Jason Young to get new trial

[Tulessa]

The Alford Plea needs to be done away with.........

 

[otto]

Did you see the testimony?

It was evident to me that both daycare witnesses described their observations. I didn't hear any interpretations. Their testimony was carefully extracted and given. They did not testify as expert witnesses. They did not give opinion regarding reasons for CY's behavior and actions.

The child asked for a couple of dolls during play time. Perhaps she had been exposed to Punch and Judy, so the dolls hit each other. Perhaps the child was upset because another child had been spanked for biting. There are many possibilities for what the child did with the dolls that have nothing to do with murder. It was the adults that decided the child play was related to murder and they presented their interpretation of the child play to police as being related to the murder, but they are not qualified to interpret that child play. How they presented the information during trial is simply a result of careful preparation by the prosecution.

The daycare employees were aware of the fact that her mother had been murdered. We don't know exactly what questions were asked, and untrained professionals are under no professional obligation to be precise regarding the questions that were asked. It seems to me that it's possible that the employees imagined that the play was related to the murder and asked what was happening to the mommy doll. The two year old, which is predisposed to want to please adults, might have delivered exactly what they wanted to hear: biting results in spankings.

 

[JusticeFever]

The daycare had no male dolls. The dolls CY picked up-one had long dark hair, the "mommy" doll and the other doll had short blonde hair, like daddy!

Just looked that up and yes, there was a male doll. And, she did not choose that one.

 

[otto]

Fear, threats.

It's pure speculation that the child would not identify the doll that was spanking the other doll because of fear. There's no evidence of that, so is it something that we should consider? I'm more curious about how untrained daycare workers objectively question a child about play that they believe is related to murder.

 

[otto]

Just looked that up and yes, there was a male doll. And, she did not choose that one.

Didn't she choose an older female doll with white (perhaps light blond) hair that wore glasses? Were there any older women that worked at the daycare that punished children for biting? I'm curious where the child learned about biting. Was that an issue at the daycare?

 

[JusticeFever]

Didn't she choose an older female doll with white (perhaps light blond) hair that wore glasses? Were there any older women that worked at the daycare that punished children for biting? I'm curious where the child learned about biting. Was that an issue at the daycare?

I will try and look it up, but I think for some reason the little girl associated biting with spanking. Maybe it was something that she was going through, but I think it was her Aunt that testified about this, but I am not positive. These cases are years old now, I can remember days being glued to these trials but not able to recall all details right now..
This was also a case when the state was up, I found myself agreeing with them, and then the defense would come up and I would be torn. I do remember that Young had no signs of being in any kind of struggle, or bite marks.

 

[JusticeFever]

"Wake Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens instructed the jury that they could use the testimony to determine if Cassidy(Young) witnessed the murder, but not the identity of the killer."

 

[otto]

I will try and look it up, but I think for some reason the little girl associated biting with spanking. Maybe it was something that she was going through, but I think it was her Aunt that testified about this, but I am not positive. These cases are years old now, I can remember days being glued to these trials but not able to recall all details right now..
This was also a case when the state was up, I found myself agreeing with them, and then the defense would come up and I would be torn. I do remember that Young had no signs of being in any kind of struggle, or bite marks.

I was convinced that Young was guilty when I first read about the case. Over time, I became less convinced. There is no direct evidence. In terms of circumstantial evidence it seems to be about a camera that cannot be connected to the suspect, a hotel door that was not propped open when the newspaper was placed on the door knob and a key card that was only used once, no evidence that the suspect was re-entering his room to collect the receipt in the morning, broken marriage vows, a refusal to discuss the case, a gas station attendant with severe memory problems that interacted with a short man, a child that associates biting with spanking, and a pair of shoes that were not of interest until months after the murder. It's possible that Jason murdered his wife, but I don't see a strong connection of the dots that removes all doubt.

 

[borndem]

Thanks for the link! I'm half way through reading it, but now I'm wondering about the Alford Plea. Did Abaroa use the Alford Plea for second degree murder, and that's why his sentence was 95-123 months? Jason cannot admit to second degree murder because he was supposedly in Virginia. Wouldn't it have to be either first degree or nothing? Would he still be sentenced for life if he used the Alford Plea for first degree murder?

If that's the case, then the Alford Plea would not be a good option for Jason.

Brad Cooper could still use the Alford Plea for second degree and be back home in a few years.

Abaroa took an Alford plea for manslaughter, otto.

Cooper and Young taking 2nd Murder under Alford might be agreeable for both sides. Both men have a number of years already in prison, and that would make for a decent no. of years after serving their sentences. I don't think the Prosecutor's office would go for anything less than 2nd, JMO.

 

[otto]

Abaroa took an Alford plea for manslaughter, otto.

Cooper and Young taking 2nd Murder under Alford might be agreeable for both sides. Both men have a number of years already in prison, and that would make for a decent no. of years after serving their sentences. I don't think the Prosecutor's office would go for anything less than 2nd, JMO.

If Abaroa was able to use Alford for manslaughter, I can see Brad having the same option, as the circumstances were almost the same - presumably murdered in the home, possibly without forethought. Jason is a bit different because it seems to me that the only way that he could have murdered Michelle is with serious premeditation.

 

[jova33]

I was convinced that Young was guilty when I first read about the case. Over time, I became less convinced. There is no direct evidence. In terms of circumstantial evidence it seems to be about a camera that cannot be connected to the suspect, a hotel door that was not propped open when the newspaper was placed on the door knob and a key card that was only used once, no evidence that the suspect was re-entering his room to collect the receipt in the morning, broken marriage vows, a refusal to discuss the case, a gas station attendant with severe memory problems that interacted with a short man, a child that associates biting with spanking, and a pair of shoes that were not of interest until months after the murder. It's possible that Jason murdered his wife, but I don't see a strong connection of the dots that removes all doubt.

I saw it on ID and they presented the case as if he was guilty, and even then it didn't make sense. The daughter was found cleaned up, no diaper, and no blood in the drains. All the stuff from the hotel could've been anyone. Who cleaned CY and washed her pajamas??? And if the pajamas weren't washed or were washed, why was that never mentioned?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[otto]

I saw it on ID and they presented the case as if he was guilty, and even then it didn't make sense. The daughter was found cleaned up, no diaper, and no blood in the drains. All the stuff from the hotel could've been anyone. Who cleaned CY and washed her pajamas??? And if the pajamas weren't washed or were washed, why was that never mentioned?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

A two year old can remove her own diaper. She had blood underneath her toe nails and at the bottom of her pajama pants. I have to wonder if the blood simply wore off by walking on the carpet.

 

[jova33]

A two year old can remove her own diaper. She had blood underneath her toe nails and at the bottom of her pajama pants. I have to wonder if the blood simply wore off by walking on the carpet.

No bloody foot prints on the carpet. It's believed she was carried to and from the bathroom. No dirty diaper found and the trash can was emptied.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[otto]

No bloody foot prints on the carpet. It's believed she was carried to and from the bathroom. No dirty diaper found and the trash can was emptied.

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I don't know what to believe about blood on the carpet.

"[The child] was 2 years old when her aunt found her in the bedroom with her slain mother and the child's tiny, bloody footprints throughout the upstairs carpet and walls of the family home."

http://www.wral.com/nc-appeals-court-orders-new-murder-trial-for-jason-young/13528780/

 

[jova33]

I guess there were no footprints leading to or from the bathroom.

Sent from your mom's smartphone

 

[MyBelle]

I guess there were no footprints leading to or from the bathroom.

Sent from your mom's smartphone

I think in the testimony it was said there was one smudge of blood between the bedroom and bath down the hall.

 

[ncsu95]

I have a problem with accepting a two year old's interpretation of an event as fact. There is a good reason why 2 year olds are not allowed to testify. The child described that her mother was "getting a spanking for biting". (pg 19; http://www.wral.com/asset/news/local/2014/04/01/13529333/April_1_2014_Appeals_Court_Opinion.pdf ). If this means that Jason was hitting Michelle because Michelle bit him, he should have bite marks. Either Michelle did bite her attacker, and Jason is not her attacker, or Jason is her attacker and the child was confused about what happened. If there was no biting, then we know there's a problem with the child's statement.

If the child witnessed her father beating her mother, why didn't she state that her father was spanking her mother because of biting? Why did she only identify her mother?

It's possible that Jason explained to CY that he was spanking mommy because she was biting.

 

[ncsu95]

If Abaroa was able to use Alford for manslaughter, I can see Brad having the same option, as the circumstances were almost the same - presumably murdered in the home, possibly without forethought. Jason is a bit different because it seems to me that the only way that he could have murdered Michelle is with serious premeditation.

I would think the google search has to make it murder 1 or nothing. If the search is real, then it was premeditated in my opinion.

 

[otto]

I would think the google search has to make it murder 1 or nothing. If the search is real, then it was premeditated in my opinion.

Jason searched "head trauma" prior to Michelle being murdered with head trauma, but he claimed that the search was due to witnessing a vehicle accident where there was head trauma. Brad apparently did a quick google search of a new housing developement, but I think that if Brad is guilty, the animosity on the night of the murder factored into the murder.

For Brad, I think a manslaughter Alford Plea is worth a shot. For Jason, the fact that he had to drive for hours to commit the murder is problematic, but it's also worth a shot to try for a second degree Alford Plea. In the recent trial of Amanda Hayes, the max sentence was 10 years for a second degree conviction. Time served is always subtracted, so for someone like Jason, who already has several years in prison, it would be the best option.

The courts may prefer to be done with these two cases, especially since it has been reported that the NC prosecutors office is short on funds.

 

[TigerBalm]

State to ask NC Supreme Court to review Jason Young case

The North Carolina Attorney General's Office plans to ask the state Supreme Court to review an appellate ruling ordering a new trial in the high-profile case of a Wake County man convicted of killing his 29-year-old pregnant wife, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Justice said Wednesday.

A three-judge panel with the state Court of Appeals on Tuesday vacated Jason Young's March 5, 2012, conviction after finding that a judge should not have allowed jurors in Young's trial to hear about two civil lawsuits against him – a wrongful death lawsuit and petition for child custody, both filed by his late wife's family.

Read more here: http://www.wral.com/state-to-ask-nc-supreme-court-to-review-jason-young-case/13533252/


ETA: 58 page Appeals Court Opinion http://www.wral.com/asset/news/local/2014/04/01/13529333/April_1_2014_Appeals_Court_Opinion.pdf