GUILTY MT - Sherry Arnold, 43, Sidney, 7 Jan 2012 - #3

[liltexans]

The quote from Spell's family just came out yesterday or today, though, right? Maybe they meant a few weeks before that date (yesterday or today). It would still fall right around the holidays, though.

 

[Indy Anna]

yep no money = stealing and/or female cooking/giving money/free housing..

I wonder if Spell spent most of their remaining money for bus fare from Williston to Rapid City? It will be interesting if we learn when they parted ways and why. One had money, and the other had the transportation. Kind of seems like Spell was left to find another mode of transportation, though.

Thinking about where they got money for their travels and how they intended to get more...I also wonder if Waters and Spell's original plan was to rob Sherry? I don't believe she carried money with her when she jogged, iirc.

 

[SmoothOperator]

WoW so Agg kidnapping in Montana can carry a death penalty sentence!!! IMO this is HUGE!! Because as I'd brought up
Previously in my concerns for their not helping to locate Sherry's body they already were facing some tough charges(Agg kidnapping).. But this was prior to my knowing the charge is worthy of death penalty and so all the more reason that either or both of these two men would be falling all over themselves attempting to have Sherry's body found to prove them innocent of aggravated kidnapping and rather that it was an accident gone wrong.. If it were an accident Sherry's autopsy would easily and clearly show what occurred and whether it matched with consistencies of Initial accident.. That would be of great help to these two in many ways obviously!! Number one being taking the death penalty outta the picture!!

They're not doing this!! They're not falling all over themselves attempting to help locate Sherry's body EVEN WHEN FACING A CHARGE THAT CARRIES A PENALTY OF DEATH!!*

That is HUGE IMO and its extremely telling IMO that both know that Sherry's body and an autopsy completed on her body WILL NOT SHOW INJURIES CONSISTENT WITH AN INITIAL ACCIDENT.. But rather will show the much darker and horrific truth of her murder!! Guaranteeing them that ticket with a fast pass included straight to death row!!!!

Moo!

 

[Starry Night]

Stall stall........until represented?

 

[liltexans]

WoW so Agg kidnapping in Montana can carry a death penalty sentence!!! IMO this is HUGE!! Because as I'd brought up
Previously in my concerns for their not helping to locate Sherry's body they already were facing some tough charges(Agg kidnapping).. But this was prior to my knowing the charge is worthy of death penalty and so all the more reason that either or both of these two men would be falling all over themselves attempting to have Sherry's body found to prove them innocent of aggravated kidnapping and rather that it was an accident gone wrong.. If it were an accident Sherry's autopsy would easily and clearly show what occurred and whether it matched with consistencies of Initial accident.. That would be of great help to these two in many ways obviously!! Number one being taking the death penalty outta the picture!!

They're not doing this!! They're not falling all over themselves attempting to help locate Sherry's body EVEN WHEN FACING A CHARGE THAT CARRIES A PENALTY OF DEATH!!*

That is HUGE IMO and its extremely telling IMO that both know that Sherry's body and an autopsy completed on her body WILL NOT SHOW INJURIES CONSISTENT WITH AN INITIAL ACCIDENT.. But rather will show the much darker and horrific truth of her murder!! Guaranteeing them that ticket with a fast pass included straight to death row!!!!

Moo!

I got kind of excited about the death penalty thing until I read that Montana has executed a total of 3 people since 1976. As a Texas resident, this does not impress me. LOL

I also have been doing some googling and it appears that the Montana legislature has been/is trying to abolish the death penalty and replace it with LWOP.

I agree, though, that these 2 have no legal incentive right now to talk.

 

[Noway]

I keep trying to post but can't get my brain and fingers to cooperate with each other.

One the one hand, I wish the hit and run is what happened -- instant death, never saw what hit her. It is awful to think of her with those ******** realizing at some point they had decided to kill her.

I wonder whether Sherry was familiar with ND -- hiking trails, paths, etc. Would she (if this was a kidnapping from the get-go) have tried to talk them into driving somewhere that she felt comfortable, maybe she thought she could get away from them.

I will have to leave it at this.

 

[liltexans]

"Obviously, Sherry has a husband; she has children; she has co-workers; she has a community that loves her. Everyone involved in this case, including law enforcement, wants some sort of closure," Van Zandt said. "And, the bottom line, of course, is that you want to confirm of course that she's actually dead. Even though someone said, 'We ran into her. We kidnapped her. We killed her.' My emotional porch light on Sherry's house remains turned on, and as an investigator, I keep looking for her, seeking her until I find out the absolute truth. I'm not about to take some potential criminal, some potential killer's word for what happened to her. We need to find her body. We need to do the autopsy. We need to get forensics to satisfy law enforcement."

You can read the rest of the article and watch the video interview here:

http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/FBI-Investigator-Weighs-in-on-Arnold-Case-137531838.html

 

[liltexans]

The state of Montana has until Friday, January 27th to request the extradition hearing. If Montana can show clear and convincing evidence, Waters and Spell will be transferred to Richland County.

You can watch the news video showing Spell and Waters in their jailhouse stripes and cuffs here:

http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/Suspects-Request-Extradition-Hearing-137539283.html

 

[liltexans]

Remembering their teacher
Former students share memories of Sherry Arnold

Former student Kyle Welnel credits his former math instructor for being the only reason he passed math. “Her extra attention and devotion to her students shows in anyone who had her as a teacher,” he said. He also credits her for the influence she’s had on those around her, including her children and husband, Gary, who are “some of the brightest, most caring and all around amazing people I know.”

http://sidneyherald.com/articles/2012/01/17/news/doc4f16028bbbdf8615237122.txt

 

[liltexans]

I just looked up who has been executed in MT and check out the eerie similarities of this case:

McKenzie was convicted in March, 1975, of the torture-murder of schoolteacher Lana Harding in Conrad, Mont., in the northeastern part of the state.

Her battered body was found in November, 1974, in a field near the seed company where McKenzie worked. She had been raped, strangled with a clothesline rope and her head bashed with heavy metal objects.

http://articles.latimes.com/1995-05-07/news/mn-63515_1_death-row

The murder of 23 year old Lana Harding, a teacher in a rural area near Conrad, Montana, was the crime that brought Duncan McKenzie, Jr., to death row. McKenzie had kidnapped Harding from her home at the Pioneer School, raped & then strangled her near to death, & finally beaten her until she died. McKenzie had served a previous prison sentence for assault & had only recently moved into the area. He was arrested after police learned that his truck had been seen at the school on the evening of the crime.

http://www.fotojones.com/editorial/deathrow/inmates/mckenzie.html

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

I just looked up who has been executed in MT and check out the eerie similarities of this case:

McKenzie was convicted in March, 1975, of the torture-murder of schoolteacher Lana Harding in Conrad, Mont., in the northeastern part of the state.

Her battered body was found in November, 1974, in a field near the seed company where McKenzie worked. She had been raped, strangled with a clothesline rope and her head bashed with heavy metal objects.

http://articles.latimes.com/1995-05-07/news/mn-63515_1_death-row

The murder of 23 year old Lana Harding, a teacher in a rural area near Conrad, Montana, was the crime that brought Duncan McKenzie, Jr., to death row. McKenzie had kidnapped Harding from her home at the Pioneer School, raped & then strangled her near to death, & finally beaten her until she died. McKenzie had served a previous prison sentence for assault & had only recently moved into the area. He was arrested after police learned that his truck had been seen at the school on the evening of the crime.

http://www.fotojones.com/editorial/deathrow/inmates/mckenzie.html

Such chilling similarities!

 

[M86]

I don't believe these have been posted:
KTVQ - UPDATE: Suspects accused of kidnapping Sherry Arnold appear in court

Billings Gazette - Laurel students reach out to Sidney community

 

[GrainneDhu]

Thought I'd share this after reading Boilly Boilly's post.
When I see stories suggesting that dogs stop tracking because the victim was possibly put in a vehicle, I always remember this story. Little Alie was kidnapped from an Englewood, Colorado yard back in 1993. Yogi the bloodhound tracked her all the way to the foothills. Many miles and she was in a car. I guess Yogi wore out, so LE took over the search up that canyon, SW of Denver, and eventually found her dead down an embankment. I'm only 50/50 on scent dogs. Some are good and some are not. But Yogi is my all time favorite. Read this story.

http://www.alie.org/generic.html

One thing I see in that story about Yogi is that it rained in the time between when Alie disappeared and when they started Yogi on the track. Rain in a dry climate helps stick the scent particles to the ground, rather than letting them be blown away.

Whether a dog can follow someone who is travelling in a vehicle depends on many factors, including the weather and the nature of the dog's training. When it happens, it is a wonderful tool for SAR and HRD but it doesn't always happen.

 

[GrainneDhu]

In thinking about these men's listed possessions.. Not that I believe they were by any means wealthy.. However I certainly don't take their word at face value.. Meaning just cause they may say they have no car, money, property, possessions(minus the 11 bucks and Explorer).. That certainly doesn't make it necessarily true IMO.. Wouldn't they lie if it suited their purpose? .. For any number of reasons from lying to hide a possession(possibly vehicle) or lying about money for free ride of a defense.. As just a couple examples..

I just don't take them at their word while I do find it possible that they don't have a pot to pee in.. I certainly can't take it as fact..KWIM?

Or they spent all their money in the 6 days they were trying to escape.

Since they have court appointed attorneys, I am sure they each received the lecture about what a bad, bad, bad thing it is to lie about your finances on the application and that if they had "accidentally" mis-stated their assets on the application, the time to clear it up would be RIGHT NOW. Because of course the prosecution will do some investigation in order to build a case to impeach them as witnesses when it comes to trial.

There may be a couple dollars more in change lost between the car seats but their assets are about what I expected. With Waters's previous record and Spell's age, I'd be amazed if they had significantly more.

It may well have changed with the oil boom but the last time I travelled through that area (about 8 years ago), prices were very low. For instance, I remember stopping at one nice cafe in North Dakota for dinner. We both had salads, entrees, three side dishes, rolls and pie for dessert... for less than $8. Total. We left more as a tip than we paid for the meal because I just can't feel good about leaving less than $10 as a tip.

If the cost of living is still low in the area, then they wouldn't need that much money to survive.

 

[GrainneDhu]

Spell is apparently without a vehicle, but with a baby and (wife? baby mama?) to provide for... Waters has a vehicle, says "Let's drive up to Williston, I hear there's work up there."

Again, nothing factual here. Just talking out ideas about how they ended up in that region to begin with. :dunno:

SBM

According to this story:

http://www.kjct8.com/news/30227253/detail.html

"It's dumbfounding, you know," {C McC}, Spell's ex cousin-in-law, explained. "I cant believe it."

There's several different ways to have an ex cousin-in-law but the most direct would be to marry, then divorce a woman whose cousin was C McC.

I changed the name to initials since this person really isn't directly involved in the crime.

This is just speculation but it sounds to me like Spell married and is already divorced.

 

[GrainneDhu]

"A few weeks" would put them leaving Parachute just before Christmas/the holidays (Jan. 7 minus 14 days is Dec. 23; Jan. 7 minus 21 days is Dec. 16).

Maybe this meant nothing to Waters, but Spell apparently has a young child. Tough decision--to be home for the holidays, or to head north for possible employment?

If he's divorced from his child's mother, that could also be an impetus to leave town before the holidays. Knowing he wasn't going to be seeing his child for the holidays may have made getting out of town for a change of scenery may have been more attractive for Spell.

 

[KellysGal]

An ex cousin in law could also be someone who was married to his cousin and got divorced....

 

[liltexans]

Friends of Arnold Kidnapping Suspects in Shock

We take you to their hometown of Parachute, Colorado to find out what people living there have to say about these two suspects.

http://www.kfbb.com/news/local/Suspects-in-Arnold-Case--137546803.html

 

[Indy Anna]

Those courtroom videos have convinced me that both suspects are equally culpable in whatever happened to Sherry. Next to the courtroom guards, both men look puny. I think it took participation from both men to subdue Sherry, who was tall and athletic. The shoe that was left behind is proof of that. Likely, one man grabbed her foot while she was fighting off the other man, and the force pulled off her shoe. LE found evidence on the shoe. A smear of blood from a defensive wound? Mud or grease from one suspect's hand?

 

[Indy Anna]

Another thought...
In my previous post I asked if a smear of blood from a defensive wound was the evidence LE found on Sherry's shoe. Could that have led LE to Waters? Since he had a prison record, his DNA would be in a national database?