Kathy Taft was inside the beltline, in Raleigh. And Stephanie Bennett was miles to the north of Kathy Taft, probably nearly an hours drive from where the Youngs lived in Apex. I thought you were referring to the *immediate* area. Stephanie Bennett's killer stalked her and raped her prior to murdering her. Kathy Taft's murder was also a sexual assault and murder. The other women in different states were also crimes that included rapes/sexual assaults as an element of *motive*. No one besides JLY had any *motive* to brutally beat to death Michelle. There wasn't a robbery nor was there a sexual assault. What there was though, was 'the worst beating' many of those on the scene had ever seen in their careers in law enforcement. And a toddler who was drugged. And the only time Jason Young had EVER called and asked his SIL to go to his house during the daytime, to retrieve a piece of paper from his computer.
This is the *second* trial, and it's up to the prosecutor as to whether or not a retrial will take place. Can you possibly cite a case of a directed verdict by a judge in a similar case? I'm not familiar with any such instances. And in this area, Judge Stephens is one of the most respected judges, who was also a prosecutor himself. I can't see any chance he would deliver a directed verdict in a case such as this one.
