We need to discuss something immediately. For a growing list of reasons, I obviously need to move up the coast. Get a load of the drama going on right now in Fort Bragg.
Aaron the 32-year old handyman shot his 63-year old lifelong molester, Darrell and then watched him die for 30 minutes. The cops want to throw the book at him. Everyone else in town has "Save Aaron" bumper stickers.
The best quote comes from Darrell's wife, also present at the shooting. "I know the man I was married to, but this other man who abused kids, I didn't know. I call them Darrell One and Darrell Two - but I have no reason not to believe Aaron."
Mrs. McNeill is 52 and was married to the late Darrell (numbers 1 and 2) for 25 years and even she thinks Arron should get leniency.
In other news, a local serial killer I have been discussing for years upon years in finally back and splashed across the headlines!
David Carpenter, the Trailside Killer has been connected to another murder, this one in San Francisco (gasp!). Apparently in digging around in the evidence this past December, the fuzz found over-looked DNA (blood, semen, what?!?) and tested it. Turns out, it's David Carpenter!
The SFPD sent out a weirdly-worded press release:
San Francisco Police Inspectors Joseph Toomey and Holly Pera of the SFPD Cold Case Unit served a search warrant on Wednesday, February 3 to obtain DNA samples from a suspect, David Joseph Carpenter, known as the Trailside Killer, in a 1979 San Francisco homicide case. The purpose of the warrant was to obtain oral swabs from Carpenter to confirm Department of Justice DNA findings.
On Sunday, October 21, 1979, at 4:30 P.M., a 23-year-old woman, Mary Bennett, was found dead at Lands End, just north of Painted Rock, in San Francisco. Dressed in a T-shirt, shorts, and jogging shoes, she was found in a wooded area, her body partially covered with dirt and branches. She had been stabbed multiple times in the neck, chest, and back.
In December 2009, the San Francisco Police Department Crime Laboratory examined the physical evidence that had been collected from the crime scene. A DNA profile of an unknown male was detected on the items. This DNA profile was submitted to the California Department of Justice DNA Data Bank (COIDIS).
On January 4, 2010, COIDIS notified the SFPD Crime Laboratory that the DNA profile sample that was submitted was associated with Carpenter’s DNA profile that was on file with DOJ.
On February 18, 2010, the San Francisco Police Department Crime Laboratory examined the oral swabs taken from Carpenter and developed his DNA. This reference sample confirmed the results provided by the DOJ. The DNA profile developed from the evidence is a match to David Carpenter.
Carpenter, now 79 years old, is on death row at San Quentin State Prison awaiting execution for the murders for which he was convicted in California in the 1980s.
Why did they need swabs on February 3rd if they knew on January 4th. I don't think anything's shifty here. It's just either being over-complicated or poorly explained. But it's throwing me off, I'm already stressed at work today and now I really want to post something about this but everytime I read the press release, I'm like, "Wait. What the fuck are you trying to say? This is horribly worded."
Any why did someone decide to check out 30 year old evidence from an unsolved murder? How can that be my job? Because I would love to do that. Cold Case Files? I'm your gal.
The moral of this story is not that a murder has been solved. The moral of this story is that I've been talking about David Carpenter for ages, brought him up recently because I think the next generation version of him is currently at work (more on this later, I promise) and I feel like finally, everyone has to talk about one of my favorite things ever to talk about.
Creepy? Indeed. But what else is new...
4 comments:
I think when they match DNA from a crime scene to some entry in a database then it is only considered a preliminary match. The "official" match is when they compare it to a fresh sample taken from the person in question. So the Jan 4 thing was a database match, then they went to San Quentin and took a fresh cheek swab which also showed a match on Feb 18.
Thank you, Erik for that clear and concise explanation. That makes sense...
FWIW, your impact on the blog-readers of SF is such that someone who has met you a sum total of once immediately thought to himself, upon seeing this on SF Gate, "shit, Spotswood will plotz, can't wait for the post." If only your obsession were with consumer products and not serial killers, you could probably be making bank pushing purses and skin care products.
Save Aaron!!!!
Post a Comment