If innocent, would a press conference help Terri?

[Calliope]

I posted a while back that Houze is known for keeping his mouth shut primarily in situations where his client doesn't have a leg to stand on. I posted an article from his website giving an example of that. It's anecdotal, but, for me, it's another piece of the puzzle that points to th's guilt. jmoo

Since she's not been charged, does Houze have any access to all the evidence the DA and LE have on Terri?

 

[Billylee]

Since she's not been charged, does Houze have any access to all the evidence the DA and LE have on Terri?

What a really good question!

 

[Calliope]

What a really good question!

Well, I cheated a bit. At least I think I did.

I strongly suspect the answer is "no", he has no access to anything except what LE and the DA would choose to tell him. And I don't see either side tipping their hand to the other. Why should he risk his defense when he doesn't even know what the DA / LE have to bring to trial?

 

[ThoughtFox]

I haven't read the entire thread so this may be a repeat of what someone else has said.

I think the interview with DeDe Spicher and the two released emails were supposed to be a way to let TH "speak" to the public, but it backfired and didn't really help her case. In fact, only more questions were raised.

Emails sent to KATU

People Mag Interview with DeDe Spicher

Or we could see the interview and emails as "trial balloons" to see how the public would react to TH's own view of things, and the balloons popped.

In that respect, I think they effectively ruled out a public statement.

As I just wrote on another thread, TH could have denied the Murder for Hire Plot by now. It is mentioned in the Restraining Order court document, which is our best proof that the police have good evidence that such a threat towards Kaine's life existed. But Terri has never contested the RO, nor has she dismissed the charge. Therefore, her silence tells us that it is probably true.

 

[Calliope]

How many convinced or leaning toward Terri being guilty would be swayed by her publicly proclaiming her innocence?

 

[bessie]

You keep bringing up Duke and the Lacrosse players. It should interest you to know I believed they were innocent before they ever gave the pressers because there was nothing which I had seen which could substantiate all the claims having been thrown at them. Just like in this case. Had more evidence ever been approached, or should there be in this case, I reserve the right to change my mind. Nothing has been presented which makes sense for me to change my mind at this point that Terri has the right to presumption of innocence for criminal charges that have yet to be brought against her, and owes no one an explanation to them (not even Kaine) until such a time as she is charged with said criminal claims.

At this time, Terri has no right to be presumed innocent beyond what I hold to be morally correct and humane, an expectation that society will exercise fairness and caution when judging her actions. In a legal context, presumption of innocence is a right that comes into play at trial. If and when she is charged and her case is brought before the court, that right will be afforded to her by way of the judge's instructions to the jury. Outside of the courtroom, there is no law nor moral code that prohibits open discourse and sound speculation based upon the information as it becomes available.

ETA: BTW, I followed the Duke case, also. I didn't see anything that convinced me of their guilt, either, but I reserved final judgment out of fairness to the victim.

 

[tragco]

Since she's not been charged, does Houze have any access to all the evidence the DA and LE have on Terri?

That's a good one to ask in the verified lawyer thread. Think I'll head over there if you don't mind

 

[Calliope]

That's a good one to ask in the verified lawyer thread. Think I'll head over there if you don't mind

Blame My Cousin Vinny LOL

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Absolutely not.

This woman has never spoken a word publicly yet she has been raked over the coals almost from the very beginning. The way she looks, her weight gain, the way she dresses, mean step mom, and the way her eyes moved one way or the other. All that has been dissected ad nauseaum.

She doesn't have to prove her innocence. She doesn't have to convince the public and I think she knows all too well she will never convince the people who have already found her guilty months ago. Doing a PC would only create more amusement for some and criticism.

I do think she should have been given an opportunity to speak out when Kyron first went missing but Kaine wasn't letting anyone talk. It is too late now. So much damage has been done and imo the damage was already starting when she was told by Kaine to keep silent.

I definitely believe though until both sides of the story is told none of us will ever know the whole truth.

There would be no gain by Terri speaking out.......it would just bring more furor.

IMO

 

[PaulaF513]

Can you just imagine the questions that would be posed to her at a press conference? "Why did Kyron's bio mother immediately feel that you had hurt her son"..."did you have an affair with the LSer"...."Why do KH and DY not believe you are doing the right thing" (whatever that is)..."Do you always sext men other than your husband"... puleeeze, gimme a break.

Any decent defense lawyer in the country will tell you that it is always a bad idea to speak out, and actually, they will also tell you that it's a worse idea to talk to the cops without representation. Police interrogators are highly trained to get people to say the wrong thing. Read up on the Innocence Project and learn how many people have been wrongly convicted, many of them by their own words, twisted by detectives who were cocksure they had the right guy.

Naturally in a case with a missing child, a stepmother couldn't reasonably not talk to the police or agree to the polygraph. The big however,imho, is the question that caused her to "fail". I will bet dollars to donuts that that question had to do with her sexual escapade with the LSer and nothing at all to do with Kyron's disappearance.

I think it is suspicious the way she was kept out of the public's eye, when the family finally deigned to speak. There was the missed golden opportunity to hear her side of the story. And the fact that Terri was omitted from the PCs with KH and DY because "they" wanted to hear from the bio parents was a slap in her face. She was treated terribly considering that she was Kyron's daily caregiver. The little boy was in her company and under her care a whole lot more than one or two weekends a month, for years. This omission in itself cast TH as a person under suspicion, in the public's eye. It made her an outsider of the "family". I often wonder who made that decision.

She is 100% right in remaining silent. If she is guilty of Kyron's disappearance and/or murder, let them prove it.

So far, I have seen assumptions of her guilt based on nothing but suspicion, innuendo and "feelings". I need a lot more than that to condemn the woman.

 

[Jo in Calif]

Can you just imagine the questions that would be posed to her at a press conference? "Why did Kyron's bio mother immediately feel that you had hurt her son"..."did you have an affair with the LSer"...."Why do KH and DY not believe you are doing the right thing" (whatever that is)..."Do you always sext men other than your husband"... puleeeze, gimme a break.

Any decent defense lawyer in the country will tell you that it is always a bad idea to speak out, and actually, they will also tell you that it's a worse idea to talk to the cops without representation. Police interrogators are highly trained to get people to say the wrong thing. Read up on the Innocence Project and learn how many people have been wrongly convicted, many of them by their own words, twisted by detectives who were cocksure they had the right guy.

Naturally in a case with a missing child, a stepmother couldn't reasonably not talk to the police or agree to the polygraph. The big however,imho, is the question that caused her to "fail". I will bet dollars to donuts that that question had to do with her sexual escapade with the LSer and nothing at all to do with Kyron's disappearance.

I think it is suspicious the way she was kept out of the public's eye, when the family finally deigned to speak. There was the missed golden opportunity to hear her side of the story. And the fact that Terri was omitted from the PCs with KH and DY because "they" wanted to hear from the bio parents was a slap in her face. She was treated terribly considering that she was Kyron's daily caregiver. The little boy was in her company and under her care a whole lot more than one or two weekends a month, for years. This omission in itself cast TH as a person under suspicion, in the public's eye. It made her an outsider of the "family". I often wonder who made that decision.

She is 100% right in remaining silent. If she is guilty of Kyron's disappearance and/or murder, let them prove it.

So far, I have seen assumptions of her guilt based on nothing but suspicion, innuendo and "feelings". I need a lot more than that to condemn the woman.

Don't know how to bold, but this pertains to the poly questions. Did LE even know about the MFH plot at the time of her poly's?

 

[Donjeta]

How many convinced or leaning toward Terri being guilty would be swayed by her publicly proclaiming her innocence?

Obviously it wouldn't be EASY for her to be convincing and cancel out all the Kaine and Desiree interviews and the impression given by the LE fliers and her own choices in not contesting the allegations in the RO petition at the cost of losing her daughter, and her own lawyer's declaration that she is a de facto suspect and other things that may have given an unfavorable impression. It has been several months and it would be hard to undo in one press conference. This late in the case, some people who have heard that she is a suspect may even have moved on to other news and wouldn't watch her presser.

But I don't agree with the notion that everybody who currently thinks that there is reason to be suspicious of Terri's involvement decided she is a psychopath on Day 1 with no information whatsoever and is completely unable to ever change their minds even if the Bubblegum Boy descended from the Candy Heaven and showed us the video of some other dude doing it.

It may be rare but I do know a few people who have been known to change their minds occasionally and sometimes even admit to being wrong. I'm sure it wouldn't be easy for her to convince people without offering any solid reasons why they should believe her story isn't full of holes or if she isn't even willing to say what her story is for fear of incriminating herself. But people sometimes make judgments on subjective grounds and if she looked nice and kind and seemed sincere it might make some people reconsider.

I remember a couple of persons who I considered very negatively on the basis of what I had read about them but their appearance in a talk show changed my opinion to more positive because they spoke sensibly and appeared like good persons. Very intuitive judgement and who knows, I might have been wrong...But the point is that impressions do matter. It is too late for her to make a totally first impression but she hasn't spoken publicly and has remained something of a mystery and seeing and hearing her might change some impressions. (Granted, there is also the risk that they could change for worse.)

IMO it is taken too much for granted that everybody would hate Terri if they saw her speak. We have heard that a lot of people liked her and thought she was a good mom and a nice person who wouldn't do things like killing her stepson so there is a reasonable chance IMO that she could seem like a good person unless this case has wrecked her.

I guess we'll never know for sure, will we? If she never tells her side of the story people will unfortunately form their opinions on the basis of whatever other information has been presented.

 

[krowdkat]

Polygraph article posted on June 18th

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/06/friend_says_terry_moulton_horm.html

Murder for hire plot posted July 4th (more than 2 weeks after her 2nd poly)

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/06/friend_says_terry_moulton_horm.html

My guess is the LE didn't know about the MFH at the time Terri took her polys.

 

[Billylee]

Polygraph article posted on June 18th

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/06/friend_says_terry_moulton_horm.html

Murder for hire plot posted July 4th (more than 2 weeks after her 2nd poly)

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/06/friend_says_terry_moulton_horm.html

My guess is the LE didn't know about the MFH at the time Terri took her polys.

Frankly, I think they might have been on to something then, at least perhaps delving into her marital affairs. I think that's possibly why she walked out of the 2nd poly, but who knows?

 

[Donjeta]

She was interviewed numerous times, and LE said she was cooperating with them up to the point she hired her attorney (and I am assuming at that point he told her to shut up). Even then, the police didn't come out and flatly state she wasn't cooperating, period. If all those days talking to the police didn't help them then, how is it going to help them now? Innocent or guilty, lying or not, she's told them what she's going to tell them. IMO, "cooperating" to Desiree/Kaine/LE means she confesses. Anything short of that is "not cooperating". At this point, when it's obvious they don't believe her I don't see any other choice she has but to follow her attorney's advice and shut up.

So if LE thinks cooperating means confessing does it mean she confessed in the beginning when she cooperated?

Desiree and Kaine's opinions are important now that they're so vocal but they're really just opinions. LE opinions are important later if there is evidence behind them and there are charges against her but if there is not enough evidence that she is guilty of either the MFHP or the abduction to file charges, at some point she might want to consider what she could do for her public image because she has a life expectancy of several decades and she has to live with the people.

 

[Donjeta]

Can you just imagine the questions that would be posed to her at a press conference? "Why did Kyron's bio mother immediately feel that you had hurt her son"..."did you have an affair with the LSer"...."Why do KH and DY not believe you are doing the right thing" (whatever that is)..."Do you always sext men other than your husband"... puleeeze, gimme a break.

Any decent defense lawyer in the country will tell you that it is always a bad idea to speak out, and actually, they will also tell you that it's a worse idea to talk to the cops without representation. Police interrogators are highly trained to get people to say the wrong thing. Read up on the Innocence Project and learn how many people have been wrongly convicted, many of them by their own words, twisted by detectives who were cocksure they had the right guy.

Naturally in a case with a missing child, a stepmother couldn't reasonably not talk to the police or agree to the polygraph. The big however,imho, is the question that caused her to "fail". I will bet dollars to donuts that that question had to do with her sexual escapade with the LSer and nothing at all to do with Kyron's disappearance.

I think it is suspicious the way she was kept out of the public's eye, when the family finally deigned to speak. There was the missed golden opportunity to hear her side of the story. And the fact that Terri was omitted from the PCs with KH and DY because "they" wanted to hear from the bio parents was a slap in her face. She was treated terribly considering that she was Kyron's daily caregiver. The little boy was in her company and under her care a whole lot more than one or two weekends a month, for years. This omission in itself cast TH as a person under suspicion, in the public's eye. It made her an outsider of the "family". I often wonder who made that decision.

She is 100% right in remaining silent. If she is guilty of Kyron's disappearance and/or murder, let them prove it.

So far, I have seen assumptions of her guilt based on nothing but suspicion, innuendo and "feelings". I need a lot more than that to condemn the woman.

I agree that a presser with bloodthirsty reporters asking unpredictable questions could be a very bad idea, it would be safer to do it as a videotaped interview or a statement, something they can prepare for and edit before releasing it. Haleigh Cummings' father did this after he had said that he had refused to talk to LE anymore because there was no point, he had already told them everything he knew. He wasn't a suspect according to LE but he had married the key to the case soon after Haleigh's disappearance. He and his attorney recorded a videotaped plea in the attorney's office.

IMO we cannot assume that Terri's silence was something imposed on her by people who wanted her to look bad. It might have been her own choice because she was afraid of incriminating herself, just as she is silent now. Her family and friends might have advised her to stay out of the public eye once they found out that she was being suspected. Dede for example, we heard that she had given Terri some advice about how to handle the case.

Is there some evidence that she wanted to come forward and give a statement but was forbidden to do so in the early days?

 

[Curious Me]

I'd be stunned if she waited this long and then started saying something like Kyron was her first priority or how she just loved him so much. It's too late to tell me that. One minute she was raising him and taking his pic, and after that

 

[Calliope]

So if LE thinks cooperating means confessing does it mean she confessed in the beginning when she cooperated?

Desiree and Kaine's opinions are important now that they're so vocal but they're really just opinions. LE opinions are important later if there is evidence behind them and there are charges against her but if there is not enough evidence that she is guilty of either the MFHP or the abduction to file charges, at some point she might want to consider what she could do for her public image because she has a life expectancy of several decades and she has to live with the people.

I meant that it seems apparent (to me) that unless she tells confesses and tells where Kyron is, she's not "cooperating".

 

[SacreBleu]

There are too many posts, with varying opinions, to quote and respond to each one. So, I will just state my opinions to some of the comments made here...in no particular order and directed at no particular poster.

With respect to shouting from the rooftops vs. "not"; waiting for the truth to come out in trial vs. "not"; "playing my hand" smartly vs. "not"; being worried about my body language or whether or not my statement would be used as fodder against me vs "not"; having the advantage of money vs. "not"; or, being worried about what others might say or think of me vs. "not" - if my only desire was to prove myself innocent and to find out WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO KYRON - "not" would win.

Has Kaine said he would trade places with Kyron any day? I'm a parent. I would trade places or take any chance or give my life if it meant either finding that child, or finding justice for him. If I was the last adult and/or person reported to see my child alive, my guilt would be unconscionable. It would not be about me, it would be about my child.

Might I be swayed by a statement by Terri of her innocence? Possibly. It would depend on Terri.

It is clear to me that LE does not believe Terri or her statements. That is why she continues to be a focus. If her statements to LE had had the ring of truth, we would be seeing a very different investigation.


BTW, Crystal Mangum was not a victim; Dave, Colin, and Reade were the victims of her lies.

Disclaimer: all the above is MOO.

 

[JBean]

snipped for emphasis

Has Kaine said he would trade places with Kyron any day? I'm a parent. I would trade places or take any chance or give my life if it meant either finding that child, or finding justice for him.

FWIW, yes kaine has expressed such a sentiment. he said he wished that the MFH plot was successful because then Kyron would be safe with desiree, or something to that effect.

>>I in a weird way, I almost wish that her plot that she originally put in place [allegedly, to hire a landscaper to kill Kaine] would have gone through, because he would still be here. So I live with that guilt every day, and you know what, I turn it around, and I [make] it into something positive to go help find him. &#8230; I&#8217;m not saying I feel directly responsible for it, but I feel really guilty about it. And I wish there was anything I could do to change places with him in any way, shape or form. My life to get him back, it doesn&#8217;t matter. I would do anything, I would give anything, and I always would. Up to this point I have always been there in that capacity. Anything bad that happens to him, I wish I could shoulder it for him, [that] I could take it away from him. I wish it would come to me instead of him. It just didn&#8217;t go that way this time, and I really wish it would have.<<

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