GUILTY NC - Tim Hennis on trial in the '85 Eastburn murders, Fort Bragg

[SMK]

OK, thanks, understood. But what about the articles that say military appeals process can last decades? Wouldn't this be quicker? Or do you have hopes that the military may order those DNA profiles tested soon?

 

[msvick66]

Tim Hennis needs a podcast devoted to showing his wrongful conviction, someone really qualified who can get to the major players in the case such as Tim, his family, Whisnant, his lawyers and maybe Sundrop as an expert on the forensic evidence. Sometimes attention that lights up social media can give people the exposure they need.

 

[SMK]

That's a great idea, because as things stand, the public believes the DNA simply proves he was a liar all along, and should never have had those years of freedom.

 

[SMK]

It's one thing to push that the army had no jurisdiction to retry him, but with the DNA standing, it leaves him looking like a triple murderer who wants to get off on a constitutional technicality. Whereas the DNA being false upholds his innocence to the public.

 

[msvick66]

Yes, the only way to change public opinion would be to show the hanky panky with the DNA. Thing is, officials will never admit that the DNA analysis was faulty. In this trial, you have the army to deal with which is probably much harder, even though I think it was the SBI that cross contaminated the DNA. I've heard that the defense tested the dna but won't release the results. That sounds fishy to me, so of course people are going to think that means they found he was guilty so they won't release it. But the defense only have the crime scene evidence to deal with. If the original swabs from the victims were contaminated with samples Tim gave, then it's already there. All of this happens in the SBI and police department evidence storage, where people who are set on his guilt have control over all the samples. Seeing that the SBI lab was caught mixing up samples and doing all sort of unethical things to railroad people, it's unfortunate that people can't believe this is exactly what happened to Tim.

 

[SMK]

You are so right. This could only ever be set right, then, by having the DNA profiles on the towel, and beneath fingernails, prove to be someone either associated with Julie Czerniak or Patrick Cone, or registered as a criminal in the data base. It's his only hope. I saw a military forum from 2010, where they posted a big article all about the lab technician who tested the DNA being cited for skewing results, and everyone STILL felt Hennis was guilty!!

 

[SMK]

@Sundrop:Any idea when Hennis' case will be heard again? If innocent as we all believe, these 6 years have robbed him of wife, pension, grand fatherhood...seems a long time to wait and wait.

 

[sundrop]

His military appeal was heard in March so a decision should be forthcoming soon

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[SMK]

His military appeal was heard in March so a decision should be forthcoming soon

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Keep us posted!!!

 

[sundrop]

I will

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[msvick66]

Sundrop, I apologize if I have already asked you this and perhaps you answered, but do you know if the full dna profile on the bloody towel matches the dna profiles found underneath Katie and one of the little girl's fingernails? Is the fingernail dna not a full profile? I know the fingernail dna doesn't match Hennis, but wondered how much more about it is known. Recently, I saw where Lori Erica Ruff was finally identified. She was a woman who died and after death it was discovered she was not who she said she was. Checking found that she had stolen her identity but they could not figure out who she actually was. Eventually through familial dna checking they were led to a cousin and then to her mother. Also, there has been some work done on creating a composite computer image of a person from dna profiles. Since the towel dna is a full profile, maybe this might eventually be a tool for the defense.

Thank you so much for keeping us updated and answering questions.

 

[sundrop]

DNA under fingernail was partial profile, not Hennis. The key to this is entering the unknown male DNA from the towel into CODIS

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[sundrop]

Look at the video footage

http://www.investigativepsych.com/eastburnmurders.html#.WAphoMspDqA

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[SMK]

DNA under fingernail was partial profile, not Hennis. The key to this is entering the unknown male DNA from the towel into CODIS

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What reason did the military judge give for refusing to test this? I believe that once it is tested- and it had better be soon - the 31 year old triple murder will finally be solved.

 

[sundrop]

Everything was tested none linked to Tim, but judge refused to fund anything that had to do with trying to find a DNA match to someone else. Judge said because he does not match Tim that helps his case. I believe judge error in his ruling

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[SMK]

Everything was tested none linked to Tim, but judge refused to fund anything that had to do with trying to find a DNA match to someone else. Judge said because he does not match Tim that helps his case. I believe judge error in his ruling

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He certainly gave material for an appeal!

 

[msvick66]

It sounds like the fingernail dna does not match the towel dna. That still could mean there were at least 2 killers, which I think is a strong possibility considering the witnesses have indicated there were 2 people in the van. Of course, it could be unrelated and the skinny blonde short guy is the killer by himself.

That enrages me, that they refuse to enter to the towel dna into Codis. The judge is supposed to be neutral and this cripples a very good defense. It also cripples the truth. The Army must be worse than our civilian system. It makes sense if the Army is charging him, then they don't actually want him to be found not guilty. I still say that lawyer throwing out "maybe he did have sex with her" at the tail end of the trial destroyed his chances of doubt by their jurors. Seems like the Army system is completely weighted towards the prosecution moreso than the State or Federal civilian system is.

You'd think the victims if they understood that this towel exists and where it was found, would want to know the truth, not just hang a person as if this is solely about competition and winning rather than justice for 3 murders. I really think we need some kind of media kicking up dust on this and ticking off the population to make them move.

 

[SMK]

It sounds like the fingernail dna does not match the towel dna. That still could mean there were at least 2 killers, which I think is a strong possibility considering the witnesses have indicated there were 2 people in the van. Of course, it could be unrelated and the skinny blonde short guy is the killer by himself.

That enrages me, that they refuse to enter to the towel dna into Codis. The judge is supposed to be neutral and this cripples a very good defense. It also cripples the truth. The Army must be worse than our civilian system. It makes sense if the Army is charging him, then they don't actually want him to be found not guilty. I still say that lawyer throwing out "maybe he did have sex with her" at the tail end of the trial destroyed his chances of doubt by their jurors. Seems like the Army system is completely weighted towards the prosecution moreso than the State or Federal civilian system is.

You'd think the victims if they understood that this towel exists and where it was found, would want to know the truth, not just hang a person as if this is solely about competition and winning rather than justice for 3 murders. I really think we need some kind of media kicking up dust on this and ticking off the population to make them move.

I agree with you fully in all you said. Not only is it horrendous that Hennis is being railroaded , but it is so important that this 31 year old murder is finally solved. No one bothers to get the real facts. It's just DNA = case closed.:tantrum:

I agree his lawyers should have just challenged the DNA relentlessly. In throwing in the consensual sex story, they sought to at least add doubt, but it only made Hennis look guilty.

 

[SMK]

Addendum:If I thought Hennis himself had admitted to the consensual sex, I would think he is guilty. I am assuming his attorneys were simply desperate to cast doubt on the DNA.

 

[msvick66]

I agree. But Sundrop has assured us his attorney did this on his own apparently. To me that should be grounds for a claim of incompetent representation. You are right, they should have gone after the DNA and the CRIMES committed by the SBI lab, well documented crimes that were investigated and reported on. I don't know if the judge wouldn't let them do that, but again if that is so then they are just paralyzing his defense. How are you supposed to defend yourself that way, if they can disallow you to talk about what most likely occurred that would cast doubt, and then they have hard physical evidence that they know for a fact points to a different perp or at the very least (though I don't believe this to be true but it could be logically argued) an accomplice. There's no excuse for not putting that dna into CODIS and finding out who it may belong to. How can the victims' family not want this? I have tons of sympathy for them, of course, but they must have been very carefully lied to if they aren't screaming to find out whose blood is on that towel next to Katie's body at the crime scene. As I said, even if they think Tim guilty, how could they not want to find a possible accomplice? For prosecutors, judges and crime lab techs to obscure and obfuscate the truth like this is sickening and if this bloody towel man kills more women and children, then they have blood on their hands too.