The Imette St. Guillen Trial

Remember Imette St. Guillen?  

Her murder hit very close to home for me.  

She was enjoying a night out in New York City with her best friend and was found dead the following day. 

New York City is my home.  I believe it to be fairly safe when bar hopping with friends on warm summer nights.  But it wasn’t summer this night, it was a cold February night and Imette ended up alone and at the mercy of a monster.

I have always wondered why Imette stayed out alone.  She was really smart, well versed and was about to get her Master’s Degree in criminal justice.

So what made her stay out alone until 4:00am that cold winter night?  What made her drink until her alcohol level was at .17 – twice the legal limit?

It took 3 years for this case to come to trial.  Finally it has begun and Imette will get her justice.

On February 25 2006, Imette had just returned from vacationing in Florida and met her best friend at the Pioneer bar in lower Manhattan for some drinks, by 3:30am, Imette’s friend was tired and decided to head home, but Imette insisted she wanted to stay out a bit longer.  Her friend checked up on Imette 30 minutes later and during their last conversation, Imette said she had gone to another bar and would be home later.

She eventually walked into The Falls bar and her fate was sealed, or could it have been avoided?

It was 15 minutes before their 4am closing time at the Falls bar, according to workers, the bar was empty.  Why didn’t they refuse her drink order and send her home?

The bartender’s testimony is that Imette walked over and sat at the bar and ordered two rum and diet cokes, she served her and then walked away.  The manager, Danny Dorrian, states he noticed she was drunk and wanted her to leave.  He then forced her to leave by asking his bouncers to walk her out. It wasn’t until 18 hours later that an anonymous call came in to the police department from a payphone in Queens alerting them to Imette’s body.

She had been violently raped, brutally tortured, her long dark hair was cut off, masking tape was wrapped around her head and a sock was stuffed in her mouth, her body was found in the weeds along the Belt Parkway.  The Belt Parkway is a road I often take and at times while I am driving I look over at it and my heart sinks, because as a child my father would take us there to watch my uncle fish and now the memory is tainted by the image of Imette’s body lying there cold, alone and dead.

Darryl Littlejohn, one of the bouncers on staff that night at the Falls bar is on trial for the murder of 24 year old Imette St. Guillen.

He claims he is being framed by the bar owner and his family.  

The Dorrian’s are the owners of another bar linked to an infamous crime.   The Red Hand is the bar in which the “preppie killer” picked up and later murdered Jessica Levin in 1986.  The Dorrian’s also have connections to the former mayor of NYC and are rumored to be very well connected to other influential people in NYC.

He claims the Dorrian family is framing him to spare the family the shame and scandal of having one of their own be named a murderer and further ruining their family business.

Danny Dorrian claimed that due to his family’s history with the Levin murder, he was at first reluctant to give Law Enforcement information at the very start of the investigation into Imette’s murder.  He felt he could just say he never saw her and spare the family any bad publicity; he just didn’t want to get involved. 

Initially he told police very little about what happened that night.  But a week after the murder the police confronted him about his bouncer’s criminal record and only then did Danny Dorrian admit to police that Imette seemed drunk and he ordered her to leave the bar and told Littlejohn to escort her out.  It is illegal and super irresponsible for a bar to employ an ex-convict to conduct security.  At the time Littlejohn was out on parole after serving 12 years in prison for drug possession and robbery.  He was in violation of his parole by being employed at a bar as well as violating his curfew.  A simple background check would have alerted the Dorrian family to these facts.

Littlejohn’s defense attorney is a woman and it amazed me to hear her say that Imette was out on the town looking to get some “action” and “hook up” and maybe even with Danny Dorrian.  She alluded to an affair between Danny and Imette and even wanted to make it appear that Imette was out looking for it.  There is absolutely no evidence to support her stupid theory and she should be ashamed of herself.

But but but..before you even start to think that Littlejohn could have been framed, let us examine his history and the evidence.

Littlejohn had a fake police badge.  How did he get this badge?

Well it seems there was this school in NYC where you could take a 3 day course in bounty hunting and then at the end of this course receive a badge, official handcuffs and other identification that resembles that of a NYPD officer.  The school took in hundreds of students and after being investigated was shut down for giving 73 ex-convicts these copy cat I.D.s.  

Littlejohn was known to often impersonate an officer and is currently serving a 25 year to life sentence for the kidnapping of another woman.  In that case he was dressed as a police officer and using his fake badge from his bounty hunting course, he instructed the woman to show him her I.D.; he then put hand cuffs on her and forced her into his van.  She screamed and fought back and eventually jumped out of the vehicle as it was moving.  The van was later shown on television in connection with the Imette St. Guillen murder, she instantly recognized the van and Litteljohn.   

The evidence (so far):

Cell phone Pings: 

Terence Li, a T-Mobile engineer, testified in Brooklyn Supreme Court that Darryl Litlejohn made a series of phone calls between 7:15 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the area in East New York where St. Guillen's body was eventually found on February 25, 2006 -- a day after St. Guillen disappeared from a SoHo bar. 

Li said Littlejohn can be placed at the location where St. Guillen's body was found because of a call he made at 7:31 p.m.  Records show that the call Littlejohn made bounced off one of the cell phone towers near the area where St. Guillen's body was found.  (NYPOST)

The Ex-Girl:

His ex-girlfriend also testified that Littlejohn called her and instructed her to lie to police and tell them that he had driven her car on the night of the murder to visit his sick mother in a retirement home.  His alibi fell apart when his ex decided to tell the truth and testify against him.

The Witnesses:

The bartender that served Imette that night said that Imette wandered into the empty bar about 15 minutes before the 4:00am closing time, she sat down and order two rum and cokes.  She later remembers Danny Dorrian telling her “This girl is crazy, she doesn’t want to leave the bar”.

Another witness says he saw Littlejohn sitting next to Imette chatting with her and heard them discussing what race she was and then Littlejohn and another bouncer walked Imette out of The Falls bar, the other bouncer returned, but Littlejohn and Imette did not.

The Dirtiest Quilt in the World and DNA:

Tests confirmed that semen (DNA) on the coverlet wrapped around Imette’s body matches the brother of her suspected killer.  Littlejohn’s brother died in 1994, long before St. Guillen's death, but the DNA match adds to a growing pile of evidence against Littlejohn.   Also found on the quilt was pubic hair and DNA from Littlejohn’s late mother.   

Carpet fiber and rabbit and mink hair on the 24-year-old grad student's body was consistent with carpet fiber at Littlejohn's home and two coats hanging in his mother's closet.  (Daily News)

The Violent Family History: 

Littlejohn’s brother died of an asthma attack in 1994 while being arrested for the rape and murder of a young mother, he also killed the woman’s husband.  He tied and torture the woman in the same way Littlejohn tied and torture Imette.

I will continue to update as the trial moves along.

State Attorney's Office Seeks Death for Casey Anthony

The State Attorney's office has now flipped on seeking death for Casey Anthony.  It was made clear a few months ago that they would not seek the death penalty for the young mother, but today it all changed.

The state attorney's office is citing "sufficient aggravating circumstances" as a reason for changing the game plan.

This means that Jose Baez, her lead attorney, will not be able to defend her at trial, he is not qualified to lead a death penalty case.  In my opinion he is not qualified to lead a pack of monkeys into the jungle, but a digress.

I wonder what caused this turn of events?  Is it new evidence of guilt recently returned from the lab? Like DNA or blood on Casey's shoes? Maggot tests results back? Toxicology on the baby that shows she was poisoned with chloroform?

I am sure the spectacle her parents made during those depositions didn't help her cause, the obvious lies and cover up for their daughter must have infuriate a lot of people at the state's attorney's office.

Is this a call to Casey to take a plea deal and confess or face death and eternal damnation?

Will she confess? 

Will she shake in her sleep tonight and awaken in a cold sweat?

Will her parents still go on Oprah as they are planning to? (Yes they are scheduled to appear on Oprah during the MAY sweeps).

If anyone deserves death, it is a mother who murder's her child leaves her in the trunk of her car while she goes out to party, then throws her in the woods and continues to cook for her new boyfriend and go about her days lying to her family, getting her nails and hair done and getting tattoos while smoking pot all the while her baby is alone in the woods with not one person on her side.

I am very skeptical about the death penalty, but sometimes it is clear when a murderer deserves the ultimate punishment.

I have No Words: Sandra Cantu's killer a Woman.

Little Sandra Cantu's suspected murderer is behind bars today.

28 year old Melissa Lawless Huckaby, the granddaughter of a local pastor was arrested for the kidnap and murder of the 8 year old girl, who was found stuffed in a suitcase 10 days after her disappearance from her trailer park home.

Melissa is a Sunday school teacher and a mother of a 5 year old little girl. Her story to Law Enforcement was proven false as she claimed Sandra came over to visit with her own daughter and later left, at the very same time she claims her suitcase, which she left in her driveway was stolen. She reported the suitcase missing earlier this week, investigators say this was a lie and it was the very suitcase Sandra was found in.

Investigators have indicated they believe Sandra was dead before she was even reported missing. They also announced they are NOT looking for any other suspects.

What was the motive here?

There are rumors about this woman drugging a child 6 months ago. Was that Sandra? Or another victim.


Are you surprised it is a woman?

A female, non-relative child murderer.

Investigators says she incriminated herself many times during the investigation and finally last night under questioning she reluctantly realized the jig was up.

Rest In Peace Sandra and my heart goes out to the Cantu family.

The Depositions of George and Cindy Anthony

Will the real Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez please stand up?

The Anthony's, the parents of accused baby killer Casey Anthony, were forced to give a deposition in the civil case against their daughter brought upon by a woman who has the same name as the infamous vanishing nanny that Casey Anthony claims kidnapped her daughter and then killed her, leaving her steps from her parent's home.

But first a recent update on the case is mind blowing, in that the judge assigned to the case has filed a complaint to the BAR Association against Casey Anthony's attorney.

Many people believe the reason behind this complaint is a deposition by a private investigator who apparently was seen on tape searching the very area and woods where little Caylee's body was later eventually discovered, in the video he is on the telephone seemingly getting instructions from someone on the telephone about where to search for Caylee. He was at the time the private investigator for the Anthony family or Casey's attorney, this is still unclear to me. The PI tells authorities that someone told him that if he should find Caylee's body that he should NOT call 911. Only Judge Strickland knows who gave the PI those instructions, and perhaps this was the reason behind the complaint.

It is utterly disgusting for me to believe that somehow the Anthony's or Casey's lawyer knew that Caylee was in the woods by admission of the murderer and that they were looking for it themselves. To do what with? Move the body? Get rid of it? Help their daughter beat this conviction at the expense of justice for Caylee?

Who is on Caylee's side?

Now we move on to this George Anthony deposition. and George Anthony Hostile

George is answering questions in the civil defamation lawsuit brought on by the real Zenaida, who wants to clear her name as her life was turned upside down by this family.

George is hostile, rude, arrogant at times ridiculous. At times it seems the lies coming out of his mouth are unbelievable even to his own ears. He believes in his daughter? What? He keeps threatening to leave. George you are NOT above the law so sit down and answer the questions. Maybe this is because Cindy Anthony was going to be deposed first, but very intelligently they switched the order, I bet so that George was caught off guard as I am sure he was planning to just repeat what Cindy said as per her instructions. Further the Anthony's brought in their own video camera to film themselves. Why?

George states he still believes there is another Zanny Nanny running around out there because his daughter says so. He thinks this civil case is frivolous and yet turns to Zenaida and says he wants to apologize to her and shake her hand. I bet that really pissed Cindy off!

I think this civil case is the only way to remove doubt about this woman being involved, had she not brought these charges against this family and got them on record stating she is not in fact the Zanny they are referring to, many conspiracy theorist out there would have continued to suspect her until the very end.

Now on to Cindy Anthony's deposition.  She doesn't wait long to get testy and sarcastic, she acts like she doesn't even know why she is there and the first question has not even been asked before she asks for the "relevance" of it all.  She rolls her eyes takes a drink, no respect at all for anyone.  

It gets worse.  This is Cindy's time to shine, to cast doubt on her daughter's guilt, to poison the jury pool.  She claims many things, things that she has never claimed before, like that she had many phone numbers and addresses for Zanny, oh but wait, Jesse Grund, Casey ex-boyfriend was the one who called the nanny "Zanny", that Casey merely called her "the babysitter". 

Cindy Anthony has often made comments about Jesse as she wants everyone to believe he is the true murderer.  Sorry Cindy but no one is going to believe that crap and if you had many phone numbers for this babysitter and addresses, then where are they? She states she no longer has them.

The lies are so ridiculous that squirmed while watching her. 

I want this all to end with Casey behind bars forever.

Sandra Cantu Case: Who are the suspects?

As I reported last night, the body of little 8 year old Sandra Cantu was found in a suitcase submerged in an irrigation pond 2 miles from her trailer park home from where she vanished last week.

Yesterday, two dairy farmers were draining the pond as is often done to transfer water to another area of the farm, to their surprise; a suitcase began to reveal itself at the edge of the pond, a suitcase that was NOT there 10 days ago when the pond was filled.

They immediately called authorities.

The Tracy police department did not take any chances and investigated cautiously after being ridiculed for not alerting the media at the start of the investigation and waiting 10 hours before getting out a description of Sandra onto the local outlets.

Instead of walking over to the suitcase and opening it up to see what was inside, they meticulously gathered evidence leading up to the suitcase and pond. They crawled on their hands and knees and gathered what looked like miniscule particles off the dirt road. They photographed tire marks and indents in the dirt; they created a grid and took steps to preserve everything.

They did this before even opening the case.

The media had a helicopter flying above in a restricted air space, live feeding this visual online to us websleuths.

I watched on and off for hours as they did this and I wondered why the case wasn’t opened.

I waited several more hours for the live press conference. Then finally they somberly announced that they had found Sandra Cantu in that suitcase.

Another little girl murdered.

Now it is time for the Tracy police to get the person or people who are responsible for this horrid crime.

The media received the last known video footage of Sandra Cantu on surveillance video, skipping away from her trailer park home in the beautiful sunlight; this video is heartbreaking as we watched an innocent child in her most vulnerable state wandering around with no clear indication of where she was going. It almost seemed like she herself didn’t know where to go next. She seemed bored and at peace.

So was this a crime of opportunity? What happened after she disappeared from view? What monster did she run into? What darkness occurred during that sunny afternoon?

Everyone is a person of interest:

The first person of interest is Mr. Wohler, a resident at the trailer park and a man who at the age of 60 thought it was okay to walk over to a then 5 year old Sandra and kiss her on the mouth at the residential pool. The family filed a complaint and Wohler claimed it was an innocent kiss. He also states he tried to stay away from Sandra, but she would often come to his home and ask to help with his garden, in which he immediately would tell her no.

The second group of people of interest are the Synclairs, a couple of cousins, who are often in trouble with the law and are the known trouble makers at the park. Law Enforcement found trouble with one of these cousins when they tried to search some of their vehicles; they were met with anger and shouts and hindering, which ended with the arrest of one these men for obstruction of justice and interfering with a police investigation. Property, cars and mobile homes were searched more than twice in regard to this pair of outlaws.

Moving on now to Mr. Slayter a man who many say spent time with Sandra playing video games in his home, who some say was too friendly with the child. He claims he recently warned Sandra about “other adults”, however his home was searched and rumor is, he was removed and taken in for further questioning.

Most recently my sources tell me that a church and its back shed was searched and closed off in a similar way to how a crime scene is sealed off to the public. It is a known fact that Sandra had wanted to go to church that evening and then to a movie, but quickly determined she didn’t have enough money for a movie. So did she leave her home to go over to the church? Is the pastor now in question? Or are the Tracy police again leaving no stone uncovered? Did someone lure her to the shed?

The suitcase is interesting as it shows the perpetrator’s attempt at concealing her during transport or concealing her from others. I believe this person used the suitcase in order to leave his home with the body of Sandra without being seen or suspected of anything. I also believe this person did not think she would be found and that others, either family members or neighbors saw this person with this piece of luggage and did not think anything of it.

So who was seen that day with luggage? More importantly who is missing a piece of luggage?

Also, this person left her 2 miles from her home, which also tells me this person had to hurry back to be someplace and did not have time to drive further away for a better spot. The ponds were his first and only choice. Too bad he didn’t know the ponds are often drained and refilled.

The murderer here is an unskilled opportunist who committed this impulsive crime with no plan. He will be caught.

Rest in Peace little Sandra.

Trailer Park Children: Sandra Cantu

*Update: This morning two dairy farmers were draining an irrigation pond North of Tracy, CA where little Sandra Cantu went missing last week.  A piece of travel luggage emerged from the water.  I watched live as the Tracy police and FBI arrived at the scene, they spent hours collecting evidence leading up to this piece of luggage, before even knowing if there was anything in it connected to the missing 8 - year old girl.  I have to say the Tracy police are very impressive in their devotion to finding this child.  After hours on the scene the piece of luggage was taken to an undisclosed location, where it was opened, and to the horror of many, Sandra Cantu was indeed inside.

I have complete faith that the Tracy police will find this monster and he will be brought to justice.  Rest In Peace little Sandra.

Sandra Cantu is the latest little vulnerable girl missing from a trailer park.  I am sure in addition to Haleigh Cummings and Sandra there are many more that we are unaware of.

I don't have a lot of statistical information about trailer parks, or life in one.  But I feel like when you are a poor family and the only choice you have is to live in one of these communities, that you are also exposed to other individuals who are forced to take up a residence there. People like convicts who after being released from prison do not have many options, as well as sex offenders, drug addicts etc.

I also understand that you can be a totally legit and honest family living at a trailer park because you have no other choice.

In the case of Haleigh, we have a 5 year old girl at home with her father's 17 year old girlfriend, who to me is a child as well.  Dad comes home at around 2AM and Haleigh is missing.  Dad's girlfriend states she was asleep right next to Haleigh and has no idea who took her.  

There are an overwhelming amount of sex offenders in the immediate area.  There are also some conflicting reports about sightings of dad's girlfriend hanging out that night.  So did she leave Haleigh alone to get her drink on and then returned to find her missing?  Or did Haleigh fall victim to an accident to which her family decided to cover up?

The question still remains, where is Haleigh? Every trace of her has vanished.  Is this family really smart enough to get rid of evidence and a body so well in a matter of hours?

Sandra Cantu is 8 years old and has been missing for a week.  Her mother says Sandra told her she was going to visit a friend and was to return by dinner time as usual, however dinner time came and went and no Sandra.

The search began at the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park in Tracy, CA.  Video surveillance show Sandra leaving her trailer home, but then later show her leaving the trailer park altogether.  It was discovered that the friend she was going to visit was not home.  

Where did Sandra go?

I don't know if I am an overly protective parent, but I think 8 years old is a little too young to be let out on her own to go from house to house and visit with friends.  It seems to me that a child that age should be taken to her friend's home and retrieved later, or at least followed up with a call to said friend's house to check if the friend is home and all is well.  

Can there be a law to which parent's are held responsible for really bad judgement?  Will that save more children? Can we hand out guidelines in hospitals to new parents, explaining the rules of keeping your child safe? 

The manager of the park and it's residents claim the trailer park is safe and a family place, with kids spending time alone at the pool and basketball courts.  I am curious to know how many residents are ex-cons and sexual predators.  Did Sandra really just leave the park on her own?Or was she lured out of the park to avoid the surveillance cameras by a resident?

In 2007 there was a report made about one of Sandra's neighbors, a 60 year old man, apparently he marched over to Sandra and kissed her on the lips after brushing her hair from her face.  This man was questioned by police along with all of the other residents of the park. 

As with Haleigh Cummings, it is now a waiting game.  Wait for evidence of foul play?  Wait for the rescue of Sandra?  Wait for a body?  Wait for nothing to come of anything?  

A parent's worse nightmare.  

Jason Young: The Unraveling of a Murderer

A new warrant was released in the Michelle Young case.

The case of a pregnant North Carolina mother who was brutally beaten to death in her bedroom, while her 2 year old daughter was at home and remained unharmed.

Her husband, Jason Young has always been a suspect. He is the only person to have the means, motive and opportunity. The orchestration of this well thought out murder was so cleverly done that it is still taking law enforcement time to piece it all together. However, the manner in which she was killed, was brutal, disgusting and was conducted with severe hatred of Michelle. A crime that many thought didn’t seem to fit in with Jason, a husband who loved his family. I always knew he wasn’t the loving husband he claimed to be and with the new warrant released we can get a glimpse into the revelation of the real Jason Young who is capable of beating his wife until she was unrecognizable.

Please click here to read my earlier post about this crime and the evidence that clearly points to Jason and no one else: shamaninga.blogspot.com/2008/12/beautiful-michelle-young.html

View the new warrant.

Here is a snip of an email Jason Young sent to his wife in July, on a day when Michelle Young had to run errands and left Jason with their young daughter:

"I am taking a beer and her to pool. I am in a mood that makes our trip to myrtle [sic] seem mild, pray the beer kicks in," the e-mail states. "I could kill u [sic] for not letting me finish the yard work this morning."

Now, you may think the above email, could be a joke, or just an email with no real underlining threat between husband and wife, but then couple it with other witness testimony such as, a neighbor who said he often heard the Youngs screaming and fighting for hours. Another close friend who said, Jason punched holes in the walls and ripped doors off hinges during those fights. One of Jason’s friends stating Jason had told him he was sick of his wife.

Also in the warrant it states that investigators called Jason on his cell phone after his parents informed him of Michelle’s death. Investigators asked Jason to come to the crime scene to conduct a walkthrough of the home to assist police in determining if items were taken or out of place, they also had questions about any enemies Michelle may have had. At this point Jason and his family were only aware of Michelle’s murder, but had no details.

Jason Young refused to assist authorities in these early stages and immediately said he would be securing a lawyer and then hung up on the detectives. Jason never asked if his 2 year old daughter was also murdered, if she was ok, what her location was and the most important question how was Michelle murdered?

Would an innocent man on a business trip not ask these questions? Wouldn’t he be horrified and frightened for his daughter? Would he not rush to the scene to find out all he could? Would he not want to know how his wife who was pregnant with their son died? Would he not ask about the unborn child she was carrying?

Also discovered were numerous emails to one of Michelle’s friends, in which Jason complains about Michelle often and expresses his love for the married woman. It was discovered he and this woman were having an affair and shared 980 phone calls and text messages in the month and a half before Michelle was killed. On the day of Michelle’s murder, Jason Young shared 50 phone calls with his mistress, the last call on his phone before the beating death of his wife, was to his mistress. The very first phone call the day after the murder was again to this mistress.

His infidelity is also present or alluded to in the warrant as other emails surfaced of Jason contacting one woman and claiming he was single. Another witness tells of a time Michelle found women’s underwear in her bed that was not hers and a lie Jason made up about the maid.

There are also email exchanges between Jason and his sister where he gloats about not yet being arrested and the good job his lawyers have done.

It has been almost 3 years and Jason Young has never talked with detectives, nor has he inquired about his wife’s murder case. He has never made a plea for the killer to be found and brought to justice. He recently was sued in civil court by Michelle’s mother for wrongful death. He lost the civil case because he did not show up and so by default he was found responsible.

When will Jason Young be arrested?