Local News Update
Court Case
Guilty or Innocent?
John Strangeway, 35, the manager of the Royal Palm Resort was found dead at the resort pool on December 21. There are several suspects. Davie Crockett, a guest of a party at the hotel, went outside to smoke a cigarette and found Mr. Strangeway's body. He immediately called 911. Evidence collected at the crime scene suggests Mr. Strangeway was strangled by a rope. Additionally, white residue was also found around his neck. After an extensive investigation, five suspects had the residue on their hands. It was also found that the victim was drinking that night, but the drink that was sent for analysis was specifically made for the mayor, Greg Stanton. While hotel workers were accused of this murder, the evidence was not sufficient to determine who actually committed the heinous crime. Since Mr. Crockett had been the one to find his body, he was a logical suspect. That night a witness saw Crockett give Strangeway a large envelope. It was said that the envelope included a secret recipe in danger of being exposed. It remains a mystery as to why Crockett decided to trust Strangeway with the recipe. Crockett claims that he went to him for help. Someone overheard the conversation and it seems that Strangeway asked, “is that all of it?” The details remain sketchy. Crockett said there were multiple parts to the recipe. Another potential suspect is Dusty Wall Maid. Evidently, she was excused from work due to an incident related to the theft of a guests medication and jewelry. In addition to Ms. Wall Maid, the spa manager, Jackie Moneypenny, had some anger towards the manager after having an affair with him. She had broken it off that night after finding out he had a wife and kids. Another interesting twist was that the chef of the hotel, Cheryl Spoonmore, was working all day on that drink for the mayor. Evidently she was trying to kill the mayor with poison because he did not repeal the food tax. The rope of the crime scene was also found in the kitchen with the chef’s fingerprints, which showed the white residue, cornstarch. The chef stated that she had been cooking all day and could have accidentally touched the rope with her dirty hands. The final suspect, day care owner Miss Kidd, was accused of selling children medication for money. At some point of the evening of the murder, Kidd left the children unattended and stepped outside by the pool to make a phone call, making her a person of interest. It seems that these suspects have many ways and motives as to why they would have wanted the manager dead. There is not enough evidence proven to affirm who is guilty or innocent. In the C.S.I video, the same problem arose; there were too many false fingerprints, and therefore the murderer was not revealed. It is important to use all scientific processes to reveal the correct murderer. In both cases, there was not enough science to prove who was guilty.