Page 17 - Assistant Da News Today

Hang himself. but i didnt think hed go out and try to murder again this soon. and i was shocked. we were shocked. >> yeah. >> reporter: but they still didnt know what happened to kenia. quickly, the lee family called a news conference and delivered a message to travis forbes. >> anybodys going to relay any messages to him, tell him, or if you guys talk to him, tell him weve got just one question. where is kenia? thats it. >> reporter: but travis wasnt talking anymore. so lee offered a radical id...

So lee offered a radical idea. >> i called assistant d.a. lombardi, and i said make a deal. >> you wanted a deal? >> yeah. i dont care what it is. i said i dont care. you could take it down to manslaughter. i didnt care. just make a deal. lets just -- we just want kenia. >> we really couldnt -- i mean, we were getting there. we were still investigating. what i really wanted was for -- tell us where she was. so we could give closure to this family. >> reporter: but travis was now facing an attemp...

Verified. jacob anderson was indicted for sexual assault in the family of the victim said there was an enormous amount of evidence and the conviction was almost sure. now two and a half years after living through hell, the d.a. has decided not to bother even trying to get justice. after a deal was cut, jacob anderson agreed to plead no contest to a charge of unlawful restraint and was sentenced by judge ralph strother to three years of deferred probation, he wont spend a day in jail and have to ...

Talk to him, his defense lawyer ushered him out down the hallway. >> what did you think? did you take all in? im not sure he took it all in. >> im not sure i took it all in at first. >> that this is over. >> it was super exciting. everyone was so happy. everyone was in tears. >> not quite everyone. assistant d.a. bill gargen was fuming. >> were you willing to get arrested over this. >> absolutely. i was more than willing to have handcuffs placed on me to argue my point because i didnt cross any ...

>> we wish that hadnt happened but the kid deserves a break. >> the community felt that very strongly. >> so when the trial began less than a year after the shooting, the sworn representative of the people with a murder case to prove found herself in an odd spot. >> the biggest problem was the defendant himself, because he did appear to be, you know, an upstanding, nice young man. >> monroe county district attorney sandra dorley. >> from the very beginning, people were disappointed that an indic...

>> to see if she would take us to a location that michelle would possibly be. >> but that didnt happen. not to say, though, her behavior wasnt suspicious. remember the vigil the le family held a week after michelles disappearance, the one attended by giselles ex-boyfriend, scott? it turns out giselle was there too -- sort of. the tracking device showed giselle circling the block as michelles family pleaded for help. and later it showed her driving past scotts house. why? ritchie was all but sure...

Attorney. someone matt knew very well. >> he so is good. and i would be lying if i said my heart was not in my throat. >> reporter: sams defense attorney lew rosenblum was the former assistant d.a. who supervised the homicide unit. in fact, he was the original prosecutor who back in 1994 didnt think there was enough evidence to charge sam. not only that, lew was the man who brought matt into the homicide unit. >> lew took me under his wing and trained me how to do homicides. >> whats it like to ...

>> reporter: murder investigations are of course based on more than just witness statements. the csi team rushed over to todd and rachels house and assistant d.a., lisette suder, joined them as they searched and documented the interior of a house that was strangley chaotic. >> reporter: what did it look like? >> the house is well-manicured. minus the fact that theres this

And they tested her clothes, everything they could. all the medical personnel confirmed they did not see that kind of injury to her that would have occurred. >> reporter: there were knife cuts on her body, but -- >> they were superficial. >> reporter: the crawley family was outraged all over again that once again shannons version of events was dismissed while the charges against her stood. the police basically accused shannon of making you the rape. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> and i believe they did...

Who did she say had raped her? >> she said it was him. >> reporter: jermeir? >> jermeir, yeah. >> reporter: charlotte police were alerted and rushed to the scene. shannon was bleeding and appeared traumatized. she was taken to a hospital for treatment and given a rape kit exam. no witnesses? >> no. >> reporter: none of your neighbors? >> no. i think there were maybe four people that lived in the neighborhood at that time. >> reporter: word of shannons reported rape traveled quickly to durham, wh...