GUILTY FL - Manhunt in Tampa after 4 slayings in 5 weeks, Oct-Nov 2017 #3 *Arrest*

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LotusPawprint said:
From today's article. Are these the 'other factors' he was referencing -- that the parents are stressed? Boo.boo.



He continued,



Okaay then. I'll take that to mean everything they say will incriminate him, prove his guilt, and they will provide all aggrivators and no mitgators, sealing his death sentence.
I appreciate their admission of guilt. MOO.


http://wfla.com/2017/12/07/accused-...tell-judge-why-they-wont-give-info-about-son/
Click to expand...

Apparently they have answers that will allow their child to get the death penalty.

I can see why they do not want to answer anything when they are in the height of total stress in their lives. I am sure that they do not know what they are doing or thinking. Their minds are going a million miles a minute.

Waiting to respond is a good idea.

But to me that means there is a lot there that they know. After all, he basically was away for six years.

What happened in those short few months he was home?
 
By D'Ann Lawrence White, Patch Staff
Dec 7, 2017 3:06 pm


"Miami judge Milton Hirsch did issue an opinion based on a similar case in 2016 in which he discussed whether a parent's refusal to testify constituted criminal or civil contempt.

"If the judge concludes the parents' refusal to talk is civil contempt, the court can order them to answer the prosecution's questions, she said. But in the case of criminal contempt, the court would essentially turn the parents into criminals."

"The intent is not to punish but to coerce (their testimony)," she said."

~

http://www.icflorida.com/news/the-latest-parents-of-murder-suspect-appear-in-court-1/660224207
..."A Florida judge says the parents of a 24-year-old man suspected in a string of fatal shootings in a Tampa neighborhood must "show cause" on why they shouldn't be held in civil contempt for refusing to answer investigators' questions."

"Judge Margaret Taylor on Thursday set a Jan. 5"...

~

Judge sets contempt hearing for parents of Seminole Heights murder suspect
Andrew Krietz, WTSP
12:37pm Dec 7 17

http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/semi...maintaining-silence-in-out-of-court/497684743

Judge orders parents of suspected Tampa serial killer to appear in court after their refusal to testify
By Morgan Winsor ABC NEWS
Dec 7 17, 1:27 pm et
 
enelram said:
I agree. x_files, Used to have neighbors like these parents w/ a delinquent son. every time he got into trouble, and he
caused them lots of grief, the parents rallied, hired the best attorney they could find and defended the son but never, ever holding him accountable. So he'd go out and do something worse than the last time. He totalled so many cars, they'd bought for him, I lost count. I lost track of them some years back when I moved but I can't help but wonder what
type adult he turned out to be.
Click to expand...

It's a cry for help, but not to enable. Perhaps the parents feel responsible or have done things they regret. But they are not thinking of the victims and their families.
 
enelram said:
Son is listed as part owner of their primary business.
Click to expand...

I believe he is listed as an officer of some type. The business is incorporated, which means any suits would go against the corporation, not the individuals. IANAL but I can't see what type of lawsuit could be brought against the corporation that would be valid in this situation.
 
MzOpinion8d said:
I believe he is listed as an officer of some type. The business is incorporated, which means any suits would go against the corporation, not the individuals. IANAL but I can't see what type of lawsuit could be brought against the corporation that would be valid in this situation.
Click to expand...

What happens if the victims' parents sue in a civil lawsuit after the main trial?
 
MzOpinion8d said:
I believe he is listed as an officer of some type. The business is incorporated, which means any suits would go against the corporation, not the individuals. IANAL but I can't see what type of lawsuit could be brought against the corporation that would be valid in this situation.
Click to expand...

I don’t know but one could surmise there’s video evidence the perpetrator walking from the surveillance videos on their devices indicating they should have known their Director was their son (the killer). Perhaps?
 
So does this mean they are not going for the death penalty? Will they offer him a plea deal?
 
ATasteOfHoney said:
I don’t know but one could surmise there’s video evidence the perpetrator walking from the surveillance videos on their devices indicating they should have known their Director was their son (the killer). Perhaps?
Click to expand...

I think it is something like this too ATOH! I also think he might be on surveillance video shooting the 4th victim. Maybe? I assume it was close range. ?
 
SeesSeas said:
http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/semi...eights-murder-suspect-to-face-judge/497308233

WTSP 11:12 PM. EST December 06, 2017

[...]
The Donaldson's attorney Ralph Fernandez said Wednesday in a separate news conference that the parents would not testify against their son.
"The critical issue is this...Call my office if you feel delighted about ratting on your children," Fernandez said. "Does that excite anyone, that prospect? And if it does, you're not my friend."
According to court filings, Donaldson Jr. was served a subpoena Monday, directing him to a testify before Warren. On Tuesday, he appeared at the state attorney’s office along with Fernandez, but refused to answer questions about his son and the Seminole Heights murders.
In Florida, there is no privileged relationship between a parent and their child. It’s on a case-by-case basis. Only five states recognize that relationship as privileged.
[...]
Click to expand...

“The critical issue is this...Call my office if you feel delighted about ratting on your children," Fernandez said. "Does that excite anyone, that prospect? And if it does, you're not my friend."

That’s a rather odd thing for him to say. He pretty much just said that HD's parents do, in fact, know something about these murders but refuse to "rat on" their child.
 
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts...-case-or-risk-harming-son-s-defense_163372993
Parents’ dilemma: Refuse questions in Seminole Heights murder case or risk harming son’s defense
[FONT=&amp]Updated: December 7, 2017 at 06:22 PM
[/FONT]TAMPA — Here’s the dilemma for the parents of Howell Emanuel Donaldson III:
Hillsborough County’s top prosecutors want to question them to learn what they may know of their son’s potential involvement in four Seminole Heights murders. But if Howell Jr. and Rosita Donaldson answer those questions, their statements could be used to help push their son toward death row.
[...]
Fernandez said the Donaldsons have been devastated since their son’s arrest.
"All of a sudden, their world changed dramatically," he said. "Life ended as they knew it forever."
They have had trouble sleeping, have thought about leaving town, and received at least one death threat, he said. Given their emotional state, Fernandez said he didn’t think it was appropriate for them to give a statement.
The lawyer said he did not yet know whether the Donaldsons would eventually answer the prosecution’s questions.
"This is not a question of interfering with an investigation or a question of avoidance. ... It’s a question of concern for their son," he said, addressing a crowd of reporters.
"I want each of you who have children to tell me — what would you do if police came to tell you you had to testify against your child? So far I haven’t found anybody that has taken the personal angle and said, ‘I would tell them everything to make sure my son was put to death.’"
[...]
 
I think the parents could be angling to have the death penalty taken off the table (if it is even for sure on the table - just going by what the victims' families said), but I don't think they are going about this the right way.
 
Bootsctr said:
I think the parents could be angling to have the death penalty taken off the table (if it is even for sure on the table - just going by what the victims' families said), but I don't think they are going about this the right way.
Click to expand...

Obfuscation, Bootsctr?

~

http://abcnews.go.com/US/suspected-...well-donaldson-iii-indicted/story?id=51653894

..."Warren promised that the Hillsborough County State Attorney's office will be "as transparent as possible every step of the way during the prosecution." The prosecutor's office has reached out to the families of the victims to inform them that the charges were filed, he said.

"My office continues to work to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law," he said. "I'd like to remind everyone, please keep your thoughts and prayers for the victims and families at this time.""
...


Parents’ dilemma: Refuse questions in Seminole Heights murder case or risk harming son’s defense
By Dan Sullivan, Tampa Bay Times
Dec 7 17 6:22 pm

...
"Brenda Samuel, the mother of Benjamin Mitchell, who was shot to death Oct. 9, said she believes if the parents know anything, they should tell the authorities.

"I don’t know anything about the Donaldson family," Samuel said. "They say they’re well-respected in the community, but if it was my son who was out doing wrong, I would report it no matter what."
...
 
FindHG said:
Obfuscation, Bootsctr?

~

http://abcnews.go.com/US/suspected-...well-donaldson-iii-indicted/story?id=51653894

..."Warren promised that the Hillsborough County State Attorney's office will be "as transparent as possible every step of the way during the prosecution." The prosecutor's office has reached out to the families of the victims to inform them that the charges were filed, he said.

"My office continues to work to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law," he said. "I'd like to remind everyone, please keep your thoughts and prayers for the victims and families at this time.""
...


Parents’ dilemma: Refuse questions in Seminole Heights murder case or risk harming son’s defense
By Dan Sullivan, Tampa Bay Times
Dec 7 17 6:22 pm

...
"Brenda Samuel, the mother of Benjamin Mitchell, who was shot to death Oct. 9, said she believes if the parents know anything, they should tell the authorities.

"I don’t know anything about the Donaldson family," Samuel said. "They say they’re well-respected in the community, but if it was my son who was out doing wrong, I would report it no matter what."
...
Click to expand...

( "ob·fus·ca·tion
ˌäbfəˈskāSH(ə)n/
noun
the action of making something obscure, unclear, or unintelligible.
"when confronted with sharp questions they resort to obfuscation"

"Obfuscation is the obscuring of the intended meaning of communication by making the message difficult to understand, usually with confusing and ambiguous language. The obfuscation might be either unintentional or intentional (although intent usually ismconnoted), and is accomplished with circumlocution (talking around the subject), the use of jargon (technical language of a profession), and the use of anargot (ingroup language) of limited communicative value to outsiders.[1]

In expository writing, unintentional obfuscation usually occurs in draft documents, at the beginning of composition; such obfuscation is illuminated with critical thinking and editorial revision, either by the writer or by an editor. Etymologically, the word obfuscation derives from the Latin obfuscatio, from obfuscāre (to darken); synonyms include the words beclouding and abstrusity."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obfuscation

*This is the third time this week I've had to consult Websters because of you lol....you've got one heck of a good vocabulary, Miss Find. :heart: )
 
(Re: the reward, today I saw an episode of 20/20 which outlined Somer Thompson's case.

Some folks had tipped off LE about a possible suspect, who turned out to be the correct suspect. But again, like the case here, these folks did not get the reward, specifically because they told the police directly, and did not call CrimeStoppers. So, apparently this is not the first time for this to happen...so how often does this happen, I wonder...

In Somer's awful case, the people who told LE about the suspect had found very, very graphic child *advertiser censored* on their former roommate's computer, and the psychological damage done to the female who saw those was real...her parents said that if she had called CrimeStoppers, that reward money "would have paid for her therapy" (after seeing those images, which the detectives said NO person should every have to see, EVER).
 
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