GUILTY ID - Robert Manwill, 8, Boise, 24 July 2009 - #6

[Crosby87]

Theory #2

According to Charles Manwill, Jenkins wanted her older sister Trish Burrill, his ex-girlfriend, to take in Robert while she was hospitalized in January 2008 and Trish refused to cooperate with her. Suddenly Melissa was separated from her son by his father Charles with her permission. Charles regained legal custody of Robert and Robert wasn’t returned to Jenkins care after she was released from hospital like she wanted. The very next time Robert came to "visit" his mother, he disappeared and was soon found beaten to death in a canal.

Jenkins and Ehrlick may have taken matters into their own hands and murderered Robert to punish Charles for taking in Robert without Jenkins approval. Jenkins may have decided Charles would never get his son back after this and they both are guilty of murdering Robert.

Ehrlick insisted Jenkins was in charge of Robert's discipline and he didn’t resist Jenkins when she told him to hide Robert in the closet.

<snipped>
Robert Manwill's father, Charles Manwill, has had custody of Robert since January 2008, according to court records. When Jenkins met Robert's father, Charles Manwill, he was dating Trish. Charles Manwill is 9 years older than Melissa Jenkins. In 2000, when Jenkins was in her early 20s, she got pregnant with Manwill's child, and Robert was born in June 2001. Jenkins and Manwill were married in July, but they separated less than a year later.

The records show Jenkins was admitted to the hospital that month for early pregnancy complications and was unable to care for Robert, who has lived with his dad in New Plymouth ever since. Jenkins has visitation rights, and the boy was visiting her the night he disappeared.

Family members say that before the boy disappeared, Burrill had not seen Jenkins and Robert in about 18 months. A court affidavit filed by Robert's father indicates that Burrill would not take the boy in while Jenkins was hospitalized for a few weeks in 2008. (Burrill and her husband, Kyle, did not agree to interviews.) When Jenkins met Robert's father, Charles Manwill, he was dating Trish. He and Jenkins' second cousin, Justin Smith, were buddies and roommates. Manwill was nine years older than Jenkins.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2009/08/19/869934/first-degree-murder-robert-manwills.html

http://prairiechicken.blogspot.com/2009/07/robert-manwill-8-missing-from-dallas.html

 

[Crosby87]

In my opinion, Robert&#8217;s head and abdominal injuries and the bruises on his elbows, knees and buttocks most likely occurred while he was learning to skateboard at his mom&#8217;s in the summer of 2009. Robert brought a skateboard with him to his mother&#8217;s and he would have been at the beginner level when he went out to practice; so unless Robert had protective gear and wore pads on his elbows, knees, and buttocks, he likely had bruises all over his body including his head from falling on concrete or the ground for most of the summer. A child is injured at a playground and a parent may not realize the extent of the child's injuries. A lot of athletes get concussions and if Robert took a serious tumble at the skateboard park where Ehrlick said they went together and Robert banged his head unexpectantly and forcefully on the concrete or ground while skateboarding that could have caused Robert&#8217;s physical health to suddenly deteriorate and cause him to become disoriented and physically ill around the 23rd-24th of July.

It is entirely possible Robert slipped several times at the pool and hit his head while diving or after taking a shower. if Jenkins didn&#8217;t understand what was causing her son's injuries she wasn&#8217;t in a position to help him. Robert likely suffered from sun stroke which causes a person to feel light headed and vomit. The water wings Robert wore while learning to swim likely left marks on Robert&#8217;s upper arms.

No one asked Ehrlick to recall the number of times Robert fell and injured himself while he was at the skateboarding park or participating in any other summer sport the summer of 2009. It is entirely possible Robert seriously got hurt when he was learning to skateboard and Jenkins and Ehrlick were confused and hiding Robert because they didn&#8217;t realize why or where he was getting hurt. If Jenkins knew Robert got his injuries from skateboarding she might not have hid Robert from H&W and his father and she would have sought medical treatment for him because there was likely witnesses at the skateboard park who saw him fall and Robert could speak for himself. It&#8217;s possible out of ignorance; Melissa falsely accused Ehrlick of hurting her son because she didn&#8217;t know what was causing her son&#8217;s injuries.

It makes perfect sense that a lot of Robert&#8217;s bruises were as a result of learning to skateboad and not totally from lying in a dead bug position and being tortured for being bad. Ehrlick said he wrestled professional style with Robert and if Robert was already injured from skateboarding this is likely why Robert whined. Play wrestling with Robert in this condition would be a painful and traumatic experience. Robert likely injured himself quite badly when he first got on a skateboard so this could explain why the doctor noticed some of his abdominal injuries had healed. It&#8217;s possible Robert took several falls on his skateboard before he visited his mother and he badly bruised his tailbone and that is why he found it painful to sit for any length of time.

LE should have interviewed the man Ehrlick got into an argument with to find out what he did after he and Mr. Ehrlick parted ways and ruled him out as a suspect. This man said he was intimidated by Ehrlick so there is a chance this man went after Robert to take care of unfinished business.

It is also possible someone told Robert they would take him to a birthday party if he came with them and that is why no one else knew where Robert was. It was a lie to cover up a premeditated murder plot to take the innocent life of a child. If Robert was really angry at Ehrlick and in a defiant mood he would be in a rebellious mood and agree to go with anyone who looked friendly on the outside but may have been holding a grudge against someone the child was related to and he is the person responsible for Robert&#8217;s death.

1. Robert died naturally of internal injuries that occurred while he was skateboarding and participating in other sports and Ehrlick and Jenkins disposed of his body because they didn&#8217;t understand how he got his bruises and injuries so they hid his body in the canal after his death because they couldn't explain what happened.
2. After Ehrlick had a conflict with another male, this person was angry at Ehrlick and he snatched Robert rather than an adult to take care of unfinished business.
3. A punk in a gang felt like beating someone up on a Friday night and they lured Robert into a trap.

 

[cv1964]

This has been one horrific trial to follow... My heart has broken everyday that I have heard what the child went through.. '

Justice has been done and Daniel Ehrlick was found GUILTY after just two hours: http://www.ktvb.com/home/Jury-finds...f-the-murder-of-Robert-Manwill-124830464.html

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

GUILTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Justice for Robert!

 

[Rhyme & Reason]

Justice for Robert! Yesssss!

 

[Idaho-native]

I do agree that boys will be boys and get banged and bruised when learning new sports, but there were to many people that said he wasn't outside much that summer. If these injuries would have happened when Robert and Daniel were away at the skate park together then Daniel would have known that Robert fell and hit his head or other parts of his body. I know that when my kids fall and get hurt they normally come in either with some sort of road rash or tear in their eye saying they fell down. If Robert was a wimpy or whiny kid then it stands to reason he would have complained to Daniel or his mother that he fell and got hurt.

I certainly don't think the punk gang theory fits into it. Having two different sibling who lived in that complex at the time and knowing how large that place it as well as how many people and kids it just doesn't fit.

I don't know anything about this person Daniel got into a altercation with so I don't really have a comment on that guy.

 

[Rhyme & Reason]

This has been one horrific trial to follow... My heart has broken everyday that I have heard what the child went through.. '

Justice has been done and Daniel Ehrlick was found GUILTY after just two hours: http://www.ktvb.com/home/Jury-finds...f-the-murder-of-Robert-Manwill-124830464.html

I know, it just makes my heart hurt for him.

RIP Robert

 

[Crosby87]

Charles Manwill: 'Today the system worked, we got justice for my son'

http://www.ktvb.com/home/Roberts-father-Charles-Manwill-speaks-out-after-verdict-124831854.html

Robert Manwill's aunt: 'We have closure and Robert has justice'

http://www.ktvb.com/home/Robert-Manwills-aunt-talks-about-case-nephew-moving-on-124832344.html

 

[ohiogirl]

Robert, I'm sorry you were taken from this life far too soon. RIP, Little Man.

 

[Crosby87]

More Reasonable Doubt:

The fact Robert&#8217;s body wasn&#8217;t found in the canal stuffed into a suitcase or duffle bag strongly suggests to me someone other than Ehrlick placed Robert&#8217;s body in the canal.

If Ehrlick had to move Robert&#8217;s dead body discretely from his apartment, he would have had to transport the body in something and the prosecution never explained what Ehrlick transported Manwill's body in and how Ehrlick was able to transport the body from the apartment to the canal without a car in broad daylight and take care of the baby without any assistance?

The prosecution never located the container Ehrlick used to move the body in so I think the fact Robert&#8217;s body wasn&#8217;t found inside a container in the canal suggests once again that Robert was abducted from the playground and after he was beaten the criminal carried his body which was dressed in street clothes to the canal, placed a rock in the pocket, placed in in the canal and left. The DNA expert testified that the DNA found on the rock did not match Ehrlick's or Robert Manwill's.

The medical examiner who conducted Robert&#8217;s autopsy knows if Robert&#8217;s death was caused by drowning yet as far as I know this information was not revealed to the Jury during the trial.

JMO

 

[Idaho-native]

I have wondered myself over and over how the body got to the canal. In the very beginning I was told that my niece had played with Robert that evening on the playground so had reason to think this would have happened on the 24th. I had heard earlier in the trial that a child who played with him changed her story a few times. I couldn't be sure that was my little niece, but assumed it was. Then when Amanda Hamscom who I know and lived with my brothers family testified about my niece talked about her it added a few things. In the end it seems the FBI decided early on Kimberly wasn't credible. In closing I heard her refereed to as a drama queen and a diva and both times I said "oh thats her." The point Im getting at is Roberts body may not have been carried out on the 24th at all. That oatmeal in his stomach might not have been lunch as DE said. It could have been dinner from the 23rd. This child may have died on the 23rd after the "I hate you" altercation and the altercation with that Josh guy and when MJ got home from work to take care of the baby DE disposed of the body.

There were times while reading the tweets I was wavering on who actually killed Robert. I never thought it was a stranger. I've always thought it was either MJ or DE, but because I never saw the evidence that was presented I had a hard time knowing and based on that knew I didn't want to be on that jury. I sat and watched the entire closing arguments that started at 1:30 and lasted until 6:30. Seeing the presentation and seeing the evidence summarized and put together in a neat little package the way it was made it easier and thats when I knew for sure how I felt about my opinion. I read in a news interview done with Trish (the Aunt) that during the trial she had even felt she wasn't sure how it was going to go, but during closing is when she knew. I saw DE seem cocky and confident on the stand, but during closing I think he suddenly seemed to look worried that things might not go his way either.

I think one of the big things that indicate that a stranger didn't do this is MJ plead guilty to Aiding and Abetting Murder II. The Death-Fail to Notify or Delay Notification of Death) has been dismissed by Prosecutor. IMO she took the lesser charge because she didn't want to go to trial and have all this stuff come out that DE had come out and risk getting first degree. He was banking on if he just played dumb to it all he could get away with it. If he pointed fingers at her then it would mean it had something to do or know more then he is trying to let on. She doesn't want anyone to know what happened to the body at this point because she wants to get through sentencing. It will be interesting once sentencing is over to see if MJ comes clean about what really happened.

I have met Gus Cayhill and he is well known and handles a lot of the high profile cases for the public defenders office. I was really surprised at his lack of presentation in this case. There were some remarks he made early on in the trial that people were offended by. I heard on the news that people in the gallery were whispering yesterday saying things like he was just rambling. I kind of felt the same way. Sometimes I did wonder if he felt based on what he knew his client was guilty and was having a hard time defending him.

 

[cv1964]

Thank you so much for your coverage of this trial and keeping Roberts memory alive..

I respect and appreciate your open mindedness.

In this case... There didn't need to be a "container" to move the body. I have to agree with idaho native in that it's possible he died the day before.. I can see where that fits. They could have dumped his body the night before, spent some time getting their "story" in place and then reporting him.

The apartment complex is not a gang ridden place, it's actually a pretty safe place and I would have felt comfortable letting my daughter play there on her own. I would have felt safer her with her playing in that environment than I do in our very safe neighborhood.

He could have simply went out after 11pm when all was quiet and placed the body over his shoulder with a blanket.... "have to go out for an emergency but kiddo is sleeping'.. placed the body in his car with no questions asked.

The part that gets me is WHERE in the canal did he place him.. if he had placed him in the canal off of Vista the body would have been found really quickly.. I have a hard time understanding how the body went unnoticed for so long in the canal.. I would think if he had placed him in the canal closer to Kuna the body would have floated down farther.. (it really bothers me to type all of this) than where it was found..

I can see the body making it that far away in the time frame before he was found IF he was put into the canal closer to home.. but there were way too many people searching the nearby canals.

As for the DNA.. I've learned more than I ever wanted to know about touch DNA from the Caylee case.. I believe touch DNA would have been the only dna on that rock... and if that was the case, there is no way it would have survived after the body had been in water so long.

I am amazed that they found any dna on the rock for the time period it was in water..

More Reasonable Doubt:

The fact Robert’s body wasn’t found in the canal stuffed into a suitcase or duffle bag strongly suggests to me someone other than Ehrlick placed Robert’s body in the canal.

If Ehrlick had to move Robert’s dead body discretely from his apartment, he would have had to transport the body in something and the prosecution never explained what Ehrlick transported Manwill's body in and how Ehrlick was able to transport the body from the apartment to the canal without a car in broad daylight and take care of the baby without any assistance?

The prosecution never located the container Ehrlick used to move the body in so I think the fact Robert’s body wasn’t found inside a container in the canal suggests once again that Robert was abducted from the playground and after he was beaten the criminal carried his body which was dressed in street clothes to the canal, placed a rock in the pocket, placed in in the canal and left. The DNA expert testified that the DNA found on the rock did not match Ehrlick's or Robert Manwill's.

The medical examiner who conducted Robert’s autopsy knows if Robert’s death was caused by drowning yet as far as I know this information was not revealed to the Jury during the trial.

JMO

 

[Idaho-native]

He could have simply went out after 11pm when all was quiet and placed the body over his shoulder with a blanket.... "have to go out for an emergency but kiddo is sleeping'.. placed the body in his car with no questions asked.

I have thought that exact same thing before. I have always wondered how he got the body out of the house without looking suspicious. Who would question a sleeping child at an early hour

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

Updated.

Case archive:

http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm166/crankycrankerson/Robert%20Manwill%20%20-ID-/

RIP, precious.

 

[Crosby87]

Thank you so much for your coverage of this trial and keeping Roberts memory alive..

I respect and appreciate your open mindedness.

In this case... There didn't need to be a "container" to move the body. I have to agree with idaho native in that it's possible he died the day before.. I can see where that fits. They could have dumped his body the night before, spent some time getting their "story" in place and then reporting him.

The apartment complex is not a gang ridden place, it's actually a pretty safe place and I would have felt comfortable letting my daughter play there on her own. I would have felt safer her with her playing in that environment than I do in our very safe neighborhood.

He could have simply went out after 11pm when all was quiet and placed the body over his shoulder with a blanket.... "have to go out for an emergency but kiddo is sleeping'.. placed the body in his car with no questions asked.

The part that gets me is WHERE in the canal did he place him.. if he had placed him in the canal off of Vista the body would have been found really quickly.. I have a hard time understanding how the body went unnoticed for so long in the canal.. I would think if he had placed him in the canal closer to Kuna the body would have floated down farther.. (it really bothers me to type all of this) than where it was found..

I can see the body making it that far away in the time frame before he was found IF he was put into the canal closer to home.. but there were way too many people searching the nearby canals.

As for the DNA.. I've learned more than I ever wanted to know about touch DNA from the Caylee case.. I believe touch DNA would have been the only dna on that rock... and if that was the case, there is no way it would have survived after the body had been in water so long.

I am amazed that they found any dna on the rock for the time period it was in water..

Too bad Jenkins youngest son isn't able to help solve the case. According to Trish, Melissa's eldest sister, the boy has been adopted by someone living in another state so Ehrlick's parental rights were gone before the verdict was read in Court.

Leaving a child outside unattended doesn't protect her from predators unless the parents have a fool proof security plan in effect so their child can communicate with them whenever they need help. Robert had no such device.

If Robert was abducted from the complex, it could have been a person who was allowed to be there and Robert trusted them.

How long would it take for Ehrlick to carry Robert from his apartment, place him in the canal and return there? Is this plan feasible? Did Ehrlick's dad or an acquaintance of Daniel Jr assist Ehrlick while Jenkins was at work?

We need to know if the rock in Robert's pant pocket was heavy enough to hold Robert's body on the floor of the canal while the initial search of the canal took place.

Would Robert's pants preserve the DNA on the rock?

Did the person responsible for Robert's drowning death pick the rock up at the canal or did it come from a different location?

Robert participated in several sports so that completely eliminates the possibility Ehrlick caused all the bruises on Manwill&#8217;s body yet the defense never made this clear to the jury AFAIK.

Since Robert could have still been alive and unconscious after a severe beating drowning could have caused his death yet the state won the case on the assumption the head and abdominal injuries caused Robert&#8217;s death.

I haven&#8217;t ruled out the possibility Jenkins conspired with Ehrlick to murder her son so Charles would never have custody of Robert again or that Ehrlick beat Robert and Jenkins or someone else helped him dispose of his body. Not knowing when exactly Robert disappeared and other important facts makes it difficult to discern what the truth is.

<snipped>

Testimony about the crush injuries to Robert&#8217;s abdomen and chest related to his cause of death indicated that those injuries were very recent and had occurred within a day or less before his death. GJ Trans at 58-59.

Like the abdominal injury which Robert endured prior to his death, the head injury he received while alive was lethal and was identified before the Grand Jury as the cause of death along with the severe abdominal and chest injuries.

 

[Idaho-native]

How long would it take for Ehrlick to carry Robert from his apartment, place him in the canal and return there? Is this plan feasible? Did Ehrlick's dad or an acquaintance of Daniel Jr assist Ehrlick while Jenkins was at work?

Again I am not even certain this happened while MJ was at work. I am starting to think this might have happened after MJ got home from work the night before and at that point she would have been able to assist in some way. I am NOT convinced Robert died on the evening of the 24th.

We need to know if the rock in Robert's pant pocket was heavy enough to hold Robert's body on the floor of the canal while the initial search of the canal took place.

I thought I had heard there were possibly more then one rock. I was under the impression and my memory could be a bit off, but his pant pockets were loaded down with rocks. I thought I had also heard that one of his pockets had shown wear on there indicating rocks had been, but worked out.

Would Robert's pants preserve the DNA on the rock?

I didn't hear this from an expert, but I did hear something about after that amount of time in the water something about the DNA would wash off??

Did the person responsible for Robert's drowning death pick the rock up at the canal or did it come from a different location?

Did he drown or was he already dead when he was put in the canal? I do know that I did hear they confirmed the rocks in Roberts pockets were that similar in those found in areas near the canal close to their apartment.

Robert participated in several sports so that completely eliminates the possibility Ehrlick caused all the bruises on Manwill’s body yet the defense never made this clear to the jury AFAIK.

This is the one that doesn't seem to match up for me. I don't recall hearing of several sports anywhere. I think that if he had the defense would have defiantly called witness to testify to those things not only showing he was active and did boy things causing bruises, but to contradict what the state claims Roberts behavior was and what type of relationship Daniel and Robert had. I think if the defense could have proved they interacted and did father son things and Robert did boy things and had witnesses to prove he could have got all those bruises somewhere else then they might have been able to show reasonable doubt, but they didn't provide those witnesses or mention it because IMO it didn't happen and Robert wasn't active in sports.

Since Robert could have still been alive and unconscious after a severe beating drowning could have caused his death yet the state won the case on the assumption the head and abdominal injuries caused Robert’s death.

I am pretty sure the medical examiner would have been able to tell if he was alive when he entered the water or not by if there was water in the lungs. I think they are pretty clear on what killed Robert.

I haven’t ruled out the possibility Jenkins conspired with Ehrlick to murder her son so Charles would never have custody of Robert again or that Ehrlick beat Robert and Jenkins or someone else helped him dispose of his body. Not knowing when exactly Robert disappeared and other important facts makes it difficult to discern what the truth is.

Its certainly a difficult case because its all circumstance. I have read all the tweets and found myself wavering back and forth on who is the ring leader and who knows what and who isn't telling what. Asked the whys. Wondered during the trial if maybe it wasn't MJ after all. The list goes on about all the questions I have had. Have wondered why MJ took a deal, but yet didn't testify against DE. I think that is the biggest question I have for the prosecution right now. If she admitted to aiding and abedding then why didn't she tell what happened.

 

[Crosby87]

Again I am not even certain this happened while MJ was at work. I am starting to think this might have happened after MJ got home from work the night before and at that point she would have been able to assist in some way. I am NOT convinced Robert died on the evening of the 24th.
I thought I had heard there were possibly more then one rock. I was under the impression and my memory could be a bit off, but his pant pockets were loaded down with rocks. I thought I had also heard that one of his pockets had shown wear on there indicating rocks had been, but worked out.
I didn't hear this from an expert, but I did hear something about after that amount of time in the water something about the DNA would wash off??
Did he drown or was he already dead when he was put in the canal? I do know that I did hear they confirmed the rocks in Roberts pockets were that similar in those found in areas near the canal close to their apartment.

This is the one that doesn't seem to match up for me. I don't recall hearing of several sports anywhere. I think that if he had the defense would have defiantly called witness to testify to those things not only showing he was active and did boy things causing bruises, but to contradict what the state claims Roberts behavior was and what type of relationship Daniel and Robert had. I think if the defense could have proved they interacted and did father son things and Robert did boy things and had witnesses to prove he could have got all those bruises somewhere else then they might have been able to show reasonable doubt, but they didn't provide those witnesses or mention it because IMO it didn't happen and Robert wasn't active in sports.

I am pretty sure the medical examiner would have been able to tell if he was alive when he entered the water or not by if there was water in the lungs. I think they are pretty clear on what killed Robert.Its certainly a difficult case because its all circumstance. I have read all the tweets and found myself wavering back and forth on who is the ring leader and who knows what and who isn't telling what. Asked the whys. Wondered during the trial if maybe it wasn't MJ after all. The list goes on about all the questions I have had. Have wondered why MJ took a deal, but yet didn't testify against DE. I think that is the biggest question I have for the prosecution right now. If she admitted to aiding and abedding then why didn't she tell what happened.

How many rocks can fit in the pant pockets of a little boy? I suppose the killer added the rocks at the canal to sink the body to the bottom of the canal so no one would see it but it's possible Robert was alive and the murderer wanted him dead so he stuffed the rocks in his pocket to make sure he died from drowning.

When did the young girl say she was with Robert last?

TMK the medical examiner did not say whether Robert was dead or alive when he entered the canal.

Absolutely Jenkins should have testified but none of the attorneys wanted to put in the effort.

During Ehrlick's testimony he said Robert brought his skateboard which he got for his birthday in June with him in 2009. So he could practice, Ehrlick said he took him to the skate park.
This proves Manwill was a newbie who would have fallen a lot. Unfortunately Cahill did not ask Ehrlick if Robert wore safety equipment such as a helmet or pads on his lower body to protect him from getting hurt or about any accidents Robert had. It&#8217;s possible Robert fell and injured himself learning to skateboard while he was in New Plymouth. Robert brought any padding with him to Boise so I doubt he had any.

Ehrlick told the Court that Robert would love to go swimming and that's all he talked about in 2009. Ehrlick was the one who took Robert swimming and Daniel said because Robert was afraid of the water they got him a pair of water wings. Water wings are tight so they likely left marks on both of Robert&#8217;s upper arms. Ehrlick stated that Robert was a people person and outgoing; not shy about anything. He would approach other, older kids in swimming pool in summer of 2009.

There are alot of bushes and hiding places in the apartment complex and someone could have easily grabbed Robert.

Daniel said him and Robert wrestled WWE type wrestling.

Cahill asked Ehrlick to describe the kinds of things he would do with Robert during the summer of 2009, "What other stuff did you do with Robert that summer besides swimming, skateboard park, going to your dad's on weekends, going to the care center to see your mom?"

The defense attorney described "dead bug" as the child being forced to lie on his back with his hands and feet in the air and when Cahill asked Ehrlick about Robert's discipline, he mentioned a form of punishment referred to as "dead bug." Yet in yoga &#8216;dead bug&#8217; is a form of relaxation.

Cahill asked Ehrlick if this ever happened with Robert.
"It happened a couple of times," Ehrlick responded.
"When that happened, did you ever drop your knees on his stomach causing him a traumatic abdominal injury?" asked the defense.
"No. I told them that there was one time that Robert was acting up, he was screaming and throwing a little fit and I walked over and I knelt down and not put my weight on him or nothing. I just knelt down and told him he needs to cut it out and he needs to do what he's told," Ehrlick said in his defense.

Defense's last question:

Defense: "Did any of the disciplinary activities you had with Robert, were any of those the cause of his death?"
Ehrlick: "No."
Defense: "Do you know what happened to him that night?"
Ehrlick: "I do not."
Defense: "Did you ever assist anyone in killing him or disposing of his body?"
Ehrlick: "No."

Lastly, when asked if he is responsible for the boy's death, Ehrlick responded, "I am not responsible for Robert Manwill's death."

Ehrlick said &#8220;Robert ate oatmeal afternoon he went missing, he would eat it, but then got sick, threw up in hallway&#8221; so Robert&#8217;s stomach shouldn&#8217;t have contained oatmeal because it only takes a few hours to digest and if he vomited, his stomach should be empty yet the pathologist said his stomach contained oatmeal but it couldn&#8217;t have been very much.

Ehrlick&#8217;s additional comments on discipline:

Cahill: "Were you involved in the discipline of Robert that summer?"
Ehrlick: "No.
I called his mom. No matter what discipline took place, I was not allowed to do it myself. I was supposed to have called Melissa and told her what the problem was and she would tell me what to do."
Defense: "Did any of the disciplinary activities you had with Robert, were any of those the cause of his death?"
Ehrlick: "No."

http://www.ktvb.com/home/Daniel-Ehrlick-takes-the-stand-in-his-own-defense-124599149.html

http://www.ktvb.com/news/Live-updates-from-the-Daniel-Ehrlick-murder-trial-124595064.html

 

[Idaho-native]

How many rocks can fit in the pant pockets of a little boy? I suppose the killer added the rocks at the canal to sink the body to the bottom of the canal so no one would see it but it's possible Robert was alive and the murderer wanted him dead so he stuffed the rocks in his pocket to make sure he died from drowning.

I get what you're saying about not a lot of rocks can fit in the pockets of a little boy. Even wearing cargo pants with lots of pockets and deep pockets. I honestly don't know how many rocks it would take to hold a body down in water. I have wondered if some larger rocks weren't placed on him as well once he was in the water. I had assumed when the medical examiner said "fatal injury" it meant those were the injuries Robert died from and that meant no reason to think he was alive when he went into the water. I certainly think if there would have been water in his lungs when they did the autopsy that would have HAD to be included in the report. Even if it was never mentioned on the stand or been mentioned as cause of death I would think it would have been significant enough to be included in such report.

When did the young girl say she was with Robert last?

I want to say she said she was playing with him around 7. I don't know what kind of investigating they did to determine this was not a solid sighting. I do know at one time I heard she went inside to change clothes and just a few days ago either Kimberlly or my other niece told me that she actually went in to get a drink of water.

Absolutely Jenkins should have testified but none of the attorneys wanted to put in the effort.

I was under the impression of this is because they would have been limited at what they could ask her. I thought I had read they couldn't ask her who she helped. Im sure this is all part of what was set up with her attorney. He knows he has sentencing coming up and to give his client the best chance at not getting the maximum sentence he wants her to keep quiet about the details. I think I read somewhere that her attorney said if she was put on the stand she would impeach herself. DE took a gamble with the jury trying to get an easy way out and MJ is trying to take a gamble with the judge and get the best she can. I believe that is why they are both keeping quiet. As soon as MJ plead guilty she as good as said "we're guilty of those things everyone suspects." If I remember right the attorney's would have been pretty limited to only asking the plea deal. I just would of liked some clarification as to that is why they didn't call her and if that is why they couldn't ask her anything. Other people are key witnesses for the state all the time so why was this case different?

During Ehrlick's testimony he said Robert brought his skateboard which he got for his birthday in June with him in 2009. So he could practice, Ehrlick said he took him to the skate park.
This proves Manwill was a newbie who would have fallen a lot. Unfortunately Cahill did not ask Ehrlick if Robert wore safety equipment such as a helmet or pads on his lower body to protect him from getting hurt or about any accidents Robert had. It’s possible Robert fell and injured himself learning to skateboard while he was in New Plymouth. Robert brought any padding with him to Boise so I doubt he had any.

This all hinges on if you BELIEVE DE was telling the truth about taking Robert to the skatepark. For all we know that board sat in that house for 7 weeks and never saw a skatepark. I don't do skatparks, but whenever I go by them it seems like a lot of people are there. I am sure at least a few are regulars and during an investigation they could have found at least two teenage boys that could have verified seeing DE with a little boy that summer. By the time this trial came around everyone knew who he was. Some of those boys or girls from that skate park would have said "hey I have seen him. He used to bring his kid down and skate." All it would have taken is some looking and they could have found people to back DE story up if it was true. I don't recall hearing anything about Robert and his skateboard at the apartments either, but its hard to get an entire trial out of tweets.

Ehrlick told the Court that Robert would love to go swimming and that's all he talked about in 2009. Ehrlick was the one who took Robert swimming and Daniel said because Robert was afraid of the water they got him a pair of water wings. Water wings are tight so they likely left marks on both of Robert’s upper arms. Ehrlick stated that Robert was a people person and outgoing; not shy about anything. He would approach other, older kids in swimming pool in summer of 2009.

I am sure he did love to go swimming as all kids do. Did DE specify if this swimming and talking to other kids took place happened right after he got there to visit in the beginning of the summer when maybe he wasn't bruised up or again if it happened that summer much at all. I know that water rings are supposed to be tight enough to stay in play, but I have never seen them bruise a child. If they injured children this way then I think someone would have stopped the use of them and come up with something less painful. Even a blood pressure cuff that is tighter then a water wing doesn't bruise a person.

There are alot of bushes and hiding places in the apartment complex and someone could have easily grabbed Robert.

Ok, but why Robert who was a child in an abusive home ( I say abusive because he was locked in closets, hit with boards, dead bugged and so on. DE even admitted that love and logic would not approve of dead bug) opposed to a child that was outside running around all the time?

 

[Crosby87]

Prosecution didn&#8217;t prove to me that Ehrlick consistently tortured Robert Manwill. Ehrlick said he never dropped his weight on Robert when he was in a &#8216;dead bug&#8217; position and he set both of his knees against Robert to hold him in the position and calm him down. Telling a child to sit on a chair with his hands under his buttocks, stand in a corner and stand in front of a wall with your nose touching it are common forms of military discipline and do not rise to the level of "extreme torture". Two swats on the buttocks with a board is nothing compared to the 100 lashes some prisoners endure. Two swats with the board on the buttocks did not torture Robert.

Most of the time Ehrlick contacted Jenkins when he needed help with Robert and unless Jenkins was able to respond to Ehrlick&#8217;s calls immediately, Ehrlick would have to wait for a call back from Melissa and Robert&#8217;s punishment would not be immediate most of the time. This would give Robert and Ehrlick time to cool down until Jenkins decided what to do. I don&#8217;t think Jenkins or Ehrlick abused Robert.

I wonder what physical changes you would find on a child&#8217;s body that had been fully or partially immersed in water for many days? How does water affect the decomposition process? Maybe the jurors thought the lumps on Robert&#8217;s body were from beatings when in fact some of the damage was caused by water.

 

[Crosby87]

Boise Man Found Guilty In Robert Manwill Murder Trial

Guilty..that&#8217;s the verdict the jury returned after about two hours of deliberation yesterday in the trial of a Boise man accused of killing his girlfriend&#8217;s son. 8 year old Robert Manwill went missing in July of 2009. His body was found almost two weeks later in the New York Canal near Kuna. Just before 9:00 last night the jury found Daniel Ehrlick guilty of 1st degree murder by torture and commission of aggravated battery and Failure to report a death to authorities. After the verdict was read Erlhich&#8217;s own father told Idaho&#8217;s news channel 7 he felt justice had been served. Daniel Ehrlick is scheduled to be sentenced September 2nd at 9 a.m.

http://newsradio1310.com/boise-man-found-guilty-in-robert-manwill-murder-trial/