Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Christine Bunch: Indiana: (You've heard of that state: the infamous anti gay legislation, Purvi Patel, and now, Christine Bunch); Nearly 17 years in prison for arson and murder after spending nearly half of her life behind bars for a deadly 1995 fire that killed her 3-year-old son. "Newly discovered evidence now reveals her conviction was based on a faulty fire report - a report her attorneys say was fabricated and altered while the true findings were hidden by two Indiana fire investigators with the State Fire Marshal's Office." WTHR.


STORY: :Settlement talks set for mother wrongfully accused of arson and murder," by reporter Sandra, published by WTHR  on April 6, 2015.

GIST: "The State of Indiana will begin settlement talks with a mother who spent nearly 17 years in prison for arson and murder after state fire investigators hid evidence that could have cleared her....In August 2012, the then 38-year-old year old mother was released from prison after spending nearly half of her life behind bars for a deadly 1995 fire that killed her 3-year-old son. Newly discovered evidence now reveals her conviction was based on a faulty fire report - a report her attorneys say was fabricated and altered while the true findings were hidden by two Indiana fire investigators with the State Fire Marshal's Office..........Investigators Bryan Frank and James Skaggs concluded Bunch set two fires: one in the bedroom where Kristine's son Tony slept, and another in the living room of her mobile home. The original report from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms did not find traces of Heavy Petroleum Distillates (HPDs) or accelerants to support those claims. But that report was hidden. Instead, an altered report claiming the presence of HPDs and accelerants was handed over to prosecutors. All charges were eventually dropped against Kristine Bunch after the original report surfaced."

The entire story can be found at: 

http://www.wthr.com/story/28732777/settlement-talks-set-for-mother-wrongfully-accused-of-arson-and-murder

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.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.
 
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;