Michelle Young: Why no arrest? (continued)

Part II

This blog entry is a continuation of the one posted on November 13, titled Michelle Young: Why no arrest? If you haven't already read it, you may want to go back and start at the beginning before continuing here. The purpose of these entries is to examine the evidence as disclosed in court documents to try to ascertain why there has yet to be an arrest for the murder of Michelle Young.

November 6, 2008 Warrant

[[Click here for WRAL's .pdf of the warrant]

The first thing that stands out in the probable cause affidavit of this warrant is the time that Jason called Meredith to ask her to retrieve the printouts from his printer at 5108 Birchleaf. Until now, it was widely reported that Jason called Meredith in the morning. Most assumed that he probably called around 7:30 to 8:00 a.m. Not so! The voicemail was left for Meredith at 12:10 p.m. She called 911 at 1:25 p.m.

Commentary:

Maybe I was giving Jason too much credit in showing concern for Cassidy, but I was one of those who believed for a long time that he called Meredith to, in effect, rescue Cassidy as soon as he got back to the Hillsville area and could safely do so without blowing his alibi with cell phone activity from the wrong location. Singaporesling asked the question: "What is your take on the 1210 PM phone call to Meredith?" and RPD came up with a theory that may have nailed the reason for such a delay. But I'm getting ahead of myself. That theory pertains to evidence disclosed later in the warrant. For now, suffice it to say that Cassidy spent half the day alone with her mother's body because Jason didn't call Meredith until after noon, less than an hour and a half before Meredith's 911 call. I'll get back to RPD's theory later in this entry.

The next revelation is in regard to additional details about the printout Meredith was sent by Jason to retrieve. Finally confirmed is the fact that the printouts had to do with a Coach purse Jason was purportedly planning to buy for Michelle for a belated anniversary gift. Previously unknown was the fact that the handbags were being auctioned on eBay and that the auctions would have closed prior to Jason even arriving at his Hillsville hotel.

Commentary:

Since early in the investigation, the media has reported that Meredith discovered Michelle's body when she went to 5108 Birchleaf at Jason Young's request to retrieve some documents from the printer. The poster named "just the facts" (widely believed to have been Jason's sister, Kim Young) revealed in mid-November 2006 that the printout had to do with a Coach purse Jason was planning to buy for Michelle as a belated anniversary gift. For most, that whole scenario reeked of sturgeon from the beginning and was probably the main reason some of us were almost immediately skeptical of Jason's alibi. With the details put forth in the latest warrant regarding the Coach purse printouts, the probability that Meredith was set up to discover the body and rescue Cassidy is even greater than before.

Defense may argue that Jason never had any intention to buy the specific purse or purses pictured on the printouts; they were simply examples of the styles he was considering and trying to get feedback on from friends. Nevertheless, it's one more piece of kindling for the fire.

Moving on, the warrant settles the question: Where was Cassidy when Meredith arrived? Answer: She was in the master bedroom "on, what appeared to be, Jason Young's side of the bed".

Commentary:

One of gojo's favorite mantras has long been [paraphrased]: What about the blood trail? How do you explain Cassidy's bloody footprints in the hall bath with no blood trail leading from Michelle's body to the hall bath? It's also been asked why Cassidy was clean and not covered in blood after so many hours alone with her mother's body, and who tended to Cassidy and kept her from getting back into the blood after her feet were cleaned? All of the above are good questions that demand answers regardless of whether you believe Jason Young or someone else killed Michelle. Cassidy mentions a washcloth to Meredith during the 911 call. It's unclear if she is telling Meredith how she tried to help Michelle, suggesting that Meredith get a washcloth so they can clean Michelle's boo-boos, or informing Meredith that someone cleaned the blood from her feet with a washcloth.

The absence of Cassidy's bloody footprints between Michelle's body and the hall bath, where her footprints were numerous, can be interpreted in only one way: Someone carried Cassidy from the pool of her mother's blood to the bathroom and left her there with the door closed for some period of time. We were told ages ago that Meredith took Cassidy to the neighbor's house to use the bathroom after deputies arrived to secure the scene. Cassidy was reportedly clean and didn't seem to be hungry or thirsty at that time. Because of this information, it's long been my theory that Cassidy awoke and approached Michelle's body while the killer was otherwise occupied. When he discovered her there, he picked her up and carried her to the bathroom, briefly leaving her while he tended to something else before returning to clean her up and get her back to sleep.

Returning again to the evidence disclosed in the warrant, we learn that investigators discovered two bottles of medication that no one with a sense of child safety would deliberately store in a toddler's room: Tylenol Extra Strength adult cold medicine and Pancof-PD, a prescription antihistamine, decongestant. cough suppressant, and pain reliever which Cassidy had never been prescribed.

Commentary:

Notably absent from the disclosure as to Cassidy's location upon Meredith's arrival -- on Jason's side of the bed in the master bedroom -- is any remark as to whether Cassidy was awake or asleep. Putting together the fact that she was on Jason's side of the bed and the fact that she was clean and there were no bloody prints made by Cassidy apart from those in the hall bath, I come to the realization that she was likely asleep throughout the morning from the time the killer left until Meredith arrived in the early afternoon. How is that possible? The medications found in Cassidy's room at the very least induce drowsiness. The Pancof-PD, in fact, contains a narcotic that could have caused Cassidy to sleep for quite a while if she ingested it.

This seems the appropriate place to return to RPD's theory in response to singaporesling's question: "What is your take on the 1210 PM phone call to Meredith?"

RPD:

Lets say MY was dead at 2:50 am....it seems logical he left shortly after 5 am
(the 7:49 MM call was obviously pinged from hillsville VA)

That would mean he stayed in the house for 2 hours after the murder.
Best guess is he had to comfort Cassidy until close to 4:45 am.
If he in fact doped her up, he likely calculated that she would be out until noon or so.

If he called earlier, Meredith would arrive to a dead sister and an unresponsive neice....Hmmm

Now, if the picture isn't vivid enough, consider the following information set forth in the warrant:

• Pancof-PD is manufactured by Pamlab, formerly known as Pan American Laboratories.


• Jason was employed as a pharmaceutical sales rep by Pan American Laboratories until January 2005.


• Employer records show Pancof-PD listed as a medication that was represented by Jason Young and inform that Jason "would have been thoroughly trained in product knowledge for all products he sampled."


• Samples of Pancof-PD, in 15 ml and 4 oz. sizes, were issued to Jason during his employment with the company.

The warrant makes no mention of the size of the bottle of Pancof-PD found in Cassidy's room.

Commentary:

It seems to me that the defense will have to concede that the Pancof-PD was in the house because Jason brought it into the house at some point in time. Perhaps, they'll try to argue that there's nothing sinister about its presence in Cassidy's room, but there aren't too many parents -- and there are bound to be a few parents on the jury -- who would find that plausible. Maybe they'll try to convince the jury that it was the real killer, not Jason Young, who found the samples and drugged Cassidy. But what reason would anyone other than Jason have for drugging Cassidy, and why choose the Pancof-PD to do it? The defense may contend that the drug's presence in Cassidy's room doesn't mean that it was actually used on her. In that case, I'd ask: Then why was it in her room? And depending on Cassidy's potty-training status and the diligence of investigators, it may be a moot point. If a wet diaper or bed sheet was preserved and tested as evidence, the defense may be forced to deal with the fact that Cassidy was drugged and answer the question: Who would do that, and why?

The warrant reveals quite a bit about Jason's phone use leading up to and following Michelle's murder.

• Jason's last call of the day on November 2 was to Michelle Money, with whom he was involved in an extramarital sexual relationship. The pair exchanged roughly 50 phone calls and text messages that day.


• Jason's first call of the day on November 3 was to Michelle Money at 7:49 a.m.


• Jason placed two calls to Michelle Young -- at 12:02 and 12:17 p.m.


• As mentioned earlier, Jason left a voicemail for Meredith at 12:10 p.m., asking her to go to the house to retrieve the Coach purse printouts from the printer.


• Meredith called 911 at 1:25 p.m.


• Linda called Jason's cell phone four times from 1:53 p.m. to 2:52 p.m. Her calls went unanswered, and she left at least one message asking Jason to call her back. Despite the unusual nature of her calls and their apparent urgency, Jason failed to return her calls.


• Over a period of 30 days prior to the murder, Jason called his mother, Pat Young, an average of 2.5 times per day. On November 3, the day after the murder, Jason called his mother 28 times, all prior to 1:37 p.m.


• Jason's last phone call before reaching his mother's Brevard home was to Michelle Money at 2:05 p.m. and lasted for 27 minutes.


• Jason arrived at his mother's home at approximately 3:30 p.m., and was informed of Michelle's murder by family members.

Focus with me for a moment on information put forth regarding Linda Fisher's calls to Jason on November 3. She placed four calls:

• 1:53:04 pm for 0 seconds


• 1:53:23 pm for 44 seconds


• 2:51 pm for 0 seconds


• 2:52 pm for 38 seconds

From the affidavit:

According to Mrs. Fisher, when she called Jason Young she left a message stating, "I need to talk to you. Please call me back." When Linda Fisher made this call and left the message, Jason Young was on the phone with Michelle Money. Records show that Jason Young did not return this call nor did he call his wife or sister-in-law to see why Linda Fisher was calling him.

Commentary:

Comparing the times of Linda's calls to the 2:05 pm call, (lasting 27 minutes) to Michelle Money and the 1:37 call to Pat Young, it becomes apparent that Jason must have been on the phone almost continuously during that period of time, having another conversation with Mrs. Money prior to the 2:05 one. Missing Linda's 1:53 calls because he was on the phone with someone else isn't sinister. Although, the fact that he was on the phone with his lover is more than ironic. Nevertheless, it's the fact that he failed to return those calls and respond to Linda's message that will dog his defense. Add to that, Linda called twice more, perhaps leaving a second more urgent message after Jason finished talking to Mrs. Money at approximately 2:32 pm. The warrant indicates that the records "show that Jason Young called his voicemail and checked his messages." Suppose the defense tries to claim that Jason was unable to actually listen to Linda's messages because of spotty cell service? That will be difficult to prove if Jason interacted with his voicemail service by skipping through and/or deleting messages.

Jason's defense attorney will have a very difficult time contending with the cold, hard facts of the cell phone records. When viewed in context and chronological order, the calls Jason chose to make or take in contrast to the calls he ignored imply cognizance of guilt. The jury can and probably will infer that at 1:53 p.m., when Linda Fisher first called his cell phone, Jason knew that Michelle's murder had been discovered. From that point forward, it appears that Jason avoided speaking to anyone who could inform him of the murder before he reached Pat Young's home. A picture is painted of callous disregard for Michelle and her mother and sister, an undaunted, narcissitic obsession with a treacherous relationship, a deliberate avoidance of accountability to Michelle's mother, and a high-tailed retreat to the bosom of his own.

Jason arrived thirty-five minutes late to his 10:00 a.m. meeting in Clintwood, VA, excusing his tardiness with a claim of getting lost. According to the warrant, the hospital representative described his demeanor 'as being "hyper" and "this looked like it was nervousness".'

Commentary:

Jason's tardiness and his excuse for same had been previously disclosed by gojo and at least one other person close to Jason. Apparently, this was something that Jason readily shared with a few people after the murder. Some might find it implausible that a traveling salesman who set out the night before for a mid-morning business trip with five maps in his car could get lost on his way there. It happens. Add to that his demeanor when he arrived, and you might make a point, but, then again, his nervousness could be chalked up to anxiety over being late. Here again, the tale will be told by the cell phone records. If Jason was in the Hillsville area when he called Michelle Money at 7:49 a.m., he wouldn't have had time to get lost on his way to Clintwood. According to MSN Live Maps, the distance from the Hillsville Hampton Inn to Dickenson Community Hospital is 145.5 miles and would have taken approximately 2 hours and 41 minutes to drive. By that estimation, leaving Hillsville at 7:49 would have placed him at his destination at 10:30 a.m. Counsel would have to find a way to explain why Jason was late setting out from Hillsville that morning and why he lied about getting lost along the way.

**Note to readers: I intended for this to be a two part entry, but due to the voluminous information in the November 6 warrant for Jason Young's Novo Nordisk computer data, I am compelled to divide it up.

Check back later for Part III.