"The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission is investigating the innocence claims of Kenneth Kagonyera and Robert Wilcoxsin, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Walter Bowman of Fairview. Bowman was killed during a home invasion in 2000. Two other men sentenced in the case have been released.
The Buncombe County Sheriff's Office obtained the videotape as possible evidence on Sept. 19, 2000, one day after Bowman's murder.
The commission learned that Detective George Sprinkle, who saw the video before it was recorded over, described it as showing three black males coming into the convenience store and gas station at 11:19 p.m. Sept. 18, the night of the murder. From 11:17 p.m. to 11:21 p.m., the tape is recorded over with scenes from "The Guiding Light."
"I'm not trying to attach a bad purpose either, but wow, this looks bad," said Wayne County District Attorney Branson Vickory III, a commission member."
REPORTER MARTHA WAGONNER: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS;
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"RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A panel investigating claims of innocence by two men who pleaded guilty to a murder learned Friday that four minutes of a videotape obtained as possible evidence have been recorded over with scenes from a soap opera," the Associated Press story by reporter Martha Wagonner published earlier today under the heading, "NC innocence panel sees video in murder case," begins.
"The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission is investigating the innocence claims of Kenneth Kagonyera and Robert Wilcoxsin, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Walter Bowman of Fairview. Bowman was killed during a home invasion in 2000. Two other men sentenced in the case have been released," the story continues.
"The Buncombe County Sheriff's Office obtained the videotape as possible evidence on Sept. 19, 2000, one day after Bowman's murder.
The commission learned that Detective George Sprinkle, who saw the video before it was recorded over, described it as showing three black males coming into the convenience store and gas station at 11:19 p.m. Sept. 18, the night of the murder. From 11:17 p.m. to 11:21 p.m., the tape is recorded over with scenes from "The Guiding Light."
"I'm not trying to attach a bad purpose either, but wow, this looks bad," said Wayne County District Attorney Branson Vickory III, a commission member.
The 911 call about the home invasion came at 11:55 p.m., after the surveillance tape shows the three at the store.
The State Bureau of Investigation enhanced the videotape to show men coming into the store and walking back to the car, which an automobile expert said was a 1971 or 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass. It's the same type of car driven by Lacy Pickens, who was never charged in the case but was named in a Crimestoppers tip early in the investigation. A federal prisoner who confessed to the crime in 2003, Robert Rutherford, also named Pickens as another person who participated in the home invasion.
The chain of evidence for the videotape showed that Lt. John Elkins got the tape on Sept. 19, 2000, and that Sprinkle turned it over to an evidence custodian on Oct. 23, 2000, according to testimony before the commission. That's the same day the soap opera episode aired and the same day that investigators interviewed Shaun Bowman, the victim's son, who identified Kagonyera and Wilcoxsin as invading his home.
Both the current sheriff and Elkins said they weren't aware that the video had been recorded over but said that could have happened inadvertently, commission investigator Lindsey Guice Smith testified. Sprinkle said he didn't record over the video and that it would not have been recorded over inadvertently, Smith testified.
Other testimony concentrated on Rutherford, Pickens and Bradford Summey, whom Rutheford also identified as participating in the home invasion. Rutherford, who is in federal custody for conspiracy to traffic drugs, confessed in a phone call with an agent from the Drug Enforcement Agency, according to that agent, but denied ever confessing when commission attorney Jamie Lau interviewed him.
In addition, results from bandanas found at the Bowman home showed Summey's DNA on one bandana, while the DNA of Rutherford and Pickens could not be excluded from evidence. DNA results excluded any of the four men who have served time or remain behind bars for the murder and home invasion.
The hearing opened with evidence about Matt Bacoate and an organization he manages called New Life Options, previously named as Life on Life's Terms. Lau said many of the people whom he interviewed mentioned Bacoate, even without being asked, so he looked into the group. New Life Options counsels people charged with crimes, and participants say they get reduced sentences for their participation.
One attorney said "it was always his understanding that the program operated with a wink and a nod from the DA's office," Lau testified."
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The story can be found at:
http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NC-innocence-panel-sees-video-in-murder-case-1356866.php
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=8369513443994476774
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
