CONVICTION OVERTURNED AK - Kent Leppink, 36, murdered, Hope, 2 May 1996

She needs to have her mouth washed out with soap.
 
:nono:Um, wow, so now we get to add "Racist" to the list of her ever-so-fine qualities right after "Tweeter Supreme" and "Very Super Awesome Speller!" :nono: :snooty::snooty::snooty:


And she just can't stand that guy who hates it when she tweets about cheese :violin::floorlaugh:

Maybe that tweet was the result of too much wine with all that cheese?
:cautionDrunk:

:angel:

One would think that one would learn to keep one's electronic mouth shut after one's past emails did not serve one well in one's first trial. :waitasec:

Perhaps Megan Holland should mention that tweet in her next article--it's much more interesting than Mechele's "first-produce-to-buy-when-I-get-out-of-prison list."

And, finally, I wonder if she ever had a problem letting any of those "N's" slip a few ones into her thong? :waitasec: Kinda doubt it.
:curtsey:
 
I agree with all of you! And like flourish, I also wondered if she was drunk or something? Wildly inappropriate!

It is strange that out of ALL the things written about her, she randomly chooses to act out on twitter and against that particular man. Whatever the case, it seems to me that the "real Mechele" doesn't seem a great departure from the nasty, immature and reckless Mechele who lived in Alaska years ago.

Random updates:
Another bail hearing appears to have been set on July 7. I don't know what that's about-- perhaps trying to relax restrictions again or maybe seeking permission for work release.

For people curious about her family life, her husband has been staying with her in Alaska in recent weeks.
 
Mechele continues to enjoy herself on twitter, this time invoking Kim Kardashian :waitasec:
tweets-1.jpg


(Source: http://twitter.com/MecheleLinehan)

Mechele's been going for runs, shopping, out for sushi, seen at hotels where visitors were staying, outside at local parks etc. It almost seems like she's playing loose with those house arrest restrictions...:rolleyes:
 
wow if that really is her account, her defense is gonna have a field day adding that huge group to to the list they dont want on the jury.
 
Mechele's third-party custodian Barbara Sheridan (hereafter BS) has posted a new entry on the Free Mechele FB site. BS is misrepresenting some things, namely the fact that the twitter account is not Mechele's. :angel:

BS's post:
"Supporters of Mechele have read a number of sites that continue to be filled with erroneous information. Some of it is only small details about legal logistics, about some of us involved in helping her, and about her relatives, but much of it seriously misrepresents Mechele.

Please remember that when you copy twitter messages and post them on your sites as Mechele's, you have no way of knowing that they are hers. The same is true for various web sites with impersonators setting up profiles under her name.

The twitter posts shown to me this week are not hers, so those of you who posted them as such contributed to damaging fraud.

Please remember that when you read cybergossip, the people you are repeating do not know Mechele. They have no information as to her private life, her schedule, or her relationships, and that is why it is only speculative gossip you are publishing.

Lastly, you also do not know details of Mechele's bail arrangement, whereabouts, schedule, the lay of the city, who is and who is not visiting her, why, when, whether it was prearranged or out of immediate need, and so forth. Hence, there too you are spreading misinformation by posting gossip and by doing your own guessing as if you have enough information to be correct. You don't, and that is why many of your online efforts are incorrect.

I know the stalkers don't care because that is what they want, but those of you who are serious about your interest and the time you spend on your blogs may want to to be more careful for web information integrity and ethics, if not merely to behave honorably toward someone you may be damaging unfairly.

Those who read the Free Mechele site for information to post on your blogs may want to double-check some of what you've written regarding what you've read there because this week there are multiple misrepresentations and a couple of them are getting a lot of discussion on your blogs-wasted discussion when what you report you read or the admin did isn't true and you didn't realize it.

Edits are sometimes done because someone posted something with a mistake in it and it would be wrong to leave the mistake up. A non-admin commenter might take something down because it had a mistake or they changed their minds, but they do not have access for editing, only removing their own posts. Other times an admin moves posts to different spots because commenters accidentally posted in the wrong one. Please be aware of that instead of assigning nefarious intent and/or thinking that just because something isn't where you saw it last time, it must have been removed to hide it.

For your own integrity at least, please read more carefully so that when you interpret for your readers what you've read on Free Mechele sites, you do not misrepresent what was said. Only the words written can accurately and fairly represent the authors, not how other parties want to interpret or read into the posts, guessing and paraphrasing what was written into a different meaning or intent.

When anyone publishing something on the web edits it or removes it, it is because they were dissatisfied with it for some reason. Readers do not usually know why commenters were dissatisfied with their posts. Furthermore, just because readers can take a photo of posts before their authors are finished editing it or fixing mistakes, or abandoned the effort and removed an entire post does not mean said readers have what the writers intended as their final written messages. (Another online ethical decision to consider.)

In case it matters to anyone reading this post, Mechele does not read blog sites about her. Misinformation is discovered by others of us and it is sent to us.

Further, as a reminder, Mechele does not administer the Free Mechele sites so what is written on them represents the writers only. Regarding her case, we do not speak for her as one entity, nor do we speak for each other, but are separate individuals, many of whom do not know each other personally. Therefore, anything readers take exception to, assign it only to the individual writer.

When I get the time again,(although, even without it, I know I will receive feedback from supportive readers who will fill me in), I personally will be interested to see the inevitable "reports" on this particular post. Responses will provide insight as to who is actually ethical among the true crime enthusiasts so closely following this case and blogging on it. In fact, and I mean this respectfully toward some of the bloggers I am referring to, erroneous inferences, presumptuous assumptions, frivolous treatment of Mechele's life and John Carlin's tragedy, and invasions of privacy guarantee remaining uninformed of accurate details. A situation as horrendously serious as this means mistreatment automatically earns distrust.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post."


Fact: Mechele's twitter account is linked to her email address. In order to set up the twitter account, someone had to click the confirmation link received by Mechele's private email address, etc.
Fact: Mechele's email address was initially exposed on her personal facebook page when she set it up. Mechele's personal facebook profile is still linked to that email address. I will not post the email address here because I do think it could be used by random creepers to harass her.


However, what Mechele chooses to post publicly online is fair game. She chose to create a twitter account. She chose to post on the Free Mechele site that she set up twitter and FB accounts soon after her release etc. She chose and continues to choose to make her tweets public. Her friends and family members publicly follow Mechele's twitter account and she references them in some of her tweets. If she doesn't want the public to view and form opinions about her tweets, she should stop making public tweets. Perhaps BS is unaware that the twitter account is actually Mechele's?? Whatever the case, I think it's absurd and irresponsible to pretend it isn't Mechele's account now that some of the tweets are receiving public scrutiny. Why lie? IMO lying to conceal reckless and inappropriate behavior is far worse than the initial reckless and inappropriate behavior itself, especially in Mechele's case. So, contrary to BS's latest diatribe, this is not a Michael Lohan situation. :snooty:

One update to my previous post about Mechele's former co-worker's deleted post from the Free Mechele FB site. Some of us noted it was curious that a comment from a fellow exotic dancer in New Orleans had been deleted and speculated that it was perhaps because (for whatever reason) Mechele's camp continues to deny that Mechele danced for several years in various locations not limited to Anchorage. That post was deleted from the Free Mechele FB site. I did note that the same fellow co-worker posted a comment of support on the Free Mechele blog and it was not deleted there. Importantly, the supportive co-worker self-identified as a former employee of Big Daddy's on her FB page, so it was easy to make the connection between her FB comment and where exactly she had worked with Mechele. Conversely, her blogger account does not link to any personal information about where exactly she may have worked with Mechele, etc. Perhaps this is why the comment was allowed on the Free Mechele blog site and deleted from the FB site-- I don't know. I just thought I'd put the updated information out there because BS is making the rounds and trying to renounce various online actions, insinuating that posters have made misrepresentations.


I think BS continues to do more harm than good in her quest to convince the world Mechele has never done anything questionable or wrong. It's shady and weird. What does everyone else think? Do you think Mechele wants BS to post things like this on her behalf?? Why is this happening?!?
 
aha! This puts BS's recent rant in clearer context.

Linehan Seeks More Freedom While Out On Bail, Anchorage Daily News, 6-26-2010

a few excerpts from the article:
"...Now staying in Anchorage as she awaits her trail -- which could be a year away -- she says she wants to take her daughter to the park. She wants to be able to dash out for milk when she needs some. And she wants to work -- she has an offer to be a receptionist at a local hair salon....

"Why is it that I can't work?" Mechele Linehan asked. "I have a master's degree and I should be able to work. I've worked hard my whole life."

"I don't want to take public assistance," said Linehan, who has been relying on others to help her financially, especially since her husband declared bankruptcy, something that the family says was driven by legal expenses...

"Where Mechele's case is so unusual is that you rarely get a homicide case where the person has no substance abuse history, has no mental health history, no criminal history," Cashion said in an interview last week. "We don't get homicide cases very often that don't have any of those elements." ...
 
Some random questions/thoughts:

* I thought the restrictions were crafted as they were because electronic monitoring wasn't an option for Mechele. Electronic monitoring is rather expensive and it's the defendant's responsibility to pay for it in every jurisdiction with which I'm familiar. I assumed, since she is indigent and receiving the services of a public defender, that electronic monitoring was too cost prohibitive for Linehan.

* I wonder if Mechele has previously presented a complete employment plan to the Court --i.e. a letter of engagement or affidavit from the prospective employer; specific details about the nature of her employment; place of employment; hours; specific duties; etc. I'm assuming this is what she's planning to do at the July 7 bail hearing. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that she will present a comprehensive employment plan for the first time on July 7. I've always found it strange that Mechele supporters and news items kept asserting that Mechele wasn't allowed to work, yet never stated where she had planned to work. Often defendants will request work release without any specific job offer and their request is properly denied.

* If Mechele doesn't have any friends and family in the area and is also indigent, who is going to watch Mechele's young daughter while Mechele is working outside the home?


I wonder how the judge will rule. Allowing 24/7 electronic monitoring and house arrest with work-release provisions seems fair to me. I think it's a big stretch to allow her to be free to go wherever she wants, but allowing her to work seems fair (as long as she's electronically monitored at all times). I don't imagine she'd net very much additional money by working outside the home, given the costs of monitoring and the need for childcare, but who knows? :waitasec:

What do you all think?
 
I think she just wants to continue to stretch the boundaries of her conditional release. She began the moment she got out and I doubt she will let up any time soon. Prison did nothing to reduce her entitlement attitude. I don't care whether she works or not, if that is really what she is going to do. I think it is just an excuse to be places she isn't supposed to be. She is slippery, like a snake, and is always trying to slither her way around the rules.
 
I think she just wants to continue to stretch the boundaries of her conditional release. She began the moment she got out and I doubt she will let up any time soon. Prison did nothing to reduce her entitlement attitude. I don't care whether she works or not, if that is really what she is going to do. I think it is just an excuse to be places she isn't supposed to be. She is slippery, like a snake, and is always trying to slither her way around the rules.

I tend to agree with you, Belinda! Electronic monitoring would cost at least 400$ a month per the Alaska DOC Terms & Conditions for Electronic Monitoring. Factor in childcare costs and I don't think she'd even be breaking even by working at a standard 9-10$/hour??
 
Mechele and her husband have both posted new entries on the Free Mechele blog. Dr. Linehan's entry is here.

Here's Mechele's entry.

"Hello to all,

I must apologize for the delay in posting to the blog. I have had very limited access to the internet (dang router). I check my email daily, and try to respond quickly. It’s been a crazy time.

There is much confusion about this. The public evidence about my case is abundant. However, the only available evidence is what has been given by the State. There are some items that have been individually posted by the ADN that are independent of the prosecution’s discretion. There are also some items that my husband has posted that are not directly at the State’s discretion. However, we have been very reluctant to post anything and to let the legal issues stay in the court. Throughout the appeal and the bail hearing, we have kept our arguments in the court. We are also very aware that there is a ‘court of public opinion’. It is a shame that this ‘court’ has influence beyond legal arguments.

We will never try this case through the media. However, it is also not productive to not make available evidence that reveals the true irresponsibility of the State’s allegations. This is easier said than done. It requires legal counsel and emotional energy. It has been a non issue during the appeal and the bail hearing (which is still ongoing). But now, it is time to start putting some information out there.

There is confusion about this posted by some internet surfers. They argue that everything that pertains to the case is online. If it isn’t online, then it simply doesn’t exist. This is naive at best. Let me explain for those visitors who are not exactly sure how to obtain these records or do proper research. The evidence, records, or transcripts that have been generated through the internet come from a large pool. This pool of information is available to every person, however they have to request it and pay for it from the state. There has been only a small volume of documentation from that pool that has been posted.

I have decided that it is best to post various documents that are public record but aren’t available online. It will take some time and will be a detailed process. I am working on a website that will be able to contain this volume of data securely. We are now at a point that this is possible. Anything posted has to be vetted and approved by our attorneys. Up until now, our legal counsel has advised us not to post documents related to the trial. The postings will be from previous trial, and ongoing motions. These documents will be posted once they are filed with the court and approved by our counsel. Again… this will be a slow process, so please bear with me. It, of course, will be free. I’ll let you know, via this blog, when this new website is up.

I appreciate all the support you have given me. I appreciate those of you who have taken time and energy out of your life to write me and those who have offered and given help.

There are truly angels here and I would be a lesser being without you,

Mechele"


I'm happy to see she will be posting court documents and other information on her website. I'm very interested in seeing information we haven't gotten to see through mainstream media.
 
Wow Nancy you have made some great points and kudos to you for weeding out the BS, that is for bull shiz - not for Barbara Sheridan, that is continually posted by Mechele and her supporters.

I have no problem with either of them actually. If they believe she is innocent fair dues to them, I don't share that opinion, however she is getting a new trial and technically she is innocent until that plays out.

Now to her twitter account. Nancy as all your (go you good thang!) sleuthing has proven, it is Mechele's twitter account end of story! Even without your info I would still know that it is her account due to her sentence structure, spelling mistakes, content etc. If Mechele or her supporters don't want that information public then set it to private. Maybe she likes the attention, who knows? I don't know how many black people reside in Anchorage and potentially might be on the jury but racist words in rapper slang are NOT a good look. But you see that is Mechele, she will do what she wants when she wants and say what she wants, irrespective of the fact that her own words could once again potentially have an affect on her new trial. Some people can't and won't change and I suspect Mechele is one of them. They believe their own hype and correct me if I'm wrong but I think psych eval's showed she was narcissistic....that I DO believe. Having known a true narcissist in my time they are a fascinating study if you don't allow yourself to be pulled in.

As to all the working malarkey and running out for a pint of milk - sheesh!! Girl you are on trial for murder, want to think about that for a moment? I say keep her behind in the lock down put in place already and if she wants that to change she can bloody well cough up the dough for anklet monitoring. I have no doubt whatsoever that she is a flight risk and I will be very surprised if her restrictions are relaxed. Once again she is on trial for murder not some sort of white collar crime, you think by now she might get this but not Mechele. I guess it means nothing to me if she does get the restrictions relaxed and is allowed to work but for Kent's family I'm sure they would be pizzed to the max.

And here we are again, the victim who is deceased has NO rights and the person alleged of the crime does. It is a sad indictment on society. I wonder if she spares a thought for Kent while she is gorging herself in cheese heaven and making vacuous comments on twitter? I think not. Sorry if I sound mad here but I am. I guess the conundrum for me is that if you are innocent then why shouldn't she do all these things? The problem is though is that she has often behaved in an inappropriate way and I do believe it is ALL about Mechele.

A word about John Carlin, I suspect the tragedy in his life was meeting Mechele in the first place. This man seemed to have done quite well up until that point. This is where things really took a turn for the worse, his divorce notwithstanding. Whether John was guilty or not guilty he certainly paid a high price for his decisions and mistakes and I am still not convinced that he was guilty, in which case his death in prison is one of the few tragedies in this story, Kent's is the other.

Lastly, Mechele does not read things about her on the internet? Really? LOL

Biggest load of bull dust I have ever heard! I would bet my last nickel that Mechele googles herself constantly and has her eyes on all the forums, she reports back to the supporters and they do the pooh poohing. Of this I have no doubt. She has the time and the energy and has been diagnosed as a narcissist.
Twitter account - check
Facebook account - check
Cruise the internet for me me me - check

Okay this is a long post for me and I know that I have missed talking about many things that Nancy brought up but I have to leave it here.

Nancy you are one of the best posters on websleuths and I am so glad you are here and keeping an eye on this case. God willing, you and I, flourish, marilhicks and all the other fine posters I haven't mentioned (can't remember all your names my apologies) will still be around and posting at the trial. We will be able to see and hear all the evidence and if she is found guilty again, watch her go back to jail.

Sorry, last comment, if any of Kent's family read here then please know that there are some people out there who do care about your son and do care that he gets justice. We do think of you, the family, and the son you loved and lost Kent.
 
Mechele and her husband have both posted new entries on the Free Mechele blog. Dr. Linehan's entry is here.

Here's Mechele's entry.

I'm happy to see she will be posting court documents and other information on her website. I'm very interested in seeing information we haven't gotten to see through mainstream media.

This is all very interesting! It makes sense that they should be monitoring posts on discussion boards at the very least to see which way the wind is blowing. I also think it gives them some idea of which issues may be of concern to potential jurors. My own reading of these boards is that the majority of people who post believe she may be guilty but that her supporters are emotional and resistant to logic, standing very fast in her defense.

I was wondering about allowable testimony in the upcoming trial. Can Carlin IV refuse to testify as Judge Volland seemed to suggest? If so, can’t he be subpoenaed? If he can’t be forced to testify, can his testimony in the first trial be introduced? (Logic and fairness would suggest that isn’t possible to me.) Are interviews he gave to news organizations regarding the gun allowable?

Would the same hold for the Carlin’s taped interviews where he states he thought his gun was involved, that he got rid of it and that he didn’t trust Mechele? Or would the fact that he cannot be cross examined by the defense preclude this?

This is such important testimony it would be a problem if it cannot be used.
 
I don't know how many black people reside in Anchorage and potentially might be on the jury but racist words in rapper slang are NOT a good look. But you see that is Mechele, she will do what she wants when she wants and say what she wants, irrespective of the fact that her own words could once again potentially have an affect on her new trial. Some people can't and won't change and I suspect Mechele is one of them.

Great post, snipped for brevity.

Actually there was a black woman on the jury in her first trial. This sort of surprised me since I assumed there weren't many blacks in Alaska. But I saw her in an interview with some of the jurors in one of the documentaries - can't recall which now. But how reckless can you be writing something like that- insulting potential jurors!
 
I'm not so sure about John Carlin. His late wife's daughter was posting a lot in the comment section of a newspaper, and she truly believes that he killed her mother.
 
Great post!
This is all very interesting! It makes sense that they should be monitoring posts on discussion boards at the very least to see which way the wind is blowing. I also think it gives them some idea of which issues may be of concern to potential jurors. My own reading of these boards is that the majority of people who post believe she may be guilty but that her supporters are emotional and resistant to logic, standing very fast in her defense.

I agree! And I intensely agree with your bolded observation. There's a general unwillingness to actually engage the content of posts which make the case for her guilt. It's like a cross between blind rage and willful ignorance, replete with ad hominem attacks and straw man arguments. It's intense!

I was wondering about allowable testimony in the upcoming trial. Can Carlin IV refuse to testify as Judge Volland seemed to suggest? If so, can’t he be subpoenaed? If he can’t be forced to testify, can his testimony in the first trial be introduced? (Logic and fairness would suggest that isn’t possible to me.) Are interviews he gave to news organizations regarding the gun allowable?

Would the same hold for the Carlin’s taped interviews where he states he thought his gun was involved, that he got rid of it and that he didn’t trust Mechele? Or would the fact that he cannot be cross examined by the defense preclude this?

This is such important testimony it would be a problem if it cannot be used.

These are awesome and important questions-- if the prosecution couldn't use any of these statements, they would have serious problems.


My thoughts:
Carlin IV:
Carlin IV's Prior Testimony Would Be Admissible:
I think Carlin IV can be subpoenaed to testify at the retrial. Of course it is possible that he will still refuse to testify or go into hiding, etc. I think this is unlikely given the fact that he has a pending civil case against the Alaska DOC (alleging the wrongful death of Carlin III while incarcerated). However, if he refuses or otherwise evades testifying, his prior testimony at Linehan's first trial CAN be used at the retrial. This is based on exceptions to hearsay law and an evolving body of jurisprudence which affords for the use of prior statements and testimony when the declarant (Carlin IV) is unavailable but the party against whom the statement is offered (Linehan) has had a prior opportunity to cross-examine that testimony. (Mechele was able to cross-examine Carlin IV at her first trial, i.e. her constitutional right to confront her accuser has been satisfied and the prior testimony can be admitted at the new trial if necessary.)

Carlin III:
The legal issues surrounding the admissibility of Carlin III's prior statements are more complicated and nuanced. The main issue is whether those statements were "testimonial" in nature. If the statements are testimonial, Linehan has a constitutional right to confront/cross-examine the speaker. Generally speaking, testimonial statements are statements which were elicited or made in anticipation of litigation; or when the speaker (Carlin) reasonably believed those statements would be used against (Linehan) in a criminal proceeding.
So the rule is:
In situations where the declarant (Carlin III) is unavailable as a witness (deceased), and that statement is testimonial in nature, it cannot be offered as evidence against Linehan unless she has had a prior opportunity to cross-examine the witness.


Carlin III Police Interviews Are Not Admissible:
Carlin III's taped police interviews are testimonial as a matter of law. (They were formal statements made to law enforcement and solicited in the course of a criminal investigation). This means they can only be offered as evidence against Linehan if she had a prior opportunity to cross-examine him. Because Linehan did not have that opportunity, Carlin III's taped police interrogations will NOT be admitted as evidence against her at the retrial, IMO.

Carlin III's Media Interviews Probably Admissible:

This one involves more subjective interpretation than the other two. Carlin's various interviews with the media were all given post-conviction, as I recall. It was only after both Linehan and Carlin were convicted that he first admitted owning and disposing of a Desert Eagle after Leppink's murder. Because those statements were made in voluntary interviews with journalists and after both Carlin and Linehan were convicted, I don't think the statements were given in anticipation of litigation or with the reasonable belief they would be used against Linehan in a criminal action, i.e. they were not testimonial. Consequently, I think Carlin's statements to journalists CAN be offered as evidence against Linehan at the retrial.

The hearsay exceptions and attendant Confrontation Clause issues are confusing and complicated. This article does a good job explaining the issues and provides a flow-chart for evaluating whether a statement will generally be admissible.

Incidentally (for anyone interested), last week the Sixth Circuit upheld the District Court's reversal of Sharee Miller's conviction. The decision was split 2:1; the majority and dissenting opinions demonstrate how different judges resolve the Confrontation Clause and testimonial hearsay issues very differently. I think the dissenting justice does a great job teasing out the inherent problems in the way testimonial hearsay evidence is currently evaluated by the courts. Opinion can be read here.
 
Wow Nancy you have made some great points and kudos to you for weeding out the BS, that is for bull shiz - not for Barbara Sheridan, that is continually posted by Mechele and her supporters.

I have no problem with either of them actually. If they believe she is innocent fair dues to them, I don't share that opinion, however she is getting a new trial and technically she is innocent until that plays out.

Now to her twitter account. Nancy as all your (go you good thang!) sleuthing has proven, it is Mechele's twitter account end of story! Even without your info I would still know that it is her account due to her sentence structure, spelling mistakes, content etc. If Mechele or her supporters don't want that information public then set it to private. Maybe she likes the attention, who knows? I don't know how many black people reside in Anchorage and potentially might be on the jury but racist words in rapper slang are NOT a good look. But you see that is Mechele, she will do what she wants when she wants and say what she wants, irrespective of the fact that her own words could once again potentially have an affect on her new trial. Some people can't and won't change and I suspect Mechele is one of them. They believe their own hype and correct me if I'm wrong but I think psych eval's showed she was narcissistic....that I DO believe. Having known a true narcissist in my time they are a fascinating study if you don't allow yourself to be pulled in.

As to all the working malarkey and running out for a pint of milk - sheesh!! Girl you are on trial for murder, want to think about that for a moment? I say keep her behind in the lock down put in place already and if she wants that to change she can bloody well cough up the dough for anklet monitoring. I have no doubt whatsoever that she is a flight risk and I will be very surprised if her restrictions are relaxed. Once again she is on trial for murder not some sort of white collar crime, you think by now she might get this but not Mechele. I guess it means nothing to me if she does get the restrictions relaxed and is allowed to work but for Kent's family I'm sure they would be pizzed to the max.

And here we are again, the victim who is deceased has NO rights and the person alleged of the crime does. It is a sad indictment on society. I wonder if she spares a thought for Kent while she is gorging herself in cheese heaven and making vacuous comments on twitter? I think not. Sorry if I sound mad here but I am. I guess the conundrum for me is that if you are innocent then why shouldn't she do all these things? The problem is though is that she has often behaved in an inappropriate way and I do believe it is ALL about Mechele.

A word about John Carlin, I suspect the tragedy in his life was meeting Mechele in the first place. This man seemed to have done quite well up until that point. This is where things really took a turn for the worse, his divorce notwithstanding. Whether John was guilty or not guilty he certainly paid a high price for his decisions and mistakes and I am still not convinced that he was guilty, in which case his death in prison is one of the few tragedies in this story, Kent's is the other.

Lastly, Mechele does not read things about her on the internet? Really? LOL

Biggest load of bull dust I have ever heard! I would bet my last nickel that Mechele googles herself constantly and has her eyes on all the forums, she reports back to the supporters and they do the pooh poohing. Of this I have no doubt. She has the time and the energy and has been diagnosed as a narcissist.
Twitter account - check
Facebook account - check
Cruise the internet for me me me - check

Okay this is a long post for me and I know that I have missed talking about many things that Nancy brought up but I have to leave it here.

Nancy you are one of the best posters on websleuths and I am so glad you are here and keeping an eye on this case. God willing, you and I, flourish, marilhicks and all the other fine posters I haven't mentioned (can't remember all your names my apologies) will still be around and posting at the trial. We will be able to see and hear all the evidence and if she is found guilty again, watch her go back to jail.

Sorry, last comment, if any of Kent's family read here then please know that there are some people out there who do care about your son and do care that he gets justice. We do think of you, the family, and the son you loved and lost Kent.

Thank you so much for your (way too :blushing:) kind words and awesome post!! I agree very much with the emboldened and thank you for writing it so sensitively and eloquently.

About Carlin:
I agree with you about not being fully convinced of his guilt and the fact that he clearly payed too high a price for whatever did or didn't happen in Alaska.
I'm totally up in the air about Carlin-- The way I view the evidence, it's plausible that Mechele set Carlin III up too and that Carlin was being truthful when he said he had no idea who killed Leppink. As such, I also think it's possible that Carlin was being truthful when he said he disposed of the Desert Eagle because he didn't trust Mechele and/or his son's fingerprints were on it. Or, perhaps he figured out what happened after the murder and participated in a cover-up? I don't know. After his conviction, Carlin's defense attorney emphasized the lack of evidence against her client and said something like, "If anyone was involved in Leppink's murder, it was Mechele." That resonated with me.

Then, like txsvicki points out, there were pages and pages of online comments from people purporting to be Carlin's family members, all alleging that Carlin was a pretty sinister and bad man. If you believe they were who they said they were, his step-daughter and brother were posting at ADN.com a lot during both trials. I wonder if things they were saying could be true. I can see how the evidence points to both Carlin and Mechele being guilty. I can also see a scenario where Carlin killed Leppink for Mechele because he correctly or incorrectly believed that's what she wanted. I wish we knew more about Carlin... I recall that he was living in New Jersey at the time of his arrest and had since remarried. I read somewhere that his new wife was a "Russian Mail-Order Bride." I wonder if that's true and what, if anything, his former wife might have to say about all of this.

About Narcissism :dance::
ps: I loved the phrase "gorging herself in cheese heaven" while twittering vacuously! haha!:rotfl:

I also think Mechele appears to have a narcissistic personality. I haven't been able to figure out whether she was actually diagnosed with NPD or any other personality disorder during her psych evaluations?? But I do believe the scales the forensic psychiatrist was being grilled about during the sentencing hearing are scales which correlate to narcissistic features on the MMPI. Whatever the case, her history of manipulating, exploiting, lying and scamming makes me think she could be diagnosed with at least one personality disorder.:waitasec: The baiting twitter posts seem very NPD to me. Whatever the case, I think there's something seriously out of whack!

I'm very curious about Mechele's childhood and what may have shaped her into the person she became. Her mother-in-law's sentencing letter said something about how Mechele had worked through issues and resentments stemming from her childhood and early family life-- I wonder what that's about??

And I agree that it's rather apparent Mechele reads about herself online! and it's silly to pretend otherwise, IMO.:snooty:

And while I wouldn't react with baiting and strange comments of my own, I'm sure I would read about myself/my impending first degree murder trial online if I were in Mechele's shoes. Like marlihicks pointed out, a lot of the pro-guilt online commentary could be helpful to the defense. I think the first trial revealed the defense had a crippling lack of insight on what issues were actually important to jurors-- the defense focused WAY too much on the stripper issue and the supposed demonization of Mechele and focused WAY too little on the substantive issues IMO.

So again, great post! I'm excited to read what you and everyone else thinks of the documents Mechele ends up posting on her website!
 
I decided to listen to the audio of Mechele's May 3, 1996 interview with investigators again and I'm noting some new things. I want to know if anyone else hears what I hear. (Link in the Related Audio Content section here: http://www.adn.com/linehan/ )


In Part I:
Mechele says she was recently in Nevada and got back "a couple days ago."
(Leppink's body was found the morning of May 2.)

When asked about the last time she spoke with Leppink, Mechele explains Kent's father was in town and Kent "wanted to spend time alone with his dad."

(We know this is untrue, as Kent was frantically trying to locate Mechele and both Kent & his father were disappointed she hadn't spent time with them as planned)

Then something very curious happens at the 1:30 mark in Part I, at least according to my ears. John Carlin enters the room asking for a cigarette. There's some mumbling I can't make out-- an apparent exchange between Carlin and Mechele.

Mechele says something like "he left?...(mumbles)..."

I hear Carlin say "yeah... he's dead."

Then Mechele says something unintelligible.

Then Carlin says "Leppink"

Then I hear a male voice say "(Mr.?) Leppink is dead."

Then the investigator interjects with "this is kind of a confidential thing for our ears only, ok?..."

Does anyone else hear this?? I had to crank the volume up all the way and use headphones because the audio quality is so rough, but that's what it sounded like to me??

This is very strange given that it's not until Part 3 of the audio that Mechele appears to be formally notified of Kent's death and then actually reacts. I don't understand. Am I hearing things?

Also in the interview Mechele says she got back into Anchorage "Wednesday night, which would have been Thursday morning." She then says the flight got in 12:30 or 1am Thursday morning. (May 2).

Mechele says she had a phone conversation with Kent late at night on the night before she left Nevada (Tuesday, April 30) and Kent promised to pick her up from the airport after her return flight. According to Mechele, Kent never showed up.

So why does the defense argue Kent was wandering around Hope looking for Mechele when he was killed (sometime within the 28 or so hours after that phone call) if he knew she wasn't in Alaska?? Doesn't make sense.

Ok, so the timeline:

Tuesday, April 30: late evening: Kent & Mechele phone conversation. Kent agrees to pick Mechele up at airport.

Wednesday, May 1: Mechele's flight departs from Sacramento late evening.

Thursday, May 2 12:30-1:00 am: Mechele arrives back in Anchorage.

Thursday, May 2 4:00 am: Medical Examiner's latest estimated time of death for Kent Leppink.

According to Mechele's own statements, she was actually in Alaska for 3+ hours during the very narrow timeframe of Kent's murder. Why does the defense insist Mechele wasn't even in Alaska when he was killed? From Mechele's own statements, Kent was still alive "very late" at night on Tuesday April 30. So it was sometime within the next 28 or so hours that Kent was killed.

The more I think about this interview and the timeline Mechele sets, the more I think Mechele was present and participated in the murder or did it herself. What do you guys think?
 
Nancy, I've started a transcript of that interview...got sidetracked by my own real life, but plan to get back to it...I'll review it when I get a chance and let you know what I think:)

Thanks for keeping us all updated! You're awesome!
 
If I'm reading the docket list correctly, it seems the bail hearing that was to be tomorrow has been rescheduled for 7/7/10?
 

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