Orlando, FL-  The Ninth Circuit of Orange County is beginning to look like their own decay facility.

If your watching the murder trial of Casey Anthony, for the murder of her daughter Caylee as the defense is presenting their case in chief,  you are watching Jose Baez et al building their own THE BODY FARM, of defense witnesses, that is.

For those of you who wish to maintain your decorum and have been advised to remove sharp objects from your reach, I offer the Blink hilight reel.

Fly In The Ointment.. Or Chew Lugie

Dr. Timothy Huntington, who was the defense entymologist expert , swarmed in, stating that the flies and larvae were attracted to the contents of the trash bag.  In short, his opinion was the blowflies, known for their ability to smell “happy hour” within seconds, were nearly absent from the trunk, and that the ones found were attracted to whatever decomposing food products, or garbage, that were NOT present.

Yep,  I said NOT present.  Jeff Ashton opened the evidence of the soda can reflecting no chew spit, and the “salami” packaging which actually held a piece of paper disguised as a food item, apparently.

Dr. Huntington’s “pigs not in blankets” experiment, where he had someone kill pigs and stash them in the trunks of various cars to prove the rate and amount of blowflies present in contrast to those found in the trunk of the Pontiac Sunfire, forgot to duplicate conditions in anyway, specifically, double trash bags wrapped in a laundry bag.  Dr. Huntington was forced to admit he has zero relevant experience in this area.

Like a moth to the flame, State Attorney Jeff Ashton drew Huntington into his “web of truth”.  Huntington, for purposes of this piece, was not at all comfortable on the prosecutorial flypaper; he said it “rides up” after a while.

It is not known if  Dr. Huntington left any puparia in his seat when he was excused from the witness box.

From Founder To Flounder In Taphonomic Wikigate

William Rodriguez, Phd, the defense expert in taphonomy, or the study of decaying organisms over time through fossilization has an impressive resume.

founder-  one that founds or establishes

flounder (v)-  to make clumsy attempts to regain one’s balance.

The good Dr, under oath, claimed to be a co-founder of  infamous THE BODY FARM in open court.

Not according to THE BODY FARM, or it’s actual founder, Dr. Bill Bass.

Dr. Rodriguez was already a subject of contention, or possible contEMPTion,  for drastically altering the opinion and findings he reported, versus what he is now prepared to testify to, thus violating Judge Perry’s order for what is now going to be the third time.

However, it is a whole different animal to claim a co-founder status, than the actuality, which was a teaching assistant, and at times,  window washer.

Because the State of Florida believes Rodriguez’s change in testimony is in effect a discovery violation, Judge Perry has since reserved ruling on the infraction until the trial’s conclusion.

Wait till he hears this BOMBSHELL.

Immediately Prior to Publication Update:  Rodriguez is OUT.  Details To Follow

Shoddy Is As Shoddy Does

By far, one of the more painful witness cross-examinations to date,  Werner Spitz, MD, was like flying coach to Thailand seated next to a newborn with an ear infection,  that has run out of booze in the first hour.

Dr. Spitz’s obsession with his pocket-cranial saw for all occasions not withstanding,  his testimony under cross, following a celebrated 56 year forensic pathology career involving the Assasinations of  President JFK and Dr. Martin Luther King was an affront to the profession, period.

At one point, he referred to the autopsy conducted by Jan Garavaglia, of “Dr. G” fame, as “shoddy” because she did not remove the “cap” of the skull, and therefore could not see the brain; although little Caylee Anthony’s remains were completely skeletonized with no soft tissue whatsoever.

When Dr. Spitz told the jury that he believed that the reason the mandibular bone appeared almost in full articular placement was because the duct tape was placed “on the left side only” after the toddler was completely decomposed, jurors were observed actually smirking at the man.

He was unaware there were 3 separate strips of duct tape affixed, and overall seemed to defy most Medico Legal Investigation of Death protocol in unnatural death investigation ,  which sadly, he is actually the co-author of.

Career, Interrupted.

Definitely A Fortnight…. Yes For Sure… Maybe Not

Dr. Jane Bock, the defense botany expert, as I have covered exclusively previously, is a lovely woman and accomplished professor.

She was also the benefactor of  Jeff Ashton’s gentlemanly handling of her testimony during cross examination this afternoon.

Dr. Bock went from the sublime to the ridiculous in her assertion that Caylee could have completely skeletonized, and grown herself a “root wrap” via her Pooh blanket.  Mr. Ashton was kinder than I would have been, to his credit, and to my “note to self about humility”, because I have written about her prior case work and it would have been entirely relevant as an impeachment item.  That said, I will follow his lead.

With no personal disrespect intended whatsoever to these “experts”, professionally, you betcha,  I have to ask,  did Jose Baez pull these folks out of a matinee complete with the AARP discount for a COCOON screening?

How is it, these seemingly accomplished, highly educated forensic professionals with career paths the envy of many a grad student,  were willing to throw their credentials behind such ludicrous opinions that were completely unsubstantiated by findings or evidence,  simply to have their names associated with this case. Make no mistake, that is exactly what happened here.

Being an expert defense witness, real or perceived in this case, makes going into one’s twilight  a solid 401K extender.

Blink discussing witnesses and developments after press-time LIVE tonight on THE DANA PRETZER SHOW.

Special Guests:  Diane Dimond, Mark Nejame, and Blink, Editor In Chief, www. blinkoncrime.com

Images by Klaasend.

“Never Forget Almost Every Case is Won Or Lost When The Jury Is Sworn”

Clarence Darrow

Clearwater, FL- This Morning, the 8th day of jury selection Linda Drane Burdick, prosecuting attorney for the State v. Casey Anthony, renewed her argument to use their peremptory challenge to strike a female African American for cause, that she could not “judge others” for religious reasons.

Chief Judge Perry required Burdick to read back the transcript of the Vior Dire exchange, and held the state to task for the “brief questioning” of this juror as compared to the first juror, of over 3 hours. What he neglected to remember, was that immediately after that juror, the judge rebuked both sides that if this was going to take this long, he was going to speed them up whether they liked it or not.

Again, limited the vior dire questioning time for either the prosecution or defense is a reversible error.  While the judge did not limit either side, the message was clear.

Attorney for the defense, Jose Baez,  objected both procedurally and on the grounds he would wish to receive transcripts of other jurors questionings to respond.  Translation: Rule my way or the cans of worms this is going to open will be gushing out the doors of this cavernous courtroom.

It did not even get that far.

Judge Perry decided to let his earlier ruling stand: The State did NOT provide the court with a “Race Neutral” reason for cause, and therefore would not be permitted to utilize it’s peremptory challenge, as to do so would be “discriminatory” and against the Florida Supreme Court .

Here is the problem-  Can we say that under Melbourne- a true inquiry or finding as to the reasonableness and GENUINENESS  of the State’s motive for wanting to strike the juror for race neutral reasons occurred?

Melbourne Excerpt

No way.  A window to how this does not stack up, was Jeff Ashton’s  last comment on the matter immediately following Judge Perry’s original ruling.

” .. Does the court not believe the state’s reasoning..?”

-Jeff Ashton

This juror was not the only African American on the panel, not the only woman, and at no time did Judge Perry say why the court did not believe the reasonable basis for the challenge was not racially neutral. (more…)

Ocoee-Apopka, FL- Breaking News this evening in the Onda “Chris” George missing persons case.

A ground search in the area of Keene and Ocoee/Apopka Rds, near Medicine Lake, focused on locating evidence in the Chris George missing persons case has recovered bones, a cell phone and other evidence, a source on the ground speaking on the condition of anonymity shared with blinkoncrime.com this evening.

Chris George was last seen with Tyler Watters and Jimmy Hataway.  The two are believed to have staged a truck accident close to the location of the search today.  Watters is currently facing felony charges for drug related offenses in Orange County, and Hataway is about to be tried for attempted murder in Seminole County.

blinkoncrime.com recently covered Chris's case, and tracked the last 24 hours of his life.

George's Mother, Rachael George,  has led recent efforts to rejuvinate Chris's case from it's "cold" status.

Reached at her home this evening, Ms. George refused to comment about what was found at the search, or if she has been told the remains are linked to her son.

.."I would not be in a position to discuss what Apopka Police have shared with us regarding the search today, and have been asked not to discuss it with the media..  We continue to be thankful for all efforts to help locate my son, and we are praying, as we have at every search, that we are able to finally recover him and for those responsible for his death to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

The search today was based on locating evidence in his case,  and late last week I was told that law enforcement was planning renewed  search efforts at our request, but that is all I knew  before today.

Please keep Chris, his girlfriend and our family in your prayers.

-Rachael George

At press time, calls to Apopka Police Department have not been returned.  The remains recovered today have been sent to the Medical Examiner, Dr. Jan Garavaglia, and have not been identified pending autopsy.

Check back to blinkoncrime.com for updates.

Officer Steve Dodds was alledgedly shot more than once at close range while the incident was recorded on his patrol car dash cam. Dodds is in critical but stable condition. Dodd’s stopped David Anthony Durham for speeding Sunday evening after he left a co-worker’s party without his date, but not without his dog, Huckleberry.

Huckleberry has been recovered by police with only a minor leg injury.

It is not known what prompted the attempt on Officer Dodd’s life, but according to Durham’s own family members, he has been suffering from delusions and instability following a shoulder injury he sustained in June, 2010, for which he was taking prescription painkillers.

Michael Durham, David’s older brother and a Wildlife Photographer, pleads for his younger brother to turn himself in peacefully:

“I wouldn’t say that was a catalyst for anything,” he said. “You know, my brother has been having some issues with a shoulder injury and he had been on pain medication for the past few months. And we noticed that his ability to perceive what was real and what was not real seemed to diminish.” “My sister, Laurie, my brother Willie, myself and my mother, we love David and we want him to peacefully turn himself into the police,” said Michael Durham. “They assured us that he won’t be harmed if he’s not armed and doesn’t act in a threatening manner.”

David Anthony Durham, a resident of Sauvie Island, for the past six years, was a Sauvie Island Volunteer Firefighter, and nominated himself for director in 2007. Six months ago he was removed from active duty for erratic behavior. Durham is also reported to be an avid landscaper and outdoorsman.

Durham’s home on Sauvie Island, is directly adjacent to a highly publicized sighting from a tipster in the Kyron Horman disappearance investigation named “Chas” who claimed to have seen a woman with long red hair the morning of his disappearance at approximately 9:15AM on his way to work, in a white truck.

Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office has cordoned off Durham’s Sauvie Island home and access is blocked by a MCSO patrol car.

There has been a 25 person SWAT team stationed at the base of the street since Monday, as well as a second team at a vacation home in Waldport.

A co-worker of Durham’s at Willamette Blueprint & Printing described her friend as a happy go lucky guy with no emotional problems and has worked there for at least 5 years.

However, Durham failed to show up for work on Friday, indicating perhaps he had concerns prior to the Sunday shooting. In a financial document obtained exclusively by blinkoncrime.com, In September 2005 David Durham claimed he left Willamette to become a full-time college student and that he was receiving unemployment compensation directly to his Portland Teachers Credit Union Account, while seeking financial aid.

It also showed that Mr. Durham was a previous resident on Sauvie Island at another address 2.5 miles South, and directly adjacent to Logie Rd across the channel. New Intelligence Leads To New Search Efforts Today Specifics have not been released, but new intelligence, the first in 9 months, is responsible for today’s new search efforts.

Today, Newly-tasked search teams are concentrated on NW Skyline Rd, south of Rocky Point.

Desiree Young, Kyron’s Mother:

“I have been waiting for this search to happen for some time now,” said Desiree Young, Kyron’s biological mother. “The Kyron Horman Task Force has shared the intelligence information with me, but unfortunately I can’t share that information with the media. I’m excited that today’s search will hopefully bring some closure to this case.”

www.blinkoncrime.com editor Madeline Tanner contributed to this report

Mathew J Hoffman, former Knox County tree trimmer, gave police the 411 to locate Tina Herrmann, her son Kody Maynard and family friend Stephanie Sprang.  Sarah Maynard, 13, was previously rescued from Hoffman’s Mt Vernon, Ohio residence.

The missing victims were found  in a hollowed-out tree trunk , inside plastic garbage bags.

Hoffman became a POI after police found him idling along the trail eventually leading the remains.  Hoffman is a convicted felon from Colorado.

13 year old Sarah Maynard, was found in Hoffman’s Mt. Vernon Home bound and gagged. Investigators will not say whether our not she has been sexually assaulted.

Police will not disclose the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the victims. The investigation is ongoing.

Please check back to blinkoncrime.com for updates

Portland, Or– Following one of the largest organized search weekends on Sauvie Island since Kyron Horman, 8,was abducted from Skyline School on June 4, his step-mother and father squared off in family court. Kaine Horman, Kyron’s father, arrived with his attorney, Laura Rackner.

Kaine’s estranged wife Terri Horman, arrived with her criminal defense attorney; Stephen Houze and her family law attorney Peter Bunch.

Mr. Horman appeared in a crisp-white dress shirt and tie, and Ms. Moulton-Horman wore an eggplant hued suit with a long skirt.

Cameras were banned in the downtown Multnomah County courtroom; however, there were apparently several hidden “nests” as the tweets were flying real-time.

Peter Bunch, counsel to Terri Horman, is adamant his client is the subject of more than one criminal investigation:

“The state has the ability to obtain every single bit of information that is produced in this case and that is outside the bounds of what it could do were this proceeding not occurring,” Bunch said in court.

“It is fundamentally unfair for Kitty (Kiara) and for Miss Horman for me to be hamstrung in the divorce case for the information I have compared to what they have.” “The publicity that’s going on is not being driven by Ms. Horman, it’s being driven by Mr. Horman, when he tells national media there’s no doubt Ms. Horman is involved.” “If Mr. Horman is really interested in what‘s best for the child, then Mr. Horman wouldn’t object to any visitation by this child’s mother.” “We’ll concede, Mr. Horman can have the house, right now. Mrs. Horman is going to lose money…” (more…)