Recent content by lawstudent

Exactly. Thank you. Very well articulated.

Was it known to be wiped down or just clear of prints? I know this has been discussed but I feel like it is one of those issues where facts and speculation get fused. Not having prints on it doesn't mean it was wiped down - obviously if there was recent evidence someone had been scrubbing away...

For some reason I always forget that the murder weapon isn't known (or if she was hit vs. slammed against something I guess). Obviously a key issue. I know there must be tons of speculation by experts by now.

The burdens are different, though. A defense attorney's job is to get the defendant off when the evidence isn't beyond a reasonable doubt, which includes many guilty people, but the prosecution's job is to get a conviction where there is enough evidence to pursue it further, and even then they...

Obviously I have no way of knowing, but if we assume there was family involvement, the only person who could be prosecuted would be John, and with Patsy dead I think building a case would be extremely difficult after all this time. The records could show something was off, but not what actually...

I think this makes a ton of sense. I think Hunter was right about not standing a chance without a confession, however, so I think efforts to reopen are pointless absent new evidence.

Exactly. But my point is that if DNA is this easily transferred, detected and dismissed, that would be true of anyone it matched to given this wasn't totally random. Assuming the perpetrator had some connection to the family and familiarity with the house or area, there could be many...

Yeah, those are the thoughts that keep me conflicted on this case. I don't find an intruder very likely based on everything else, but I don't believe the DNA is quite so easy to dismiss. Otherwise, knowing where it came from would be pretty much impossible even if there was a match. You'd...

Plenty of journalism grads make spelling errors. Especially with this particular word, which I have looked up before because I see people use so many variations of it. I am obsessive about spelling and grammar, although less so on a forum like this, as I tend to write in a...

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but how do police distinguish traces of DNA that must be all over most people from significant DNA, unless it is really obvious (a pool of blood, semen, etc.)? I know that we pick up countless traces of other people all the time, but DNA would be useless...

I saw the latest 48 hours on this and it was disturbing. The way she reenacted throwing the poor child was not at all how I would imagine someone throwing down a child in frustration - it looked like she was dropping a heavy box. Her confession didn't seem real to me, but regardless of that...

I know someone who is a social worker and one of her primary responsibilities is placing people who are in crisis, some of whom are malingering. She judges it pretty quickly - of course, all cases are different and some situations are more difficult than others, but her explanations to me of...

Yeah, I never get the hype on dogs in these cases, with a few exceptions where a dog's behavior is extremely noteworthy. My dog is always on guard, but is not a big barker. Occasionally she will hear something like a coyote howl or whatever and go on a dramatic howling/barking fit. No one...

Bizarre. I saw that a child was missing during that time, and then was found, but I didn't hear about any of the rest until now. Definitely need to wait for more info. As for the guy who, thank god, found her, a "vision"? He saw her as he drove past. Yes, he used his vision, but you have...

The thing with "botched robbery" or burglary gone wrong is that the perp feels trapped. Their instinct may be to brandish a weapon or push the person down and run, therefore assaulting them, but the perp isn't looking to get into a violent fight and murder. That usually happens if the victim...