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

[deugirtni]

Airtight can be piece-by-piece.. I'm good with that.

3 days supposedly. All those friends and support and it took 3 days. Did they think she went on a bender? Back to her old ways? Doesn't sound like the woman they describe in that article. Missed court! Hello!!

The thing about the 'pieces' though, is that often, a piece (or even possibly every piece) can be ripped apart to show some doubt, so not airtight in itself. They encourage the jury to look at the totality of the evidence before they make any decisions, and then ask them to use common sense, life experience, general intelligence, etc. to come to their conclusions.... based ONLY on evidence presented in the courtroom. I'm just saying that even if/when a jury convicts or acquits, it's not always cut and dried (airtight) so that all people would agree on same outcome. jmo.

 

[deugirtni]

In the last month I know 5 men who were all friends who died from drug overdose (toxicology won't prove it for a while). They were all friends and dropped like flies. They bought from the same circle, were aware of the risk, and yet they still thought they were good. They had past dealing experience too so they knew the risks. People need to smarten up.

When Jessica died the Fentanyl crisis wasn't nearly as bad as it is now but it was in the news.

That stuff is some scary , for sure. The health depts (and other venues) give away these kits so that people can have them on hand, just in case. Anyone who takes any kind of drug, even hooch, should have one of these around, and anyone who has occasion to be *with* people who are using drugs.. it's scary out there.. the dealers might be 'trustworthy' on their own, but they don't know what has happened upstream without their knowledge..

"The kits, which look like a black pencil case, can be received for free from Alberta pharmacies."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-calgary-doctor-how-to-use-a-naloxone-kit-1.3974314

 

[otto]

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.

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure that a search warrant is needed to search someone's personal property. It doesn't matter whether police have justification to be suspicious. Without a search warrant, evidence is not admissible in court. Cell phones are very much the same as personal computers. Warrants to search someone's home are a lot easier to deal with than someone's phone because the house isn't going anywhere, but the phone can vanish in an instant without a trace.

 

[otto]

Even if they were having these episodes of intimacy on the sly, wouldn't sneaking him into her bedroom be just as exciting as making out in a van? The thrill of not getting 'caught', so to speak?

I wonder if it was a regular occurrence for him to drive her places/pick her up/take her to and from work, etc, or was this unusual? Hopefully the testimony will be interesting and informative.

I think the prosecutor is wrong about the "crime of passion", and I think the fact that the top of her dress was pulled down has nothing to do with an intimacy. I think this was a crime about money and his freedom to pursue a job, and that he saw her as preventing him from doing what he wanted to do. I think he had a plan that either she would back off, or he would get rid of her. I think that's the more difficult argument to make, the first degree murder argument, and that the prosecutor has decided that it is easier to explain to a jury that her clothing suggest intimacy, and therefore it was a passionate murder.

 

[otto]

Exactly. So with such opposing views (KR saying he was good with JRN getting 50/50, and the Crown saying custody dispute), hopefully the Crown will produce witnesses who would have known for sure which way it was.

There are sworn affidavits related to all custody disputes, so their wishes have been spelled out.

 

[deugirtni]

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure that a search warrant is needed to search someone's personal property. It doesn't matter whether police have justification to be suspicious. Without a search warrant, evidence is not admissible in court. Cell phones are very much the same as personal computers. Warrants to search someone's home are a lot easier to deal with than someone's phone because the house isn't going anywhere, but the phone can vanish in an instant without a trace.

Yes, I'm not saying that a search warrant wasn't required, I'm asking if there was not enough justification there, for LE to obtain one... just due to the fact that KR was the last person to see her alive, was her ex, and the two were dealing with custody issues. Those things alone, I would hope, would be enough to obtain a search warrant of at least the guy's phone (to check up on the communications between them just prior to their final meeting, if nothing else). Also, if a person allows police to search something of their own, a search warrant isn't always needed - but I suspect that if that person ends up being the accused, then a search warrant would be required regardless.

 

[deugirtni]

In the Crown's opening statement, they say they 'examined JRN's phone' - was the phone found with the body? Or found inside her residence, or at work, or somewhere? Or are they talking about 'examining her phone' via provider-records, without having the actual phone? I don't remember ever hearing it reported that LE was in possession of her phone, or that the phone was found with the body? One would assume that by saying 'phone', as opposed to 'phone records', LE must have had the phone? If not, then what kind of info could they obtain in regard to texts? Unless they communicated via FB, and FB handed over her FB logs (which I understand is difficult)?

"He said an examination of Newman’s phone showed there was “romance, sex and love” between the accused and Newman in the months leading up to her death."

 

[otto]

Yes, I'm not saying that a search warrant wasn't required, I'm asking if there was not enough justification there, for LE to obtain one... just due to the fact that KR was the last person to see her alive, was her ex, and the two were dealing with custody issues. Those things alone, I would hope, would be enough to obtain a search warrant of at least the guy's phone (to check up on the communications between them just prior to their final meeting, if nothing else). Also, if a person allows police to search something of their own, a search warrant isn't always needed - but I suspect that if that person ends up being the accused, then a search warrant would be required regardless.

Police can't assume that the last person to admit seeing someone alive is a suspect, even if there appears to be motive. Although is sounds like the suspect initially agreed to let police analyse his phone, he must have given a reason why he would do it later - such as buying a replacement. Search warrants are long legal documents that have to be absolutely airtight, and take time to prepare.

I don't know if you've followed the case in Salmon arm, but it looks like it took weeks for police to secure a search warrant. As soon as they did, tents were set up on the property searching for human remains. Every arguable loophole of the warrant has to be anticipated and stopped because any small error can result in the evidence being excluded.

 

[otto]

In the Crown's opening statement, they say they 'examined JRN's phone' - was the phone found with the body? Or found inside her residence, or at work, or somewhere? Or are they talking about 'examining her phone' via provider-records, without having the actual phone? I don't remember ever hearing it reported that LE was in possession of her phone, or that the phone was found with the body? One would assume that by saying 'phone', as opposed to 'phone records', LE must have had the phone? If not, then what kind of info could they obtain in regard to texts? Unless they communicated via FB, and FB handed over her FB logs (which I understand is difficult)?

"He said an examination of Newman’s phone showed there was “romance, sex and love” between the accused and Newman in the months leading up to her death."

It sounds like they are referring to text messages, which are probably not that difficult to obtain from Canadian cell phone carriers.

 

[deugirtni]

"Michael Hahn, Jessica Newman’s landlord at the time, testified he spoke to Rubletz by phone on Friday, March 13, 2015, about the fact she hadn’t been heard from for days.
...
"The witness testified Rubletz told him he’d wait until the following Monday and if Newman hadn’t surfaced by then he’d report her as missing.

"“He said ‘have you heard from Jessica?’” Hahn quoted the accused killer after hearing from his adult son that Rublitz had been to their home for the purpose of dropping off the child he shared with Newman and found she wasn’t there.

"“I said I hadn’t heard from her since Tuesday (March 10, 2015) when I dropped her off at work.”

"Hahn then told Rubletz he had gone to the Water Grill bar that day to find Newman hadn’t been to work since March 10, when she left at 9 p.m. to be picked up by an unknown driver.

"“His answer was ‘oh, okay,’” Hahn told Parker.

"In the prosecutor’s opening address on Monday, Parker told a six-woman, six-man jury that Rubletz told police he was the one who gave Newman a lift that evening.

"Hahn was asked what Rubletz’s demeanour was during the conversation.

"“Almost like nonchalant,” he said.

"“Not really worried about where Jessica was.”
....
"Hahn said Newman, who rented a room in the basement of his southeast home, kept in regular text contact with him.

"But he said after dropping her off at work on March 10, just before 4 p.m., he never heard from her again.

"He said he knew Newman didn’t come home that evening, because her dog, Tala, who normally made a racket when she came in, was quiet.

"“I could always tell when Tala was scampering around the kitchen that she was home,” Hahn said.

"Hahn said after speaking to Rubletz he was in contact with Newman’s stepfather and he ended up calling Calgary police to report her missing at his request."

http://calgarysun.com/news/local-ne...im-jessica-newman-disappeared-without-a-trace

 

[deugirtni]

Seems like we have slim coverage of this trial!

 

[deugirtni]

It sounds like they are referring to text messages, which are probably not that difficult to obtain from Canadian cell phone carriers.

I'm not sure about that. I remember from another trial I followed that there is something about the content of text messages not being able to be retrieved without possession of the actual phone, unless the device had been backed up to a computer, or cloud (similar to how the provider doesn't keep voice copies of what was said during phonecalls, they only keep the numbers called/received calls, times, dates, etc). It was complicated and confusing testimony. Will try to find reference to it. It seemed that if someone said they had lost their phone, police were not able to check any text contents, even with warrants to the provider. jmo though, and there seems to be a lot of misinformation out there. (It's possible however, that JRN could have had her texts automatically being sent to her email or something?)

"We don’t keep our customers’ communications like text messages and emails because our customers’ privacy is important and we don’t need to retain this"
http://www.rogers.com/consumer/privacy-crtc

"Unlike many other wireless carriers, Telus stores copies of all text messages sent or received by its subscribers in a database for 30 days."
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/03/27/canada-supreme-court-text-messages_n_2961046.html

 

[otto]

I'm not sure about that. I remember from another trial I followed that there is something about the content of text messages not being able to be retrieved without possession of the actual phone, unless the device had been backed up to a computer, or cloud (similar to how the provider doesn't keep voice copies of what was said during phonecalls, they only keep the numbers called/received calls, times, dates, etc). It was complicated and confusing testimony. Will try to find reference to it. It seemed that if someone said they had lost their phone, police were not able to check any text contents, even with warrants to the provider. jmo though, and there seems to be a lot of misinformation out there. (It's possible however, that JRN could have had her texts automatically being sent to her email or something?)

"We don’t keep our customers’ communications like text messages and emails because our customers’ privacy is important and we don’t need to retain this"
http://www.rogers.com/consumer/privacy-crtc

"Unlike many other wireless carriers, Telus stores copies of all text messages sent or received by its subscribers in a database for 30 days."
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/03/27/canada-supreme-court-text-messages_n_2961046.html

Many people with limited incomes choose Wind as a carrier. It's also possible that since she was in a custody dispute, she was backing up all communications with the suspect. If she used a computer in her home, and was the only Facebook user, there's a good chance that she didn't log out so all Facebook communications were easily accessible.

 

[otto]

Seems like we have slim coverage of this trial!

On the surface, it looks like this case is treated somewhat differently than others where the victims are more important [i.e.: not a struggling single mom]. For example, the suggestion that because the top of her dress was pulled down, she was murdered during intimacy in a vehicle and therefore the murder was a "crime of passion" - seems really farfetched. As soon as we include the court date, custody dispute, and related financial considerations, the "crime of passion" theory should be thrown out the window. It makes a huge difference in terms of sentencing - from ten to twenty-five years, but second degree murder is always easier to argue than first degree murder.

 

[deugirtni]

Many people with limited incomes choose Wind as a carrier. It's also possible that since she was in a custody dispute, she was backing up all communications with the suspect. If she used a computer in her home, and was the only Facebook user, there's a good chance that she didn't log out so all Facebook communications were easily accessible.

Yes, she would definitely have been wise to store all messages with her ex, and here's hoping LE was able to get all of her communications... they must have had access to something for them to have made the claim that she was still having sex with him, still being romantic with him, etc.

 

[deugirtni]

On the surface, it looks like this case is treated somewhat differently than others where the victims are more important [i.e.: not a struggling single mom]. For example, the suggestion that because the top of her dress was pulled down, she was murdered during intimacy in a vehicle and therefore the murder was a "crime of passion" - seems really farfetched. As soon as we include the court date, custody dispute, and related financial considerations, the "crime of passion" theory should be thrown out the window. It makes a huge difference in terms of sentencing - from ten to twenty-five years, but second degree murder is always easier to argue than first degree murder.

It does seem like a leap to make that assumption. Perhaps there are texts available or something, which show that the two were intending on getting together for a quickie (or something) on the way home that night.. but still doesn't account for why they believe he would've snapped and committed a crime of passion. I hope reporters will report on testimony regarding the custody 'battle'.

 

[criminal mind]

Not much coverage and hardly anyone following the case. Wish there was more.

Seems like we have slim coverage of this trial!

 

[otto]

It does seem like a leap to make that assumption. Perhaps there are texts available or something, which show that the two were intending on getting together for a quickie (or something) on the way home that night.. but still doesn't account for why they believe he would've snapped and committed a crime of passion. I hope reporters will report on testimony regarding the custody 'battle'.

Initial reports were that she was picked up by an unknown person. Then we learned that it was suspect, her ex-boyfriend. Did texts lead to that information, or did he admit that he picked her up? If there were text messages about him picking her up, then possibly that could support the theory that they decided the front seat of the van, rather than the back of the van, his home, or her home, was the best place for sex. I really hope that there is a text message to support this theory, and that we are not relying solely on the opinion of the prosecutor that struggling single moms like to have sex in the front seat of a van on the way home from work.

 

[otto]

Not much coverage and hardly anyone following the case. Wish there was more.

Coverage of this trial is pathetic - all the news is at least a day old, and there's no details.

 

[deugirtni]

"the purse was bloodied and it was found two months after Newman disappeared. It was discovered in a rural ditch near her petite body, which had 75 stab wounds."

(Maybe her cellphone was inside her purse?)

"Jurors have now viewed two videos showing the rural area near Balzac where Newman's body was dumped."

"In one video, at the intersection of Range Road 284 and Township Road 264, Newman's body can be seen in the ditch."

A still image from the Calgary police helicopter shows a white tarp over Jessica Newman's body, which was discovered near Balzac in May 2015. (Court exhibit)

"On Wednesday, Const. Paul McKenzie told jurors about data from Newman's electronic devices to provide a timeline of when they had last been used. Although the activity halted almost entirely on March 10, 2015, two files on Newman's laptop were accessed three days later including a file titled "women's shelter phone numbers.""

(Assuming her laptop was at her home, would her landlord have accessed it to try to determine where she might be? Police? Landlord's adult son who also lived in the home? It was 3 days later when accessed, which is same day she was reported missing, and landlord spoke to JRN's father. Wonder why JRN had a file on women's shelter phone numbers to begin with?)

"After her body was discovered by a road crew worker, Rubletz told police he picked up Newman from work on the night of March 10, took her for a coffee and dropped her at home."

(Sounds like the accused did not disclose to police that he had been the one to pick her up after work until AFTER her body was found??? Hmm, what could be the reason for leaving out such a detail, *if* one was trying to assist police in the case???)

"Days after the accused gave his first statement to police, he made a "significant addition to his story," said Parker. Rubletz told police he drove out to Balzac after dropping Newman at her home."

(Another important detail not disclosed to police right away? - just so happened to go for a leisurely evening drive around the same area where her body just *happened* to have been dumped, presumably on same evening?)

"On Thursday, jurors will hear evidence about text messages between Newman and Rubletz in the months, weeks and days leading up to her disappearance."

(Hope they have some coverage tomorrow at court and that the texts shed more light!)

All quotes and photo are from this article:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/jessica-newman-kevin-rubletz-murder-trial-video-1.4393961