GUILTY NC - Tim Hennis on trial in the '85 Eastburn murders, Fort Bragg

[Al_B]

did they ever match any of the prints and what kind dna was found at the scene that they matched to Hennis?
did they ever locate the persons the newspaper lady seen and who had threatened her?
Did they ever run the unknown prints through AFIS?
I had wrote to the guy back in the day and asked him about the prints and they said they didn't do the comparison of unknowns unless they had a suspect which floored me but I guess at that time it would have been overwhelming but now they can narrow it down and the Eastburns were not the only family murders in N.C. at the time. If I remember the author had mentioned a couple of more that might have been related.

 

[Yaya]

September 18, 2007 - A judge scheduled Master Sgt. Timothy Hennis to face a court-martial on June 1, 2008 on charges of premeditated murder.

 

[Al_B]

argh, I hope they have went through everything this time. Every piece of evidence found everything not matched and hope they can verify chain of custody in what ever samples they used. Wonder how solid the case is.Their killer does need found it's been too long and this case has been so sad I cried so many nights thinking of this woman and her girls.Cause if he did it he needs to go down but if he didn't I feel bad for him.

 

[Al_B]

I just hope they tested everything and the chain of custody for the DNA wasn't compromised in any way.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

I see reasonable doubt all over the place. I'm almost done with the book.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

I don't think he did it. We've got another thread for this in the Crimes Forum.

 

[Al_B]

There are way to many things the state didn't do. The unknown prints and everything else. I lost my well worn copy of this book 6 years ago and every mothers day I think of them. I cried my eyes out on more then one occasion over this family and how justice wasn't done for them I think the system put blinders on and only could think of one person as the suspect and left all the unanswered evidence out.
I found this site
http://www.fayobserver.com/hennis/Hennis-1_content.html
which gives some idea how things are set up in the area I didn't have internet when I read it. I wrote the author after I read it and asked why they didn't run the unknown prints and he told me back then they couldn't just run unknown prints without a suspect . They should have been looking at more then just Hennis I feel instead of just trusting one eye witness from that time of night.

 

[CaliKid]

I don't know. If the DNA matches him, it seems pretty slam-dunk to me.

 

[Al_B]

I read somewhere they are questioning the chain of custody of the DNA source. When they tested the samples prior to DNA though it found he wasn't a match and they have had samples since they asked for them. The link above shows docs in this case from that time so I don't know.

 

[Al_B]

Hennis retired from the military in 2004 and was living in Lakewood, Wash., when new DNA evidence was found. That evidence couldn't be tested using technology available at the time of the crime.
The new evidence was given to Army investigators because the state couldn't charge Hennis again. He was ordered back to active duty last year and returned to Fort Bragg. Hennis maintains his innocence, and his lawyer has questioned whether the DNA evidence was reliable because of the sample's age and a broken chain of custody.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=central&id=5663105

 

[Al_B]

Hennis maintains his innocence, and his lawyer has questioned whether the DNA evidence was reliable because of the sample's age and a broken chain of custody.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=central&id=5663105
from the fayobserver.com
http://www.fayobserver.com/hennis/Hennis-1_content.html

 

[Al_B]

I don't know where to post

 

[Solace]

There are way to many things the state didn't do. The unknown prints and everything else. I lost my well worn copy of this book 6 years ago and every mothers day I think of them. I cried my eyes out on more then one occasion over this family and how justice wasn't done for them I think the system put blinders on and only could think of one person as the suspect and left all the unanswered evidence out.
I found this site
http://www.fayobserver.com/hennis/Hennis-1_content.html
which gives some idea how things are set up in the area I didn't have internet when I read it. I wrote the author after I read it and asked why they didn't run the unknown prints and he told me back then they couldn't just run unknown prints without a suspect . They should have been looking at more then just Hennis I feel instead of just trusting one eye witness from that time of night.

Thanks so much for that. It is a very good site. This is an interesting case.

 

[NewMom2003]

Small update on the Hennis case.

http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=284791

Lawyers for Army Master Sgt. Timothy B. Hennis tried to make the case Monday that the military does not have jurisdiction to court-martial him in a 23-year-old triple murder.

The point is important because Hennis already has been acquitted in civilian court. Only the military is allowed to try him again for the murders of Kathryn Eastburn and two of her daughters, 5-year-old Kara and 3-year-old Erin, on May 9, 1985.

Hennis was first convicted in North Carolina court and sentenced to death. But he won a new trial on appeal and was acquitted in April 1989.

 

[White Rain]

Thanks for the update. Let us know if you hear anything else about the next court date.

 

[vibec]

I just caught a story on the local (Charlotte) news. Looks like the military is bringing him back to trial. I'm not familiar with this case, but will be catching up on it!


Capt. Larry Trotter of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office testified Monday for the second time in the pre-trial hearings in the murder case of Master Sgt. Timothy B. Hennis, explaining his role in reopening the case.
Hennis was convicted in 1986 for the rape and murder of Kathryn Eastburn and the murders of her daughters Kara and Erin. He was sent to death row. Hennis won a new trial on appeal and was acquitted in state court in 1989.
The Army is prosecuting Hennis for murder, based on DNA testing that was largely unavailable in the 1980s.

http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=295606

 

[mysteriew]

Could someone commit atrocious crimes and then later lead an "exemplary life"?

Think of the Nazi war criminals. Some of them migrated to the US after the fall of Germany, changed their names and became members of their new communities. When they were found years later and brought to trial, other community members were shocked and disbelieving. Some of them were accused of the most horrible crimes yet when they began their "new" lives in the US, they were described with terms like "good friends", "nicest people" and "generous".

 

[Jeana (DP)]

Could someone commit atrocious crimes and then later lead an "exemplary life"?

Think of the Nazi war criminals. Some of them migrated to the US after the fall of Germany, changed their names and became members of their new communities. When they were found years later and brought to trial, other community members were shocked and disbelieving. Some of them were accused of the most horrible crimes yet when they began their "new" lives in the US, they were described with terms like "good friends", "nicest people" and "generous".

Good question. I'm not exactly sure how it fits into this case though. War crimes and the rape and murder of a mother and two little girls??? I don't see the connection.

 

[vibec]

John List is another one who comes to mind. He lead a pretty normal life (after a change to his identity of course!) after killing his mother, wife and children. I think if a person has the ability to commit such horrible crimes, they can easily do so without remorse. Something "human" is missing in these people.

 

[mysteriew]

Good question. I'm not exactly sure how it fits into this case though. War crimes and the rape and murder of a mother and two little girls??? I don't see the connection.

The connection is the atrocious crimes. They commit the crimes then go on and live normal lives. It is like they compartmentalize, wall off what they did in their memory and go on. What they did is in the past and they just forget it and go forward.

Dennis Radar is another who committed atrocious crimes then went on to lead a sort of normal life. His family had no idea when he was committing the crimes, and never had any idea in the years afterward until he got caught.