Rafael Martinez, Jr. Trial - Witness List Quick Links

 This page will be periodically updated. Sprocket

Witnesses who testified in the Rafael Martinez, Jr. Trial.
Rafael Martinez QUICK LINKS Page

Note:
May 2001stabbings:
Luz Nieves and Francisco Santos victims. Nieves murdered, Santos survived.
September 1997 stabbings:
Shawn and Nancy Boehm, murdered.

Day 4
Prosecution Witnesses
1. HUGH MARTIN - LAPD - Firefighter-Paramedic. Responded to the scene of a stabbing in May 2001. Victims Luz Nieves and Francisco Santos. Translated victim's statement in the ambulance for officer Anderson. Victim stated "Junebug" when asked who did this.

2. RAFFI DJABOURIAN, MD - Senior Deputy Medical Examiner for Los Angeles County Coroner. Performed the post-mortem on victim Luz Nieves in 2001.

3. SEAN ANDERSON - LAPD Officer. Responded to the 2001 stabbing scene. Rode in the ambulance with victim Nieves to the hospital. Asked victim who did this to her.

Day 5
4. GABRIEL COLON - LAPD Officer. Responded to the 2001 event where Nieves and Santos were stabbed.



Day 5, Part II & Day 5, Part III
5. FRANCISO SANTOS - Surviving victim of May 2001 knife attack. Testified as to what he remembers happened to him and Luz Nieves.

Day 5, Part III

6 RICHARD HOUSEHOLDER - Retired LAPD Detective. Part of the investigation of the September 1997 stabbing deaths of Nancy and Shawn Boehm. Interviewed Martinez at the North Hollywood Police Station. Martinez told Householder he had known the victim Nancy Boehm his whole life. He said he went to school with Shawn and his sister Leticia. He said the last time he saw Nancy was over a week ago. Told Householder he spoke to Nancy every day.

7 MARTIN PINNER - LAPD Detective. Investigated the Nieves and Santos stabbings in May 2001. Interviewed Martinez after the attack on Nieves and Santos. The audio recording of that interview is introduced through this witness.

Day 6
7 MARTIN PINNER - Playing of the interview tape continued. Detective Pinner testifies that no weapon was recovered in that case.

8 DAVID RIEMEN - LAPD Detective, tesifying in uniform. Reimen was a patrol officer in 1997. He responded to the Boehm murder scene. Reimen filled out a field interview card on Martinez. Reimen was assigned the task of going door to door and interviewing potential witnesses. Reimen has no independent memory of that day.

9 BRUCE LYLE - Former LA County Coroner Investigator. Responded to the Boehm murder scene. Collected Shawn and Nancy's bodies and transported them to the Coroner's. Collected fingernail scrapings and fingernail clippings from the bodies of Shawn and Nancy Boehm.

10 SUSAN RINEHART - LAPD Criminalist - Responded to the 1997 Boehm murder scene. Introduces many crime scene photos that were taken at the scene. Collected numerous pieces of evidence. Meticulously recovered/uncovered the several layers of papers, bags, purses and other items that were on top of Nancy Boehm.

Day 7
9 BRUCE LYLE - Recalled to clarify he was mistaken on how he collected the fingernail evidence.

11 STEVEN KORDAK - Neighbor and friend of Nancy and Shawn Boehm. Kordak grew up in the neighborhood. Spoke to Shawn Boehm on the street around 11 AM, Friday September 19, 1997, the day before Shawn and Nancy's bodies were found. Testified to what he knew about Shawn's capabilities.

10 SUSAN RINEHART - testimony continued. Under cross examination, introduced over 50 photographs from the Boehm murder scene.

12 JESSICA STOCKTON - Lived with Nancy Boehm for approximately two months before the murders. Testifies to Nancy's security procedures at the house. Describes what she knew of Shawn's capabilities.

Day 8
13 MELISSA POPOVIC - LAPD Criminalist. Forensic print specialist, latent print unit. Popovic collected evidence in the 2001 case. Collected a partial bloody palm print left on the door jam or door, of Nieves bedroom door. On Monday, 2/4, she printed the defendant's palms. She matched the bloody palm print she found on the door to the defendant.

14 CHRISTINE SALMAS - Friend and former customer of Nancy Boehm. Knew Nancy from around 1995-6 to around the time of her death. Knew the security procedures at Nancy's house. Testified about Nancy's procedures and how Nancy conducted business in her home. Testified about an incident where there were many people in the home, waiting for a "runner" to deliver drugs. Martinez was there and she overheard Nancy say something to the defendant. When detectives showed her a photo of Martinez, she gave the following statement: "I’m almost sure this is the guy that I saw once in her house. She had to tell him to calm down and be quiet. She shushed him. He must have been coked up and I only saw him once."

15 ROBERT CALLAHAN - Friend of Nancy Boehm. Callahan testifies that Nancy was pretty much his best friend from the time he met her in 1991 until her death. He knew Shawn and mentored him. took him to the Special Olympics, carnivals, etc. Shawn was a fun kid to be around. He knew about Nancy's security procedures and observed her business transactions. Stated that Nancy did sell drugs on credit. Knew Martinez and identifies him. Believes he saw Nancy refuse credit to Martinez once and make him leave her home. Observed Martinez angry and screaming at Nancy a few times.

Day 9 & Short Update II
Defense Witness taken out of order
1. JEFFREY BECK - LAPD Sargent, Watch Command. In 2001 was a patrol officer. He responded to the Nieves and Santos crime scene. He interviewed Mr. Santos with Officer Guthrie. At some point during the interview, Mr. Santos became uncooperative and threatened to "fuck up" the defendant. Officer Beck verifies that Mr. Santos gave the same story to him that he testified to on the stand.

Prosecution Witnesses
16 BARBARA LEAL - Criminalist; Senior DNA Analyst for Cellmark Forensics. Explains STR testing and Y-STR testing and the purpose of each test. Explains the four steps of developing an DNA profile from a sample. (more to come)

17 PATRICIA HUCK - LAPD Criminialist since 1984. DNA Analyst since 2008. Performed DNA analysis in the Boehm's case. Received the partial male profile developed by Cellmark and submitted it into CODIS. Identified through CODIS a potential suspect in the Boehm murders, Rafael Martinez, Jr. Performed two different analysis, a "likelihood ratio" and a "combined probability of inclusion" analysis on the two DNA profiles found under Nancy's fingernails. For the first test, she did a calculation where she assumed one profile was Nancy's. She then performed a calculation which tells her what is the probability that Rafael Martinez' DNA is the second part of that mixture. It is 3.297 billion times more likely to get the profile of Rafael Martinez, than if it was someone else's profile. The second analysis test gives a lower number. It tells how many different people could possibly be in that mixture. 1 in 123,900 individual's could be included in that mixture. Rafael Martinez could not be excluded as a contributor to the DNA mixture found under Nancy's fingernails.

Prosecution witness taken out of order
18 THOMAS TOWNSEND - LAPD Detective. Investigating Officer on the Boehm murders. Explains the murder book and the various sections it contains. Collected a DNA sample from the defendant after there was a CODIS hit.

17 PATRICIA HUCK - testimony resumed

19 VINCENT BANCROFT - LAPD Detective. Joined the investigation into Nancy and Shawn Boehm's deaths about two days after they were found. Collected the fingernail kits and blood samples for Nancy and Shawn from the Coroner's office and booked them into LAPD evidence. Interviewed potential witnesses.

Day 10
20 PATRICIA ROBBINS - Family friend and neighbor of Nancy and Shawn Boehm. When Shawn was little, occasionally babysit for Nancy.

21 TERESA FIERRO - Family friend and neighbor ot Nancy and Shawn Boehm. Sister to Patricia Robbins. Was Shawn's babysitter when Shawn was little. Visited Nancy at her home on September 16, 1997 at around 11 PM until 3 AM the next morning when she left the residence.

22 DR. IRWIN GOLDEN - Retired Deputy Medical Coroner with Los Angeles County. Performed the autopsy on Nancy Boehm.

23 DR. LOUIS PENA - Deputy Medical Coroner with Los Angeles County. Reviewed the autopsy on Shawn Boehm performed by Dr. Bockhacker.

19 VINCENT BANCROFT - testimony resumed

18 THOMAS TOWNSEND - testimony resumed

Day 11
24 JODY HYNDS - DNA Analyst; worked at Cellmark 2002-2008. Currently employed by the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

Defense Witness taken out of order
2 FRANK KRYSHAK - LAPD Officer; responded to the 2001 crime scene where Luz Nieves was murdered and Francisco Santos survived his injuries. Collected bullet, 6.68 grams of cocaine and a bloody, ten dollar bill from the crime scene. Sargent Kryshak did not have an independent recollection of events.

18 THOMAS TOWNSEND - testimony resumed

Defense Witnesses
3 TAMI MAYNARD - Friend of Nancy and Shawn Boehm for about ten years. Occasionally saw the defendant at Nancy's.

She was a friend and customer and knew Nancy sold drugs on credit. The name she knew Martinez by was "Junior." Saw Martinez at Nancy's house occasionally. Testified about what she knew of Nancy, her habits, the different groups of friends, the bars Nancy frequented, the security procedures at the house, how many different people she saw at the house, etc. Testified about Shawn and his capabilities. Stated the last time she spoke/saw Martinez was several months before Nancy's death.

4  ANTHONY GOBEA - Witness at the 2001 crime event when Nieves and Santos were attacked. He was in a building next door. At 1:15 AM in the morning of May 10, 2001, he heard two people arguing. He couldn't understand what they were saying. It was two males. It continued for a bit, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying. He hear a door shut, a loud scream and then a bang. When he heard tires squealing, he and a friend stepped outside and saw Mr. Santos in the street, bleeding. They called 911. He remembers the man saying, "Help me, please, help me, please." Gobea and his friend told Santos to stay put.

5 STEPHANIE MARTINEZ - Rafael Martinez' aunt by marriage. The defendant is her nephew and David Martinez [Jr.] is her stepson.

6 DAVID MARTINEZ [Sr.] - Rafael's uncle.

7 RAFAEL MARTINEZ - Defendant. Direct testimony complete. No cross examination yet.

Day 12
8 Marc Taylor, President and Laboratory Director of Technical Associates, Inc.  Mr. Tayor is detailing his CV when I arrive. Technical Associates performed DNA testing on Shawn and Nancy Boehm's fingernails as well as the fingernail scrapings. The results of their testing is presented to the jury.

Rafael Martinez, Jr., QUICK LINKS

This page will be periodically updated. Sprocket

Case Number: LA063599

Defendant: Rafael Enrique Martinez, Jr.

Prosecution: DDA Daniel Akemon
Defense: Tom Burns, Alternate Public Defender's Office

Victims:
Nancy Boehm - September 1997
Shawn Boehm, 23 - September 1997

Synopsis
Nancy Boehm was unemployed and supplementing her income at the time of her death by selling cocaine out of her North Hollywood home. Her son Shawn, 23, has been described as having the mental capacity of a 12 or 13 year old. The Los Angeles Times reported that he participated in the Special Olympics.

Nancy's property was gated and friends described her as very concerned about security. Nancy's friends knew to call first before they came over.  Nancy and Shawn's bodies were found with multiple stab wounds. Nancy was found in a back bedroom where she transacted business. Shawn was found in another bedroom. DNA evidence linked to the defendant was found underneath Nancy's fingernails.

WITNESSES WHO TESTIFIED

T&T CASE COVERAGE
1/20/15 T&T Update on Several Cases
1/26/15 Martinez, Jr., Trial Day 1, Jury Selection
1/27/15 Martinez, Jr., Trial Day 2, Jury Selection
1/28/15 Martinez, Jr., Trial Day 3, Jury Selection
1/29/15 Martinez, Jr., Trial Day 4, Opening Statements
1/29/15 Martinez, Jr., Trial Day 4, Opening Statements, Part II 
1/29/15 Martinez, Jr., Trial Day 4, Opening Statements, Part III UPDATED!
1/30/15 Martinez Jr., Trial Day 5, Testimony Continues 
1/30/15 Martinez Jr., Trial Day 5, Part II   --NEW--
2/02/15 Martinez Jr., Trial Day 6, People's Testimony Continues
2/03/15 Martinez Jr., Trial Day 7, People's Testimony Continues
2/04/15 Martinez Jr., Trial Day 8, People's Testimony Continues
2/05/15 Martinez Jr., Trial Day 9, People's Testimony Continues
2/09/15 Martinez Jr., Trial Short Update
2/10/15 Martinez Jr., Trial Update II
2/11/15 Martinez Jr., Trial Update III 
2/23/15 Martinez Jr., Trial Update IV

Other Media
Photo of Shawn via search engine
Photos of Nancy & Defendant at NewsSpy Flicker
11/06/09 LA Times Article about the Boehm murders
11/05/09 ABC 7 Local Story
11/05/09 LAPD Online
11/06/09 LAist Story
11/05/09 San Gabriel Valley Tribune
06/14/11 Local PATCH Story
09/22/97 Daily News Story via FreeLibrary
09/22/97 LA Times Story

Nancy & Shawn Boehm at Find A Grave

Merry Christmas, from the Sprocket Household

Mr. Sprocket called me into our bedroom. He told me it was a "photo op" moment.

From left to right:  

Rocket, our new 8 month old addition, adopted from the Baldwin Park Shelter, named in honor of Sprocket; Jumpy 12, who usually chases Rocket off the bed is in the comfy spot, on the kitty heating pad, and Scout, age unknown, who adopted us in 2006, finally turned to check out the camera.

Merry Christmas from our fur family to yours.

Here's What Happened to "Punkin Pie," Lana Clarkson's Former "Friend"

 Punkin Irene Elizabeth Laughlin, aka "Pie"

testifying for the defense in Spector 1, 2007.

Back in 2007, over a period of about six months, I attended the first Phil Spector murder trial. It's also when I started Trials & Tribulations. 

Spector was on trial for second degree murder in the death of Lana Clarkson. Clarkson died in the early morning hours of February 3, 2003. Clarkson had met Spector at the House of Blues on Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles, where she was working security in the exclusive V.I.P. Foundation Room. After the club closed, Spector convinced Clarkson to come back to his Alhambra mansion for a drink. Just a few hours later, she ended up dead. She was shot through the mouth while sitting in a chair in the foyer, her purse on her shoulder, as if she was waiting to leave.

Clarkson, an actress and model in the 80s, was just starting to get back on her feet after breaking both her wrists in a freak accident a year earlier when her life tragically intersected Spector's.

Witnesses testified that Lana had a "best friend" who called herself Punkin' Pie, or just Pie, although her legal name was Irene Elizabeth Laughlin.  In December 2000, the LA Weekly featured a story about Pie, a self-made music promoter who helped struggling artists get their start.

Lana's "best friend" didn't testify for the prosecution. She did what any best friend would do. She testified for the defense, telling the jury that best friend Lana was so despondent, that days before her murder, Lana told Pie she was going to get a gun and kill herself.

I'll never forget the above image of "Pie" on the witness stand, with that big gold necklace bouncing back and forth between her large ta-ta's. 

The first trial ended in a hung jury. Pie was conspicuously absent from the second trial, although many witnesses did talk about Pie and how she and Lana were "best friends." At the end of the retrial, Spector was convicted of Clarkson's murder on April 13, 2009.

A couple of years ago, there was a short blurb in Screen Daily that a company, Vesuvio Entertainment was making a movie All Six Feet, about the relationship between Pie and Lana Clarkson. A few days later, The Daily Beast had a longer piece about the upcoming movie and Pie's spin on her friend's death.

It's interesting that Vesuvio Entertainment was started by Greg H. Sims, another supposed "friend" of Lana Clarkson who also testified for the defense.  Back in March 2013, Sims spoke with radio host Larry Elder about the film project that was coming out in six weeks. If the film was ever released under that name, I can't find it at IMDb.

Fast forward to December 10, 2014. I'm on Facebook, and I get an instant message from my friend Toni, who tells me that Pie is on the Dr. Phil show, presenting herself as a "cougar." Although the show had already started, I immediately hit record on my DVR. 

I watched the episode a few days later. It was quite sad. There was 58 year old Pie, her plump body splayed out on her bed like ... (words escape me), extolling the benefits of being a "cougar" and dating a man 34 years her junior. 'Nuff said. 

Phil Spector Wikipedia Page
Lana Clarkson Website
Lana Jean Clarkson Wikipedia Page
Punkin Pie Facebook Page

Christinan Newsom Case - Vanessa Coleman Denied Parole

GUEST ENTRY FROM DAVID in TENNENNESSEE!

David brings us updates on two events related to Vanessa Coleman's second trial. Sprocket

Vanessa Coleman Denied Parole

by

David In Tennessee

On Wednesday, December 10, 2014, Vanessa Coleman was denied parole for Facilitation of the rape-murder of Channon Christian. The torture-murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom took place on the night of January 6-7, 2007. Coleman was convicted a second time in a retrial on November 20, 2012. Judge Blackwood sentenced her to 35 years in prison on February 1, 2013.

Why was she up for parole so soon? Vanessa Coleman was convicted of facilitation, not murder. Since she was arrested in January 2007 and remained in custody, Coleman is credited with nearly eight years in prison and is eligible for parole under Tennessee law. 

In a unanimous vote after a hearing lasting 90 minutes, five members of the panel rejected the application. One member was absent. Another was too new to the panel to vote. 

Vanessa Coleman's defense at both trials was she was afraid of the others, one of whom was her boyfriend, and was herself a prisoner in the death house. 

A major question throughout is why Coleman did not free Christian and flee on two occasions when she was alone with her inside ringleader Lemaricus Davidson's house. When questioned at the hearing, Coleman said; "I'm currently in the appeal process, and I have spoken to my lawyer, and it was wise for me not to speak."

Coleman's appeal was rejected by the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals a few days before and the Tennessee Supreme Court is unlikely to even look at the case after two trials. 

The main evidence against Coleman was a diary entry a few days after Christian and Newsom were tortured, raped (both of them), and murdered. Coleman wrote of her "adventure in the Big T.N," and how much "she loved her life." When questioned about this at the hearing, Coleman answered "That statement had nothing to do with the case, sir, and that's all I can say."

Davidson was sentenced to death. His brother and Coleman's boyfriend, Letalvis Cobbins, was sentenced to life without parole. Cobbins' friend, George Thomas was sentenced to life with possible parole after 50 years. 

Here is a report from WATE, Knoxville's ABC affiliate.

"December 7, 1941, A Date Which Will Live In Infamy..."

American Experience Facebook Photo

Robert Durst Case - QUICK LINKS

This page was last updated on 1/8/17 at 4:45 pm PT. Sprocket 

ROBERT DURST
CASE NO: SA089983 (Filed at Airport Courthouse)

PLAYERS
Defendant - Robert Durst (DOB 4/12/43)
Victim - Susan Berman

Prosecution - DDA's John Lewin & Habib Balian
Defense - Dick DeGuerin
Documentary Filmmaker: Director Andrew Jarecki
 
T&T CASE COVERAGE

3/16/15 Robert Durst Case - Felony Complaint
11/07/16 Robert Durst - Arraignment at Airport Courthouse Today
01/10/17 Robert Durst Pretrial Hearing 1
02/08/17 Robert Durst People's Motions
03/01/17 Robert Durst 3/15/15 Interview with LA Co. DA John Lewin

People's Motions/Documents
Felony Complaint
12/05/16 Motion to Admit Special Master12/16/16 Supplemental Declaration
12/19/16 Special Master Reply
12/29/16 Response to Defense Motion01/05/17 Motion to Admit Defense Mirandized Statements
01/17/17 Collateral Estoppel

Defense Motions/Documents

Mainstream Media Articles

OLDER Mainstream Media Articles 
Archived
02/2002 VF - The Fugitive Heir
04/2002 GQ - Robert Draper Investigates Robert Durst
01/01/15  NY Times - Douglas Durst on Robert Durst
Current - March 2015
03/16/15 LA Weekly - Durst Says He "Killed Them All"
03/16/2015 NY Times - Interview with Andrew Jarecki, Director of THE JINX
03/16/15 LA Times Extradition Delayed
03/16/14 Buzzfeed - Questions We have for Jinx Filmmakers
03/16/15 Gawker Durst Formally Charged With Murder
03/16/15 LA Times - Durst Documentary Reminds Us Of the Narative Power of Crime Dramas
03/16/15 Buzzfeed - How Did "The Jinx" Narratively Manipulate Its Viewers?
03/16/15 Mashable - How "The Jinx" Came Out of Nowhere to Become Part of a Murder Case
03/16/15 The Wrap - Robert Durst Charged with Murder of Susan Berman
03/16/15 Arts Beat - Why The Timeline of The Jinx is so Confusing
03/16/15 Slate - The Jinx Timeline 
03/17/15 CNN - Durst Charges with 1st Degree Murder
03/18/15 CNN - Who is Robert Durst's Wife, Deborah Lee Charatan?
03/18/15 Salon - Robert Durst is not a true psychopath...
03/18/15 LA Times - False Starts Dodged the LAPD's Murder Case Against Durst
04/03/15 USA Today - Trial Postponed, Witnesses Failed to Show
04/09/15 LA Times - Durst Writes to the LA Times
04/14/15 NBC- Durst: I'm Still Not Guilty (Federal Court)
04/16/15 Salon - Durst Biographer on what Jinx Got Wrong
04/20/14 Houston Chron. - Judge Postpones Trial Until Sept.
04/21/15 NOLA - Durst Federal Charges Trial Moved to Sept. 04/22/15 Boston Globe - Did Robert Durst Murder My Friend Susan?
04/23/15 Huff Post - Gun & Drug Charges Dropped
04/27/15 NOLA - Durst to be Transferred to St. Charles Parrish Jail
05/01/15 NY Curbed - Durst's Brother Could Freeze $74 Mil Fortune
05/08/15 KHOU - Newly Released Video Show's Durst Public Urination
05/08/15 Click2Houston - A Look at Durst's Time in Houston
06/04/14 NOLA - LA Cops Arrest Millionaire Because of "The Jinx"
06/10/15 THR - The Jinx Reporters Break Their Silence
06/23/15 LA Times - Jeanine Pirro Writing Robert Durst Book
06/25/15 ESQ - Robert Durst Took Me To Lunch, 2 Wks Before Murder
07/24/15 PgSix - Durst's Brother Threatens to Sue Pirro over Book

Links
Wikipedia
HBO Documentary: The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst
Book: A Deadly Secret: The Bizarre and Chilling Story of Robert Durst, by Matt Birkbeck