GUILTY CA - Leila Fowler, 8, murdered, 12yo charged, Valley Springs, 27 Apr 2013 - #5

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From the article you linked, Blondie:

One pathologist called by the defense said Leila's autopsy lacks crucial information on her injuries, making the identification a murder weapon virtually impossible.

"The (autopsy) report was brief in terms of totality. ... There's insufficient documentation characterizing some of the wounds," said Terri Haddix, a forensic pathologist with more than 20 years experience. "Even the wounds thought to be fatal aren't specifically gone into detail."

[.....]

Prosecutors and defense attorneys dispute the time of Leila’s death. Defense attorneys say she was attacked and died around noon.

“There would’ve been no time for [IF] to clean up had he done it,” Reichel said. “He would’ve had blood all over him.”

Prosecutors say they believe [IF] attacked Leila in the morning and cleaned up the scene before calling his father and stepmother around noon to inform them of the crisis.

The defense maintains Leila’s wounds wouldn’t have enabled her to live for hours after the stabbing.

http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/news/article_98da2ec6-6898-11e5-8506-db235e40dc3a.html
 
[snipped]

Prosecutors maintain the murder weapon is a J.A. Henckels steak knife bearing traces of Leila’s blood. The knife is one of dozens seized from the Fowlers’ kitchen after the slaying. The blade has a noticeable bend and microscopic images show damage to the point.

Lawrence said the child’s wounds were consistent with a knife that’s about an eighth of an inch thick, has a flat back and a sharp edge. He testified the blade is most likely 3 1/2 inches based on the depth of the deepest wound.

Lawrence said during cross-examination that the use of multiple knives in the attack couldn’t be ruled out. The bent knife is cause of suspicion, he said, although Leila Fowler’s wounds weren’t specific enough to definitively tie them to cutlery seized from the home.

Libby Schreiber, a senior criminalist with the California Department of Justice, dissected the bent knife, revealing blood traces both inside and around the composite handle. Gordon Wincott, a criminalist and DNA expert for the prosecution, testified that blood detected on the knife undoubtedly belongs to Leila Fowler.

http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/news/article_e74d5aea-6318-11e5-9042-7fff2464ee11.html
 
wow ,can't believe I missed this trial. I was waiting for it because this is such a confusing case. I find myself on the fence, even now. :fence:

I am pasting some of this article because all of the other articles have gone poof already. If I don't post it ,we will probably lose it too:

During her closing arguments, District Attorney Barbara Yook replayed a recording of a conversation between Fowler and a 911 dispatcher.

Fowler is heard telling the dispatcher he was in the bathroom when he heard his sister scream, then emerged to see a man with long, gray hair fleeing through a backdoor.

Yook noted that Fowler waited 1 1/2 minutes before telling the dispatcher that his sister had been stabbed.

Yook showed a picture of a kitchen knife that she said had been cleaned and left near the sink, but which had Leila's blood on the inside of the handle.

<modsnip>

http://www.kcra.com/news/attorneys-begin-closing-arguments-in-foothills-teen-murder-trial/35672898
 
The unknown male DNA inside the victim's undies is very important, I would think. I wonder what the judge thought of that. Not much since he found the boy guilty.
 
The article I quoted had only that one sentence beneath a headline that essentially said the same thing. It said "more updates soon" or something like that. I wonder why it was taken down?
 
Elainera said:
The article I quoted had only that one sentence beneath a headline that essentially said the same thing. It said "more updates soon" or something like that. I wonder why it was taken down?
Click to expand...

The one I had trouble viewing was the Calaveras Enterprise one with the "Guilty!" headline (which at 4:15pm today was several paragraphs). I worked around that 'Element not Valid' issue a bit and ended up getting most of it via screenshot...but then found the kcra link (posted above) which has the same article in entirety.

ETA: Oops, no--correction. While lengthy, it's not the same article. And I suspect I can guess the reason the Calaveras article was removed...(a statement attributed to the judge).
 
I just read about verdict. Tragedy all around. I do think IF did it and did it knowingly. He is lucky to have been tried in juvenile court. Society? Remains to be seen when he is released.


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I'm surprised that he was found guilty. I think the defense dropped the ball. They didn't dispute or even tried to disprove the crowns position. Such a weird case.
Shouldn't he have had cuts on his hands. It appears that it was such a frenzy stabbing crime. Wow. Just speechless. I don't know if I'm convinced he did it.
 
Thanks to everyone that has posted the above links. I am surprised he was found guilty. I dont understand why there wasnt more evidence of a clean up. The person that did this must have been covered in blood. No blood evidence in the shower or sinks or on the way to either? couple of blood stains on a t shirt? was that all they had? No evidence of a clean up? Strange case. I'm really not sure I believe he did it either.
 
I hope he has a good appeals attorney. I have my doubts as well. Some of it just seems so odd. The unknown male's DNA in her underwear? What is that about?
 
I agree with you. A few blood drops on the back of a sleeve on a t-shirt given what sounds like quite a bloody crime scene, plus I never heard any evidence of injuries to his hands--even killers who wear gloves seem to end up with a telltale cut near the thumb from the knife slipping when they stab someone multiple times.

The hair troubles me too. The only legit reason I can think of is maybe if the family uses a laundromat.

I will admit, his story seems far-fetched. But how many times have we seen that truth is stranger than fiction? I do wonder if it's at all possible that he knows who the killer is but is terrified to say.

Regardless, it disturbs me to see a 12 yo without any history of violence or serious mental illness pegged as a murderer for the rest of his life on such weak evidence.
 
This one still bothers me.
He passed a polygraph, he was willing to TAKE a polygraph! Most kids would never agree if they were lying. They think it's really a lie detector.
Something just isn't right...
 
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