Trial Delayed until at least January

[Madeleine74]

Not seeing the difference between the one JTF posted and the one Borndem posted. However this one line is the interesting one:

"Stephens said he would address the matter after attorneys finish choosing the jury."

Judicial spanking perchance? A village really is missing its idiot.

The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.

 

[cityslick]

Not going to lie, the first place I thought when I read the headline was here.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/01/26/1808826/juror-who-posted-on-web-forum.html

 

[otto]

I'm kind of blown away by the comments from people about sitting on the jury while having a completely tainted opinion of the facts. Are there no better screening methods for selecting juries? NC sometimes brags about having such a high percentage of educated people ... the forums sure don't reflect that. It seems that some people perceive jury duty as a big joke ... just like the case we recently heard about in Florida.

 

[lib's mom]

I'm kind of blown away by the comments from people about sitting on the jury while having a completely tainted opinion of the facts. Are there no better screening methods for selecting juries? NC sometimes brags about having such a high percentage of educated people ... the forums sure don't reflect that. It seems that some people perceive jury duty as a big joke ... just like the case we recently heard about in Florida.

But didn't the screening methods actually work as intended in this case? The potentially tainted jurors were screened out.

 

[NCEast]

I'm kind of blown away by the comments from people about sitting on the jury while having a completely tainted opinion of the facts. Are there no better screening methods for selecting juries? NC sometimes brags about having such a high percentage of educated people ... the forums sure don't reflect that. It seems that some people perceive jury duty as a big joke ... just like the case we recently heard about in Florida.

I agree Otto. I was supposed to be on jury duty this week but was notified at 5:30pm last Friday that the case had been postponed. I was excited although I do have LE background and they may not have wanted me. I have only had the chance once before about 10 years ago and I was extremely sick at the time and my doctor wrote a letter on my behalf. I was disappointed then, was disappointed last Friday. What I hear is that the more intelligent people use their intelligence to get out of serving....may be true, may not. However, I am at the point--especially after the FLA trial--that nothing aside from being half dead should prevent a person from serving. My child was nearly killed in an auto accident several years ago and his attorney at some point before the insurance company settled stated that he was so darn happy the trial was going to be in Edgecombe County because the jurors were never bright and had no concept of money. He went on to say that my son could possibly be awarded 50 million dollars since most of the jurors would be not be able to fully appreciate the difference between 50 thousand and 50 million. That is a very, very sad documentary on the state of who our jurors are, how they think, or how they are NOT able to think, and we just need to get things back in the proper perspective. Our legal system and jury selection is supposed to be the greatest in the world but it needs some major overhauling. Sorry for my rant but I hate the idea that people who are not the upper crust of society are what the make up of some juries are simply because they couldn't find a way to get out of serving. It's just not right.

 

[NCEast]

But didn't the screening methods actually work as intended in this case? The potentially tainted jurors were screened out.

Yes, as far as I can determine by reading the news this afternoon. However, we don't know how much goes on that isn't brought to the attention of the judge and/or attorneys in other cases. Some of us thought Judge Gessner went crazy over people texting during the BC trail. I noticed that Judge Perry in the Florida case point blank asked the potential jurors several questions about social media and even if they had a Facebook page during jury selection. I believe a mistrial in that case because of something like this would have caused him to have a heart attack.
I'm still loving me some Judge Belvin Perry !!

 

[otto]

But didn't the screening methods actually work as intended in this case? The potentially tainted jurors were screened out.

One hasn't been rejected so far, one was selected by the prosecution and rejected by the defense, another was rejected ... so no ... the selection process is not screening out people that have discussed this case on forums.

 

[gracielee]

I think the prosecution would be eager to argue a hitman theory, but there's simply no evidence.

I seriously doubt that, otto. I think there is plenty of information JLY left that hotel room. He admitted to leaving the hotel for a smoke & reading the paper, yet no video of him reentering the hotel by the front door. Regardless, IIRC wasn't their a fingerprint of his in blood? I thought I recalled that bit of info. His shoeprints in blood are plenty, along with his car in the driveway, the lights on in the house, the toddler 'daddy' in the 911 call, & the gas station clerk, whom I thought was quite credible and certainly would have been one hell of a coincidence for gracie to have had a customer matching JLY's description on the very night in question. I don't think the DA would be at all eager to argue a hitman theory when they have so much on the real killer IMO. Nobody else had MOTIVE to beat his wife to death, brutally as it was except for JLY.

 

[otto]

I seriously doubt that, otto. I think there is plenty of information JLY left that hotel room. He admitted to leaving the hotel for a smoke & reading the paper, yet no video of him reentering the hotel by the front door. Regardless, IIRC wasn't their a fingerprint of his in blood? I thought I recalled that bit of info. His shoeprints in blood are plenty, along with his car in the driveway, the lights on in the house, the toddler 'daddy' in the 911 call, & the gas station clerk, whom I thought was quite credible and certainly would have been one hell of a coincidence for gracie to have had a customer matching JLY's description on the very night in question. I don't think the DA would be at all eager to argue a hitman theory when they have so much on the real killer IMO. Nobody else had MOTIVE to beat his wife to death, brutally as it was except for JLY.

What I recall about blood and prints is that there was a palm print in the same location where there was blood, a couple of feet above the floor on the wall beside the bed. It was impossible to determine if the print was there before or after the blood, so it was meaningless - as it's not unreasonable for the occupant to have a palm print on his own wall.

You've pointed out that there is no evidence that Jason returned to the hotel in the morning ... so it seems natural to conclude that he was not away.

There are two sets of bloody footprints similar to size 10 and size 12 shoes. This suggests two assailants.

A witness placed a light colored vehicle at the scene in the middle of the night. Jason has a white vehicle, but having a light colored vehicle does not in any way identify Jason as the murderer.

Regarding any suggestions that the 2 year old identified her father as the murderer, that seems to be something that some people, particularly those that want Jason to be guilty, claim to have heard. Many people don't hear it.

The gas attendant saw a man that was 5 feet tall. That could not be Jason. She didn't describe Jason, she was given a photo of him and asked if she remembered him, but it turns out the man she remembers is a very short man.

 

[gracielee]

IMO there is cumulative circumstantial evidence in this case pointing towards the guilt of JLY. Using my common sense in analyzing each and every bit of evidence in this case, I've come to the conclusion that the totality of ALL the circumstantial evidence, including MOTIVE, and the fact that afterwards, JLY showed absolutely no interest in discovering who killed his wife and unborn child, it is my judgement that he is guilty of this crime beyond a *reasonable doubt*. MOO. I am not taking each piece of evidence singularly, but the sum total of ALL. Which is what the judge instructs the jury to do in his jury instructions. I watch every bit of the last trial, and was firmly convinced of my decision at that time.

 

[NCEast]

I seriously doubt that, otto. I think there is plenty of information JLY left that hotel room. He admitted to leaving the hotel for a smoke & reading the paper, yet no video of him reentering the hotel by the front door. Regardless, IIRC wasn't their a fingerprint of his in blood? I thought I recalled that bit of info. His shoeprints in blood are plenty, along with his car in the driveway, the lights on in the house, the toddler 'daddy' in the 911 call, & the gas station clerk, whom I thought was quite credible and certainly would have been one hell of a coincidence for gracie to have had a customer matching JLY's description on the very night in question. I don't think the DA would be at all eager to argue a hitman theory when they have so much on the real killer IMO. Nobody else had MOTIVE to beat his wife to death, brutally as it was except for JLY.

I think you are right about the fingerprint , can't remember if it was in blood, but it was in or near a closet and the defense claimed that it was perfectly ok since he lived there and a fingerprint would be expected. Or something to that effect??? I agree that there is ample evidence against JY--the prosecution team just has to get it out in a manner that the jury understands. The more I think of his obscene and childish behaviors that were brought out in the first trial the more I am convinced he has a psychological problem that should have been addressed many years ago. And those thoughts lead me right straight in the direction of his many girlfriends, another new baby, he couldn't keep a job, he didn't really want to be married it seemed, he didn't want MY's mother to move in with them.....on and on.....into one heck of a fit of rage. A soft kill may have been his intention but I can easily see now, after learning about his personality deficits, how he could have killed MY with inhuman rage--with no regard to anybody but himself and his own future. And it was definitely a personal murder, overkill. It was him, couldn't have been anybody else.

 

[scandi]

I think you are right about the fingerprint , can't remember if it was in blood, but it was in or near a closet and the defense claimed that it was perfectly ok since he lived there and a fingerprint would be expected. Or something to that effect??? I agree that there is ample evidence against JY--the prosecution team just has to get it out in a manner that the jury understands. The more I think of his obscene and childish behaviors that were brought out in the first trial the more I am convinced he has a psychological problem that should have been addressed many years ago. And those thoughts lead me right straight in the direction of his many girlfriends, another new baby, he couldn't keep a job, he didn't really want to be married it seemed, he didn't want MY's mother to move in with them.....on and on.....into one heck of a fit of rage. A soft kill may have been his intention but I can easily see now, after learning about his personality deficits, how he could have killed MY with inhuman rage--with no regard to anybody but himself and his own future. And it was definitely a personal murder, overkill. It was him, couldn't have been anybody else.

Hi, I read the fingerprint was IN blood. Wouldn't it be very simple for a forensic detail person to determine which was there first, the print or the blood? The blood would have to be wet for a print to be left, right? That would prove who ever left the print was there in that time frame when the blows landed on Michelle. IMO

 

[Madeleine74]

The way I remember it there was a finger or partial hand print matching JY on the wall next to the closet, with a spray of blood outside of that print, as if the person had placed their hand on the wall to give themselves leverage as they were bent over, beating MY, who by that time was on the floor.

(sorry that's so graphic and disturbing, but Saack's description and demonstration of it stayed with me).

Had the print been on the wall previously, then how did the blood spray manage to avoid landing on top of that print?

 

[otto]

IMO there is cumulative circumstantial evidence in this case pointing towards the guilt of JLY. Using my common sense in analyzing each and every bit of evidence in this case, I've come to the conclusion that the totality of ALL the circumstantial evidence, including MOTIVE, and the fact that afterwards, JLY showed absolutely no interest in discovering who killed his wife and unborn child, it is my judgement that he is guilty of this crime beyond a *reasonable doubt*. MOO. I am not taking each piece of evidence singularly, but the sum total of ALL. Which is what the judge instructs the jury to do in his jury instructions. I watch every bit of the last trial, and was firmly convinced of my decision at that time.

A witness placing a white car at the scene would be good evidence.
Video surveillance of Jason re-entering the hotel in the morning would be good evidence.
A single set of footprints at the murder scene ... good evidence.
If the gas attendant had provided accurate description of the suspect ... good evidence.
Two year olds having the cognitive ability to understand death and provide a witness statement would be good evidence.
A suspect that was not perceived as a suspect within minutes of the crime being discovered would be helpful.

If we take the totality of the evidence, we don't have a straight line between Jason and the murder. What I see is that police are unable to explain how Jason made the trip without enough gas. They are unable to explain how, if he was away through the night, he got into the hotel in the morning. There are two cameras at the end of the hallway ... one in the hallway and one in the stairwell. How did Jason avoid both cameras ... shear luck?

It seems to me that police focused on Jason at the beginning and they couldn't rule him out because he wouldn't talk to them. He couldn't talk to them because his lawyer told him not to. During the first trial, the prosecution attempted to imply guilt because he followed his lawyers advice. That's fishy.

 

[otto]

"There was DNA matching Jason Young from a palm print on the molding of the closet door, Saacks said.

The location, he said, suggested that the defendant leaned against the wall as his wife lay on the floor so that he had more leverage when attacking her."

http://www.wral.com/specialreports/michelleyoung/story/9768720/

 

[jilly]

The way I remember it there was a finger or partial hand print matching JY on the wall next to the closet, with a spray of blood outside of that print, as if the person had placed their hand on the wall to give themselves leverage as they were bent over, beating MY, who by that time was on the floor.

(sorry that's so graphic and disturbing, but Saack's description and demonstration of it stayed with me).

Had the print been on the wall previously, then how did the blood spray manage to avoid landing on top of that print?

That alone is compelling. I can't believe the jury wouldn't take that for a fact and build around it for a conviction.

 

[otto]

That alone is compelling. I can't believe the jury wouldn't take that for a fact and build around it for a conviction.

If there was a palm print with blood spray surrounding the print, it would be conclusive evidence ... but I don't think there is any evidence like that.

 

[Madeleine74]

That alone is compelling. I can't believe the jury wouldn't take that for a fact and build around it for a conviction.

Saacks used it in his closing. I thought it was powerful and another interesting piece of C.E.

 

[otto]

Regarding whether prosecutors would be eager to argue a hit man, that was not altogether excluded in the first trial:

"Jurors were instructed to decide whether Young is guilty or innocent of first-degree murder and to decide whether there was evidence that he acted in concert with others to commit the crime."

"Defense attorneys reminded jurors in closing arguments that two days after the homicide, the only sign of injury that investigators found on Jason Young was a bruise on his left big toenail."

Regarding the totality of evidence, there's no reason to exclude anything, such as:

"Klinkosum reminded jurors of evidence indicating that others might have been in the Young house - two cigarette butts with DNA from men never identified, a hair on a wedding frame, a jewelry box that had a mixture of DNA that matched neither of the Youngs and an unidentified print on the cap of a Tylenol bottle found in Cassidy Young's bedroom."

Regarding prints from Jason, this is all there is (below) ... although I would very much like to see a link to information about Jason's prints with blood spray around that print, I doubt it exists.

"Investigators found evidence of his DNA on a palm print on molding of the bedroom closet door, but defense attorneys argued it would be common to find Young's DNA or prints in his home."

http://www.ongo.com/v/1234006/-1/51...denies-killing-wife-jury-begins-deliberations

 

[otto]

The way I remember it there was a finger or partial hand print matching JY on the wall next to the closet, with a spray of blood outside of that print, as if the person had placed their hand on the wall to give themselves leverage as they were bent over, beating MY, who by that time was on the floor.

(sorry that's so graphic and disturbing, but Saack's description and demonstration of it stayed with me).

Had the print been on the wall previously, then how did the blood spray manage to avoid landing on top of that print?

Could you please provide a link to Saacks graphic description of a hand print from Jason that was clearly visible because of surrounding blood spray.