Thursday, December 5, 2013

Rajesh and Nupur Talwar: India; New York Times reports that the convictions will be appealed; The story reveals a flawed police investigation marked by a failure to secure any items from the crime scene for forensic tests - and failure to cordon off the crime scene.


STORY: "Parents receive life sentences in murders of daughter and domestic worker," by reporter Max Bearak, published by the New York Times on November 26. 2013.

GIST:  "Yet the conviction and sentencing of the Talwars have not brought about the kind of public celebration that was seen a couple of months ago after four young men and one juvenile were found guilty of raping and murdering a young student in Delhi. The Indian press, which was warned by the Supreme Court to avoid spreading false and damaging rumors about the Talwars, has recently begun fixating on holes in the Central Bureau of Investigation’s case and police blunders in the days following the murders. After she was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Talwars’s maid, Bharti Mandal, made statements in court that indicated the investigators had coached her to give their version of events, one that implicated the Talwars. Ms. Mandal’s testimony provided the kind of circumstantial evidence that formed the prosecution’s foundational arguments, largely because police failed to secure any items from the crime scene for forensic tests or cordon off the house after the murder. The investigative agency also submitted documents to the court stating that the Talwars, both dentists, had used scalpels to cut the throats of their daughter and live-in domestic worker. However, scalpels owned by the Talwars were never seized for testing."

The entire story can be found at:

http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/parents-receive-life-sentences-in-murders-of-daughter-and-domestic-worker/?src=recg

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

I look forward to hearing from readers at:
 
hlevy15@gmail.com;