Jason Young to get new trial

[Madeleine74]

Here's a small world 6 degrees of separation type thing. I have met (and had dinner once many years ago, circa 2004) at Wake County Sgt. Al Sternberg's house. I know his wife. I didn't even hear of the Michelle Young case when it occurred in 2006, or if I did I have no memory of it. I don't know why--I was living in this area, but I was working a lot and engrossed in other things and not following local news. It wasn't until sometime after the Cooper murder occurred in 2008 that I became aware of the Young murder. And even then I didn't follow it right away, so had no idea Sgt. Sternberg even worked on the case until around 2011 until I saw his name on something someone wrote in a web posting.

Even if I had known, this case is not something he would ever have discussed, had I ever asked him. The guy is a complete professional and work is work and he takes his job seriously.

I will say he's what I consider a gourmet cook, the dinner he made that night was fantastic. I saw him one day during deliberations in 2012 so we caught up a little bit then and discussed what new recipes he'd been trying.

And that's that. I have no insider knowledge at all other than to reveal one Sgt on the case happens to be a very good cook and if delicacies out of his kitchen ever ended up on my lunch or dinner plate, I'd be quite pleased.

 

[Tia]

Nymeria,

I agree that case facts can get skewed in major ways when being presented through personal filters here. I always say, and firmly believe, when it's possible to see testimony for yourself, or read the court transcripts if those are ever available (they usually are not), it's the best thing to do to get the facts on any case. In this I include whatever legal documents that get published including returned search warrants, affidavits, motions. It is time-consuming for sure, but at least that way you can look at things as they are/were and not morphed into someone's interpretation of it, which is what you are seeing. Fortunately, as you know, this particular case is covered with day-to-day trial video still available on WRAL, so you have a source to check. Also the returned SWs are available on the WRAL site as well. It's a plethora of good source material.

Reading other people's opinions, while interesting, and at times illuminating, is not going to give you the base of factual knowledge with which to determine your own opinion of a case. It does occur that case 'facts' get morphed and then spun in order to support a position. This, btw, can occur on both sides (for guilt or for innocence).

When in doubt about a piece of evidence that was presented in court, go find the video snippet and watch for yourself to see the reality. Even those of us who want to be completely accurate about the evidence are human and a mistake can be made. I have to go check things out myself sometimes too if I can't remember it.

I was posting straight from the search warrant here yesterday and was corrected!

 

[JusticeFever]

Do you really believe that he planned this in advance - to drive 170 miles in the middle of the night to strangle his wife to death? If his intent was to strangle her, how did he think to wear all the gear to protect himself from the blood that he didn't know he would be getting all over himself?

To me this crime seems like it wasn't planned, someone attacked MY but I just can't fathom that anyone would plan something so shoddily.

I keep thinking about how Shelly sensed that someone was watching them. That means someone was watching for her to leave at 9-10PM or so. JY was at the Cracker Barrel.

I do remember that part of Shelly's testimony, but didn't think that much about it.

 

[Madeleine74]

I was posting straight from the search warrant here yesterday and was corrected!

LOL!

Well doncha know that everyone involved in the case has lied and fabricated evidence except of course Jason and defense witnesses. So of course the narrative written in a search warrant would also have to be a pack of lies too since it was written by someone in LE, eh? It just can't be the truth. Remember, "it doesn't make sense" and therefore, "it didn't happen, never happened, was fabricated and all lies!" :wink:

 

[JusticeFever]

You "believe" all of this with no evidence to support this belief. There is nothing to indicate that he ever left the hotel.

If this case wasn't so sad and tragic, one could say there is still nothing to show he left the hotel the next morning either. He just left the building without a trace. No cameras captured him, no desk clerk saw him, and no other guests remember him.

 

[MyBelle]

The search warrant timing has been bugging me. According to Heather and Mrs Young's testimony , they were not allowed to take anything from Jason's vehicle when they arrived back in Raleigh that night. Heather said that she and her husband went out to retrieve their luggage and 2 police cars pulled up with a warrant telling them to put their stuff back in. They asked her where Jason was. She said in the house. They then asked her if there was another exit he could leave from.
But the actual search warrant was not issued until 3:15 am, and signed at 4:am, they did not have one when Jason returned to Raleigh like they said.
Link:

http://abclocal.go.com/images/wtvd/pdf/youngsearchwarrant2.pdf

Wow. I wasn't aware of that. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. That underscores my primary concern all along that cops were focused on Jason and only Jason from the very beginning.

 

[JusticeFever]

Wow. I wasn't aware of that. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. That underscores my primary concern all along that cops were focused on Jason and only Jason from the very beginning.

You are welcome, I would like to hear from someone in legal to see if there is indeed a holding process that can be used before an actual search warrant is issued and signed. Interesting.

 

[MyBelle]

You are welcome, I would like to hear from someone in legal to see if there is indeed a holding process that can be used before an actual search warrant is issued and signed. Interesting.

So would I because to restrict Jason's family from access to their own property seems to put that entire seizure process on a slippery slope. They obtained a search warrant without probable cause so they just made something up? They failed to follow procedure with the photo shown to Gracie. Good grief.

 

[MyBelle]

First, I'm not a JY "follower". This isn't about taking sides. I just don't believe the case is solved. This isn't a vendetta against MF. I am simply pointing out that there are a lot of red flags around her story, her actions that night and physical evidence (lack of dog prints, missing dog, keys on Lexus) that needs to be pursued if we are ever to understand what happened to MY.

If your blood is boiling, it shouldn't be. Calm down and have an open mind and really take a look at all of the things that just don't fit about this case. Believe me, if it was clear-cut I would not be wasting my time still researching this case. I can't let it go though because I know it's unresolved and innocent people should not be made to suffer.

I view myself as a Justice "follower." I want justice for Michelle and most of all, for her children. I feel the same way about the Cooper case. There are three little girls who have been without both parents for years now and that is an incredible tragedy if their fathers have been wrongfully convicted.

Both cases involve incredibly shoddy investigations and unfair trials. That should concern everybody. What does blow my mind is how any juror could conclude CY was left alone for hours and was drugged for precisely the amount of time to match MF's arrival at the home. She wasn't Sleeping Beauty. This case isn't a fairy tale and requires not only an open mind but a good dose of common sense on the part of jurors and the judges.

I also wish everybody here would abide by the rule to refer to all minors by their initials.

JMO

 

[dgfred]

Yeah... family and friends moving stuff in and out of a man's vehicle thats wife had just been slaughtered. They should have just filmed everything they were doing IMO.

They should have just let them do whatever they wanted. What do y'all think of cops lying to suspects when interrogating them? That is so... unfair.

 

[dgfred]

I view myself as a Justice "follower." I want justice for Michelle and most of all, for her children. I feel the same way about the Cooper case. There are three little girls who have been without both parents for years now and that is an incredible tragedy if their fathers have been wrongfully convicted.

Both cases involve incredibly shoddy investigations and unfair trials. That should concern everybody. What does blow my mind is how any juror could conclude CY was left alone for hours and was drugged for precisely the amount of time to match MF's arrival at the home. She wasn't Sleeping Beauty. This case isn't a fairy tale and requires not only an open mind but a good dose of common sense on the part of jurors and the judges.

I also wish everybody here would abide by the rule to refer to all minors by their initials.

JMO

Common sense goes both ways.

Do you have/know of any other suspects? Why would they beat her like that.

 

[JusticeFever]

So would I because to restrict Jason's family from access to their own property seems to put that entire seizure process on a slippery slope. They obtained a search warrant without probable cause so they just made something up? They failed to follow procedure with the photo shown to Gracie. Good grief.

Here is what I think and I could be wrong. Since nothing incriminating came from the results of searching the vehicle, there was nothing for anyone to object to. But then, 2 years later, the state now wants to offer up missing items from the vehicle.
But, had there been blood evidence, hair and or fibers connecting Young to the crime scene, then perhaps the defense could have argued the vailidity or timing of the search warrant, but again, since, there was nothing like that..there was no reason;
The SUV was returned on Jan. 5th, 2007.

 

[dgfred]

What kind of hair or fibers would make you think he had murdered his wife?

Would you not say it was their vehicle?

The clothes are missing IMO... not that they would have been in the vehicle.

IMO he tossed the incriminating stuff.

 

[JusticeFever]

What kind of hair or fibers would make you think he had murdered his wife?

Would you not say it was their vehicle?

The clothes are missing IMO... not that they would have been in the vehicle.

IMO he tossed the incriminating stuff.

Traces of anything from the actual murder scene, blood, a hair from Michelle that was pulled out, how about a murder weapon?So, now with an almost impossible timeline to begin with, he had time to dispose stuff? Any ideas where? To me, the car at 5:30 am in the Young driveway holds all the answers..

 

[JusticeFever]

I view myself as a Justice "follower." I want justice for Michelle and most of all, for her children. I feel the same way about the Cooper case. There are three little girls who have been without both parents for years now and that is an incredible tragedy if their fathers have been wrongfully convicted.

Both cases involve incredibly shoddy investigations and unfair trials. That should concern everybody. What does blow my mind is how any juror could conclude CY was left alone for hours and was drugged for precisely the amount of time to match MF's arrival at the home. She wasn't Sleeping Beauty. This case isn't a fairy tale and requires not only an open mind but a good dose of common sense on the part of jurors and the judges.

I also wish everybody here would abide by the rule to refer to all minors by their initials.

JMO

Sorry, I am guilty of that!

 

[Madeleine74]

If there's one thing I've learned along the way...

common sense isn't very common at all.

 

[JusticeFever]

So let's not resort to accusations about MF. Stick to the facts. She isn't a suspect. And so you remember Casey Anthony. THAT family covered for a baby killer and she got off! So yes families covering for their loved ones does happen. And I don't feel the Youngs are nice people. Not the way they trashed the Fisher's. I was around when this was going on and it was horrible. They kept her away long before LF filed the civil suit.

If the Fishers were accusing Jason of killing Michelle, how would you expect them to act?
Besides, after all the things that came out at trial, the Youngs and Fishers, while not necessarily the Hatfields and the McCoys, were not all that close to begin with.

 

[dgfred]

Traces of anything from the actual murder scene, blood, a hair from Michelle that was pulled out, how about a murder weapon?So, now with an almost impossible timeline to begin with, he had time to dispose stuff? Any ideas where? To me, the car at 5:30 am in the Young driveway holds all the answers..

Blood = her/their vehicle

Pulled out hair = pulled out by seat-belt in her/their vehicle

Fist/small bat = murder weapon (gloves on fist or small bat thrown out window)

What time would that take?

<mod snip>

 

[Madeleine74]

Which car is that?

An SUV you say?

Whose SUV? MY's?

What proof exists that MY's SUV was used at 5:30am? Fingerprints inside the SUV? Fingerprints on MY's keys? Anything? Is this just imagined to be so because the witness who saw a mom-type SUV at 5:30am cannot (simply cannot) be mistaken? And what about the witness at 3:30am-ish who saw the light colored SUV (not unlike a Ford Explorer as an example) parked at the house?

And if one thinks MF was using MY's SUV, then where did MF park her own car? Wasn't that in the driveway? How could MF's car be missed if it was there and there were lights on outside the house? Witnesses claimed to see an SUV (not a Honda sedan). Where was the Honda?

 

[Landonsmom02]

ok can someone please answer this for me? I'm a little fuzzy on the whole "MF keys were on MY hood so she has to be part of the murder." How is that related? Didn't she come in through the garage? IIRC wasn't she surprised to see MY car at home? Isn't it possible that she layed her keys on the hood as she was walking through? I know her car was considered part of the crime scene and she was unable to get her car for a while? TIA