liked, hard working pregnant mom.

 

[Madeleine74]

Nyet on the accomplice. That was, IMHO, JLY staging the scene to look like someone with size 10 feet was there.

He acted alone and without assistance (except for his hillbilly family afterwards in Brevard).

Great points David S. made about the blood on both sides of the closet door, having to move MY's body to get into his own closet. A random intruder/perp would not have known whose closet was whose, nor would have had any particular reason to move the body to get in there. JLY had a few reasons though: new/clean clothes, grab the Franklin shoes to parade around, and grab his stash of cash from a new wallet.

 

[Goldenblatt]

I only watched closing arguments and think he is guilty but if I was a juror, I could not convict due to the reasonable doubt brought up that I don't believe the prosecution adequately eliminated that doubt. It is almost impossible to predict what a jury will decide.