Michael Vilkin versus John Upton: What really happened?

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ABC 20/20 featured the story this past weekend of John Upton and Michael Vilkin–both neighbors who didn’t get along.

Vilkin owned a vacant lot and tended to it as if it were a full-time job but Upton had some serious complaints that he aired with Vilkin. The two were known to not get along.

The last fight these two men had involved Vilkin cutting down trees on his own property and Upton being upset that his privacy would be lost at his current home where he rented.

Vilkin ended up shooting and killing Upton, got convicted of murder and faces 25 years to life for the murder.

So what really happened here?

When I watched the show, I do not question that Vilkin was bullied by Upton. There is no doubt in my mind he was bullied.

But I have a problem with Vilkin’s story. At first, Vilkin told us he was assaulted by Upton when he shot him in self-defense, but the second time he said he saw Upton coming at him with a gun, and shot and killed him. The gun Vilkin thought he saw Upton carrying ended up being a cell phone.

The two versions of Vilkin’s story are completely inconsistent.

So I do believe Vilkin was bullied and it probably was driving him mad, but I don’t believe that he had to shoot Upton as an act of self-defense.

The Real Jodi Arias!

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I had a sense of who Jodi Arias really was, and this video confirms my suspicions.  In this video, we see a very arrogant, self-adoring Jodi chide herself that she should have put on makeup for her soon-to-be mugshot.  Clearly, this is not a woman who has remorse for what she did to Travis.

Furthermore, we hear her singing a tune that she clearly wanted to be heard.  She isn’t singing this for herself, no way.  She is letting the cops know as she knows she is being recorded that I’ll beat you yet!  She says, “It might change my memory…” This is defiant and arrogant and as conniving as you can get!!

It’s an I’ll show you moment who is boss. You won’t push me around type of attitude.

Chilling to the bone. 

Yes, when Jodi Arias is behind closed doors she laughs at her own belief of her brilliance and the fools she took down along her tirades. She sees them as idiots who dare crossed her path.  She loves to manipulate and control and feeds on it as we see in this video. It’s like food to a Jodi Arias — her lifeblood.

Jodi believes she is smart, more beautiful than everyone else–but now, clearly, she is the only one who believes this nonsense.  Let’s hope the jury makes that very clear!

Thanks, Alex K, for the video link!

Jodi Arias and Juror Questions

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Yesterday the jurors got to ask their questions to Jodi Arias in the court and it was said there were more than 156 questions–some of which were objected to.  However, on CNN, one of the correspondents covering the trial said something noteworthy to me.  She said that most of the jurors were NOT taking notes, but that one in specific was.

This has significance to me.

When there is disagreement in a group, and the group gets a chance to get clarification, the person who is the standout is the one who has to defend their position.  That person is going to be the most likely to “take notes” of comments to support their argument.  I mean let’s face it, if you are in the consensus, and the majority of you feel the same, would you feel the need to take notes when you feel understood?  Probably not. But if you are the lone man out, you certainly would. 

This gives me great concern that there is at least one hold out juror on this jury who may believe Jodi was a victim of abuse!!

I think the jury, if they were all in agreement, would still ask questions, but I don’t think they would ask as many as they are asking because they would feel they have a good understanding of the truth.

It appears to me that the insightful jurors see that there is potential disagreement among them, and they needed to ask very clear and concise questions to get the one (or possibly more) jurors to see the truth.

I have to say this makes me quite nervous and I hope I am wrong!! Or I hope the ones who see the truth prevail with these questions and get the hold out to see the truth.

Jodi Arias lies constantly.  It is a rare moment when she says something truthful and to think there are believers, its mind-boggling to me.

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Update:  In Facebook discussions, it was brought up that jurors are not supposed to talk about the trial until deliberations, and while I understand this, I do not think you can interact with other members of the jury for 9 weeks and not have a pretty good idea of where people stand in general on this case. Juror are allowed to talk about other topics over lunches, recesses, etc.  So I am firm believer the jurors have a pretty good understanding of whose buying Jodi’s story and who isn’t…

My Analysis of George Zimmerman on Hannity

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When I listen to Zimmerman speak, I see a man who has not only been coached to speak, but I also see a man who is incredibly inconsistent and self-centered.  This is all about Zimmerman.  It’s a public media campaign to win the public over, but as a body language and deception expert, he’s failed miserably.

He is not confident in what he is saying, doesn’t own the words that come out of his mouth and shows us this by the vast amount of clues that he leaves behind in his wake. These are not his natural thoughts, if you want my opinion–not even close. I quiver to hear what Zimmerman really thinks.

I can pick out the words, the sentences, the points he was told to make.  They jump at me like lightening on a dark night.

Zimmerman is also very inconsistent and can’t even get one minute into the interview–on his first question–when he says he hasn’t had time to reflect and then he immediately says that’s had lots of time to reflect.  He is all over the place because he’s not being genuine to himself or us.  If he is honest, he’d have no reason to jump all over, but he clearly is jumping all over.  He’s like split mercury on the floor– try to pin it down and you can’t!

Zimmerman’s speech is also choppy because he is thinking constantly as he speaks.  Why does he feel the need to be so controlled? Honest people’s words flow when they speak because honest thoughts come to us as second nature.

Why doesn’t he have any emotions about taking someone’s life?

If I killed someone in self-defense, even if it was justified, I would still be sad that I was put in that position–that I had no option but to take a life. That would disturb me and most people. I might even be mad, but not Zimmerman.  He’s arrogant and self-righteous, yet gives us no credible reason to sympathize with his behavior that night.  He gives us nothing to feel he was truly in a position where he had to take a life. His story is so inconsistent, its without question unbelievable.

We also aren’t seeing normal emotions in Zimmerman because I believe he feels he has to suppress himself, or he will never stand a chance.

I also don’t believe Zimmerman that he’s never heard of the stand your ground law.  Did you see that sheepish smile?

I don’t have a clue where Hannity is getting the idea that Martin reached for something when he first alledgedly circled Zimmerman in his car. This is news to me.   However, about this incident Zimmerman says to Hannity, “I was certain I could see him saying something to me.”    Really?  In Zimmerman’s written statement to police, which was taken right after the incident, he actually hand wrote these words, “I could not hear if he said anything.”

This is the third analysis I have done of Zimmerman and in each one, it is littered with changing stories, and inconsistencies.

Now read this shenanigans:  It speaks for itself. 

HANNITY: …then we get to the issue where you said to — on the 911 call that he’s running. You said that to the dispatch. Is there any chance in retrospect as you look back on that night and what happened, and the nation obviously is paying a lot of attention to this–
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
HANNITY: — trying to maybe get into the mind-set, because we also have learned that Trayvon was speaking with his girlfriend supposedly at the time — that maybe he was afraid of you, didn’t know who you were?
ZIMMERMAN: No.
HANNITY: You don’t think — why do you think that he was running then?
ZIMMERMAN: Maybe I said running, but he was more —
HANNITY: You said he’s running.
ZIMMERMAN: Yes. He was like skipping, going away quickly. But he wasn’t running out of fear.
HANNITY: You could tell the difference?
ZIMMERMAN: He wasn’t running.
HANNITY: So he wasn’t actually running?
ZIMMERMAN: No, sir.
HANNITY: OK. Because that’s what you said to the dispatcher, that you thought he was running.

When someone will change a story like this to support their beliefs, its clear we aren’t going to get anything reliable from Zimmerman outside of more manipulation and control and deceit.

 I’m hoping to get more time to watch the rest of this! I haven’t made it to “Gods Plan” yet.  I think I could write a novel on Zimmerman’s inconsistencies!