BOOK DONATION - MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Thanks to your book purchases, I've managed to raise enough money to donate 5,000 books to kids in state schools and prisoners. This increases the total donation over three years to 20,000 books. While in prison, kind people from all over the world sent me books. Reading became the lifeblood of my rehabilitation. #karma
NEW BOOKS
Next year I aim to publish these books:
Party Time New Edition
Pablo Escobar's Story
We Are Being Lied To: The War On Drugs
The War Against Weed
Two Tonys
Link to all of my books
VIDEOS
My latest videos and prison questions answered at my YouTube channel.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Dec 10 Manchester Pablo Escobar talk: Further info and tickets
Dec 17 Manchester Surviving Deadly USA Jail talk: Further info and tickets
Dec 18 London Pablo Escobar talk: Further info and tickets
Jan 15: Manchester Pablo Escobar talk: Further info and tickets
Jan 16: Manchester Life Lessons From USA's Deadliest Jails: Further info and tickets
Have a great holiday season everyone!
Here's what I wrote from prison at Christmas.
Cheers from London!
Shaun Attwood
Next year I aim to publish these books:
Party Time New Edition
Pablo Escobar's Story
We Are Being Lied To: The War On Drugs
The War Against Weed
Two Tonys
Link to all of my books
VIDEOS
My latest videos and prison questions answered at my YouTube channel.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Dec 10 Manchester Pablo Escobar talk: Further info and tickets
Dec 17 Manchester Surviving Deadly USA Jail talk: Further info and tickets
Dec 18 London Pablo Escobar talk: Further info and tickets
Jan 15: Manchester Pablo Escobar talk: Further info and tickets
Jan 16: Manchester Life Lessons From USA's Deadliest Jails: Further info and tickets
Have a great holiday season everyone!
Here's what I wrote from prison at Christmas.
Cheers from London!
Shaun Attwood
From T-Bone (Letter 70)
T-Bone is a massively-built spiritual ex-Marine, who uses fighting skills to stop prison rape. T-Bone’s latest letter from Arizona prison:
Can you imagine how dangerous it is for
guys who steal in this place? But there’s always those who think they can do
whatever. This jerk came into my cell and tried to steal my stamps and
toothpaste and even my shoes. I threw him out by the back of the neck.
Now this is where it gets crazy: he went
to the next door down and took another guys ID. He went to the inmate store and
got the guy’s store order, came back to the building and tried to act like he
did nothing wrong. Well, the guy next door found out what he had done and
almost the whole yard wanted to kill him. They wanted his ass anyway.
I told the guy he stole from to let him go.
They took the guy to the service centre, and then off the yard. Man, there are
some crazy people in these places, who always do things that show they need
help, but the system is designed to warehouse instead of helping people to
change. We are the difference makers. The old me would have kicked the crap out
of him, but now I see how we are influenced to think negatively, by evil, that
kind of thinking becomes a culture, and it’s time to break the cycle.
Shaun Attwood
After Prison Show Interview
Just did a podcast with Joe Guerrero (video above). I first recognised Joe's amazing ability to tell a story when he wrote to me in 2014 about getting pee tested in prison. Since his release 2 years ago, Joe has inspired prisoners and young people across the world by his meteoric rise on YouTube, where he now stars in the After Prison Show, which has over half a million subscribers. You can watch his videos here.
From T-Bone (Letter 69)
T-Bone is a massively-built spiritual ex-Marine, who uses fighting skills to stop prison rape. T-Bone’s latest letter from Arizona prison:
I’ve been having to keep cool because of
this youngster named King. There are people who you can get into it with and
you deal with them and they hit you and it’s over, and then there’s those who
one has to hurt severely or maybe even leave to die. You have to make a choice
to either walk away so that he you go home or take it to a very dark place.
This guy King is really asking for trouble
in the worst way. He is serving all day [life] and has the attitude of one who
says he has nothing to lose, and wants everyone to be afraid of him in this
environment, but there are those who don’t leave. It’s very serious. This guy
is a real asshole. He talks to people all the time like he doesn’t bleed. But I
know how things are gonna work or be with this guy: he is going get hurt very
badly or even worse because he won’t stop opening the door to evil. He doesn’t
understand how things work, and man can it get ugly in this place! You know me
and you can see and hear how serious it is.
I stopped a guy from going after him the
other day and he doesn’t get it. He keeps being disrespectful to people and
it’s because he’s angry at himself because he has a lot of time to do. It’s a
real dangerous situation. This guy has nothing to lose. Well, as you know, I am
trusting in God for help and I do know that I must make the right decision.
Each one
Teach one
Strength and Honor
Steel Embrace
T-Bone
Shaun Attwood
Email from a Guard
I received this heartwarming email from an officer who read Hard Time and now relates to prisoners in a more positive way:
I am a judicial marshal for the state of Connecticut in the US far north of where you spent you time over here. Unlike most other states we work for the court house and are in charge of safety for the court house and transport from jails and prisons for court dates. We don't work for the jails/prisons or a police force we just deal with the court house. I came across hard time last week on Amazon and I read it in two days. As soon as I was done I had to buy prison time to finish your story. I must say it's an absolute nightmare but it's crazy intriguing and I just can't put it down. Within a week I will have both done and then play catch up and read party time. I started my job when I was 19 and thankfully I got taken under the wing of a few senior marshals that had great heads on their shoulders and aren't the type to fight everyday. I don't work in a prison or jail but I deal with inmates on a daily basis on my transport truck. Reading your book it makes me sick how some of the officers you deal with treated people. I understand that yes some on the people I deal with are 100% monsters but most are people who made mistakes or people who didn't have family structure to help guild them through a life without crime. I also understand that I am one mistake away from ending up right where they are. I made mistakes as a kid with drugs and minor criminal activity and had to spend a few nights in lockup because of it. I just want you to know that I read your book and now understand the mindset of someone who is locked up a little bit better. I also hope I know understand enough to maybe offer a kind word rather then a quick smart ass remark. We aren't all bad some of us do care. I know you don't think we are all bad but I just wanted to tell you that your book will help me interact with inmates on a much deeper level. Also most of the reading was done in a lock up and I was sharing stories with co-workers in hopes they will read your books a well. My goal of to keep everyone safe and go home to my wife and son at the end of the day. I would love to tell you we are all good people but we both know that's a lie lol. I definitely work with assholes who want to fight to prove that they are tough but in the grand scheme that means nothing. Attacking an inmate when it's 5 on 1 makes you a coward not a tough guy.
Thank you for writing your journey through blogs and books.
Keep up the good work.
I am a judicial marshal for the state of Connecticut in the US far north of where you spent you time over here. Unlike most other states we work for the court house and are in charge of safety for the court house and transport from jails and prisons for court dates. We don't work for the jails/prisons or a police force we just deal with the court house. I came across hard time last week on Amazon and I read it in two days. As soon as I was done I had to buy prison time to finish your story. I must say it's an absolute nightmare but it's crazy intriguing and I just can't put it down. Within a week I will have both done and then play catch up and read party time. I started my job when I was 19 and thankfully I got taken under the wing of a few senior marshals that had great heads on their shoulders and aren't the type to fight everyday. I don't work in a prison or jail but I deal with inmates on a daily basis on my transport truck. Reading your book it makes me sick how some of the officers you deal with treated people. I understand that yes some on the people I deal with are 100% monsters but most are people who made mistakes or people who didn't have family structure to help guild them through a life without crime. I also understand that I am one mistake away from ending up right where they are. I made mistakes as a kid with drugs and minor criminal activity and had to spend a few nights in lockup because of it. I just want you to know that I read your book and now understand the mindset of someone who is locked up a little bit better. I also hope I know understand enough to maybe offer a kind word rather then a quick smart ass remark. We aren't all bad some of us do care. I know you don't think we are all bad but I just wanted to tell you that your book will help me interact with inmates on a much deeper level. Also most of the reading was done in a lock up and I was sharing stories with co-workers in hopes they will read your books a well. My goal of to keep everyone safe and go home to my wife and son at the end of the day. I would love to tell you we are all good people but we both know that's a lie lol. I definitely work with assholes who want to fight to prove that they are tough but in the grand scheme that means nothing. Attacking an inmate when it's 5 on 1 makes you a coward not a tough guy.
Thank you for writing your journey through blogs and books.
Keep up the good work.
From T-Bone (Letter 68)
T-Bone is a massively-built spiritual ex-Marine, who uses fighting skills to stop prison rape. T-Bone’s latest letter from Arizona prison:
I had to write this letter even though
these people are reading my mail to you. So check this out, as you know,
there’s a serious drug problem in places like this. How crazy people get from and
for it, especially Spice. That is some nasty stuff! They make the chemicals in
China. I swear it has sexual chemicals sprayed on it. The prisoners smoke it.
Well, they have a prison channel and they play this infomercial 24 hours a day
about “The Dangers of Spice,” but it doesn’t make a difference to people who
want to sell it and smoke it.
 |
| T-Bone |
This guy by the name of L got to smoking
it out on the recreation field. He fell head first in the hot sand and then he
got to fighting the air. He was hearing and seeing things that weren’t even
there. He was talking to demons, I believe. He’s a good-sized guy and everyone,
and I mean everyone, was scared of him.
I couldn’t just stand there and let the
man embarrass himself anymore, so I asked the Lord for help, and walked up and
hugged the man. His eyes were open, but he was possessed. I held onto him. He’s
a hard man. He stood there with his mind on something far away (something was
in him). He was sweating and his muscles were twitching from head to toe, like
the wind was blowing under his skin. I got scared for a moment, and he sensed
it and started holding on tighter, but God calmed me and out of nowhere came
medical personal who put him on a gurney and took him to Medical.
 |
| Prisoner on Spice |
I went on to my cell and prayed and out of
nowhere three buttholes who like to see things in a negative way, they stated
that I was making it hot for them. I laughed and told them to leave before
things got serious. The one who considered himself to be the leader called me a
“stupid nigger.”
I kicked him in the knee and wham-wham-boom! I hit him three times. He
was out. To my surprise, some guys came to support me. They knew what had happened
to L was wrong.
The leader came back after he had woken up.
His so-called homeboys put him up to it. He wasn’t ready, but he tried. I
grabbed him and put him in a chokehold. He tapped my arm real quick and I told
him to let it go and to grow up. His people ran off the yard.
There are always guys falling out from
that stuff who know better, but they have to have it. I feel no sorrow for any
of them because they are allowing a way of thinking that’s become a culture. Now,
they go around giving hot ones (butt-kicking) to people falling out from
smoking Spice.
The guy I had to deal with, his nickname
is “Infant.” Does that say it all or what? I hope he changes his name because his
nickname is without a doubt for a kid. Ha ha! I had to throw that one at you!
Can you believe I was making it hot, because I helped a guy who had fallen out
on the rec field? Wow! It’s hard to believe, but people do think like that.
I’ve put everything in God’s hands, so please continue to pray for me.
Each one
Teach one
Strength and Honor
Steel Embrace
T-Bone
Shaun Attwood
Sheriff Joe Arpaio is Now a Convicted Criminal
Arpaio's karma finally caught up with him today. Read more here.
A New Adventure (Part 20)
Approaching the anniversary of my ten-year release from
prison, I’m pleased to announce the publication of my eighth book over that
period. The Cali Cartel: Beyond Narcos
is now available worldwide on Amazon as a paperback
and an e-book here. The audiobook will be available within
two weeks. If you live in the USA, you have a chance to win a copy of the
paperback for free at this Amazon giveaway. The Cali Cartel took over
Pablo Escobar’s cocaine business, and the book includes the war between the
cartels. Here’s the Narcos trailer introducing Gilberto –
the head of the Cali Cartel – as the new super-villain for Narcos Season 3.
For my long-term blog readers, the only Arizona prisoner I still
get letters consistently from is T-Bone, a former US Marine who uses his
fighting skills to stop prison rape. His harrowing accounts of Arizona prison
life can be read at my blog here.
My YouTube channel subscribers have risen. I should be over
10,000 by the end of the year. I’ve set up a prison questions playlist. If you have any
prison questions you’d like to see me make a video about, please add them to
the YouTube comments or email them to me at attwood.shaun@hotmail.co.uk
Sales are starting to rise for my book American Made on the back of the imminent release of the Tom Cruise
movie American Made. The action-packed trailer about the CIA’s
cocaine smuggling pilot Barry Seal is here, but from watching it, I can tell
that the movie has whitewashed Barry’s story to make it US government friendly
– just like Narcos is told from the
DEA’s perspective. The DEA agents threatened to pull out of Narcos if Pablo Escobar’s son was
allowed to contribute.
I’m just finishing the final book in my War on Drugs series, We Are Being Lied To, which hopefully should be published by the
end of the year.
In August, I have three talks in London. Tickets and further info.
2 FREE Audiobook Giveaways
Audiobook Giveaway 1
If you’d like a free audiobook of American Made about the
CIA drug smuggler Barry Seal, I have some Amazon codes to give away, so just
email me your request and state your country at attwood.shaun@hotmail.co.uk
Audiobook Giveaway 2
If you’d like a free audiobook of Unmaking a Murderer based
on the Netflix series, I have some Amazon codes to give away, so just email me
your request and state your country at attwood.shaun@hotmail.co.uk
Shaun Attwood
A New Adventure (Part 19)
It was a real honour to be asked to judge prisoners’ short
stories for the Koestler Trust, who help prisoners rehabilitate through art.
Ten years ago, I won a Koestler Award for a short story, which I read to an
audience at London’s Royal Festival Hall. It got me a place on the Koestler
mentor scheme, and I was assigned a published author, who helped me achieve my
writing goals and launched me as an author. My sessions with my mentor are all available here.
There has been lots of Making a Murderer news.
Kathleen Zellner filed a 1,272-page notice for post-conviction relief. She
named Ryan Hillegas as the lead murder suspect and accused Ken Kratz of
fraudulent conduct. The motion was so significant that I have replaced the
chapter at the end of Unmaking a Murderer with a new chapter titled “Did Ryan
Hillegas Kill Teresa?” which you can listen to me narrate here.
The Federal Court ruled in favour of Brendan Dassey, and
mandated that some action must be taken within 90 days such as retrying him.
The corrupt State of Wisconsin is throwing vast taxpayers resources at holding
this innocent young man in prison because they don’t want to pay millions in
compensation. It’s despicable that they have not only destroyed a mild-mannered
teenager’s life, but that they continue to incarcerate him with zero evidence
of him ever committing a crime.
I’ve added several new videos to my Making a Murderer
playlist, which are all available here.
If you’d like a free audiobook of Unmaking a Murderer, I
still have some Amazon codes to give away, so just email me your request and
state your country at attwood.shaun@hotmail.co.uk
Shaun Attwood
Brendan Dassey's Court Victory #makingamurderer
Brendan Dassey finally won in court. He must be retried in 90 days or the State of Wisconsin must appeal to the Supreme Court, but they have no evidence because he is 100% innocent, so he will be freed this year barring unforeseen legal trickery. All of the dominoes are falling!
From the Seventh Circuit Court decision:
"To be sure Dassey's confession was not a smooth and consistent story. There were holes in the narrative. Dassey waffled and backtracked. The sequence of events was not always clear. The majority, reviewing the interview with its defense-friendly 'key' in hands, takes these inconsistencies as proof that Dassey was not recounting real memories but only telling the investigators what he believed the wanted to hear."
"To be sure Dassey's confession was not a smooth and consistent story. There were holes in the narrative. Dassey waffled and backtracked. The sequence of events was not always clear. The majority, reviewing the interview with its defense-friendly 'key' in hands, takes these inconsistencies as proof that Dassey was not recounting real memories but only telling the investigators what he believed the wanted to hear."
Did Ryan Hillegas Kill Teresa? #makingamurderer
Unmaking a Murderer Chapter 11 (Revised June 2017)
Writing for the Daily
Mail, Chris White referenced a Facebook poll of more than 1,200 people: 62%
thought that Teresa’s ex-boyfriend, Ryan Hillegas, was guilty of her murder and
17% blamed Manitowoc law enforcement for the crime. In June 2017, Kathleen
Zellner filed a 1,272-page notice for post-conviction relief. She named Ryan as
the lead murder suspect and accused Ken Kratz of fraudulent conduct. In
response, Kratz called Zellner deplorable for blaming Ryan.
Kathleen Zellner’s
post-conviction relief motion opines that Teresa was not murdered at Steven’s
property. After her appointment at Steven’s, Teresa had attended the Zipperer’s
residence and returned home. Zellner believes that Teresa met her demise at the
rear of her RAV4 where Ryan bludgeoned her to death. After burning her body, he
planted evidence on the Avery’s property, while manipulating law enforcement
into pursuing Steven as the perpetrator. Having found appointment details in
the paperwork in the RAV4, Ryan learned that Teresa had visited Steven earlier
that afternoon. From the local news, he knew that Steven was a famous exoneree who
was suing Manitowoc County. To shield himself from becoming a murder suspect,
Ryan devised a plan to move the body and the vehicle to Steven’s property.
Here are some of the main
points in Zellner’s motion as to why she suspects Ryan:
1.
Ryan was abusive towards Teresa and jealous
Having met as freshmen in high school, Teresa and Ryan
had dated on and off for approximately five years in a farming community called
Hilbert. During that time, Teresa had purportedly been subjected to both verbal
and physical abuse. After she ended their relationship, Ryan continued to
exercise control over her by living nearby and frequenting her home. In emails
to friends, Teresa complained that Ryan was still checking her out years after
they had broken up.
Ryan became aware of
Teresa’s sexual relationships with a married man and her housemate, Scott
Bloedorn, who was also one of Ryan’s closest friends. Just months before her
disappearance, Teresa had become sexually involved with Scott. Jealousy was the
motive for the murder.
After refusing to sit for
an interview about false statements he had made to the police in 2005, Scott Bloedorn
was informed that the post-conviction counsel planned to name a suspect in
Teresa’s murder. Scott immediately blurted out, “You mean Ryan Hillegas.”
The married man Teresa
had become involved with was a client of her nude photography business. Taking
nude photos of Bradley Czech and his wife was the catalyst for the sexual
relationship that ensued between Teresa and Czech. Teresa kept nude photos of
the Czech couple in the bedroom of her home, which Ryan frequented. The
discovery of the photos and the relationship with Czech may have been another
point of jealousy for Ryan. Prior to her disappearance, Teresa had broken off
her relationship with Czech. On November 3, 2005, Ryan called Czech for the
first time. The reason for the call is unknown.
2.
Ryan deleted Teresa’s phone records after she had disappeared
Deleting messages required someone to access Teresa’s
voicemail from another phone by using her password. Her phone records show that
her own phone was not used to access her voicemail after 2:12 pm on October 31,
2005. This means that the person who accessed her voicemail prior to the
authorities realising that she was missing on November 3 had to be the killer
who knew the password required to delete her voicemails. To know her password,
the killer had to be extremely close to Teresa. Clearly, this was not Steven.
Ryan wanted to buy time before
people noticed that Teresa was missing. After her death, Teresa received
multiple phone calls, which filled the 20-minute capacity of her voice mailbox.
Knowing Teresa’s password, Ryan deleted messages to prevent Teresa’s loved ones
from noticing that her voice mailbox was uncharacteristically full, which would
have alerted them to her disappearance. Although Ryan had delayed the
inevitable, on November 3, Teresa’s loved ones discovered that her voicemail
was full and contacted the police. At Steven’s trial, his lawyers asked Ryan how
he had accessed Teresa’s phone records. He testified that he had guessed her
username and password.
“There is evidence that
voice messages were deleted from Ms Halbach’s voice mailbox after her death and
before law enforcement initiated their missing person investigation,” stated McCrary
– a retired FBI agent hired by Kathleen Zellner. “Mr Hillegas is one individual
who knew Ms Halbach’s username and password and assisted law enforcement in
accessing her Cingular Wireless account to obtain a list of her phone calls
during the relevant time period.”
By deleting Teresa’s
messages, Ryan had extra time to dispose of her body and personal items, and to
frame Steven.
Familiar with the area, Ryan planned to put Steven’s
DNA in the RAV4. As Ryan drove the RAV4 onto the Avery’s property, Steven – who
was driving at the time – spotted the RAV4’s taillights, turned around and
drove back to investigate. Ryan was forced to retreat to Kuss Road. Unable to
ascertain the source of the taillights, Steven left the property.
Evidence from the scent
and cadaver dogs indicates that Ryan drove the RAV4 onto the property from Kuss
Road and across a field to the vicinity of Steven’s trailer. Finding a door to
Steven’s trailer unlocked, Ryan entered with the intention of obtaining
Steven’s DNA to plant in the RAV4. Inside the trailer, he noticed fresh blood
on the bathroom sink. Due to his knowledge of science and
medical training as a nurse, he knew that if the blood were found in the RAV4
then Steven would become the only suspect. After collecting the blood from the
sink, he deposited it in several spots throughout the RAV4, mindful of having
to plant it quickly before it coagulated.
In the late afternoon of November 4, Ryan drove the
RAV4 into the Radandt pit, aided by an accomplice in a second vehicle, which
was used to transport Ryan off the Avery’s property. Ryan planted the vehicle
on the south-east corner close to the car crusher. A new witness saw the RAV4
enter the property followed by a white Jeep. Only the jeep left.
On the evening of
November 4, Ryan told the police that he was willing to search the Avery’s
property. As the police did not yet have a warrant based on probable cause,
they could not perform a search. Accompanied by law enforcement, Ryan went to
the property and led the police to the vehicle in the south-east corner of the
salvage yard. After looking into the RAV4, he yelled, “It’s hers.” He claimed
to have recognised the vehicle and Teresa’s personal items inside it. The
discovery of the vehicle focused the investigation exclusively on Steven.
Having being duped by Ryan, the police felt justified in planting additional
evidence to frame Steven.
5.
Ryan volunteered to lead the citizen search
To further steer the investigation towards Steven,
Ryan volunteered to run the citizen search. To make his role credible, he did
not initially tell law enforcement that he had been in a relationship with
Teresa. He gave the impression that he was only a concerned friend. “Mr.
Hillegas injected himself into the police investigation by taking an active
role in the volunteer search,” McCrary wrote.
On Saturday morning,
November 5, Ryan coordinated a volunteer effort and sent dozens of people into
the surrounding area to search for Teresa and her vehicle. After most of the
searchers had left the property, a former private investigator and second
cousin to Teresa, Pam Sturm, arrived. Pam spoke to Ryan and Scott Bloedorn. “He
[Ryan] gave a female volunteer searcher (Pam Sturm) a camera and a direct phone
number to the sheriff (Jerry Pagel),” McCrary wrote. Clearly, he knew that Pam
would discover the RAV4.
Pam drove to the Avery’s
property and – in less than 30 minutes – located the RAV4 sparsely covered with
branches and debris. Finding it was a true statistical improbability
considering it was amid 4,000 other vehicles on 40 acres of uneven topography. “It
appears that he [Ryan] directed her to the area where the victim’s vehicle was
located,” McCrary stated.
Heading the search team
gave Ryan unlimited access to the Avery’s property, which was closed to the
public. This enabled Ryan to plant Teresa’s burned bones and electronic
equipment in Steven’s burn pit and burn barrel.
6.
Ryan used a fake name to access the salvage yard
“On at least one occasion,” McCrary stated, “Mr
Hillegas had misidentified himself as Mr Kilgus to gain access to the Avery
property. Regardless, the authorities allowed Mr Hillegas multiple entries to
the Avery property while it was under police control.”
During the weekend of November
5-6, law enforcement officials recovered no major physical evidence to suggest
that Steven was the killer, despite a massive police presence meticulously
canvassing the 40-acre property soon after the RAV4’s recovery.
“On November 7, 2005, the
day before the victim’s burned bones and electronic devices were found in Mr
Avery’s burn pit and burn barrel, Mr Hillegas entered the property without
signing in at the command post,” McCrary stated. “There is no way to know
exactly when he entered the property, or how long he had remained, but it might
explain how, despite previous searches of that property, that the victim’s
bones were not discovered until November 8, 2005. At the very least, this type
of unauthorized entry to a restricted crime scene violates proper police
practices and risks contaminating the scene.”
7.
Ryan gave the police and the court false information
On November 3, during his police interview, Ryan
learned that law enforcement was entirely focused on Steven. He was not asked
about his relationship with Teresa, why he had scratches on his hand or why he
knew Teresa’s voicemail password. He wasn’t even asked for an alibi.
The discovery of a broken
blinker light on the driver’s side of the RAV4 became an overlooked clue due to
false information provided by Ryan. McCrary wrote that Ryan “also appears to
have misled police when he told them that Ms Halbach had damaged the front
driver’s side of her vehicle months before her disappearance, had filed an
insurance claim for that damage and had taken the cash pay-out without
repairing the vehicle.”
Zellner ascertained from
Teresa’s insurance company that she had never filed an insurance claim for the
front-end damage. It seems that Ryan had fabricated the story to hide that he
had caused the damage while attempting to plant the vehicle on the Avery’s
property by hitting a 2½-foot metal post protruding from the ground between the
Avery’s property and a cul-de-sac at Kuss Road.
At the trial, Ryan
committed perjury by claiming that Teresa’s relationship with Scott Bloedorn
was platonic and never sexual or romantic.
Dr Blum, a pathologist from Rockford, Illinois,
reviewed television footage showing Ryan with several scratches on his hands as
he was organising the citizen search. “It is my opinion, to a reasonable degree
of scientific certainty in the field of forensic pathology that Mr Hillegas’
right hand… appears discoloured… the abrasions I observed on the back of Mr Hillegas’
left hand are consistent with scratches inflicted by fingernails.” Dr Blum used
photos of Teresa to confirm that her fingernails were long enough to have
caused such scratches.
9.
Ryan has no alibi
Trained as a nurse, Ryan was unemployed in October and
November 2005. He testified that he last saw Teresa on October 30, when he
dropped something off for her at her house. Suspiciously, he could not recall
what he had delivered nor could he remember what time of the day it was when he
had supposedly last seen Teresa alive.
“I have seen no evidence
that he offered an alibi or any sort of statement regarding his activities from
October 31, 2005 to November 3, 2005. Nor have I seen any evidence that the
authorities ever asked him to do so,” McCrary stated.
Ryan’s cell-phone records
show suspiciously large gaps during time periods in question. From 9:41 am to
3:48 pm on Halloween, there were no incoming or outgoing calls. It is most
likely that Teresa was killed during this time. After she had departed the
Avery’s and the Zipperer’s, she would have arrived home at approximately 3:45 pm.
Teresa’s day planner indicated that she wanted to “get Sarah’s stuff from mom,”
at about 3 pm, and, “do biz paperwork,” at approximately 4:30 pm. From 3:50 pm
to 6:01 pm, there was another gap in Ryan’s phone activity. A gap of over 17
hours, from 7:47 pm on Halloween until 1:31 pm on November 1 corresponds to
when Teresa’s body was transported and burned.
To get Steven released, Zellner does not have to prove
that Ryan committed the murder. Her motion shows that Ryan had a motive,
opportunity and a connection to the crime. Such evidence would cause a jury to
doubt that Steven had committed the crime.
From T-Bone (Letter 67)
T-Bone is a massively-built spiritual ex-Marine, who uses fighting skills to stop prison rape. T-Bone’s latest letter from Arizona prison:
My public defender is a joke. He doesn’t
want to go up against the state, and he traded some other case for mine. Now I
really need help, ask people online for help so I can get a lawyer in Arizona
who will plead my case. I’m in here because someone said I did something with
no evidence at all, none. Just hearsay, which is like saying a man in Texas
heard you did something and reported it to the police, but you were in England
when he said it. I have a copy of a call that went to the police and it said that
I had some gold coins that I was selling and trading. Where’s the robbery?
Where’s the crime? There is none.
Yes, I have a record, and that is one
reason they did this to me. Another reason is me being a big, black man! They
look you in the face and pretend that they don’t see the color of a man’s skin.
But honestly, that’s the first think they look at, along with how much money
you have! You know the police need to gather evidence because without evidence,
people can make any claim they want! They can say anything, make up any story
against anyone.
The public needs to know the truth. I was
convicted based on testimony alone and made-up stories and my lawyer asked the
prosecutor to read what she had said previously, but she was not to read it
aloud. So the jury never heard anything she said before, and the judge never
told them that there was no hard evidence, yet the judge wouldn’t grant my
motion and said there was “sufficient evidence” to go forward knowing full well
that everything they did was calculated and done for the state.
They knew then and know now that everyone
in this country who makes an allegation must have proof to back up their
assertion. There must be collaborating evidence to prove what was alleged. The
judge looked down on me because of my record that isn’t pretty, but that’s not
their job.
Looking down on a defendant is wrong
because they must be impartial. They must go by the law. They cannot allow
personal thoughts or feelings to interfere with their judgments, but the
prosecutor did, and allowed fake testimony to be shown to the jury. I know
people look at me and think, “Karma got him”. But no, it wasn’t karma: it was
racism, plain and simple, because if I had taken the 40 years, I would have
signed the plea bargain!
Each one
Teach one
Strength and Honor
Steel Embrace
T-Bone
Shaun Attwood
A New Adventure (Part 18)
My second TED talk, which includes tips about overcoming fear and building resilience is here.
In it, I explain how I had to address my own anxiety issues and get to the root causes of my drug addiction to lead a normal life. Hopefully, my talk will help you if you suffer from anxiety and give you some techniques that you can use. My first Ted Talk is here:
With my school talks coming to a close for the academic year, I aim to finish my War on Drugs series by completing We Are Being Lied To: The War on Drugs. The Cali Cartel: Beyond Narcos ebook is now available for pre-order on Amazon here. I’m sure many of you are looking forward to Narcos Season 3 which premiers in September, featuring the new supervillain Gilberto RodrÃguez Orejuela, the former head of the Cali Cartel.
After writing non-fiction true crime for over a
decade, I aim to cross over to crime fiction next year. I’ve met so many
characters over the years and heard so many stories, it’s time to start weaving
them into a series of fiction books, perhaps with one main character.
I have some Unmaking a Murderer audiobook codes to give away that enable you to claim a free Unmaking a Murderer audiobook on Amazon’s Audible. On a first-come first-served basis, please email me for a code at attwood.shaun@hotmail.co.uk and state which country you are in. If you have watched the Netflix series, you’ll enjoy this book, which exposes the extreme corruption in the justice system.
If you want to come and see me speak in London, I have two June talks:
I have some Unmaking a Murderer audiobook codes to give away that enable you to claim a free Unmaking a Murderer audiobook on Amazon’s Audible. On a first-come first-served basis, please email me for a code at attwood.shaun@hotmail.co.uk and state which country you are in. If you have watched the Netflix series, you’ll enjoy this book, which exposes the extreme corruption in the justice system.
If you want to come and see me speak in London, I have two June talks:
June 28 Banged Up Abroad talk. Details
and Tickets. Promo code for ticket discount: bangedup10
Shaun Attwood
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