Miles Kirby: Colorado: Bulletin: First-degree murder to suicide! A case to keep an eye on: He was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with a deceased human body in connection to the death of his girlfriend and mother of their children, Joslyn Teetzel. Now the charges have been dropped: The reason? Prosecutors said the County Coroner's Office changed the cause of death from homicide to suicide -- which Kirby had maintained was the cause of her death all along…Possibly because of the likelihood of a civil trial, both sides asked Evig to see the police report and other key evidence before the case -- by law -- is sealed 35 days after the dismissal of charges." First-degree murder to suicide! I will be watching. (HL)

PASSAGE OFF THE DAY: "Concerns expressed by Teetzel's family about Kirby's prior domestic abuse at the couple's home in Fountain, did not sway the decisions of a judge and magistrate to dismiss the charges and allow Kirby to have limited visitation of his five-year-old twin boys. "He told my mom to go kill herself or he would do it for her," Kirby's older daughter testified, adding that she no longer wants to see him Teetzel's brother gave similar testimony to Judge Samuel Evig before Evig dismissed the charges. "This is an unusual case," he said, as he apologized to the victim's family. "Rarely are the charges in a case like this dismissed before trial." ----------------------------------------------- STORY: "Fountain man initially arrested in girlfriend's death has charges offically dismissed - receives limited child visitation, by Reporter Scott Harrison, published by KRDO, on August 28, 2023. GIST:"The El Paso County District Attorney's office told a judge Monday that it "had no recourse" in dropping charges of first-degree murder and tampering with a deceased human body against Miles Kirby, in connection to the death of his girlfriend and mother of their children, Joslyn Teetzel. Prosecutors recently announced that they would dismiss the charges after the El Paso County Coroner's Office changed the cause of death from homicide to suicide -- which Kirby had maintained was the cause of her death all along. Concerns expressed by Teetzel's family about Kirby's prior domestic abuse at the couple's home in Fountain, did not sway the decisions of a judge and magistrate to dismiss the charges and allow Kirby to have limited visitation of his five-year-old twin boys. "He told my mom to go kill herself or he would do it for her," Kirby's older daughter testified, adding that she no longer wants to see him. Teetzel's brother gave similar testimony to Judge Samuel Evig before Evig dismissed the charges. "This is an unusual case," he said, as he apologized to the victim's family. "Rarely are the charges in a case like this dismissed before trial." Possibly because of the likelihood of a civil trial, both sides asked Evig to see the police report and other key evidence before the case -- by law -- is sealed 35 days after the dismissal of charges. The official decision to drop the charges against Kirby came in the second of two morning hearings -- in two different courtrooms -- 30 minutes apart at the courthouse. In the first, Magistrate Jayne Candera-Ramsey heard arguments regarding whether Kirby should receive supervised visitation of his five-year-old twin boys, or whether -- in anticipation of the charges dropped -- he should have no restrictions. Prosecutors again voiced their concern about accusations by the victim's family of prior domestic abuse by Kirby against Teetzel. Both sides reached a compromise that allows Kirby to have his first two visitations this week -- one under professional supervision and the other under his mother's supervision. Kirby must return to court Sept. 7 for an evaluation of his visitation that could be expanded if he follows required guidelines." The entire story can be read at: https://krdo.com/news/local-news/top-stories/2023/08/28/fountain-man-initially-arrested-in-girlfriends-death-has-charges-officially-dismissed-receives-limited-child-visitation/ PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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 Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog; SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/47049136857587929 FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices. Lawyer Radha Natarajan; Executive Director: New England Innocence Project; ————————————————————————————————— FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true! Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project; ------------------------------------------------------------------ YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD: David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.” https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-1234880143/ -----------------------------------------------