GUILTY MT - Sherry Arnold, 43, Sidney, 7 Jan 2012 - #4

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12Lori21 said:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-04-27/death-penalty-montana-teacher/54585580/1

Spellconfesses that he choked Sherry. And apparently it was Waters you led police to Sherry.
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Before I accept the jailhouse confession, I'd like to get the medical examiner's report. There should be evidence of a sharp blow to the head and drowning. I have deep misgivings about accepting any jailhouse confessions as true; there's just too much motivation for snitches to lie.

Doesn't really surprise me that Waters was the one who led them to Sherry's body. He always seemed to me to be more intelligent than Spell. I can easily believe that he was more likely to remember the burial site and more likely to figure out that leading authorities to her body might help him out in sentencing.
 
He said, he said. Obvious defense strategy. :sigh: Neither one of these pukes are going to take responsibility to taking the life of a beautiful woman, wife, mother, friend, teacher...
 
cocomod said:
He said, he said. Obvious defense strategy. :sigh: Neither one of these pukes are going to take responsibility to taking the life of a beautiful woman, wife, mother, friend, teacher...
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So they should both go to prison and throw away the key.
 
I was disappointed to hear that. But it makes sense. It's one less reason for them to ask for an appeal someday in the future. In the mean time those two sit in jail, knowing that eventually they will get the needle.
 
Eoanthropus Dawsoni said:
I was disappointed to hear that. But it makes sense. It's one less reason for them to ask for an appeal someday in the future. In the mean time those two sit in jail, knowing that eventually they will get the needle.
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I think there should be 'creative' Death Penalty procedures. These 2 should be dropped off, in January, somewhere in Montana or North Dakota, dressed in a pair of running shorts, t-shirt and sneakers. Give them a 2 minute lead and then go after them. When it is all over, find a tree break. IMHO
 
I'd be in favor of letting them bond out, for perhaps $1,500. Then when bond is posted the sheriff could announce that they will be released at midnight behind the court house. Then when they do not show up for trial, oh well. Sherry would remain a "cold case," but really not very cold at all.
 
I met, at a social function today, a member of Sherry's extended family. The impact to the family is still devastating they said; the fact that Sherry survived cancer and was gone because of a random encounter with two lowlifes was mentioned. This person described Williston, N. D. as being lawless right now.
 
Prosecutor opposes attempt to rule out death penalty in Sherry Arnold case

An eastern Montana prosecutor said Wednesday that he will oppose attempts to declare one of the suspects in the killing of a Sidney teacher ineligible for the death penalty.

Richland County Attorney Mike Weber also said he will oppose a request by defense attorneys to relocate the January trial of defendant Michal Keith Spell.
 
Prosecutor: Sidney murder confession was voluntary

A Montana judge will decide if a confession from an illiterate man charged in the killing of a high school teacher should be thrown out because of the defendant's mental disabilities.

Defense attorneys have sought to suppress Michael Keith Spell's alleged confession to his role in the murder of 43-year-old Sherry Arnold.
 
Defense in Sherry Arnold case seeks police files

One of the two men accused of kidnapping and killing a Sidney High School teacher wants state prosecutors to turn over information from the personnel files of the law-enforcement officers who investigated the case.

In addition, Michael Keith Spell's attorneys want District Judge Richard Simonton to order prosecutors to hand over the criminal histories of co-defendant Lester Van Waters Jr. and a jailhouse informant, any deals prosecutors made with witnesses and any witness testimony given to the grand jury.
 
Co-defendant in Sherry Arnold murder trial enters plea deal

Lester Van Waters, Jr., the co-defendant in the Sherry Arnold murder case, has entered into a plea agreement with the state.

[snip]

The plea agreement calls for a 100-year sentence that will spare Waters the death penalty, as long as he agrees to plead guilty and assist the state in the prosecution of Michael Spell.

More: http://www.krtv.com/news/co-defendant-in-sherry-arnold-murder-trial-enters-plea-deal/
 
This was on tonight's news feed here in South Dakota and shows the impact of drugs in the Bakken area; even Sidney is mentioned.

"... A dozen people have been indicted on federal charges in Montana for their involvement in what authorities describe as a drug-trafficking ring that operated in the Bakken oil patch along the North Dakota border...

...Authorities say the ring operated in Sidney, Fairview, Billings, Big Timber, Columbus, Livingston and Bozeman. Several who were indicted face potential prison terms of 10 years to life if convicted..."

http://www.kotatv.com/story/23650837/12-indicted-for-involvement-in-bakken-drug-ring
 
After teacher's death, suspect's trial in doubt

SIDNEY, Mont. (AP) — The killing of a much-loved high school teacher nearly two years ago has weighed heavily in rural Montana. Hundreds of people helped search for Sherry Arnold and calls for frontier-style justice greeted the arrest of the man accused of killing her.
Today, the fate of 24-year-old Michael Keith Spell rests not with a jury but with experts evaluating whether he should be declared unfit for trial due to mental disability.

full article at link ............... http://centurylink.net/news/read/ca...p-after_teachers_death_suspects_trial_in_d-ap
 
fran said:
After teacher's death, suspect's trial in doubt

SIDNEY, Mont. (AP) — The killing of a much-loved high school teacher nearly two years ago has weighed heavily in rural Montana. Hundreds of people helped search for Sherry Arnold and calls for frontier-style justice greeted the arrest of the man accused of killing her.
Today, the fate of 24-year-old Michael Keith Spell rests not with a jury but with experts evaluating whether he should be declared unfit for trial due to mental disability.

full article at link ............... http://centurylink.net/news/read/ca...p-after_teachers_death_suspects_trial_in_d-ap
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Not the least bit surprised.
 
Defendant in teacher's killing returned to Sidney


"A Colorado man charged with killing an eastern Montana teacher has been returned to jail following a lengthy evaluation to see if he's fit for trial.

The Richland County Sheriff's Office said Friday that Michael Spell had returned to the county detention center from the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs. He had been undergoing tests to determine his competency since November.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Spell in the killing of Sherry Arnold...

...Co-defendant Lester Van Waters, Jr. pleaded guilty last year under a deal with prosecutors that would allow him to avoid the death sentence in exchange for helping in the case against Spell. He's awaiting sentencing."


Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/sta...d5f-53fa-a28e-148811707ddb.html#ixzz2qnbbGn61
 
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