Boring Legal Stuff

I saw this headline in the Star Telegram about a Denton County case, and wondered what new evidence they had. I mean, you just don't let a murder go unsolved for years and then haul off and indict someone for it. Uh, well, I guess you do:

Jamie Beck, first assistant criminal district attorney, said she cannot go into details because the case is pending. "All I can tell you is that new evidence isn’t what brought the investigation to go forward," she said.

So what happened? Well it looks like prosecutor Cary Piel (who filled in a couple of years ago in the Wise County DA's office when they were shorthanded) tried a murder case, won, and went looking for more:

The case got a second look in August after Denton County prosecutor Cary Piel had finished another murder case, Beck said. He asked Texas Ranger Tracy Murphree after the trial if he had any cold cases, and Murphree mentioned the Stobaugh investigation, Beck said.

So what got Piel so excited? My super power memory led me to recall this case in August where the Denton County jury convicted a former cop of murder seven years after the "fact" with almost no evidence to support their decision. It's almost as if the prosecutor thought, "Sheesh, if they'll convict that guy, who else will they convict? Hey, Ranger, what else you got in your filing cabinet?" But let's ask Cary Piel directly. What do you think about this new/old case?

Piel is not allowed to talk to the media, Beck said . . . .

I don't think that's meant as a slight at Cary. She probably meant, "I'm the designated spokesman for the DA's office and all communication will come through me" but, if that's true, they might want to find a better spokesman for the DA's office.