Who Killed Melissa Trotter: Selma Janske

Selma Janske is a pseudonym for the fourteen year old girl that Anthony Allen Shore raped in her home. The girl's actual identification has been kept secret  I know of no one other than Corey Mitchell, author of Strangler, who uses the pseudonym. I therefore presume that he created it. Whoever created it, I've adopted it for this series.

I tell Selma's story mostly via her trial transcript during the penalty phase of Anthony Shore's trial for the murder of Carmen Estrada. I follow that with Anthony Shore's confession regarding his attack against her. The comparison will give you a sense of how much you might be able to trust the word of Anthony Allen Shore.

Selma Janske was questioned by Assistant District Attorney Terese Buess.

October 22, 2004
Buess: I want to go back in time. I want to go to October 19, 1993.

Janske: Yes.

Buess: How old were you back then?

Janske: I was fourteen.

Buess: Where were you going to school?

Janske: Lamar High School. I was a freshman.

Buess: Tell us what kind of activities you were involved in at Lamar High School back then.

Janske: Mostly, I played soccer. I played soccer most of my life. And doing school and hanging out with my friends.

Buess: Was your brother living with you at the time?

Janske: No, he had gone off to college that year.

Buess: So, in your home, tell me who was living in your home that day.

Janske: My mom, my dad, and myself.

Buess: Just the three of you?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Tell us how you got back and forth to school.

Janske: I had a car pool with three or four of my friends. Our parents took turns driving us to and from school.

Buess: What time did you normally get home from school with the car pool?

Janske: About three-thirty, or right around then.

Buess: And how would you get into the house at that point?

Janske: I had a key. I'd just let myself in through the front door.

Buess: And when you came home, would either your mom or dad be home at that time?

Janske: No, they worked.

Buess: What time would they normally get home?

Janske: Somewhere in between five-thirty or six-thirty usually.

Buess: And would they both come together or separately?

Janske: No, separate.

Buess: When you would come home from school on a regular school day, what would you normally do once you got home?

Janske: I would usually come in and get a snack, probably watch some TV, do some homework.

Buess: TV first, then some homework?

Janske: Right.

Buess: Typical freshman in high school. Okay Selma. On October 19, 1993, did you come home from school on that day?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: It was a school day?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Got home at the regular time, about three-thirty, with a carpool?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: How did you let yourself into the house?

Janske: I let myself in like normal.

Buess: Do you recall what you had with you at the time?

Janske: I always had a backpack with me at school, and that's probably it.

Buess: Tell me on the day what you were wearing.

Janske: I had on jeans, I think, tennis shoes and just a T-shirt of some kind.

Buess: Do you remember what color the T-shirt was?

Janske: I believe it was blue.

Buess: Underneath your shirt, what did you have on?

Janske: A bra.

Buess: Underneath your jeans, what did you have on?

Janske: Underwear.

Buess: Let's talk about what you did when you came home. You said you came through the front door.

Janske: Yes.

Buess: And tell me what you were doing at that moment.

Janske: I was checking the mail because the mail slot is in the front door and it goes on the floor. So I would always walk in and just pick it up.

Buess: What were you looking at?

Janske: There was a catalog in there. I had sat down on the couch and started flipping through it.

Buess: What did you do next?

Janske: I started walking through the living room and I had walked through the dining room and was walking into the kitchen watching the clock.

Buess: So, are you in the kitchen or almost there?

Janske: I'm walking through the doorway of the kitchen.

Buess: And what happens next?

Janske: I heard a noise behind me. It was a voice. I think he said, "Hey," and I turned around and saw a figure standing where the table usually sat.

Buess: Let me stop you right there. Let me back you up a little bit. We're going to go slowly so we don't have to do it again. Okay? In its place, what was there?

Janske: There's a man standing there.

Buess: When you looked at him, did you look at him in the face?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Could you see his face?

Janske: No.

Buess: Why not?

Janske: His face was covered with a bandanna or something on his head.

Buess: Could you see any part of his face?

Janske: I could see his forehead, maybe his eyes.

Buess: What could you tell from seeing that much of him?

Janske: That he was white.

Buess: When he spoke to you and he called your attention, do you recall the words he used?

Janske: I can't remember if he said "Hey" or if he just made a noise to get my attention.

Buess: Aside from noticing the white forehead and the eyes, tell us what he was wearing.

Janske: He was wearing large, baggy clothes. When I first looked at him, I thought he was a scarecrow-type-looking figure.

Buess: Was it a shirt or a jacket? What was it on top?

Janske: It was a shirt of some kind.

Buess: How about the pants? Could you tell what kind they were?

Janske: Blue jeans, I believe.

Buess: Did you look at his feet?

Janske: No.

Buess: Tell the jury, when you hear that noise, when you hear him talking to you or saying something and you turned around and saw him, tell us what's going through your mind right then.

Janske: I thought it was a joke. I thought someone was trying to scare me.

Buess: What did you do?

Janske: I just stood there. I didn't, I didn't know what to do.

Buess: Did you notice or learn anything about his hands?

Janske: He was wearing surgical gloves on his hands.

Buess: How did you know that?

Janske: I just saw them as he was walking up to me.

Buess: What did you think when you saw those gloves?

Janske: I wasn't thinking at that point?

Buess: Tell us what happened next. What does he say to you?

Janske: He said he was just breaking into the house. He wanted to steal something. He was just breaking in to find money. He didn't know that I was going to be there and it was an accident.

Buess: When he says that to you, what kind of voice is he using?

Janske:  It was very calm, very soothing almost.

Buess: [Did he say] "I'm just here to rob your house?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: I'm not here for you?

Janske: Right.

Buess: Does that make you feel any better?

Janske: I believed him.

Buess: So what happened next?

Janske: I was just standing right inside the kitchen. He came over, and he said he was going to put duct tape around my eyes so that I couldn't see him and couldn't identify him. And he kept saying over and over again, "I'm just breaking into your house. It's an accident that I'm here when you're here. And so I let him. And he wrapped my whole face around in duct tape, over my mouth, around the back of my head.

The Pseudonymous Selma Janske Being Comforted Soon after the Attack

Buess: What about your nose?

Janske: Well, I could still breathe.

Buess: So your nose isn't covered?

Janske: Right.

Buess: How about your eyes?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: You say he went all the way around?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Back then, what kind of hair did you have?

Janske: Pretty much like I have today, long.

Buess: What did he do with your hands?

Janske: He said that he was going to tie my hands behind  my back so that I couldn't come after him. And so he tied my hands real tight behind [my] back.

Buess: What did he tie your hands with?

Janske: Well, it was a wire of some kind. And later I found out that the alarm clock in my room wasn't working anymore, and he had cut the wire from that and split it down in two so it was long and thin.

Buess: Just so we have a good picture of you at this point in time, your eyes are covered, your mouth is covered, you can breathe.

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Can you see anything at the time?

Janske: No.

Buess: And are your hands behind you?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: He left your feet alone?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: What happened next?

Janske: He started walking me into the bedroom through the kitchen.

Buess: How is he doing that?

Janske: He's leading me from behind with his hand on my -- on my back.

Buess: So, he just kind of guided you forward.

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Because you can't see, right?

Janske: We went through the kitchen and turned right into my bedroom.

Buess: On the walk through the dining room, through the kitchen into your bedroom, is he silent or is he talking?

Janske: No. He was -- he talked the whole time.

Buess: What's he saying?

Janske: Just repeating over and over again that it was an accident that I was there when he was there.

Buess: Did he tell you he wasn't going to hurt you?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Did you believe that?

Janske: I had to.

Buess: You said his voice was calm and soothing. Is it still the same way?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Tell us, Selma, when you realized that it really was about you.

Janske: When we were walking back into the bedroom, he lifted up my shirt and just grazed my side. And that was the first realization that I had that it might not be just about the house, that it might be about me too.

Buess: So, now you're in the bedroom. What happened next?

Janske: He sat me down on the bed.

Buess: So are you at the foot of your bed?

Janske: Yes, with my knees over the end of the bed.

Buess: What does he say?

Janske: I don't remember. He started taking off my pants.

Buess: Did he tell you why he was talking your pants off?

Janske: He said he didn't want me to chase after him.

Buess: Are you still thinking that maybe if you go along, it's going to be okay?

Janske: I don't remember. I didn't have a choice at that point.

Buess: Did you let him take your pants off?

Janske: I think I struggled a little bit.

Buess: Did your pants come off?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: So, now at this point you've got your panties on?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Your T-shirt?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: And your bra?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: And you're sitting on the edge of your bed?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Okay. Tell us what happens next.

Janske: He used a knife to cut my panties off.

Buess: Selma, how did you know it was a knife.

Janske: Because he -- I don't remember if he told me at that point, but at some point he told me that he had a knife that he would cut me with.

Buess: So, when he cut off your panties, did you feel that knife on your body?

Janske: I don't remember if I felt it, but I knew that's how he did it.

Buess: When he's cutting off your panties, did he say anything to you?

Janske: I don't believe so.

Buess: At this point, with your panties off and your jeans off, are you still sitting upright in your bed?

Janske: I don't think so.

Buess: Where are you now?

Janske: I'm laying on my back on the bed, but my legs are still hanging off of the bed.

Buess: Off of the edge of the bed?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: And you're laying back flat?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Where is he?

Janske: He was standing at my knees.

Buess: Is he still talking to you?

Janske: I believe he was.

Buess: Do you recall what he was saying at this point?

Janske: He started talking, telling me to just relax, and he spread my legs open.

Buess: How is he spreading your legs open?

Janske: Using his hands.

Buess: And you said that you think you struggled at one point.

Janske: Yes.

Buess: What do you recall doing?

Janske: Tying to close my legs and screaming?

Buess: At that point the tape that's around your mouth, is it still in place?

Janske: It's a lot looser by then because the moisture from my mouth and moving around.

Buess: So, it's come a little bit loose?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: In your screaming, can you hear yourself screaming?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Can he hear you screaming?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Tell the jury, please, as you're screaming, what changes with him?

Janske: As I was screaming, he got upset. He was telling me that I was being too loud, that I needed to be quiet. At that point he was threatening me with the knife, that he had a knife and he was going to cut me.

Buess: And at that point you knew he had a knife, right?

Janske: Yes, because he had cut my panties with it.

Buess: So, with that knife and the threat of being made, did you believe that he was capable of doing that to you.

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Of killing you?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: You said you were screaming. When he told you to be quiet, did you stop or did you continue?

Janske: I think I did quiet down for a little bit.

Buess: What happens next?

Janske: He was able to open my knees.

Buess: And what happened next?

Janske: That's when he raped me.

Buess: Did you ever hear him unzip his pants?

Janske: No.

Buess: When you say "raped," tell us -- I'm sorry to have to ask you this, but we've got to -- the written record has to be clear. What part of him goes into you?

Janske: He put his penis in me, into my vagina.

Buess: And again, just so the jury is clear, he's not on top of you, is he?

Janske: No, he's not.

Buess: How is he at this point?

Janske: He's leaning over me. On me.

Buess: So, he's standing in front of you?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: And your legs are between his legs now?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Did he stay still or did he move? Just tell us what you recall.

Janske: I think he stayed still.

Buess: Selma, tell the jury, back then when you were fourteen years old on that date, had you even started your period yet?

Janske: No.

Buess: Did you really know anything about sex?

Janske: No.

Buess: Ever had anything enter your vagina before that you know of?

Janske: No. No.

Buess: Tell the jury, when his penis went inside your vagina, what it felt like.

Janske: It hurt.

Buess: When that happened, what did you do?

Janske: I started screaming again.

Buess: And what did he do?

Janske: He told me I was being too loud.

Buess: Did he ever tell you -- aside from the "quit screaming" and "quit being so loud" did he tell you what to do?

Janske: No.

Buess: Did he ever tell you to relax?

Janske: Yes, he did.

Buess: How many times did he tell you to do that?

Janske: I only remember once.

Buess: Did he tell you what would happen if you didn't relax?

Janske: He told me if I relaxed, it wouldn't hurt.

Buess: Did you believe that?

Janske: Well, not at that point. No.

Buess: Tell us what you recall happening next.

Janske: I want to say I started screaming again, and he told me I was being too loud. I remember, suddenly I wasn't able to breathe.

Buess: You said the tape around your mouth is coming a little bit loose and you can hear yourself?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: How about your eyes? Does that come off your eyes?

Janske: At some point I could see just a little sliver of light coming through.

Buess: But you didn't see his face?

Janske: No.

Buess: At any point up to this time, have you ever said, "No. Stop"?

Janske: I don't know that I specifically said "no".

Buess: And while you're laying down on your bed, your arms are where?

Janske: They're still tied behind my back.

Buess: So, you're laying on top of your arms?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: You said you were screaming?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Are you crying?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: When did you start crying?

Janske: It's hard to say exactly. I mean, probably when I started screaming.

Buess: So, even before he had pulled your legs apart?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: You said you were still screaming and he was upset about it. And then you said it became hard to breathe.

Janske: Yes.

Buess: What was happening?

Janske: I realized that something was choking me.

Buess: Could you see what was choking you, Selma?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: What was choking you.

Janske: His hands.

Buess: Tell us how far that went. That choking.

Janske: I kind of came out of my stupor, I guess, and realized that I had to do something at that point.

Buess: Let me back you up just a moment. You realized that you can't breathe. What's happening to you aside from the realization that you can't breathe. Did you black out?

Janske: No, I don't believe I did.

Buess: What are the thoughts going through your mind.

Janske: If I don't do something, I'm going to die.

Buess: So what did you do?

Janske: I pulled my legs up to my chest and I pushed him off as hard as I could.

Buess: So you kicked him?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: What happened?

Janske: He didn't come back to me. I was really scared that ...

Buess. What did you hear, though, when you kicked?

Janske: I heard him knock into something.

Buess: And you were scared that he was going to come back to you?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Because you knew he had the knife?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Did he come back to you right away?

Janske: No.

Buess: What happened?

Janske: I don't think he came back to me at all after that. He started talking to me again.

Buess: What's he talking about now?

Janske: Now he's talking about how he knows everything about me. He had been watching me. He knew I came home from school That he knew I played soccer and where I played soccer at, and that ...

Buess: Specifically, what did he say about where you played soccer that he knew?

Janske: He knew what field I played at.

Buess: Did he name the school that you played at?

Janske: He named my high school that I went to and said he knew I went to school and it was Lamar and --

Buess: How did that make you feel?

Janske: Later it made me feel pretty scared.

Buess: So, he's talking and you're still on your bed?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Laying flat on your back?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Where are your legs now?

Janske: I think at that point, once I kicked him off, I think I curled up int a ball on the bed.

Buess: So, are you on your back or on your side?

Janske: On my side.

Buess: And he's talking now?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Is his voice nice and calm, like it was in the beginning.

Janske: I believe so.

Buess: Can you tell what he's doing?

Janske: I think I hear him putting on his pants or shuffling around.

Buess: Now at this point, are you talking?

Janske: Well, he was making me promise -- he was telling me the description that I needed to give to the police.

Buess: What description was that, Selma?

Janske: That he was a short black man with a New York accent.

Buess: Which was not what he was at all?

Janske: No.

Buess: You knew he was white?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Did he have an accent?

Janske: No.

Buess: And what did you tell him when he's asking you do do that?

Janske: I swore up and down that I would.

Buess: What else?

Janske: He told me that if I told them, the police, the correct description of him, that he would come back for me and that he would come back and kill me.

Buess: And did you believe it at that time?

Janske: Yes.

Buess: Did he tell you he was leaving?

Janske: Yes.

Shore left.

Selma called 911.

Selma then called her mother.

October 25, 2003

Shore: Talk about another case y'all don't know about.

Swaim: Okay.

Shore: There's a reason I wanna talk about that.

Swaim: Okay.

Shore: There was a girl that I'd never seen before, which once again ... I had fantasies about her. I had seen her several times.

Swaim: Where was this?

Shore: [1900 block of] Portsmouth. I don't know for sure that's the right address.

Swaim. Okay.

1900 Block of Portsmouth Street, Houston

Shore: Girl's name is Selma Janske, I know that. J-A-N-S-K-E. I'm guessing she's probably sixteen, seventeen at the time. I'm not really sure how old. She was young. She was attractive. I was a phone man working outdoors, outside plans, and I worked down this street several times. I'd seen her coming home and I knew she was a latchkey kid. Came home from high school or whatever school she was going to and I wanted to put a stop to ... the taking of life. I didn't want to do this anymore. Hell, I did this, at this time I, it's a sexual union, had something to do with it. The more I'm thinking in retrospect, that it's having to do with possession of a person. Making them ... do ... things. So I broke into the house which wasn't easy. The door was unlocked and I waited for her to get there. She got there. I stole twenty dollars off of the dresser, probably her parents' room. She came in and I wanted to prove to myself that I didn't have to ... take the life. That's the reason I'm telling you this.

Swaim: Okay. That's fine.

Shore: So I had on --

Swaim: Now when was, you think, was that?

Shore: Probably after ... I don't remember the time frame for sure but probably after Diana Rebollar but before Diana Sanchez. [It was after Carmen Estrada but before Diana Rebollar. - tsj]

 Swaim: Okay.

Shore: Okay. So, I ... tied her up with electrical cord. And I took, and, the resistance from the violence that I thought that I was going to do this again but I promised myself that I wasn't going to take any more lives no matter what. As sick and fucked up as it sounds, I really, really, really was trying to get better in a real sick, demented way. I don't discount it. I'm not stupid, but I was trying ... but I promised myself I wasn't going to do it and , uh. In her bedroom, and uh, I told her that I knew how the police would ask her this and that and I told her say that it was a short, fat black man and that if I heard different then I come back and take her family out and I made a lot of threats and uh, when I mentioned the family thing she started fighting and kicking. Now her hands were restrained as she started just going berserk. I really didn't know when everybody else would come home or when somebody could show up. I just knew that it got out of hand and I had to make a decision.

Swaim: At what time? This was when?

Shore: Afternoon. Right after school. 4:00, 5:00 o'clock.

Swaim: Oh, that's right. Right after she got home from school.

Shore: So, I thought I had to make a decision. Once again, I started to strangle her and I thought "No, I just can't. I just need to get the fuck out of here" And I left. Thank God.

Swaim: You take anything?

Shore: Naw.

Swaim: But you didn't, you strangle her at all or you started to --

Shore: I started to and I stopped.

Swaim: Did you have something around her neck to do it?

Shore: On this one, no. I think I was gonna use my hands and I just freaked 'cause I promised myself I wasn't going to do this and all the sudden -- like the pathology and the anger and the freaking out. I kept telling myself, "This isn't necessary. This is not. None of it is necessary." So I bolted. I left. And uh, I walked out, people saw me. There's people walking in the street. Driving by.

Swaim: Normal business.

Shore: Finally walked through the back yard out to the front. I parked my phone truck over on the Whataburger parking lot over at Shepard and Portsmouth or somewhere in that area. Walked right up to my truck, go rid of my shirt that I had on. Went back to work scared to death. I was paranoid. I was afraid because I had left somebody as a witness. Nobody ever came and talked to me. Nobody ever came and arrested me. There was a part of me, I think, that wanted to get caught.

Swaim: That's what I was fixing to ask you ---

Shore: I wanted to be stopped so many times. I just wanted the whole thing to end. That's why I'm talking to you now. and I want to make sure that nothing ever happens again.

January 1, 2013
I provide an updated version of Shore's victim map.

The green pins on the left identify Laurie Tremblay's apartment complex, the bus stop from which she was abducted, and the location where her body was dumped. The yellow pins near the top represent Carmen Estrada's home, the bus stop from where she was abducted, and the location where her body was dumped. The teal pins at the right represent Selma Janske's home and high school.

The yellow house at the right is the location where Anthony Shore was living when the attacks took place.

The red pin at the right is the location where Sandra Charles and Marcell Taylor were murdered.

Clearly the attack on Selma Janske was different in significant details from the attacks on Laurie Tremblay and Carmen Estrada. His next attack will be entirely different from any of its predecessors, and even more hideous, assuming that's possible. As I noted in my last post, each of Shore's attacks seems to have been an experiment of sorts, trying to find the formula that would satisfy his indescribable, irresistible urges.

With respect to the possibility that Melissa Trotter was one of his victims, I took particular note of the following portion of his confession.

The more I'm thinking in retrospect, that it's having to do with possession of a person.

Someone possessed Melissa Trotter for nearly three weeks before killing her.

Who Killed Melissa Trotter: Carmen Estrada

Maria Carmen del Estrada was 21 years old. She was pretty and petite. She was 5 feet and 1 inch tall. She weighed 104 pounds.

She worked two jobs. Each workday, she babysat for the same family from 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Then she would work the night shift as a maid for an office-building cleaning company.

She lived with her parents in the Shady Villa apartment complex on Shadyvilla Lane. In the book Strangler and in every online reference I can find, her address is given as the 7200 block of Shadyvilla Lane. Since there is no apartment complex on that stretch of Shadyvilla, and since the 7200 block is too far from her bus stop, I believe that address may be incorrect. I believe she lived on the 7700 block, in the complex shown below.

The view is looking west. That is Wirt Road at the far end of Shadyvilla. As best I can recreate it, she would walk to the end of Shadyvilla, turn left on Wirt Road, walk one block to Westview, and wait for the bus near one of the four corners of that intersection. I suspect, but do not know, that this was her bus stop.

The view is looking west on Westview towards the intersection at Wirt. I'm assuming she picked up the bus coming from the direction shown and rode it east to where she babysat. In the end, it really doesn't matter on which corner she waited, or in which direction she rode. What matters is that one day Anthony Allen Shore noticed her sitting there as he drove to work, or as he prowled for his next victim.

Carmen Estrada was painfully shy. She was usually the first passenger on the #72 Westview bus. According to the driver, he always attempted to engage her in small talk. She would merely smile at him and take her seat. Eventually she came to return his greeting, but no more. She never spoke to anyone else on the bus.

April 16, 1992
The bus driver was worried. Carmen was not waiting for the bus as he had come to expect. She was so consistently there, he figured she must be running a bit late. He waited for 5 minutes to see if she would arrive, but then he simply had to move on. Even as he drove away, he glanced in his rear view mirror to see if he could spot her. She wasn't there.

Instead, Carmen Estrada was lying dead behind this Dairy Queen at 6707 Westview.

Somehow, Anthony Shore had lured her or forced her into his car and taken her behind the Dairy Queen.

There he sexually assaulted her and strangled her, though it's not clear in which order.

October 25, 2003
Swaim: Let's talk.

Shore: Do you wanna know how it led up to that or do you wanna --

Swaim: Yes, I wanna know the whole story.

Shore: After the first one I tried not to do anything. I was having psychopathology.

Swaim: Okay.

Shore: I know, I'm familiar with that term, I tried to make myself, like never more, promise myself that this shit would never happen. There were times when I'd pick up girls ... it was always amazing how people just "Yeah, you want a ride?" "Sure." I had some fantasies in my head but nothing really ever came of it. One girl I picked up was a prostitute. Nothing happened. I mean just, I didn't pay for anything, she showed me some stuff.

Swaim: This when you were working for the phone company?

Shore: Yeah, I was still working for the phone company.

Swaim: Okay.

Shore: I'm not sure, I think at the time I was still in the business office but I can't remember, but I was already moved outside ... that I'm not positive on. Right in that time frame I was changing my position in the company and I ran across this really, I thought, beautiful young lady and I offered her a ride and she turned me down. But she was on my way to work every morning and I was coming up --

Swaim: What, you had seen her several times?

Shore: A few times. And I was coming up, uh, this street there, Long, no Wirth maybe. Wirth or some street. I came up to Westview. A couple of times I'd seen her and she wouldn't take a ride, but it wasn't uncommon for me to offer --

Swaim: This was a Hispanic girl?

Shore: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Swaim: Okay.

Shore: She told me her name was Carmen and she didn't take rides from strangers and she didn't speak English. And one morning it was right next to the right and like the first time after the weather changed and I gave her a ride. This happened over the course of, probably, a couple of months. Became friends with her. I had to bone up on my Spanish so I could flirt with her and stuff. I was fumbling, I said a bunch of shit trying to make a relationship happen. Once again ... I felt it was going places. She was talking about yeah, she wanted to go out. She was studying to be a legal secretary or something ... She was also going back to school ... And one morning I just, again, things got out of hand. Pulled in behind a Dairy Queen and we ...

Swaim: Down on Westview?

Shore: Down on Westview and it was going okay. She was open, amenable to a kiss ... and when I pushed it further, it go outta hand. She freaked out. and similar to the first case I got real paranoid because now this wasn't a consensual thing, this was a fucked up deal and I got real paranoid. I didn't set out to kill her. that was not my intent.

Swaim: Mmm, humm.

Shore: But it got out of hand.

Swaim: Go ahead, Tony. Just tell me what happened.

Shore: She just said, "Hey man, not this way. I love you. Not this way. Not here." And I opened her blouse and she was resisting. I had this sick assumption. Not like voices in my head but just driven. I was gonna have her regardless. I don't know what the hell you call it. I tried to understand this. And my intention was to have sex with her, initially, and that wasn't happening. She became real violent, but I didn't want her to get out of the car. So because I was, at that time I was in the Hyundai Excel, a little blue Hyundai.

Swaim: Mmm, hmm.

Shore: And, uh, car that I bought from my wife. It's her car. And when you lock the door the door handles don't open. I locked the door so she couldn't get out. Shit didn't go well. And I didn't have sex with her as It turned out, but I tried to, but it wasn't gonna happen. I remember she had a pair of shoes and she had on black shorts. I took them off. And her pantyhose, but I didn't take her panties off. I don't know why. It got outta hand. And she freaked out and I knew this was not, this was, this was gonna be real bad and my life was fucked forever. so I panicked and once again it just started to become daylight, so to avoid discovery, you know, I strangled her because I knew that ...

Swaim: What did you strangle her with?

Shore: I wanna say a nylon ligature. Piece of cord. I don't remember.

Swaim: Do you remember what type? What color it was or anything?

Shore: No. It might have been white.

Swaim: Okay.

Shore: I don't know.

Swaim: Did you use a, did you use your hands on this one or use something?

Shore: I wanna say because I had fucked my hands up form the first one I used a piece of wood, a pencil, it might have been a pencil. It was something. I don't know, a paintbrush. Something. Some piece of wood or something that twisted it.  Make me a serious panic, freaking out.

Swaim: Did you take anything from her?

Shore: Um, her purse and stuff was left in the car. Which I, once again, I just, and I don't remember if I left her shorts or if they were in the car or what. I gathered up what I had of her stuff --

Swaim: Mmm, humm.

Shore: ... found a Dumpster, some apartment complex.

Swaim: Do you remember where it was.

Shore: No, I don't. I want to say it was a purse. I didn't even go through her stuff, I just got rid of it. Might have been a backpack, might have been a purse. I don't remember. Something.

Swaim: Okay. Now on this one you think it was a white cord and you said like a pencil or a paintbrush or something?

Shore: Piece of wood. Some kind of piece of wood.

Swaim: I don't know. What's the word? "Tourniquet" maybe?

Shore: Yeah.

Swaim: You put it in there and you twisted it?

Shore: Yeah.

January 1, 2013
As was the case with Laurie Tremblay, Shore makes much more of any relationship he may have had with Carmen Estrada than really existed. In his confession regarding Tremblay, he suggested that the relationship had turned sexual. That seems unlikely since their relationship turned deadly once Laurie resisted as Shore tried to unfasten her bra.

It does seem, however, that Laurie had accepted rides with Shore. On the day she was murdered, she had enough money only for a one-way bus trip.

On the other hand, it's unlikely that Carmen Estrada had ever previously accepted a ride from Shore. The bus driver, so attentive to her routine, didn't report that she had been missing rides. He in fact became concerned when she missed the bus just that day. If Shore had any sort of repeat interaction with Carmen Estrada, it would likely have been at the bus stop and no place else.

It's also unlikely that any sort of interaction would have been anything other than Shore putting on the charm and Carmen being polite but disinterested. Carmen had a boyfriend since the previous December and the two were discussing marriage. Their relationship was platonic. Carmen believed in the sanctity of purity. She had informed her boyfriend that she would not have sex with him until they were married.

Shore's claim that she told him she loved him is almost certainly a bold-faced lie or a grand illusion.

It is almost certainly a lie as well that he did not intend to kill her, since he came prepared to do exactly that. Here's part of what he used to kill her.

That's not the type of thing you find laying innocently around your car when a young woman resists your unwanted advances and you simply lose it.

I sense a pattern in Shore's killings that I have yet to see anyone else comment on. Most serial killers are not completely satisfied with whatever relief they gain from the killing. Shore is not uncommon in that regard. His killings never seem to meet his expectations. What seems to me to be different about Shore is that he tries to adapt. Each attack is different than the previous in some noticeable way. It's as if Shore is trying to learn what works for him by trial and error.

Comparing his killing of Laurie Tremblay with his killing of Carmen Estrada, I note the following changes.

1. The murder of Laurie Tremblay may have indeed been unplanned. Shore may have indeed thought he was simply building yet another relationship as he did successfully with so many women. Shore may have indeed simply freaked out when Tremblay resisted his advances and he feared the consequences of her revealing what happened. When it came to Carmen Estrada, he planned to kill her from the beginning.

2. He had no murder weapon available with which to kill Laurie Tremblay. I believe that's because he didn't plan on killing her. Instead he used his hands to tighten (what I presume to be) some readily available cord around her neck. That hurt his fingers. In the case of Carmen Estrada, he used a wooden dowel to make a tourniquet.

3. He unfastened Laurie Tremblay's bra from the rear. He cut Carmen Estrada's bra open from the front. He presumably used a knife to do that. Once again, it seems as if he expected no particular resistance in the first case, and planned for it in the second.

4. Laurie Tremblay seems to have willingly accepted rides from Shore. Carmen Estrada probably did not. I suspect he abducted her at knife point.

5. Laurie Tremblay was not sexually assaulted. Carmen Estrada was. The coroner found blood in her vagina and vulva, and a contusion in her vagina. Shore was captured because his DNA was eventually discovered to have been on or in Carmen's body. I believed that his attack on Laurie Tremblay surprised him and disturbed him so much that he didn't sexually assault her either before or after killing her. In the case of Carmen Estrada, he planned to rape her and kill her, period.

There have been a number of surprises for me as I have researched Anthony Allen Shore. The first was that his first killing was so near the field in which Shandra Charles and Marcell Taylor were murdered. The second was that he lived so close to that field. The third was that Shandra Charles and Marcell Taylor were murdered two years to the day after Shore's first killing.

The fourth big surprise is buried within the interview included in this post.

Swaim: What did you strangle her with?

Shore: I wanna say a nylon ligature. Piece of cord. I don't remember.

That hit like a ton of bricks. Why did he think, even momentarily, that he might have strangled Carmen with a nylon ligature? He had specifically prepared a tourniquet of cord and dowel for Carmen, and he had brought it with him. He had not used a nylon ligature on any of his acknowledged victims, but he seemed to remember a nylon ligature when asked about what he used to kill Carmen Estrada.

It was then that it occurred to me that he might have killed Melissa Trotter. She was strangled with one leg of a pantyhose.

As I continue to research Anthony Allen Shore, I find it difficult to build a compelling case that he murdered Shandra Charles or Marcell Taylor. On the other hand, I find it more and more likely that he murdered Melissa Trotter.

Larry Swearingen certainly didn't.

Stay tuned.

Who Killed Melissa Trotter? Ninfa's

Maria Ninfa Rodriquez Laurenzo was much better known as Mama Ninfa. She died in 2001 at 77 years of age. Members of the Houston City Counsel postponed their regularly scheduled meeting so that they could attend her funeral.

Seven years earlier, in 1994, Mama Ninfa was named Business Woman of the Year by the National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. In 1988, the year Preston Hughes was framed for two murders, Mama Ninfa was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. In 1979, the Texas Restaurant Association named her the Woman Restaurateur of the Year.

From Wikipedia:

She was a personal friend of President of the United States George H.W. Bush. In 1984, Bush, then Vice President of the United States appointed her as one of the five goodwill ambassadors to welcome Pope John Paul II in Puerto Rico. ... In 1988, while in New Orleans, Louisiana, she delivered a speech that seconded Bush's nomination for president in the 1988 United States presidential election. She delivered the Pledge of Allegiance at the opening session of the 1992 Republican National Convention on August 17, 1992.

Her awards and recognition stemmed from her restaurant chain. This is her original restaurant.

Ninfa's Original Restaurant at 2704 Navigation Blvd., Houston

She must have made some mighty fine food.

Her little restaurant was so popular that in 1975 she opened a second one, a larger one at 10694 Westheimer Boulevard. From Wikipedia.

Around June 1977 the original Ninfa's on Navigation averaged 400 customers daily for lunch and 700 daily for dinner. During the same time the Ninfa's on Westheimer averaged 600 customers daily for lunch and 1,000 daily for dinner. The averages remained constant for all seven days of the week. In 1978 the restaurant chain had 500 employees, including 60 workers in the kitchens. ... Throughout the restaurant's history, many celebrities, including Aerosmith, George H.W. Bush, George Benson, Dyan Cannon, Michael Douglas, Crystal Gayle, Rock Hudson, Reba McEntire, John Travolta, Ben Vereen, and ZZ Top ate at Ninfa's. Travolta had a private corner at the Westheimer Ninfa's location while he filmed Urban Cowboy, and while flying in his private aircraft he often stopped in Houston to pick up Ninfa's food.

As I said, she must have made some mighty fine food.

Ninfa's eventually expanded to 55 restaurants. The business became too large for her to manage effectively. Quality suffered and many of the restaurants closed. Today only the original on Navigation Boulevard maintains some semblance of the magic Mama Ninfa created back in 1973.

The restaurant on Westheimer is now gone. In its place stands a tire store.

On September 26, 1986, Anthony Allen Shore dumped the body of 15-year-old Laurie Lee Tremblay behind the Ninfa's restaurant that used to be there on Westheimer. The area wasn't all that private. An overhead view looking from the rear of the tire store shows that the area was hidden from passers by on Westheimer, but not much else.

That's a car wash just to the side of the building. Shore mentioned it in his statement.

There was not, I mean people around the parking lot but there was cars coming and going There was a car wash or some shit and there was people standing around outside and I couldn't believe this.

One of the people he saw behind Ninfa as he was dumping the body of Laurie Lee Tremblay was Homer Fernandez. Homer was Mama Ninfa's nephew. He managed the restaurant on Westheimer. He arrived early that day to prepare for the crowds that were sure to follow.

He arrived around 7:20 A.M. He parked in back as he usually did. He turned off the engine and went through some paperwork. He looked out his car window. From Corey Mitchell's book Strangler:

Once Fernandez gathered his information, he looked out his car window. He was surprised to see another car pull up directly behind the restaurant. This was quite unusual, as the restaurant did not officially open until lunch, so there were never any employees on the premises at this time of the morning. Hernandez [sic] looked up to see who it was, but the driver did not get out of the car. Hernandez [sic] turned his attention back to his paperwork. When he glanced up again, he saw a man outside the parked vehicle standing in between the car and the Dumpster at the back of the restaurant. 

The morning glare of the sun prevented Fernandez from getting a close look. 

The restaurant manager looked down to the other driver's feet. He was shocked to see a body there. He believed the other driver was staring back at him; however, he could not be certain. Fernandez had dark tint on all of his windows, so it was difficult to make out the driver's expression. 

Fernandez was frightened, so he looked back down at his papers. He was afraid he would attract the attention of the driver. 

The man by the Dumpster jumped back into his small light-blue vehicle and hightailed it out of the restaurant parking lot. Fernandez could tell the man was white and had dark hair, but that was all he saw. 

Fernandez didn't know what to do and panicked. Once he knew the driver had taken off, he turned his attention back to the Dumpster behind his restaurant. He stepped out of his car and headed over to the trash area. As he walked up to the area, he noticed what could only be described as a human pretzel. 

A young teenage girl's mangled body lay on her back next to the curb by the Dumpster. Her blue jean Capri-clad legs were splayed out to her left, with her right leg crossing over her left leg at the ankles. She wore a pink interlaced woven shoe on her left foot, but no shoe on her right. Her left leg, which lay under her right leg, was bent up at a 115-degree angle, with her knee pointing toward her left shoulder and the left side of her face. Her left arm had snaked under her bent left knee and appeared to be grasping the side of her jeans on her right leg. The girl's upper half was covered with a short-sleeved white half-shirt, with an exposed midriff. Lying in between her stomach and left thigh was her right shoe. Apparently, the man, who had so deliberately disposed of her body, had almost forgotten one of her shoes and tossed it on her as he sped off. The girl's right arm was also extended above her head, with a slight bend at the elbow, which touched the curb. 

Fernandez bent down to take a closer look at the young blood girl. He noticed that she seemed a little puffy, especially around the lips, which were discolored, like sour milk. He also noticed an abrasion underneath her right nostril, as well as a few scratches on the lower portion of the right cheek. Her left eye appeared swollen and purplish. Fernandez also noticed a bright red contusion that seemed to stretch around her neck like a coral snake. ... 

Fernandez bolted up from the body, unlocked the back door, disarmed the restaurant security system, and went into his office. ... When the emergency operator answered his call, Fernandez stated, "I want to report a dead body outside my restaurant." ... 

The three officers dispatched to the scene at Ninfa's were Jim Ramsey, Larry Boyd Smith, and John Swaim.

Seventeen years after investigating the scene behind Ninfa's, John Swaim would take Anthony Allen Shore's confession to the murder of Laurie Lee Tremblay and others. John Swaim quite properly preserved those confessions by recording them. Good on him for that.

Just two years after investigating the scene behind Ninfa's, however, John Swaim would "witness" Preston Hughes' second confession.

Actually, neither John Swaim nor anyone else actually witnessed any portion of either of Preston's two confessions. Sgt. Dennis Gafford took Preston's first confession, but excluded all others from the room while he did so. Sgt. D.A. Ferguson took Preston's second confession, but excluded all others from the room while he did so. Both Gafford and Ferguson declined to use the equipment made available for recording interrogations. Instead, after extracting the confessions (via offers of extreme leniency), Gafford and then Ferguson called in two officers to "witness" the confession. John Swaim was one of the two officers called in to witness the second confession. He did so once he satisfied himself that the confession was voluntary. However, despite signing as a witness, he had no direct knowledge of how that confession was obtained.

John Swam is but an incidental, inconsequential link between Anthony Allen Shore and the murders of Shandra Charles and Marcell Taylor. What caught my attention was the proximity of their murders to that of Laurie Lee Tremblay. As it turns out, Shandra and Marcell were murdered only 2 miles from where Laurie was abducted, only 1.2 miles from where her body was dumped, and only 1.6 miles from where Anthony Allen Shore lived.

Click on the map to enlarge it.

Working from left to right, the three green pins locate the apartment complex where Laurie lived, the bus stop from which she was abducted, and the Ninfa's restaurant where her body was dumped. The blue pin locates the home (at the time) of Anthony Allen Shore. The red pin locates where Shandra Charles and Marcell Taylor were murdered.

Those of you who are already familiar with the nature of Anthony Shore's other attacks will recognize immediately that Shandra Charles and Marcell Taylor do not fit his modus operandi, at least not the MO people typically formulate based on his acknowledged murders. I'll discuss that more as the series progresses, but for now I'll simply concede that it might be mere coincidence that a serial killer and his first victim each lived close to the field in which Shandra Charles and Marcell Taylor were killed.

If so, then it would also be a mere coincidence Shandra Charles and Marcell Taylor were murdered two years to the day after Laurie Lee Tremblay. All three were murdered on September 26.

Who Killed Melissa Trotter? Laurie Lee Trembly

<-- PREVIOUS 

September 26, 1986

Each school day for the previous month, 15-year-old Laurie Lee Tremblay would rise early for school.

She would exit the Whittfield apartment complex parking lot through the main gate, turn right, and begin walking east along Whittington Boulevard.

After a quarter mile, she would turn left on South Dairy Ashford Road.

After another quarter mile, she would arrive at the corner of Dairy Ashford and Westella Drive. There she would wait for the Houston Metro Bus that would take her on the first of two bus rides to her school.

Anthony Allen Shore lived nearby.

October 25, 2003

From the police interrogation of Anthony Allen Shore by Houston PD Sergeant John Swaim. All ellipses are in the original.

Swaim: Let's start with, let's just start with the killing.

Shore: First is Laurie Ann Tremblay.

Laurie's middle name was Lee, not Ann.

Swaim: Okay.

Shore: I was living in Alfred's house at the time. I was working for Southwestern Bell as a marketing representative. Actually, it might have been a service rep at the time. I was in the business office. Every morning, I'd be going to work. Every morning this little girl asked me for a cigarette and I couldn't stop laughing. I asked if she need a ride. Then I gave her a ride. Then a couple of days went by, she saw me, I gave her a ride again, to school. She had a long freakin' ways from where she had to catch the bus. She was only, way up on Whittington in these apartments. She and I became more than just friends and that's not braggin', it's stating fuckin' facts 'cause I understand she was not of age. And I've also been through a lot of sex offender treatment therapy at this time and I'm starting to understand some of the psychopathology behind my preoccupation. I know it is.

By "therapy at this time", Shore is referring to the time of the interview, not the time of the killing. Shore underwent sex offender therapy as part of his plea bargain for molesting his daughters. That plea bargain was in  January of 1998, after his last acknowledged killing.

Shore: She and I had become involved, at least in the sense of two things: I load her bags and I started to give her a ride on a semi-regular basis. Then, one morning, uh, she got to the bus really early, you know, and we got to ride around. There's times I even stopped and we bought kolaches, but we had time to ride around and kick it.

A kolache is pastry with fruit on top surrounded by a puffy ridge.

And, if they got off of work a little early, if got to be a fairly regular thing giving her a ride. Then there was, uh, something happened. I don't recall what with her, a couple of weeks there she didn't want a ride. So, I guess she was, decided this was a fucked-up kind of little relationship that's fucking juvenile but, anyway, she decided not to.

Swaim: Right.

Shore: Then one day it was misting rain, she saw me, asked me for a ride, and I didn't want her to get more involved in this because it needed stopping. It started off okay and then she was freaked out ... and I won't deny it I was a sick puppy 'cause I was --

Swaim: What kind of vehicle did you have back then?

Shore: Cadillac Cimarrron. It was light in color. Had a dent in the panel on the driver's side rear door.

Generic Light-Colored Cadillac Cimarron

Swaim: Okay. I was just curious. I'm sorry, go 'head.

Shore: So, it got out of hand and she started freakin' out and I begged her, I said "Please don't." She's like "no." I freaked out. I don't know what came over me. What kind of sickness. I freaked out. I had a wife, I had two daughters, living in this reasonably decent house that needed a lot of repairs but it was a nice neighborhood and all this stuff. And I had a life and I couldn't see it all thrown away. And I freaked out. And, uh, just wanted it to just stop. Take a cotton cord that time.

Swaim: Okay.

Shore: I remember it was cotton 'cause ... I tried to calm her down. She wouldn't calm down. I remember trying to knock her out and I hit her in the back of the head.

Swaim: Where were y'all at, in your car?

Shore: Yeah, in the neighborhood somewhere between Briar Forest and Westheimer. I'm not sure what streets, cross streets, but if I had to estimate, probably around Wilcrest, maybe, or even further up, maybe ... I dunno. Somewhere in that ballpark.

Swaim: Move on.

Shore: [Loud sigh]

Swaim: And then what happened?

Shore: I undid her bra. Everything got outta hand. She freaked out. I remember we got into ... I tried to know her out because I just really freaked out. It's not right and I just find it hard to talk about. Took this cotton cord and I tried to make sure she would never, ever tell anybody. Even though I knew that was insane and I knew there was probably no chance in hell that I wasn't going to get found out 'cause I was stupid. The number of ride that I had given her, surely somebody seen us together, surely something. And the cotton cord broke more than once. It wasn't working. That's all I know.

Swaim: Did you use your hands?

Shore: I used a cord, a ligature.

Swaim: I know, but did you use your hands on it?

Shore: I used my hands. I injured my fingers.

Swaim: You did that in the car, is that correct?

Shore: I panicked. Daylight come on and I didn't know what to do. And I looked, I mean there was no way to make this go away. I stepped over the line. I knew I was fucked. I needed, this is a, I'm fucked for life and there's nothing I can do about it.

Swaim: Right.

Shore: I was sick to my stomach. I even stopped at one point and threw up because I was sick. I had people passing by. I couldn't believe nobody fucking saw shit. Nobody stopped to find out what was going on, anything.

Swaim: Okay.

Shore: So I drove up behind the Ninfa's there and I pushed her out of the car. I just wanted to get away from the situation.

Swaim: Mmm, hmm.

Shore: And I noticed one of her shoes had come off. I picked it up carefully. I think I used the index finger of my right hand to pick it up knowing full well I put a print on it but honestly, at that point, someone's gonna go look for her ... and I threw the shoe out.

Swaim: By her?

Shore: Her shoe. Threw 'em off. In the car.

Swaim: Oh, in the car.

Shore: In the car and I pushed her out and her shoes were, I took the shoe, lifted it by my index finger so you will find the print, probably, if you look for it.

Swaim: Oh.

Shore: I threw it out of the car. I remember then I tried to go and accidentally ran over some part of her. I don't know what. There was not, I mean people around the parking lot but here was cares coming and going There was a car wash or some shit and there was people standing around outside and I couldn't believe this. I was almost in a dream world. I was fucking shot, freaked out, I couldn't think straight. I remember having to go to class. I don't know what kind of class it was. It was off Westpark.

Swaim: You were talking about her bra was undone?

Shore: Yeah.

Swaim: In the back or in the front?

Shore: From the back.

Swaim: From the back? Okay. Did you take anything from her?

Shore: I still had just her school books and that kind of stuff. I didn't take anything else from her.

Swaim: When you left did you have her property in the car?

Shore: Yes, I did.

Swaim: What was it?

Shore: I don't remember. School books, lunch, something. Just some general stuff. Wadded up paper bag.

Swaim: What happened to that stuff?

Shore: Stuck it in a Dumpster somewhere at an apartment complex somewhere.

Swaim: See, I'm confused. She had a shoe missing, bother her shoes were there? You just threw one out, is that right?

Shore: I threw one out.

Swaim: So she had both her shoes there?

Shore: Both shoes. One was till on her foot and --

Swaim: Oh, and one wasn't. I got you.

Shore: That never hit the papers so there's no way I'd now that --

Swaim: Oh, I know it's true. I know it's true. I was there.

Shore: I was sick. I was scared to death. I was paranoid for days. I just knew this was, this was, God, there's no way I could change or have that. I was sick. I didn't want to lose everything. My wife, my kids, my house, and everything and so I tired to put an end to it the best I could that I was in a state of shock for a long time. For months. I promised myself nothing like this would ever, ever, ever, ever happen. Promised, no fucking way. then I had crazy ... crazy thoughts. I mean I had, I don't know if you call 'em dreams, people talk about voices in their head. I felt like there were voices, almost like my own voice ... and I'd have fantasy trips which has to do with the preoccupation, which I haven't talked about in sex offender treatment class but I'm aware of it. And I had these fantasies and I had this one girl that I picked up and I was tying her and --

Swaim: Okay. On that case, that's about it?

Shore: That's all I can remember.

Who Killed Melissa Trotter? Introduction

In my series The Most Innocent Man on Death Row, I make my case that Larry Swearingen could not have killed Melissa Trotter. Swearingen was, to a medical certainty, in jail when Melissa was murdered. Given that Texas now intends to execute him on 27 February for her murder, and given that I believe I may know who actually killed her, I need to reveal what I have recently learned, quickly and comprehensively.

I believe Anthony Allen Shore murdered Melissa Trotter. I believe I can make a compelling argument that he did so, and I can propose a test that might (repeat might) confirm my conclusion. To understand why I believe Anthony Shore is Melissa's killer, you must first understand him. This post is therefore the first in yet another series of unknown length. You'll have to be patient, and I'll need be prompt. Another innocent man's life is at stake.

Anthony Allen Shore is a serial killer now on Texas Death row. I learned of him as I was working on Preston  Hughes' post-mortem. Hughes died in part because the city of Houston failed to act on the recommendations of its own independent investigator. The city of Houston commissioned Michael R. Bromwich to investigate the serious problems at Houston's Police Department crime lab. In 2007, Bromwich and his well-staffed investigative team published their final report: Final Report of the Independent Investigator for the Houston Police Department Crime Laboratory and Property Room.

I will hereafter refer to Bromwich and his team as the Bromwich Team or simply as the Team.

In their 400 page report, the Bromwich Team identified more than 200 Texas' convicts having "major issues" associated with the work of the Houston PD crime lab, hereafter referred to simply as the crime lab. The Team listed the names of those prisoners in the appendices to their report. If you check Page 4 of Appendix D, you'll find Preston's name there, third from the top of the page. Now if you check on Page 1 of that same appendix, you find the name of Anthony Allen Shore halfway down the page.

The Bromwich Team made a series of recommendations applicable to all cases they identified has having "major issues." In summary, those recommendations were that each person be notified that the team had identified forensic problems with their case, that each person be assigned a special master to review all aspects of their case, and that DNA testing be conducted whenever possible at no cost to the prisoner.

In response to the recommendations of the its own independent investigator, the City of Houston did nothing. They simply washed their hands of all those cases the lab may have already screwed up, and focused on preventing problems in the future. The city argued that it was not their job to correct any errors, that the responsibility rested with the District Attorneys Office. The District Attorneys Office didn't see it that way, and innocent people languished in prison.

As it turns out, a jury also didn't see it the same way as the City of Houston. If you look on Page 5 of Appendix D, about half way down, you'll see the name of George Rodriguez. It turns out he was one of the 10% or so on the list that were actually innocent. No thanks to the City of Houston, or the Houston PD, or the Harris County DA's Office, George Rodriguez was exonerated by the work of The Innocence Project. He sued the City of Houston because of the corrupt work of its crime lab in general and James Bolding in particular. The jury awarded him $5 million. He settled for $3 million.

Presumably the City Houston now understands that they cannot dodge responsibility for their crime lab. They ignore past cases at their peril.

Another innocent person in the list was Preston Hughes. The City of Houston never notified him that an independent investigator had identified "major problems" with the forensic work in his case. I notified him when I learned of the report.

The City of Houston never assigned him a special master to review his case from beginning to end. I acted as his special master, as best I could.

The City of Houston certainly didn't identify and pay for any DNA testing that might have proven him innocent. I prepared the Chapter 64 motion to have the killer's DNA compared against Preston's DNA.

The City's failure to act was the basis of the 28 U.S.C. federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Houston that I prepared for Preston. Though Houston had just recently settled with George Rodriguez (and thereby admitted its responsibility), and though the City was aware of the egregious circumstances of Preston's conviction (via the law suit and presentations to the city council), the City did nothing. They simply waited for the plaintiff to be executed, hoping that would spare them any further trouble.

I assure the City of Houston that it will not.

In summary, the failure of anyone in authority to seriously consider the merits of Preston's claims of actual innocence constitutes an ineradicable stain on our country's justice system. Furthermore, it pissed me off something fierce. I have therefore decided that in 2013, I will attempt to notify each prisoner on the list that Houston's own independent investigator found major problems with the crime lab work in his case. I will notify each prisoner as well that the city of Houston is obliged to appoint a special master to review the prisoner's case from beginning to end, and to conduct DNA testing as appropriate, all at no cost to the prisoner. I will notify each prisoner that the City of Houston already settled for $3 million with one prisoner who was on the list and exonerated in spite of Houston's failure act on his case.

It was under those circumstances that I learned of Anthony Allen Shore. I decided to first contact those prisoners on the list who were on death row. As I looked into each case, I was shocked to learn that Anthony Shore may have killed Shandra Charles and Marcell Taylor.

That's right. Not only do I think it likely that Anthony Shore murdered Melissa Trotter, I think there is a lesser possibility that he killed Shandra Charles and Marcell Taylor. I'll explain why in my next post, hopefully to be completed tomorrow. Time is short.