Which cases come to mind as showing shoddy police work and an overall fumbling of the case?

I can't believe the bed was burned in the tamiyasu case. Even if it wouldn't make a difference it was still strange.

Tommy Burkett
Doug Johnston

Jaclyn Dowaliby - Whether the parents did it or not, the lack of real evidence and poor police work in this case is pretty astounding. Using witnesses who claimed they recognized the father's nose from 75 yards away while it was dark out.

Shoddy might not be as apropos as straight-up corrupt here, but the Kevin Ives and Don Henry case has always been very hinky to me.

Also, I feel that alot of "questionable suicides" could've been affirmed or disproved one way or the other if police had approached cases with a little more focus and articulation to some of the suspect areas, which when neglected has bred a thick aura of conspiracy in oh so many cases....

Burning Eric Tamiyasu's bed ranks among the top uber bungles.

Then there's the whole whack of missing wife cases where the doofus suspect husband can't seem to alibi out, keeps changing their stories and were the last to see their "mysteriously" vanished, yet PD's don't push deeper. Domestic homicides are so damn common, that when you stumble upon these ones that seem so cut and dry, crap PDs are invovled.

Wendy Camp

The Debbie Wolfe investigation seemed like a complete joke. The police captain telling Debbie's mother that they weren't going to search the lake with professional divers because some family friends had already paddled around out there looking. The captain also completely brushed off the claim that the diver found her body in a rusty oil drum (which was on her property and was now missing). Instead, he says it was a field jacket that had ballooned up :rolleyes:

The Debbie Wolfe investigation seemed like a complete joke. The police captain telling Debbie's mother that they weren't going to search the lake with professional divers because some family friends had already paddled around out there looking. The captain also completely brushed off the claim that the diver found her body in a rusty oil drum (which was on her property and was now missing). Instead, he says it was a field jacket that had ballooned up :rolleyes:
Agreed. Someone's gotten away with murder for almost three decades because the police utterly dropped the ball.

Ruby and.............ah, I forget. But they got in a car accident and then walked and fell through the ice. Police claim something more sinister happened to them because they had dragged that river and found nothing. Well, you made a mistake. Admit it, you are human. But instead the cops claimed the bodies weren't there in the first place which makes people think other things happened.

And honestly, how can Chad Noe not be convicted by now for Wendy Camp?

I'm a huge police supporter, but they've dropped the ball on a few cases.

]Ruby and.............ah, I forget. But they got in a car accident and then walked and fell through the ice. Police claim something more sinister happened to them because they had dragged that river and found nothing. Well, you made a mistake.[/B] Admit it, you are human. But instead the cops claimed the bodies weren't there in the first place which makes people think other things happened.

And honestly, how can Chad Noe not be convicted by now for Wendy Camp?

I'm a huge police supporter, but they've dropped the ball on a few cases.

Ruby and Arnold.......... Ruby's last name was pronounced Brew-year, but I don't remember how it was spelled. Can't remember Arnold's last name.

I've always been on the fence with that one. The evidence was rather complicated, I'd have to rewatch it.

Ruby and Arnold.......... Ruby's last name was pronounced Brew-year, but I don't remember how it was spelled. Can't remember Arnold's last name.

I've always been on the fence with that one. The evidence was rather complicated, I'd have to rewatch it.

Arnold Archambeau and Ruby Bruguier

Stanley Grdzirisiccishizzc - I think there was some corruption happening there.

Corky, I hate to be the spelling police, but I think the last two letters are in the wrong order.:lol: :crazy:

Russell Evans
Chad Maurer
Crystal Spencer

Michael Scott Martin was a case of overzealous police work

The whole Charles Morgan/Doug Johnston/Don Devereux mess wasn't really a case of shoddy police work. I think the police decided their own safety was more important than finding out the truth.

The two that immediately come to mind are Wendy Camp and Eric Tamiyasu. Both law enforcement agencies in each case do not appear to give a damn about the case.

Keith Warren

I've completely forgotten the Boy's name in this particular Case and I did mention it on a similar thread about 12 months ago. It was the young man who got struck by a Car crossing that dodgy Freeway near the US / Mexico Border. I think he was last seen in a convenience store? Anyway the Police Officer (Or whatever he is) comes across as a complete slackassed JERK in the story. The whole thing screams of a coverup. :mad:

So many to name. Tommy Burkett, Tony Lombardi, Eric Tamiyasu, Michael Rosenblum, Keith Warren, Andre Jones, Jayson Artis...the list goes on.

I've completely forgotten the Boy's name in this particular Case and I did mention it on a similar thread about 12 months ago. It was the young man who got struck by a Car crossing that dodgy Freeway near the US / Mexico Border. I think he was last seen in a convenience store? Anyway the Police Officer (Or whatever he is) comes across as a complete slackassed JERK in the story. The whole thing screams of a coverup. :mad:

Patrick Kelly. Yep, the brilliant Mexican official tried to claim that the reason Patrick's ATM card was used and money was withdrawn from his account while he was in a coma was because he had given his card and PIN number to a friend. Yep, friends always withdraw friends' money right after they've been put into a coma. :rolleyes:

This isn't directly an UM case, but those crack Mexican cops really came through again on the murder of Nyleen Kay Marshall's mother, claiming she committed suicide after being raped while her hands were tied behind her back.

For me personally, I think that the sheriff involved in the Kathy Bonderson case was either incompetent or corrupt. He kept insisting that she died an accidental death going over the train tracks. He absolutely refused to consider anything else. Fortunately, the investigator from the state police was there to provide, IMO, a more accurate picture of what happened.

Technically not a police officer, but I feel the DA in the Larry Race case had a strong bias against Larry despite evidence that he did not commit the crime.

Speaking of questionable investigations across the border, how about the Mario Amado case? Didn't they say he hung himself by his sweater in a jail cell or something?

Speaking of questionable investigations across the border, how about the Mario Amado case? Didn't they say he hung himself by his sweater in a jail cell or something?

Yes this was a perfect example of shoddy police work. Believe it or not, there was an update to this case saying that the body was exhumed and a new autopsy found evidence that he was murdered. A Mexican police officer was arrested, tried, and convicted in his murder. He got out a couple of months later because his conviction was overturned. There's no doubt in my mind that that guy either knew more about Mario's murder, or he himself got away with it.

The Doreen Piccard murder actually featured police corruption.

For me personally, I think that the sheriff involved in the Kathy Bonderson case was either incompetent or corrupt. He kept insisting that she died an accidental death going over the train tracks. He absolutely refused to consider anything else. Fortunately, the investigator from the state police was there to provide, IMO, a more accurate picture of what happened.

He was so stubborn! I got irritated with him more and more during the segment. He was trying to fit pieces in his theory that didn't fit. While I know some don't want to rush to judgement and think every death is foul play, they have to keep an open mind. His was closed from the start.

I also want to add the Eileen Mangold case. They had the guy but never charged him because of some law that made the DNA inadmissible in court. What a crock.

I also want to add the Eileen Mangold case. They had the guy but never charged him because of some law that made the DNA inadmissible in court. What a crock.


That's not bad police work. That's inconvenient technicality. Same as Joe Maloney being released from Irish jail because Ireland and USA had to void an extradition treaty so that he couldn't be jailed in Ireland for a USA murder

I've completely forgotten the Boy's name in this particular Case and I did mention it on a similar thread about 12 months ago. It was the young man who got struck by a Car crossing that dodgy Freeway near the US / Mexico Border. I think he was last seen in a convenience store? Anyway the Police Officer (Or whatever he is) comes across as a complete slackassed JERK in the story. The whole thing screams of a coverup. :mad:


Don't forget Charles Ladner he was a popular 18 year old country boy and his body was found in the woods... the police said suicide BUT the bullet the parents found where his head was didnt match that of the rifle he was carrying that day.... also a few years later they find his license and I.D. in NYC...

Don't forget the boys on the tracks case.... NOW it's a open case and NOW it's homicide... before years ago they had it as suicide...it just recently turned into a homicide/murder case...

Don't forget Charles Ladner he was a popular 18 year old country boy and his body was found in the woods... the police said suicide BUT the bullet the parents found where his head was didnt match that of the rifle he was carrying that day.... also a few years later they find his license and I.D. in NYC...

Don't forget the boys on the tracks case.... NOW it's a open case and NOW it's homicide... before years ago they had it as suicide...it just recently turned into a homicide/murder case...

Do you mean Norman Ladner? Or was that the father's name?:confused:

I also want to add the Eileen Mangold case. They had the guy but never charged him because of some law that made the DNA inadmissible in court. What a crock.


Wasn't that in Florida?

Florida is well known to have a pathetic legal system.

Corky, I hate to be the spelling police, but I think the last two letters are in the wrong order.:lol: :crazy:

hahahaha thanks I THOUGHT something looked wrong on that one.



Can we also add the Chaim Weiss murder? I just don't see how this one wasn't solved or at least some leads developed that we'd be aware of.
Kathy Bonderson was one of those cases where I was sticking up for the law enforcement investigator's efforts...until I re-watched the segment and really paid attention. Man, wow, that guy was rotten.

Jessica Lyn Keen--beaten to death with a 70-pound tombstone her killer pulled from the cemetery where her body was found. A broken and bloody tombstone was right on the other side of the fence, with no doubt a hole from whence it was ripped, and the police said she died running into a fencepost in the dark!

That poor lady in Missouri jailed for poisoning her infant son, Ryan, who died of a genetic ailment.

The 15-year-old boy shot in the woods for witnessing a drug deal and the police said it was suicide though he was hit on top of the head and shot while lying on the ground--impossible for him to do to himself with a rifle.

Jessica Lyn Keen--beaten to death with a 70-pound tombstone her killer pulled from the cemetery where her body was found. A broken and bloody tombstone was right on the other side of the fence, with no doubt a hole from whence it was ripped, and the police said she died running into a fencepost in the dark!

I forgot all about that case...that one definitely takes the cake for incompetent "investigating".

Andre Jones.

Andre Jones.

I'm sorry but I disagree with this one. I think the original finding of suicide is correct in this case. There would have to have been some massive conspiracy and coverup for Andre Jones to have murdered. All because his mother was the leader in a local chapter of the NAACP? I don't buy it.

The first one that comes to my mind is the Sam Sheppard case.

I'm sorry but I disagree with this one. I think the original finding of suicide is correct in this case. There would have to have been some massive conspiracy and coverup for Andre Jones to have murdered. All because his mother was the leader in a local chapter of the NAACP? I don't buy it.

He was transported to another facility nearly an hour away in a different jurisdiction and was dead very, very shortly afterward. I don't see why he would suddenly decide to kill himself while detained. I tend to think he was probably killed by inmates, whether accidentally or intentionally, and then incompetent and/or corrupt officials attempted to perpetuate a coverup to save themselves. I don't know if the Jones' involvement in the Black community had anything to do with Andre's being stopped at the checkpoint and his subsequent death or not, but I do feel like there was a half-assed investigation, and an intentional one.

Definitely the initial investigation into Kathy Bonderson's death. The car for some reason careened over the tracks, she hit her head so hard on the roof it killed her, and then the vehicle inexplicably exploded into flames immediately afterward. Right. :rolleyes:

He was transported to another facility nearly an hour away in a different jurisdiction and was dead very, very shortly afterward. I don't see why he would suddenly decide to kill himself while detained. I tend to think he was probably killed by inmates, whether accidentally or intentionally, and then incompetent and/or corrupt officials attempted to perpetuate a coverup to save themselves. I don't know if the Jones' involvement in the Black community had anything to do with Andre's being stopped at the checkpoint and his subsequent death or not, but I do feel like there was a half-assed investigation, and an intentional one.

He was actually transferred to the county jail at 4:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning, and phoned his mother five different times over the course of that Saturday. I just don't see how a guy who gets five different phone calls (one is usually a luxury) in jail would be set up. He was a young guy, ready to start college that Monday who had never been in trouble before, and I think it was all very overwhelming to him. I think he figured he was in some serious trouble and his future was going to be ruined and that's what ultimately led him to kill himself. Andre's case (as well as several others) were reinvestigated several times and each time Andre's death was ruled a suicide, and both of the lawsuits Andre's parents filed against the state of Mississippi were thrown out of court...I just think the parents really grasping at straws in this one.

Too many to name, unfortunately. :(

Wendy Camp, Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible, Gary Grant jr., Bonnie Wilder, Gus Hoffman, Norman Ladner, AJ Breaux, Joyce McClain, Jessica Lyn Keen, Amy Billig, Pam Page, Oliver Munson to name a few.

I can’t help but feel like the Zodiac investigation had several **** ups. Most glaring of course is the fact that two patrol officers actually talked to him after his most brazen, most public (known) murder. I mean the killer was actively communicating with the police, left several clues, was witnessed by LE’s and the public, and yet…they don’t have a clue to who this guy is.

I can’t help but feel like the Zodiac investigation had several **** ups. Most glaring of course is the fact that two patrol officers actually talked to him after his most brazen, most public (known) murder. I mean the killer was actively communicating with the police, left several clues, was witnessed by LE’s and the public, and yet…they don’t have a clue to who this guy is.

Not to mention that the cryptogram sent to police by Zodiac was solved, not by investigators or even the FBI, but by a couple of schoolteachers at their breakfast table.

In a way it's kind of hilarious that during WWII Alan Turing's group of about 15 people cracked the triple-encoded German Enigma transmissions, but 25 years later with much more sophisticated equipment the best codebreakers in America couldn't figure out the Zodiac message. I mean, Zodiac made it hard, but still...

I've always found it funny that there are like 6 "prime" Zodiac suspects. Obviously not all 6 are guilty (they may all be innocent), and it must suck to be pegged as the possible Zodiac killer. I imagine their social life is null because of it.