TheDarkMan
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Tens of thousands of murders are committed worldwide every year, but some generate enormous public attention for various reasons. One of those from last year was the mass stabbing of four students in Idaho on November 13. The reasons are not far to seek, these were four attractive, intelligent young people – three girls and one guy – who were obviously going places. Two were 21 and the other two were just 20; that is a lot of wasted years.
There appeared to be no motive and no obvious suspect(s) for some time although there was speculation that they were murdered by someone close, perhaps a near neighbour. This may be because the police were playing their cards close to the chest. There are many reasons for this, one is to deter mischief-makers who like to play games with especially the police and the press. All that changed on December 29 when a police press conference revealed the name of a suspect who had been arrested on the other side of the country. Bryan Kohberger is currently being held without bond in Pennsylvania. The press conference was broadcast live.
American justice is arguably the most open in the world with trials, especially criminal trials, being broadcast live on the Internet. This is a good thing, but sometimes it can be too much of a good thing, because some pundits have convicted Kohberger already, including at least three who should know better. One – who will not be named here – even went so far as to suggest he has “evil eyes”. Another, who has a substantial following on YouTube, compared him with Ted Bundy, pointing out that they were both law students and looked fairly similar. In Britain, these kinds of comments would land both the pundits concerned and the media outlets in trouble, possibly with prosecutions for and certainly warnings of, contempt of court.
The evidence against Kohberger at present appears to be largely if not exclusively DNA evidence; we will find out in due course, but at the moment most of the documents remained sealed.
This man is facing the gravest of charges and could if convicted face the death penalty, although no one has been executed in Idaho since 2012 – for a particularly heinous murder committed in 1984. Leaving that aside, especially because of the gravity of the charges against him, Kohberger should not be subjected to these kinds of public comments, especially by a former judge. As it is, should he stand trial, the venue will almost certainly have to be changed.
It is also worth bearing in mind that even those accused of murder on apparently compelling evidence can be totally innocent. The British police believed Colin Stagg to be responsible for the 1992 murder of Rachel Nickell, which led to them attempting to entrap him. They made the poor man’s life Hell for a decade including over a year on remand. In 2008, the real killer was convicted; Robert Napper was a sexual psychopath of the most depraved kind. Even more depraved than Napper was Mark Dixie who murdered Sally Anne Bowman in 2005, but the first suspect – and an excellent one – was Lewis Sproston, who might have been convicted of her murder had Dixie not sexually abused her body after killing her. To make matters worse, in 2003, Dixie was in Spain where he raped a woman. An innocent Dutchman was convicted of that rape and two other offences, spending over a decade in prison.
That list of potential and real miscarriages of justice could be extended indefinitely, which makes it all the more important that Bryan Kohberger receives a fair trial. A prerequisite to that is fair, accurate, and unsensational reporting.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
I happen to live in this town and considering that there have been weeks go by without a shred of evidence it does give some closure to the tragedy. The most interesting fact being that this man attended college 8 miles away as graduate criminal law student and even held a position as a teacher’s assistant at WSU. The family of the victims also has admitted that there is a connection, so really 8 miles is not as far of a stretch as is his home state of Pennsylvania.
I know, people are paranoid about cameras and privacy.
I think there should be more cameras around and the killer
should have been taped several times.
And then we have criminals out in the open responsible for the deaths and injury to countless millions.
I suspect that the DNA evidence was used to narrow down the list (greatly). So, when they had a dozen or so possibilities, they then use ‘tools’ that they’d rather not disclose (due to legality), and they all pointed towards him.
If just retribution is to be meted out for the most heinous of crimes, it’s essential to avoid the kind of media circus which occurs when crimes are open to irresponsible public comment before a proper trial is concluded. In Britain we have a legal clause called “sub judice” which helps ensure only fair evidence is admitted before a jury. A verdict can be invalidated if breached by media sensation mongers.
“The Dark Man” begins well, by faulting the media and the police press conference, but then he tells us the nature of some evidence against the man apprehended: DNA evidence. That is serious hypocrisy from “The Dark Man”. DNA evidence is laboratory evidence and, thus, impressive to many who learn of it. It is like saying fingerprints or blood matching. “The Dark Man” has done badly.
No it isn’t and no he hasn’t. There is clearly evidence because evidence is needed for him to be held without bond, not just probable cause. It could be this evidence is misleading or wrong. For example in the classic Adolf Beck case, the evidence was eyewitness identification. It turned out that Beck had a virtual double. Anyone who knows anything about DNA evidence will tell you this too can be flawed because DNA profiling is an art,, not a science. Media pundits talking about this case have in some cases proclaimed this guy guilty and there is all manner… Read more »
Thank you for your contributions. Please forgive my inability to comprehend, but I do not understand, I can guess, what you mean here. “The reasons are not far to seek, these were four attractive, intelligent young people – three girls and one guy – who were obviously going places. Two were 21 and the other two were just 20; that is a lot of wasted years.” I may be guessing wrong. It seems a bit abstract. What do you surmise the reason(s) for the murders was/were?
I have no idea what the motive for the murders was. We will understand better if and when someone is convicted of them. The sentences you highlight relate to the reason this case has generated so much publicity.