MISTRIAL - Sidney Moorer on trial for the kidnapping of Heather Elvis #5

[ZooSleuth]

Snipped-

However, both Debbi and Terry Elvis worry not all of the jurors treated the case fairly.

“We keep getting people telling us information that somebody had an agenda,” Debbi Elvis said.

During jury selection, a juror told the judge he is an acquaintance of defense attorney Kirk Truslow, but said he would be able to make his own judgments independent of that relationship.

Truslow said he believed that he would be capable of that as well.

“The defense, as an officer of the court, had a responsibility to the people of the county to say, ‘Hey, that might not be right,’ and pluck that weed before it grew,” Terry Elvis said.

The couple said they think the entire system broke down and the defense, the judge and the juror are all to blame in the decision to have an acquaintance of the defense on the jury.

“There were people that stood up and said they were friends or acquaintances or business acquaintances of ours,” Terry Elvis said. “They excused themselves knowing full well they couldn’t be unfair and couldn’t be unbiased.”

Approximately 800 juror questionnaires were sent out for the case and 300 people showed up for jury selection.

“They could’ve just gone one more or two more just to get a replacement for that and not take that chance,” Debbi Elvis said. “It was too big of a chance.”

http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/32319...s-frustrated-with-mistrial-in-kidnapping-case

After I heard it was a mistrial I took a break over the weekend from the case. Did we ever get confirmation that one of the holdouts was Truslow's friend? Or is that still unknown?

 

[TTF14]

After I heard it was a mistrial I took a break over the weekend from the case. Did we ever get confirmation that one of the holdouts was Truslow's friend? Or is that still unknown?

Unknown. But we do know he was not the foreman as rumored.

 

[Madeleine74]

I'd love if all videos were assembled in one place......I do not have time to do this, but it would be super awesome if someone could!

All the trial videos are on Youtube. Just do a search on Youtube for "Sidney Moorer Trial."

 

[barcode]

All the trial videos are on Youtube. Just do a search on Youtube for "Sidney Moorer Trial."

They are there, but I am trying to pinpoint where the video is of SM hiding his vehicle from view and making the pay phone call. What day and what part of testimony would help.

Much thanks in advance!

 

[magnolia]

That's the point, I do believe BW, I do believe HE told BW that, I do not believe SM told HE that. I believe HE thought in her mind that if she gave what she thought was sound reasoning to BW, she would be more accepting.

BBM -- That is the reason I don't believe Heather told Bri the truth about what SM said. I'm sure Bri's main objection was the fact that SM was married. If he is leaving his wife which usually leads to divorce, Bri will be more accepting.

Bri testified that Heather slept in her car. Occasionally she slept on Bri's sofa. I'm curious why Heather didn't formally move in with Bri before she was forced to sleep in her car. This tells me, for some reason, Bri may have had some hesitation about Heather moving in.

 

[Madeleine74]

Here's what I'd love to ask "The Mrs" if I got a chance:

1. (Assuming Heather wasn't pregnant), then WHY couldn't you just mooooove on and let her continue on her way. She was *already* out of your lives in the weeks before. She was moving on, she was not in touch, she understood she should not be messing around with a married man... so why couldn't YOU let it go?

2. Do you realize it's YOUR HUSBAND who broke vows made? If a man is inclined to cheat then the blame is his. The man is the one who made the vows. The man is the one who broke those vows. Getting rid of (one of) the females doesn't change the man. If he cheated once he'll likely cheat again. Do you not realize this?

3. If your oldest daughter did the same thing at 20 years old as Heather did (never assume it can't happen because it can), and your daughter went missing in the same way, would you just let it go and not report it to the police? Then why such hatred towards the parents of Heather, who reported their daughter missing?

4. Do you have a clue how justice system works? Do you realize it's the STATE of SC that owns the case on behalf of "the people of SC?" Do you realize it's law enforcement and the Solicitor that determines if a crime has been committed? Do you realize that a citizen cannot arrest and prosecute someone and that the victim's family and friends do not 'own' the case? Do you get any of this at all? Because it seems like you do not.

 

[Hatfield]

I started to wonder why the State did not use their allotment of removing the juror without cause during jury selection?

Didn't the attorneys have an allotment where they could remove a juror without cause during selection. ?

Maybe the info about the juror came up after jury was already seated?

 

[bestill]

Yeah but it goes away just as easily if all he wanted was to invite her to meet him and everything goes south from there.

But if he only called to tell her to stop calling him, why did want to me to meet her? I think he wanted it all back, there was enough time that had passed he thought he could get it started up again. Not sure if he had left TM but I do think he wished he could. I notice that he posts on FB and says that his kids mean everything to him, doesn't post much about her.

 

[Madeleine74]

I started to wonder why the State did not use their allotment of removing the juror without cause during jury selection?

Didn't the attorneys have an allotment where they could remove a juror without cause during selection. ?

Maybe the info about the juror came up after jury was already seated?

The state tried and the *judge* overruled the state and decided the potential juror could be unbiased.

 

[Madeleine74]

But if he only called to tell her to stop calling him, why did want to me to meet her? I think he wanted it all back, there was enough time that had passed he thought he could get it started up again. Not sure if he had left TM but I do think he wished he could. I notice that he posts on FB and says that his kids mean everything to him, doesn't post much about her.

Yeah no kidding! And there was no evidence Heather had called him in the weeks before. So he calls her at 1:35am as she returns from a date to tell her to "stop calling him?" huh? Does that really make sense? "I know we haven't talked in awhile and all, but seriously... stop calling me!" Yeah, right. Allegedly he did not have control of his own cell phone, that phone was off at least some portion of their 3 week trip, and they were back mere days before this all went down. WHEN exactly did Heather call SM and why is there no record of this?

 

[LBDunes]

I started to wonder why the State did not use their allotment of removing the juror without cause during jury selection?

Didn't the attorneys have an allotment where they could remove a juror without cause during selection. ?

Maybe the info about the juror came up after jury was already seated?

All good questions. I do not think the issue came up after the jury was seated. I was watching a lot the first day and from what was live blogged by the media, it seemed like the judge did all of the jury selection. It doesn't seem like the state or the defense had much of a say or had any strikes. The state objected to the juror, but I saw nothing about strikes the state or defense had. IMO the blame for placing this friend/acquaintance is squarely on the judge.

 

[TTF14]

They are there, but I am trying to pinpoint where the video is of SM hiding his vehicle from view and making the pay phone call. What day and what part of testimony would help.

Much thanks in advance!

Found it. The testimony (IIRC someone from Frontier Communications?? Not sure, didn't listen again) is until about minute 8, then you can see the video.

[video=youtube;XOPXd8oiYd4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOPXd8oiYd4[/video]

 

[Hatfield]

Exactly. People are complex and impetuous and have shades of grey. So not every response to a phone call is a result of being lured. Sometimes, a woman just wants to see a man whether she had a date with someone else or not.

So I'm not sure why you're claiming it as fact that she was lured and then working backwards to the landing as proof, because she's gone.

We'll see how the state resolves its 'contact with the victim/your truck went to the landing/now she's gone' theory works out when they have to make Tammy fit into a scenario where she simply doesn't show up in the cast of characters that morning.

Whether SM planned anything criminal does matter under the law if you're claiming he lured her. To get her to take a pregnancy test before the end crime. Or something like that.

JMO
The state prosecution put on their case claiming SM lured her and the evidence supported that IMO. Some of us believe the state proved their case. Some may not.

SM initiated the call first to HE that night.
SM lied to LE in his interview with them.
HE disappears after SM was the last person we know had any contact with her.
Her car is not at home and ended up at landing.
Bris testimony states that SM told HE that he was leaving wife.
SM truck on video going to same place where HE car was found.
The list goes on.

I think the state easily proved that SM lured HE and therefore kidnapping proved.

 

[PeterThomasFan]

I'd love if all videos were assembled in one place......I do not have time to do this, but it would be super awesome if someone could!

https://goo.gl/vYnU8T

 

[Hatfield]

The state tried and the *judge* overruled the state and decided the potential juror could be unbiased.

If SC has the rule where an attorney can remove a juror without cause then it should not have mattered what the judge said. The attorney for the state should have striked him and said count that as my "no cause necessary" tally.

We do have to put this squarely on the judge it sounds like.

Seeing how he treated the prosecution it doesn't surprise me. I need to go back and find that part of the trial and see how it went down. Its really bothersome about that judge. It gives a huge impression it was rigged from the start and not much evidence to the contrary. The way he treated the prosecution attorney during closing in front of the jury was horrible.

 

[Madeleine74]

If I lived in the state of SC I'd be motivated to try and unseat that judge through voter petition and getting the initiative on an upcoming ballot.

IMO he's a blowhard, biased, and wastes tax payer $$ with his rulings. On top of that he's a raging narcissist and chauvinist who loves to hear himself Talk&Talk&Talk to the point where you want to chew your foot off to escape the bear trap of his interminable monologues.

 

[nerdgirl]

They are there, but I am trying to pinpoint where the video is of SM hiding his vehicle from view and making the pay phone call. What day and what part of testimony would help.

Much thanks in advance!

This video:
[video=youtube;7fa4-ofoyMU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fa4-ofoyMU[/video]
around the 8 minute mark

 

[jillycat]

JMO
The state prosecution put on their case claiming SM lured her and the evidence supported that IMO. Some of us believe the state proved their case. Some may not.

SM initiated the call first to HE that night.
SM lied to LE in his interview with them.
HE disappears after SM was the last person we know had any contact with her.
Her car is not at home and ended up at landing.
Bris testimony states that SM told HE that he was leaving wife.
SM truck on video going to same place where HE car was found.
The list goes on.

I think the state easily proved that SM lured HE and therefore kidnapping proved.

I think you just made the case for TM's defense.

As for Heather and SM, what exactly did he say to her to make her post on Tumblr, drive to Longbeard's twice, call a pay phone multiple times, then drive to her condo and call his cell, then drive to PTL?

Because I think Heather may have also had her own mind that morning and we're never going to know what was said by anyone. We can reason that an M/both of the M's ultimately did harm to her. But I think the lure theory has problems, unless we buy that SM's lure and murder scheme involved making Heather work the lure like a puzzle to make her way to him. JMO

 

[bestill]

I think I read that the state had used their strikes, anyone else read that?

 

[poppygirl]

JMO
The state prosecution put on their case claiming SM lured her and the evidence supported that IMO. Some of us believe the state proved their case. Some may not.

SM initiated the call first to HE that night.
SM lied to LE in his interview with them.
HE disappears after SM was the last person we know had any contact with her.
Her car is not at home and ended up at landing.
Bris testimony states that SM told HE that he was leaving wife.
SM truck on video going to same place where HE car was found.
The list goes on.

I think the state easily proved that SM lured HE and therefore kidnapping proved.

I agree 100%. I'm convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that he intentionally, willfully lured Heather out to meet him with the intention of doing her harm. Thank you for eloquently stating the reasons! Other stuff, like pregnancy test, is icing on the cake!


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