Rodney Reed: Bastrop County: Affidavit sheds new light in Rodney Reed appeal; A cousin of Stacey Stites has come forward saying he knew that Rodney Reed and Stites were in a secret relationship prior to her murder, according to an affidavit filed with the state’s highest criminal court last week. Reed and his attorneys have long claimed that he and Stites were engaged in a consensual secret affair, which would explain the presence of his DNA in her body, rather than prosecutors’ assertions that Stites was raped shortly before being strangled with her belt. The affair, defense lawyers say, gave Stites’ fiance Jimmy Fennell motive to kill her. Fennell, a former Georgetown Police Sergeant, is presently in jail after pleading guilty in 2008 to charges of kidnapping and improper sexual conduct with a person in police custody. (Must Read. HL);

STORY: "Bastrop County: Affidavit sheds new light in Rodney Reed Appeal,"   by reporter Jillian Beck, published by "The  Statesman" on April 11, 2015.

GIST: "A man convicted and sentenced to death for a 1996 Bastrop County murder he says he did not commit has found a new ally in a family member of the victim in the case. A cousin of Stacey Stites has come forward saying he knew that Rodney Reed and Stites were in a secret relationship prior to her murder, according to an affidavit filed with the state’s highest criminal court last week. "Red Rock resident Calvin “Buddy” Horton says in the affidavit that he saw his cousin Stites and Reed at a Dairy Queen in Bastrop in 1995, months before prosecutors say Reed raped and murdered Stites. Reed was convicted and sentenced to death in 1998 for the rape and murder of Stites. Less than two weeks before he was set to be put to death this year, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stayed his execution based on a new appeal Reed’s attorneys filed in February. Defense attorneys filed the new affidavit from Stites’ cousin on April 8 along with their response to the state’s motion to dismiss Reed’s most recent appeal. Reed and his attorneys have long claimed that he and Stites were engaged in a consensual secret affair, which would explain the presence of his DNA in her body, rather than prosecutors’ assertions that Stites was raped shortly before being strangled with her belt. The affair, defense lawyers say, gave Stites’ fiance Jimmy Fennell motive to kill her.  Fennell, a former Georgetown Police Sergeant, is presently in jail after pleading guilty in 2008 to charges of kidnapping and improper sexual conduct with a person in police custody. Fennell was accused of sexually assaulting a woman involved in an October 2007 domestic disturbance call he responded to. Reed’s most recent appeal also argues that videotape of the crime scene and written accounts from police investigators and forensic pathologists prove that Stites could not have been killed after 3 a.m. while on her way to her job at the Bastrop H-E-B. Instead, the appeal says, the new time of death leaves Fennell as the only suspect, based on his statements that he and Stites were alone prior to her leaving for work..........Defense lawyer Bryce Benjet said he found out about Horton from some of Reed’s supporters that have been organizing a letter writing effort to seek clemency for the death row inmate. After several conversations with Horton, he agreed to make the sworn statement, Benjet said. “Because of this information, and Stacey’s behavior at this time in her life, I have always believed Mr. Reed’s story that he had a relationship with my cousin Stacey — despite the unfortunate pain it brings upon my aunt Carol. I do not wish to cause her, or my family, any more pain. I simply want to bring this truth to light,” Horton said in the affidavit."

The entire story can be found at: 

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/bastrop-county-affidavit-sheds-new-light-in-rodney/nkrTQ/

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;