City and county officials are calling this data extremely concerning. 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. Sign up here for our free newsletters. Waller says he and his fiance are not taking any chances with their familys safety. Race played a big part. It cries for justice, and we achieved it.. 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. Lawyers from the organization say they have the evidence to prove investigators arrested the wrong man all those years ago. Ultimately, Fennell was cleared as a suspect. ". 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. You try to figure it out in your head what happened and how did it happen? A host of celebrities and politicians have rallied behind Reed as well, pushing for him to be removed from death row and be granted a new trial, and bringing national attention to the case. Reed has appealed his case repeatedly from 2001 through 2015. Please reload the page and try again. Raul Anthony Caballero was flown to the hospital by helicopter after he . There's no way it's gonna go away.. He is facing up to 40 years in prison. Hes trying to put the pieces together to create a new world for himself., This is a person that is supposed to protect you, Lear said. I described the man The police automatically knew who he was, Schlueter told 20/20. They presented [pictures of] six Africans Americans on a piece of paper. 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 suspect in the death of a young woman in Elgin is in the hospital after a police chase Wednesday. BASTROP, La. Raymerio Lee, known as "Red" by family and friends, has been missing since Monday. 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. In the early morning hours of Sunday, Feb. 19, the Travis County Sheriff's Office's (TCSO) Criminal Investigations Division was sent to assist the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office regarding a. He wasn't a child without love, we loved that baby," Carter said. Anyone with information on the death was asked to call the Sheriffs Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. 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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Investigators said they saw similarities between Schlueters assault and Stites murder, which led them to see if Reeds DNA was on file. They found Stacey on the side of a road in a bunch of wildflowers, Carol Stites remembered. Fennell was given two polygraphs in the months following Stites death. Reeds court-appointed attorney Clay-Jackson said she and her co-counsel, Calvin Garvie, only had two months to prepare for the trial. Bastrop dentist allegedly shot and killed his wife following a domestic dispute. It's awfully hard to find this evidence credible that he miraculously has this secret affair with this girl and somehow, his semen hangs around for several days, Tanner said. She's buried with that wedding ring, and she's buried in her wedding dress. I didn't realize until then that what she told me had so much of an implication in the case.. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Man and woman found dead after reports of argument in Fountain Valley bedroom. Gill-King declined to answer questions about this case or how forensic anthropology unravels the mysteries surrounding the deaths of unidentified bodies. Required fields are marked *. . The examiner determined he was deceptive in both answers, according to the examiners report. We're gonna get the truth out there. Staceys sister said the family and Jimmy were devastated by her death. Saturday, June 13, 2020, on Spanish Town Road near N. 10th Street in Baton Rouge, La. 1) Robert Lee Willie. 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 . That same morning, Carol Stites got the call that her daughter didnt make it to work. Another new witness, Charles Wayne Fletcher, was a former member of the Bastrop County Sheriff's Department. When officers responded to the scene, they found Lenora Lawhon dead in the couples home. They had previous domestic disputes that police responded to, but there was never any physical violence, just verbal only, Hsu said. Reed has been charged with raping Chapman and Hamby, but denies the charges. 25-year-old woman found dead in burning brush off Spanish Town Road has been ID'd . They said police never searched the apartment Stites shared with Fennell. Stacey was always on time, she said. It wouldn't have made any sense for them to keep it any longer than they did.. 19-year-old found dead in Bastrop Stacey Stites was the youngest of Carol Stites' five children. Through every trial, hearing and court update, Sandra Reed is standing by her son. ET on ABC.*. In a 2016 filing, the state said her account is patently unbelievable and that she failed to mention the secret affair when she spoke to police at the time of the murder. BASTROP, La. Details surround Jane Does death are scarce. Raul Anthony Caballero was flown to the hospital by helic Photo of Sofia Vera. 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. ELGIN, Texas (KXAN) The Bastrop County Sheriff's Office said an arrest was made in connection to the murder of a woman found dead near Elgin in November. 14 children and 1 teacher were killed in the Uvalde school shooting, officials confirm, Moriah Wilson murder: What we know so far about the crime and Kaitlin Armstrong, Example video title will go here for this video. 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. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. She was into everything and did everything, and friends with everybody.. With just weeks to go before his scheduled execution, Reed garnered attention from the national media, including Dr. Phil, Oprah and The New York Times. Just 19 years old at the time, Stites didnt show up for work one morning in 1996, and was found dead hours later. A woman is found dead inside of a crashed vehicle in Bastrop County but deputies say the fatal injuries were from something else. I dont know. The original version is as follows:The Bastrop Police Department is investigating the death of a woman. Rodney Reed has been serving time in prison for over 20 years. Reed was arrested, then later released, without posting bond, in connection to Schlueters case. We certainly dont want the family to have some false hope, so were keeping all of that information close to our belts.. but maybe well get some more patrols around here. Forensically speaking, they did everything that was available to examine the truck forensically at the time, Tanner said. Responding officers found a man and woman who had died of gunshot wounds from a rifle, Fountain Valley Police Sgt. 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. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window). It was locked, but he noted a bag of clothing in the back of the truck and a broken piece of belt with the buckle attached, just outside of the drivers door. They say now, all they can do is hope police find answers soon. The caller said they had heard a verbal argument and a loud noise coming from a bedroom. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. . "She had her plans, and now somebody's taken that away," Carol Stites said at the time of the murder. 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. A deputy. When Fennell identified the belt found outside the truck as his fiances, he broke down, the report said. The last words out of her mouth was, Mom, I love you. And I said, I know you do, Stites remembered. He previously spent four years as a staff writer with the Orange County Register and the Southern California News Group. The woman was identified as Shalynn Jones, according to the Los Angeles County coroners office. What makes the story even more bizarre for Waller is how the day started. She was 20 miles from her Cedar Creek home in the early hours of July 9 when she crashed into a tree. Ive kept my gun on me at all times, I didnt even let my daughters stay the night here last night. Were not looking to solve a crime here, Goertz said, as he drove from the Elgin Cemetery on June 19. Officials said on Tuesday he remains in the hospital under guard. Officials Sunday released the name of a 28-year-old woman whose body was found near an unused railroad track in Carson. Im proud of the work my entire staff did on this case, Tew said. Bastrop Police Chief Allen Campbell says they're not confirming Lee was the one found dead until autopsy. "My babies, my kids, my grandkids, they're my heart. Rodney Reed, the man whose DNA matched that found in Stites body, was convicted of her murder and has sat on death row for 22 years. Investigators asked if he strangled Stites and if he was involved with her death, and to both he answered no.. They were identified as Janet Vu Thuy Pham, 34, and Wyatt James Rock, 36, both of Fountain Valley, according to Orange County Sheriffs Sgt. The body of a woman in what authorities said was the middle stage of decomposition was found Friday in Carson. Lake sturgeon can grow to lengths of 8 feet and weigh up to 300 pounds. Cook said that investigators arent suitably confident in the veracity of that confession, and that this renewed examination aims to verify the confession as well as connect the man who claims he killed the woman to her death. 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.. Your email address will not be published. But once we knew that she had been raped, our emotions were like, it had to be somebody else.. David Board said there were bodily fluids on the floorboard of the truck. He was charged on Friday with murder with a bond set at $1 million. Hawaii Island police launched a second-degree murder investigation in Puna on Friday. In their response to the two affidavits, the State argued neither witness is believable because they waited so long to come forward. The man shot the woman and then took his own life, Hsu said. BASTROP COUNTY, Texas The Bastrop County Sheriff's Office is investigating after a teenage woman was found shot dead on FM 1704 last month. 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. 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. I'm not gonna lie to you and tell you that, oh, it was okay. Required fields are marked *. Exiting were photographers, serologists, physical evidence collection people. Who was the suspected gunman in the Uvalde school shooting? Bastrop Police Chief Allen Campbell says they're not confirming Lee was the one found dead until autopsy results come back, but in the meantime, they're leaving no stone unturned. She was like the white tornado, she told 20/20. That's exactly what they called her when she was little. Bastrop County's tip line is (866) 930-TIPS. It raked away the dirt that had been the final resting place of "Jane Doe," an unidentified woman whose remains were buried at the unmarked grave site on June 21, 1979. 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. 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.". Make sure to check back for more details as the trial continues and more information becomes available. Most of the time the criticism is not founded on sufficient fact, so it is generally ignored. The. Police initially looked at Jimmy as a suspect, which is normal given he was the fianc, Tanner said. The Innocence Project, a non-profit legal organization that works to free wrongly convicted people, picked up Reeds case in 2012. 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. They argued Reed put the truck less than 0.6 miles from his home and walked home. Officials Sunday released the name of a 28-year-old woman whose body was found near an unused railroad track in Carson. All the latest on Orange County from Orange County. He was born in the Philippines, raised in the San Fernando Valley and is a Cal State Northridge alumnus. Its the first step of a process, Goertz said. (AP) A Louisiana woman accused of killing her boyfriend's 6-year-old daughter and leaving . On the day that her body was found, Sheriff Maurice Cook refused to comment on the evidence or . Because If Stacey was killed at midnight or earlier -- and not 3 a.m., then Reed would be excluded as the killer.