New Searches in Michelle Young Investigation

I realize I've kind of dropped the ball in blogging about the murder of Michelle Young. Part of that is due to the drought; there has been a dearth of information trickling down from the ongoing investigation. Until last November, there had been no real news since February 2007 when we learned that the Wake County District Attorney had successfully petitioned the court for access to any records of treatment kept by Michelle's therapist, Kimball Jane Sargent.

In late November 2007, there finally emerged evidence that the investigation was indeed proceeding. Local news agencies reported that another search warrant had been executed on the Youngs' residence at 5108 Birchleaf in Raleigh. The reason given for the additional search was the recent involvement of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations. Photographs were taken for scale comparison to earlier photographs of bloody footprints in the upstairs hall bathroom. Several planks were removed from the backyard deck and a 5-gallon bucket of deck sealant was confiscated. The affiant indicated that there were some marks or the stains on the deck that needed to be examined. I've speculated and theorized about this development on the discussion board, but I'm still not satisfied that I've figured out why, more than a year after the murder, investigators would expect to find any evidence on a surface exposed to the elements during that time.

The most recent development in the investigation is that search warrants have been executed on two residences in western North Carolina -- those being the Brevard home of Jason Young's mother, Pat Young, and the home of his sister, Heather McCracken, in Etowah. Additionally, a forum member close to the Young family, hinted that other searches were carried out as well. This claim seems to be supported by the following statement in an NBC-17 report:

Search warrants have not been returned, but investigators said they searched several homes. [Source: NBC17.com]

According to various reports, the warrants are to be sealed by the court, so we aren't likely to find out (any time soon) what investigators were searching for, what probable cause they provided, or if the objectives were accomplished. The warrants can be sealed for 30 days, at which time, the DA can again petition the court to keep them sealed for another 30 days, and so on until it is no longer necessary to do so.

I could speculate and theorize on the purpose and meaning of the latest warrants, but right at the moment, I'm all speculated and theorized out. I just want to know what happened and why it's taking so long to bring Michelle Young's killer to justice.

~◊~

Links to several news reports about the latest searches:

WRAL.com: More Homes Searched in Michelle Young Murder Probe
NC Wanted: Investigators Search Homes Where Michelle Young's Husband Stayed
News & Observer: Western NC homes searched in slaying
NBC-17: Investigators Search Homes Where Jason Young Visited Following Murder
ABC-11: Young murder investigation continues
WLOS-13: Video Link

Update: Wednesday, February 27, 2008

It turns out that the "several" search warrants include warrants for two vehicles driven by Jason Young. Investigators examined the Ford Explorer that they had previously searched immediately after the murder, leaving behind dust in the interior. The vehicle currently belongs to Jason's mother, Pat Young of Brevard. Also examined was Jason's company van. If they were looking only for fingerprints, whose could they have hoped to find there?

As of now, there is nothing to suggest that any property belonging to Michelle's mother or sister was included in the search.