Robert Manwill 8, missing 7/24/09 Boise, Idaho (BODY FOUND)

[pink angel]

BOISE -- A judge has granted the state's motion to compel the testimony of Melissa Jenkins in her former boyfriend Daniel Ehrlick's trial. She would be granted immunity for that testimony, meaning it could not be used against her in her trial.

Jenkins and Ehrlick are accused of murdering Jenkins' son, 8-year-old Robert Manwill, whose body was found floating in a Kuna canal on Aug. 10 2009.

Both are charged with first-degree murder.

Ehrlick is also charged with failure to report a death to law enforcement, while Jenkins is charged as an accessory.

Last Thursday, prosecutors and defense attorney's argued whether Jenkins should take the stand to testify against Ehrlick during his murder trial.

Jenkins' attorney Rob Chastain did not want his client to testify because he says she is a chronic liar, and he argued that could get her in trouble on the witness stand.

Ada County prosecutors argued Jenkins' testimony is necessary in this case.  Of particular interest is Robert's physical condition on the morning of July 24th, the day he was reported missing.  The boy had complained of head, stomach and back pains that day.

According to court documents, Jenkins told the grand jury that Robert was having a hard time walking and stumbled down the hall of their apartment.  She acknowledged she should have sought medical attention for Robert.

Fourth District Judge Darla Williamson wrote in her order that it is in the public interest to have Jenkins testify because she was a witness to Robert's condition prior to his death.

"Compelling her to testify is consistent with the functioning of government to solve crimes and to hold accountable those who commit crimes," she wrote.
http://www.ktvb.com/news/local/Judge-compels-Jenkins-to-testify-at-Ehrlicks-trial-98939724.html

[pink angel]

There are dramatic new details coming out in the Robert Manwill's case showing what investigators say the abuse the eight year old endured lead up to his death.

The Idaho Statesman obtained documents that show a repeated pattern of abuse and perhaps the most chilling part is how the abuse was hidden from those who could have saved the little boy's life

The coroner's report shows that 8-year old Robert Manwill died of blunt force trauma and with the new evidence that's being made public it's showing how Robert was abused weeks before his murder.

Almost a year later there's still no justice for 8-year old Robert Manwill. His mother, Melissa Jenkins and her boyfriend Daniel Ehrlick, are accused of murdering the young boy.

The court documents show witnesses describing rough discipline, pinning the boy to the ground, pushing his face against a wall, and hitting Robert.

"There's an allegation that Daniel Ehrlick committed the use of wooden molding to hit Robert," said Idaho Statesman reporter Patrick Orr.

The little boy's mysterious disappearance sparked national attention. Thousands of community members searched high and low for Robert, while his mother insisted she had nothing to do with his disappearance.

"All I really want to say is please, please, help me find my son," said Melissa Jenkins during the search one year ago.

Just a few days after being reported missing police found the little boy dead in a canal. Now his mother is accused of covering up the crime and lying to police. The Idaho Statesman revealed new information from grand jury testimony.

Prosecutors claim for weeks before the boy's death there was a pattern of "escalating physical violence."

Ehrlick is accused of forcing Robert to lie motionless on the ground after "dropping a knee" onto his chest. The couple would also make the little boy eat food "he did not like" until he vomited. And when Health and Welfare workers would come to the mother's home court records reported Robert's mom hid him in a closet so they wouldn't see his bruises.

Now prosecutors want to force Robert's mother to testify against her boyfriend in his trial.

"She's probably the key to the prosecution because she knows better than anybody what happened," said Orr.

On Thursday there's a court hearing to try to force Melissa Jenkins to give that testimony against her boyfriend that could finally reveal what happened to her son.

http://www.kivitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12809486




Think about you all the time little man. Justice is coming.

[seahorse]

There are dramatic new details coming out in the Robert Manwill's case showing what investigators say the abuse the eight year old endured lead up to his death.

The Idaho Statesman obtained documents that show a repeated pattern of abuse and perhaps the most chilling part is how the abuse was hidden from those who could have saved the little boy's life

The coroner's report shows that 8-year old Robert Manwill died of blunt force trauma and with the new evidence that's being made public it's showing how Robert was abused weeks before his murder.

Almost a year later there's still no justice for 8-year old Robert Manwill. His mother, Melissa Jenkins and her boyfriend Daniel Ehrlick, are accused of murdering the young boy.

The court documents show witnesses describing rough discipline, pinning the boy to the ground, pushing his face against a wall, and hitting Robert.

"There's an allegation that Daniel Ehrlick committed the use of wooden molding to hit Robert," said Idaho Statesman reporter Patrick Orr.

The little boy's mysterious disappearance sparked national attention. Thousands of community members searched high and low for Robert, while his mother insisted she had nothing to do with his disappearance.

"All I really want to say is please, please, help me find my son," said Melissa Jenkins during the search one year ago.

Just a few days after being reported missing police found the little boy dead in a canal. Now his mother is accused of covering up the crime and lying to police. The Idaho Statesman revealed new information from grand jury testimony.

Prosecutors claim for weeks before the boy's death there was a pattern of "escalating physical violence."

Ehrlick is accused of forcing Robert to lie motionless on the ground after "dropping a knee" onto his chest. The couple would also make the little boy eat food "he did not like" until he vomited. And when Health and Welfare workers would come to the mother's home court records reported Robert's mom hid him in a closet so they wouldn't see his bruises.

Now prosecutors want to force Robert's mother to testify against her boyfriend in his trial.

"She's probably the key to the prosecution because she knows better than anybody what happened," said Orr.

On Thursday there's a court hearing to try to force Melissa Jenkins to give that testimony against her boyfriend that could finally reveal what happened to her son.

http://www.kivitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12809486




Think about you all the time little man. Justice is coming.

How could Robert's death been prevented?

Were others aware of this brutal treatment?  "Gandpa"?  RM mothers, boyfriends father ,must have been aware of this nonsense.

This shouldn't have happened, Robert should now be in summer camp or looking forward to the roller coasters at a Park.
How could this have been prevented?  A cell phone? If Robert had a cell phone would that have helped? If Robert natural father
didn't hear from him then it would be a red flag.  Robert loved cartoon sketches, he could have been a great artist, we will never know.   

[cookie]

Hi Seahorse..
this is so heartbreaking to think about..all the things he should be doing, the things that he could have become..sigh...

[shy-monkey]

A few days ago I posted my story, about how it's not as simple as reporting child abuse to CPS and LE. Robert Manwill was from my state.

The details of CPS entirely dropping the ball aren't surprising, it's actually more surprising they picked up the ball to begin with, that's a rarity here. as I said in my story it takes 3 confirmed and documented reports and then something like, in this case a little baby's skull being fractured, before CPS and LE will risk looking in to it. As they say "until the propor steps are followed and they have documentation, they're hands are tied."

RIP Robert Manwill

I am also more saddened than surprised, that a far as CPS and LE protecting children, statistically there are worse states than us.


http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/08/15/1303492/state-failed-robert-despite-many.html#storylink=mirelated

[shy-monkey]

There are dramatic new details coming out in the Robert Manwill's case showing what investigators say the abuse the eight year old endured lead up to his death.

The Idaho Statesman obtained documents that show a repeated pattern of abuse and perhaps the most chilling part is how the abuse was hidden from those who could have saved the little boy's life

The coroner's report shows that 8-year old Robert Manwill died of blunt force trauma and with the new evidence that's being made public it's showing how Robert was abused weeks before his murder.

Almost a year later there's still no justice for 8-year old Robert Manwill. His mother, Melissa Jenkins and her boyfriend Daniel Ehrlick, are accused of murdering the young boy.

The court documents show witnesses describing rough discipline, pinning the boy to the ground, pushing his face against a wall, and hitting Robert.

"There's an allegation that Daniel Ehrlick committed the use of wooden molding to hit Robert," said Idaho Statesman reporter Patrick Orr.

The little boy's mysterious disappearance sparked national attention. Thousands of community members searched high and low for Robert, while his mother insisted she had nothing to do with his disappearance.

"All I really want to say is please, please, help me find my son," said Melissa Jenkins during the search one year ago.

Just a few days after being reported missing police found the little boy dead in a canal. Now his mother is accused of covering up the crime and lying to police. The Idaho Statesman revealed new information from grand jury testimony.

Prosecutors claim for weeks before the boy's death there was a pattern of "escalating physical violence."

Ehrlick is accused of forcing Robert to lie motionless on the ground after "dropping a knee" onto his chest. The couple would also make the little boy eat food "he did not like" until he vomited. And when Health and Welfare workers would come to the mother's home court records reported Robert's mom hid him in a closet so they wouldn't see his bruises.

Now prosecutors want to force Robert's mother to testify against her boyfriend in his trial.

"She's probably the key to the prosecution because she knows better than anybody what happened," said Orr.

On Thursday there's a court hearing to try to force Melissa Jenkins to give that testimony against her boyfriend that could finally reveal what happened to her son.

http://www.kivitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12809486




Think about you all the time little man. Justice is coming.

How could Robert's death been prevented?

Were others aware of this brutal treatment?  "Gandpa"?  RM mothers, boyfriends father ,must have been aware of this nonsense.

This shouldn't have happened, Robert should now be in summer camp or looking forward to the roller coasters at a Park.
How could this have been prevented?  A cell phone? If Robert had a cell phone would that have helped? If Robert natural father
didn't hear from him then it would be a red flag.  Robert loved cartoon sketches, he could have been a great artist, we will never know.   

Had all the above known and reported it, it wouldn't have made any difference. If you look in to Idaho's Child Protection system, it is flawed to the point even had they known, without serious injury or death of a child, they have proper steps needed before they can get involved.

A friend of mine works for CPS and she attempted to explain the legal end of the system and while I didn't like what I was hearing, understood I did sort of understand what she was saying. However I have yet to understand why nothing is being done to change the laws or requirements needed to as they say "untie their hands, so they can do something".

A lot of the problem started with lawsuits won, by parents who's child died while in foster care. One of the cases, settled out of court, was over an Idaho toddler who was taken out of state with his foster family, but without proper consent and while on that vacation he drowned. That plus too many other, died in Idaho foster care kids, started a stricter rules for current foster families and stricter screenings of potential foster parents. Also putting things in place to hold the foster families along with the state, accountable.

Instead of the planned improvement intended, it caused reputable foster homes to drop from the program, 5, I knew personally. It also made potential new ones think becoming a foster family carried too high of a risk, so many potentials and now won't even apply. There truly is a shortage of foster homes here, but from where I sit, seeing it usually takes a death or serious injury before CPS or LE will write a report, I can't help but think that's far from the only flaw in the system.

[burkieandemme]

Murder trial for man charged with killing Robert Manwill is delayed over DNA evidence issues
BY PATRICK ORR - porr@idahostatesman.com
Published: 10/01/10

The October jury trial of first-degree murder suspect Daniel Ehrlick has been delayed indefinitely because Ada County prosecutors did not give Ehrlick’s attorneys DNA evidence in a timely manner.

Fourth District Judge Darla Williamson postponed Daniel Ehrlick's first-degree murder trial Friday - after jury selection on the case had already begun - saying Ada County prosecutors "put the court in an untenable position."
Williamson had repeatedly told prosecutors and defense attorneys this summer she wanted to begin the trial as scheduled in October.
Ehrlick is accused of beating 8-year-old Robert Manwill in a pattern of "escalating physical violence" last summer that ended in a fatal head injury.

Ehrlick murder trial delayed until spring, but Jenkins trial still on schedule for January in Boise

(Snipped)
Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/10/01/1363414/murder-trial-for-man-charged-with.html#ixzz11c0iITfJ

[burkieandemme]

Ehrlick murder trial delayed until spring, but Jenkins trial still on schedule for January in Boise
BY PATRICK ORR - porr@idahostatesman.com
Published: 10/06/10

The October jury trial of first-degree murder suspect Daniel Ehrlick has been delayed indefinitely because Ada County prosecutors did not give Ehrlick’s attorneys DNA evidence in a timely manner.
Fourth District Judge Darla Williamson issued the order Friday, less than a week after Ehrlick’s attorneys asked for a delay — and after jury selection had already begun.
Ehrlick is charged for what prosecutors say was the beating death of 8-year-old Robert Manwill last summer. Also charged with first-degree murder is Melissa Jenkins, who is Robert Manwill's mother and was Ehrlick’s girlfriend at the time her son was killed. Jenkins' trial is scheduled to start in January.

Snipped

The woman charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 8-year-old son Robert Manwill is a "self-admitted and diagnosed compulsive liar," her defense attorneys say.
If Melissa Jenkins is forced to testify against her former boyfriend and co-defendant, Daniel Ehrlick, she will be setting herself up for a perjury charge - if she doesn't corroborate statements she made to Boise police and others about Ehrlick in the murder investigation - her defenders told 4th District Judge Darla Williamson Thursday.
They also claim whatever Jenkins might say in Ehrlick's trial will make it even harder for her to get a fair trial later this year due to intense media coverage of the case.

Jury selection in the Daniel Ehrlick first-degree murder trial was supposed to begin next week, but now that isn’t going to happen until spring 2011.

Prospective jurors are now scheduled to fill out a questionnaire — to find out if they can be impartial in the high profile case about the beating death of an 8-year-old Robert Manwill last summer — on April 27.

Individual juror interviews for the trial will begin in May, with a jury trial to follow, which is expected to last for up to six weeks.

Ehrlick is accused of beating Manwill in a pattern of "escalating physical violence" last summer that ended in a fatal head injury.

Melissa Jenkins - the boy's mother and Ehrlick's former girlfriend - is also charged with first-degree murder. Ada County prosecutors say she knew about the abuse, hid it from state child protection workers and did nothing to stop it.

Fourth District Judge Darla Williamson granted a request by Ehrlick’s attorneys to delay the trial because prosecutors did not turn over results of DNA evidence tests until late September — just weeks before the trial was supposed to begin. That didn't give the defense enough time to have the evidence tested, she said - and opened any possible conviction open to a possible appeal.

Prosecutors have been hoping to hold Ehrlick's trial first so they can force Jenkins to testify against him - under a deal stipulating that nothing she says in his trial can be used against her in hers.

Now they won’t be able to do that, since Jenkins trial is still scheduled to begin in January.

Prosecutors say Jenkins knew that Ehrlick beat her son for weeks last summer, and her statements to police appear to be a major part of the prosecution's case against her and Ehrlick.

Manwill's reported disappearance on July 23, 2009, sparked a communitywide search that included more than 2,300 volunteers and the FBI and garnered national attention. It ended in grief about two weeks later when his battered body was found near Kuna in an irrigation canal.



Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/10/06/1369313/ehrlick-murder-trial-delayed-until.html#ixzz11c3eVmTs

[burkieandemme]

You will forever be in my thoughts Robert. 

[Sister]

I believe everyone is entitled to a fair trial.

I believe even more, the victim, Robert, deserves more consideration and fairness, thus justice than these two POS.
We remember little man.

[AmandaReckonwith]

Case archive album

http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm166/crankycrankerson/Robert%20Manwill%20%20-ID-/

[klaasend]

http://www.idahopress.com/news/article_1c240094-2d62-11e0-873e-001cc4c03286.html

Robert Manwill's mother pleads guilty in boy's death

Posted: Monday, January 31, 2011 10:46 am | Updated: 12:11 pm, Mon Jan 31, 2011.

BOISE - Melissa Scott Jenkins pleaded guilty this morning in Boise to aiding and abetting murder in the second degree for her participation in the murder of her son, Robert Manwill.

Sentencing is set for Aug. 11 at 1 p.m. at the Ada County Courthouse. Prosecutors are asking for 25 years fixed with no possibility of parole.

((snipped))

[Gizzie]

  Wow! Only 25 years!

I guess it's some type of justice. Not the sentence I would have wanted. At least she has to serve everyday of it!

It'll be interesting to see if the other POS tries to plea now.

Rest in Peace Little Man!   

[shy-monkey]

Wow! Only 25 years!

I guess it's some type of justice. Not the sentence I would have wanted. At least she has to serve everyday of it!

It'll be interesting to see if the other POS tries to plea now.

Rest in Peace Little Man!   

I have been infuriated by this entire case, today especially. Seeing this sweet picture of Robert with the RIP little man, was a great reminder that he can rest in peace now that he's away from that sorry excuse of a parent . She didn't deserve him!!!! And Idaho CPS totally dropped the ball here, which I'm sure has a lot to do with who and what wasn't allowed in the courtroom.

Because CPS was largely to blame here, that also must have a lot to do with why she only received 25 years. *SHE* as in Melissa Jenkins was the one charged and convicted of fracturing the skull of Robert's baby brother (plus all the other broken bones found after he was taken into state custody), not Ehrlick, yet they take her word for it that she didn't actually cause Robert's death, she's only guilty of leaving him in the care of an abusive person. First CPS fails him and now the courts? What a bunch of BS!!!

Melissa Jenkins was on probation through the end of March 2011 and one of the terms of that court order was that she could NOT even live with Ehrlick because he was awarded custody of the baby, the one she couldn't be around after she was convicted of breaking his skull.

Depending on the day and who's telling the story, everything from, the CPS workers assigned to Robert weren't the same ones assigned to the baby's case, so they weren't aware of the details in that court order, to yeah they knew she was in contempt living there but they aren't law enforcement so they can't enforce court orders, is being said by the "not our fault" CPS clowns. Evidently these CPS workers have the intelligence of a box of rocks and too d*mn dumb to know how to notify someone who can enforce court orders.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/08/15/1303492/state-failed-robert-despite-many.html


<snipped>

Three times a week for an unknown number of weeks, employees and contractors with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare visited the home where Robert was living in June and July 2009 with his mother and Ehrlick.

A court order banned Jenkins from living there because she had fractured the skull of Robert's baby brother, who lived with Ehrlick, his legal father. If the order had been enforced, neither Jenkins nor Robert would have been living there.

• Health and Welfare workers who visited the home failed to physically inspect Robert for signs of abuse, court records show.

• State welfare workers received three previous reports regarding Jenkins and her family before finally acting in 2008 when Jenkins fractured the skull of Robert's infant brother, Aidan.

<snipped>

 

[4 Donks]

Daniel Ehrlick, Idaho Man, Gets Life For Killing 8-Year-Old Boy

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/02/daniel-ehrlick-life-for-killing-8-year-old_n_946910.html

 ::snipping2::
BOISE, Idaho — The mother of a boy whose body was found in an Idaho canal with rocks stuffed in his pockets has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for aiding in his death.


 ::snipping2::
Earlier Friday, Jenkins' boyfriend, 38-year-old Daniel Ehrlick, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the boy's death in 2009. Ehrlick was convicted of first-degree murder in June.

[MuffyBee]

 ::justice2NJ::  But my heart still feels so heavy for little Robert, may he rest in peace. 

[Sister]

::justice2NJ::  But my heart still feels so heavy for little Robert, may he rest in peace. 

Mine too Muffy, mine too!

[KittyMom]

RIP Robert.  You deserved to know a mother's love.

[Sister]

Allison Krause and Alan Jackson
"And the Angels Cried"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OYtLH4Moas&feature=related

[AmandaReckonwith]

The Ehrlick trial is archived by day, plus all the rest of the case of little Robert.

http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm166/crankycrankerson/Robert%20Manwill%20%20-ID-/