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Thread: Jury Aquits Michael Mead in 2008 NC Murder of Fiancee

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    Jury Aquits Michael Mead in 2008 NC Murder of Fiancee

    GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) - Prosecutors in North Carolina say they will seek the death penalty for a man accused in the death of his 31-year-old fiancee.

    The Gaston Gazette reports that prosecutors announced their intention during a hearing in Gaston County District Court on Monday. Judge Michael Lands also denied Michael Mead's request to be released from jail.

    Authorities accuse Mead of shooting Lucy Johnson twice in the back of the head, then burning her house down to conceal the crime on July 16.

    Defense attorney Rick Beam told the judge that Mead was not a flight risk because he knew he was going to be arrested and turned himself in. Prosecutor Bill Stetzer said police detectives had evidence that Mead had made inquiries about being employed in Mexico and has charges pending in South Carolina.

    http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9660980

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    Mead bond revocation hearing delayed; online comments upset judge

    A judge delayed a bond revocation hearing for a man accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend. (Related story)

    Superior Court Judge Eric Levinson also told attorneys Monday that anonymous comments posted on The Gazette website questioning his impartiality might lead him to decide to voluntarily recuse himself from hearing the murder trial of Michael Mead.

    Mead, 31, of York County, S.C., faces a death penalty trial for the July 2008 killing of Lucy Johnson, a 31-year-old single mother of two found in her burning house in a subdivision off Lowell-Bethesda Road after first being fatally shot in the head.

    News stories since Mead’s arrest in January 2009 and his subsequent court hearings generate dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of online comments after appearing at GastonGazette.com.

    In two posts, a commenter with the username "justicen2010" wrote on June 21 that Judge Levinson was "itching" to revoke Mead’s $650,000 bond and return him to jail to await trial.

    But the date of the hearing, scheduled for today, had not been made public on June 21. Mead’s counsel told Levinson on Monday they found out about the hearing date from reading it on GastonGazette.com.

    The bond revocation deals in part with a polygraph test Mead apparently took on June 10, followed by a prosecution request on June 14 to revoke Mead’s bond. Details of the polygraph remain sealed under court order.

    The commenter combined insider information about the date and purpose of the court hearing with a false statement that the presiding judge had predetermined an outcome, Levinson said.

    "So it reflects poorly on the court even though it’s completely false," Levinson said from the bench.

    How the information came to be posted on The Gazette’s website so concerns Levinson that he said he was considering recusing himself from the case.

    "This case needs to stay on a trial track," Levinson told the attorneys after a meeting in his chambers of about an hour.

    Several times Levinson repeated that he had not made a decision about Mead’s bond, at times talking directly to the defendant who sat with his attorneys while dressed in navy blue pants, a long-sleeved yellow shirt and light blue tie.

    "If I believed that you were a great risk to the community safety wise you’d be in custody, you’d go right now," Levinson said toward the end of Monday’s two-hour hearing. "But there is a presumption of innocence."

    Johnson, a nurse in Kings Mountain, was 15 weeks pregnant at the time of her death, and Mead has said he was the father of the unborn child.

    Levinson told the attorneys he would give them a three-week window to agree on the date for a new hearing to consider Mead’s bond and other trial scheduling matters.

    http://www.gastongazette.com/news/font-48626-align-judge.html

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    New judge called in murder case of Kings Mountain nurse



    Court scheduling means a different judge will likely preside over the trial and other legal matters involving a man accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend two years ago, according to a letter Superior Court Judge Eric Levinson of Mecklenburg County sent to attorneys.

    Levinson heard a pre-trial motion June 28 where attorneys for Michael Mead sought to force The Gaston Gazette to provide information that would help identify a person who posted two anonymous comments to a story that appeared at GastonGazette.com.

    The anonymous poster made known a scheduled June 29 court date related to a bond revocation prosecutors sought in regard to a polygraph test Mead allegedly took earlier that month. At the time of the posting neither the court date nor the subject of the hearing was publicly known. Levinson has sealed many of the court orders in the case.

    But Levinson said in his letter dated July 6 that he has returned to Charlotte for criminal and civil court for six months and expects to start holding court in Catawba County in January.

    Levinson states the judge hearing the requested bond revocation should decide whether to identify the person who posted the anonymous comments.

    Levinson questioned attorneys at the June 28 hearing, noting that North Carolina law offers journalists a “qualified privilege” to protecting information they gather. He likened the request of Mead’s attorneys to seeking notes from a reporter.

    News organizations have a valid argument to protect themselves under the state’s shield laws as they attempt to generate public commentary about government officials, the trial and other events, Levinson said.

    Levinson also made a preliminary decision that the state’s shield statute indeed covers The Gazette.

    The case of forcing media to reveal information regarding those who post comments to stories online may be the first of its kind in North Carolina, according to both defense counsel and attorney John Bussian, who represents The Gazette.

    "The Gazette is disappointed that Judge Levinson won't be in Gaston County long enough to complete his ruling on the newspaper's motion (to quash the subpoena)," Bussian said. "Still, based on the judge's ruling on June 28 that the North Carolina shield law protects the Gazette from forced disclosure of those posting online comments to its news reports, we are confident that the judge assigned to try the case will protect free press interests just as strongly as Judge Levinson was inclined to do."

    Mead's attorney, Lisa Dubs of Hickory, declined to comment for this story. At the June 28 hearing Dubs argued that the speech of an anonymous commenter does not meet the definition of a journalist and therefore does not deserve protection. Another of Mead’s attorneys, Jason White, argued the commenting section of The Gazette’s website was more of a social network than a news gathering operation.

    Mead, 31, of York County, S.C., faces a death penalty trial for the July 2008 killing of Lucy Johnson, a 31-year-old single mother of two found in her burning house in a subdivision off Lowell-Bethesda Road. She had been fatally shot in the head before the start of the fire, according to an autopsy report.

    Johnson, a nurse in Kings Mountain, was 15 weeks pregnant at the time of her death, and Mead has said he was the father of the unborn child.

    News stories since Mead’s arrest in January 2009 and his subsequent court hearings generate dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of online comments after appearing on GastonGazette.com.

    Mead remains free on a $650,000 bond while he awaits trial. No trial date has been set.

    In the anonymous comment, the poster stated that Levinson was "itching" to put Mead back in jail. Levinson took exception to that characterization calling it 100 percent false at the June 28 hearing.

    "If I believed that you were a great risk to the community safety-wise, you’d be in custody, you’d go right now," Levinson said toward the end of the two-hour hearing on June 28. "But there is a presumption of innocence."

    http://www.shelbystar.com/news/court-48262-levinson-judge.html

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    [B]Missing girl case delays court proceedings involving death of Kings Mountain nurse[/B

    The attorney representing Michael Mead on a murder charge in Gaston County is now involved with the ongoing case of Zahra Baker, a missing Hickory girl.

    Mead and his lawyer, Lisa Dubs, were scheduled to appear in court Monday to argue for a change of venue in his murder trial. An early-morning call changed that plan, according to Gaston County Assistant District Attorney Robert Forbes.

    Forbes told Judge Robert Bell that Dubs called to say she and Mead couldn’t be in court because she’s now been assigned to Elisa Baker, the 10-year-old girl’s stepmother who has been in jail since Oct. 10 for obstruction of justice.

    Forbes told Bell that he didn’t think another case elsewhere should affect court proceedings in Gaston County.

    Bell asked Forbes to approach the bench. There was no further discussion in open court, but Forbes said the matter will come before the judge 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

    Mead, of York County, S.C., faces a death penalty trial for the July 2008 killing of Lucy Johnson, a 31-year-old single mother of two found in her burning house in a subdivision off Lowell-Bethesda Road. An autopsy indicates Johnson, a nurse at Kings Mountain Hospital, was fatally shot in the head before the fire.

    Both the 2008 killing and the recent disappearance have made headlines locally and nationally.

    During a recent bond hearing for Elisa Baker, Catawba County District Judge Robert Mullinax Jr. said there were “disturbing and unsettling allegations” in the case.

    Investigators said Baker wrote a bogus ransom note found Oct. 9, the day she and her husband reported Zahra missing. Police have said they think someone killed the girl who used hearing aids and a prosthetic leg because of bone cancer, but have not found her body and haven’t charged anyone with killing her.

    The girl was last seen in public Sept. 25, but investigators want to know if anyone else outside the family had seen her more recently to fill in gaps in the case’s timeline, Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins said. While investigators believe Zahra is dead, they haven’t ruled out the possibility she’ll be found alive.

    “We’re continuing to have hope, but we’re still calling it a homicide investigation,’ Adkins said.

    http://www.shelbystar.com/news/mead-...-attorney.html

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    Mead hearing delayed again; his attorney files complaint with judge

    The change of venue hearing for accused murderer Michael Mead was postponed Wednesday for the third time this week.

    Mead faces a death penalty trial for the July 2008 killing of Lucy Johnson, a 31-year-old single mother of two found in her burning house in a subdivision off Lowell-Bethesda Road. An autopsy indicated Johnson, a nurse at Kings Mountain Hospital, was fatally shot in the head before the fire.

    The change of venue request was set to come before Judge Robert Bell Monday morning, but Mead’s defense attorney, Lisa Dubs, was unable to be in court because she was recently assigned to the case of Zahra Baker, the missing 10-year-old from Hickory.

    Bell reset the matter for Tuesday. Dubs’ co-council, Jason White, stood beside Mead in court to ask for another extension. The judge granted that request and put the matter on the calendar for Wednesday.

    Bell told White Tuesday that he wanted the change of venue hearing to last no more than two hours.

    Dubs, White and Mead came into court Wednesday morning with a rolling cart full of paperwork and a portable projector screen in hand. Dubs first told the judge that she disagreed with being held to time constraints for the hearing. She argued that presenting numerous affidavits and combing through thousands of comments left on newspaper websites would take time.

    “There are specific instances of prejudices by media throughout this case,” said Dubs.

    Those alleged prejudices are part of the reason that the defense wants the trial moved out of Gaston County.

    Bell questioned Dubs about taking valuable time to read through lengthy documents, and Assistant District Attorney Robert Forbes questioned whether or not the state agreed with submitting affidavits instead of witness testimony.

    Bell instructed Dubs and Forbes to go outside of the courtroom, clear up the misunderstanding and return.

    The attorneys came back and cited a miscommunication through e-mail as the reason for the confusion.

    Bell instructed the attorneys to agree upon a new date for the change of venue hearing in the next week.

    Reporters repeatedly show up at the Gaston County Courthouse when Mead is scheduled to appear.

    Dubs recently signed on to represent a woman in another high profile case in Hickory. She is representing Elisa Baker, the stepmother of Zahra Clare Baker, a missing 10-year-old girl.

    Police believe the girl is dead. She uses hearing aids and has a prosthetic leg because of bone cancer. Authorities in recent weeks have combed wooded areas and a landfill for evidence or her body.

    The stepmother has been charged with obstruction of justice. Police said she acknowledged to writing a bogus ransom note found at the scene of a fire in the family’s backyard on the day Zahra Clare Baker was reported missing.

    Police have not found the girl's body and haven’t charged anyone with killing her. A statement from Hickory police Tuesday afternoon said investigators seized a mattress found by workers at a Caldwell County landfill when the area was being regraded following a search last week. The statement said the mattress will be tested for DNA evidence.

    http://www.gastongazette.com/news/me...son-venue.html

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    SC man stands trial for killing fiancée at NC home

    The trial of a South Carolina man who police say killed his pregnant fiancée then set her Gaston County home on fire is getting ready to start.

    The Gaston Gazette reports jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday for 42-year-old Michael Mead of Fort Mill, S.C. He could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder.

    Authorities say Mead raped 31-year-old Lucy Johnson, then shot her twice in the head before setting her home on fire in July 2008.



    Johnson had restraining orders against two other men, but investigators say they were ruled out as suspects.

    Mead was arrested six months after Johnson's death. He continues to maintain his innocence.

    The judge moved the case from Gaston County to Mecklenburg County because of pre-trial publicity.

    Read more: http://www.thesunnews.com/2011/05/31...#ixzz1NvfQ2TtS

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    Trial resumes for man accused of murder, arson

    The trial of accused murderer and arsonist Michael Mead resumed Wednesday in Mecklenburg County with jury selection and a hearing on a defense motion to dismiss the charges.

    Defense attorney Lisa Dubs raised a motion to dismiss the case Monday due to an arson report from a Gaston County K-9 unit that was never turned over to the defense.

    "The state is picking and choosing what evidence to turn over," Dubs told Judge Forrest Bridges. "This is a case where we have no confidence whatsoever at all that Mr. Mead has the materials he's entitled to under the U.S. constitution."

    Mead is accused of killing Lucy Johnson, his fiancée, and burning her house to cover his crime in July 2008. At the time, Johnson was pregnant with Mead's child. If convicted of first-degree murder, Mead will be sentenced to life in prison without parole or death.

    The only witness to take the stand so far Wednesday is Gaston Police Officer Wayne Davis. Davis trains a dog named Titan to smell "accelerants" at the scenes of fires. Accelerants are substances that act to quickly spread a fire, such as gasoline, and are often indications of arson.

    Titan detected accelerants at Johnson's house, the initial crime scene, on July 16. However, the dog did not detect any accelerants in a search of Mead's house two days later.

    While the prosecution presented the initial report from the crime scene, they neglected to include the negative finding from Mead's house. Officer Davis testified that he was never asked for his notes or report.

    "I asked them if they needed my notes from the report," Davis said. "They weren't taking them at the time."

    Gaston County District Attorney Robert Forbes contended that the report was insignificant since gasoline and other accelerants can dissipate and evaporate over short periods, especially in the hot summer months.

    Judge Bridges has not ruled on the merits of the defense's motion to dismiss.

    Jury selection also continued Wednesday morning in the trial. Six potential jurors were excused for moral or religious opposition to the death penalty. Three others were excused for work conflicts.

    http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Trial...122959568.html

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    Mead trial begins on Tuesday

    CHARLOTTE, N.C - Despite the best efforts of Michael Mead's attorneys his trial is still on and so i the possible death penalty.

    The Judge cited prosecutors for at least potential negligence. The issue was a report detailing the search of Jame Spelock's home. He is the ex-husband of murder victim Lucy Johnson.

    The two were in the middle of a nasty custody battle.

    Investigators have said he was never a suspect. Defense attorneys believed the search proved he was, but prosecutors never turned over that information until the Judge ordered them too.

    This trial is expected to be a tabloid writers dream.

    Prosecutors said they will introduce evidence showing that mead had multiple girlfriends, despite having a pregnant fiance.

    Defense attorneys plan to show that Spelock did it and that his motive was the custody battle and that Johnson was going to out him as a cross dress who ordered women's garments on his Duke work computer.

    http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/mead-...123778624.html

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    Judge rules evidence withheld in Gaston trial

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - A Superior Court judge says he will impose sanctions on prosecutors who behaved inappropriately in the case of a Gaston County man accused of killing his pregnant fiancée.

    The Charlotte Observer reported Tuesday that Judge Forrest Bridges ruled that prosecutors should have turned over all results of a search for accelerants conducted by a police dog. Prosecutors provided defense attorneys information about the positive results found at Johnson's house, but not the negative results that followed a search of Mead's house.

    Michael Mead could face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted in the 2008 killing of Lucy Johnson. Investigators say he set fire to Johnson's house to try to cover his tracks.

    Opening arguments in the case were set for Tuesday.

    http://www.wect.com/Global/story.asp?S=14903106

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    Mead breaks down as murder trial gets under way

    Mike Mead’s body shook and tears fell from his eyes as his attorney told jurors about the death of Lucy Dye Johnson.

    The 31-year-old pregnant mother of two was shot twice in the back of the head then set on fire in her Gaston County home in July 2008.

    “With those two shots to the head, Mike lost his son. He lost his fiancée,” defense attorney Lisa Dubs told the jury during opening statements Tuesday morning.

    Mead is on trial for the killing, charged with the brutal murder and rape of the Kings Mountain nurse.

    But police have pinned the horrific crime on the wrong man, according to Dubs.

    Why would a successful businessman kill his future wife and child, Dubs asked rhetorically during opening statements.

    Dubs told jurors about one of Johnson’s past relationships. She described a heated custody battle and a threatening pattern of behavior by Jim Spelock, the father of one of Johnson’s children.

    Spelock was on the suspect list at one time, but Gaston County Police eventually discounted him and charged Mead.

    Gaston County Assistant District Attorney Bob Forbes introduced the jury to Johnson by holding up a framed photograph.

    Forbes didn’t outline the events that led up to Johnson’s death, but he said the evidence will point directly to Mead as the killer. He asked the jury not to be distracted by any red herrings thrown at them by defense attorneys.

    The first two witnesses for the state set the horrific scene of how neighbors reacted to seeing Johnson’s two-story home engulfed in flames in the middle of the night.

    Was she inside? Were the children home?

    Laura Ferguson struggled to speak when describing her inability to open Johnson’s front door because of the extreme heat.

    Ferguson and several neighbors did their best to alert anyone who might be inside the home.

    “We continued to yell for her, hoping that she would hear us and wake up,” Ferguson testified. “I just wanted to try to save them.”

    But Johnson’s lifeless body lay in her bed. Her children were not home.

    Ferguson and another neighbor, Martha Winkles, were questioned about the night of the fire and about Mead’s behavior during the days that followed.

    Both women described Mead’s behavior as dramatic and overly chatty.

    Dubs asked Ferguson if she was aware that Mead has ADHD.

    Neither of the women said they have ever interacted with Mead prior to the killing.

    Neither of the women knew Johnson especially well, but they knew she lived with her two children in the home.

    Ferguson said she and Johnson had a few run-ins when her dog would escape and mess with Johnson’s dogs. There was no ill will, but Ferguson said she got a sense that Johnson knew how to handle herself.

    “She was a pistol. She was a cutie,” said Ferguson. “You could tell by the way she walked and talked that she was a strong woman.”

    A jury will ultimately decide if Mead is guilty of any of the four charges he faces – murder, rape, arson or burglary.

    If convicted of first-degree murder, Mead will be sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty.

    Jury selection for the high-profile case took two weeks. The panel includes 12 jurors and three alternates.

    The trial was moved from Gaston to Mecklenburg County because a judge declared that an impartial jury could not be selected locally.

    Mead’s face, salt-and-pepper hair and goatee were seen in editions of The Gazette and on several TV news broadcasts.

    Mead, 42, now sits next to attorneys, clean shaven and with dark brown hair.

    Now in the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, the trial is expected to take at least four to six more weeks.

    http://www.gastongazette.com/news/me...ke-murder.html

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