Jessica O'Grady, 19, NE, Christopher Edwards convicted of murder

[festa]

Warrants detail evidence in case of missing UNO sophomore

A Douglas County judge unsealed six search warrants in the case of a missing UNO student on June 20.

These warrants had been issued in conjunction with the investigation of missing sophomore Jessica O’Grady.

The search warrants focused on the residence of Christopher Edwards, who has been accused of murdering O’Grady and is currently being held without bond until his trial.

[For the rest please read the article at the source website: http://www.unogateway.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/07/04/44ac96a808299?in_archive=1 ]


No body, BUT a case - due to the "evidence" gathered -
Wow, what a concept -

[Peaches]

I wonder if they still fire up Ole Sparky from time to time?  

Way to go, Omaha Police.

[Jennifer34]

Does anyone know what his motive was?

[Frijole]

Thought I should post an update!

Boyfriend was found guilty today.  NO BODY EVER FOUND>

Imagine that - they had a trial without a body!!!!

Jessica was pregnant by her boyfriend.  She had told him and he broke up with her 2 days before she disappeared.  Seems he had just gotten another girlfriend pregnant as well.  

She was last seen by a friend and she was going to his house.  Her blood was all over his place.  He tried to cover it up.  She was killed with a sword!  

Anyway, her family would like to have her remains for a proper burial but at least another loser scum bag pscyho is behind bars for life.

[festa]

I know this info is late, but in case anyone is curious.....regarding possible motive-


Holly Stumme, O'Grady's friend and roommate, gave her phone number to Edwards shortly after O'Grady disappeared so he could call her if he heard from O'Grady.

He never did.

But his other girlfriend did.

Michelle Wilken, who was pregnant with Edwards' daughter at the time, called Stumme in mid-May and had a discussion about O'Grady and Edwards, Stumme said.

Stumme's testimony didn't include exactly what that conversation covered.

Wilken is expected to testify later in the trial.



Wilken did help prosecutors establish part of their theory: that Edwards at least believed that O'grady was pregnant.


Is there ever a "good" reason for murder, except in the case of self-defense - such trite, stupid nonsense from weak people who can't just deal with life's bumps in the road.....What did it accomplish - he's girlfriend now knows he was fooling around, so instead of being a baby-daddy to 2 women, he is baby-daddy to 1, while he is behind bars - idiot scum

[festa]

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/06/16/news/nebraska/3250636898aa7fd1862572fc000d7f33.txt

Edwards gets 80 years to life for killing student

[Nut44x4]

Murder trial, appeal move forward in the slaying of students
Issue date: 3/4/08

As one murder trial involving a UNO student nears the appeal process, another is just getting started.

The trial of the Omaha man found guilty of murdering a sophomore Jessica O'Grady will go before an appellate court and in another UNO murder case, the trial has recently entered the discovery process.

Christopher Edwards was found guilty last March of murdering O'Grady. He was sentenced to 80 years to life for a second-degree murder charge as well as no fewer than 20 years for the use of a lethal weapon to commit a felony.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said the defense had recently filed the brief on the appeal and that his office would be filing a brief with the attorney general's office in response.

"It's not unusual. Most cases get appealed," Kleine said. "They're saying there wasn't enough evidence to convict him, that the trial court errored in admitting evidence regarding DNA."

Edwards was convicted on June 15, 2007.Another UNO student was also the target of lethal violence: pre-nursing student and Goodrich scholar Brittany Williams, 21, was shot as she sat in the drive-through lane of a Kentucky Fried Chicken/Long John Silver's restaurant at 7601 N. 30th St. on Jan. 21.

An Omaha man was apprehended as he attempted to flee the scene. Police identified the man as 19-year-old Kyle Bormann. Bormann was later charged with the first-degree murder of Williams.

The trial is currently in the discovery process, said Kleine.

"We're putting together our investigative reports now," Kleine said. "Everything we have we give to Tom Riley, the public defender, and he'll file his pretrial motions. It'll take maybe a month or so."

No date has yet been set for Bormann's trial.
http://media.www.unogateway.com/media/storage/paper968/news/2008/03/04/News/Murder.Trial.Appeal.Move.Forward.In.The.Slaying.Of.Students-3248805.shtml

My edit:
Jessica O'Grady's body has never been found.

[Nut44x4]

Adding photo


Updated: 5:35 PM Jul 10, 2009

Court Rejects New Trial In O'Grady Murder 

The Nebraska Supreme Court Friday upheld the murder conviction of Chris Edwards in the death of Jessica O'Grady. Edwards was convicted of 2nd degree murder despite the fact that O'Grady's body has never been found.

Edwards was asking for a new trial saying there was not enough evidence to convict him.

At trial, however, prosecutors introduced evidence that showed O'Grady's blood could be found all over the bedroom where her murder was believed to have taken place.

Jessica O'Grady was last seen on May 10, 2006 leaving her apartment on her way to Christopher Edwards' house. She has not been heard from since, and her body has never been found.

O'Grady's blood was found in Edward's bedroom, on the mattress, headboard and walls, and on a short sword found in his closet. Her blood was also found in the trunk of Edwards' car. Edwards was convicted of second degree murder and use of a weapon for killing O'Grady. The primary issue presented in his appeal was whether the evidence was sufficient to prove that O'Grady was murdered.

DNA profiles recovered from the headboard, ceiling walls, sword, and trunk were found to be consistent with O'Grady's DNA profile. Specifically, the chances of another unrelated Caucasian person having the same DNA profile were 1 in 26.6 quintillion.

A laptop computer was seized from Edwards' bedroom. A forensic examination of the computer revealed that on the day before O'Grady went missing, someone had used that computer to perform an internet search on the human body. Specifically, a Google search had been performed for the term "arteries."

Edwards maintained the state did not prove O'Grady was murdered. The state supreme court points out in its opinion that it is well recognized that the body of a missing person is not required to prove a homicide. To require that the victim's body be discovered would be unreasonable, the court said, and would mean that a murderer could escape punishment by successfully disposing of the body, no matter how complete and convincing the other evidence of guilt is.

Edwards is serving a combined sentence of 100 years to life.

http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/50470872.html

[Nut44x4]

Cass County Judge Finds Douglas Co CSI Chief Guilty

Posted: March 23, 2010 10:58 AM EST

PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. (KPTM) - A Cass County judge has found Douglas County Crime Scene Investigation chief David Kofoed guilty of evidence tampering in connection with the investigation of the murder of a Murdock, Nebraska couple in 2006.

Judge Randall Rehmeier found Kofoed guilty Tuesday morning.

In Rehmeier's ruling, he stated that he could find no evidence that blood evidence in the case had been cross contaminated.

Kofoed headed the crime scene investigation of the murder of Wayne and Sharon Stock.

Prosecutor Clarence Mock says Kofoed planted the DNA blood evidence linking Matt Livers and Nic Sampson to the murders.  Blood was found in a car owned by Sampson's brother, William.

He testified during the trial that his car had been in Lincoln during the 2006 murder, at least 30 miles away from the Murdock crime scene.

Two Wisconsin teenagers, Greg Fester and Jessica Reid, later pleaded guilty in the case and both are serving life sentences for the Stock's murder. Livers and Sampson were jailed for two months.

The judgment will likely affect a large number of cases Kofoed investigated, including the 2006 murder of Jessica O'Grady. O'Grady's ex-boyfriend, Christopher Edwards was found guilty of her murder primarily through blood evidence, because a body was never found.

The ruling could also affect another high-profile case, the murder of 4-year-old Brendan Gonzalez in 2003. Gonzalez's father, Ivan Henk, was convicted in that case. Judge Rehmeier also stated in his ruling that this case paralleled the Gonzalez murder case.

The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Kofoed faces sentencing in early May.

http://www.kptm.com/Global/story.asp?S=12188477

[Nut44x4]

Published Wednesday August 3, 2011

Judge denies new trial for Edwards   ::justice2NJ::

A Douglas County District Court judge rejected convicted murderer Christopher Edwards' motion for a new trial or evidentiary hearing to question whether former crime scene investigations commander David Kofoed planted blood evidence to bolster the prosecution's case.

Judge J Russell Derr, who presided over Edwards' 2007 jury trial, determined that overwhelming evidence showed Edwards killed Jessica O'Grady in his bedroom, regardless of whether Kofoed did or did not fabricate blood evidence.

 ::snipping2::

In 2007, a jury found Edwards guilty of second-degree murder in O'Grady's death. Her body was never found.

Derr sentenced Edwards to 100 years to life in prison, where he remains. In this week's 22-page ruling, Derr found stark differences in the Edwards case and the two murder cases in Cass County that last year helped secure Kofoed's evidence tampering conviction in Cass County.

However, in both of those homicide investigations, blood evidence produced by Kofoed was the only physical evidence linking the suspects, Derr noted.

In the O'Grady slaying, a multitude of physical evidence proved Edwards was the killer, Derr determined.

 ::snipping2::
The judge concluded that a motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence must be brought within three years of the verdict. Edwards' verdict was entered April 5, 2007.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20110803/NEWS97/708039795/0