Angel Downs Murder Investigation - County Commissioner Steve Nodine only suspect
Cherry6905:
Thanks Fannie - it's a horrible experience for Angel's Mom and family. They are really good people and the Mom hasn't averted her eyes once. her children all hold her and she watches and listens. I can't imagine having to do that.
There's been a media frenzy of sorts with Tweets and Facebook Updates galore that are extremely graphic.
I've heard complaints that this story is ruining peoples Christmas. I think of Thelma Hinley. Know what the last thing I saw Thelma say just prior to the trial beginning?
She is concerned for Nodine's wife and child and she's praying for them.
Thelma also feels - God knows the truth of what happened that night. Pray that the truth be made known.
Cherry6905:
The latest news updates can be found on Dipity http://www.dipity.com/timeline/Steve-Nodine/
All articles below are clipped for length you can click links and read.
Stephen Nodine murder trial: Jurors hear 911 tape
Published: Tuesday, December 14, 2010, 5:00 AM
Brendan Kirby, Press-Register
http://blog.al.com/live/2010/12/acquaintance_testifies_that_no.html
BAY MINETTE — A lawyer for murder defendant Stephen Nodine grilled a private forensic expert for a second day Monday, and jurors heard a recording of the 911 call placed by a neighbor of shooting victim Angel Downs.
Also, a man who described himself as a “beach acquaintance” of Nodine and Downs offered testimony that contradicted details the defendant gave to law enforcement investigators on the night Downs died.
An acquaintance of the couple, Derik Hare, told jurors that Downs was “very chipper and happy” but that she and Nodine began to argue later that day.
Hare also testified that Nodine called him sometime after Downs’ death, surprising Hare with a lengthy account of that fateful day — including details that contradicted what he told investigators.
Hare testified that after 15 or 20 minutes of the 40-minute phone call, he had his wife listen in. At one point, Hare said, Nodine told him that Downs pleaded with him, “Please don’t leave; please don’t leave.”
Murder Trial of Former Commissioner Steve Nodine: Day 6
Reported by: Local 15 News Staff
Email: local15@local15tv.com
Published: 12/13 9:15 am
http://www.local15tv.com/news/local/story/Murder-Trial-of-Former-Commissioner-Steve-Nodine/y7ownBMpFECXHTk4HV9MYQ.cspx
(BAY MINETTE, Ala.) - The state's star witness forensic pathologist Dr. James Downs was called back to the stand Monday as former Mobile County Commissioner Steve Nodine's murder, stalking and ethics trial entered its second week.
Dr. Downs, no relation to Angel, is the one who told the jury he thinks Angel was murdered and then moved. He says the strongest indicator is how Angel's long hair was fanned above her head.
"She had to be moved down because your hair doesn't typically stand up like the Bride of Frankenstein," the forensic pathologist said.
UPDATE 4:15pm - Next on the stand was Baldwin County Sheriff's Office Investigator Andrew Ashton.
Ashton says he went to Don Carlos Restaurant to obtain any video from that evening. He says there were multiple cameras recording, including one focused on the bar. Nodine was captured on video.
Video is shown to jury. First video shows Nodine walking in wearing a polo shirt, shorts and flip flops. Nodine is shown sitting at the for 25 minutes, leaves just after 9 pm. Video shows Nodine getting up and leaving for approximately 55 seconds, then returning to the bar.
Nodine ordered water or coffee at the bar, then returns on camera at 9:10pm.
Nodine appears to be on his cell phone when walking back to the bar. He leaves again after 5 minutes, and appears to be on the phone as he is leaving Don Carlos at 9:16pm.
UPDATE 4:04pm - A dispatcher for Baldwin County 911 took the stand Thursday afternoon. A call placed to 911 was played in court.
UPDATE 3:33pm - Baldwin County Major Anthony Lowery took the stand next.
UPDATE 2:38pm - The next witness on the stand is Derek Hair, who knew Nodine and Downs from Pensacola beach. He says he also went to Bayfest and New Orleans with Nodine and was on the beach day Downs died
UPDATE 1:40pm - Testimony after lunch has focused on Dr. Downs's opinion that Angel Downs was killed by someone else, not at her own hand. DA Judy Newcomb asked the doctor if suicides are normally done in the open or alone, to which the doctor answered, most happen in secluded areas, where there is privacy.
UPDATE 12:12pm - Before breaking for lunch the cross-examination of Dr. Downs focused on his opinion that the scene was staged. Dr. Downs testified he believes Angel Downs's body had to be moved down, creating the fan-like appearance of her hair. He said, "body had to be moved down because hair doesn't stand up like bride of Frankenstein."
UPDATE 11:30am - Dr. Downs, Director of Alabama's Medical Examiner's Office, returned to cross-examination that started Friday.
UPDATE 10:49am - Baldwin County District Attorney's Office Investigator Warren Stewart was the fourth witness of the day called to the stand.
UPDATE 10:10am - The third witness of the day was Brad Burks, a Baldwin County Sheriff's Investigator.
He was questioned about the gun that killed Angel Downs, saying the gun does not appear to have been dropped on a hard surface. Burks testified he doesn't know if a hand could have cushioned the gun, preventing marks from happening.
Week 2 of Nodine murder trial begins
Published : Monday, 13 Dec 2010, 8:48 PM CST
Fox10tv.com
http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/baldwin_county/week-2-of-nodine-murder-trial-begins
* Libby Amos
* Photojournalist: Eric Lowe
BAY MINETTE, Alabama (WALA) - Jurors in the Steve Nodine murder trial heard a 911 call that was made right after Angel Downs was shot in the head. The caller told the dispatcher the person with the gun took off in a red pick-up truck.
During the majority of the late afternoon, jurors heard testimony from Baldwin County Sheriff's Deputies, and the dispatcher from 911 who directed the call from a neighbor who found Angel shot in the head.
Monday, the dispatcher of the call testified.
Dispatcher: Was it accidental?
Neighbor: No, I don't think so.
Dispatcher: Is the person still there with the gun?
Neighbor: No, he took off in a red pick-up truck.
Later in the call, the neighbor verified that he heard the shot and then saw the red pick-up drive away, and that a gun was laying next to Angel. In the 911 call the neighbor said he thought the man driving away was Steve Nodine.
Please click on links to read complete articles as they have been clipped for length.
Edit to change color from red to blue. MB
Fanny Mae:
Quote from: Cherry6905 on December 14, 2010, 07:29:40 AM
Thanks Fannie - it's a horrible experience for Angel's Mom and family. They are really good people and the Mom hasn't averted her eyes once. her children all hold her and she watches and listens. I can't imagine having to do that.
There's been a media frenzy of sorts with Tweets and Facebook Updates galore that are extremely graphic.
I've heard complaints that this story is ruining peoples Christmas. I think of Thelma Hinley. Know what the last thing I saw Thelma say just prior to the trial beginning?
She is concerned for Nodine's wife and child and she's praying for them.
Thelma also feels - God knows the truth of what happened that night. Pray that the truth be made known.
I doubt if it were anyone on trial for murder but a county commissioner, the trial wouldn't be "ruining" anyone's Christmas. There is so much more I could say, but I won't. Thelma Hinley is Angel's mother? If so, she has a kind heart. I do feel sorry for the child, the wife, not so much. JMO
Cherry6905:
Week Two of Nodine Trial begins
By Kevin Lee
DECEMBER 14, 2010
http://www.lagniappemobile.com/article.asp?articleID=4037&SID=1&utm_source=Lagniappe+Magazine+Newsletter&utm_campaign=bccbe89016-Lagniappemobile_com2_13_2009&utm_medium=email
The second week of Stephen Nodine's murder trial began with a quicker pace, a return witness and video footage of the defendant at a restaurant only an hour after his girlfriend's death. The former Mobile County Commissioner is accused of shooting realtor Angel Downs to death in the driveway of her Gulf Shores home on May 9.
The first state's witness of the day was Timothy McSpadden, a firearms specialist from the Alabama Department of Forensic Science who cited a resume including a degree in drug chemistry, training with the FBI and ABI and testimony as an expert witness 40 times. McSpadden told of evidence he examined, including Downs' hair, a Kel-Tec 9mm handgun and a cartridge casing of the same caliber.
After firing the pistol and analyzing the casings under a microscope, McSpadden determined the found casing was from the weapon found at the scene. He also examined the hair, taken from Downs' autopsy, under a stereo microscope and found no gunpowder particles.
McSpadden went on to explain the science behind primer residue and said it was no longer a standard test due to the number of false positive and false negative results encountered. Within three hours, the residue can fall off someone's hands or be washed off with ease. He said those state guidelines also followed FBI guidelines and that Scientific Working Group for Firearms and Toolmarks (SWGGUN) has the same guidelines.
"Some departments do it," McSpadden said, "some don't. Some states do it, some don't."
According to McSpadden, the kits distributed for residue tests are likewise unreliable since the nitrates that trigger positive tests can be found in fireworks, fertilizer and otherwise everyday products.
Defense attorney Dennis Knizley asked McSpadden from what side of Downs' head the hair sample was cut. The witness was unsure. He then questioned McSpadden's statement that the FBI doesn't use GSR testing as well as the recommendation from SWGGUN.
"I do not believe they comment on GSR testing," McSpadden said of the latter group.
"We don't have the issue of transfer here, do we?" Knizley asked since Downs wasn't mobile after shots were fired.
"Her hands would have had primer residue whether she fired the weapon or not," McSpadden said. The defense attorney also postulated that had the defendant been at the scene, his steering wheel would have had residue as well and that none was found.
Baldwin County Coroner Stan Vinson was sworn in and talked of his 17 years in the department. He was appointed to head the department by Gov. Bob Riley following the death of his predecessor.
Vinson said he only touched Downs' body after preserving the scene through photography. He also verified that officers Maliska and Clopton were present when he arrived at 9:45 p.m. and their assistance in helping him bag the hands of the deceased and place her into a body bag. They rolled Downs over to look beneath her. He said they also retrieved bone fragments to the left of the body and dropped them into the body bag.
When asked if anything caught his eye, Vinson said her right knee had both blood and hair on it "as if she had kneeled in it" and that the blood on her left leg was "going up the leg under her skirt instead of going down." He also said her hair "didn't look as if she fell."
Knizley asked Vinson if the EMTs were present when he arrived. He said they were gone, though he saw evidence of their work in the IV and electrodes pasted to Downs. He said he wouldn't have known had the first responders stepped in blood or moved the body.
Vinson admitted to Knizley he wasn't a blood spatter expert and there was nothing unusual about the blood drain.
Brad Burks took the witness stand next and cited more than a decade as a certified firearms instructor and analyst, with a seeming specialty in the mechanics of weapons. Burks said he not only examined the 9mm handgun but also visited the scene.
Burks explained the found casing as being 12 feet from Downs' body and said it was consistent with what he discovered about the weapon by firing it a dozen times with rounds from the box discovered in Downs' home. He also fired another weapon of the same make to learn its characteristics better. His findings gave him a rough trajectory of the first ejected casing - repeated shots result in lessening distance each time due to diminished spring tension - as being 12 feet to the right of the weapon and six feet to the rear.
Burks noted that the path of the ejected casing is completely dependent on where the weapon is pointed. In order for the casing to land where it was found, the handgun would have been fired at an angle to the driveway, not parallel to the sidewalk but diagonally to it.
Burks also determined the trigger pull on the weapon to be roughly 6 pounds and that it has a "long pull," meaning the trigger would have to be depressed a good way back to fire. He said the handgun contained no damage or marks consistent with it being dropped on a hard surface. There were no scratches on the casing.
Knizley asked Burks if he always tested the ejection pattern while in a standing position. Burks said he had and that his height is 6' 1". The attorney asked if he ever tested it for a shooter kneeling down. Burks had not.
Knizley asked if the casing struck a tree, could it change trajectory. Burks agreed it was possible.
"Did it appear to have been tossed," Knizley asked.
"No sir," Burks said.
Knizley held a dummy handgun to his head. "If someone turned their head as they watched a vehicle driving away or passing, would that change the trajectory?" Knizley asked as he rotated from the waist up to his right. Burks said it would.
The state called Warren Stewart, a Baldwin County investigator with more than 35 years experience in various law enforcement units, including the military police. Stewart told of his trip to Downs' condo on May 10 and his photography of her home.
The photos showed a lavishly appointed and orderly condominium. He noted one side of her bed was unmade and that it appeared to have not been slept in. Stewart also identified a seven-page letter discovered in Downs' bedroom.
On a kitchen counter sat a bottle of blue Gatorade and a computer printer. In front of the white BMW SUV in the garage was a small blue cooler sitting on her washing machine.
Also shown was a photo Stewart took at Downs' autopsy of her toe tag and another that verified the length of her hair at 21 inches. Stewart talked about Downs' Blackberry phone that was discovered to be password protected. He said phoning the FBI yielded no help as they claimed they couldn't crack it.
Stewart measured the distances and time in the route given by Nodine in his May 9 statements to investigators. From Downs' home to the Bay Shore Market where Nodine purchased a soft drink was a 37-minute drive. It took him another 14 minutes to arrive at Ruby Tuesday at the Malbis exit, the spot where Nodine said he changed clothes in his back seat.
Lastly, Stewart said he ran a trace on Downs' handgun that revealed she bought it Aug. 30, 2007 in the Foley area. Knizley had no cross-examination.
Expert witness Dr. James Downs - no relation to the decedent - then returned to the stand. The forensic scientist was the center of Friday's hoopla when his report opining that Downs had been murdered and the scene staged was detailed. He was unable to complete testimony then and returned from Georgia on Monday to finish.
Appearing academic in his tweed, sweater and bowtie, Dr. Downs carried the same leather attaché he brought previously. As he took the stand, expectations arose following the animated match he and Knizley put on last week.
Returning to his cross-examination, Knizley asked if Downs had personally reviewed the clothing he assessed had been damaged when dragged after Angel's death. The doctor said he had only seen photographs of both the clothing and the body.
"Are your familiar with the software program Photoshop?" Knizley asked. Downs was.
"Did you use it in this case?" the attorney asked. Downs said he had not.
"Has the contrast or lighting been changed in these photos you showed us?" Knizley said.
Downs admitted it had but said it was standard with Power Point presentations and he had done little, blurring a bit to compensate for pixilation. He also admitted the shots had been necessarily cropped.
Knizley asked if the doctor was aware of the blood thinner coumadin or of Ms. Downs' usage of it.
"I received no information on her prescriptions, no sir," Downs answered.
"Shouldn't you have all of that information?" Knizley asked. Downs admitted he should "ideally" but that it wasn't available.
Knizley then turned to an article Dr. Downs penned for Police Chief magazine in November of 2007. He pointed to a line noting "suggestions that may assist the examination."
Suddenly, Baldwin County District Attorney Judy Newcomb stood and asked to approach the bench. After a short conference, Circuit Judge Charles Partin loudly announced someone in the gallery was recording the proceedings. A man seated in the rows behind Nodine stood and sheepishly admitted his guilt. He walked to the bench and surrendered the device under the scathing rebuke of Partin before returning to his seat.
Knizley returned to Downs' article and his recommendations to "collect all containers of prescriptions...administered for the decedent."
"Did you make this inquiry?" Knizley asked.
"I don't recall specifically," Downs answered.
Knizley returned to coumadin, to its tendency to make patients bruise easily. Downs was aware but claimed that changed his identification of bruising on Ms. Downs none.
"A bruise is a bruise," he told Knizley. The attorney then ran through a series of substances found in Ms. Downs' bloodstream: Ambien, Xanax, Adderall and alcohol.
They began to debate dosage levels, what constituted therapeutic effects and levels.
"You didn't brush up before you gave your opinion, did you sir?" Knizley shot. He added that all of the drugs could be disinhibitive and induce otherwise latent behaviors.
Knizley changed course again and revisited the defensive wounds, abrasions Dr. Downs said he found on Angel's hands. He called to mind the fact Angel worked at a Widespread Panic concert the night before, selling beer and opening bottles.
"What if those abrasions were on photos taken earlier that day?" Knizley asked. "That wouldn't make them defensive wounds, would it?"
They visited the "focally out-of-context" hair found across Angel's face. Downs couldn't explain it but just said he noted it because the rest of hair was standing out "like the Bride of Frankenstein."
"How does that help this jury?" Knizley asked.
Again they returned to Dr. Downs postulated position for the victim, to the blood spatter droplets seeming to run up her left thigh. The arguing repeated the same course it had the previous Friday, with Knizley ridiculing Downs' theory and crawling onto the floor.
"I don't know exactly where her right leg was," Downs said, "all I know is her head was near her left knee." When he attempted to demonstrate, Knizley stopped him.
"Could she have been sitting and crying?" the attorney asked.
"That was your creation not mine," Downs said.
Knizley then hammered on Downs' $400-an-hour fee. They went back and forth again, the attorney raising the specter of pricey compensation and Downs repeating that he couldn't be exact on those figures because his business manager, his father, just died.
At long last, lunch arrived with respite from the endless haggling. Following the hour break, Newcomb had Downs state that his experience taught him suicides were private affairs seldom performed in public spots. He also agreed that operating a Blackberry required dexterity that drugs might impair. They then revisited the bruising on Angel's left knuckles, something Downs yet again explained couldn't be lividity as it would defy gravity.
The doctor said there was no brain tissue on either hand. He also revealed fractures he found on the top of her skull that indicated a blunt force trauma to him.
Up next was Derek Hare of Pensacola, Fla. a beach friend who joined Nodine and Downs on the beach that day. He said he had known Nodine for five years and Angel Downs for 15 years. He had been to both New Orleans and BayFest with Nodine.
Hare said he had been on the beach with them on May 9. He described Downs as "chipper and happy" and more conversational than before.
Hare explained witnessing a flare-up between them that ended with Nodine telling Downs "We'll talk about this later." When he blurted Downs' retort of "No, we'll talk about it now," Knizley immediately had her phrase struck by Partin.
After a long bench conference, Partin allowed Hare to answer yes to the question "Did Angel ever say she wasn't scared of Steve Nodine anymore?"
Hare also said he saw Nodine used a lot of sunscreen that day.
Two weeks after a detective called Hare, he said Nodine called him and went into uncomfortable detail about May 9. He said after the first 20 minutes, he had his wife listen in on the other line for the remaining half of the call. Hare said Nodine told him Downs drove to the beach and back that day, that they stopped at a gas station where Nodine begged her to let him drive.
Hare said Nodine talked about leaving his wallet at Downs' condominium, about it being away from its usual spot when he returned. Nodine told him that he "hadn't had time to mourn," that Hare "wouldn't believe what I've been through in jail." Nodine also said the last time he saw Downs, she was standing by the street screaming, "Please don't leave."
"Was Ms. Downs physically scared of Mr. Nodine?" Knizley asked.
"Not that day," Hare answered.
"Was she happy?" the attorney said.
"She was moving on," Hare responded. Hare also agreed with Knizley that Nodine had 10-12 beers that day.
Next up, Major Anthony Lowery of the Baldwin County Sheriff's Department was sworn in. He reiterated Cpl. Daniel Steelman's account of the preceding week. He also said the usage of the Robertsdale Annex office was agreed upon by he and attorney Matt Green who suggested it as being more discreet.
Lowery said as soon as they arrived, Nodine asked for his hands to be swabbed and that he requested someone accompany him to the bathroom during each of his three visits to insure he didn't wash his hands. His reluctance to test for GSR revolved the five hours that had elapsed since Downs' death.
On cross-examination, Lowery admitted that facility has no video recording device and that he decided not to retrieve a recording device since time was of the essence. Lowery said Nodine appeared to have no sand, no sunscreen and no odor on him other than the faintest of alcohol smells. He said his hair appeared neat, with no visible line from a visor though one was recovered from Downs' vehicle. No abrasions were evident and Lowery observed no blood on Nodine's footwear.
When they learned the location of Nodine's vehicle, the defendant surrendered his keys and the sheriff's office retrieved it. He also said Green had been notified prior to the meeting that a dead woman was involved.
Mobile County garage manager Rob Gordon appeared and testified as to the red Ford F-150 Nodine drove. He identified the blue tag and its serial number.
Gulf Shores Police Dispatcher Suzanne Williams took the stand and explained the recorded emergency call from May 9 played for the courtroom. In the call at 7:55 p.m., a man can be heard explaining the scene to Williams. He talks about a gunshot victim and when asked if she shot herself, the man answered "I don't think so."
When Williams asks where the shooter is, the man said, "He took off in a red pick-up truck." He identified the driver as Steve Nodine.
"I heard the gunshot and thought it was a firecracker," he said. "It sounded like it was before he left."
Investigator Andrew Ashton was sworn in and played the security video he retrieved from Don Carlos. Nodine can plainly be seen walking through the atrium then, as he approaches the bar at 8:44 p.m., he looks at his phone. He continues to the bar where he sits to have coffee and water. He leaves the bar for a minute at 9:09 p.m., then reappears on his mobile phone. As he talks he walks to the atrium at 9:15 p.m., he paces for a moment while talking, then leaves.
Court resumes Tuesday morning at 9 p.m.
Cherry6905:
Quote from: Fanny Mae on December 14, 2010, 09:48:24 AM
Quote from: Cherry6905 on December 14, 2010, 07:29:40 AM
Thanks Fannie - it's a horrible experience for Angel's Mom and family. They are really good people and the Mom hasn't averted her eyes once. her children all hold her and she watches and listens. I can't imagine having to do that.
There's been a media frenzy of sorts with Tweets and Facebook Updates galore that are extremely graphic.
I've heard complaints that this story is ruining peoples Christmas. I think of Thelma Hinley. Know what the last thing I saw Thelma say just prior to the trial beginning?
She is concerned for Nodine's wife and child and she's praying for them.
Thelma also feels - God knows the truth of what happened that night. Pray that the truth be made known.
I doubt if it were anyone on trial for murder but a county commissioner, the trial wouldn't be "ruining" anyone's Christmas. There is so much more I could say, but I won't. Thelma Hinley is Angel's mother? If so, she has a kind heart. I do feel sorry for the child, the wife, not so much. JMO
Yes Thelma is Angel's Mother, her whole family is there. Sitting in the courtroom next to one another. They are a large loving family.
The description of them all sitting together holding each other reminds me of my father's funeral service. I'm one of 8 children and my father's service was about being the great protector. It's one of the things I admire most about good parents.
Beth Holloway is one, and Thelma too. Inspirational.
If justice is done Nodine's wife and child will be rescued from abuse. I pray the truth comes out.
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