OR - Leah Freeman, 15, found murdered, Coquille, 28 June 2000

[iluvmua]

20/20 will be airing an episode about this case and the overturned verdict of Nick.

 

[MajorHoople]

Here's a new report from the DM:

"An Oregon man who sat behind bars for nearly a decade for the slaying of his high school girlfriend, says he just wants the 'truth' in his first interview since a judge ordered his release from prison.

Nicholas McGuffin, now 37, was found guilty of manslaughter in the death of 15-year-old Leah Freeman, who was killed in 2000 when he was 18.

He was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed in 2011 - but released last year after a judge ruled undisclosed evidence was found at the scene of another man's DNA, which could have lead to a different verdict."

Man 'wrongfully convicted' for killing his girlfriend 10 years after she was found calls for justice | Daily Mail Online

 

[wyome]

Blindsided today to hear McGuffin may be innocent. This is what happens when crime blogs like this bring family on and gives super status to victims. Obviously, it's done with the best intentions...but facts get confused with emotions. May this case be a reminder to all of us to take a huge step backward and think before jumping on the crucifying bandwagon.

 

[Mojito]

Wow. So who killed Leah?
1) Silver paint chip on her shirt....accidentally hit by a vehicle? Like the rumor around town said?
2) I'm still suspicious of the mechanic guy's story who "found" her shoe in the road and brought it home. Did he have a daughter? If so did she wear a similar size shoe as Leah? If not he needs a close look. Did HE have a silver vehicle?
3) Lastly who does the male DNA on Leah's other shoe belong to?
Such shoddy police work done makes me wonder what other evidence they ignored and missed. I imagine lots! ** I suspect the local LE wont ever push to get to the bottom of who killed Leah because they could be found wrong. Lawsuits would follow.

If Nick is innocent there's a lot of apologies and begging of forgiveness owed to him by some ....here on this blog, the cops and from people in the town. But the only way we'll ever know if he's innocent is if someone else is charged. **see above.

 

[PommyMommy]

20/20 Tonight on ABC: Who killed Leah Freeman?

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=190444928893684

Nicholas McGuffin describes his search for Leah Freeman the night she disappeared

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2896422540377801

What police discovered at the Leah Freeman crime scene

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=200660774632633

 

[PommyMommy]

Nick McGuffin on his release from prison after manslaughter conviction was overturned

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=133895697963660

How Leah Freeman’s ex-boyfriend hopes to honor her legacy

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=133835151286751

20/20 Tonight: Nicholas McGuffin's first interview after his overturned conviction

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=221531089242216

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

Nick McGuffin has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit.

Man whose conviction overturned in Leah Freeman killing files federal civil rights lawsuit, says he was framed by cops


Case Archive is updated.
Leah Freeman -OR- by amanda reckonwith

 

[Sparrowbaa]

Does anyone know who the mechanic was?

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

Does anyone know who the mechanic was?

I searched for a while tonight. I cannot find a name.

This is the closest I got:

Her death happened sometime between 9 p.m. and 11:40 p.m. Frasier said they know this because at 11:40 p.m., a mechanic from the county shop had just gotten off a swing shift and was riding his motorcycle home. He was using the road between the cemetery and the Chevron station when he spotted a Nike tennis shoe in the middle of the street.

“He got upset because he just bought his kids new shoes and thought it might belong to one of his kids, so he picked it up and brought it home,” Frasier said. “When he got home, he figured out it wasn’t one of his kid’s shoes and tossed it into a pile.”

DNA on tennis shoes
Once it was clear Freeman was missing and law enforcement suspected foul play, Frasier said the shop mechanic came forward with the shoe. DNA testing showed that it belonged to Freeman.

The second Nike tennis shoe was discovered by a Coos County Sheriff’s deputy. The deputy went to a spot often used by local teens as a place to drink and hang out. As the deputy went to Hudson Ridge, he spotted a Nike tennis shoe off to the side of the dirt road.

Frasier recounted that the deputy brought the shoe into town, unaware that the Coquille Police Department had the other one found by the mechanic. The deputy was speaking with a CPD officer and through conversation discovered the shoes matched.

Nicholas McGuffin's manslaughter conviction overturned in the death of Leah Freemam

 

[ilovewings]

Watching this case for the first time: another case where the detectives get focused on one person like a dog with a bone and go for that person. Nick served 9 years of a 10 year sentence, at which point a judge overturned the verdict. The prosecution made a decision not to try him again. DNA evidence pretty much excluded him as the killer. Just pray you are never the target of the police.

 

[Jsizzle]

Watching this case for the first time: another case where the detectives get focused on one person like a dog with a bone and go for that person. Nick served 9 years of a 10 year sentence, at which point a judge overturned the verdict. The prosecution made a decision not to try him again. DNA evidence pretty much excluded him as the killer. Just pray you are never the target of the police.

Just watched this case tonight on his overturned conviction and I cant believe all the time he missed with his daughter. 9 years is a lifetime in kid years

 

[ilovewings]

Just watched this case tonight on his overturned conviction and I cant believe all the time he missed with his daughter. 9 years is a lifetime in kid years

It is awful- and you are right, 9 years is a lifetime in kid years----

 

[Tricia]

This is a fascinating look at a man named Richard Walter who worked on Leah's case. Websleuths has a mention too.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/richard-walter-criminal-profiler-fraud.html

 

[ilovewings]

This is a fascinating look at a man named Richard Walter who worked on Leah's case. Websleuths has a mention too.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/richard-walter-criminal-profiler-fraud.html

Thanks for the heads up- I will be watching.

 

[iluvmua]

https://www.registerguard.com/story/news/courts/2025/05/10/mcguffin-sues-oregon-police-over-conviction-in-leah-freeman-murder-case/83537193007/

Trial begins in September.

I also read that Leah's mother passed away back in 2021.