Archive | Domestic Violence

Sandoval Jury to Deliberate Today

Sandoval Jury to Deliberate Today

LAW WEEK COLORADO

DENVER – A Greeley jury will go into deliberations, solving the 15-year disappearance of Kristina Tournai-Sandoval with only circumstantial evidence – no DNA, no fingerprints, no weapon and no body.

John Sandoval, Tournai-Sandoval’s estranged husband and alleged murderer, has been on trial for about a month. The day Tournai-Sandoval was reported missing, he was found in the early morning hours with a wet shovel and scratches on his neck.

Prosecutors pointed out to jurors that the case’s circumstantial evidence – Sandoval’s reluctance to talk to police, conflicting statements concerning the whereabouts of the victim and his history of stalking and harassing women – all pointed to one inevitable conclusion An former federal prosecutor’s analysis of hundreds of “no-body” murder trials found that many trials like Sandoval’s will result in a murder conviction because the killer usually has a close relation with the victim.

“The vast majority of [no-body murder cases] are between two people who know one another,” said Tad DiBiase, a former U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. and a self-proclaimed “no-body guy.” “‘Stranger’ no-body cases are very rare. Most involve husbands killing wives, boyfriends killing girlfriends and parents killing biological or step children. For those reasons, they end up having a high conviction rate. I think over the last 10 to 15 years, with advances in forensics particularly in DNA, it’s not as hard to win a conviction in those cases.”

Sandoval’s public defenders criticized law enforcement efforts in Tournai-Sandoval’s disappearance, calling it a “tunnel-vision” investigation.

““Physical evidence doesn’t lie, it does not change stories, it does not forget, and it does not exaggerate, and it does not lose its memory,” Public Defender Ken Barker told the jury.

Read the rest of the coverage in the Sandoval murder trial in the Greeley Tribune.

Stay ahead by signing up for Law Week E-News! >

Posted in Cold Case Homicides, Criminal, Domestic Violence, Featured Stories, Judges, Lawyers, People, Prosecutors0

Charlie Sheen Case Continues In Aspen; Hal Haddon Watches From Gallery

Charlie Sheen Case Continues In Aspen; Hal Haddon Watches From Gallery

LAW WEEK COLORADO

DENVER — Actor Charlie Sheen is scheduled to make his next court appearance in Aspen on June 18. His Aspen lawyer, Richard Cummins, appeared in court Monday to discuss the domestic violence proceedings against Sheen, who is being charged under his birth name Carlos Irwin Estevez.

Also at the hearing, though apparently not directly involved in the case, was defense attorney Hal Haddon of Denver law firm Haddon Morgan & Foreman, reports The Aspen Times.

Haddon, who also attended Sheen’s arraignment last month, took notes from the gallery but declined to discuss his involvement, if any, in the case.

“It’s an interesting case,” Haddon told The Times.

Stay ahead by signing up for Law Week E-News! >

Posted in Domestic Violence, Featured Stories, Lawyers0

Colorado Springs’ “Fast Track” Domestic Violence Program May Be Slowed

Colorado Springs’ “Fast Track” Domestic Violence Program May Be Slowed

The 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office’s Fast Track program — which deals with domestic violence suspects the morning after their arrest — may be slowing down a beat, the Gazette of Colorado Springs writes. Both prosecutors and defenders say they might benefit from having a bit more time to evaluate the details of a case rather than just dealing with them on the fly.

Stay ahead by signing up for Law Week E-News! >

Posted in Domestic Violence, Featured Stories0


  • Popular
  • Latest
  • Comments
  • Tags
  • Subscribe

Related Sites