GUILTY TX - Dana Edwards, 32, murdered in her Alamo Heights home, 1 Jan 2009

[wfgodot]

Craig Kapitan ‏ @HearsaySA
Jon Thomas Ford is guilty of murder. #mySA

 

[wfgodot]

.....

Craig Kapitan ‏ @HearsaySA
The jury was sent to lunch. Punishment testimony for Jon Thomas Ford will begin at 1:30. Both sides estimate they'll finish today.

 

[wfgodot]

Wow. Jury spent (approx.) eight hours over two days deciding, maybe a bit less. LE screw-ups in investigation discounted. I'm shocked, not at the verdict, but at the brevity of jury discussion. They certainly seem to have been won over by the prosecution's "If not him - who?" closing argument. The "DNA on the towel" evidence was thin, and perhaps not attacked effectively. But, of course, the cell ping testimony also proved, I think, crucial - the convicted man's cell pinged elsewhere that night when he had claimed to be asleep at home. And then there was the video footage of the vehicle in her parking lot. And the cell pings from the Olmos Dam area, where Grit the dog was later found dead. A salute to the jury - they made a tough decision. But I really think they made it too soon. The prosecution presented a middling, circumstantial case. That not one juror felt it necessary to extend the proceedings by re-evaluating all the evidence is curious, but it also indicates that the defense did not do a good job summoning reasonable doubt. And Dick DeGuerin's one of the most successful defense attorneys in Texas. Wow.

LE screw-ups? The nail clippings, lost; the best of two sets of videos from a cctv camera, lost; the stomach contents not kept; the pill found at the scene not taken into evidence. Perhaps more I'm forgetting.

 

[wfgodot]

Ford guilty of murder in ex-girlfriend's death (San Antonio Express-News)

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[Jon Thomas] Ford, now 43, accused of strangling Edwards, 32, his ex-girlfriend, at her condo just outside Alamo Heights early on New Year's Day, 2009, faces up to life in prison. His head sank as the verdict was announced.
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Defense attorney Dick DeGuerin in closing arguments hammered a police investigation — which prosecutors admitted on the first day of testimony was “screwed up” — for failing to secure the towel as evidence for days after the murder. Investigators lost other physical evidence.

more at the link above, with many pictures

 

[wfgodot]

Punishment phase; victim's father testifying:

Craig Kapitan ‏ @HearsaySA
Darrell Edwards has carried a backpack with him throughout trial. Just revealed to jury that inside it are ashes of Dana & her dog, Grit.

 

[wfgodot]

Third punishment phase defense witness to take this tack:

Craig Kapitan ‏ @HearsaySA
Bentley says she's 1,000% convinced Ford isn't guilty. One day God will exonerate him. // This tactic could quickly backfire w/jury.

Were I a juror it certainly wouldn't set well with me, being told I just got the verdict wrong. It sounds like one socio-economic class is trying to preach down to another.

 

[joe jones]

I think the whole parade of witnesses who are now telling the jury you got it wrong are doing him no favours, and I do find it quite creepy that her father is carrying her ashes round in a backpack, but if thats how he is dealing with it then thats his choice - me I just get creeped out by the thought of it

 

[wfgodot]

I think the whole parade of witnesses who are now telling the jury you got it wrong are doing him no favours, and I do find it quite creepy that her father is carrying her ashes round in a backpack, but if thats how he is dealing with it then thats his choice - me I just get creeped out by the thought of it

This one just got tweeted:

Craig Kapitan ‏ @HearsaySA
Now up, Ford's cousin, Austin resident Alexandra Saenz. "I believe you made the wrong decision & I just wish it could be undone."

If I'm a juror who just gave four weeks to do my civic duty and have just a hint of a temper about me, I just voted to give him the max sentence. That kind of testimony is arrogant and just plain wrong in this context. DeGuerin must think he can cow the jury into thinking they did the wrong thing. If I'm a juror, I see a murderer sitting at the defense table sending his attack dogs at me.

 

[wfgodot]

Will it be life, with possibility of parole after x number of years?

Craig Kapitan ‏ @HearsaySA
Sounds like jury has a punishment verdict in the Jon Thomas Ford murder trial. That was really fast--just more than an hour.

 

[wfgodot]

Craig Kapitan ‏ @HearsaySA
Jury sentenced Jon Thomas Ford to 40 years in prison for murder of ex-girlfriend Dana Clair Edwards. #mySA

 

[wfgodot]

Craig Kapitan ‏ @HearsaySA
DeGuerin, to media: "Of course, there will be an appeal. It's a double tragedy because an innocent man's been convicted."

Of course there will be an appeal. These people have money.

And, until that inevitable appeal, good night everybody! '48 Hours' had a camera crew in town, at least at the start of the trial, so undoubtedly, somewhere along the way, the show will feature this case - well, I would think. Fascinating stuff to me because I lived right beside the "affluent enclave" where the main players resided and where the killing took place - moved from there one week after, according to today's verdict by a Bexar County jury, John Thomas Ford murdered Mary Clair Edwards in the wee hours of New Year's Day 2009. For the Edwards family and their friends, justice was delayed, but not denied.

 

[joe jones]

thanks for all your updating,

 

[wfgodot]

Lastly, the story as it will appear tomorrow in the San Antonio Express-News:

Ford guilty of murder, gets 40 years for ex-girlfriend's death (by Craig Kapitan)

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In a highly unusual move, the entire jury panel returned to the courtroom after the sentence was announced and, in front of television cameras that included the network program “48 Hours,” mingled with the Edwards family — giving hugs and expressing condolences.
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So it does sound like you will be seeing this on "48 Hours" before too very long. An excellent account of the day and the trial, at link above.

 

[Allusonz]

Lastly, the story as it will appear tomorrow in the San Antonio Express-News:

Ford guilty of murder, gets 40 years for ex-girlfriend's death (by Craig Kapitan)

So it does sound like you will be seeing this on "48 Hours" before too very long. An excellent account of the day and the trial, at link above.

For me the cell phone pings where the undoing in this case.

I look forward to seeing the 48 hours program.

 

[cluciano63]

This case was on ID tonight, on "Secrets and Sins" or rather "Sins and Secrets" and is on again Sat. 5/4 at noon EST.