48 Hours: Shelley’s Last Breath


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Last Saturday 48 Hours featured the story of Shelley Tyre and David Swain, a married couple who took a Caribbean vacation. While on a dive, the two separated according to David, and when David surfaced, Shelley did not. Shelley died on that dive. Was it an accident or murder?

Read moreDavid Swain was eventually convicted of murdering his wife, and I have to say that I agreed with the verdict. When 48 Hours interviewed David, it appeared to be after the verdict, which we must remember would subdue or eliminate clues to deception as the high stakes are gone, though in David’s situation, I believe clues are still present.

David has absolutely no emotions about the loss of his wife. He doesn’t give us reasonable answers to fair questions, which leads me to believe he isn’t a victim. When asked how he felt when his in-laws thought he killed their daughter, David said he felt sad. That just doesn’t fit with a man who is wrongly accused of a murder he didn’t commit– the murder of his wife! He should be angry, but when questioned if he was, he said her parents didn’t understand diving. I’m not buying it.

David quit CPR within “minutes”, too, which is not common for professionals and David was an EMT. One witness said that David was “emphatic” his wife was dead, which surprised people, and when helped arrived, David said he didn’t want any extraordinary measures taken — he’d seen dead bodies before. Most people who lose a loved one are the last to give up hope. Why was David so accepting of Shelley’s death so quickly?

David denied that he had any affair with Mary Bassler to the point it was absurd, if you ask me. Why would he do that if he was honest? You can see a copy of a letter he wrote to Mary here.

Another thing that tipped me off was the fact that he wants us to believe he is a non-emotional guy–that’s why he isn’t showing emotions for his wife. But if you watch David when they talk about his brother killing his mother, amazingly, David has emotions! He feels pain at the loss of his mother some 30 years ago, but when it comes to the recent death of his wife there is nothing! Isn’t that interesting? Obviously, one death pained him while the other one didn’t, sad to say. If he didn’t feel emotions, it would be across the board, but its not. I could go on and on…

But by far the most peculiar thing I saw on 48 Hours was what David said himself. At approximately 19:00 minutes into the show, David said, “Everybody keeps thinking that I’m doing all this for money. I’m just as happy being flat broke as I am when I’m fat and rich. Probably happier flat broke. Less hassle.”

What?

Did David just make himself culpable? Everybody keeps thinking I am doing all this for the money”. If you are a victim, do you feel any culpability whatsoever? If you were innocent, wouldn’t you say, “People think I did this for the money.” Why is he still “doing all this”?? He is in prison for Pete’s sake. I think it is the tense of the words that he used which really set me off.

Why is he still in action?

Dr. Kirk Turner

Dr. Kirk Turner’s story of self-defense was featured on 48 Hours Mystery this past Saturday night. You either believe, like the jury did, that he killed his wife in self-defense after she came at him with a spear, or you believe he outright murdered his wife–no spear involved. To me, after watching the show, the evidence clearly does not support self-defense.

The defense wants us to believe that Jennifer Turner, Kirk’s wife, attacked Kirk with a seven-foot long spear and yet Kirk was able to pull out a measly four-inch little pocket knife to overcome her. Put the two at odds in two opposing people’s hands– a four inch pocket knife and a seven-foot long spear. Play it out. Who is logically going to win? It’s certainly not the pocket knife.

This case is not about facial expressions, emotions or micro expressions. This is a case about logic. One plus one in this story clearly equals two, if you add up the pieces.

Read moreFor Kirk to kill his wife, he had to knock the spear out of his wife hands, but he never talks about that. It’s never discussed from what I can tell. We see no evidence whatsoever that even supports that Jennifer even had the spear–which is the key fact in this case. If I were a prosecutor, my whole case would rest on the fact that if you can’t definitively place the spear in Jennifer’s hands, this was homicide. Period.

The second most important fact in this case? Jennifer’s fingerprints were not found on the spear. Hello! We cannot ignore this.

The next most important element in this case are the forensics. According to Kirk, as he turned around, she was stabbing him so he pulled his pocket knife out and stabbed her in self-defense. It all happened while they were standing. But the blood spatter evidence is clear, Jennifer was killed while on or near the ground — not where Kirk says.

A forensic expert also found dried blood from Jennifer below fresh blood from Kirk. How come a jury ignored this? It’s mind boggling!

I guess they believed the doubt that the defense attorney put in their ears, “The fact that there was only his blood in that pocket…definitely shows that he had suffered all of his wounds before he ever went to defend himself” (to reach in his pocket and get his knife).

Wait a minute!

What if Kirk reached for the knife before any altercation? That would explain why Jennifer’s blood never was found in his pocket!

What if Jennifer never used a spear to stab Kirk, but Kirk stabbed her first?

We wouldn’t expect to find her blood in his pocket.

That defense explanation has serious holes and the jury fell for it? What happened to critical thinking?

48 Hours asks, “How important is that blood in the pocket?” The defense says, “Ah…critical. It’s probably the key fact in the case.”

Yes, it is a key fact in the case along with many others that Kirk is not being honest with us. I believe Jennifer never had that spear and the evidence and the story seem to strongly support this.

Kirk says, “I remember turning around and seeing a symmetrical silver thing in my leg.” When Kirk says this, there are absolutely no emotions of pain or fear or shock or anything whatsoever . He says it as if he noticed a stone under his foot. When we experience something painful, we have emotional memories that form along with the experience, but Kirk seems to be void of them here. It’s a huge red flag for me.

Kirk was asked if he remembered going into his pocket to get his knife. He says no. Isn’t that odd? He feared for his life supposedly, but he doesn’t remember reaching for something that supposedly would save him? Ridiculous!

Then he says he remembers flailing his arms around (side to side) “going like this”. His behavior as he demonstrates it wouldn’t scratch a flea, forget murdering someone by nearly decapitating them. To me, it is utter nonsense–another big strike against Kirk.

While everyone is supposedly liked in this group of players as good people, one thing is for sure: Several people spoke out that Jennifer was afraid her husband might kill her. Two friends attested to this on 48 Hours as did her daughter, and when I watched them, I believed them. All three of them. Another strike against Kirk.

When Wendy, the couple’s daughter, testified that her mother told her that her dad said there was more than one way to end a marriage, I think most people get the drift of that means. Kirk, however, tells us that he meant “separation”. Did anyone believe that? Another strike.

I get a distinct sense watching Kirk on the stand as he complains about having to work on the barn that he was simply jealous of his wife’s love of horses. He says, “We had no time at all together.” You can see the anger, if you watch closely.

Kirk was obviously a rich enough man he could afford to pay workers to care for the barn, so his excuse that he had to work on it doesn’t make logical sense to me. It does, however, support that this is the source of his anger. Did her love of horses alienate his affection? Is that what he thought? Is that why her alienation of affection lawsuit against his lover make him so furious? If you recall, his son also repeated similar words about her love of horses ruining their relationship.

Even though Jennifer is the one who filed for divorce, 48 Hours reports that Kirk said Jennifer offered him a sweetheart deal to drop everything (the alienation of affection lawsuit and the divorce) if he moved home. According to Kirk, she said he could even continue to see his lover, Tonya. When Kirk says this, watch Tonya, his lover, drop her head.

To me, it’s a good indication she likely knows this is not the truth. I certainly don’t believe this story. There is no logic behind it whatsoever. Its a male fantasy, if you ask me. Why would any sane woman do that? It defies logic. She was in the drivers seat at that time, not Kirk, and he knew it. She was to get $30,000 a month from him. Which begs to ask, was money his motive, too?

The defense also says that “if Greg Smithson is telling the truth, Kirk is not guilty of homicide”.

I wish Greg would have told more of his story when he was outside the courtroom. You must remember, though, we do not know when the interview with Greg and 48 Hours took place. It may have taken place after the trial, which is key here. If it was taken after the trial, the stakes would have been much lower at this point.

However, when we witness Greg on the stand, we get to see the real man and his emotions under pressure and did he look like he was going to burst! Greg is so nervous, he can’t keep his hands steady. He is sweating profusely. He breaks his glasses. He shakes like a leaf–as if he is about to have a nervous breakdown. Why is he so nervous? If he was honest, he would have no reason to become so flustered. He wasn’t that flustered when he talked to 48 Hours outside the courtroom, was he? Interesting. It’s a huge red flag he has something to hide, if you ask me.

I wish they would have tested the spear for Greg’s fingerprints. Could he have been the one to stab Kirk?

It’s obvious that Kirk wanted to strong-arm Jennifer the day she was killed. Kirk brought two papers over to the house– a document to force the sale of the farm where she lived, and an affidavit from her first husband, stating that her first marriage failed because of her obsessive love of horses (which further supports the jealousy factor for me).

Kirk testifies about the documents, “I just wanted to show Jennifer that I didn’t want this to get ugly and that if he had to proceed…in court…that it wasn’t going to be nice for either one of us.” If you ask me, Kirk is not talking from the heart here. He appears to show signs of thinking on his feet.

Kirk at another point says about the documents, “I never thought about it as a threat.” He didn’t think it was a threat?? If you bring documents that are threatening to sell my home where I live with my horses, I will see that as a threat. Does anyone see that differently?

Furthermore, according to 48 Hours reporter, “Smithson swears the fatal encounter…happened in a flash in the two or three minutes after Smithson left the shed and he insists there was no cover up. No time for Kirk to stab himself… Smithson figures it was around 8:00PM when a wounded Kirk came stumbling toward him from the shed. But he didn’t call 911 until 9:35…leaving 90 minutes unaccounted for.”

Smithson’s explanation for the time gap? He must have been confused.

Oops.

I’m not buying it.

Is there any evidence anywhere that supports that Jennifer ever held that spear as Kirk said? Anyone? I’m all ears…

48 Hours: A Killer Defense

Did you see 48 Hours this weekend? It was an intriguing mystery. If you didn’t, you should.


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Scott Kimball: Playing for another victim?

Here is a chilling web-extra from CBS 48 Hours on Hannibal, aka Scott Kimball. Kimball uses his master manipulation skills to try to weaken Mary by using her emotions against her. He plays psychological games in an attempt to get control over her. It’s as chilling as a harsh wind on a frigid winter’s day in Alaska!


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Noura Jackson: Matricide?

48 Hours Mystery ran the story of Jennifer Jackson, who was murdered in her home as she slept in 2005. The show was titled “My Mother’s Murder“. Her only child, Noura Jackson, was eventually tried and convicted of her murder.

The case takes many twists and turns, and definitely makes people question what the truth is. Noura is a baby-faced teenager at the time of the murder, whose DNA was not found at the scene, even though she lived with her mother. Some say it was sloppy police work. There was hair found in Jennifer’s hands that could be a match to Jennifer, but excluded Noura in preliminary tests. No conclusive tests were ran. It surely must point to someone involved in the murder. I am surprised it hasn’t been tested and more surprised that Noura hasn’t insisted it be tested and run into any DNA database available, as it should be.

Read moreYet when we watch Noura and listen to what she has to say, she is does one thing that concerns me the most. She says everyone else is lying, but her. What are the odds? It doesn’t bode well for Noura.

If we listen to Noura’s story of events, she wants us to believe in one-in-a-million odds, not just once, but over and over and over again. It is precisely this, to me, that gives away Noura’s secrets. I can see unusual odds once, twice, maybe even three times, but after that, it becomes ridiculous.

When I watched 48 Hours, these are some of things that I found noteworthy about Noura:

  1. In the 911 call, the operator asks her, did you see what happened, and Noura says, “No, no. I just got home.” Her voice sounds whiny to me here. There doesn’t seem to be any fear, terror or urgency, whatsoever, which is a red flag to me. Feelings of terror, urgency or fear don’t turn on and off like a light switch.
  2. The 911 operator asks Noura, “Is she breathing?” Noura says, “No, no. She’s not breathing, she’s not breathing, she’s not breathing.” Noura sounds like she is whining to me. Her voice just trails off into a soft pitch. It’s notable.
  3. More than that, if she knew her mom wasn’t breathing, how did she check? Did she check for her mom’s pulse? If so, did she have blood on her? Was any blood ever found on Noura? If she touched her mom in anyway, we would expect to find it. If she spent any time in the room with her mother, if the blood was everywhere, we would have expected to see it on Noura, or on her shoes, or in footprints she left behind. Was there any of this?
  4. When Noura says, “I didn’t do this, I loved my mom”, she shakes her head no. She does this head shake side-to-side (like she is saying no) frequently. I personally can’t put much weight into this as a subconscious leak because she does this frequently when she talks.
  5. What are the odds that person who broke in–got into a locked garage first? Noura told a neighbor that someone broke in. That makes me curious, how did Noura enter the house when she found her mom? Through the front door or the garage? If she didn’t go into the garage, how did she know someone broke in?
  6. Noura says, “Their painting me, like, gosh, I don’t know….a monster, a wild-child, a raving drug addict.” Why doesn’t she say “murderer”, if that’s what she feels they are calling her? Why can’t she say it? Is this a form of distancing? If you were being wrongly accused of murder, wouldn’t you say it? Wouldn’t you also say, “They’ve got the wrong person!”, “We need to find the real killer!” Why isn’t Noura? It’s notable.
  7. Why did Noura tell several different stories about how she got the cut on her hand? She told one friend said she cut it on a beer bottle, she told another that she got it while trying to get her cat out of the garage, and another friend that it was a burn from cooking mac and cheese. Noura, of course, when questioned on 48 Hours says she told police what really happened. She essentially denies that these people are being honest. What are the odds that all these people would lie?
  8. Why did Noura change into long-sleeves when she was seen at the Walgreens wearing a tank top and skirt just an hour before? Was that outfit at Walgreens different than what she was wearing with her friends that evening at the party she went to? If so, why did she change two or three times in one evening? I wonder if the police tried to find the outfit her friends said she had on at the party that night or did that go missing?
  9. Why would Noura forget to tell the police she stopped at Walgreens? What are the odds, if she was totally innocent?
  10. Why did she go to a Walgreens at 4:00 a.m., and ask for a paper towel to wipe a cut, if she told the police and other people the cut occurred the night before? What are the odds?
  11. Why did Noura have no phone calls between 1:00 – 3:00 when Jennifer is thought to be murdered and make calls from the house when she said she was not there? What are the odds a friend of Noura would testify that she called after 1:00 a.m. from her home phone?
  12. How come Noura was quick to respond that no one was shot. How did she know that her mother wasn’t shot? Wouldn’t most people say they have no clue? What are the odds?
  13. Why did Noura tell her neighbor that “My mom, my mom…someone’s breaking into my house?” Why present tense, if she had already supposedly been in the house and knew her mom was “not breathing”?
  14. Why would Noura, if she believed an intruder was in the house, go inside before the neighbor who was holding the gun? What are the odds? This shows absolutely no fear, which we would expect if someone else killed her mother and she didn’t know who it was. What are the odds someone who saw and knew what Noura did would have no fear?
  15. Noura says, “Well I know I don’t really know what happened. I wasn’t there.” Why would she say the world “really“? Is she hedging on us? Is the word “really” a subconscious slip? If she is definitive in her statement, I wouldn’t expect to see a hedge word such as “really”.
  16. What are the odds that no one from Noura’s own family supported her in the trial, if she was innocent?
  17. Noura’s uncle testified that Noura seemed unusually interested in what she might inherit if Jennifer died. What are the odds that this would happen within a week of Jennifer’s death?
  18. Noura says her uncle is a liar. Noura says, “That’s really hard to do, because, um…I love him.” It appears to me she is thinking on her feet here. What are the odds that her own uncle would lie about this? She points the finger at everyone else, but herself.
  19. Noura’s friend testified that she heard Noura say to her mom the night she was murdered, “My mom’s a bitch and she needs to go to hell.” Her friends didn’t support her either. What are the odds?
  20. Noura says she didn’t get home until 5:00 a.m., but phone records show otherwise. What are the odds that a 17 year old girl would get home at 5:00 a.m. on the night her mom was murdered? How many 17 year old girls stay out until 5:00 a.m.?

Noura supporters argue that whoever killed her father may have killed her mother. I don’t think the two killings shared any similarities, did they? Second, why would a stranger who wanted revenge on Noura’s dad do an “overkill” stabbing on Jennifer? I could see shooting her, but stabbing her dozens of times? Why? A stranger who just wanted money from Jennifer wouldn’t put a basket over Jennifer’s head. That doesn’t make sense. Furthermore, some speculated that since Jennifer inherited her ex-husband’s estate that perhaps his killers wanted money from Jennifer. If this is true, they would have taken things, but from what we know nothing was taken. They would have had nothing to gain by killing Jennifer, so I think those scenarios are unlikely.

I think this case comes down to the basics. When things seems to be unlikely to be true, they probably are. Noura wants us to believe in unrealistic odds here, and offers no good explanation for any of it. She just wants us to believe she is honest and the rest of the world is lying. I’m not buying it. This is classic behavior of a sociopath, though I am not saying Noura is one (I’m not a medical expert). If you notice though, Noura has very little emotions and never says anything loving about her mother whatsoever. She actually complains that her mother embarrassed her, when she talks about the “bond” between them. It’s kind of ironic.

Do I believe Noura killed her mom? I do not know, but I think Noura knows a heck of a lot more than she is telling us. I also wonder if someone else could have been involved. I’d really like to see that hair tested. There are still plenty of questions in this case that need answers, to say the least.


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