What are some instances where you feel someone on UM was unfairly accused, or even harassed by others, when in all likelihood the individual had nothing to do with the crime?

One immediate instance that comes to mind is the segment on Niqui McCown. The UM segment puts a lot of focus on her fiance Bobby Webster. Webster had suspiciously cancelled their wedding days after Niqui was missing, and insisted on returning his wedding ring for a full refund. Webster has also taken a polygraph test with inconclusive results.

It seems since the time of the segment, much of the focus of the investigation is on a Trotwood, Ohio police officer who has since died. I've seen various local news reports online that seem to very strongly suggest that this former police officer was most likely the abductor in this case. It's a stark reminder of how lie detectors are certainly not perfect, and how innocent people can be wrongly accused. Of course, who knows what really happened in this case.

Another segment that comes to mind is none other than Donald Kemp, the first segment profiled. Without knowing a tremendous amount of details about what has happened with the case since it's airing on UM, I definitely feel that Kemp's mother unfairly harassed the owner of the trailer where Kemp supposedly made phone calls. Kemp's mother somehow got access to a phone bill from the trailer and discusses in the segment how it was full of calls to phone sex lines. While this might certainly be seen as unsavory behavior, I always thought it was unfair and harassing to assume that because someone called phone sex lines he was also likely involved in a murder. Personally, I feel like whatever link was made between the Kemp case and phone calls from that trailer could have been some glitch with the phone company. I can only imagine going about my life and suddenly having a truly distraught and furious mother of a dead son at my door, demanding answers and insisting that I knew something about her son's death.

Does anyone else have segments where you've felt people were wrongly accused?

(Sorry if this has already been posted)

What are some instances where you feel someone on UM was unfairly accused, or even harassed by others, when in all likelihood the individual had nothing to do with the crime?

One immediate instance that comes to mind is the segment on Niqui McCown. The UM segment puts a lot of focus on her fiance Bobby Webster. Webster had suspiciously cancelled their wedding days after Niqui was missing, and insisted on returning his wedding ring for a full refund. Webster has also taken a polygraph test with inconclusive results.

It seems since the time of the segment, much of the focus of the investigation is on a Trotwood, Ohio police officer who has since died. I've seen various local news reports online that seem to very strongly suggest that this former police officer was most likely the abductor in this case. It's a stark reminder of how lie detectors are certainly not perfect, and how innocent people can be wrongly accused. Of course, who knows what really happened in this case.

Another segment that comes to mind is none other than Donald Kemp, the first segment profiled. Without knowing a tremendous amount of details about what has happened with the case since it's airing on UM, I definitely feel that Kemp's mother unfairly harassed the owner of the trailer where Kemp supposedly made phone calls. Kemp's mother somehow got access to a phone bill from the trailer and discusses in the segment how it was full of calls to phone sex lines. While this might certainly be seen as unsavory behavior, I always thought it was unfair and harassing to assume that because someone called phone sex lines he was also likely involved in a murder. Personally, I feel like whatever link was made between the Kemp case and phone calls from that trailer could have been some glitch with the phone company. I can only imagine going about my life and suddenly having a truly distraught and furious mother of a dead son at my door, demanding answers and insisting that I knew something about her son's death.

Does anyone else have segments where you've felt people were wrongly accused?

(Sorry if this has already been posted)

Actually, OP, a "glitch" in the phone company's system would be one of the least probable explanations.
Why?
A single phone call made from a SIMILAR number may have somehow become "mistaken." Multiple phone calls over a period of days would have been impossible.

I believe that the most likely explanations for the phone calls were:
1) Kemp himself was using the man's phone and was making the calls himself.
2) The man in the trailer found Kemp's address book or something that contained the name and the number of the person called and began making the calls (for whatever reason) himself.

3) Kemp's mother probably paid a PI to "obtain" the man's phone bill. I always thought that it was VERY foolish of her to have confronted this man, whether or not he had done what she thought he had.Even if he wasn't a killer (which I don't believe him to be) he could have had her arrested and even sued her for aggravated stalking and harassment.

My thoughts on this case have always been that Kemp had either a psychotic break or was undergoing serious mental/emotional issues and wandered away from his vehicle.
In his confusion, he hid from the people searching for him and eventually succumb to exposure.

No other evidence (including the phone calls) has been introduced to dispute those facts.

Yes in the Don Kemp segment I've also thought that he just died from the elements and the man that lived in that trailer was being unfairly targeted. Also that segment with Bob Bean where he along with a murdered man's girlfriend and the man's identical twin were accused of murdering him...each pointed the finger at each other and it turned out it was just a random act of violence that took his life. And that case where the woman got trampled by her horse, I kind of thought the family was unfairly accusing the three people she was with of something that was next to impossible to happen. The woman was bucked off her horse and trampled to death but the family believed her boyfriend at the time beat her to death and then took a horseshoe and "imprinted" it on her chest to look like a horsing accident. :rolleyes:

Stephen Geri and Tim McClure.

Yes in the Don Kemp segment I've also thought that he just died from the elements and the man that lived in that trailer was being unfairly targeted.

Maybe but those phantom phone calls are still one of the most baffling mysteries in the history of the show in my opinion. The information regarding the phone calls just doesn't add up in my opinion. We have Don Kemp making a telephone call to one of his closest friends in NY from somewhere in Wyoming. Unable to reach her, he leaves a message on her answering machine and a telephone number where he could be reached.

She calls the number back and the man who answers the phone mentions Don specifically by name and tells her that he is unavailable to take her call at the moment because he was not at the residence at that time.

Months later when police follow up this lead, the man that lived in the trailer where the phone calls were placed claimed he never heard of Don Kemp and had no knowledge about any of the phone calls.

To me all of this just doesn't add up. This should have been investigated more as we have a case of a missing person who was later found dead making a phone call from the state where he went missing and when that phone call was followed up on their was confirmation that at the very least someone named "Don" was at the residence at one point from where the phone calls were placed. Too big of a coincidence for me.

As unlikely as it seems, I think it was just a big coincidence. The friend from NY said she knew it was Don from his voice, but she doesn't say he identified his name on the messages. Perhaps it was an old message and Don gave her the wrong number accidentally? And maybe the guy at the trailer was some sicko that was posing as Don just for kicks...who knows? I just don't see how someone would abduct him, leave his car untouched, keep him alive for years, then kill him and take him back to the exact spot his car was found abandoned.

Well, I'm going to exclude accused people who have officially been cleared (Jeff Oberholzer, Patricia Stallings, Johnny Lee Wilson, etc.) and focus on those who are still under suspicion.

-Eric Smith: the "red herring" in the Eric Tamiyasu murder case. I don't believe he had anything to do with it and the only reason he appears to be a suspect in the first place is because the most guilty-looking suspect, Don Dixon, pointing a finger at him
-Alfredo Newball: he seemed pretty genuine and sincere during his interview about the disappearance of his wife and son and even though some people thought he didn't look concerned enough when they went missing, I really don't think he had anything do with it
-Curtis Heck: I have no idea why Kenneth Engie's family seem so determined to hold this guy responsible for Kenneth's death. Hell, their alternate version of events has Curtis being the one who turned off Kenneth's truck while he was passed out in the garage, so what exactly do they think this guy did wrong?!
-Christina Jackson: man, did her ex-husband come across as a real jerk when accusing her of being responsible for the disappearance of their daughter, Lauren, even though the only possible evidence of that is some really shaky eyewitness testimony
-Steve Bechtel: I know that his bizarre journal entries and refusal to take a lie detector test have made him a suspect in the disappearance of his wife, Amy, but when you look at the timeline of the case, it seems unlikely to me that he was responsible

-Curtis Heck: I have no idea why Kenneth Engie's family seem so determined to hold this guy responsible for Kenneth's death. Hell, their alternate version of events has Curtis being the one who turned off Kenneth's truck while he was passed out in the garage, so what exactly do they think this guy did wrong?!

100% agree. Forgot all about Curtis Heck, and even if he did go back to Engie's garage and punch him for hitting his truck how does turning off the truck show any signs of a motive for murder?

Michael Self (in reality, not as portrayed on UM)

Curtis Heck -- too much sauce and too little judgment on both sides.

Judy Smith's husband

Gabby (who owned the footlocker skeleton)

As far as Don Kemp's case it was either a screw up originating with the phone company, or a third party at that number gained access to Don's information (possibly when he lost something on his trip) and placed the prank calls.

Michael Johnson's wife --it seemed like the perpetrator's primary target was Rochelle Robinson and Johnson was killed simply for being the guy with her. UM focused more on the occult mumbo jumbo, but still...

Maybe but those phantom phone calls are still one of the most baffling mysteries in the history of the show in my opinion. The information regarding the phone calls just doesn't add up in my opinion. We have Don Kemp making a telephone call to one of his closest friends in NY from somewhere in Wyoming. Unable to reach her, he leaves a message on her answering machine and a telephone number where he could be reached.

She calls the number back and the man who answers the phone mentions Don specifically by name and tells her that he is unavailable to take her call at the moment because he was not at the residence at that time.

Months later when police follow up this lead, the man that lived in the trailer where the phone calls were placed claimed he never heard of Don Kemp and had no knowledge about any of the phone calls.

To me all of this just doesn't add up. This should have been investigated more as we have a case of a missing person who was later found dead making a phone call from the state where he went missing and when that phone call was followed up on their was confirmation that at the very least someone named "Don" was at the residence at one point from where the phone calls were placed. Too big of a coincidence for me.

What is there to "investigate", poster?
Kemp died of exposure.
No signs of foul play were detected.
If his "friend" hadn't mentioned the phone calls, this case would have already been closed.

Since this isn't a murder case (at least that's what the authorities believe and all of the evidence points to it not being) then what would questioning the man at this late date do to assist in this matter?

Since his "friend" apparently didn't save the messages or the tape that they were left on, we have only her word that these calls were from Kemp. And if they were, they could have simply been made at a time when Kemp was staying briefly w/ the man in question.

Personally, I have always thought the phone calls were a sign that Kemp and the man had a brief intimate relationship and that it ended badly. This may have been what prompted Kemp to begin acting in the bizarre manner that he did.

This is an interesting take on it.

Also, "Don" is a pretty generic name. The friend could have received a call from anyone claiming to be a "Don", "John", "Juan", etc. Whatever the call was (if it really happened), it couldn't have been so extremely substantial to provide any detailed information about Don Kemp's situation. I wouldn't be surprised if it was imagined by a grieving/distraught friend, or just an honest mistake, compounded by grief.

Wrongfully accused people on UM
Darlie Routier accused of killing her two sons Devon and Damon.
Johnny Lee Wilson was wrongfully accused ******** man in Missouri of killing an elderly neighbor.
John Purvis a scitziofrenzic man wrongfully accused of murdering his neighbor and causing the infant daughter to starve to death in her crib without food or water.
Patricia Stallings accused of murdering her son Ryan with poison and also accused of trying to murder her second son David Stallings Junior.
Michael Self accused of robbing a gas station.
Tommy Ziegler accused of murding people at a furniture store.

John Branion the Chicago doctor accused of murdering his wife was wrongfully accused on UM. Some of the people that I listed in the above post have not been exonerated and proven innocent but I think they are innocent such as Darlie Routier,Tommy Ziegler,and Michael Self.

And that case where the woman got trampled by her horse, I kind of thought the family was unfairly accusing the three people she was with of something that was next to impossible to happen. The woman was bucked off her horse and trampled to death but the family believed her boyfriend at the time beat her to death and then took a horseshoe and "imprinted" it on her chest to look like a horsing accident. :rolleyes:

This is the case I thought about. I always thought UM made the case seem seem a lot more favorable to the victim and made it more mysterious than it is. They glossed over or hid things from her past and I totally think they exagerated how rare it would be for a horse to trample an owner. They made it seem like it would be impossible but when looking at it, it doesn't seem as an impossible thing to happen. I also thought it the evidence was weak and wonder why they didn't interviewed any of the companions.

John Branion the Chicago doctor accused of murdering his wife was wrongfully accused on UM. Some of the people that I listed in the above post have not been exonerated and proven innocent but I think they are innocent such as Darlie Routier,Tommy Ziegler,and Michael Self.

I don't think this was ever proven. I will admit that they did a pretty good job of proving Branion couldn't hve been there, but still I have always wondered if he didn't hire someone to kill her.

Jeffrey MacDonald:

It just seemed to me like all signs pointed to that Greg guy (forget his last name) and the two others being responsible for the murders of MacDonald's wife and daughters (sometime in the early 1970's). Weren't they all in the military (as this was in Fort Bragg, North Carolina)? And that lady with the hat seemed to be a look-out for them (Helena something?).

I saw this segment months ago and am just going with what I remember about it off the top of my head. I thought someone even claimed that the Greg guy admitted to someone that he committed the murders after the robbery took a turn for the worse. And I think Dennis Farina said that both Greg and Helena (?) are dead now.

The segment of John Grundhofer. He was a banking executive that fired a bunch of bank employees and one day when he was driving to work, he parked his car in the parking lot and a chubby guy in a trench coat took him hostage. Someone else in the parking lot tried to save him from the robber and he threatened to kill him if he didn't back off. They ended up driving to a field and the robber forgot what he was gonna do so he walked John into a forest and tied him up and left. Robert Stack said it was one of the worst robbery attempts ever made. Then they got a bunch of calls and 2 people said they knew who did it. Some guy named John Henderson. The last half of the segment they basically harassed this guy and took him to court and asked him all kinds of questions and did a resemblence lineup. The guy was 100% cooperative. "I know I didn't do it." They had no/little evidence so he was never charged.

I'll admit, he matched the composite practically 100% but imagine if someone matched you to a composite of a robber out of the blue and accused you out of the blue like that. You could tell he was telling the truth.

I'll admit, he matched the composite practically 100% but imagine if someone matched you to a composite of a robber out of the blue and accused you out of the blue like that. You could tell he was telling the truth.

Yes, despite the uncanny resemblance, I still did think John Henderson was innocent simply because he acted pretty cool and collected during his UM interview, which did not seem to fit the anxious, nervous personality of the kidnapper. I have a feeling that if they found the real guy, he would have cracked very quickly.

(Helena something?).

yep, Helena Stoeckley

After watching the UM segment I thought MacDonald was innocent but they had a special about the case on 48 Hours Mystery that showed there was no blood found on the scene other than each of the MacDonald's, and Jeffrey's wounds were so superficial I started to sway towards guilty.

I honestly think most of the final appeals (with the exceptions being Paul Ferrell, Stuart Heaton, and Darlie Routier) were wrongfully accused and convicted. Especially Tommy Zeigler, Frederick Young, and Steven Shores the guy who was convicted of shooting a security guard walking down the street of his neighborhood (when in reality it was most likely the gang members who testified against him).

Wrongfully accused people on UM
Johnny Lee Wilson was wrongfully accused ******** man in Missouri of killing an elderly neighbor.
John Purvis a scitziofrenzic man wrongfully accused of murdering his neighbor and causing the infant daughter to starve to death in her crib without food or water.
Patricia Stallings accused of murdering her son Ryan with poison and also accused of trying to murder her second son David Stallings Junior.

These weren't wrongfully accused on and by UM, but were aired as final appeals giving innocent people a chance to have their cases considered. In all three cases they resulted in the release of the wrongly accused.

The one that stands out the most is the U-Haul family feud: the murder victim's husband aired all the family's dirty laundry in order to accuse his brother of having his wife killed, when it turned out to be a random act by a stranger.

Also, how about the case involving identical twins and another guy all accusing each other of having a guy named Sam murdered? One guy even claimed his young children implicated the other guy, when in fact it also turned out to be a random act. (Sammy Wheeler, I think.)

Jeff Oberhoeltzer (sp?). Some people accused him, but DNA excluded him. I'm glad, too, because I always thought he seemed innocent :)

By the way nicoge21, I love your avatar. Purely creepy!! The actor in the segment was so good.

[QUOTE]
-Curtis Heck: I have no idea why Kenneth Engie's family seem so determined to hold this guy responsible for Kenneth's death. Hell, their alternate version of events has Curtis being the one who turned off Kenneth's truck while he was passed out in the garage, so what exactly do they think this guy did wrong?!

Curtis Heck went over to Kenneth's home to "get even" & I'm not saying the he killed the guy, but if Kenneth Engie died of Carbon Monoxide poison then his truck could not have been parked in the driveway as Curtis Heck stated.

I think he stated that after learning about his death. Curtis might have been messing with Kenneth's truck & he heard the noise, grabbed his shotgun. They got into a scuffle & Curtis got the best of him. After punching Kenneth to the ground (that would explain the small pool of blood) Kenneth was then on the ground moaning and groaning. Curtis then turns his truck off and leaves thinking let him spend the night on the ground.

All in all Kenneth Engie wouldn't be dead if Curtis Heck would have reported the incident about his truck to the police.

[QUOTE]
-Curtis Heck: I have no idea why Kenneth Engie's family seem so determined to hold this guy responsible for Kenneth's death. Hell, their alternate version of events has Curtis being the one who turned off Kenneth's truck while he was passed out in the garage, so what exactly do they think this guy did wrong?!

Curtis Heck went over to Kenneth's home to "get even" & I'm not saying the he killed the guy, but if Kenneth Engie died of Carbon Monoxide poison then his truck could not have been parked in the driveway as Curtis Heck stated.

I think he stated that after learning about his death. Curtis might have been messing with Kenneth's truck & he heard the noise, grabbed his shotgun. They got into a scuffle & Curtis got the best of him. After punching Kenneth to the ground (that would explain the small pool of blood) Kenneth was then on the ground moaning and groaning. Curtis then turns his truck off and leaves thinking let him spend the night on the ground.

All in all Kenneth Engie wouldn't be dead if Curtis Heck would have reported the incident about his truck to the police.

Engie's personal truck was in the driveway, but an unnamed friend's truck was in the garage. I believe Engie, being a body work guy, may have been working on it at the time.

Heck had absolutely no way of knowing whether there was a dangerous amount of CO in the garage or not. Both men could have used much better judgement, but Heck isn't responsible for Engie's death.

Heck had absolutely no way of knowing whether there was a dangerous amount of CO in the garage or not. Both men could have used much better judgement, but Heck isn't responsible for Engie's death.

Exactly. I have no idea why this segment was even on UM, to be honest.

I'll admit, he matched the composite practically 100% but imagine if someone matched you to a composite of a robber out of the blue and accused you out of the blue like that. You could tell he was telling the truth.

This did actually happen to someone I worked under years ago. He was a manager at my place of employment and matched a composite of a murder suspect EXACTLY. LE actually came out to speak to him at least three times while he was working, so I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like for him at home. Regardless, he was pretty cool about it; he was never openly annoyed with it. Eventually he was finally ruled out and they left him alone after that, but unfortunately that murder still hasn't been solved.

The Bird Road Rapist was a segment which was painful for me to watch, with how mad it made me. It was so obvious that the person accused (Luis Diaz) didn't, and/or had nothing at all to do with those terrible crimes, yet spent 25 years in prison for something horrible done by others. Thank goodness he was eventually released, but still doesn't give him back all those years he lost behind bars. Paul Freshour who was accused of the mysteries Circleville, OH, letters was another person who was obviously unfairly accused, yet spent time in prison for something he possibly could not have done in anyway.

The Bird Road Rapist was a segment which was painful for me to watch, with how mad it made me. It was so obvious that the person accused (Luis Diaz) didn't, and/or had nothing at all to do with those terrible crimes, yet spent 25 years in prison for something horrible done by others. Thank goodness he was eventually released, but still doesn't give him back all those years he lost behind bars. Paul Freshour who was accused of the mysteries Circleville, OH, letters was another person who was obviously unfairly accused, yet spent time in prison for something he possibly could not have done in anyway.
Wow I couldn't agree more with both esp the bird road rapist. Just terrible... Unlike some of the aforementioned where there is actually evidence the bird road was an eye witness only combined with detective fraud.


Wasn't the horse story true? The newly wed couple that husband was guilty or was he cleared? I don't remember and wonder if I'm even thinking of the right case?

While the Bird Road Rapist case was a good segment, it is always tough for me to watch at the same time. That being with all that happened with the victims, along with how an obviously innocent man had to spend a majority of his life in prison for something he obviously did not do. It's at least easier to watch with knowing he was eventually released, but still can never get that time back he lost, while in prison.

While the Bird Road Rapist case was a good segment, it is always tough for me to watch at the same time. That being with all that happened with the victims, along with how an obviously innocent man had to spend a majority of his life in prison for something he obviously did not do. It's at least easier to watch with knowing he was eventually released, but still can never get that time back he lost, while in prison.
I agree if there's one case that would make cry and yell out of anger at the same time its that one.

Everyone in the Sammy Wheeler segment.

Wow I couldn't agree more with both esp the bird road rapist. Just terrible... Unlike some of the aforementioned where there is actually evidence the bird road was an eye witness only combined with detective fraud.


Wasn't the horse story true? The newly wed couple that husband was guilty or was he cleared? I don't remember and wonder if I'm even thinking of the right case?

You must be thinking of Shannon Mohr where her husband got her off a horse and injected her with horse tranquilizer killing her. He's in jail for life and has put on some weight in jail. Thats a different case than the one posted

I remember the special alert segment on Martha Doe Roberts, who was kidnapped for ransom from her wealthy husband, Allen. UM later did an update where they announced that Allen was being suspected of orchestrating the kidnapping himself. When asked about these accusations, Allen gave off the most nervous, awkward response and it would have been easy to assume he was hiding something.

Of course, it was later revealed that Martha had been kidnapped and murdered by one of her husband's business associates and that Allen was totally innocent, proving that nervous responses to accusations aren't always an automatic sign of guilt.

He's in jail for life

He was. He is now deceased.

You must be thinking of Shannon Mohr where her husband got her off a horse and injected her with horse tranquilizer killing her. He's in jail for life and has put on some weight in jail. Thats a different case than the one posted
Thank you I was confused.

I always felt it was a case of lashing out for Todd Kelly's family to accuse Christie Mutzfeld of being involved in Todd's death.

Charles Holden

Tim McClure

Tim McClure


ARRRGGGHHHH!

;)

ARRRGGGHHHH!

;)
He's worst son on one thread and worst accused on another.

Megadeth Guy

Megadeth Guy

+1.

I think he was just looking for some cash. Don't think he had anything to do with the clerk's disappearance.

Jeffrey MacDonald:

I agree with this one. Of all the Unsolved Mysteries cases, I wish a video of the actual event would magically show up. It wouldn't help nearly as many people in the short term as resolutions to other cases would, but it would be exponentially more valuable going forward, specifically to prevent creative prosecutors from taking so many liberties, with the jury and public so easily conned.

There's nothing wrong with basic crime scene recreation. Just the opposite. Tremendously important. The ability to isolate blood spatter direction and distance, for example, is a big help.

It becomes more of a detriment than benefit when extreme assumptions are made, ones that defy mathematical realities. Once you shift from basic evidence in a small area to trying to figure out how many people were present, and what they did, it's like moving from Star Trek Warp Factor One to Warp Factor Nine without recognizing the burden, that it's hardly linear. Prosecutors and so-called expert witnesses have no trouble capitalizing on the runaway misconceptions. The experts themselves don't want to believe that they are overreaching.

If merely one video showed up after the fact, following the guilty verdict in a complicated case, that would blow crime scene recreation tentacles out of the courtroom, and force the appliers and the justice system to regroup, accepting how badly they had mangled the assumptions for decades if not longer.

O.J. Simpson provided a great glimpse. I''ll never forget the opening day of his preliminary hearing. O.J. sat there almost in a trance. Then the prosecutors for some reason decided to get very specific in their layout of what happened. That's not necessary in a preliminary hearing at all. The requirements are very low. Anyway, they introduced a specific knife as evidence, along with specific detail of what allegedly took place. All of a sudden O.J. perked up and started to grin. You could sense exactly what he was thinking: Are they kidding? They think I used THAT knife? They think those details are correct?

Minus the video, only he knows. In that case the prosecution got the bottom line correct. Unfortunately the case was lost due to jury selection, when Jo Ellan Dimitrius destroyed Marcia Clark's simplistic view of what type of juror was most likely to convict or acquit O.J., and obviously when Christopher Darden botched the glove demonstration. Far too often, like the MacDonald case, the prosecution fixates on one version and allows crime scene recreation absurdity to dominate the presentation. Jurors enjoy being gullible, since they are trapped into believing they are actually being smart. That guy has a degree and lots of fancy experience. He sounds smart. I guess I should believe him when he says there was only one perpetrator present, and otherwise we'd had floods of supporting evidence. Heck, maybe even their autographs.

I realize not many will agree. Nobody changes their mind on that case. MacDonald is destined to remain infamous and in prison for the rest of his life, for something he did not do. As always, if you are going to be a victim of a crime, make sure it's ultra basic. Something even the rawest rookie detective can't screw up. Too many variables and you risk the Charles Holden scrutiny, or the Utah case involving Kay Mortensen, the similar one to the MacDonald case that nearly ended up in another tragic wrongful conviction. It would have been two wronged individuals in that case.

Otherwise, it's strange to see so many comments about the Bird Road Rapist. I can get to Bird Road within 3 minutes from my home in Miami. That was our high school hang out road. I remember posting a related thread maybe a decade ago and I don't think anybody commented, at least not initially, and not many overall. I assumed nobody cared about that case.

I agree with this one. Of all the Unsolved Mysteries cases, I wish a video of the actual event would magically show up. It wouldn't help nearly as many people in the short term as resolutions to other cases would, but it would be exponentially more valuable going forward, specifically to prevent creative prosecutors from taking so many liberties, with the jury and public so easily conned.

There's nothing wrong with basic crime scene recreation. Just the opposite. Tremendously important. The ability to isolate blood spatter direction and distance, for example, is a big help.

It becomes more of a detriment than benefit when extreme assumptions are made, ones that defy mathematical realities. Once you shift from basic evidence in a small area to trying to figure out how many people were present, and what they did, it's like moving from Star Trek Warp Factor One to Warp Factor Nine without recognizing the burden, that it's hardly linear. Prosecutors and so-called expert witnesses have no trouble capitalizing on the runaway misconceptions. The experts themselves don't want to believe that they are overreaching.

If merely one video showed up after the fact, following the guilty verdict in a complicated case, that would blow crime scene recreation tentacles out of the courtroom, and force the appliers and the justice system to regroup, accepting how badly they had mangled the assumptions for decades if not longer.

O.J. Simpson provided a great glimpse. I''ll never forget the opening day of his preliminary hearing. O.J. sat there almost in a trance. Then the prosecutors for some reason decided to get very specific in their layout of what happened. That's not necessary in a preliminary hearing at all. The requirements are very low. Anyway, they introduced a specific knife as evidence, along with specific detail of what allegedly took place. All of a sudden O.J. perked up and started to grin. You could sense exactly what he was thinking: Are they kidding? They think I used THAT knife? They think those details are correct?

Minus the video, only he knows. In that case the prosecution got the bottom line correct. Unfortunately the case was lost due to jury selection, when Jo Ellan Dimitrius destroyed Marcia Clark's simplistic view of what type of juror was most likely to convict or acquit O.J., and obviously when Christopher Darden botched the glove demonstration. Far too often, like the MacDonald case, the prosecution fixates on one version and allows crime scene recreation absurdity to dominate the presentation. Jurors enjoy being gullible, since they are trapped into believing they are actually being smart. That guy has a degree and lots of fancy experience. He sounds smart. I guess I should believe him when he says there was only one perpetrator present, and otherwise we'd had floods of supporting evidence. Heck, maybe even their autographs.

I realize not many will agree. Nobody changes their mind on that case. MacDonald is destined to remain infamous and in prison for the rest of his life, for something he did not do. As always, if you are going to be a victim of a crime, make sure it's ultra basic. Something even the rawest rookie detective can't screw up. Too many variables and you risk the Charles Holden scrutiny, or the Utah case involving Kay Mortensen, the similar one to the MacDonald case that nearly ended up in another tragic wrongful conviction. It would have been two wronged individuals in that case.

Otherwise, it's strange to see so many comments about the Bird Road Rapist. I can get to Bird Road within 3 minutes from my home in Miami. That was our high school hang out road. I remember posting a related thread maybe a decade ago and I don't think anybody commented, at least not initially, and not many overall. I assumed nobody cared about that case.hmm I'm not sure about the bird road rapist and no one caring. I honestly don't remember when I first saw the segment about the bird road case but when I did as a member here I'm pretty sure I came on here and saw comments. I Haven't been on here for ten years though.

If anything, UM did Jeffrey MacDonald favors the way the segment was slanted in his favor.