GUILTY NC - Tim Hennis on trial in the '85 Eastburn murders, Fort Bragg

[Sameera]

Samera ,Dragnet and Boys Mum you all are very correct. How could it not be premeditated with the threating phone calls and all. And there never has been A link between the phone calls and Mr.Hennis.But my observation here, which basically means nothing. I think the (TC) Prosecution must feel they don't have A unanimous vote which is required in A Military Capital case. I know all civilian cases they seat 12 jurors with Alternates. But in the Military you have to have at least 12 for A Capital case and the Military doesn't have alternates. So this case they chose 14 so all 14 will have a vote.

I think I see what you're getting at. The prosecution is plugging for unpremeditated murder to get a higher chance of scoring a conviction because it requires only a majority verdict while first degree murder requires a unanimous verdict. It won't be as satisfying as conviction in the first degree but better than nothing. The prosecution tried something like this in the first trial - offering a plea bargain of life imprisonment in exchange to guilty pleas to two counts of murder (what about the third?).

Hennis would have none of it and went for all or nothing, and it looks like he is doing the same again. Anyway, I find it very hard to swallow that the evidence fits unpremeditated murder.

 

[Storm_91]

Very good post Samerra, I'm only guessing here the DNA wasn't as much as A slam dunk the TC (Prosecution) thought it was. So many issues with the handling, open packages and most of all there test didn't match what the state had. Now I know in military cases it not like the TC can push down on the scales a little. But Military Appeals don't allow to much B.S. in Capital Case's. And according to the newspapers the prosecution didn't even read there DNA results in front of the Jury. That may be hard to explain if this goes to an Appeal. Not to mention the day before the case goes to the jury they ask for a lesser offense. Which clearly Article 43 of the UCMJ Manual States unpremeditated murder is not death eligible. And that is what they ask for this whole entire trial.(Death Penalty) I know this is the third time and each time I have never been convinced He committed these Crimes. I have never seen or felt any Motive for Mr.Hennis to commit these crimes. And he went on to serve 25 years in the Military. My opion he is not guilty, he knew by continuing a Military Career he would always be subject to UCMJ regardless of Double Jeopardy issues. Every Soldier knows from the time they enlist they can be tried in State and Federal Courts if deemed Necessary.

 

[Sameera]

Very good post Samerra, I'm only guessing here the DNA wasn't as much as A slam dunk the TC (Prosecution) thought it was. So many issues with the handling, open packages and most of all there test didn't match what the state had. Now I know in military cases it not like the TC can push down on the scales a little. But Military Appeals don't allow to much B.S. in Capital Case's. And according to the newspapers the prosecution didn't even read there DNA results in front of the Jury. That may be hard to explain if this goes to an Appeal. Not to mention the day before the case goes to the jury they ask for a lesser offense. Which clearly Article 43 of the UCMJ Manual States unpremeditated murder is not death eligible. And that is what they ask for this whole entire trial.(Death Penalty) I know this is the third time and each time I have never been convinced He committed these Crimes. I have never seen or felt any Motive for Mr.Hennis to commit these crimes. And he went on to serve 25 years in the Military. My opion he is not guilty, he knew by continuing a Military Career he would always be subject to UCMJ regardless of Double Jeopardy issues. Every Soldier knows from the time they enlist they can be tried in State and Federal Courts if deemed Necessary.

I've only read and seen Innocent Victims, and there is no other publication on the case for comparison. As presented by Whisnant, the evidence against Hennis was very weak and depended on whether Patrick Cone had identified "the walker" correctly." Does the DNA make the case any stronger? Or is it confusing, murky and unreliable? I'm certainly confused about it, anyway.

It should be interesting to read another publication on the Hennis case for comparison, and I imagine someone is thinking of one in the wake of the third trial.

Doesn't sound like it's going to be an easy deliberation for the jury and anything could happen. Hung jury? Acquit on the grounds the prosecution hasn't proved its case beyond reasonable doubt? Conviction? Majority verdict for unpremeditated murder? Not proven?

Even if there was a conviction there will still be appeals, as there were before.

 

[Storm_91]

Great Post's on this page.

 

[Boyz_Mum]

I may be biased in my opinion because I watched the movie about this case on Lifetime. After watching the movie, I became interested in the threads here on WS about this case.

FWIW, the DNA issue has confused me. I can't be sure the 'samples' have not been compromised. (The DNA expert who said that Hennis could be linked to a sample and Mrs Eastburn could not be matched, really confused me.)

There are very few cases that I've read about/watched movies that leave me feeling "I don't know". This is one of them. I tend to feel that Hennis is innocent and not knowing for sure is really getting to me.

 

[sundrop]

The military jury consist of 14 members. There are two situations in which a conviction may occur: 1) all members vote yes for guilty, in this case the death penalty is on the table; or 2) 3/4 of the members vote guilty, in this case life in prison is the sentence. In order for a not guilty verdict a mimimum of 5 members must vote not guilty.

 

[lonetraveler]

The military jury consist of 14 members. There are two situations in which a conviction may occur: 1) all members vote yes for guilty, in this case the death penalty is on the table; or 2) 3/4 of the members vote guilty, in this case life in prison is the sentence. In order for a not guilty verdict a mimimum of 5 members must vote not guilty.

Hi sundrop, are you watching for a verdict all by yourself? I dropped in and found that the jury has this. I really didn't think it would take long for a verdict. I'll check in as much as I can. Is anyone tweeting from the courthouse on this?

 

[sundrop]

Fayetteville Observer is tweeting, I think.

Question for you Lonetraveler: If the defense had not produced the 'walker' from the neighborhood at the 2nd trial, would Hennis have been found guilty?

Thanks.

 

[lonetraveler]

Fayetteville Observer is tweeting, I think.

Question for you Lonetraveler: If the defense had not produced the 'walker' from the neighborhood at the 2nd trial, would Hennis have been found guilty?

Thanks.

The "walker" just strenthened the "not guilty" verdict. Prosecution did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty. The evidence produced was mostly inconclusive and could not pin him down as the murderer. Too much doubt, period. Prosecution had to work TOO hard to make the evidence point to him. Fingerprints could not be matched to him. Shoe prints in a size nine in the blood were way too small to match his size 13EEE shoes. No blood evidence in his car. He was seen at work that night after the estimated time of the murder with no evidence of just killing three people.

The sperm samples in 1989 could not be matched to him, DNA wasn't available. However, I will say that if DNA tests had been available and had matched him in 1989, there may have been a different result because the violent rape was committed during the time that the murders were committed. At the time of deliberation the jury discussed frustration at not knowing if he had committed the rape because that would have put him at the murder scene. Patrick Cone's testimony that he identified Hennis in the driveway in the early hours of dawn was very strong because of the composite sketch made by LE before Hennis came forward about the dog. The composite sketch was a dead ringer. When the "walker" was brought into the courtroom you could hear everyone in the courtroom gasp. He was known to walk the neighborhood in the early morning hours and he also wore a dark Members Only jacket. Most important of all, he looked so much like Hennis he could have been his brother at least. In the dark, in foggy weather, you would not be able to tell them apart. There were nine jurors at not guilty on the first vote, two on the fence and one for guilty at the beginning of the deliberation. The two on the fence quickly changed to "not guilty". The last juror kept repeating that Hennis was not proven to be innocent. It had to be explained to her that he was considered innocent the moment he came into the courtroom and that he had to be proven to be guilty. She was very confused and she confessed in the jury room that she had been kidnapped and raped during her teen years and felt that Hennis should pay for raping Eastburn. She should have never been a juror on this trial to begin with. She did not tell the truth in the interview process when asked if she had ever been the victim of a crime. She finally changed her vote to "not guilty" after reviewing the proved/not proven evidence but later told the judge that she did not agree with the verdict and felt that we pressured her to vote "not guilty".

 

[Sameera]

Here's a link to closing arguments, including a counter argument from defence that the DNA could have come from Hennis and Eastburn having an affair. I suppose it's possible, but it's really a dangerous thing to say, isn't it? I can imagine how Gary Eastburn would feel about that, and the jury could react against it.

Hennis himself did not testify.

http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/04/07/1409190/army-prosecutor-emphasizes-dna.html

 

[Sameera]

The "walker" just strenthened the "not guilty" verdict. Prosecution did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty. The evidence produced was mostly inconclusive and could not pin him down as the murderer. Too much doubt, period. Prosecution had to work TOO hard to make the evidence point to him. Fingerprints could not be matched to him. Shoe prints in a size nine in the blood were way too small to match his size 13EEE shoes. No blood evidence in his car. He was seen at work that night after the estimated time of the murder with no evidence of just killing three people.

The sperm samples in 1989 could not be matched to him, DNA wasn't available. However, I will say that if DNA tests had been available and had matched him in 1989, there may have been a different result because the violent rape was committed during the time that the murders were committed. At the time of deliberation the jury discussed frustration at not knowing if he had committed the rape because that would have put him at the murder scene. Patrick Cone's testimony that he identified Hennis in the driveway in the early hours of dawn was very strong because of the composite sketch made by LE before Hennis came forward about the dog. The composite sketch was a dead ringer. When the "walker" was brought into the courtroom you could hear everyone in the courtroom gasp. He was known to walk the neighborhood in the early morning hours and he also wore a dark Members Only jacket. Most important of all, he looked so much like Hennis he could have been his brother at least. In the dark, in foggy weather, you would not be able to tell them apart. There were nine jurors at not guilty on the first vote, two on the fence and one for guilty at the beginning of the deliberation. The two on the fence quickly changed to "not guilty". The last juror kept repeating that Hennis was not proven to be innocent. It had to be explained to her that he was considered innocent the moment he came into the courtroom and that he had to be proven to be guilty. She was very confused and she confessed in the jury room that she had been kidnapped and raped during her teen years and felt that Hennis should pay for raping Eastburn. She should have never been a juror on this trial to begin with. She did not tell the truth in the interview process when asked if she had ever been the victim of a crime. She finally changed her vote to "not guilty" after reviewing the proved/not proven evidence but later told the judge that she did not agree with the verdict and felt that we pressured her to vote "not guilty".

If I remember the book correctly there were three jurors who were in favour of "not guilty" but were pressured by the majority who were in favour of guilty and what's more, wanted to wrap it up quickly so they could go off and do other things. It was also the 4 July holiday, putting additional pressure on jurors for a fast (perhaps too fast verdict) so they wouldn't miss out.

The wrong size boot is interesting. So either Hennis isn't the murderer, or he had an accomplice who did leave the footprint. However, to the best of my knowledge the prosecution has never made allegations that Hennis had an accomplice. The defence expert at the first trial thought there was an accomplice for the murders but got laughed out of court. Is it possible there was an accomplice, either for Hennis or someone else? It has happened before with partners in crime, such as the Moors murders and Rosemary West. Or is it more common for these types of murderers to act alone? I don't know enough about this sort of thing and would appreciate some input.

Even if Hennis is found guilty there are still unanswered questions. Examples include: the threatening telephone calls Mrs Eastburn received before she was murdered. What Charlotte Kirby saw that led her to receive similar threatening phone calls. The lingering cloud of suspicion over the babysitter. The wrong size footprint. The alteration of the crime scene to make it Jeff Mcdonald-like. How Hennis managed to get rid of the physical evidence and alter the crime scene without anyone noticing or leaving a clear trace leading right to him. And if Hennis did it, why did he do it?

 

[Storm_91]

Jury to resume deliberations ,Thursday in Hennis trial.

 

[sundrop]

The best web to follow the Hennis case is FayObserver.com

The other sites are just taking it from the Fayetteville Observer site.

 

[sundrop]

Hennis found guilty could face death.

 

[BOZGAL]

Jury: Hennis guilty of pre-meditated murder


Published: 11:24 AM, Thu Apr 08, 2010
Jury: Hennis guilty of pre-meditated murder
A staff report


A military jury has found Army Master Sgt. Timothy B. Hennis guilty of three specifications of pre-meditated murder.

The members of the court-martial panel returned with their verdict about 10:35 a.m. They had deliberated for two hours and 45 minutes over Wednesday and today.

Hennis, 52, was convicted of killing Kathryn Eastburn, 31, and two of her children - 5-year-old Kara and 3-year-old Erin. All were stabbed to death in their home on Summerhill Road, off Yadkin Road, late on May 9, 1985 or shortly after midnight the next morning.

http://fayobserver.com/Articles/2010/04/08/989714

Holy Moly.
I would never have thought he would be found guilty.

JMO

 

[sundrop]

It appears that the jury didn't believe anything the defense had to say. Hence, quick verdict.

 

[Prancy]

Have they revealed any psychological information about this defendant over the years? Have there been allegations or confirmations of mental illness, sexual perversions, etc.?

 

[BOZGAL]

Well from what I know about the case I do not believe justice has been served. Could they not have been having an affair? :waitasec:

Too many unanswered questions for me.


JMO

 

[Maznblu1]

Well from what I know about the case I do not believe justice has been served. Could they not have been having an affair? :waitasec:

Too many unanswered questions for me.


JMO

Wouldn't the affair have been raised years ago and not just at his 3rd trial when some pesky DNA match needed to be explained away? Between the DNA, the witness seeing Hennis and his car, the witness at the ATM, Hennis taking his coat to a dry cleaner the day after the murder and burning things the next day - I'd say justice has finally been served. Hennis should be thankful he got an extra 20 years or so of freedom.

 

[lonetraveler]

Jury: Hennis guilty of pre-meditated murder


Published: 11:24 AM, Thu Apr 08, 2010
Jury: Hennis guilty of pre-meditated murder
A staff report


A military jury has found Army Master Sgt. Timothy B. Hennis guilty of three specifications of pre-meditated murder.

The members of the court-martial panel returned with their verdict about 10:35 a.m. They had deliberated for two hours and 45 minutes over Wednesday and today.

Hennis, 52, was convicted of killing Kathryn Eastburn, 31, and two of her children - 5-year-old Kara and 3-year-old Erin. All were stabbed to death in their home on Summerhill Road, off Yadkin Road, late on May 9, 1985 or shortly after midnight the next morning.

http://fayobserver.com/Articles/2010/04/08/989714

Holy Moly.
I would never have thought he would be found guilty.

JMO

Wow, this has hit me like a ton of bricks. I did not think that they would find him guilty. I have been very worried after hearing that the DNA matched Hennis. Eastburn was raped, IMO there could not have been an affair, out of the question to me. Now, I feel like I let a murderer of two little children and their mother go free for 20 years.................sick to my stomach right now.