Motion Denied

As most of you know Vonda was in court today requesting a new trial. Now forgive me if I word that wrong, I'm not fluent in legal terms so I will just tell you what I witnessed. 

I arrived early to meet a dear friend for coffee at Catalyst. I want to mention it because the decaf iced coffee with sugar-free raspberry flavor is amazing. Irrelevant I know, but the only way I can think to explain today is to go through what I did and what I saw today.

I walked up to the courthouse and immediately noticed singers on the front steps. I guess it is national prayer day and they were there to celebrate it. It was a bit awkward considering that we were there to see if a woman convicted of murder would be granted a retrial.

There were camera crews there, I know most of you drive downtown and have messaged me asking about them. They are from a show that will premier on Starz in 2020. I didn't contact them, I assume Vonda's family did. 

They did reach out to me and ask to do an interview on camera and I told them that I would. 

Vonda's family was there. They did not speak to me but I didn't expect them to, it's a very high-stress situation for both families and I don't expect any attention from either side. Jessie's family were very kind to me and I did sit with them in the courtroom. 

The camera crew was very polite and I think they were just interested in asking both sides how they feel about everything. 

They seemed to speak or try to speak to everyone involved in the case. 

Close to 11am we went inside and sat down in the courtroom. 

Vonda was brought in and she looked very different. She was much thinner and her hair was longer. She was in the standard issue orange jumpsuit and as far as I could tell there was VERY little reaction from her throughout the entire hearing.

Her lawyer stumbled through his reasons for wanting a new trial. 

Here are the things he presented:

*Insufficient evidence linking Vonda to the murder of Jessie Morrison. He stated that all proof was circumstantial and brought up the fact that the DNA from 3 unknown males were found under her fingernails. He also mentioned that there was unknown female blood found on a paper towel. 

*The fact that a cell phone "ping" was detected and mentioned but the paper with that information was lost and therefore not shared with the defense.

*He brought up he had a witness that had been interviewed by the police and made a statement indicating he watched Jessie get into a white van in the trailer park between 3:30 -4:30. He lived adjacent to the trailer park. 

Based on that interview the defense called him as a witness. 

The problem is that in a second interview with police he stated that he wasn't sure that he saw Jessie get into a van. He said he was unaware of the second interview and had he known he would have never called that person as a witness.  

*He had an issue with the judge stating during the trial that the jury was shaking their heads because they were hearing redundant information. He claimed this might have made the testimony of the person he was questioning seem less important to the jurors. 

I don't think I'm missing anything. I took notes as quickly as I could.

Cecil Mills effectively shot down each of these concerns and in the end, the Judge decided that there was plenty of evidence, even if circumstantial, to uphold the guilty verdict.

Afterwards, we all filed out and the TV producers continued to interview people. I talked with them and they assured me this is not slanted towards Vonda being innocent. It is investigative. Non-biased investigation. I hope that is true. I wasn't ever going to talk with them but after being assured this was not a Pro-Vonda show, I went ahead with it.

Stay The Course

It is easy with so much talk about Vonda's upcoming request for a new trial to become distracted by bullying and rumors. We should take care to not forget what this is about. This is about Jessie. This is about a murder. 

The murder of a pregnant mother, a woman found beaten to death and left in a ditch on the side of the road. 

This is about finding the truth, in its entirety.

This is about victims and being kind to those dealing with the loss of Jessie Morrison.

This is NOT about crucifying the very victims we claim to be helping. 

This is NOT about Tammy's run-ins with law enforcement. She will have to deal with the consequences of those actions just like Vonda is having to deal with hers.

This is NOT about tearing down people, especially Jessie's family, just because they get upset when you spread anecdotal nonsense concerning a very serious matter. 

I can't begin to understand why people want to be bullies or why some people want to make veiled threats to victims of this tragedy. What I do understand is research and compassion. I'm going to stick with those things. 

So let us not forget:

Wrong Man on Starz network.

Apparently this show is looking into Vonda's case. Let's hope they do.  I've had a lot of new hits on the blog the last few weeks so let's hope they actually use facts instead of the self described, "anecdotal story"... I digress.

Clearing up more nonsense

OK,  so I know there have been claims that Vonda was assaulted and a search party, including police,  went looking for a "missing", Vonda...Well,  I have confirmed through the Sheriff's office that there is no report of any such thing.  I was assured that if any police officer had been out there hunting for Vonda there would be a report. One does not exist.  So I guess that's another hole in the ever sinking ship of Vonda being a victim. There are lots of victims in this case,  Vonda ain't one of em.

Tumblr Nonsense: A deeper look into a bewildering world of fallacy Part. 1

Let's go ahead and correct all the nonsensical ramblings that have erupted on the Pro-Vonda blog on Tumblr. 

First, have a look at the screenshots from the most recent ramblings of that author:

Irritation

I'm waiting on the transcripts to be finished. I don't know for certain when they will be done so writing anything other than theories has become almost impossible. I'm not a huge fan of that so I usually choose to just remain silent.

I do write in between posts, just not things that are ready to be published. I am only posting this because it might inspire someone that knows something about any of this to reach out to me.

 I'm not necessarily saying they mean anything or point to proof of any sort, but they are things that do not sit well with me, one way or another.

• She got pregnant with her oldest son at the age of 16. William Smith was the father, he was 28 at the time. That is a pretty gross age difference if you ask me. It makes me uncomfortable to think about. I'm not sure why statutory rape wasn't pursued but I wish it would have been.
• William has a history of violence with other girlfriends and it seems a lot of girls in this area think that is just something that happens in relationships. That makes me both sad and angry.
• I feel like her sons may have witnessed what happened to their mother and that is probably the most disturbing thing I can imagine.
• Jessie was trying to better herself for her kids. She was one month away from finishing school and moving to a career she could be proud of and be a provider to her two sons.
• Gary has a very long history of violence against women. He had even been 'handsy' with Jessie. He had never hit her, as far as we know, just pushy and such, which is still unacceptable. He has not made it easy to show he is innocent that is for sure. Everyone keeps forgetting he has a rock-solid alibi though.
• That I still have to explain why I don't think Vonda is innocent. I don't have to prove she is guilty, a court of law already did that, I just have to point out the obvious lies and bullshit being spread by her family. I don't think she did it alone, and from interviewing Jessie's friends and family, even some of Vonda's acquaintances, that is a justified conclusion. 
• It really bothers me that people not related to Jessie, think it is relevant, or productive, to try to trash Jessie's mother...or Jessie for that matter. 
• That the author of the other blog acts like she is "Varys" from Game of Thrones calling people, "my little birds", I don't like to be treated like someone's servant or talked down to and  I doubt I am the only one that feels that way. Which brings me to another thing, she acts like she had no idea there was another blogger (me) and that she doesn't read it...nonsense. I read hers, her blog is the reason I was inspired to post facts and not the nonsensical musings of a tin foil hat wearing maniac. I have no games to play. I read it, I check to see if she has posted because I feel the need to correct the lies. 
• That the transcripts aren't available yet. I get that they take time, but I have been told that the judge doesn't want them released until after the appeal hearings. I don't like information hoarding, even when there is a good reason for it, it's still frustrating a hell.

I could continue this list for miles but I'm not sure anyone is interested. Let me know the things that bother you about this case. 

Until next time...

DNA Forensics

Ok, I have gone over this before, but as I get asked about it a lot and I realized I can't always just answer those questions off the top of my head. That tells me it won't hurt to go over it all again.

So, that is what we are going to do.

Disclaimer: I am not a genius. I don't even play one on T.V. 

I do not think I know everything and if I post something that you disagree with because you do have expertise in DNA testing results please reach out to me. I am always looking to learn more.

Alright, now that we have covered that...

Let's go over the Offical Forensic Biology Report

The first one was issued 11/1/16, there are more and I will include those results and state what date they were issued. 

Here are the results listed:

Swabs from steering wheel cover, emergency brake, and gear shift from Vonda's car:

The DNA profile obtained was consistent with a mixture of at least 3 individuals, including at least one male. Due to the complexity of the mixture, further interpretation of this DNA profile is deemed inconclusive.

Further testing on this, issued 2/3/17, states that the DNA profile from the unknown female individual (unknown female #2) did not match Vonda Smith.

Cutting from the front passenger seat of Vonda's car:

presumptive tests indicated the presence of blood. Further testing indicated human blood, the DNA obtained matches, Jessie Morrison.

Coke bottle from the floorboard:

DNA profile obtained is consistent with a mixture of at least 2 individuals, including at least one male. The major contributor is that of an unknown female individual (Unknown Female #1) Interpretation of the minor contributor profile is deemed to be inconclusive. The exhibit was forwarded to the Latent Print Unit in Nashville for additional testing. According to the DNA report from 2/3/17, the Unknown Female #1 turned out to match Vonda Smith. 

Mountain Dew bottle from floorboard:

Lip of the bottle: DNA profile obtained is consistent with a mixture of at least two individuals, including at least one male. the major contributor is Jessie Morrison. The minor contributor profile is deemed inconclusive.

Stained Area: Presumptive tests indicated the presence of blood. Further testing indicated the presence of human blood. The DNA profile obtained was Jessie Morrison. This exhibit was forwarded to the Latent Print Unit in Nashville for additional testing.

Paper towel from Jud Neal Loop Rd:

Testing indicated the presence of human blood. The DNA profile obtained is that of a female individual (Unknown female #2)

Vaginal swabs from Jessie Morrison: 11/1/16

The examination did not indicate the presence of semen. On 6/23/17 report it states the Y-STR profile obtained is consistent with a mixture of at least two males. The major contributor matches Gary Ealey and JD Ealey. Therefore, they cannot be excluded as the source of this male DNA profile and, barring a mutation, neither can any of their paternal male relatives. Due to the limited minor contributor profile obtained, interpretation of the minor profile is deemed to be inconclusive. 

I am no Scientist, but I have read about Y-STR DNA testing and as far as I can understand, all paternally linked males have the same Y-STR profile. Which is why it is in the report that it could be Gary and JD as the major contributors. It doesn't mean she had sex with J.D. Ealey. If anyone knows any different feel free to correct me but I am almost certain that I am understanding this correctly. That is also why it states it couldn't rule out any other of Gary's paternal relatives. So let us all take a moment to realize that THIS RESULT DOES NOT INDICATE SHE HAD SEX WITH JD OR ANY OTHER OF GARY'S RELATIVES. IT ONLY SHOWS SHE HAD SEX WITH A MALE FROM THAT FAMILY, WHICH WAS, OF COURSE, GARY, HER FIANCE. 

This result has been used to weave many a conspiracy theories trying to implicate Gary in a "crime of passion" after he found out Jessie had been sleeping with his father. This is not only nonsense it is defamation of Jessie's character. Let's not do that. 

Also, that is only the case with males, hence the Y, as in Y- chromosome.  So the idea that the blood in the car was Channings due to him having had oral surgery that morning is ignorant. It wasn't. It was tested. It was Jessie's. 

Underwear from Jessie Morrison:

Examination confirmed the presence of spermatozoa. 

Nonsperm: The DNA profile is consistent with Jessie Morrison. An additional allele was obtained at locus D5S818. Due to this limited information, interpretation of this additional allele is deemed to be inconclusive. 

Sperm: The DNA profile obtained is consistent with a mixture of at least two individuals, where the major contributor profile matches Gary Ealey. Due to the limited minor contributor profile obtained, interpretation of the minor contributor profile is deemed to be inconclusive. 

A swab of the fingerprint from Jessie Morrison's abdomen:

No DNA profile other than the ASSUMED contributor Jessie Morrison was obtained.

Jessie Morrison's driver's license from the scene:

Per the report issued 2/3/17 The limited partial DNA profile obtained is consistent with a mixture of at least two individuals, including at least one male. Due to the limited profile obtained, further interpretation of this profile is deemed to be inconclusive.

Per the report issued on 6/23/17 There was a DNA profile found of an unknown male, Gary Ealey, William Smith, Roger Smith, and JD Ealey is excluded as the source of this male DNA profile.

Right-hand nail clippings from Jessie Morrison:

Per the report, 6/23/17 Presumptive tests indicated the presence of blood. Testing for human blood was not performed due to a limited sample. The Y-STR profile obtained is consistent with a mixture of at least 3 males. Due to the limited profile obtained and the unknown number of potential contributors, this profile is deemed to be inconclusive. 

Left-hand nail clippings from Jessie Morrison:

Y-STR profile obtained is consistent with a mixture of at least 3 males. The major contributor is from an unknown male (unknown male #2), therefore, Gary Ealey, William Smith, Roger Smith, and JD Ealey are excluded as the source. 

These results leave a lot unanswered. DNA is very complex. What does this tell us though? 

Let me know what you guys think.

I found lots of sites that were full of information about DNA, I wanted to share a couple of them here in case you were interested in being able to understand DNA testing and results, don't rely on this only but it is a good starting point:

Can DNA demand a verdict?

DNA Testing: An Introduction

Until next time...