Therefore, the analyst said, if someone matched the DNA, it would indicate they committed the murder. Dr. Michael Baden, a physician and board-certified forensic pathologist known for investigating the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the Jeffrey Epstein and George Floyd autopsies, testified there are two reasons he believes Stites was likely killed earlier. Lake sturgeon can grow to lengths of 8 feet and weigh up to 300 pounds. The woman was identified as Shalynn Jones, according to the Los Angeles County coroners office. Calm Monday; watching for storm chances Thursday evening into Friday, Austin group hosts vigil for those affected by violent crimes, Mammatus clouds over Central Texas as severe threat comes to an end. He wasn't a child without love, we loved that baby," Carter said. He has long maintained his innocence and claims that he and Stites had a secret, consensual relationship. Prosecutors responded that the truck had been fully gone over and processed for evidence. It cries for justice, and we achieved it.. Jimmy pointed out that one of Stacey's earrings was on the passenger side floorboard.. A spokesperson says the person will be interviewed. I dont know. Prosecutor Lisa Tanner said Stites left home at 3 a.m. to make her 3:30 a.m. shift at the grocery story, according to Fennell. This is an updated story. Her body was found just hours later. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Brown explained thats why, at first, he said he didnt know her. A woman is found dead inside of a crashed vehicle in Bastrop County but deputies say the fatal injuries were from something else. Reeds attorney, Lydia Clay-Jackson, said he denied it all.. Forensically speaking, they did everything that was available to examine the truck forensically at the time, Tanner said. Its been eight years since the Innocence Project has picked up Reeds case and they have made repeated efforts to appeal and get a new trial. Well send you the latest headlines every morning and every weekday afternoon. Required fields are marked *. On the next morning, the same family members to went to feed the animals and located an area of disturbed ground in the backyard. The last time Carol Stites said she saw her daughter was on the evening of April 22, 1996, right before she and her fianc were about to head upstairs to their apartment. By the time the questioning was over, he was charged with Stites sexual assault, kidnapping and murder. It says that a preliminary autopsy report indicates that 29-year-old Samantha Dean died of an apparent gunshot. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. They also hope this recent crime will spark more attention from police, including additional patrols in the area. His truck was found in Bastrop and he was home in Giddings, Texas, which is some 30 miles away. In an interview with ABC News Deborah Roberts, Roberts pointed to research suggesting sperm can last 72 days or longer. "She was like the white tornado," she told "20/20." "That's exactly what they called her when she was little. The defense argued in legal filings the perpetrator would become Jimmy Fennell, because he said he was in the apartment with her that night. HARAHAN, La. It's a concoction of creative, brilliant lawyers trying to save a condemned man -- who is worthily condemned, I might add., Prosecutor Lisa Tanner agreed that Reed, not Fennell, is guilty, saying that she is still sure the right man has been convicted beyond a reasonable doubt of Stacey Stites murder.. Ive stayed out here by this fire and watched just to make sure what if someone came back. Firefighters Discover Man's Body While Battling Apartment Fire in South L.A. Police Investigate No-Hit Shooting in Long Beach, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. They said police never searched the apartment Stites shared with Fennell. Reeds legal team has also raised questions about the original investigation. Davion Mar'Keith Veal, 22, who is wanted for murder in Bastrop County, was arrested Nov. 1 in Louisiana. By the time she was discovered there was not enough soft tissue to where you could tell whether shed been stabbed or raped or anything. Prosecutors presented the case of Vivian Harbottle Chapman, who was 39 at the time and was raped six months prior to Stites death in October 1995. According to the report from the 2007 Ranger investigation, other women had come forward with allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against Fennell. Anyone with information on the death was asked to call the Sheriffs Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. The Bastrop Police Department is investigating the death of a woman. He says the way the blood settled in the front of Stites body suggests she was killed before 3 a.m. and her body laid in a different position for hours before she was found on her back. City and county officials are calling this data extremely concerning. All rights reserved. What makes the story even more bizarre for Waller is how the day started. Ed Salmela wrote in a police report. The original version is as follows:The Bastrop Police Department is investigating the death of a woman. Phillips told ABC News that Fennell was not in any way involved or connected to Stites murder. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. For a 19-year-old thats kind of a big transition., Stites sister Debra Oliver told 20/20 Stacey didnt share any concerns with her. The Innocence Project, a non-profit legal organization that works to free wrongly convicted people, picked up Reeds case in 2012. Chief Campbell says they found the body deep in the woods off of Shady Oaks Street in West Bastrop around five Wednesday afternoon, but he says it looks like it was dumped there. They asked Fennell, who had arrived at the scene, to unlock the truck and point out anything unusual. The trial of Tod Lawhon began today, April 25. Alicia Slater, one of Stites coworkers at H-E-B came forward in 2014, and in an affidavit she claimed Stites told her she was having an affair with Reed. He was engaged to the woman, and they had been in a romantic relationship with each other for at least three years. The gene sample collected from the skeletal remains can also be used to create a biological profile of the woman, which would estimate the womans ancestry, age and size. Schlueter later pointed out Rodney Reed in a photo array. Staceys murder went unsolved for nearly a year. She was looking for what everybody does, young love, Amen said. He also initially denied dating her and was asked to provide a DNA sample. Michael Woodroof, a spokesman for the county coroners office. (CBS Austin file image) Detectives are investigating an early Sunday morning shooting after a woman was found dead in Bastrop County. We certainly dont want the family to have some false hope, so were keeping all of that information close to our belts.. Man and woman found dead after reports of argument in Fountain Valley bedroom. Lawhons attorney is a Monroe-based lawyer, Lavalle Salomon. [It] was tremendous, Quinncy McNeal, an attorney on Reeds team, said. The Bastrop police chief questioned Fennell and said he was visibly shaken and concerned, but not in a state of panic, according to the police report. Sign up here for our free newsletters. Read below for previous information. You kinda want to suspect the people nearest to her, Stacey Stites sister Crystal Dobbs said. Last year, Texas officials granted Reed an indefinite stay of execution to examine claims that Reed is actually innocent. Firefighters Discover Man's Body While Battling Apartment Fire in South L.A. Police Investigate No-Hit Shooting in Long Beach, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. The caller said they had heard a verbal argument and a loud noise coming from a bedroom. Riverside County Firefighters Stop Forward Progress of Brush Fire in Thermal, Walk to End Genocide Held Sunday In Fairfax District, Asian Couple in Bel Air Terrorized in Home Invasion Robbery, Police Arrest 24 During DUI Checkpoint in Riverside, Riverside Police Arrest 24 People During DUI Checkpoint, Coroner IDs Man Who Jumped or Fell From Freeway Overpass. I'm hurt to the core. It wouldn't have made any sense for them to keep it any longer than they did.. Eric Licas is a crime and public safety reporter for the Daily Pilot. The sheriff's office said he had unexplained puncture wounds to his body and neck and he was unable to talk. The trial is happening in courtroom one of the Morehouse Parish Courthouse. Former Bastrop Police Det. Days later, Fennell was charged with aggravated sexual assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated kidnapping, improper sexual activity with a person in custody and official oppression. An autopsy on the body was performed by the Travis County Medical Examiners office at the time, but there was no finding on the cause of death nor on her identity. MyNewsLA.com wont sell your information and you can unsubscribe at any time. "It hit a little close to home for. They say they have had plenty of leads, but no suspect has been identified, and they are considering everyone a person of interest, including members of Brown's family. Through every trial, hearing and court update, Sandra Reed is standing by her son. A resident called 911 early Sunday and summoned officers to a residence on 17000 block of Santa Suzanne Street . Jimmy then pointed out one of the tennis shoes that was lying on the passenger floorboard. APD investigating after dead body found in south Officials Sunday released the name of a 28-year-old woman whose body was found near an unused railroad track in Carson. All rights reserved. I stand on that. The body of Jessica Jefferson Brown was found behind the wheel, but with injuries not consistent with a car crash. He was then taken to an ambulance to an Austin-area hospital. Or what if.. She's buried with that wedding ring, and she's buried in her wedding dress. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Check for a confirmation email, and then you're all set with MyNewsLA.com! This guy was here and it was just about everything that I wanted in a son-in-law. I wasnt seeing racism like that.. The cops showed up, one being Jimmy Fennell Jr., and pretty much separated us apart so that they could figure out what was going on, Lear told 20/20 about the incident. I didnt see it at first. A deputy. She says he told her to sit in the front of the car and realized something was wrong when they pulled into a secluded park and Fennell told her to get out. A woman is found dead inside of a crashed vehicle in Bastrop County but deputies say the fatal injuries were from something else. AUSTIN, Texas . My memory of that is my mom just sitting in her chair, just [repeating,] My baby. A Bastrop County murder suspect who told sheriff's investigators he beat the victim. Deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department responded around 12:50 p.m. Friday to the 20800 block of South Santa Fe Avenue, near the San Diego (405) Freeway, regarding a person down. When officials investigated after obtaining a warrant, they discovered the freshly buried body of Catherin Alonzo-Lopez, 28. And, at the same time, I got to fight these people to save my son's life.. Stacey Stites was just 19 when she was killed in 1996. She drove Jimmy's truck as she often did, Tanner said. Officials Sunday released the name of a 28-year-old woman whose body was found near an unused railroad track in Carson. If anyone has. Kyle woman found dead in Bastrop County; man charged with murder Mary Huber mhuber@statesman.com 0:00 0:29 A 33-year-old woman from Kyle who was last seen in February was found dead in. He's had the same values I was raised with. BASTROP, La. During Thursday's press conference, they also said Brown was working her 2nd job, delivering newspapers to homes along a rural road in Bastrop County when she was murdered. If I wouldnt have known her, I wouldnt have been associated with her [and] I wouldnt be in this situation, Reed told ABC News in a 2019 jailhouse interview. Officials added that the family of the female reported they were concerned because she had gone missing. It was awful, Oliver said. That's what I'm tryin' to do I have to hold onto my faith, and stand on this truth and the facts. The lead DNA analyst in the case said the semen found in Stites body had been deposited at the same time as her killing. I wish [law enforcement] would have searched the apartment, Tanner told Roberts. Stacey would pick him up at various locations, one being the H-E-B [grocery store] parking lot, Reeds former attorney Jimmie Brown said. She told me that she wasn't that excited to get married, because she was sleeping with a black guy named Rodney. To hear that she was actually having an affair was shocking to begin with, but then that it was also with a black man named Rodney, she and I both, you know, proceeded to say, like, Wow, you need to be careful with this.. They also questioned why his truck was returned to him within days after the murder. The officer called it in but nothing seemed amiss, so the officer continued on his patrol. The examiner determined he was deceptive in both answers, according to the examiners report. Sofia Vera, 19, was found lying in the roadway on . The autopsy also revealed that Dean was pregnant at the time.Bastrop County Sheriff's Office says further analysis and toxicology will be completed before a final determination of how Dean died is made. I cant imagine DNA will in any way, shape or form, 40 years later, open a criminal investigation, Goertz said. By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Fennell explained he was emotional and that all he could visualize was Stites lying dead in her casket. The suspect in the death of a young woman in Elgin is in the hospital after a police chase Wednesday. Didnt really know exactly what it was or what caused it, but it was unusual, he said. The sample was taken to UNTs federally-funded DNA lab, where Gill-King and the Forensic Anthropology Unit will build a genetic profile of the woman and enter it into a federal DNA database in hopes that it might match the genetic profile of a family member already in the system. Reeds court-appointed attorney Clay-Jackson said she and her co-counsel, Calvin Garvie, only had two months to prepare for the trial. All were trying to do is put a name and a face to an unknown body, and the best way we got to do that these days is through DNA.. In 1984, five years after the bones were discovered, Texas Rangers and Bastrop County sheriff investigators reopened the case after someone in their custody confessed to the womans murder, according to an inquest order executed earlier this month. A resident called 911 early Sunday and summoned officers to a residence on 17000 block of Santa Suzanne Street, Fountain Valley police wrote in a news release. Slater said she didnt come forward sooner because she was only 18 at the time and about to graduate from high school. BASTROP COUNTY, Texas The Bastrop County Sheriff's Office is investigating after a teenage woman was found shot dead on FM 1704 last month. Sheriff Capers said Saturday evening authorities widened the search to as far as 20 miles from the scene. The suspect in the death of a young woman in Elgin is in the hospital after a police chase Wednesday. Mon, February 20th 2023, 10:20 AM PST. Police determined domestic violence resulted in the murder-suicide of a couple in their 30s in Fountain Valley early Sunday morning. One of Stites coworkers at H-E-B came forward in 2014, and in an affidavit she claimed Stites told her she was having an affair with Reed. We're getting married, that was just about them, Carol Stites said. The man was identified as Josue Saravia-Argweta, 34. No arrests or injuries were reported in those previous encounters. I didn't do it.. They moved in together and they said, We're engaged. She grabbed the keys and she handed them to Jimmy so that he could go look for Stacey.. The defense says that time of death is the key to proving Reeds innocence. I was cleaning up my yard and dragged some logs out of here trying to start a fire and never saw anything out of the ordinary and a guy stopped us and said that there was a dead body back here Waller explained. Oliver and Dobbs said they were not concerned about the polygraph results. That's why you look at all of the extraneous evidence as well in conjunction with just the DNA.. But once we knew that she had been raped, our emotions were like, it had to be somebody else.. "Jimmy pointed out a piece of green colored plastic, Bastrop PD Det. Stacey Stites was weeks away from marrying her fianc when she went missing. Anyone with information on the death was asked to call the Sheriffs Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department responded around 12:50 p.m. Friday to the 20800 block of South Santa Fe Avenue, near the San Diego (405) Freeway, regarding a person down. Your email address will not be published. Once entered into CODIS, the unidentified womans genetic sample can be compared against the 18 million samples in the database. The Bastrop County Sheriffs Office and the District Attorneys Office have declined to reveal details of the case as well as the identity of the man who claims he killed the unidentified woman. She was really excited about getting married. And the scientific facts and findings have proven that he is innocent. One is an insurance seller who was trying to convince Stites to purchase life insurance, to which Stites said shes too young and has no need for it, according to the sellers affidavit. When we take this to the actual medical examiner who testified, he gives us a sworn statement, said Bryce Benjet, senior attorney at the Innocence Project, who is representing Reed. After three hours of deliberation, the jury came back with a manslaughter guilty verdict on April 27 around 8 p.m., according to the Ouachita and Morehouse Parish District Attorney Steve Tew. The search is on for answers, and whoever is responsible, for killing a young man from Bastrop. Sign up here for our free newsletters. The Bastrop County Sheriff's Office released the following statement: "There have been a few Facebook posts criticizing the Sheriffs Office for not posting details of a recent Murder investigation. Responding officers found a man and woman who had died of gunshot wounds from a rifle, Fountain Valley Police Sgt. Later the same day, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals indefinitely stayed Reed's execution. According to Interim Police Chief Anthony Evans, the body was. She worked hard for that wedding dress, and we all decided that that's what she should be buried in.. The sentencing is set to be held on July 6 in the Bastrop courthouse at 1 p.m. He took out his weapon. They found Stacey on the side of a road in a bunch of wildflowers, Carol Stites remembered. He had the wedding ring in his hand, and he put the wedding ring on her finger, she said. I knew we were in trouble, Clay-Jackson said. So little is known after Yuridia Espinoza's body was found in a grave on March 27 near Elgin. The state argued that none of these methods establishing the time of death are totally reliable or have pinpoint accuracy, and Dr. Baden agreed. The indictment. Bastrop County law enforcement officials are relaunching an investigation into the identity of the woman, whose badly decomposed body was discovered along U.S. 290east of Elgin by law enforcement officers 40 years ago. A spokesperson could not be reached to determine Jones city of residence. The man shot the woman and then took his own life, Hsu said. The all-white jury unanimously decided Reed was guilty. They're still investigating, but Campbell says they hope to have a suspect, or a better idea of what happened, soon. They hope to present new evidence at a hearing thats been delayed due to the pandemic. Whoops! His DNA had been collected and stored in the system, though those charges were ultimately dropped. City and county officials are calling this data extremely concerning. Breaking news for Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. He slammed me up against the back of his patrol car, on the side of it, she said. 2023 FOX Television Stations, North Austin neighborhood sees relief after flooding from storms, Wife arrested after shooting husband in Buckeye while kids were home, police say, Army says helicopters crashed in mountains, fair weather, Williamson County Deputies Association raising funds to give bikes to students with perfect attendance, 2 high schoolers killed, 4 others hurt in shooting at house party in Mississippi, Texas: The Issue Is - Armed officers on Texas school campuses, Texas: The Issue Is - Rep. 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(AP) A Louisiana woman accused of killing her boyfriend's 6-year-old daughter and leaving the child's body in a bucket outside the home where the girl's mother lives has been jailed without bond in a New Orleans suburb, authorities said. Officials would then compare that profile against the missing people in the NameUs database to begin building leads. "In the case at hand, the suspect had injuries that initially prevented him from being interviewed, so the investigation was better served to delay the release of as much information as feasible until after the injured person was interviewed. Five days before his scheduled execution date, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously recommended that Texas Governor Greg Abbott grant Reed a 120-day reprieve. He previously spent four years as a staff writer with the Orange County Register and the Southern California News Group. That information would be entered into NamUs, a federal missing persons database that collects cases from law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners and family members of missing persons. I keep waiting for Mother Teresa to be the next witness coming in via epiphany from beyond the grave I mean, it's just nonsense.. There has never been any evidence, whatsoever, there was any type of relationship, Stites sister Debra Oliver told 20/20. Theres no notes, theres no letters, no phone records.. BASTROP, La. During his time on death row, Sister Helen Prejan became his spiritual adviser, and her relationship with Mr. Willie and another death row prisoner, Elmo Patrick Sonnier, was eventually dramatized in the 1995 film . "My babies, my kids, my grandkids, they're my heart. Hsu described the man who died as a suspect in the killings. Experts for the defense also claim the time of Stites death was hours earlier than the 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. window the prosecution argued at Reeds original trial. I have to accept that Im here now for something that I didnt do.. It wasnt boyfriend-girlfriend, it was purely sexual.. Its the first step of a process, Goertz said. The prosecution argued that Reed abducted Stites while she was driving her fiancs truck on her way to work, raped her, strangled her and dumped her body on the road where she was found. Phillips, told ABC News that Authorities apparently thought so little of these extraneous offenses, that none of them were ever prosecuted, nor did these women ever testify in court., Phillips says Fennell found the Lord in prison. ( KTVE/KARD) According to Morehouse Parish Chief Deputy James Mardis, three teenagers are dead after an early morning shooting on Bentley Street in Bastrop, La. In the affidavit, the seller said that Fennell then said, If you ever cheat on me, I will kill you and no one will ever know about it.". I thought he was heaven sent. *Watch the full story on "20/20" TONIGHT at 9 p.m. We have videotape of the body of Stacey stites being examined and manipulated and put into a body bag [with] her arms folded, Barry Scheck, another attorney with the Innocence Project, said. It was definitely stressful for her just because she had to work and come home and she was expected to do laundry, clean, Amen said. In May of 1998, a Bastrop County jury convicted Bastrop resident Rodney Reed of the murder of a young Giddings woman, Stacey Stites. Officials said the investigation began on May 6 when officials responded to a medical emergency on Upper Elgin Road. In an affidavit, Fletcher recalls Fennell saying he suspects Stites is sleeping with a Black man, while cursing and using a racial slur. (KNOE) -It was on this trail right through here. Bastrop County Sheriff Maurice. Right here in my backyard I mean its crazy I would have never thought about anything like this. But you leave it to God.. Because If Stacey was killed at midnight or earlier -- and not 3 a.m., then Reed would be excluded as the killer. Shea Maloney, who hosts a podcast that covered the case, said Carol Stites saw her daughter and Fennell embrace outside her window, then saw them laughing and joking together as they made their way upstairs. I didn't realize until then that what she told me had so much of an implication in the case.. Your email address will not be published. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. My baby.. That is very powerful scientific evidence that again, the time of death is way before that 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. window of the prosecution's case.. We cant give too much information, because even though we may have a glimmer of who we think this might be, we cant reveal that because we dont know that, Cook said. Tanner said Investigators could not figure out how he wouldve gotten back home after the murder. The white woman who accused Black teenager Emmett Till of making improper advances before he was lynched in Mississippi in 1955 has died in hospice care in Louisiana, a coroner's report shows. Copyright 2021 KNOE. Police arrested her boyfriend for public intoxication, put him in a patrol car and took him to the police station. April 27, 2023, at 2:14 p.m. Sheriff: Woman Held in Death of Child, 6, Found in a Bucket. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. They found Jones lying in an area overgrown with weeds near an unused railroad track in what authorities called the middle stage of decomposition. Officials said the investigation began. "I remember I was asking her about her engagement ring, Alicia Slater said. I think he felt bad that he didn't get up and take her to work that day., Fennell himself has always maintained his innocence. Copyright 2023 KNOE. Bastrop County Sheriff Maurice Cook, District Attorney Bryan Goertz and other county officials looked on last week as Dr. Harrell Gill-King, director of University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, extracted bone samples from the woman's decaying skeletal remains. The Bastrop County Sheriff's Office said they were called to the scene of the crash around 4:10 a.m. Once there, they found 32-year-old Jessica Brown of Cedar Creek dead inside the car. By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Exiting were photographers, serologists, physical evidence collection people. According to a police report, Fennell allegedly told one of his colleagues he was going to try to get intelligence from her. She was lying face down. Carol Stites hopes the world remembers her daughter was human and all she wanted to do is get married and have a baby, she said. She really loved Jimmy.. There was evidence of a struggle at the truck. On the day that her body was found, Sheriff Maurice Cook refused to comment on the evidence or . Investigators said she had been raped and strangled, then left on the side of the road. (Courtesy. 10-year-old shot during argument, Marion man arrested, Black mans decapitated remains found after he warned his mom he was targeted by truckloads of white guys, KNOE Sunday Night Forecast with Jake Lambright, KNOE Sunday Evening Forecast with Jake Lambright, KNOE Saturday Night Forecast with Jake Lambright.
