"Jamie Lau, an investigator with the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission, testified that the three-minute segment was taped over with an episode of “The Guiding Light” the day before warrants were issued charging six men with the murder of Walter Rodney Bowman," the story continues.
Investigators said the missing portion might have shown a clear look at the faces of suspects in Bowman’s Sept. 18, 2000, slaying."
REPORTER CLARKE MORRISSON; THE ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES;
Photo: Kenneth Kagonyera;
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"ASHEVILLE — Judges in a special hearing to decide whether two men convicted of murder should be exonerated watched intently Wednesday as video taken by a store security camera inexplicably switched to a recording of a soap opera," the Asheville Citizen Times story by reporter Clarke Morrrison published on September 14, 2011 under the heading, " Judges watch taped =over video evidence at Asheville innocence hearing.
"Jamie Lau, an investigator with the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission, testified that the three-minute segment was taped over with an episode of “The Guiding Light” the day before warrants were issued charging six men with the murder of Walter Rodney Bowman," the story continues.
Investigators said the missing portion might have shown a clear look at the faces of suspects in Bowman’s Sept. 18, 2000, slaying.
But Lau said the remainder of the tape, recorded at the Kounty Line convenience store on Charlotte Highway around the time of the killing, does reveal some valuable evidence.
It shows images of an unusual car — a 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme — the same make and model owned by one of three men that attorneys for Kenneth Kagonyera and Robert Wilcoxson say really killed Bowman but were never charged.
Records show that Lacy “J.J.” Pickens was the car’s owner, Lau testified. Defense attorney Chris Fialko contends Pickens, Robert Rutherford and Bradford Summey committed the crime and the wrong group of men was charged.
Lau said sheriff’s investigators obtained the surveillance tape from the convenience store the day after Bowman was killed. By reviewing soap opera transcripts, Innocence Commission investigators learned the episode aired on Oct. 23, 2000, the same day a detective turned the tape over to an evidence room manager.
Lau said he considered the erasure serious but was unable to determine how it occurred. He said he was told by Sheriff Van Duncan it could have been accidental.
Detectives who investigated Bowman’s slaying never interviewed Pickens, Rutherford or Summey, Lau said, even though they were named in a Crime Stoppers tip shortly after the slaying. Crime scene photos and the 911 call reporting the crime were not preserved, he said.
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The story can be found at:
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20110915/NEWS/309150019/Judges-watch-taped-over-video-innocence-hearing?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Frontpage|s
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;
