GUILTY MA - Vanessa Marcotte, 27, murdered, Princeton, 7 Aug 2016 #8 *Arrest*

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searunner said:
Yes, I agree. I think it was likely he planned to abduct/rape, but perhaps didn't plan the murder -- or, rather I should say, didn't plan to murder her when and where he did. Vanessa put up more fight than he expected, which may have threw him. Nonetheless, I still believe his lack of intelligence and likely narcissism come shining through -- he obviously didn't give much thought to a Plan B, so to speak. He should have realized he might need something or whatever and have had at least $5 in cash on him.

I think most of us who have been on the thread for a long while have long thought this was an attempted abduction gone wrong.

P.S. Rocky -- While it may not be relevant, the shoe size also grabbed my attention. Had same thought as you -- very hard to believe petite Vanessa wore an 11, though it's possible.
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True, many here did think it was an abduction gone wrong.. myself included.
There was also lots of discussion on whether or not an accelerant was used.
My thought all along was that there were not any used because of my thought the murder wasn't pre planned, therefore he would have not had any accelerants with him. Some thought he went and got an accelerant at a nearby home where he lived etc. I thought he just used the dead wood lying around in the woods. I never thought anyone would return to a crime scene in the middle of the day carrying a gas can in the woods in broad daylight.
I was wrong.
LE must have been wondering the same thing. Where did he get the gas?
They didn't have to look very far after all. The closest gas station.
 
Any update on the next court appearance which was supposed to be October 5th? I can't find anything.
 
Don't warrants have to specify evidence the prosecution is searching for? Or can they search for anything connected to that bank card because it was used in the commission of a crime?
 
Can someone explain why the process is so drawn out? Why does the system take so long to prosecute these cases? It drives me nuts, so I cannot even image what the family thinks.


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Cem75 said:
Can someone explain why the process is so drawn out? Why does the system take so long to prosecute these cases? It drives me nuts, so I cannot even image what the family thinks.


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Open Discovery Laws slow the process down somewhat.
Before these laws, the Defense/Prosecution could blindside each other.
Now Discovery has to be shared, and reviewed. There are hundreds, sometimes thousands of documents to review. Then during Pre Trial Hearings, some of this is thrown out and inadmissible.
In capitol cases, the Prosecution has to prep for not only the guilt phase of the trial, but also the penalty phase. That takes a lot more time than a trial of a lessor crime.
The Prosecution stalls in hopes to buy more time to gather more evidence.
The Defense stalls in hopes that witnesses forget.
Courts are often backed up. Trials get delayed for simple reasons like the Defendant was sick, there was a snowstorm, or Monday was a holiday.
The thing to remember is prepping for trial is 99% of the process. The trial itself can be over in less than a week in some cases.
Imagine how the family would feel if the trial was rushed to get a conviction, and the Prosecution blew it because they missed something important.
They only have one shot at getting a guilty verdict.
It's not uncommon for a year to go by from the time a Defendant is arraigned, and the trial begins. Sometimes it can take 2 years or more.
 
Rocky1 said:
Open Discovery Laws slow the process down somewhat.
Before these laws, the Defense/Prosecution could blindside each other.
Now Discovery has to be shared, and reviewed. There are hundreds, sometimes thousands of documents to review. Then during Pre Trial Hearings, some of this is thrown out and inadmissible.
In capitol cases, the Prosecution has to prep for not only the guilt phase of the trial, but also the penalty phase. That takes a lot more time than a trial of a lessor crime.
The Prosecution stalls in hopes to buy more time to gather more evidence.
The Defense stalls in hopes that witnesses forget.
Courts are often backed up. Trials get delayed for simple reasons like the Defendant was sick, there was a snowstorm, or Monday was a holiday.
The thing to remember is prepping for trial is 99% of the process. The trial itself can be over in less than a week in some cases.
Imagine how the family would feel if the trial was rushed to get a conviction, and the Prosecution blew it because they missed something important.
They only have one shot at getting a guilty verdict.
It's not uncommon for a year to go by from the time a Defendant is arraigned, and the trial begins. Sometimes it can take 2 years or more.
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Thanks v much! Another quick question: at any one given time, roughly how many cases does the typical Asst. DA have on his or her desk?

Also, I hope this whole Troopergate does not distract the execution of this prep - to your point, they only have one shot. And if I recall, Ortiz' defense attorney bested Early in a different hom case.


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Cem75 said:
Thanks v much! Another quick question: at any one given time, roughly how many cases does the typical Asst. DA have on his or her desk?

Also, I hope this whole Troopergate does not distract the execution of this prep - to your point, they only have one shot. And if I recall, Ortiz' defense attorney bested Early in a different hom case.


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Overall, a typical assistant DA can have anywhere from 10 to 100 cases at a time.
Most never see trial, and are handled through plea bargaining etc.
Rookie assistant DA's handle cases like drunk driving, while the seasoned handle more violent crimes. It's a fast paced career, working many hours often understaffed.
The Worcester Da's office has either side of 100 Prosecutors, and is responsible for 11 District courts, Juvenile court , and Superior court, in 60 communities. They call that the "Middle District".

You are right. Early lost a case to Ryan in a murder case involving a dentist from Princeton, that was accused of killing his wife.
The Prosecution said he pushed her out of the window, The defense said she jumped out. Her DNA was found on both sides of the glass, and the Dentist was found not guilty.
I found it odd that 3 weeks after the loss of that case, Early's office got back the test results from Parabon in Vanessa's case. I have nothing to base this on, but IMO, after losing the case involving the Dentist, Early felt the pressure to solve her case, and it wasn't until he lost that case, he sent the DNA to Virginia, at Parabon. I don't see it taking 6 months to get the results back. Maybe 3 weeks?
It's hard to say what will happen as far as "Troopergate" goes, however, I would not be surprised if it is used by the Defense to help raise reasonable doubt.
 
What is the next step in the process? The last scheduled court appearance was scheduled for October 5 with no word. What would you expect to hear as the next court appearance? Do you think further evidence from the bank examination would be released to the public? If anything incriminating would be found obviously.
 
Generally, the state's attorney does not release much information about evidence in a case until they present their case in court at trial. If you're expecting the DA or law enforcement to fill you in on all the case details that have been debated and speculated about for the past year, that won't happen. The state isn't going to try their case in 'the court of public opinion,' and they don't want a potential jury pool to be spoiled.

Status hearings will be held once in awhile with the judge and each side. Various motions get entered as time marches forward, and those will be decided by the judge. Expect long spans of time between status hearings, could be months, this is just the way it goes in criminal cases. It may be 18 months to 2.5 years before this case gets litigated in a trial. In the months that people think "nothing is happening," each side is doing lots of planning, interviewing witnesses, deciding on strategy, going over various tests, organizing voluminous discovery, etc, etc. For case followers it's a test of patience waiting for a case to go to trial.
 
Rocky1 said:
Open Discovery Laws slow the process down somewhat.
Before these laws, the Defense/Prosecution could blindside each other.
Now Discovery has to be shared, and reviewed. <>
They only have one shot at getting a guilty verdict.
<>
Click to expand...

Politely snipped for focus.

They only have one shot at getting a guilty verdict.
Click to expand...

As I am not familiar with MA laws, why does the prosecutor only have one shot at a guilty verdict?

In my state, if a Mistrial Verdict is determined, the Prosecutor can try the accused again. It also happened in the Eric and Lyle Menendez Brothers Murder of their CA parents. They were tried twice with the second time being a guilty verdict that sent them to prison.

Merci
 
DeDee said:
As I am not familiar with MA laws, why does the prosecutor only have one shot at a guilty verdict?

In my state, if a Mistrial Verdict is determined, the Prosecutor can try the accused again. It also happened in the Eric and Lyle Menendez Brothers Murder of their CA parents. They were tried twice with the second time being a guilty verdict that sent them to prison.
Click to expand...

This applies in all states, not just MA: a mistrial is like the trial never happened, so that's the exception. The state never wants to have a trial end up as a mistrial and prosecutors don't litigate a case hoping to get a mistrial or trying to get one.

When the jury votes unanimously, the state can't appeal or get a do-over if the jury comes back "not guilty." Hence the "one bite of the apple."

The defense can appeal a conviction, which is commonly done. There are multiple appeals at the state and federal level that can be pursued.
 
Any updates on the case? I have googled Angel Colon-Ortiz but there doesn't seem to be anything recent.
 
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