Forensics

A Crime And Justice Wish List for 2010

by Diane on December 28, 2009

Number One Threat - Terrorism

Number One Threat - Terrorism

W ith the year end celebrations mostly behind us it’s time to look ahead. 2010 is just days away and as I do every year here’s my wish list for a year filled with better news on the crime and justice beat.

My top wish is for everyone to truly understand the threat anti-American terrorism still holds for our country. To highlight that I wish the upcoming trials in New York for the 9-11 terror suspects would be televised. Just as the Watergate hearings enlightened America … [click to continue…]

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When Loved Ones Do Unthinkable Things

by Diane on August 16, 2009

In happier times - Diane and Danny Schuler

In happier times - Diane and Danny Schuler

There’s a drama playing out in West Babylon, New York that makes you want to go home and tell your family how much you love them. It also makes you wonder how much bad news about your loved one you could accept if he or she did something so horrible it caused seven innocents to lose their lives.

On Sunday July 26th at about 10 o’clock in the morning Diane Schuler got behind the wheel of her mini-van with five children, all under the age of 9, to return home from an upstate New York camping trip. At some point during the drive Schuler’s young niece, Emma, picked up a cell phone and called her father. “There’s something wrong with Aunt Diane!” she is reported to have cried. [click to continue…]

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Forensics Don’t Lie

by Diane on July 27, 2009

Brains Reveals Secrets

Brains Reveal Secrets

Imagine the hushed, sterile atmosphere of an autopsy room. A body arrives and a team of forensic experts quietly gets to work to try to determine cause of death. Scientific evidence is gathered to determine whether a crime was committed to cause the death, whether it occurred from natural, unavoidable causes or if it was death by suicide.

In many cases, such as that of retired NFL quarterback Steve McNair, the cause of death is pretty obvious. McNair, was found sprawled on his condo’s couch, shot twice in the head and twice in the chest. Nearby was the dead body of his 20 year old mistress, a gun underneath her. It was quickly ruled a murder/suicide.

But other deaths are not so clear cut. Take the case of 50 year old infomercial scream-seller Billy Mays … [click to continue…]

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The Jackson Nanny Speaks!

by Diane on June 28, 2009

Paris and Prince sans Blanket

Paris and Prince sans Blanket

First, I must apologize for my absence from the written page for the last few days. I’ve been swamped with work following the death of Michael Jackson. As the author of a book about my investigative findings of his life I’ve been overwhelmed with requests for interviews and articles and OpEd columns. But THIS I had to stop and share with you.  Grace Rwaramba has spoken, in an article in the London Times!  In the world of Michael Jackson this is equivalence of a nuclear bomb going off. Grace Rwaramba the closest thing to a wife Michael Jackson ever had.  When the children arrived it was Grace who was there to swaddle them, hold them, feed them and give them the only “Mother Figure” they’ve ever known. She was like a roommate to Michael Jackson for some 15 years – and was rewarded for her devotion, she says, by repeatedly being fired and rehired.  When her lupus flared to an alarming degree she finally decided she would never go back. Now that the biological mother of the oldest two children, Debbie Rowe, says she doesn’t want custody Grace could have a shot at gaining custody of the kids.  Or maybe the sperm donor (which Rowe now acknowledges) would come forward. (He is a long time friend/business acquaintance of both Jackson and Rowe) The bottom line to the immediate  nuclear fallout here:  Grace is finally confirming the bizarre, nomadic, delusional and dangerous way Michael Jackson lived his life. She also reveals that the matriarch of the family – Katherine Jackson – called her after Michael died to quiz her about “where the money was hidden.”  Grace says there wasn’t any.  The article is written by journalist Daphne Barack.

Grace Rwaramba, the Nanny, Spills Secrets

Grace was a witness to Jackson’s abuse of prescription drugs. She said he took a mixture of them — in her words, “he always ate too little and mixed too much”.  “I had to pump his stomach many times . . . He always mixed so much of it. There was one period that it was so bad that I didn’t let the children see him.” She claims he was furious with her for getting his mother and sister Janet to help. “We tried to do an intervention. It was me, Janet, his mother. I co-ordinated it. He was so angry with me. “He screamed at me, ‘You betrayed my trust. You called them behind my back.’ I told him, ‘Michael I didn’t betray your trust. I try to help you.’ But he didn’t want to listen. That was one of the times he let me go.” via What nanny who worked for Michael Jackson saw – Times Online.

UPDATE FOR THE RECORD:

Grace Rwaramba has issued a partial denial to the above story.  Most specifically she denies ever having pumped Michael Jackson’s stomach.  Her statement, issued on the web site of a friend, also denies she ever spoke to the Times of London.com.  But the story posted there is NOT from a Times of London reporter it was written under the by-line of freelance journalist Daphne Barack.  It is interesting to note in her statement Rwaramba does not deny other major portions of the story by Barack.  Most notably she does not deny Jackson’s rampant drug abuse.

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Where Guns Go To Die

by Diane on June 15, 2009

Confiscated Guns

Confiscated Guns

We want police to get dangerous guns off the street, right?  Well, they are – in record numbers. Now the problem is what to do with all those confiscated guns.

A routine traffic stop yields a rifle in plain sight in the back seat of a car driven by a convicted felon.

A domestic abuse call uncovers two unlicensed pistols inside a home where a woman has called 911 after being battered by her husband.

A take down of a local drug dealing operation nets police a cache of illegal weapons – from semi-automatic to half a dozen 357 Magnums.

What happens to all those weapons? [click to continue…]

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Killer Classifieds

by Diane on May 4, 2009

CEO Buckmaster Denies Sex

CEO Buckmaster Denies Sex

Jim Buckmaster must think we’re stupid.  He’s the C.E.O. of Craigslist the popular and controversial internet classified ad site. Faced with another major public relations disaster, this time the murder of a young woman who reportedly hooked up with her killer via Craigslist, all Buckmaster had to say was, “I would not describe any section of our site as ‘sex related.’” He admits Craigslist does feature an “erotic services” section but, he says, it was not designed to offer more than “legitimate escort services, sensual massage or exotic dancers.”

What does he think “erotic service” leads to – a game of paddy cake? [click to continue…]

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A ‘Lil Swab Will Do ‘Ya

by Diane on April 27, 2009

Open Wide ...

Open Wide ...

What if a policeman approached and ordered you to open wide for a DNA mouth swab test? Suppose you were pulled over on suspicion of DWI, check fraud or skipping child support payments and suddenly you found yourself on the business end of a Q-tip. Would you submit or refuse and ask for your lawyer?

It’s not so far fetched a scenario. Both the FBI and police officials in at least 15 states have recently ratcheted up efforts to collect DNA samples from nearly all those who pass through their systems, whether they’re a hardened criminal or merely a suspect. [click to continue…]

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You Don’t Agree

by Diane on March 28, 2009

Sound Off!

Sound Off!

It’s time again to let some of you get a turn to sound off about what I write in this space.

Every week I examine some crime and justice related topic that captures my attention. You readers don’t always agree with my thoughts.

Jose Armas seemed angry about my column on the growing number of felony cases, like ID thefts, traced back to illegal aliens. “The real criminals,” he wrote, “Are the employers, the magnets who lure them and hire them with impunity, and then stand silently by as their undocumented workers are demonized by politicos, the media, illegal vigilantes, racists and biased so-call authorities like Dimond who commit media malpractice.”

Wait, illegal aliens commit the crimes and I’m the bad guy?! Go figure … [click to continue…]

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A ‘Victimless’ Crime?

by Diane on March 7, 2009

Horror in the Desert

Horror in the Desert

How many times have you heard that prostitution is a “victimless” crime?

As the argument usually goes: So what if people choose to engage in sex for money? It’s between two consenting adults. The woman volunteers, the man pays. No one gets hurt.

Really?

Tell that to the families of the young women being unearthed from a stretch of mesa southwest of  Albuquerque, New Mexico. As I write this the remains of at least 13 women and one unborn child have been discovered in a gruesome mass grave, the handiwork of at least one, and maybe more, serial killers. All the dead women are believed to have been prostitutes and/or addicted to drugs. [click to continue…]

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Time For A Second Opinion

by Diane on January 17, 2009

Sheriff Darren White

Sheriff Darren White

The voice on the other line was familiar but I’d never heard him sound quite like this.

It was my pal  Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White from my hometown of Albuquerque calling me. Darren is a personable guy so we spent a few minutes exchanging pleasantries and asking about each others families and holidays.  But I sensed he had another reason for calling.

Our conversation soon turned serious.  [click to continue…]

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