New Developments and General Discussion, 08/10/2012

[peepop123]

I also thought if Brandon admitted to killing Mickey (And leading LE to her body) they wouldn't really NEED to look for DNA, because he admitted to it.

What am I missing?

What if he recants his confession? Or it gets thrown out for whatever reason...its been known to happen. I guess this way, if they have DNA, they can link him with our without the confession.

 

[txlams]

Leaving a funeral today in Eunice, we went across 190 to Opelousas. I'd never been that way, so it was an unfamiliar journey for me. I was surprised when we ended up traveling through both Swords and Lawtell. Three months ago, those place names would have meant nothing to me. To say it was surreal is a bit of an understatement. Still and always thinking of sweet sweet Mickey.

 

[Dustibug]

Txlams, love your avatar. I saw it on Find Mickey Schunick Search Resources group and wanted to post it full size here but I couldn't figure out how. I read that they are looking into shirts and stickers with this on it.

Since Mickey's favorite color was purple I tied a purple ribbon on my vehicle antenna.

 

[txlams]

Txlams, love your avatar. I saw it on Find Mickey Schunick Search Resources group and wanted to post it full size here but I couldn't figure out how. I read that they are looking into shirts and stickers with this on it.

Since Mickey's favorite color was purple I tied a purple ribbon on my vehicle antenna.

Stickers are a go...he's still trying for the shirts

 

[Kateinfl]

Mickey's voice and her sister's voice sound so much alike. That video makes me so sad...it has to be so hard for her parents and big sis to watch those. I hope time heals and they can go back and watch those with a smile...instead of tears.

 

[Duckman]

LE will not say anything regarding a confession or being led to MS by BSL due to something that could conflict the trial no doubt. Everyone at my place of work all agree BSL led LE to MS. I highly doubt any reason for BSL to be checked out from 6:40 am to 3:30 pm and have this major tip come about at 7 am.

 

[CajunA]

He said for them,It's like hunting for ducks or deer. Most men love to hunt wild game. Killers like Brandon love to hunt and kill women instead. That's sick!

 

[Kateinfl]

LE will not say anything regarding a confession or being led to MS by BSL due to something that could conflict the trial no doubt. Everyone at my place of work all agree BSL led LE to MS. I highly doubt any reason for BSL to be checked out from 6:40 am to 3:30 pm and have this major tip come about at 7 am.

I can't imagine tax payers wanting to pay for a trial if BSL confessed and told them where to find the body. Unless he is saying it was an accident....and they need a jury to figure all of this out. I guess everyone is allowed to have his day in court....i guess we will have to wait and see.

 

[cluciano63]

If he claimed accident, there would be no deal, and would have to be a trial, IMO. But I don't believe LE would even talk to him about anything, unless he was willing to plead to murder. They were willing to try the case without finding Mickey.

 

[Kateinfl]

I'm trying to think back....and have they ever had trials for serial killers that have confessed....or told where to find the bodies????? Does anyone know ...firefox would know if she is here.

 

[CajunStrong]

I think there will be a trial regardless of a confession unless the original charges are refiled as something less than first degree murder. He has or will likely claim it to be an accident and then say he was in a panic and hid the body. I cannot imagine he would plead guilty to the first degree murder charges when he thinks he may be able to convince a jury it was an accident.

Unfortunately, many of us thought it could have been an accident before he was charged with Lisa Pate's murder. There are people out there that still think it could have been an accident...that even a bad guy can have a bad day. (I do not share this belief any longer)

In many cases, prior convictions or pending convictions are not admissible in a trial. There is a chance the jury may never know he had any prior victims. If this is the case, they could fall for the accident theory. It only takes a small percentage of doubt for one juror to either have a mistrial or to find him not guilty of first degree murder.

As a second scenario, if he did confess and takes a plea that removed the death penalty, I think he did it for more freedom in prison. Death penalty inmates get so little freedom, spending most of their time in solitary confinement. If he has accepted he will spend his life in jail (which I doubt hence the first scenario) then he may at least exchange the confession and body location for more freedom.

 

[cluciano63]

There can't be a plea and a trial...it is one or the other.

He could take back a confession, to force a trial, but then the DP would be back on the table (assuming all of this happened, i.e confession, plea, etc..)

And now that her body has been located, he would face even greater odds of conviction, IMO. LE seemed fairly confident before, although some wanted proof she was in fact dead. Now they have that, plus all of the circumstances tying him to the crime, as well as possible DNA evidence from her body. If he hopes for LWOP, he is better off with a plea.

 

[CajunStrong]

Being that we know he did hit Mickey with his truck to at least incapacitate her, we do not know how severe her injuries were. He could have killed her in a way that cannot be proven. If he suffocated her by placing his hand or an object over her mouth and nose, there would be no evidence once there is decomposition. I am sure there are other ways as well that leave little trace on a decomposing body.

If he stabbed her or strangled her there will likely be evidence to support this through either the hyoid bone being broken if strangled, lacerated organs or indentions into the bones if stabbed.

If there are no obvious signs of how she was murdered but there are bone/skull fractures or a concussion from the truck hit, this could end up being the cause of death which would help the defense prove it was an accident.

 

[cluciano63]

Being that we know he did hit Mickey with his truck to at least incapacitate her, we do not know how severe her injuries were. He could have killed her in a way that cannot be proven. If he suffocated her by placing his hand or an object over her mouth and nose, there would be no evidence once there is decomposition. I am sure there are other ways as well that leave little trace on a decomposing body.

If he stabbed her or strangled her there will likely be evidence to support this through either the hyoid bone being broken if strangled, lacerated organs or indentions into the bones if stabbed.

If there are no obvious signs of how she was murdered but there are bone/skull fractures or a concussion from the truck hit, this could end up being the cause of death which would help the defense prove it was an accident.

With kidnapping, there are no accidental deaths. It doesn't matter if she died of shock in his truck-it is still murder once he takes her away.

 

[CajunStrong]

There can't be a plea and a trial...it is one or the other.

He could take back a confession, to force a trial, but then the DP would be back on the table (assuming all of this happened, i.e confession, plea, etc..)

And now that her body has been located, he would face even greater odds of conviction, IMO. LE seemed fairly confident before, although some wanted proof she was in fact dead. Now they have that, plus all of the circumstances tying him to the crime, as well as possible DNA evidence from her body. If he hopes for LWOP, he is better off with a plea.

Exactly, that is why I see two scenario's as being possible. Just because there is a confession, there could still be a trial. A confession does not mean he is pleading guilty to first degree murder. He could say, yes, I killed her but it was an accident and should be manslaughter and other charges for concealing the crime and body.

I don't think he will ever plead guilty to first degree murder in either case.

 

[CajunStrong]

With kidnapping, there are no accidental deaths. It doesn't matter if she died of shock in his truck-it is still murder once he takes her away.

Yes, but there are different degrees of murder.

It is hard to put myself in his mind but based on his self-denial over the first sexual assault conviction, I really do think, in his mind, he thinks he has a chance of getting a lesser sentence.

 

[CajunStrong]

With kidnapping, there are no accidental deaths. It doesn't matter if she died of shock in his truck-it is still murder once he takes her away.

And, if he claims that he hit her and she died immediately as a result of the accident, that would not constitute kidnapping. It would be vehicular manslaughter. Then there would be other charges for concealing the accident and body.

Now, I do not believe for a second that this is what really happened of course!! I can just see him saying this.

And, there are many cases in the books where someone has hit and killed someone and concealed the accident and body. They are not charged with first degree murder.

 

[CajunCoDe]

Being that we know he did hit Mickey with his truck to at least incapacitate her, we do not know how severe her injuries were. He could have killed her in a way that cannot be proven. If he suffocated her by placing his hand or an object over her mouth and nose, there would be no evidence once there is decomposition. I am sure there are other ways as well that leave little trace on a decomposing body.

If he stabbed her or strangled her there will likely be evidence to support this through either the hyoid bone being broken if strangled, lacerated organs or indentions into the bones if stabbed.

If there are no obvious signs of how she was murdered but there are bone/skull fractures or a concussion from the truck hit, this could end up being the cause of death which would help the defense prove it was an accident.

Do we know for a fact that he hit her with his truck?

 

[CajunStrong]

Do we know for a fact that he hit her with his truck?

Peronally, I do not know it for a fact but we do know that in the press conference it was stated that her bicycle damage was consistent with being hit by a vehicle. That is enough proof for me but may not be enough for some.

I am going solely on the theory that he could use this as a potential defense.

 

[cluciano63]

Assuming he told where Mickey could be found...I don't believe he would have done this unless he was guaranteed LWOP. His attorney would probably have advised him not to talk at all until he had that in place; No attorney is going to advise him to tell where the body is and then hope they will believe some half-cocked story.