There is a lot of buzz in the news right now about the Ryan Ferguson case. In November, one of the top trial lawyers in the U.S., Kathleen Zellner, took on his case pro bono. She is working on an appeal to get a new trial at the circuit court level. I was very happy to see this as I have always believed in Ryan Ferguson’s innocence.
New information came out last night as well (Thanks, Stacy) that Chuck Erickson, in a deposition taken last November, changed his story. Erickson wrote to Ferguson for the first time since the trial and asked Ferguson to send his attorneys to speak to him.
Have your lawyers come speak to me the next time that they’re down here. If you tell the media that I asked to see your lawyers, or you tell the media what I talked to your lawyers about before I can talk to my family and/or consult an attorney, it will be regretful. I hope that you are holding up.(source)
Ferguson and his lawyers obviously complied with Erickson’s requests and met up with him. They took a deposition.
In the deposition, Erickson says, “I made up what I said about Ryan being on top of the victim.” Later he admits, “I lied about him strangling the victim.”
Erickson says he was solely responsible for the robbery and death of Heitholt and says it took so long to come out with this version of the events because he couldn’t believe he could have acted so aggressively. He says he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of the murder.
I have never believed Chuck Erickson from day one, and I have always believed Ryan Ferguson was innocent. It’s about time!!!
If anyone sees this deposition uploaded online, please let me know. I want to watch Chuck make his statements to see if I believe this is the truth. I am still skeptical that Erickson isn’t giving us the entire truth, personally, though I think it is true that Ryan had nothing to do with this.
To read my original thoughts on this case back in 2006 before much was known, click here, or click on the the labels below.
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A superior court judge today has said that Andrew Young is in contempt of court today for not turning over the private property of Rielle Hunter. Young has until Wednesday to comply (source).
Thanks, Karon, for the update.
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A reader requested that I review Casey Anthony’s apology to her friend, Amy Huizenga, in the case of check fraud. Anonymous asks on my “Feedback” request page:
http://www.wftv.com/video/22335848/index.html She has super-twitchy microexpressions particularly compared to her blank face a few minutes earlier during her plea form responses http://www.wftv.com/video/22335740/index.html at 1:58 to 3:11 and during the prosecution’s descriptions of her crimes at 4:32 to 4:58 (where I swear I see smiling microexpressions while the prosecutor is talking about Casey‘s purchases at Target.)
Thanks for your request! Here are my thoughts: Read more
When I watch Casey in the second video link, where the judge talks to Casey and asks her questions about her plea deal (at the time marker’s specified above), I see no micro expressions. I do not see any positive emotions either. I do, however, see that Casey is swallowing frequently, which is an indication she is likely uncomfortable or nervous.
In the first video link, when I watch Casey as she apologizes to the court (and her friend), I believe that Casey is truly sincere. Her breakdown is genuine and real. It is not fake. I do not see any micro expressions, but what I suspect you are seeing are the normal stress movements of the face as Casey Anthony is trying to hold herself back from crying.
Micro expressions are flashes of hidden emotion that occur in 1/25th of a second. They are fast and fleeting.
What is fascinating to me, and it is very common, is that once people see someone in a negative light, they are unable to accept or see that a person with a negative history can still do genuine and positive things. I suspect this is due to an emotional bias. Emotional biases are a huge blinder to seeing the truth for every one of us. It’s one of the biggest pitfalls to being accurate at deception detection…
Thanks, anonymous, for sharing your thoughts with us.
Clarification (2-6-2010): While Casey’s crying episode was real and genuine, what we don’t know was “what she was crying about”. It may have been feelings of sorrow for her friend. It may have been tears for herself, but the emotions were genuine. That’s all I can ever say 🙂 I’m not a mind reader 🙂
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Diena Thompson is just amazing. Her behavior never ceases to amaze me, and it doesn’t matter which video you give me of her, something is just strangely off in my eyes.
The reporter says, “What is justice for Somer?”
Diena says almost ready to break out in a laugh, “Finding who did this to her, and them being put to death. That’s what I want for them.” Look at her shoulder shrugs as she says this. I would expect a definitive response without any doubt, but her shoulders are suggesting she is doubtful about this. Why on earth does this woman feel so good about this? The police haven’t even named a suspect! How come she feels so positive? Is this duper’s delight on a scale we haven’t seen before?
Read moreThe reporter says that Diena believes the killer is local and that he probably talked to Somer at least once before the killing to gain Somer’s trust. Isn’t that fascinating? That’s a change in her core belief . Diena originally told us us that Somer trusted everyone. In November, on MSNBC, Diena said, “She just loved everyone. She was very trusting. She just trusted everyone and she just assumed that they wouldn’t hurt her (source).” How come Diena’s core belief changed?
Three things about this statement stand out to me. She is now describing Somer’s core personality different as mentioned above. Number two, if she believes the killer is local, doesn’t she fear she is taunting him by saying he deserves the death penalty? Doesn’t she fear that he might kill her and go after her or her remaining children?
Why isn’t Diena living in fear? Is she demanding protection from law enforcement? Is she still living in the same house? Why does this woman feel no fear??It defies logic. Third, when she talks about the killer looking her in her eyes, there is a vacancy that I see in her eyes that I can’t explain, but stands out to me. There is no tension, perhaps, no real vision in her mind’s eye of the actual scenario she talks about, which we would expect to see, if she truly had conviction for what she is saying.
Watch Diena’s response when she says she feels the police are getting close to a suspect. It’s strange. I’ve never seen another victim act like she does. She has hope when she should have none. The police won’t even clue her into the investigation and she just “feels it” that they are close to solving this? In my eyes, it’s insane.
Diena says, “I’ve met some incredible people through all of this, and they will call me with bible verses, and I’ll read them and just be…completely…(shoulder shrug)…in awe.” When Diena says this, she is giving away indications that she is thinking as she speaks, not talking from the heart. When she shrugs her shoulders above, I suspect she doesn’t know what to say after “completely”. Then she comes up with the rest of her babble. She continues, “…that…it’s almost like…it was written…for me (another shoulder shrug).” The pauses are notable here. I don’t believe a word she is saying, frankly.
Notice her attorney isn’t present? Has he suggest to Diena to stay out of the spotlight, but Diena refuses to listen?
Listen to her complain about the lock of Somer’s hair! I about fell off my chair!!! Diena smiles as she talks about what should be one of the most painful things in her life. There isn’t a tear, an ounce of any sad emotion whatsoever when Diena says, “Well…the lock of hair …wasn’t what I was expecting. It’s…not that much, and…it looks dirty to me (smirking).” Notice the…hesitation…in…her…speech…as…she…talks…about…this. It’s strange and notable. It is highly indicative she is just thinking as she talks, instead of speaking from the heart.
More than that, most mothers who have lost a child take everything they left from their child and idolize it. To most mothers, a lock of hair would be more precious than gold, even if it was dirty. They usually can’t part with anything and often revere every little thing and treat it as if it were as precious as the child was. I’ve never seen a mother in mourning complain something wasn’t good enough or right that is a part of their child. It defies logic. How many mothers whose children were killed have you seen leave their child’s room exactly as it was for years, if not decades? Yet FirstCoastNews.com reported, “The grief has been so intense she [Diena] wanted to get rid of Somer’s things, but she was advised not to, so she packed them away for now.”
Diena Thompson completely defies everything that I know is normal. I think she either knows boatloads more about this case than she is telling us, or perhaps she has a mental illness? Her behaviors are off the charts, like nothing I have ever seen before…
Thanks, Kat2, fort the links and suggestion.
* This post is an opinion of the author.
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