CA CA - Stephanie Crowe, 12, Escondido, 21 January 1998

[Carpe Pacem]

Don't understand this shocking verdict.

 

[Curious Me]

What does this mean then? Who killed Stephanie?

 

[Curious Me]

Don't know if I count this as Justice for Stephanie like Tuite's sister does.

Transient acquitted in retrial of killing 12-Year-Old Escondido girl
http://www.cbs8.com/story/24155325/...retrial-of-killing-12-year-old-escondido-girl

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A transient was acquitted Friday of a voluntary manslaughter charge stemming from the 1998 stabbing death of a 12-year-old girl in a rural Escondido home.

It was the second time that Richard Tuite, 44, had been tried for the Jan. 20, 1998, death of Stephanie Crowe. He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in 2004, but a federal appeals court in 2011 ruled that Tuite didn't get a fair trial because a judge limited cross-examination of a prosecution witness.

Tuite's sister, Kerri Licon, cried as the verdict was announced. After the jury exited the courtroom, Tuite shook hands with his legal team.

"Today is justice for Stephanie," Licon said outside court. "This is justice, not only for Richard, but also for Stephanie."

 

[Curious Me]

Some of the Jurors gave a news interview. One had tears in her eyes and said they couldn't understand how Tuite would have been able to get in and out of the home without leaving some kind of evidence. They put a lot of weight on the fact that there were no prints, hairs, evidence in the house to prove Tuite had been in that house.

Sending Prayers for the Crowe Family.


http://www.cbs8.com/story/24155325/...retrial-of-killing-12-year-old-escondido-girl

 

[Curious Me]

Crowe case drowned in reasonable doubt
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/dec/07/a-case-drowned-in-reasonable-doubt/

"So when a jury on Friday acquitted Richard Tuite in the 12-year-old girl’s slaying — nine years after a different jury had convicted him — Stephanie’s mother, Cheryl, sighed: “It is what it is.”

"It’s arguably the most tortured criminal case in county history, a case that sits officially unresolved today, almost 16 years after the Escondido seventh-grader was stabbed nine times in her bed."

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/dec/07/a-case-drowned-in-reasonable-doubt/

and Moving forward

"Stephanie’s parents and brother live in Oregon now. They moved in part to get away from the notoriety of the case, and from the lingering suspicion by some that Michael had a role in his sister’s death."

"Michael was 14 then. He's 30 now, studying math at the University of Oregon. He wants to be an actuary. He and his wife, Stacey, have two sons, one born last year and the other just a week ago."

 

[Effective]

What was the reason he was acquitted? Why did they not accept the evidence against him?

 

[winko567]

What was the reason he was acquitted? Why did they not accept the evidence against him?

they believed that the evidence was contaminated. and that the police accidentally got the blood on his sweater. I really think it might have been someone else who killed her and not the boys or tuite.

 

[Swarley]

I really think it might have been someone else who killed her and not the boys or tuite.

Interesting theory. Do you mean a family member living in the house, or an unknown intruder? If it’s the latter, I wonder what that intruder’s motive for killing Stephanie would be. If the intruder wasn’t a complete stranger to the Crowe family and knew the layout of the house it could explain how he could find his way to Stephanie’s room without waking anyone up. But how any intruder (including Tuite) could get in and out of the house in the first place, and not leave any evidence behind, still presents a problem IMO, though it is within the realm of possibility. My money is on either Tuite or the boys as the killer(s), not an unknown intruder. As far as I’m concerned, it is just as likely that Tuite killed Stephanie Crowe as it is that the boys did it.

 

[MissLaura]

Criminology just did a podcast on this case: The Murder of Stephanie Crowe - Criminology - Omny.fm

I think Tuite may have done it, but I'm confused about a few things. What was his motive? The lack of physical evidence is stunning, but it seems like LE really screwed up handling the evidence.

Could no one hear Stephanie? There had to be some noise made. I'm not blaming anyone, this crime perplexes me.

 

[Swarley]

I think Tuite may have done it, but I'm confused about a few things. What was his motive?

It could be a matter of mistaken identity. Tuite could have walked up to Stephanie’s bedroom window on the west side of the Crowe house, looked inside and seen Stephanie in her bed and mistook her for Tracy.

Tuite may not have had any motive to kill Stephanie Crowe, but he may have wanted to kill Tracy.

According to trial testimony from a woman, she saw a man she could not positively identify as Tuite near a church on the night of Stephanie’s murder. The man walked through the church parking lot saying loudly, “You better never do that again. I’m going to kill you, you *advertiser censored*king b**ch.”

There was also testimony from a cellmate that while Tuite was in the mental health ward of the Vista jail on an unrelated matter in March of 1998, Tuite paced back and forth, raised his arms up in the air, and yelled, “Tracy, you *advertiser censored*. I am going to kill you.”