NE NE - Jessica O'Grady, 19, Omaha, 10 May 2006

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Prosecutor: Jessica O'Grady Is Dead - News Archive

A Douglas County prosecutor told jurors seated for a high-profile murder trial that the defendant killed his girlfriend with a set of swords, then meticulously cleaned up her blood that was splattered all over his bedroom...

Eight women and six men make up the panel of 12 jurors and two alternates...

When officers first went to Edwards' aunt's home, where he was staying, Retelsdorf said, Edwards and his aunt let them in and they went to his bedroom in the basement.

"Police began seeing blood on the headboard of the bed, on the ceiling," Retelsdorf said. "Police asked about the blood on the ceiling ... The defendant told them a girlfriend had her menstrual period."

The police officer confronted Edwards, Retelsdorf said, and told him that would not explain the blood on his finger. Retelsdorf said the defendant told the officer he had cut himself.

Retelsdorf said police found blood splatters on the ceiling, walls, headboard, table, TV, TV stand, bookcase, chair, bed springs, a candle, a picture frame and more items in the bedroom...

In the defendant's car, police found a shovel with a broken handle and dirt on the blade, hedge shears with O'Grady's blood, rubber gasket with blood visible and blood underneath the vehicle, Retelsdorf said...

Lefler said that for state's theory to work, Edwards would have had to carry O'Grady's body to the car. He characterized Edwards as a slightly weaker individual, who would have had trouble carrying the body. And he said that investigators found no blood on the banisters, on the floor in his room or in garage...

Much more at link included a painted ceiling, the flipped mattress, trash bags and towels in the garage, and Walgreen's security video information.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

O'Grady's Friends, Relatives Set To Testify - News

The Jessica O'Grady death trial continues Thursday with prosecution witnesses taking the stand.

O'Grady's friends and relatives are expected to be the first to testify...

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

WOWT - News

The prosecution has 50 possible witnesses. The defense has 17...

 

[Megs]

Attorneys zero in on blood evidence at Edwards trial


http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=2351590


Some more information....I'm just not amused by the defense attorney... He talks about all these possibilities for the blood, yet his client was there and he doesn't know? By saying she possibly had a miscarriage he is admitting that she could have been pregnant which is a huge motive! Also, it says in this article that Edwards had asked his other pregnant girlfriend to marry him shortly before Jessica went missing - His attorney was saying that this guy was in a good place - when in my mind, that's just another motive....get rid of the other pregnant girl so she doesn't mess up his plans.....

 

[Bobbisangel]

That little creep didn't want his pregnant girlfriend to find out about Jessica and the fact that he also got her pregnant. If that defense attorney brings up the fact that the blood could have come from a miscarriage then he opens the door for the Pros to bring the pregnancy up and use it as a motive. I don't think the Pros could bring it up without the defense bringing it up first because there was no proof that Jessica was pregnant...she had told some people but hadn't been to a doctor as far as I remember. I hope and pray the defense brings that up.....easy to see it was the motive.

Didn't LE find an ax or something like that in this creeps car? I believe that he had help getting Jessica out to his vehicle...Lord knows there were enough people in the house to help clean up everything...they helped him dispose of her body too...bet on it.

 

[Megs]

That little creep didn't want his pregnant girlfriend to find out about Jessica and the fact that he also got her pregnant. If that defense attorney brings up the fact that the blood could have come from a miscarriage then he opens the door for the Pros to bring the pregnancy up and use it as a motive. I don't think the Pros could bring it up without the defense bringing it up first because there was no proof that Jessica was pregnant...she had told some people but hadn't been to a doctor as far as I remember. I hope and pray the defense brings that up.....easy to see it was the motive.

Didn't LE find an ax or something like that in this creeps car? I believe that he had help getting Jessica out to his vehicle...Lord knows there were enough people in the house to help clean up everything...they helped him dispose of her body too...bet on it.

They found a shovel and hedge shears with her blood on them in the car...and a bangkok battle sword with her dna on it in his closet....and two blood-soaked towels in a garbage bag beside his car along with a receipt from walgreens of the same paint that he used to cover up blood splatters on his ceiling.....ridiculous..

 

[Bobbisangel]

They found a shovel and hedge shears with her blood on them in the car...and a bangkok battle sword with her dna on it in his closet....and two blood-soaked towels in a garbage bag beside his car along with a receipt from walgreens of the same paint that he used to cover up blood splatters on his ceiling.....ridiculous..

I knew about everything else except the shovel and the hedge shears before the list came out. Hedge shears :furious: That just makes me ill. Didn't it say there was fresh dirt of the shovel? If he buried her why would he need the hedge shears?

I wonder if that girlfriend is still with him or if she had the good sense to seperate herself from him and stay as far away as possible.

I wish there was someone who lives in the town where the trial is taking place that could post the newspaper articles or something so we would know what is going on everyday.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Omaha.com Metro/Region Section

it wasn't like O'Grady to suddenly leave behind her beloved pet with no explanation, which happened when O'Grady disappeared.

When O'Grady's aunt, Shauna Stanzel, told jurors that O'Grady "doted" on the cat, O'Grady's family and friends in the gallery chuckled. The description obviously was an understatement.

"She held it all the time, called it her baby," Christianson said. "She just loved the cat."

Whenever O'Grady went out of town, she would leave Stumme strict instructions on when to feed Zoe. It was almost as if, Stumme said, O'Grady needed her to sign a paper proving that she would provide proper care.

"She was very attached to Zoe," Stumme said ...

Everyone knows the justice system moves with all the urgency of syrup on pancakes, but Thursday's start was delayed for an unusual reason.

Christopher Edwards had to shave. He arrived Thursday morning with slight, dark stubble covering his face...

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Prosecutors Call 10 Witnesses To Testify In Murder Case - News

O'Grady's aunt, Shauna Stanzel, was the first witness on the stand. She helped raise O'Grady.

Stanzel testified that her younger sister, Rochelle, was just 14 when she gave birth to Jessica, so Stanzel helped her raise her niece.

Stanzel remembered May 10 as the last day that she and O'Grady coached her 7-year-old daughter's softball game...

O'Grady's former roommate, Holly Stumme, testified that Edwards came to their apartment about a week before the disappearance as part of a double date with another couple.

Stumme said she woke up the next day and Edwards' clothes were there as though he had spent the night...

A week later, the night O'Grady disappeared, Stumme said that O'Grady was on her way to Edwards' home...

She testified that the last words she heard from O'Grady were "Wish me luck." Then O'Grady left, saying she was going to Edwards' house...

The prosecution told jurors Wednesday that experts will testify that O'Grady was hit at least eight times by a thin, sharp blade.

Wasserburger testified that during a round of golf on the night before O'Grady disappeared, Edwards got a woman pregnant and that it was a mistake...

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Omaha.com Metro/Region Section

Riley Wasserburger and Chris Edwards had been best friends for 10 years, but the two haven't spoken since they golfed together and saw a movie on May 10...

When Lefler asked Wasserburger if Edwards had a reputation for being peaceful, Wasserburger said yes.

"He's a peaceful guy," he said. "I've never really seen him angry before..."

Holly Stumme, O'Grady's friend and roommate, gave her phone number to Edwards shortly after O'Grady disappeared so he could call her if he heard from O'Grady.

He never did.

But his other girlfriend did.

Michelle Wilken, who was pregnant with Edwards' daughter at the time, called Stumme in mid-May and had a discussion about O'Grady and Edwards, Stumme said.

Stumme's testimony didn't include exactly what that conversation covered.

Wilken is expected to testify later in the trial...

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Jury Gets First Look Of Crime Scene In O'Grady Trial - News

The jury then saw photos taken later by crime scene investigators. One photo shows the top of the mattress, where it appears blood is just below the surface.

Another photo of the flipped mattress shows a large stain underneath, covering 60 to 70 percent of the mattress surface.

Police said they also recovered a shovel and white plastic bags from Edwards' vehicle...

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

WOWT - News

The jury was shown pictures of a shovel found in Chris Edwards' vehicle; blood-stained items found in Edwards' bedroom and a picture of Edwards' mattress that had a large blood stain on it.
Omaha Police Sergeant Mark Desler testified that when Edwards was asked about the mattress he said, "he had intercourse with a girlfriend that had been on her menstrual period..."

The prosecution says the sword was also covered with blood stains but during cross-examination defense attorney Steve Lefler questioned some of the handling of evidence by police officers noting that some officers handled some of the evidence without gloves.
Officer Mark Stranglen was asked about collecting evidence and he said, "I would say there is a certain degree of error out there..."

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Omaha.com Metro/Region Section

Prosecutor Leigh Ann Retelsdorf saved the worst for last...

"Oh my God," a juror, a college student no older than Jessica O'Grady, muttered under her breath.

There, staring at them, was the state's most staggering piece of evidence against Edwards in the disappearance of O'Grady.

Exhibit No. 63: A photo of Edwards' mattress.

Blood covered an 8-foot section of the full-size mattress. The stain is layered like a marble rye, dark blood streaked with lighter shades of red. It extends the width of the head of the bed and trails off toward the foot of it...

David Kofoed, division commander of Douglas County's crime scene investigators, took jurors on a virtual photo tour of Edwards' car, garage and bedroom...

Fourteen blood spots on the headboard. Ten spots on a section of ceiling. Pin-drop dots on the edge of a laundry basket between the bed and wall. A single blood drop on a scented candle and one on an alarm clock.

A nickel-sized spot on the TV screen in the far corner, some 10 feet away from where prosecutors believe Edwards struck O'Grady.

Beyond the bed, most of the spots looked as if a sloppy painter had blown through the room, leaving smears, drips and specks of paint behind.

All of the spots match O'Grady's DNA, prosecutors say. And then there were the places that prosecutors contend were cleaned up...

 

[Megs]

I knew about everything else except the shovel and the hedge shears before the list came out. Hedge shears :furious: That just makes me ill. Didn't it say there was fresh dirt of the shovel? If he buried her why would he need the hedge shears?

I wonder if that girlfriend is still with him or if she had the good sense to seperate herself from him and stay as far away as possible.

I wish there was someone who lives in the town where the trial is taking place that could post the newspaper articles or something so we would know what is going on everyday.

I do live in the area and I'll try to keep everyone up to date, but it looks as if Jerseygirl is doing a fine job of it! Thanks Jersey -

 

[mom3dd]

Anybody but me find it odd that she'd texted her friend saying she got lost on the way to Dipwad's house? Like, maybe she'd never been there before? So how could she have left menstrual blood in a bed that she'd never slept in?

Wow I never looked at it like that. Good thought

 

[mom3dd]

Thanks Jersey girl You are great!!! Ive been out of town and it is late so I will read tomorrow but DID HIS Aunt get charged with anything will they call her and wasn't there another family member. Read a post or two that felt poor little Chris couldn't be guilty I guess he was framed like Avery.

 

[Bobbisangel]

Thanks Jersey girl You are great!!! Ive been out of town and it is late so I will read tomorrow but DID HIS Aunt get charged with anything will they call her and wasn't there another family member. Read a post or two that felt poor little Chris couldn't be guilty I guess he was framed like Avery.

I'm not Jersery girl but I'll answer your question. No one else was charged in this case...I sure don't understand why not. From what I remember the aunt helped with the clean up...also the stepmother and a cousin. I think some of them must have helped dispose of Jessica's body too.

 

[mom3dd]

Good morning Bobbisangel; I thought so to it will be interesting to see if the pros brings them forward if they don't I will really be suspcious.. If nothing else there should be interference with an investigation???

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

No new articles today but I'll post anything new that I find on Monday.

I've always found it surprising that they didn't charge someone else in this case. I also seem to remember early on articles implying (or maybe even stating outright) that the others in that house helped Chris remove things from the house.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

I do live in the area and I'll try to keep everyone up to date, but it looks as if Jerseygirl is doing a fine job of it! Thanks Jersey -

No problem at all.