Huge shoutout to "Banish" a reader in Australia who has not only been researching "no body" cases for over five years but has scoured my table and come up with nine new U.S. cases. They've been added to the table along with two new cases from Tennessee, both prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Tom Henderson who holds the rare distinction of having prosecuted more than one "no body" case. (He lectured on "no body" cases last month at the International Homicide Investigators conference in New Orleans.) Also in that elite group of prosecutors is Debora Lloyd of the Orange Count District Attorney's Office who's prosecuted two "no body" cases (Bechler, Valot) and Dwayne McConnell with two cases (Billy Smith and Rocky Seamon). Conversely, in the Hall Of "No Body" Trial Shame let's add Richard Guida who convicted Jay Smith and William Bradfield of a "no body" murder but was later convicted of a drug offense himself. Ooops, hate when that happens!
While the common perception is that no body cases are very difficult to win, the vast majority that go to trial actually end up in convictions. In May, however, a North Carolina judge reversed a conviction (and death sentence) in a no body case when the prosecution withheld evidence regarding a witness's possible involvement in a shooting. See News Observer
In Ohio two foster parents have been indicted for killing their mentally disabled foster child:
Foster Parents Charged in Toddler Death
By DAN SEWELL Associated Press Writer
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CINCINNATI (AP) -- The foster parents of a missing 3-year-old developmentally disabled boy were charged Monday in his death, and the foster father was accused of burning his body.
Liz and David Carroll Jr. are accused of leaving the boy in a closet in their home just east of Cincinnati while they went to a family reunion in Kentucky on Aug. 4, Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters said.
Investigators believe Marcus Fiesel was dead when the couple returned home two days later, Deters said. David Carroll took the boy's body to rural Brown County and burned it, Deters said.
A search for the remains was launched Monday.
The couple reported the boy missing from a suburban park Aug. 15, saying he wandered off after Liz Carroll passed out because of a heart condition.
A Hamilton County grand jury indicted the Carrolls on charges of involuntary manslaughter and endangering children, and David Carroll was charged with gross abuse of a corpse.
The Carrolls were arrested separately and jailed Monday, he said. It was not immediately known whether they had attorneys.
The boy's disappearance triggered an intensive search that brought hundreds of volunteers. Police later questioned why no witnesses reported seeing Marcus in the park.
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Marcus had the mental ability of a child 12 to 18 months old, David Carroll said. Marcus joined the family in May and had a history of wandering off, he said.
The latest "no body" conviction was Perry March who was convicted in Nashville, Tennessee on Friday for murdering his wife and disposing of her body ten years ago. Like many no body cases it involved 1. a spouse, 2. a jailhouse informant and 3. damaging admissions made by the defendant himself. Court TV covered the trial. Check out this link Court TV
