Updated Witness List, by Day of Testimony, January 31, 2008

Testimony Nov 19, 2007

1. Albury St. Louis

Inspector Royal Bahamas Police Force’s Criminal Records Office.

Took six official photos of Danny before autopsy, noting pinkish reddish abrasions on his body on pelvic and upper shoulder area; collected swabs, hair, etc.

2. Marva Gibson

Immigration officer at Nassau International airport.

Testified Danny, at 9 pm, September 9, 2006 was quiet, conservative, cooperative and helpful regarding visa/immigration paperwork.

3. Howard K Stern

Decedent's mother's lawyer/person who had control over Anna Nicole Smith for several years.

Testified about when he met Anna, that Anna and Danny were emotionally close, that he had identified Danny at the morgue; verified that the dead man in six photos were Danny.

4. Dr Reginald Neymour

Anesthesiologist at Doctors' hospital.

He told the court that he met another doctor performing chest compressions, started oxygen, placed an endo-tracheal tube into windpipe and IV into his left hand for medicine designed to start the heartbeat and increase blood pressure. To no avail.

5. Dr. Iferenta

Emergency doctor on duty.

Explains 10 person emergency team at Drs Hosp, and that Anna freaked out at the scene.

Note: Dr. Iferenta stated in the initial police report that of all the procedures used to resuscitate Daniel, none would leave the abrasions noted on his body at the time of death.

6. Dr. Caroline Burnett

Princess Margaret Hospital Employee.

Testified that she pronounced Smith dead at the Princess Margaret Hospital when the funeral home brought the body in to be "tagged."

Testimony Nov 20, 2007

7. Francis Woodside

Nursing Assistant

Francis testified that Daniel Smith was sleeping in the same bed as his mother, while her attorney, Howard K. Stern, slept in the other, at about 6:00 a.m., which was 3 hours and 40 minutes before a hospital-wide alarm that he had been found unconscious. Woodside noted nothing unusual in the room except the sleeping arrangements. "We don't usually have that happen, patients sleeping in the bed with relatives." Note: This contradicts Stern, who tried repeatedly to say that Daniel had been sleeping in the other bed, where the loose pills were found.

8. Janice Knowles

Nurse-midwife.

Janice testified that she did not notice anything wrong with Smith before medical personnel found him not breathing and with no pulse at about 9:40 a.m.

9. Mavis Davis

Phlebotomist.

Mavis testified that she did not notice anything wrong with Smith before medical personnel found him unconscience at 9:40 a.m.

10. Nadine Carey

Nurse.

Testified that she found two round tablets on the bed that hospital employees previously said was occupied by Stern. She did not say what kind of pills they were, only that they were turned over to senior nursing staff. Note: Ms Carey was quoted immediately after Daniels death as saying that she recognized the pills as one soma and one methadone tablet.

11. Catriona McGaggart

Nurse.

Said that Anna Nicole Smith was crying hysterically as medical personnel frantically tried to revive her son after his collapse. Note: Initially said she heard Anna Nicole crying out "you did this."

Testimony Dec 10, 2007 Monday

12. Govinda Raju

Pathologist

Eight drugs were found during autopsy, five administered during attempt of life saving procedures, Daniel having a prescription for one, Lexapro an antidepressant. Raju testified that the fatal dose methadone was ingested between 2:00-5:00 a.m., Sept 10. Raju further added that as a result, Smith's respiratory system collapsed and he had a cardiac arrest. Note: Dr Raju contradicts Dr Iferenta by stating that the abrasions on Daniels body COULD be due to the medical staff's attempts to revive him.

13. Carolyn Nairn

Patient in room 202.

Testified that she heard a lot of commotion coming from the room next door to her - Anna Nicole's room 201 - and a female crying and screaming, "my baby boy." Note: Immediately after his death, Ms Nairn said that she heard Anna Nicole repeatedly crying out "you did this!"

Note: During the time Anna Nicole was crying hysterically, Stern had begun to take photographs of Daniels dead body and Anna in distress.

14. Dr. Charles Diggis

Surgeon Chief Medical Examiner.

Testified as to and explained the “Code Blue” procedure at Doctor’s Hospital.

15. Corporal Addie Findley

Policeman.

One of the first police officers on the scene at Doctors Hospital.

Monday December 11, 2007

16. Quinn McCartney

Bahama Police Forensic Chief Superintendent.

Testifies that Daniel had 10 times the lethal dose of methadone in his system, and that it COULD have been in his system when he arrived. Note: Author not clear on whether he meant arrived in Nassau or Drs Hosp.

17. Frederick Taylor

Bahamas Police Inspector.

Testifies that Shane Gibson, former Immigration Minister, was at the hospital when Taylor and other officers arrived. Note: It was Shane Gibson who fast tracked Anna's application for permanent residency, and lost his job when photo's of himself and Anna romping were made public.

Wednesday December 12, 2007

Magistrate William Campbell ruled there were too many scheduling conflicts between witnesses and attorneys at the inquest and adjourned the inquest until January 28, 2008.

Tuesday January 29, 2008

16. Doctor Lee Hern

Lab Director Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's Office

Dr. Lee Hern testified that the primary factor of death was ingestion of a large dose of methadone. He did not believe Daniel to be habitual drug user. Felt death was an "intentional" overdose because such large amount in short time was taken. Note: Does not speculate as to whether methadone was taken knowingly or unknowingly.

17. Ford Shelley

Friend of Anna Nicole and Daniel Smith, son-in-law of G Ben Thompson

Mr. Shelley said Daniel wanted to be more independent, that he was a brilliant young man living in a shell due to his mother's fame. He wanted to break free; he loved his mother but didn't want to be known as her son. Ford testified that Anna kept her drugs in a duffel bag, that he had seen methadone in pill and liquid form and prescribed under four different aliases. He also Stated that Daniel could not "hold his liquor" and couldn’t have been a drug addict.

Cross examination: Stern lawyer tries to cast doubt on close relationship.

Wednesday January 30, 2008

18. Gaither Ben Thompson (G. Ben Thompson)

Real Estate Developer and personal friend of Anna Nicole and Daniel Smith

G. Ben told the court that the last time he saw Daniel was the night before he died. He recalled that the 20-year-old was skinnier and a little paler than usual but was "extremely happy" to see his mother and his new sister. He testified that Howard K. Stern called him the day Daniel died. "Stern said, ‘Ben you need to get to the hospital as quick as you can. It’s not good’." Mr. Thompson said he arrived to find Ms. Smith screaming and holding on to her dead son as Stern looked on. He testified that he witnessed Stern take three to four pictures of the deceased because "they might be worth some money one day." The witness was adamant that Stern made the remark. "I was totally shocked he was taking pictures of a dead child lying in that bed," G. Ben said.

Cross-examination by Shaka Serville. Challenged G. Ben Thompson’s statement as to Stern’s reason for taking photographs and accused Thompson of having monetary reasons to slander Stern (who still has ownership of Horizons estate hung up in other court proceedings.)

19. Ben Thompson

Son of G. Ben, brother-in-law of Ford Shelley, real estate developer

Ben corroborated Shelley’s testimony regarding Stern having flushed two pills that fell out of Danny’s clothing and Stern’s statement, adding that the pills were egg shaped and white. He also stated it was he who had taken the photograph of methadone in the mini-fridge in Anna Nicole’s bedroom at the house. Note: This is the day Daniel died. Stern called Thompson Sr to come to the hospital, yet had a restraining order against them?

Cross-examination by Shaka Serville. Serville sought to show Smith had an injunction against the Thompson/Shelley family being on property and said that the methadone claims came after the legal fight over the house started. Note: Not true, the house dispute came while Anna Nicole was still pregnant. She got pissy when they wanted a note for 1.4 million and she knew they bought it for 900K. That's her whole "you used me" rant against Shelley on a film clip.

No word on whether the nannies testified as rumored yesterday.

The inquest resumes on March 17, 2008, when the last four witnesses, including Larry Birkhead and Howard K Stern are expected to be called to the witness stand.

Witnesses Tell of Events After Death of Daniel Smith

By TOSHEENA ROBINSON-BLAIR
January 31, 2008

After Death of Daniel Smith
The coroner’s inquest into the death of Daniel Smith, the son of the late reality TV star Anna Nicole Smith, continued Wednesday with a father and son – both South Carolina real estate developers – taking the witness stand.

The two, once close friends of Ms. Smith, are embroiled in a legal dispute with her estate over the ownership of the Eastern Road house – known as Horizons – where she lived while in The Bahamas.

G. Ben Thompson was the first witness to take the stand, and testified about the events surrounding the 20-year-old’s death on September 10, 2006.

Mr. Thompson described the former Playboy Playmate as "a very dear friend" who stayed at his houses at different points in time.

He told the court that the last time he saw Daniel was the night before he died.

Mr. Thompson recalled that although the 20-year-old was skinnier and a little paler than usual, he was "extremely happy" to see his mother and his newborn sister, Dannielynn.

Mr. Thompson recalled how Ms. Smith’s attorney turned companion, Howard K. Stern, called him the day Daniel died.

"He said, ‘Ben you need to get to the hospital as quick as you can. It’s not good’," the witness recounted.

Mr. Thompson said he arrived to find Ms. Smith screaming and holding on to her dead son as Mr. Stern looked on.

The developer said he witnessed Mr. Stern take three to four pictures of the deceased because "they might be worth some money one day."

Under cross examination, Shaka Serville – a member of Mr. Stern’s legal team – sought to argue that the photos were taken by his client to convince a distraught Ms. Smith, who was in a state of denial, that her son was really dead.

Mr. Serville called the witness’ statement a "fabrication."

The witness was adamant that Stern made the remark.

"I was totally shocked he was taking pictures of a dead child laying in that bed," Mr. Thompson said.

Mr. Serville said the witness’ statement about money was born out of animosity toward Mr. Stern because – as the executor of Ms. Smith’s estate – he’s the only thing standing in the way of Mr. Thompson’s sale of Horizons.

The other witness in the day’s proceedings, Mr. Thompson’s son, Ben, testified that he and his brother-in-law Ford Shelley witnessed Mr. Stern get rid of two pills found in a pair of jeans previously worn by Daniel.

Corroborating testimony given by Mr. Shelley on Tuesday, the younger Thompson said Mr. Stern told them in getting rid of the pills he "took care of a problem."

Ben described the pills as being egg shaped and white.

He also testified that in February 2007, he photographed a bottle of methadone at the Horizons house. He said he later turned the photograph and his statement on the matter over to the California Justice Department.

During cross-examination, Mr. Serville sought to show that at the time Mr. Thompson took the photos an injunction barring him and his father from the property was in effect.
The attorney pointed out that the methadone claims came after the legal wrangling over the house started.

The inquest resumes on March 17, when the last four witnesses, including Dannielynn’s father Larry Birkhead and Mr. Stern, are expected to be called to the witness stand.

http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=45&a=15627

Inquest Resumes Into Death of Anna Nicole Smith’s Son

The Bahama Journal

January 30, 2008

By TOSHEENA ROBINSON-BLAIR
A Coroner’s Court on Tuesday heard how pregnant U.S. reality T.V. star Anna Nicole Smith traveled with a satchel of prescription drugs – including methadone – a narcotic that two toxicologists’ reports indicated caused her son’s death in September 2006.

South Carolina real estate developer, Ford Shelley, told the court that when he and his wife unpacked Ms. Smith’s belongings when she came for a visit in May 2006, he saw a pharmaceutically labeled bottle of methadone belonging to the former Playboy Playmate.

He testified that she had the drug in both the tablet and liquid form and that Ms. Smith traveled with a Coach duffle bag filled with her “medication.”

Methadone is used to wean heroine addicts from their addiction. It is also used as a pain killer.

“I never saw Anna personally take any of the medication. She told us what she was taking. I was concerned because of her pregnancy,” Mr. Shelley told the court Tuesday.

He said the prescription drug labels were made out to more than three different aliases that Ms. Smith used.

Mr. Shelley and his father-in-law, G. Ben Thompson, have been involved in legal wrangling with the Anna Nicole Smith estate over ownership of the Eastern Road Horizon home where the former starlet stayed while she resided here.

The litigation began before Ms. Smith died almost a year ago.

Mr. Shelley also told the court about witnessing Ms. Smith’s long-term companion, Howard K. Stern, find two pills in the jeans of her son (Daniel Smith) shortly after he died.

“He walked into the bathroom and flushed the two pills. I asked Howard what he had done and Howard said he ‘took care of a problem’,” Mr. Shelley recalled.

He said as far as he knew Daniel was not suicidal.

The real estate developer testified that Ms. Smith had stayed at his home in Myrtle Beach, the Florida Keys and in The Bahamas to get away from the media.

He said Ms. Smith had “a high-risk pregnancy” and did not want to have to deal with her baby’s father, Larry Birkhead.

Mr. Shelley told the court that Daniel was “a brilliant” and “awesome” kid, who loved his mother, but couldn’t handle her fame.

He remembered Daniel as “being afraid of his own shadow” and said he would never kill himself.

Under cross-examination, Mr. Stern’s attorney Wayne Munroe painted Daniel as a young man who suffered from serious depression and had recently broken up with his girlfriend.

Mr. Shelley’s testimony regarding the likelihood of Daniel’s death being a suicide conflicted with the evidence given by Dr. Lee Hern of the Medical Examiner’s Office in Miami Dade County.

Dr. Hern told the court that, “clearly the methadone was the key in understanding this death.”

“But for the methadone he would not have died.”

Asked by Director of Public Prosecutions, Bernard Turner, whether he thought the drug consumption was deliberate or unintentional, in his expert opinion, Dr. Hern said there was “a high degree of probability” that it was “an intentional ingestion.”

Substantiating his claim he pointed to the large amount ingested over a short period of time.

However, he said in order to determine whether a suicide occurred officials would have to look at other things like statements to the family and the history of the deceased.

Mr. Munroe pointed out that Daniel was on prescription anti-depressants, was previously hospitalized for pain in July 2006 and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit suffering from “serious depression.”

Daniel died in his mother’s Doctors Hospital room on Sunday, September 10, 2006 – three days after his mother gave birth to her second child.

Two toxicology reports – one produced by Dr. Hern’s office – indicated that Daniel had a combination of eight drugs in his system – a mixture of anti-depressants and stimulants.

Dr. Hern told the court that Daniel likely took the methadone tablets around 5:30am and 20 to 30 minutes later he would have become lethargic, enter into progressively deeper sleep and died two to three hours later.

Previous testimony from hospital officials indicated that a code blue alert went out for the young man around 9:40am.

http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=45&a=15605

Sooo, Stern is trying to set this up as a suicide. We have Shelley saying Stern took pills from Danny's pocket & flushed, that Daniel had recently been depressed and had a break up with a girl friend. The girl friend story I don't believe at all. If there were a girl friend, the media would have found her by now.

I'm starting to see the end. Stern WILL get off. The Bahama government won't want to spend the money it would take to try him on murder, since by now they can probably see the pattern of dragging each question out, postponing to the end. All of the primary players in the Marshall estate are now dead, but Stern is still carrying that suit on as well.

Revisiting Howard K. Sterns comments to Larry King on Sept 26, 2006

Daniel Wayne Smith Inquiry

CNN LARRY KING LIVE
Interview With Howard K. Stern--excerpts only
Aired September 26, 2006 - 21:00 ET

…KING: You have no doubt in your mind then that it was accidental?

STERN: There's just no way that Daniel would have taken his life, I mean he was so, so excited to come here and see his mom and be with his sister. You know, I talked to him on the car ride when I picked him up from the airport, and I just -- I couldn't fathom that he would have done this intentionally. (inaudible) at this point... Well, he didn't, did he? You have a taped statement that he was not unstable.


…STERN: I was there, yes, I was there. Anna woke me up. This was the next morning now. Stuff happened through the night where, you know, at first I was going to sleep on the floor in between the two beds. There were two hospital beds and Anna was in the bed closest to the window and Daniel was in the bed closest to the door. Two nurses have testified that this was not true. And, Daniel at some point said to me that, you know, he wasn't really that tired, so why didn't I just take the bed and he was going to sit up and watch TV.

And then, at one point Daniel said to me how come I'm so tired? If he had ingested a large amount of methadone, he wouldn't have asked this. He would know why he was tired. And, in hindsight I wish that I had seen that as some sort of a signal and seen that something wasn't right."

KING: So, what happened? Did he just like close -- did he close his eyes or what?

STERN: Well, I mean the next thing that I remember that happened from my perspective is that in the morning Anna said, Howard, Howard, Daniel's not breathing. So I, you know, went over there really quickly. And, at this point Daniel had moved into bed with his mom, so they were actually staying in the same bed. And, I checked Daniel's neck and I didn't feel anything and we called, you know, the nurses…


…KING: Howard, did they have to sedate her right after this?

STERN: Yes, they did. She refused to leave her son. She refused to leave her son. And, you know, the doctors advised us that we should probably check her out of the hospital lets see if any doctors testify to drugging a woman to unconciousness, then having her sent home because the media was going to be coming and it was going to be a, you know, make the whole situation even worse. So, she did have to be sedated in order to leave.

KING: Tragic.

STERN: And she was sedated. And WHO sedated her? Dr Erosivich? She actually doesn't remember that night right now… no, I'd bet she didn't at that point...

Updated Witness List, by Day of Testimony

Inquest of Daniel Wayne Smith, Nassau, Bahamas

Testimony Nov 19, 2007

1. Albury St. Louis
Inspector Royal Bahamas Police Force’s Criminal Records Office.
Took 6 official photos of Danny before autopsy, noting pinkish reddish abrasions on his body on pelvic and upper shoulder area; collected swabs, hair, etc.

2. Marva Gibson
Immigration officer at Nassau International airport.
Testified Danny, at 9 pm, September 9, 2006 was quiet, conservative, cooperative and helpful regarding visa/immigration paperwork.

3. Howard K Stern
Decedent's mothers lawyer/ person who had control over Anna for several years.
Testified as to when he met Anna, that Anna and Danny were emotionally close, that he had identified Danny at the morgue; verified that dead man in 6 photos Danny.

4. Dr Reginald Neymour
Anesthesiologist at Doctors' hospital.
He told the court that he met another doctor performing chest compressions, started oxygen, placed an endo-tracheal tube into windpipe and IV into his left hand for medicine designed to start the heartbeat and increase blood pressure. To no avail.

5. Dr. Iferenta
Emergency doctor on duty.
Explains 10 person emergency team at Drs Hosp, and that Anna freaked out at the scene.
Note: Dr. Iferenta stated in the initial police report that of all the procedures used to resuscitate Daniel, none would leave the abrasions noted on his body at the time of death.

6. Dr. Caroline Burnett
Princess Margaret Hospital Employee.
Testified that she pronounced Smith dead at the Princess Margaret Hospital when the funeral home brought the body in to be "tagged."

Testimony Nov 20, 2007

7. Francis WoodsideNursing Assistant
Francis testified that Daniel Smith was sleeping in the same bed as his mother, while her attorney, Howard K. Stern, slept in the other, at about 6:00 a.m., which was 3 hours and 40 minutes before a hospital-wide alarm that he had been found unconscious. Woodside noted nothing unusual in the room except the sleeping arrangements. "We don't usually have that happen, patients sleeping in the bed with relatives." Note: This contradicts Stern, who tried repeatedly to say that Daniel had been sleeping in the other bed, where the loose pills were found.

8. Janice Knowles
Nurse-midwife.
Janice testified that she did not notice anything wrong with Smith before medical personnel found him not breathing and with no pulse at about 9:40 a.m.

9. Mavis Davis
Phlebotomist.
Mavis testified that she did not notice anything wrong with Smith before medical personnel found him unconscience at 9:40 a.m.

10. Nadine CareyNurse.
Testified that she found two round tablets on the bed that hospital employees previously said was occupied by Stern. She did not say what kind of pills they were, only that they were turned over to senior nursing staff. Note: Ms Carey was quoted immediately after Daniels death as saying that she recognized the pills as one soma and one methadone tablet.

11. Catriona McGaggart
Nurse.
Said that Anna Nicole Smith was crying hysterically as medical personnel frantically tried to revive her son after his collapse. Note: Initially said she heard Anna Nicole crying out "you did this."

Testimony Dec 10, 2007 Monday

12. Govinda Raju
Pathologist
Eight drugs were found during autopsy, five administered during attempt of life saving procedures, Daniel having a prescription for one, Lexapro an antidepressant. Raju testified that the fatal dose methadone was ingested between 2:00-5:00 a.m., Sept 10. Raju further added that as a result, Smith's respiratory system collapsed and he had a cardiac arrest. Note: Dr Raju contradicts Dr Iferenta by stating that the abrasions on Daniels body COULD be due to the medical staff's attempts to revive him.

13. Carolyn Nairn
Patient in room 202.
Testified that she heard a lot of commotion coming from the room next door to her - Anna Nicole's room 201 - and a female crying and screaming, "my baby boy." Note: Immediately after his death, Ms Nairn said that she heard Anna Nicole repeatedly crying out "you did this!"

Note: During the time Anna Nicole was crying hysterically, Stern had begun to take photographs of Daniels dead body and Anna in distress.

14. Dr. Charles Diggis
Surgeon Chief Medical Examiner.
Testified as to and explained the “Code Blue” procedure at Doctor’s Hospital.

15. Corporal Addie Findley
Policeman.
One of the first police officers on the scene at Doctors Hospital.

Monday December 11, 2007

16. Quinn McCartneyBahama Police Forensic Chief Superintendent.Testifies that Daniel had 10 times the lethal dose of methadone in his system, and that it COULD have been in his system when he arrived. Note: Author not clear on whether he meant arrived in Nassau or Drs Hosp.

17. Frederick Taylor
Bahamas Police Inspector.
Testifies that Shane Gibson, former Immigration Minister, was at the hospital when Taylor and other officers arrived. Note: It was Shane Gibson who fast tracked Anna's application for permanent residency, and lost his job when photo's of himself and Anna romping were made public.

Wednesday December 12, 2007

Magistrate William Campbell ruled there were too many scheduling conflicts between witnesses and attorneys at the inquest and adjourned the inquest until January 28.

Tuesday January 29, 2008

16. Doctor Lee Hern
Lab Director Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's Office
Dr. Lee Hern testified that the primary factor of death was ingestion of a large dose of methadone. He did not believe Daniel to be habitual drug user. Felt death was an "intentional" overdose because such large amount in short time was taken. Note: Does not speculate as to whether methadone was taken knowingly or unknowingly.

17. Ford Shelley
Friend of Anna Nicole and Daniel Smith, son-in-law of G Ben Thompson
Mr. Shelley said Daniel wanted to be more independent, that he was a brilliant young man living in a shell due to his mother's fame. He wanted to break free; he loved his mother but didn't want to be known as her son. Ford said Anna kept her drugs in a duffel bag, that he had seen methadone in pill and liquid form and prescribed under four different aliases. He also Stated that Daniel could not hold his liquor and couldn’t have been a drug addict.

Cross examination: Stern lawyer tries to cast doubt on close relationship. Note: this is the first I have seen printed about cross-examination. (I'll go back and look.)

Daniel Wayne Smith Death Inquest Continues

By TOSHEENA ROBINSON-BLAIR

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

(AP)

The late son of reality TV star Anna Nicole Smith was a gifted but anguished 20-year-old who longed to be more independent of his celebrity mother, a family friend testified Tuesday at an inquest into his death.

Ford Shelley, the son-in-law of a developer who was embroiled in an ownership dispute over the estate where Anna Nicole lived in the Bahamas before her fatal Feb. 8 overdose, described Daniel Smith as a "brilliant" young man who was "living in a shell" due to his mother's fame.

"He wanted to break free," Shelley said. "He loved his mother but didn't want to be known as her son."

Daniel Smith died Sept. 10, 2006, while visiting his mother three days after she gave birth to her daughter, Dannielynn, in the Bahamian capital of Nassau.

Shelley, who testified that Anna Nicole kept her drugs in a duffel bag, said he saw prescription bottles _ including the painkiller methadone in pill and liquid form _ made out to at least four different aliases when he unpacked her luggage during a trip she made to South Carolina to visit developer G. Ben Thompson, a former boyfriend.

He testified that he believed Daniel Smith could not have been a drug addict because he was "afraid of his own shadow" and "couldn't even hold his liquor."

Cross-examination by a lawyer for Anna Nicole's attorney-turned-boyfriend Howard K. Stern, who was also in the hospital room the day Daniel died, tried to cast doubt on the closeness of Shelley's relationship with the Smith family.

Earlier in the day, the lab director for the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's Office testified that a large dose of methadone taken by Daniel Smith was the primary factor behind his death.

"But for the methadone he would not have died," said Dr. Lee Hern, who added that he did not believe the young man was a habitual user of the drug.

Under questioning by Director of Public Prosecutions Bernard Turner, Hern said he felt the 20-year-old's death was the result of an "intentional" overdose because the methadone ingested was such a large amount taken in such a short period of time.

The coroner's court session was attended by Stern and Anna Nicole's long-estranged mother, Virgie Arthur.

The inquest continues Wednesday, with testimony expected by Thompson, the South Carolina developer, and two nannies who worked in the waterfront home where Anna Nicole Smith and Stern lived in Nassau.

So far, about 30 witnesses have testified at the inquest before a seven-member jury, which will formally determine what killed Daniel Smith and has the power to recommend criminal charges if it finds evidence of wrongdoing.

Police have said there is no evidence of homicide, and an autopsy found the likely cause of death was a combination of drugs, including methadone and antidepressants.

http://www.townhall.com/news/entertainment/2008/01/29/witness_smith_son_unhappy_in_her_shadow

Bush Delivers Last State of the Union Speech

Ashley, not Shep, woos Drew

(right: Ashley with her last husband. he's dead too. Already has a boob-job, tummy still tucked, kinda, and has passed pms days.)
.

January 26, 2008

By JOE HOSEY Staff Writer
BOLINGBROOK -- Who needs Steve Dahl anyway.

Not Drew Peterson apparently, as the mysterious Ashley, a young woman who propositioned him for a date through a note left on his mailbox sent another missive Thursday.

Peterson, who was bounced from a dating game-style appearance on Dahl's radio show, said a newer Oldsmobile carrying two women and a man pulled up to his house. The man got out and hand delivered the note.

"Some guy made sure I got it," he said. And this time, Ashley included her phone number.
The note said, "Drew, Hi. I don't know if you got my last letter but I'm interested in you and I keep hearing you say your (sic) looking for a date (smiling face). Sorry you have to go through all this hope to hear from you soon (heart) Ashley."

Even though this is the young woman's second attempt at wooing Peterson, he is undecided.
"I don't know," he said. "I just thought it was fun that someone was taking an interest."
Peterson is the lone suspect in what police have called the "potential homicide" of his missing fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. State police also are re-examing the mysterious apparent bathtub drowning of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, in March 2004.

Peterson has repeatedly insisted his wife Stacy ran off with another man. On Tuesday, he seemingly sealed a deal with Dahl for a Wednesday morning appearance, but Dahl "got so many calls from anti-Drew groups they ended up canceling," Peterson said. "I think it's very hypocritical of the radio station and Steve Dahl to cancel a comedy bit like this but still go on the radio and make fun and sing songs." He kept referring to the dating game as a "humor piece" like he's in the entertainment industry. When in the hell are they going to arrest this piece of shit?

To make matters worse, Peterson admitted to being a fan of Dahl's "back in the '70s, when he was funny." Evidently you are still listening Drew, if you knew he was making fun of you and creating little songs. dumbass. It's funny when the joke is on someone else, huh?

Bounced from one broadcast gig Thursday, Peterson walked off another Friday.
Peterson cut short a live interview with Fox News Network host Shepard Smith. Peterson began the interview in front of his house by discussing the aborted bit with Dahl, but balked when Smith asked about neighbors who supposedly spotted him carting a blue barrel out of his house.

Peterson claimed a Fox producer agreed to keep the interview strictly about his planned appearance Dahl show. When Smith strayed, Peterson said, "Then I got to walk away."
He told the camera crew, "Unhook me, guys." When they removed his microphone, he went back inside his house.

"It was all supposed to be light and happy and the next thing you know they sabotaged me," Peterson said. "I just got did." Sounds like a statement that Kathleen or Stacy could have made, only with better English.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/760346,4_1_JO26_DREWPETERSON_S1.article

Drew Screws Over His Own Children

When the alleged "last will, etc" was drawn up on March 2, 1997, the following assets were listed:
.
Golden Rule life insurance 100K
Monumental life insurance 125K
Prudential life insurance (against tavern) 308K
Two houses
Interest in three corporations (a bar & 2 money shelters):
*the tavern
*a graphics company
*25 % of house flipping venture
Plus his pension (in excess of 50K), various cars & stuff.

Kathleen Savio was murdered sometime in the morning of March 1, 2004.

This will was "found" and filed on March 16, 2004, 15 days AFTER Kathleen’s death on March 1, 2004. Shortly before she was murdered, Kathleen told her sister that she had a new will made and would get her a copy of it. She died before that could happen.
.
We know now that Drew had her phones tapped. He probably knew she had a new will. Unbeknownst to Drew however, Kathleen had already changed the beneficiary for the $1 million life insurance policy to her two sons. That must have really pissed him off.
.
By the time the will was filed, the various life insurance policies had been replaced by a $1 million life insurance policy on Kathleen, the houses were gone, replaced by the house at 392 Pheasant Chase Drive in Bolingbrook. Drew had acquired his house at 6 Pheasant Drive Court jointly with a teenager using a forged document, their vehicles were newer, the businesses were gone, and all the profit from the sale of the tavern had been pocketed by Drew.
.
Kathleen’s divorce had been represented by Attorney Harry Smith of Rice & Smith, Ltd, who then carried on as Kathleen’s estate attorney. Drew was represented by Alex Beck and subsequently by Joseph Mazzone. Why did Alex Beck quit Drew?
.
August 11, 2004 Affidavit signed by Alex Morelli and Gary L Marcolina verifying that they had witnessed the signing of the found will on March 2 1997. Notarized by Nicole A. Payne, Notary Public. Who are these two knuckleheads, and who is Nicole Payne? Drew was also a notary, so we know they will let just anyone do it.
.
October, 2004 Closed on sale of Kathleen’s house at 392 Pheasant Chase Drive. $288,+++ was held in escrow for estate.

.
March 23, 2005 Judge Lechwar admitted the Will to probate and appointed James Carroll as executor of the estate.
.
March 23 2005 James Carroll immediately fired Attorney Harry Smith.
.
April 8, 2005 a “Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage” was entered by Judge Michael Powers “upon agreement of the parties as to all issues.” The Judge awarded (as agreed upon by Drew’s uncle James Carroll) Drew Peterson the money from the bar, the house and further provided that Drew Peterson would not be obligated to fund any college expenses for the minor children due to the fact that the life insurance had been payable to the children, and not him. For crying out loud...
.
Richard J Kavanaugh, Public Administrator of Will County and former Administrator of the Estate of Kathleen Savio from April 21, 2004 to January 30, 2006, submitted final report on Kathleen’s estate.

Mr Kananaugh specifically stated in the final estate report, page 3, “The actions of the Executor were not in the best interest of the Estate or its beneficiaries.” But still it was accepted by the Will County Circuit court clerk and filed on February 7, 2006.

How can this happen? Is this psycho just so good that he can manipulate every person around him? That is what I see STILL happening.


Mr. Kavanaugh conferred with Kathleen’s original divorce attorney Harry Smith who emphasized that there were three items to settle prior to a final settlement:
(1) whether Kathleen’s estate would be entitled to any portion of Drew Peterson’s pension;
(2) the valuation of the tavern which had been sold with all of the proceeds going to Drew Peterson, and
(3) the value of the house, specifically whether Kathleen’s estate would be entitled to receive not just one-half, but an additional portion to offset the cash Drew had kept from the sale of the bar.
.
It was verbally agreed that Kathleen would receive all of the proceeds from the house sale, because Drew had kept the money from the tavern. The house netted $288,235 and would have been split among not only her two sons, but with Drew’s sons by his first wife. (No doubt per the old will, but not the new.) But then the attorney was fired and the case was settled all within Drew’s little family.
.
Drew corrected that simply by having his uncle Jim give everything to him. There was no one there to protect the rights of Kathleen’s boys; who would suspect that their own father would attempt to screw them out of their inhieritence. Now Drew gets an additional 2K per month for her kids from Social Security.
.
I have never seen such a calculating, self-serving, narcissistic, manipulative person, let alone a parent, who would, in writing, disassociate himself from his children in this manner, so coldly and cruelly after having murdered both their mother and step-mother. We can only hope he is not raising another generation just like him.

Drew Peterson Forger?

January 25, 2008
By Chris Fusco, Dan Rozek and Stefano Esposito

Before Drew Peterson could buy a house in 2002 for himself and his 18-year-old girlfriend, Stacy Cales, he needed his estranged wife, Kathleen Savio, to sign off on the deal.

But Savio's signature on the legal document looks radically different from more than a dozen others she had written before she died in 2004, a Chicago Sun-Times investigation has found.

"That's definitely not her signature," Savio's sister, Anna Doman, said after viewing a copy of the one-page power of attorney that Drew Peterson himself notarized. "I know that's not her signature."

A forensic document examiner's analysis suggests Doman could be right.
Ellen Mulcrone Schuetzner, whom the Sun-Times hired to study legal and business papers tied to Peterson and Savio, questioned the "proportions of letterforms, ending strokes, slant, spacing and size of the signature." Schuetzner, however, couldn't reach a definitive conclusion based on the quality and number of documents available to her.

"I can't eliminate the possibility that it is or isn't her signature," said Schuetzner, who has nearly 30 years of experience in her field. And she can't tell? Hell I can tell...

Drew Peterson -- a retired Bolingbrook police sergeant -- insisted the signature is valid but referred questions about it to his attorney. Officials with the state police and Will County state's attorney's office declined to comment.

The questions about the signature come as investigators probe Peterson's financial affairs in hopes of finding clues about Savio's death, as well as the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, sources say. Stacy was 18 when she moved into the house at 6 Pheasant Chase Court in Bolingbrook with Drew Peterson...will Morelli and Gary L. Marcolina purjure themselves for this piece of chit?

Savio's death -- once ruled an accidental bathtub drowning -- is being reinvestigated in the wake of Stacy's disappearance. Authorities in November labeled it a "potential homicide." While they haven't named Drew Peterson a suspect in Savio's death, they have said they believe he was involved in Stacy's disappearance.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/bolingbrooksun/news/758722,4_1_JO25_PETERSON_S1.article

Kathleen Savio's Last Will and Testament

Questions are being raised about a two-page handwritten will signed by Savio and Drew Peterson that is dated March 2, 1997. The document was taken into evidence by investigators Dec. 19, court records indicate.

One of the two witnesses who signed the will, Bolingbrook police officer Alex J. Morelli, has appeared before a Will County grand jury hearing evidence about Savio's death. Attempts to reach Morelli and the other witness, Gary L. Marcolina, were unsuccessful.

In a recent interview, Peterson, 53, said there is nothing wrong with the will, which was filed 15 days after Savio, his third wife, was found dead March 1, 2004.

"We just tucked it away, and I found it after she died," Peterson said of the will. "There's nothing sinister and out-of-line about it. Everything was done proper."

At the time she died, Savio, 40, was in a court battle with Peterson over proceeds from the sale of a tavern they had owned. Peterson, she claimed, had kept all the money from that sale.

The will named Peterson's uncle James B. Carroll executor of Savio's estate. Carroll, who could not be reached for comment, went on to award Peterson control of virtually all of Savio's assets -- even though Peterson and Savio had divorced.

"The actions of the Executor were not in the best interest of the Estate or its beneficiaries," wrote Richard J. Kavanagh, the court-appointed administrator for Savio's estate. Kavanagh was involved in the case because no one from Savio's family formally volunteered to represent the estate in court. He called the will a "purported will" in court papers.
"My concern is that this is a handwritten will that just popped up after she died," Kavanagh said this week. "It gives you the sense that it's something that's concocted."

A judge, however, accepted the will because Marcolina and Morelli testified in court March 23, 2005, that they witnessed Savio and Peterson signing the document, Kavanagh said. Forgery? Lying under oath?

Peterson dismissed Kavanagh's concerns and asserted that the lawyer is angry that he couldn't notch a hefty sum in legal fees off Savio's case.

Schuetzner, the document examiner hired by the Sun-Times, examined Savio's signature on the will and found "a lot of consistency" with Savio's other signatures.

Savio's sister, Doman, was uncertain about Savio's signature on the will. But she was more concerned about other aspects of the document, including that its first page equally divides Savio's assets among her two children and her two stepchildren.

Savio, according to Doman, said a month before her death that she had written a new will that would leave everything to her two young sons, now ages 13 and 15.

"She told me she had a new will. She promised to get me a copy," Doman said. "She was dead before she could get it to me."

Doman added that her family wasn't aware until recently that the will named Carroll, Drew Peterson's uncle, executor of Savio's estate.

Peterson counters the family had an opportunity to get involved in the case.

"If they didn't like it, well, they should have done something. They didn't," Peterson said.
Carroll did not return calls seeking comment. Did the family even know this old will was being probated? There was little communication.

Peterson Inc. Besides Peterson's work as a cop, he and Savio ran two business during their married life: the tavern company, called Blue Lightning Corp., and a printing firm, DA. P.A.G.E. Inc., state records show. Drew Peterson dabbled in real estate. He and two partners bought and flipped two homes in 2001.

In March 2002, both Peterson and Savio filed for divorce. On March 22, 2002, Savio agreed in court to waive any future ownership rights to the house Drew Peterson wanted to buy for himself and Stacy in Bolingbrook. This is misleading. Drew presented the document to a judge, she did not "agree in court". She was not aware it was happening. Probably not even aware that it would be necessary to have such a document.

A power of attorney document, dated about a month after that court appearance, formalized the agreement and included Savio's signature. Peterson used the document to secure a $226,600 mortgage the next day.

Peterson said Savio willingly signed the form even though the couple was separated and getting divorced. Peterson also said he bought the house without any financial help from Savio. Bullshit. One day he is holding her hostage in her own home, cutting holes in sheet rock and bedroom doors to gain access and steal from her, the next she is agreeing to him buying a home with a teenager while they are still married.

"I wanted to buy this place but I didn't want it tied up in divorce court," he said of the home. "I bought it without her help financially. There was nothing improper about it." But...they were already tied up in divorce court...

The power of attorney document that includes Savio's signature needed to be notarized -- something usually done by a notary public who has no financial interest in the deal. But Peterson himself notarized the document, which makes it difficult to independently verify Savio's signature.

"If it was a forgery, she had ample time to have her and her lawyer object and make an issue of it," said Peterson's lawyer, Joel Brodsky. "Obviously it could have been done better, but I don't know that it's anything untoward." How can she object when it is done behind her back?

Questions about the will and his finances, Peterson said, only show that interest in the death of his third wife and the disappearance of his fourth is winding down.

"This is no big deal," he said. "I think they're running out of things to ask about." Yeah Drew, or they are wrapping it up and getting ready to arrest you...

Sun-Times News Group writers Kara Spak and Natasha Korecki contributed to this report.

Article Online: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/bolingbrooksun/news/758722,4_1_JO25_PETERSON_S1.article

Kathleens Will: http://www.suntimes.com/images/cds/MP3/peterson-will.pdf

Judge to rule soon on Peterson's possessions

"I don't hunt, I just like guns," Drew Peterson.


January 25, 2008
BY STEWART WARREN Staff Writer


JOLIET — The state still has Drew Peterson’s cars, guns and computers.
But Will County Judge Richard Schoenstedt soon will decide if everything will be returned to the retired Bolingbrook police officer — or not.


Either way, state police still are searching for his missing wife, Stacy Peterson, 24. And a special grand jury still is investigating her disappearance and the 2004 death of Peterson’s third wife, Kathleen Savio.


During a Nov. 1 search of Peterson’s home, police seized some of his property, including two cars, several guns, a backpack, some compact discs, computers and other items. Late last year, Will County Judge Dan Rozek gave the CDs and a few other things to Peterson. But he decided that the state could keep the cars, computers and guns.


Joel Brodsky, Peterson’s Chicago-based lawyer, came to Schoenstedt’s courtroom Friday morning to see if the judge would release everything else. Peterson did not appear in court.
During the brief hearing, Schoenstedt decided that Will County Assistant State’s Attorney John Connor and District 5 State Police Commander Ken Kaupas could meet privately with him Friday morning to explain why they wanted to keep Peterson’s property. At 9:30 a.m. Feb. 1, Brodsky will tell his side of the story in open court. Then the judge will decide what to do with the cars, guns and computers.


As Brodsky walked out of the courtroom, he muttered, “Oh, my gosh.” Then he talked about the case for a few minutes.


“This is the next logical step in the process,” he explained. Although Peterson can rent cars and legally buy other guns, everything should be returned to him, Brodsky said.


“You have to remember, it’s his property and he hasn’t been charged with a crime,” Brodsky said.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/bolingbrooksun/news/759526,JO25_PETERSON_WEB_012508.article

Marine charged in woman's killing

January 24, 2008
FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A grand jury indicted a Marine on a first-degree murder charge Thursday in the death of a pregnant colleague, but a prosecutor said he wouldn’t seek the death penalty if the man is arrested in Mexico.

Authorities believe Cpl. Cesar Laurean has fled to his native Mexico, which refuses to send anyone back to the United States unless provided assurances they won’t face the death penalty.
‘‘The choices presented to me were either a possible life without parole sentence, or the defendant living in Mexico the rest of his life and never brought to trial,’’ Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson said.

The remains of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, 20, were found with those of her fetus earlier this month in a fire pit in Laurean’s back yard. Lauterbach, who had once accused Laurean of rape, had been missing since mid-December. Military investigators are still working to identify the father of Lauterbach’s unborn child, Hudson said.

Before Laurean, 21, fled from Jacksonville in early January, he left a note for his wife, Christina, that said Lauterbach slit her own throat with a knife, and he then buried her in the woods near their home. Detectives have rejected that claim, and an autopsy found that Lauterbach died of blunt force trauma to the head.

But because authorities have determined that Lauterbach’s child had not been born at the time of her death, Hudson said, prosecutors can only charge Laurean with one count of murder.
Hudson said the grand jury also charged Laurean with robbery with a dangerous weapon and a charge involving an unauthorized financial transaction involving card theft. The indictment states Laurean forced Lauterbach to remove money from her bank account Dec. 14, the same day authorities believe he killed her.

But because authorities have determined that Lauterbach’s child had not been born at the time of her death, Hudson said, prosecutors could only charge Laurean with one count of murder. Laurean is also accused of trying to use Lauterbach’s ATM card on Christmas Eve, and was charged with attempted card fraud and obtaining property by false pretenses.

Hudson said authorities believe Laurean entered Mexico on a bus Jan. 14, two days after he left Jacksonville. Earlier this week, a man identified as his cousin said Laurean walked into his liquor store in Guadalajara last week, but left without saying where he was headed.

‘‘Because of the all the attention, I hope (Mexican authorities) will move on this case very quickly,’’ Hudson said. Hudson said Thursday that Christina Laurean is still cooperating with investigators, and she does not face charges. She learned of Lauterbach’s death roughly a day before Laurean’s fled, but only then told police and turned over the note he left behind, according to court documents.

Authorities have previously said Lauterbach was killed on Dec. 15, citing the timeline provided by Laurean’s wife. Hudson declined to address the discrepancy in detail, saying only that the ‘‘best evidence available’’ now indicates Lauterbach was killed Dec. 14.

Although Laurean refused to speak with detectives looking into Lauterbach’s disappearance before he fled, authorities have said they didn’t consider him a flight risk because they had information the pair had a ‘‘friendly relationship’’ even after she reported the rape allegation to military authorities.

Lauterbach, of the Dayton, Ohio area, had accused Laurean of rape in May, a charged he denied. Naval investigators have said they have no evidence to corroborate Lauterbach’s claims, but Lauterbach and Laurean’s regimental commander was intent on taking the case to a hearing that could have led to a trial.

Laurean had told members of his unit that he would flee to Mexico if it appeared he would be found guilty. Laurean, of Las Vegas, was born in Guadalajara. Family members there have said he moved to the U.S. more than 10 years ago.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/758139,marine012408.article

Blogger Threatened by Serial Killer

Beware Bloggers.
Play News Video below.
Someone is watching us and taking names.


Yes, I post as Janet and Prairie Chicken on various forums. OMG!
They say a closed mouth gathers no feet.

But I thought, what the hell, Rush Limbaugh is still alive; so is Bill O'Reilly. What's the worst that could happen? But...now we know. The Miami serial killer is after me big time. And he has a fetish for middle aged unemployed women...so we know Drew Peterson isn't driving down there on weekends, as I'm too old for him. And he's too limp for me, no doubt. Anyone that insecure and controlling has penal problems.


http://www.icetruck.tv/index.php?id=079cfd7f88cc65b0f518954b27671c72

Ric Mims testifies before Grand Jury re Kathleen Savio

By Erika Slife and Matthew Walberg Tribune reporters
1:43 PM CST, January 24, 2008

Drew Peterson's former friend, Ric Mims, appeared again before a special grand jury Thursday, this time to testify about how he and Peterson used to follow Peterson's third wife around before their divorce was settled.After spending about 45 minutes in the Will County grand jury room, Mims told reporters that he was asked mostly about Kathleen Savio, Peterson's ex-wife who was found dead in a dry bathtub in 2004.

Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, 24, has been missing since Oct. 28. Police have named Peterson, 53, a suspect in the case, which has been labeled a "potential homicide." The investigation has led authorities to re-examine Savio's death, which originally was ruled accidental. Peterson has denied involvement in either case.

"Today we talked about mostly some stuff that went on with the Savio case, some surveillance things I did with Drew on her," Mims said, shivering outside the Joliet building. "We followed her a few times. He'd have me watch her a few times at work while he did whatever it is he needed to do."I was helping him. I thought he was going through a divorce. . .and just needed somebody to help him."

He said that he and Peterson, a former Bolingbrook police sergeant, would communicate by two-way radios, and that Peterson suspected Savio was having an affair. The surveillance took place in late 2003 or early 2004, Mims said, which would have been after Peterson was already married to Stacy but before his divorce settlement with Savio was finalized.

When asked if he felt bad about his participation, Mims said his biggest regret was the day he met Peterson."

I was not participating in [any] harassment. I never participate in any harassment," Mims said. "At the time, I was just helping a friend. . .with this, what I thought was going through a divorce. I thought he was just trying to find dirt on her for a divorce. I regret the day I met Drew Peterson now, to tell you the truth."

Stacy Peterson's sister, Cassandra Cales, and their friend Bruce Zidarich also appeared before the grand jury Thursday. They wore Find Stacy Peterson T-shirts and buttons, and left after about three hours in the grand jury room."

It went well. They just asked how Stacy was. She was a good person," Cales said, as the pair looked for their car in the parking garage. She said it was the first time she had appeared before the grand jury. She declined to share details about what she was asked."

They're just working the investigation. I trust the police, and I'm not going to say anything that would hurt the case," she said. "We went over a lot of stuff."

Zidarich, who was the last person known to talk to Stacy besides Drew Peterson, or perhaps her children, said he was quizzed about that last phone call. Stacy was supposed to go help him paint the interior of a house that day. "

She said she had been laying in bed for a couple of hours. I told her about the painting at the house. She said it was going to be a long day," Zidarich said, adding that she told him she was in bed because she was depressed.

eslife@tribune.commwalberg@tribune.com

Authorities to search Georgia, Tennessee mountains for body of John Bryant

CITIZEN-TIMES.com

by Jon Ostendorff
updated January 23, 2008 2:03 pm

Authorities on Thursday and Friday will search in northeast Georgia and east Tennessee for the body of missing hiker John “Jack” Bryant, a spokesman for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said today.

Bryant disappeared while on a hiking trip with his wife Irene on Oct. 21 in the Pink Beds area of the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard. Searchers found Irene Bryant’s body Nov. 9. She had been killed by multiple blows to her head, according to an autopsy report.

Investigators have linked her death and his disappearance to Georgia drifter Gary Michael Hilton, Transylvania County Sheriff David Mahoney said last week. Hilton has not been charged in the slaying.

Mahoney would not say what that “positive link” was or when he plans to charge Hilton, who is in jail in Georgia for the New Year’s Day slaying of hiker Meredith Emerson, 24.

State, federal and local authorities will search areas in Towns and Union Counties as well as parts of east Tennessee.

“Numerous sources have identified Gary Michael Hilton as being in this area of Georgia in late October 2007,” Bankhead said in a written statement about the search plans.

Someone used the Bryant’s ATM card in Ducktown, Tenn., the day after Irene Bryant was killed.

GBI agents last week said Hilton in 2005 had abandoned a van in northeast Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Forest. The van, which was recovered from a scrap yard on Friday, played a role in Hilton’s arrest in Emerson’s death.

A U.S. Forest Service officer wrote Hilton a ticket for leaving his van the forest. A warrant was issued for Hilton's arrest after he failed to pay the fine. Authorities used that warrant to hold Hilton after taking him into custody for questioning Jan. 4 in Emerson's disappearance.

He was driving another van with a license plate stolen in Brevard.

The GBI is seeking input from the public on any sightings of Hilton in this area of Northeast Georgia.

If anyone recalls seeing Hilton, or his white van, in Towns County in late October, please contact the GBI’s Cleveland Office at 706-348-4866 or toll-free at 1-888-233-5680.

Multiple Blows Killed Elderly Hiker

by Jon Ostendorff
published January 22, 2008 12:15 am

BREVARD – Irene Bryant died from multiple blows to her head and may have tried to defend herself from her attacker, according to an autopsy report. In addition to a fractured skull, she had a broken left hand and forearm, according to the report.

Investigators believe someone killed Bryant, 84, on Oct. 21 while she was hiking in the Pink Beds area of Pisgah National Forest. Her husband, John, 80, is missing and presumed dead.

Transylvania County Sheriff David Mahoney said last week that investigators have a “positive link” between Bryant and Gary Michael Hilton, the Georgia drifter suspected in two other killings and at least two disappearances.

Mahoney could not be reached Monday.

Searchers found Bryant’s partially decomposed body Nov. 9. The autopsy showed she had a fracture on the left side of her head that measured about 2 inches. She had three smaller fractures on the back of her head.

On the right side of her head, Bryant had multiple fractures covering and area of about 4 by 5 inches.

Her right forearm had been severed below the elbow. The autopsy report doesn’t say how her arm was removed. It does say animals had gotten to her body and may have dragged it as much as five feet from where she was killed.

The bones in her left hand below her fingers and in her left forearm were broken. Some of her clothing — a long-sleeve shirt and a shoe — was found 30 feet from her body.

Autopsy reports are public record in North Carolina but generally take weeks to complete.
Holly Bryant, the couple’s daughter, said her family had hoped that her mother died quickly and had not suffered.

“We worry that my father might have suffered greatly,” she said.

Hilton, 61, is a suspect in the New Year’s Day slaying and decapitation of Georgia hiker Meredith Emerson and the death of a Florida woman whose body was found in the Apalachicola National Forest near Tallahassee, Fla.

A license plate police found on Hilton’s van at the time he was taken into custody in Georgia had been stolen from a car in Brevard.

Investigators also are looking into whether he is connected to two missing people. One is a Clemson University student last seen in 1998 at Table Rock State Park, S.C., and the other is a woman who was last seen in 2005 in Bryson City.

Rossana Miliani, 26, had told her family she was going on a hike.

The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation is trying to determine whether a man she was with that day in Bryson City was Hilton.

Holly Bryant said her family hopes that as more people see Hilton’s picture and read about the investigation, someone might come forward with information the locations he frequented. She’s hoping that will lead to her father’s body.

“I would sure like to find my father’s remains,” she said. “It just seems obscene that (Hilton) was the last person with my dad.”

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880121081

Marine's Rape Claim Failed to Raise Red Flags

Mother says slain lance corporal wanted to be sent to Iraq rather than be around alleged attacker

By Mary McCarty and Margo Rutledge Kissell
Staff Writers
Sunday, January 20, 2008

Mary Lauterbach was strolling out of Wal-Mart on May 10 when her cell phone rang. Maria again. Her oldest daughter, "strong as a bobcat," had seemed lonely and vulnerable since being stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

It was, after all, the first time away from home for the 20-year-old Marine lance corporal from Vandalia. She called three or four times a day — so often that Mary found herself guiltily screening her calls.

Maria gasped out the words between sobs: "Mom, I was attacked."

She didn't reveal the name of her attacker, only that he was Hispanic, a married man with a child. She said the two Marines had been assigned to night duty together when the man locked all the doors and raped her.

"Maria, when did that happen?" her mother asked. "April 10." "You realize you've lost all your evidence now?"

Then her mother got even more stern with her daughter:

"Maria, you have to know you cannot make any false statements because that is one of the worst things you could possibly do. You could ruin somebody's career, and you won't be doing yourself any favors either when they find out."

Mary Lauterbach had a solid reason for these words of motherly caution. While assigned to Marine Occupation Specialties School at Camp Lejeune in the fall of 2006, Maria told a disturbing lie to some of her fellow Marines, claiming her father had accidentally killed her 6-year-old brother by throwing a lamp at him. Lauterbach was placed in counseling after her mother assured authorities that Maria's actual brother, nearly 9 at the time, was alive and well.

Now, Mary Lauterbach told her daughter, it was imperative to tell the truth about the rape allegations. "Maria, if this is true, you have to report it, to protect all the other female Marines there," she said.

An avid fan of TV crime dramas, Maria spent her last two years of high school studying criminal justice at a vocational school. Why did she wait so long before reporting the crime, her mother asked, when she knew better?

Maria replied, "I didn't think anyone was going to believe me."

'I know there's going to be hell to pay'

Lauterbach kept her promise to her mother the next day, telling her officer-in-charge about two occasions when she said Cpl. Cesar Laurean raped her. She filed a formal complaint with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service office, stating the first rape occurred on March 26, and the second approximately two weeks later.

On May 12, the company commander told Laurean not to initiate any contact or communication with Lauterbach and to stay at least 1,000 feet from her. That same day the regimental commander reassigned her to a duty office across the base from where Laurean worked.

Lauterbach wanted to be moved farther away from Laurean. Much farther.

"She desperately wanted to be deployed to Iraq," her mother said.

Maria confided to her mother that her attacker was "very popular," and said, "I know there's going to be hell to pay for saying anything."

On May 18, Laurean told NCIS investigators he did not have sexual contact with Lauterbach. The next week, the company commander issued a written Military Protective Order that would later be extended through Dec. 23. The Marine Corps said it was established to preserve the integrity of the investigation and was "not based on any perceived threat" toward Lauterbach.

When she vacationed at her parents' home in Vandalia in mid-June, Maria came down with what appeared to be the flu. She learned why after she returned to Camp Lejeune.

"Mom, I'm pregnant," she told Mary in a phone call.

Raised in a strongly pro-life family, Lauterbach never considered an abortion. Her parents had adopted her when she was 19 months old, and she told her mother she planned to give the baby up for adoption.

"Maria, if you never do another thing in your whole life, you are a hero by doing that," Mary told her.
Lauterbach told NCIS that Laurean was the father as the result of the rape. But in a July e-mail to a friend from boot camp, informing her of the pregnancy, she referred to "an incident," but didn't use the word rape.

"Is that (the pregnancy) a good thing or a bad thing?" asked Marine Lance Cpl. Jessica Riley.
"Well, I have to wait and see," Lauterbach replied.

'What are you doing to us?'

As the summer wore on, Lauterbach reported several incidents of harassment to her mother.

In August, a man called Lauterbach's name and punched her in the face, knocking her down, she said. Lauterbach felt certain it was one of Laurean's friends but never filed a formal complaint.

Later in the summer, somebody keyed her blue 2006 Hyundai Sonata from the front door all the way back to the tail lights.

Maria also told her mother about an ugly confrontation involving Laurean's wife, Christina. Maria said Christina called her a "bitch," and said, "What are you doing to us?"

On Oct. 18, NCIS recommended no disciplinary action in the rape case "until forensic evidence DNA can be retrieved from the child." ...Why? Rape is rape, paternity is a whole other matter...?

Thirteen days later, her command granted Lauterbach permission to move into off-base housing. A friend, Sgt. Daniel Durham, offered a place to stay out of sympathy for her plight.

"He babied her a little bit ... but it was strictly a hands-off relationship," Mary Lauterbach said.
Living off base didn't prevent Maria from encounters with Laurean, however. On several occasions she told her mother she had to go to meetings and "he's going to be there again."

"Maria, this is ridiculous. You have a restraining order on this guy," Mary Lauterbach said she told her daughter during one conversation. "I said you need to complain to somebody and tell them you're just not going to go."

Meanwhile, her Jan. 15 due date was fast approaching. During an appointment at the Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital on Nov. 26, her obstetrician said her baby weighed more than 6 pounds.

Ashley Dupuis, 19, a friend from boot camp, called in early December to see how Maria was doing.

"She was really down and out," Dupuis recalled. "It was not like her,"

Maria once loved the Marine Corps so much she had a USMC bulldog tattooed on her upper right arm. Now, Dupuis said, "She didn't like it and she wanted to get out."

'I'm going away'

Mary Lauterbach's last conversation with her daughter occurred Dec. 14, when Maria called her about 2:30 p.m. at her office at the University of Dayton. Maria felt she needed to make an appearance at a command Christmas party, even though she knew Laurean would be there. "Call me when you get home from the party," her mother said.

That night, Durham called, saying Maria had left a note, which stated, according to the Marine Corps, "I could not take this Marine Corps life anymore. So I'm going away. Sorry for the inconvenience, Maria."

Mary Lauterbach said Durham begged her not to file a missing persons report because he was concerned the Marines would put her into a status known as unauthorized absence. "You're going to get her in a lot of trouble," she said he warned.

Durham did not respond to numerous efforts to contact him.

Video surveillance cameras from that day show Lauterbach withdrawing $700 from her account at an ATM in Jacksonville, N.C. Then, on Dec. 15, someone purchased a Greyhound one-way bus ticket in Lauterbach's name to El Paso, Texas, departing that evening. It was never redeemed.

Mary Lauterbach filed a missing persons report in Vandalia on Dec. 18, and the police department alerted the Onslow County Sheriff's Office in Jacksonville.

Lance Cpl. Lauterbach, the Marines determined, has "voluntarily placed herself in an unauthorized absence status" based on the note she left behind. Her car and some other personal items also were missing.

As one first sergeant explained to Lauterbach, "We have so many missing people we don't possibly have the resources to go out looking for them."

'I want you to find my daughter'

When an Onslow County sheriff's investigator asked Mary Lauterbach to send an e-mail telling everything she could about her daughter, she didn't hold back.

"For 10 minutes I pounded out a three-page e-mail that I didn't even re-read," she said. At the bottom of the e-mail she wrote, "I am holding nothing back from you because I want you to find my daughter."

Some of her statements were summarized — inaccurately, she contends — in the search warrants regarding her daughter's disappearance. "I said she had problems with occasional compulsive lying," she said. She also speculated that Maria's biological father suffered from bipolar disorder.

In the search warrant affidavit, her words became simplified as calling her daughter "bipolar" and a "compulsive liar." Before it was all over, those words would appear on CNN's red news ticker and pounced on by the news network's self-styled victims' advocate, Nancy Grace, who snorted, "I can't believe the things that were being said by that family."

The case only started to heat up when Mary Lauterbach and her brother, Kentucky psychiatrist Dr. Peter Steiner, showed up at the base on Jan. 7 accompanied by an Onslow County sheriff's detective. The Marine Corps later contended, "This the first indication to the command that foul play may be suspected in her absence."

That's nonsense, Mary Lauterbach now says: "From Day 1, I voiced that concern." But things finally seemed to be happening. That same day — 25 days after Lauterbach vanished — Laurean was brought to NCIS to speak with the sheriff's office. "He is questioned as a possible witness, not a suspect," the Marine Corps said.

On Jan. 8, the sheriff's office issued the first press release about the missing, pregnant Marine. Before long, the parking lot became a makeshift media encampment, swarming with news crews from across the country.

Then, on Jan. 11, Laurean failed to report to work.

Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown scheduled a news conference at noon and hinted during nationally televised interviews that a positive outcome still seemed possible. That prompted Mary Lauterbach to call the sheriff to see if Maria had been found. "If we find your daughter, you'll be the first to know," Brown assured her.

Shortly before noon, the sheriff called back with news of some "negative developments." In her dazed state, Lauterbach didn't think to ask what he meant. She found out along with the rest of the country when, in bold red letters, CNN bannered the headline, "Maria Lauterbach is dead."

'Stellar' Marine

Christina Laurean had come forward with a note from her husband claiming that Lauterbach committed suicide and that he panicked and buried her in the woods near the couple's house. It was the break the investigators needed.

The next day, her body was found in the fire pit in the couple's backyard. An autopsy revealed she died from blunt force trauma to the head — probably from a crowbar, investigators now believe. Cesar Laurean leapfrogged to the top of the FBI's Most Wanted List.

During daily press conferences, reporters asked Brown variations of the same questions: "With the rape charges out there, why did it take nearly a month for investigators to look at him seriously as a suspect?" Why weren't basic investigative techniques — such as a trace of the use of her ATM card — employed earlier?

The sheriff gave variations of the same answer: Authorities considered Lauterbach AWOL until the moment Laurean's wife handed them the note telling them where to find the body.

Last Monday, Brown said the sheriff's office regarded the alleged rape as a "minor incident" that had "no validity" to the investigation. "Holiday leave" at the base was frequently cited as a reason for delays in information being passed along by investigators.

Even after the discovery of the body, investigators seemed oddly focused on refuting the rape charges. "After the Duke case, we are all sensitive to the fact that false accusations can be made," said District Attorney Dewey Hudson.

Another reporter raised his hand, trying one more time. "But it seems like Laurean would have been looked at seriously as a suspect, because of the rape charges, whether they were true or false." Brown finally lost his patience. "There are a lot of things that 'seem like,'" he barked.

On Tuesday, the Marine Corps held its own press conference, challenging the timetable set forward by the sheriff's office. Early in the press conference Lauterbach was described as a "solid Marine," and Laurean as "a stellar Marine."

Marine officials said Lauterbach met with prosecutors in November and told them she no longer believed Laurean was the father. Col. Gary Sokoloski stated, "At no time did she indicate that she was threatened by Cpl. Laurean."

'The perfect victim'

The city of Jacksonville, N.C. — population 66,715 — is grieving a crime that seems to strike at the very core of who they are. "Marines don't do this to other Marines" is an often-heard refrain.

Townspeople also wonder what needs to be changed about the culture of the Marine Corps — and of the town itself — that would be so slow to make a connection between a rape charge and the disappearance of a pregnant Marine.

"Absolutely she would still be alive if the Marines had taken her seriously," said Marsha Williams, who lives across the street from where Lauterbach was staying. She said sheriff's investigators didn't knock on her door until Jan. 7, when they asked her to leave a note for Lauterbach's housemates. "She was missing for three weeks yet it took them until Jan. 7 to come to that house?" she said. "That's too much of a gap."

The Lauterbach family holds the highest respect for the Marine Corps. They're a military family, going back for generations, and Maria's father, Victor, is in an Air Force Reserve unit at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. They sent their daughter off to the military believing it would be a safer environment than college because of the structure, authority and celebrated brotherhood of the Marines.

"She'll always have somebody watching out for her," her parents reasoned. Now, Mary hopes the tragedy will prompt some soul-searching on the part of the Marine Corps. Among the changes she will advocate: a guaranteed base change for Marines who bring forth rape allegations.

"My instinct tells me the majority of rapes are not reported. For a woman to come forward and complain about a rape takes a lot," she said. "It took Maria a lot."

As Cesar Laurean remains hidden from authorities, many questions remain unanswered about the sad, disturbing saga of Maria Lauterbach. None are more painful than the ones tormenting the family. What if Maria had never made up the story about her brother? It may have been a cry for attention, a reaction to the stress of Marine Corps life. It may also have been fatal.

"Because someone might have perceived credibility issues, that doesn't mean you can just presume they're lying," Mary Lauterbach said. "Think about it. My daughter was a beautiful girl with a beautiful figure and perceived credibility issues. That set her up to be the perfect victim."

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/01/20/ddn012008mariainside.html