April 24
ARKANSAS:
Suspect charged with capital murder in hotel slaying----Prosecution hasn't
ruled out death penalty
Editor's note: Some details included in this article from an affidavit are
graphic.
Scotty Ray Gardner, a Mayflower man suspected of killing 41-year-old Susan
"Heather" Stubbs at a Conway hotel in March, was charged with capital murder
Friday.
A hotel clerk found Stubbs lying facedown in Room 114 of Days Inn located at
1002 Oak Street in Conway and alerted authorities shortly after 6 p.m. March 6.
Prosecutors have not ruled out seeking the death penalty in the case.
"We cannot assume he's guilty," Faulkner County Prosecuting Attorney Cody
Hiland said. "However, when a capital murder charge is on the table, we cannot
rule out the death penalty until it has been formally waived."
Stubbs was found strangled to death from a cord when police arrived, according
to an affidavit filed Friday morning.
The Conway Police Department, Hot Springs Police Department and the U.S.
Marshals Eastern Arkansas Fugitive Taskforce in a joint effort arrested Gardner
on March 7 in Hot Springs.
Gardner told authorities anger and jealousy caused him to snap, according to
the affidavit.
He and Stubbs had been staying in Room 114 since Feb. 21 and Gardner said he
became upset when he noticed Stubbs talking to other men walking past their
room on March 6.
Gardner told officers he was still upset with Stubbs from a previous incident,
"but had been trying to forgive her for it until this new incident happened,"
referencing a Dec. 19 incident where Stubbs filed a third-degree battery report
against him.
"He said he knew that he could not just grab her and throw her on the bed
because she would go and tell on him," the affidavit reads. "He said everything
just kept building up and he had just snapped. Scotty said the only thing he
knew was that he 'was not going to let Heather go tell the police nothing.'"
Gardner said that at one point during their argument, he grabbed Stubbs and
threw her onto the bed when she tried to leave the room.
He said she reached up in an attempt to scratch him so he started to choke her
and "eventually grabbed a nearby cord and 'wrapped it around her neck,'" the
affidavit states.
During the struggle, Heather tried to fight back; however, she stopped
responding after he choked her and, "Rather than stopping at that point where
she had finally 'shut up,' Scotty said he then 'wrapped that damn thing around
her.' He said he thought, 'Oh Hell,' and that he guessed he choked her out
after that," the affidavit reads.
"I might have killed her ... I don't know," he said, adding he then left to go
gambling to avoid thinking about the situation, the affidavit states.
Gardner, who currently faces habitual offender status, has been charged as a
habitual offender in the past. He was sentenced to the Arkansas Department of
Corrections (ADC) in October 1991 and served 23 years of his sentence.
On Nov. 8, 1990, Gardner was charged with 2 counts of criminal attempt to
commit 1st-degree murder. A jury trial in the matter was set for Nov. 15, 1991,
but Gardner pleaded guilty to charges against him on Oct. 23, 1991.
He petitioned to remove his guilty plea in 1994 and the United States District
Court's Eastern District of Arkansas "found that the trial court failed to
establish a factual basis for the guilty plea, and impermissibly sentenced
Gardner without his presence or the presence of counsel" and issued a writ of
habeas corpus on Jan. 11, 1996, for Gardner's rearraignment and retrial,
according to an Arkansas Supreme Court document.
A jury then convicted Gardner of 1 count each of 1st-degree criminal attempt to
commit murder and first-degree battery, respectively sentencing him to 30- and
20-year sentences that were set to run consecutively.
Gardner was released from the ADC on Dec. 4, 2015, and is currently being held
without bond in the county jail.
Arkansas law states capital murder is punishable by death or life imprisonment
without parole. A jury can impose a death penalty sentence if it unanimously
finds there is an aggravating circumstance that outweighs any circumstance that
would mitigate (lessen) the crime, and must justify the sentence beyond a
reasonable doubt.
Capital punishment, or death penalty, offenses include premeditated murder,
contract killing, murder of a child less than 14 years old, capital murder,
firing a gun at a vehicle and causing death, treason and murder committed while
committing or attempting to commit another felony.
"I support the death penalty in that if we value human life, in the most
serious of crimes, we would punish someone by taking their life," Hiland said.
Gardner is set to appear in Faulkner County Circuit Court at 9 a.m. Monday in
Stubbs' death.
(source: thecamib.net)
MISSOURI:
Earl Forrest of Missouri Receives Execution Date of May 11, 2016
Earl Mitchell Forrest's execution is scheduled to occur at 6 pm CDT, on
Wednesday, May 11, 2016, at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic, and Corrections
Center, in Bonne Terre, Missouri. 66-year-old Earl is convicted of the murder
of Michael Wells, Harriet Smith, and Deputy Sharon Joann Barnes on December 9,
2002, in Salem, Missouri. Earl has spent the last 13 years of his life on
Missouri's death row.
Earl had difficult life growing up. He was often hit by his father, who
encouraged him to fight. Earl also began drinking and using illegal drugs,
activities supported by his father, at an early age. Although never married,
Earl was a father figure to the children of one of his girlfriends, Nancy
Young. They all testified that he was a good father-figure. Earl was known for
abusing alcohol and methamphetamine. He was also known as a hard worker,
although he needed supervision to complete even basic tasks.
On December 9, 2002, Earl Forrest had been drinking alcohol. Forrest and his
then-girlfriend, Angelia Gamblin, went to the home of Harriet Smith. Allegedly,
Forrest and Harriet had an agreement in which he would introduce Harriet to a
source of methamphetamine in exchange for a lawn mower and a mobil home.
According to Forrest, Harriet failed to "fulfill her part of the bargain."
Angelia waited in the car, while Forrest entered the home. Also present inside
the home was Michael Wells, Harriet's friend. After Forrest entered the home, a
fight ensued, which resulted in Michael being shot and killed. Harriet
attempted to escape using Angelia's car. Harriet hit a tree branch backing out
of the driving, causing the car to be stuck. Forrest brought Harriet back into
the house, where he shot her a total of 6 times, killing her.
Forrest took a lockbox containing approximately $25,000 worth of
methamphetamine and fled with his girlfriend. Sheriff Bob Wofford and Deputy
Sharon Joann Barnes were investigating the shooting and went to talk to
Forrest. Forrest opened fire on the officers, killing Deputy Barnes and
injuring Sheriff Wofford.
After being convicted and sentenced to death for the murders of Michael,
Harriet, and Sharon, Forrest was linked to the 1995 California murder of
39-year-old Lori Beth Stefan. She was last seen alive heading towards
Forrest???s home. Police officials visited Forrest in prison in Missouri, where
he confessed. Due to his pending execution, it is unlikely that Forrest will
ever face charges for Lori's murder.
Please pray for peace and healing for the families of Micheal Wells, Harriet
Smith, Sharon Barnes, and Lori Stefan. Please pray for strength for the family
of Earl Forrest. Please pray that if Earl is innocent, lacks the competency to
be executed, or should not be executed for any other reason, that evidence will
be presented prior to his execution. Please pray that Earl will come to find
peace through personal relationship with Jesus Christ, if he has not already.
(source: the forgivenessfoundation.org)
UTAH:
Photographer to give lecture on death row
A French photographer who has documented the human element of executions in
Texas will give a lecture at Utah State University.
Caroline Planque will make a presentation on her work at 12:15 p.m. Monday,
April 25, in Room 154 of the Merrill-Cazier Library. The event is free and open
to the public. Planque is visiting as a guest of the Morris Media & Society
Lecture Series, sponsored by the USU Department of Journalism and
Communication.
Planque's interest in the death penalty came while attending college in Austin,
Texas. Intrigued by the nation's 1st execution since it reinstated the death
penalty in 1977, even as her home country of France executed its last prisoner
that same year, Planque traveled to the home of Texas' death row, West
Livingston. The state of Texas has executed more people than any other state
since the death penalty's reinstatement.
"I quickly met many people and personalities which opened my eyes to the daily
reality of the death penalty," she said.
The photographer has followed the people whose lives center around death row -
interviewing and photographing chaplains, pen pals, witnesses and wardens, as
well as parents, partners and siblings of death row inmates.
This is Planque's 1st speaking engagement in Utah, the 1st state to execute a
prisoner following the lift of the 4-year ban by the U.S. Supreme Court in the
1970s.
Utah has been involved in a debate over capital punishment of late, like many
states. Earlier this year, the state Senate voted to abolish capital
punishment, though the House declined to vote on the bill before the session
ended in March.
Morris Media & Society Lecture Series facilitator Matthew LaPlante said
Planque's views are valuable for people in Utah.
"When we consider capital punishment, we tend to wrestle with the question of
what is justice for murderers, their victims and their victims' families,"
LaPlante said. "What Caroline Planque's work demonstrates is that the human
impact is far more extensive than that."
(source: hjnews.com)
CALIFORNIA:
Mistaken death ruling in Vallejo native's homicide blamed for lack of press
coverage
Vallejoans Shirley and Troy Martin say they understand some of the reasons
their daughter's homicide didn't make the news, but that doesn't make it any
easier to take.
Vallejo native Lynn Marie Martin, 54, died in her San Pablo home Feb. 23, 2015,
but authorities didn't immediately realize her death was a homicide. The
Martins and the case prosecutor said they figure that delay is one reason the
media didn't pick up the story.
Quick to say she's not a publicity seeker, Shirley Martin, 77, describes
herself as "a mother who wants her daughter remembered."
"Maybe it will give us a little peace of mind and things," Troy Martin, 82,
added. "Maybe it won't."
Lynn Martin, a 1978 Vallejo High School graduate who spent 20 years running
nonprofits and most recently headed Contra Costa County's Early Childhood
Mental Health agency, was found dead in her bathroom after co-workers asked
police for a welfare check when she didn't show up for work, her parents said.
At first, police said Lynn Martin's death was likely from natural causes,
officially ruling the cause unknown, Senior Deputy District Attorney Paul
Graves said.
The results of an autopsy brought officials to the Martins' door on the day
they'd planned their daughter's funeral.
"That's when they told us not to bury her because they now suspected it was a
murder," Shirley Martin said.
The suspect, Mark Anthony Carr, 27, was an acquaintance from 2 doors down and
who police believe was involved in the death of a Hercules man during an
attempt to kill another woman. That woman was strangled during a home invasion,
but survived, Graves said.
Graves said that in that case, police found a middle-aged Asian woman inside a
house with plastic over her face. Officers removed the plastic and rushed the
woman to a hospital in critical condition. The man, Leroy Sandoval, 58, was
then found dead in the home's garage with his head covered in plastic packing
tape.
Police found the circumstances similar enough to Lynn Martin's to warrant a
closer look, the Martins and Graves said.
Their daughter's death was ruled a homicide a couple months later, they said.
Carr was supposed to go to "a nuthouse in Porterville," Troy Martin said. But
Graves said the Porterville facility wouldn't take him because evaluating
officials determined he was faking symptoms that lead to him being declared
mentally unfit for trial.
"His competency has been restored, but (his defense lawyers) are appealing
that, and a hearing on that matter is set for August," Graves said. "The state
says he's faking."
Carr has been charged with 2 counts of murder, which make him eligible for the
death penalty.
Meanwhile, county officials issued another death certificate - changing the
cause of Lynn Martin's death from undetermined to homicide by probable
asphyxiation, her mother said.
The fact that her passing got no mention in the media made the Martins feel as
though she were forgotten or unimportant, and that didn't set well, especially
with Shirley Martin.
"I lost a daughter. I'll be broken-hearted forever," she said.
Graves said he completely understands.
"It was awful," he said. "I feel terrible for that family and the circumstances
surrounding their daughter's death and that it took law enforcement so long to
get them some closure.
"But it's also a testament to the tenacity of the Contra Costa Sheriff's
Department, working in conjunction with the District Attorney's Office, to
leave no stone unturned in this investigation and start the victim's family on
a path to obtaining justice for their loved one."
The circumstances of Lynn Martin's death, as discovered by law enforcement, may
not have been immediately obvious to police, Graves said.
"No case is the same, and it's hard to draw parallels, but often, when people
are killed by someone they know, it can leave confusing or contradictory
evidence at the scene," he said. "Your typical forced entry evidence may be
non-existent. That's why the 1st suspect is always the (significant other)."
It's harder when it's a casual acquaintance, he said.
"Lynn enjoyed spending time with her family, but was a relatively private
person around her apartment complex, so making the connection between her and
Mr. Carr took some time," Graves said.
Carr is a significantly younger man with whom Lynn Martin was acquainted and
who her parents said was introduced to them as their daughter's dog walker.
Learning that authorities believe their daughter was killed, was "a shock, to
say the least," said Troy Martin, adding his 1st reaction was "anger."
Receiving the news just before burying her daughter, Shirley Martin said she
was "confused at first."
The grieving mother said she relives the nightmare every day.
"It hits me like a jolt, every so often," she said. "Nothing is joyful any
more, like it used to be."
The couple say they'll never stop missing their adventurous daughter.
"She traveled the world," Troy Martin said. "She's been to China, Nepal, she
climbed to base camp at Everest, she ran marathons. She did it all."
The Times-Herald obituary on the 1978 Vallejo High School graduate said she
earned a bachelor's degree and then a master's degree in Public Health
Education from John Hopkins University. She then ran a nonprofit medical center
for many years in Oregon, where she was "instrumental in getting 2 more clinics
built in nearby towns and received a commendation from the county for her
outstanding leadership on these projects."
She was an exchange student to Turkey in 1978, and a Peace Corps volunteer in
Morocco from 1987 to 1991, working with Berber women and babies. A mountain
climber, and marathon runner, Lynn Martin also enjoyed scuba diving and skiing.
She married in the Peace Corps and was married for 17 years, her parents said.
The case of Lynn Martin's death was cracked based on an off-hand remark made
during the investigation of the Hercules homicide, Graves said.
"That's how we were able to put 2 and 2 together," he said. "That comment
sparked further investigation that identified Lynn's death as a homicide and
helped us figure out what happened."
For her parents, horrible mental images of their daughter's last moments are
never far from the surface, they said. They also carry a sense of guilt about
not being there to save her, despite the fact that she was an adult.
The Martins said they are members of the Carrillo family and direct decedents
of the Benicia-Vallejo family and that this was a source of pride for their
daughter.
"Lynn loved the idea and had a whole genealogy done," Shirley Martin said.
Lynn Martin's death did not go completely unnoticed, her mother said.
"My husband, our other daughter and I were presented a Memorial Resolution by
Nathan Rapp, assistant chief of staff for Senator Loni Hancock" she said.
Part of the resolution reads, "Resolved by Sen. Loni Hancock, that she joins
the family and friends of Lynn Marie Martin in celebrating and revering the
accomplishments and legacy of a distinguished and caring individual who lived
life to the fullest, whose generosity was extended to everyone without
hesitation or expectation of reward, and whose spirit will live forever in the
hearts and memories of all her loved ones." Rapp also reported that the
legislature had a minute of silence in her honor, she said.
Locally, the Richmond mayor sent the family a letter and certificate stating
the city council adjourned its March 3, 2015 meeting in her memory.
Still, there was no article in her hometown newspaper, Shirley Martin said.
"She was my kid, who did some good in the world, and I didn't get a story in
the paper,' she said. "I felt she didn't get her due."
(source: Times Herald)
***************
Sierra LaMar's accused killer demands speedy trial
The man accused of killing missing Morgan Hill teenager Sierra LaMar is
demanding a speedy trial, but it's still up in the air when this high profile
murder case will begin. Antolin Garcia-Torres's trial was anticipated to start
Monday, but his public defenders are saying they need more time.
Sierra's father Steve LaMar said the District Attorney's Office informed him
the trial would likely not start Monday. He said the family is used to delays
and have even lowered their expectations to help them cope.
It's been more than 4 years since the 15-year-old disappeared in March of 2012.
Authorities arrested Garcia-Torres 2 months after the teen vanished on her way
to school. Ever since then, Sierra's family has been waiting for justice.
"It hasn't been fair since the beginning," said Steve LaMar. "Nothing about
this has really been fair."
On Friday, despite objections from his lawyers, Garcia-Torres told a judge he
wanted to stand trial within 60 days, exercising his constitutional right for a
speedy trial.
"What Garcia-Torres is saying is I'm tired of waiting, I want my day in court
and I'm ready for trial," said Legal Analyst Steven Clark. "Now it's going to
be up to lawyers to convince a judge whether they are ready for trial."
Clark said the trial will likely not start Monday and may not even start before
the 60-days are up on June since Garcia-Torres's attorneys told a judge they
aren't ready.
Clark said the public defenders may be tied up with other murder cases and
can't be in 2 places at once. He also points to the complexity of the case
given Garcia-Torres is facing the death penalty.
"This is going to be the highest profile case in the Bay Area since the Scott
Peterson case so it's important things are done right," said Clark. "That it is
done efficiently but it's done fairly."
Sierra's body has never been found but prosecutors said her DNA was found in
Garcia-Torres's car and Garcia-Torres's DNA was found on some of her clothing,
thrown in a field near where she disappeared.
Clark said, since there's no body and no crime scene, testimony from DNA and
forensics experts will be critical.
Sierra's father is optimistic and hopeful the case will move forward because to
this day they don't know what happened to Sierra.
"We need answers," said Steve LaMar. "Worse than any other court delays and
anything is just the not knowing what happened is one of the worst things to
deal with."
Garcia-Torres is scheduled to appear before a judge on Monday and it's then the
judge can decide when this trial will start. Sierra's family plans to be there
when the trial begins.
Sierra's father said he's never seen Garcia-Torres in person because it would
be too emotional for him, but he feels the time is now.
(source: KTVU news)
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