GUILTY Canada - Jessica Newman, 24, Calgary, 10 March 2015 #2

[deugirtni]

"At first, Rubletz was cooperative as police tried to figure out what happened to her explaining he had dropped her off after picking her up at work.


"But officers began to suspect he may have been involved in her disappearance when they asked for Rubletz to provide his phone so they could access his geodata and he said it was lost.


"The day after Newman’s body was found, relatives of the accused took his van to a wrecking yard.


"But before the vehicle was crushed, officers were able to seize and inspect it.


"Among the witnesses jurors will hear from, Parker said, is bloodstain pattern analyst Sgt. Jodi Arns.


"“She believes inside the van there was a blood-letting,” the prosecutor said.


"Newman’s DNA was found in the vehicle, including on the underside of the fabric of the passenger side seat, which had been gouged.

"“This the Crown will argue, is circumstantial evidence inferring a botched cleanup,” he said.

The trial is set to last three weeks."


http://calgarysun.com/news/local-ne...wman-was-killed-in-crime-of-passion-jury-told

 

[otto]

"At first, Rubletz was cooperative as police tried to figure out what happened to her explaining he had dropped her off after picking her up at work.


"But officers began to suspect he may have been involved in her disappearance when they asked for Rubletz to provide his phone so they could access his geodata and he said it was lost.


"The day after Newman’s body was found, relatives of the accused took his van to a wrecking yard.


"But before the vehicle was crushed, officers were able to seize and inspect it.


"Among the witnesses jurors will hear from, Parker said, is bloodstain pattern analyst Sgt. Jodi Arns.


"“She believes inside the van there was a blood-letting,” the prosecutor said.


"Newman’s DNA was found in the vehicle, including on the underside of the fabric of the passenger side seat, which had been gouged.

"“This the Crown will argue, is circumstantial evidence inferring a botched cleanup,” he said.

The trial is set to last three weeks."


http://calgarysun.com/news/local-ne...wman-was-killed-in-crime-of-passion-jury-told

Again, this statement, and now the timing of attempting to destroy evidence, concerns me: "The day after Newman’s body was found, relatives of the accused took his van to a wrecking yard.

 

[deugirtni]

Sgt Jodi Arns was also called as a blood stain expert in the O'Brien/Liknes case.

http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/blood-sta...rkhill-home-at-garland-murder-trial-1.3276017

 

[otto]

Sgt Jodi Arns was also called as a blood stain expert in the O'Brien/Liknes case.

http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/blood-sta...rkhill-home-at-garland-murder-trial-1.3276017

Wasn't it her testimony that supported the argument that the Liknes victims were murdered on the acreage? I thought that was a stretch, that their blood would be at the acreage regardless of where they were murdered. I hope the evidence is solid, and less speculative, in this case.

 

[deugirtni]

Dumb question, but how does one pull the top of a dress down? Don't they slide on over the head, making the top too narrow to fit over the shoulders? Was it a black lace "stretchy" dress, or was it torn? If it was torn, then perhaps it was used to control her, and hold her.

Crime of passion typically describes a spontaneous, non-premeditated event where the murder is a reaction rather than an intent. I think that typically results in a ten year sentence, which would be a shame given the injuries, and the lengths to which the suspect and his family went to cover the crime.

This is what news reports said at the time about what JRN was wearing:

"Newman is described as Caucasian, 5’3” tall, 100 lbs. with mid-length blonde hair and blue eyes. She has a tattoo the length of her spine and was last seen wearing a black and white mid -length sleeveless dress and black leather jacket with studs on the shoulder pads." (https://globalnews.ca/news/1883869/24-year-old-jessica-newman-missing-since-tuesday/ )

Could have had a zipped back which was undone and pulled down? Or stretchy, as you mentioned.

Parker also said this in court today: "Parker told jurors Newman was killed “while she was intimate and vulnerable.”" So from that, it sounds like the Crown believes the two were making out in the van at the time when she was murdered, and that they believe the top of her dress was pulled down willingly?

 

[otto]

This is what news reports said at the time about what JRN was wearing:

"Newman is described as Caucasian, 5’3” tall, 100 lbs. with mid-length blonde hair and blue eyes. She has a tattoo the length of her spine and was last seen wearing a black and white mid -length sleeveless dress and black leather jacket with studs on the shoulder pads." (https://globalnews.ca/news/1883869/24-year-old-jessica-newman-missing-since-tuesday/ )

Could have had a zipped back which was undone and pulled down? Or stretchy, as you mentioned.

Parker also said this in court today: "Parker told jurors Newman was killed “while she was intimate and vulnerable.”" So from that, it sounds like the Crown believes the two were making out in the van at the time when she was murdered, and that they believe the top of her dress was pulled down willingly?

Thank you. I wonder if they have ruled out that it was staged to look like that. It's not like he murdered her and left the scene. He obviously put a lot of thought into hiding the body, trying to point police in another direction, and staging it to look like she was sexually assaulted, murdered, and dumped in a ditch by a random stranger. Even his family made efforts to hide evidence of his involvement by trying to destroy the vehicle as soon as her body was found. It seems like everything was done to have police look elsewhere, so half undressing her could fall under staging.

 

[deugirtni]

Wasn't it her testimony that supported the argument that the Liknes victims were murdered on the acreage? I thought that was a stretch, that their blood would be at the acreage regardless of where they were murdered. I hope the evidence is solid, and less speculative, in this case.

Seems like it could be Vivian Mohrbutter that you are thinking of: "Vivian Mohrbutter, a scientist with the RCMP crime lab in Edmonton, was asked to examine multiple exhibits seized by police during the investigation into the disappearance of the three relatives. Mohrbutter compared the DNA profiles of the three victims to swabs taken from various exhibits, including a large hacksaw or meat saw, as one witness described it."
This article details all of the DNA that was found at the acreage (and the Liknes home), while Arns testified about the stains and spatter and what that all meant. jmo. (pretty gruesome looking back at that stuff!)
http://calgaryherald.com/news/crime...nathan-obrien-grandparents-on-garland-acreage

 

[deugirtni]

Thank you. I wonder if they have ruled out that it was staged to look like that. It's not like he murdered her and left the scene. He obviously put a lot of thought into hiding the body, trying to point police in another direction, and staging it to look like she was sexually assaulted, murdered, and dumped in a ditch by a random stranger. Even his family made efforts to hide evidence of his involvement by trying to destroy the vehicle as soon as her body was found. It seems like everything was done to have police look elsewhere, so half undressing her could fall under staging.

Yes, I was wondering same thing. Unless they found his DNA inside of her, he very well could have set it up to look like a sexually motivated killing by a stranger.

Interesting about his suddenly 'lost' phone.

 

[otto]

Seems like it could be Vivian Mohrbutter that you are thinking of: "Vivian Mohrbutter, a scientist with the RCMP crime lab in Edmonton, was asked to examine multiple exhibits seized by police during the investigation into the disappearance of the three relatives. Mohrbutter compared the DNA profiles of the three victims to swabs taken from various exhibits, including a large hacksaw or meat saw, as one witness described it."
This article details all of the DNA that was found at the acreage (and the Liknes home), while Arns testified about the stains and spatter and what that all meant. jmo. (pretty gruesome looking back at that stuff!)
http://calgaryherald.com/news/crime...nathan-obrien-grandparents-on-garland-acreage

Thanks - blood evidence given by experts, and I suppose it was the prosecutor who made the leap that blood evidence at the acreage conclusively meant that the victims were alive at the acreage. I wonder if there will be leaps like that in this trial.

 

[otto]

Yes, I was wondering same thing. Unless they found his DNA inside of her, he very well could have set it up to look like a sexually motivated killing by a stranger.

Interesting about his suddenly 'lost' phone.

If that's how she felt about him, why not invite him in after he drove her home - no need to have sex in his vehicle.

 

[LoisLane]

If that's how she felt about him, why not invite him in after he drove her home - no need to have sex in his vehicle.

Not as fun!

Especially with her father figure roommate living there.

 

[deugirtni]

Just my opinion, but I find it interesting that people always tend to think the police 'have it', and that they're doing all of this forensic and investigative work behind the scenes, in the background, and that they know things and they're just waiting for results, or just that right amount of proof, etc etc etc.... and yet sometimes it seems like they miss doing the most basic, obvious things.

I find it pretty disappointing that when police already *knew* that KR was the last one they knew of, to have seen JRN alive, since he had apparently willingly told them that he had picked her up from work that fateful night and gone for a coffee with her (nobody else had seen her since she was AT work), that they didn't immediately confiscate his phone to examine everything about it, including his geodata. Would that not have sped up the discovery of her body?

As much as it may have seemed like an intrusion into his privacy - that examination of his phone could also have proven his innocence, if he was innocent, rather than the other way around. And with police knowing additionally, that the two were dealing with custody issues, which are known to be potentially volatile, I'm just shocked they didn't get a warrant for his phone immediately. jmo.

 

[LoisLane]

As for losing the phone... could have been legit. If you are consumed by the stress of a situation it's easy to break a phone or leave it somewhere - like the roof of you vehicle. Sloppy police work. I wonder if someone else was more appealing to LE. I want to hear the camera evidence of his route that night.

 

[otto]

Just my opinion, but I find it interesting that people always tend to think the police 'have it', and that they're doing all of this forensic and investigative work behind the scenes, in the background, and that they know things and they're just waiting for results, or just that right amount of proof, etc etc etc.... and yet sometimes it seems like they miss doing the most basic, obvious things.

I find it pretty disappointing that when police already *knew* that KR was the last one they knew of, to have seen JRN alive, since he had apparently willingly told them that he had picked her up from work that fateful night and gone for a coffee with her (nobody else had seen her since she was AT work), that they didn't immediately confiscate his phone to examine everything about it, including his geodata. Would that not have sped up the discovery of her body?

As much as it may have seemed like an intrusion into his privacy - that examination of his phone could also have proven his innocence, if he was innocent, rather than the other way around. And with police knowing additionally, that the two were dealing with custody issues, which are known to be potentially volatile, I'm just shocked they didn't get a warrant for his phone immediately. jmo.

Lengthy applications have to be filed by the prosecutor and submitted to a judge to secure a search warrant. That takes time. It seems that in this case, by the time they had the warrant, the suspect realized that he needed to lose his phone. I wouldn't want to see law changed such that police could confiscate a phone without proper justification.

 

[otto]

As for losing the phone... could have been legit. If you are consumed by the stress of a situation it's easy to break a phone or leave it somewhere - like the roof of you vehicle. Sloppy police work. I wonder if someone else was more appealing to LE. I want to hear the camera evidence of his route that night.

I really doubt that he lost his phone. I think he realized that his phone could provide evidence of his travels to the ditch where her body was found, and I don't think he wanted to take any chances. He didn't want to take any chances that his vehicle would provide evidence of the murder either, and tried very hard to lose his vehicle before police could confiscate it.

 

[deugirtni]

If that's how she felt about him, why not invite him in after he drove her home - no need to have sex in his vehicle.

True though. Why not invite him in for a 'sleepover'. Even if not as fun or exciting, could've done both.

 

[deugirtni]

As for losing the phone... could have been legit. If you are consumed by the stress of a situation it's easy to break a phone or leave it somewhere - like the roof of you vehicle. Sloppy police work. I wonder if someone else was more appealing to LE. I want to hear the camera evidence of his route that night.

Sure makes him look suspicious when he 'lost' his phone though, even if it was true that he lost it (which I doubt). Hope they have camera evidence, but how far out on those country roads do the cameras go?

 

[otto]

True though. Why not invite him in for a 'sleepover'. Even if not as fun or exciting, could've done both.

Exactly. It's not like they were teenagers with no where to go. They already had a child together, so it's not like anyone would blink an eye if they spent the night together.

I'm also curious why he picked her up from work. They were in court because they could not resolve their differences. Why would she choose to be alone with him, or did she?

 

[otto]

Sure makes him look suspicious when he 'lost' his phone though, even if it was true that he lost it (which I doubt). Hope they have camera evidence, but how far out on those country roads do the cameras go?

I wouldn't be too optimistic about cameras outside the city. Acreage people may have cameras on their houses, but it's unlikely they would record activity on a rural road.

 

[deugirtni]

Lengthy applications have to be filed by the prosecutor and submitted to a judge to secure a search warrant. That takes time. It seems that in this case, by the time they had the warrant, the suspect realized that he needed to lose his phone. I wouldn't want to see law changed such that police could confiscate a phone without proper justification.

Would it not be enough justification just knowing the person was the last person to have seen her alive, combined with the fact that he is an 'ex', and they are actively in court in regard to custody issues? I wonder if police, that first time they questioned him, when he presumably told them he had picked her up, gone for coffee and driven her home, had requested his phone (without the need for a warrant? or does that not happen for legal reasons?). Jeez, if it were me and I had an ex and was hashing out different custody arrangements, and suddenly I disappeared after HE said he drove me home, never to be seen again, I would hope to heck that police would examine my ex's phone. If it were *me*, I would even *expect* my phone to be examined, if I was the last one to see someone alive and had that kind of personal background with that person.