10-28-2013, 09:49 AM
Here's some background on how Martin MacNeill tried to use his son Damian's death to his advantage.
The Defense's Motion - pointing the finger at Damian
The defense motion states the biggest offense was the prosecutors withholding information about Damian MacNeill, the son of Martin and Michele MacNeill, who could be viewed as another possible suspect in the case.
Defense attorneys argue that the state believed Damian MacNeill had homicidal and violent tendencies and were concerned enough to send an email to Damian's law school informing them that he could be a threat.
The State's response
In the state's response, prosecutors wrote that this is not relevant to the case for several reasons, including the fact that the letter was sent to New York University two and a half years after Michele MacNeill's death and was sent solely as a precaution based on tweets from what appeared to be Damian MacNeill's Twitter account.
"There is no expression or belief on the part of the investigator that Damian had homicidal feelings at or near the time of Michele's death," the prosecutors' motion states. "Moreover, there is no evidence corroborating any belief that Damian was involved in Michele's death."
...........................The Email that LE sent to NYU warning them about Damian's Twitter threats
It states, "To be perfectly clear, Damian MacNeill is not a suspect in the death of his mother. However, at the insistence of MacNeill family members, we entered 'damianmacneill' into Google and were shocked at the postings found on his Twitter site, which suggests a propensity to commit indiscriminate violent crimes. ... The comments by Damian MacNeill are very troubling wherein he speaks of killing others and the joy of such."
The letter goes on to say that the county attorney's office considers Damian MacNeill a "ticking time bomb, someone who has been through a lot in his life and apparently it is coming to a head." The letter also states that NYU should take whatever action it deems necessary and that the attorney's office didn't want to ignore what could be warnings signs of violence to come.
Source:
http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/ce...9c698.html
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Tbh, I wouldn't be surprised if Martin MacNeill manipulated his son into making himself an alternate suspect via Twitter, and Damian went over the edge and wasn't prepared to follow through when his academic advisers and others became aware of the crazy tweets (I haven't found the actual tweets anywhere).
But, maybe I only feel that way because I think Martin MacNeill is the absolute scum of the earth (whether he killed his wife or not) and wouldn't put anything past him.
The Defense's Motion - pointing the finger at Damian
The defense motion states the biggest offense was the prosecutors withholding information about Damian MacNeill, the son of Martin and Michele MacNeill, who could be viewed as another possible suspect in the case.
Defense attorneys argue that the state believed Damian MacNeill had homicidal and violent tendencies and were concerned enough to send an email to Damian's law school informing them that he could be a threat.
The State's response
In the state's response, prosecutors wrote that this is not relevant to the case for several reasons, including the fact that the letter was sent to New York University two and a half years after Michele MacNeill's death and was sent solely as a precaution based on tweets from what appeared to be Damian MacNeill's Twitter account.
"There is no expression or belief on the part of the investigator that Damian had homicidal feelings at or near the time of Michele's death," the prosecutors' motion states. "Moreover, there is no evidence corroborating any belief that Damian was involved in Michele's death."
...........................The Email that LE sent to NYU warning them about Damian's Twitter threats
It states, "To be perfectly clear, Damian MacNeill is not a suspect in the death of his mother. However, at the insistence of MacNeill family members, we entered 'damianmacneill' into Google and were shocked at the postings found on his Twitter site, which suggests a propensity to commit indiscriminate violent crimes. ... The comments by Damian MacNeill are very troubling wherein he speaks of killing others and the joy of such."
The letter goes on to say that the county attorney's office considers Damian MacNeill a "ticking time bomb, someone who has been through a lot in his life and apparently it is coming to a head." The letter also states that NYU should take whatever action it deems necessary and that the attorney's office didn't want to ignore what could be warnings signs of violence to come.
Source:
http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/ce...9c698.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tbh, I wouldn't be surprised if Martin MacNeill manipulated his son into making himself an alternate suspect via Twitter, and Damian went over the edge and wasn't prepared to follow through when his academic advisers and others became aware of the crazy tweets (I haven't found the actual tweets anywhere).
But, maybe I only feel that way because I think Martin MacNeill is the absolute scum of the earth (whether he killed his wife or not) and wouldn't put anything past him.