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

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I have never felt right about how they can get around double jeopardy with military trials.
 
I have been following cases for years as I am more than sure many of you have. Personally I think using the military for another trial is ridiculous and really bothers me. Not saying I do not want justice for the victims but I think this is plain wrong. That babysitter has always set my hinky meter off. Something is wrong there. :waitasec:

Also too many unanswered questions for me.
The footprints, the phone calls to Eastburn, the other guy, the postcards, the DNA, the babysitter groupie and no motive whatsoever. I'm sure I may be leaving something else out too.

This will be turned over in appeal I firmly believe.


jmho
 
BOZGAL said:
I have been following cases for years as I am more than sure many of you have. Personally I think using the military for another trial is ridiculous and really bothers me. Not saying I do not want justice for the victims but I think this is plain wrong. That babysitter has always set my hinky meter off. Something is wrong there. :waitasec:

Also too many unanswered questions for me.
The footprints, the phone calls to Eastburn, the other guy, the postcards, the DNA, the babysitter groupie and no motive whatsoever. I'm sure I may be leaving something else out too.

This will be turned over in appeal I firmly believe.


jmho
Click to expand...

Yes, the guilty verdict still leaves unanswered questions like the ones listed above. When more questions remain unanswered than answered, it's not a good sign. Some people will remain uneasy, speculate on alternate theories and always question whether Hennis was guilty. The case will never be laid to rest until they are answered, and even Hennis's execution is not going to answer them.

I wonder if someone is going to re-investigate these questions in light of recent events? Investigative journalists, private investigators, the lawyers etc? I certainly think they need to be checked out further. Certainly Hennis's lawyers didn't; they concentrated more on gathering evidence to discredit the prosecution witness and find "the walker" than rechecking loose ends from the case.
 
I agree with everyone who has posted on this page.I stumbled across A much better News Site covering this case.You would be amazed at the comments.Its not like I'll repost any comments.But if anyone is interested go to WRAL.com.But I didn't realize there was 2 different DNA's were found.Atleast according to everything I read.I mean I guess the best thing to say here is only God knows what happened that night.Because to me these trials haven't proved anything.But I will pray for all the families here.Because I pray one day the families can have some sort of peace here.
 
Storm_91 said:
I agree with everyone who has posted on this page.I stumbled across A much better News Site covering this case.You would be amazed at the comments.Its not like I'll repost any comments.But if anyone is interested go to WRAL.com.But I didn't realize there was 2 different DNA's were found.Atleast according to everything I read.I mean I guess the best thing to say here is only God knows what happened that night.Because to me these trials haven't proved anything.But I will pray for all the families here.Because I pray one day the families can have some sort of peace here.
Click to expand...

TFS where to find that Storm and I am glad to not be alone in how I feel about this case.

jmo
 
funny how they go to great lengths to slap pedophiles and other guilty parties on the wrist yet might subvert the constitution to convict an innocent person.
 
Storm_91 said:
I agree with everyone who has posted on this page.I stumbled across A much better News Site covering this case.You would be amazed at the comments.Its not like I'll repost any comments.But if anyone is interested go to WRAL.com.But I didn't realize there was 2 different DNA's were found.Atleast according to everything I read.I mean I guess the best thing to say here is only God knows what happened that night.Because to me these trials haven't proved anything.But I will pray for all the families here.Because I pray one day the families can have some sort of peace here.
Click to expand...

Two DNAs?
 
I was googling around to see if DNA evidence was as infallible as fingerprint evidence or if it could be wrong. Apparently it can be wrong if samples are improperly collected, stored or tested. Here are some results:

#
News feature: Crime and punishment - Nature Medicine
by A Opar - 2006
29 Sep 2006 ... Erroneous DNA evidence was involved in 3 of those convictions. "The value of DNA to identify people is beyond question," says Stephen Saloom ...
www.nature.com › ... › Archive › Table of Contents › News - Similar

# [PDF]
DNA-testing for immigration cases: The risk of erroneous conclusions
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
by AO Karlsson - 2007 - Cited by 8 - Related articles
The aim of this study was to analyze the risk of erroneous conclusions in immigration cases ..... [6] I.W. Evett, B.S. Weir, Interpreting DNA Evidence, ...
www.math.chalmers.se/~mostad/Immigration_paper_inpress.pdf
#
frontline: what jennifer saw: Frequently Asked Questions | PBS
- 1:22am
Q: What is the chief misconception about DNA evidence? There are several misconceptions. ... Q: Is there opposition to DNA evidence in criminal trials? ...
www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dna/etc/faqs.html - Cached - Similar
#
DNA Test Sometimes Wrong
- 1:23am
8 Dec 2008 ... Ryan is a DNA Testing expert. He enjoys helping people gain proof of relationships. He enjoys baseball and the outdoors. ...
ezinearticles.com/?DNA-Test-Sometimes... - 11 hours ago - Cached - Similar
#
the charles smith blog: SECTION ON "ERRONEOUS CONVICTIONS OF THE ...
SECTION ON "ERRONEOUS CONVICTIONS OF THE INNOCENT" FROM PAPER BY STEIKER'S ... After being exonerated by DNA evidence, 41 of the 200 required a pardon, ...
smithforensic.blogspot.com/.../section-on-erroneous-convictions-of.html - Cached
#
DNA testing was not safeguarded against error
DNA provides one of the most specific methods of "typing" a person, but many features of ideal data are being violated when evidence has been gathered for ...
www.utexas.edu/courses/bio301d/Topics/DNA/text.html - Cached - Similar
#
McDaniel v. Brown (08-559) | LII / Legal Information Institute
If Brown is successful, federal habeas petitioners will be able to supplement the trial record more easily when there is erroneous DNA evidence involved. ...
topics.law.cornell.edu/supct/cert/08-559 - Cached
#
Dealing with DNA evidence: a legal guide - Google Books Result
Andrei Semikhodskii - 2007 - Law - 177 pages
... on three DNA laboratories in 1987 and 1988 revealed several instances of ... there is a possibility that an erroneous DNA profile would be reported. ...
books.google.co.nz/books?isbn=1845680499...
#
DNA and the justice game - Griffith REVIEW
Chisholm also questioned the DNA testing procedures at the Institute of ... including the claim of factual innocence and erroneous DNA evidence. ...
www.griffithreview.com/edition-4/113-reportage/469.html?start... - Cached
#
DNA-testing for immigration cases: The risk of erroneous ...
by AO Karlsson - 2007 - Cited by 8 - Related articles
25 Oct 2007 ... The aim of this study was to analyze the risk of erroneous ..... The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Evidence, National Academy Press, ...
 
And here is another thread on the case from a board which discusses things military. One correspondent has a theory that Patrick Cone is the real murderer! Whoa....

http://www.militarytimes.com/forum/...iple-murder-trial-delayed-for-5th-time/page27

I'm still puzzled as to why the crime scene was altered Fatal-Vision style. Seems rather gilding-the-lily, risky and time-consuming to me. Wouldn't it be safer to dispose of the bodies or set fire to the place to destroy the evidence? I find it hard to believe that Jeff McDonald engineered it to force a re-opening of his case.
 
I hate to make your head spin but there was unknown male DNA on one of the bloody towles and unknown head hair in Kathryn Eastburn's bed. As I have said, this trial has been haunting me since 1989.
 
lonetraveler said:
I hate to make your head spin but there was unknown male DNA on one of the bloody towles and unknown head hair in Kathryn Eastburn's bed. As I have said, this trial has been haunting me since 1989.
Click to expand...

Unknown DNA: from an unrelated source, an accomplice, or the true murderer?

A lot more questions are left unanswered than answered, and the guilty verdict has not answered them. Other investigators, authors and Hennis supporters will certainly step in to answer them as best they can.
 
was the jury blocked from hearing about this other dna evidence?

i ask cause the case i worked on alot of exclusionary dna was either blocked or ignored
 
The judge denied the defense funding to test the unknown DNA found at the crime scene. Remember, all funding for both defense and prosecution is paid for by the government.
 
Sameera said:
I can't find these comments on the page. Can you point me in the right direction, please?
Click to expand...

On the page linked, if I scroll to the bottom there is a box that says "GOLO" and 38 comments. I had to click on a "view comments" link and it took me right to the comment section.

Hope that helps (or most likely you've already found the comments).
 
Boyz_Mum said:
On the page linked, if I scroll to the bottom there is a box that says "GOLO" and 38 comments. I had to click on a "view comments" link and it took me right to the comment section.

Hope that helps (or most likely you've already found the comments).
Click to expand...

Found the GOLO but still no luck in viewing the comments. Do you have to be registered and logged in?
 
It appears that the testimony of Jennifer Hopper, a former forensic biologist for the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation is what sealed Hennis' fate. From what I can find, she was very strong in arguing that it was Hennis' Y chromosomes in Kathryn's Vagina. That pretty much nails it. There may have been other male DNA on a hand towel at the crime scene, there may have been other samples that were not tested and there may have issues with the preservation and chain of custody of the samples but there was no getting around the fact that it was HIS DNA.

The defense was left with the choice of either claiming outright fraud on the part of the prosecution (simple testing "error couldn't explain the close match) or consensual sex with the defendant prior to the murder. Both are high risk, desperation tactics when presented without any evidence.

Since Hennis has never claimed to have had consensual sex with Kathryn and the defense never broached the subject until the end of the trial, I suspect that the defense hoped to discredit the DNA evidence during the trial but decided that they had failed to do so. Apparently they felt they had no choice but to offer an "explaination" for how that DNA got where it was found.

Realistically, it is pretty much a cliché for rapists to claim "consensual sex" whenever they are confronted with DNA evidence. The eyewitnesses may not have been completely credible but coupled with the DNA evidence, the case becomes extremely solid. Realistically, what juror would accept the "possibility" of consensual sex, when the defendant has never actually claimed that it happened (the defense could have put Hennis on the stand but they chose not to).

Like McDonald, Hennis has the appearance of a "stand-up" sort of guy. There was nothing in his life, before or after the murders that would suggest that he could do such a thing. It is a little disconcerting to be confronted that such a man could do something like this. We would much rather find out it was a sleazy lowlife who did it. But, in both cases, the guy who looks so honorable, decked out in full military dress is capable of being a vicious killer. In both cases, justice caught up with them.

Double jeopardy is a legitimate "legal" issue but it has nothing to do with guilt or innocence. They got the right guy, finally.
 
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