Sunday, May 18, 2014

Man Acquitted In Murder Confesses

This article is from the AP.  I am looking for the 2007 article with quotes:


A man found not guilty in a long-perplexing 1984 New Jersey murder-for-hire case made famous by the book "Blind Faith" has confessed that he was indeed the hit man, authorities said Friday.
The revelation came one day after the same man, Larry Thompson, was indicted on a murder charge in a 1979 slaying in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Ocean County, New Jersey Prosecutor Joseph Coronato said Thompson cannot be tried again for the same crime, however -- the 1984 shooting death of Maria Marshall. Marshall was found shot to death in a picnic area along the Garden State Parkway.
Coronato said his office reopened the file on Thompson last year after hearing from the district attorney's office in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, because of similarities between the cases.
Marshall's husband, Toms River insurance salesman Robert Marshall, was convicted in 1986 of paying to have her killed, and for nearly 20 years was the first in line in New Jersey slated for execution after the state reinstated the death penalty in 1982. His death sentence was overturned in 2004 and the state abolished the death penalty three years later.
In a 2007 interview with The Associated Press, Marshall maintained that he is innocent and that he was framed. He remains in prison, but has a parole hearing scheduled for December.
The saga was the subject of Joe McGinniss' true-crime novel "Blind Faith" and a 1990 miniseries of the same name.
Thompson, who was accused of being the hit man, was cleared by the same jury that convicted Marshall.
The not-guilty verdict came largely because of an alibi. His wife, son, brother and others testified that Thompson took his son to a dentist in Louisiana the day Maria Marshall was killed, making it impossible for him to have been in New Jersey at the time.
Ocean County authorities said Thompson last month told James Churchill, a retired prosecutor's office detective who had worked on the case 30 years ago, that witnesses who said he was in Louisiana were lying or mistaken. Coronato said no one would be charged with lying to a jury because the statute of limitations for perjury is five years.
Thompson is a dozen years into an 80-year term for attempted murder of a police officer and armed robbery in Louisiana.
He now faces a murder charge for the 1979 death of Deana Montgomery. The alleged victim's husband, James Montgomery, was also charged with murder in the case. As in the Maria Marshall slaying, the victim was shot in the head at close range while in a car.
Authorities in both Louisiana and New Jersey said they did not know whether Thompson has a lawyer.
District Attorney Richard Johnson in DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, told the Shreveport Times authorities are also using information from the investigation to try to resolve the 1988 slaying there of Larry Lester. Thompson's son Brian was arrested in the case but never prosecuted.
Coke Solomon, the district attorney in Harrison County, Texas, said authorities are looking into whether Thompson might be connected to the unsolved 1979 slaying of Charles Underwood there.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Try this:

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/robert_o_marshall/index.html

-Akula

Tania Cadogan said...

off topic

Police believe a body found by fishermen in Florida is that of missing nine-year-old Felecia Williams.

The little girl vanished on Friday evening from Doral Oaks Apartments in Temple Terrace.
Felecia Williams Police have interviewed several people over Felecia's disappearance

A family friend picked Felecia up from her mother's house in Ybor City and stopped at Doral Oaks to take a shower.

When she returned, the youngster was missing.

Felecia's sister Shakelia Givens told Fox News: "She wouldn’t leave. She would never, ever wander off. She doesn’t have a reason to."

Temple Terrace Police said a body was found in mangroves near Courtney Campbell Causeway, in Pinellas County, on Saturday afternoon.

They are waiting for a post-mortem examination to be carried out before they confirm whether it is the nine-year-old.

Temple Terrace police spokesman Michael Dunn said: "We don't know what occurred here yet. That is still under investigation.

http://news.sky.com/story/1264017/body-found-thought-to-be-missing-nine-year-old

Anonymous said...

Peter,

Here is another one. Not a transcript but an audio file of the interview. I could not get it to play on my iPad but you might have better luck on a windows machine. Anyway, here is the link.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d4e_1197653700

-Akula

Anonymous said...

OK, last one:

Here is the AP article. There isn't much to chew on. I hope the audio worked better.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-12-13-death-penalty-interview_N.htm

-Akula

Anonymous said...

Re Hobs OT - A family friend picked up Felecia, they went to Doral Oaks Apartments, where the friend took a shower. Then it says, when she returned, Felecia was gone. What does that mean? Returned from/to where? Where is the shower located, that the person had to return from?

The shower reference is obviously sticking out in my SA mind.

John Mc Gowan said...

OT

New book out about Hannah Anderson kidnapping case
Author says investigation botched from the start


SAN DIEGO - There is a new book out about Hannah Anderson and the murders of her mother and young brother.

The book's release comes as prosecutors announced Wednesday that the two FBI agents who shot and killed Anderson's alleged kidnapper, Jim DiMaggio, will not face criminal charges.

"I truly do not believe we've heard the truth, even close to it," said Sue Julsen, the author of the new book "Zip Ties and Lies."

In the book, Julsen examines the alleged kidnapping of Anderson from last August, the brutal murders of her mother Christina and 8-year-old brother Ethan and what she calls the "firing squad" murder of DiMaggio.

Anderson was found nearly a week later after nationwide manhunt for DiMaggio, known to her as "Uncle Jim."

"There's no proof that Jim DiMaggio committed these crimes. There's no proof that he kidnapped Hannah," added Julsen on the phone from her home in Nevada.

DiMaggio, 40, was killed by federal agents in Idaho, where the two were found.

Julsen tells 10News she is a kidnapping victim herself who began to write true crime novels as an escape. She says she felt compelled to write this book since the facts did not add up since the beginning.

"I think it's been a cover-up since the get-go, starting with Sheriff Gore," she added.

Julsen says Hannah's father Brett Anderson knows more than he is letting on.

She also writes about divorce papers that Hannah's mother reportedly carried with her wherever she went.

"If those divorce papers had been found, it would have given proof that Brett had motive to kill his wife," Julsen said.

She also says she wrote the book on speculation and what she found online and not from fact.

Last October, 10News reported about a similar book called "The River of No Return" by author Chelsea Hoffman.

10News contacted Hannah's grandmother, Sara Britt, about the new book. She said she was never contacted by Julsen, although Julsen says she called her once.

Britt added that the only knowledge she had about Julsen was that she believed both authors – Julsen and Hoffman – work for the same publisher, had a contractual falling out and are now competing against each other.

10News contacted the San Diego County Sheriff's Department about the new book and the allegations about Gore covering up the investigation and was told in a statement:

"This was a multi-agency effort with extensive and forensic utilized. The investigation stands on its own, and we understand the need for 'true crime' authors to make money and exercise their right to free speech."

Britt added both books were written based on speculation.

http://www.10news.com/news/new-book-out-about-hannah-anderson-kidnapping-case-05072014

trustmeigetit said...


This will be an interesting case Peter. I bet it will be another case that can show the accuracy of statement analysis.



Then..... Update to the story Hobs posted. Looks like we need to look for statements from this family friend Eboni Wiley.







Autopsy confirms body found floating in Tampa Bay is Felecia Williams

Boaters find missing 9-year-old's naked body near Clearwater

Published On: May 19 2014 08:21:58 AM EDT



Felecia Williams disappeared Friday night after going to visit a family friend in Tampa. Boaters found her naked body off the Courtney Campbell Causeway near Clearwater on Saturday afternoon.



Clearwater police spokesman Rob Shaw says there were no visible signs of trauma.

Police say Eboni Wiley, 23, told them she picked Felecia up Friday and they went to her apartment. She told police she discovered Felecia missing when she got out of the shower but didn't alert authorities for five hours.



Wiley was arrested Sunday on a charge of making false statements to law enforcement. She was released on a $2,000 bail.



http://www.local10.com/news/autopsy-confirms-body-found-floating-in-tampa-bay-is-felecia-williams/26050324

trustmeigetit said...





Found something more (also very interesting) on the Felecia Williams case with regards to WHERE the god mother took a shower….





According to Givens, Williams was in her home in Ybor City along with her other siblings on Friday while their mother was at a hair appointment. Williams' godmother, a woman later identified as Eboni Wiley, came to the house and said she wanted to take Williams somewhere. Eboni is known to Williams, so she left with her.

Later, Eboni said she needed to stop and take a shower, but instead of stopping at her own apartment, she went to a friend's apartment in Doral Oaks. While Eboni was taking a shower, Williams allegedly went missing.

"Take a shower at someone else's house when you stay around the corner? That doesn't make sense. It doesn't add up," said Shakelia.

Eboni allegedly searched for Williams for two hours and then reported her missing. Givens told 10 News her sister, who she calls " Sugar Plum," would not wander off, especially since she did not know anyone in Doral Oaks.

Eboni Wiley was arrested Saturday evening at 11:30 p.m. and charged with providing false information to law enforcement during a missing person investigation. She is now out on bond.

Police believe this was an isolated incident and they are continuing to follow several leads. They are not providing further details on the investigation at this time.

trustmeigetit said...





It is interesting that even with more time dad has not spoken out for his daughter or has anyone one of the many siblings….. Even family that are moms facebook friends it’s like life as usual. Just their normal “selfies” and about me posts.

One of moms (Ericka Sanders Lewis) facebook friends “Tasha Godsgift Allen (looks like a lot of them have middle names about how great they are) posted a pic of Myra the day she went missing. She then posted a comment and refers to Myra as her sister. That post she is upset and says people need to stop being nosy and trying to be fake FBI/polices. But, then it’s like lots of selfies.. a “thank god its Friday post”, some silly pics of friends….. Just does not seem like a sister of a missing child.



This family clearly is just not normal in any sense.



But here is an update on mommy…..





Mom of Missing Toddler Myra Lewis To Be Released From Jail

Posted: May 19, 2014 9:13 AM MST



MADISON COUNTY, Miss. - The mother of missing Madison County toddler Myra Lewis will be released from jail Monday.



Ericka Lewis appeared in court this morning. She's been in jail for a probation violation.



Her daughter, Myra disappeared on March 1st. The toddler was last seen at her home in Camden.



Since then, there's been no trace of the 2 -year-old.



She was last seen wearing white or khaki pants, a turquoise sweater with a bear on the front, and pink tennis shoes. She stands 3' 1", and weighs 27 pounds.



The investigation is still ongoing.

Kellie said...

OT

What's the story on Dennis Stoup?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the updates. I still don't understand the "when she returned" from her shower, Felecia was missing.

Stopping at someone elses house to take a shower would be odd. I don't think there was a shower, or there was a lot more going on than just a shower. I think she must have "leaked" that Felecia was gone when she returned, meaning either her lies are just all jumbled up, or she left Felecia somewhere and she was gone when she got back, OR she's going with partial truth and she removed Felecia (her body?) so when she "got back", she really was missing.

It's an odd story. If you see any updates, I'd be interested in reading them.