No conviction in botched case Oct. 30, 2011
SAN DIEGO — It’s been four months since the murder case against Russell Upton Jr., accused of killing his wife 16 years ago, ended in a hung jury and then a stunning dismissal by San Diego Superior Court Judge Kerry Wells.
The reason: the failure of the Sheriff’s Department to investigate the case for nine years after the body of Marilane Abueg, 21, was found.
Wells said there was “clear negligence” by sheriff’s detectives for failing to do even the most basic investigation when the crime occurred.
--“Obviously, there were mistakes made in that case,” sheriff’s homicide Lt. Larry Nesbit said last week.
But Nesbit, who was not involved in the Abueg investigation,
said the department has different procedures now to prevent similar errors in the future.
--Without a confession, the investigation seemed to stop, Wells said.
The physical evidence collected wasn’t analyzed. A tire print found at the scene was never compared to the tires on Upton’s car. Moreno did not write a report, and he lost his notes. Upton’s own timeline of his whereabouts was never checked out, Wells said.
Basic steps not done
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The couple’s apartment was never searched, and neighbors in the complex weren’t interviewed.
“
I don’t think any of the things I just listed are nitpicking,” Wells said, in dismissing the case. “They are the basic, simple, classic routine steps in any investigation. … And so it is, quite frankly, astonishing to me they were not done or even attempted.”
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Nesbit, who became the sheriff’s homicide unit lieutenant this year, said the errors that plagued the case could not happen now. There is a better tracking system, regular meetings among teams and other steps.
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