Found Deceased GA - LaTania 'Janell' Carwell - Abducted & Murdered - Mom & Stepdad Charged - Augusta #2

Just to keep my notes straight - I am going to ahead & post this so I can shorten it up a bit! :)

Monday, November 21st:
*UAP Hearing (@ 9am ET) - GA - LaTania 'Janell' Carwell (16) (Apr. 17, 2017, Augusta; found Mar. 8, 2018) – for *Leon Lamarr Tripp (38/now 43) step-dad arrested (5/23/17) & indicted (3/13/18) of 2 counts of murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, cruelty to children in the 1st degree & concealing a death. Plead not guilty. Bond $500K. DA will seek DP.
Court info from 2/2/18 thru 5/31/22 reference post #972 here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...pril-2017-mom-stepdad-arrested.336256/page-49

8/5/22 Update: Amended notice of reschedule of UAP hearing on 9/2/22 @ 9am. 8/8/22: Certificate of service of defense motions. Motion #8: Motion to preclude public shackling. Motion #10: Motion reserving the right to file additional motions. Motion #11: Motion for Tripp to be present for all proceedings. Motions #15: Tripp's assertion of 4th, 5th & 6th Amendment rights & revocation of any prior waivers. Motion #27: Motion to compel disclosure of confidential informants. Motion #28: Motion for disclosure of favorable info. Motion #30: Motion for an Order requiring the disclosure of all info regarding expert testing & examinations. Motion #33: Motion for disclosure of similar or extrinsic act evidence (Rule 404(B)) & for a pretrial hearing to determine the admissibility of any acts alleged by the State to be similar transactions. Motion #45: Motion to declare void & suppress invalid arrest warrant. Motion #46: Motion to preclude admission of gruesome & highly prejudicial color photographs of deceased. Motion #49: Motion in Limine to prohibit certain witness testimony. Motion #50: Motion to suppress 5/23/17 custodial interview. Motion #51: Motion to suppress 5/26/17 custodial interview. Motion #52: Motion to suppress 6/2/17 custodial interview. Motion #53: Motion to suppress 6/7/17 custodial interview. Motion 54: Motion to suppress 6/7/17 due to Massiah violation. Motion #55: Motion to suppress Tripp’s cell-site location info data. Motion #56: Motion to suppress 6/26/17 custodial interview. Motion #57: Motion to suppress 6/26/17 custodial interview due to Massiah violation (Massiah rule is a principle that an attempt to elicit incriminating statements from a suspect whose right to counsel has attached but who has not waived that right violates the Sixth Amendment). Motion #58: Motion to suppress 3/12/18 custodial interview. Motion #59: Motion to suppress 3/14/18 custodial interview. Motion #64: Motion to require the court to establish the race, gender & ethnicity of every prospective juror. Motion #66: Motion for an Order allowing Tripp to exercise his challenges for cause outside the presence of the panel members. Motion #68: Motion for submission of a juror info questionnaire to all prospective jurors. Motion #74: Motion to require that the jurors' handwritten notes be made a part of the record of this case. Motion #85: Motion to adjourn at a reasonable time. 8/31/22: Return mail notice.
9/6/22: Notice of lead prosecutor. 9/26/22: Unified appeals procedure transcript held on 9/2/22. 10/5/22: Leave of Court-Laura Cobb. 11/2/22: Leon: Served witness subpoena-Inv. William Smith, Inv. Ron Sylvester & Peter Johnson. 11/8/22: Served witness subpoena.
11/15/22: Motion to dismiss the indictment for intentional violations of Tripp's Federal & State constitutional rights or alternatively a Motion to suppress all custodial statements by Tripp & any resulting derivative or transactional evidence & other. 11/18/22: Served witness subpoena.
12/1/22: Unified appeals procedure hearing transcript (held on 11/21/22). Had UAP hearing on 11/21/22.
*Tanya Faye Tripp (35/now 40) "mom" – Calendar Call hearing on 6/30/22.
 
So to keep my notes straight - I shall post this now.

Monday, December 12th:
*Hearing (@ am ET) - GA - LaTania 'Janell' Carwell (16) (Apr. 17, 2017, Augusta; found Mar. 8, 2018) – for *Leon Lamarr Tripp (38/now 43) step-dad arrested (5/23/17) & indicted (3/13/18) of 2 counts of murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, cruelty to children in the 1st degree & concealing a death. Plead not guilty. Bond $500K. DA will seek DP.
Court info from 2/2/18 thru 11/18/22 reference post #994 here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...pril-2017-mom-stepdad-arrested.336256/page-50

12/1/22: Unified appeals procedure hearing transcript (held on 11/21/22). Had UAP hearing on 11/21/22. 12/2/22: Exhibits (to UAP hearing held on 11/21/22). 12/12/22 Update: Next appearance on 12/12/22.
*Tanya Faye Tripp (35/now 40) "mom" – Calendar Call hearing on 6/30/22.
 
So...what actually happens at all these hearings? This is the most dragged out case I have heard of. Does someone not want this to go to trial because of information that could be revealed? These two don't seem well connected enough to have dirt on powerful people, though.
 
Last edited:
So...what actually happens at all these hearings? This is the most dragged out case I have heard of. Does someone not want this to go to trial because of information that could be revealed? These two don't seem well connected enough to have dirt on powerful people, though.

Personally I have NO idea why this case is taking so long... I find nothing when I search & the court site is not the greatest to give info... :(
 
Personally I have NO idea why this case is taking so long... I find nothing when I search & the court site is not the greatest to give info... :(
I'm trying to think the reason why someone would want this trial to not happen...I guess it doesn't matter as long as they're in jail but it's just odd.
 
Does anyone know what the motion to dismiss refers to? Thank you!

There is no update on the court site & it does not give too much info on what is filed. But I did find this article from Nov., 2022.


Nov. 24, 2022
Attorneys for a man facing a capital murder trial in the 2017 disappearance and death of his stepdaughter are trying to convince a judge the case should be thrown out, or at a minimum, evidence should be suppressed.


The pretrial hearing for Leon Tripp, 43, began Monday, Nov. 21. Tripp has pleaded not guilty in Richmond County Superior Court to charges including murder in the death of LaTania Janell Carwell.
[.....]
If convicted, a jury will be asked to decide punishment — life in prison with or without parole, or death.
[.....]
......Tayna Trip is accused of second-degree murder and other charges. She has pleaded not guilty. Her case is separate from her husband’s.
[.....]
Leon Tripp’s attorneys are seeking the dismissal of the case based on what they contend was the intentional violation of Tripp’s right to communicate privately with his attorney, and the violation of his right to be free of continual attempts at interrogation after he invoked his right to counsel.
[.....]
But Tripp wasn’t returned to the jail for several hours, during which time Grant talked to Tripp without his attorney. Grant testified Monday that he didn’t know Tripp’s attorney told Sheriff Richard Roundtree that Tripp would not be making a statement. Grant, who had just been assigned as the homicide investigator, said he didn’t know then that a person represented by an attorney cannot be questioned without his attorney being present.


Grant, Paine and the sheriff each testified Monday that they didn’t realize that the system used to video and audio record the interrogation rooms continued to record audio even when an officer turned off the sound audio portion of the recording system. They wouldn’t learn differently until the next year when a defense attorney in another murder case discovered a recording of his conversation with his client inside one of the interrogation rooms.
[.....]
After each side submits briefs, Chief Judge Daniel J. Craig will rule on the motions.



A lot more in the article....
 
There is no update on the court site & it does not give too much info on what is filed. But I did find this article from Nov., 2022.


Nov. 24, 2022
Attorneys for a man facing a capital murder trial in the 2017 disappearance and death of his stepdaughter are trying to convince a judge the case should be thrown out, or at a minimum, evidence should be suppressed.


The pretrial hearing for Leon Tripp, 43, began Monday, Nov. 21. Tripp has pleaded not guilty in Richmond County Superior Court to charges including murder in the death of LaTania Janell Carwell.
[.....]
If convicted, a jury will be asked to decide punishment — life in prison with or without parole, or death.
[.....]
......Tayna Trip is accused of second-degree murder and other charges. She has pleaded not guilty. Her case is separate from her husband’s.
[.....]
Leon Tripp’s attorneys are seeking the dismissal of the case based on what they contend was the intentional violation of Tripp’s right to communicate privately with his attorney, and the violation of his right to be free of continual attempts at interrogation after he invoked his right to counsel.
[.....]
But Tripp wasn’t returned to the jail for several hours, during which time Grant talked to Tripp without his attorney. Grant testified Monday that he didn’t know Tripp’s attorney told Sheriff Richard Roundtree that Tripp would not be making a statement. Grant, who had just been assigned as the homicide investigator, said he didn’t know then that a person represented by an attorney cannot be questioned without his attorney being present.


Grant, Paine and the sheriff each testified Monday that they didn’t realize that the system used to video and audio record the interrogation rooms continued to record audio even when an officer turned off the sound audio portion of the recording system. They wouldn’t learn differently until the next year when a defense attorney in another murder case discovered a recording of his conversation with his client inside one of the interrogation rooms.
[.....]
After each side submits briefs, Chief Judge Daniel J. Craig will rule on the motions.



A lot more in the article....
They'd better not get away with this precious girl's murder because the cops messed up.
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
106
Guests online
3,889
Total visitors
3,995

Forum statistics

Threads
592,284
Messages
17,966,584
Members
228,735
Latest member
dil2288
Back
Top