Once again Nancy (Dis)Grace lies about a case, this time one close to where I'm living.
Last edited Mon Oct 1, 2012, 04:28 AM - Edit history (1)
Why is this ditz STILL on the air? 
TV's Nancy Grace ripped for Sheboygan Falls homicide story
Commentator's report included number of inaccuracies
By Dan Benson
Outspoken TV commentator and host Nancy Grace’s treatment Thursday night of the murder of Barbara J. Olson in Sheboygan Falls has attorneys in the case fuming over factual inaccuracies in her report and comments that were called “inflammatory” and “misinformation.”
“She was just horrible. She was not acting as a reporter and presenting the facts of the case,” said attorney George Limbeck, who is defending Antonio Barbeau, 13, who along with Nathan Paape, 13, is accused of bludgeoning to death Barbara J. Olson, 78, at her Sheboygan Falls home on Sept. 17 with a hammer and hatchet and then ransacking her house.
Olson was Barbeau’s great grandmother. Paape’s attorney is Public Defender June Spoerl.
Grace devoted a major portion of her program, “Nancy Grace,” on HLNTV Thursday night to the murder, headlining it at one point, “Murder for Pizza!,” alluding to the claim contained in the criminal complaint that the boys went out for pizza after murdering Olson.
In her report, Grace said:
• Barbeau’s and Paape’s motive for killing Olson was “for pizza money.” While the criminal complaint says the boys went out for pizza afterward, no motive is given for the crime. “Obviously that (Grace’s claim) is not true,” District Attorney Joe DeCecco said Friday. The complaint doesn’t specify where the money came from to buy the pizza.
• They only stole “loose change,” even though the criminal complaint clearly states they also stole jewelry and other items. In fact, the complaint alleges they left the stolen goods in plain view in Olson’s car after they drove it to a Sheboygan bowling alley, hoping someone would steal it and divert attention away from them.
• Police said the motive was to pay for pizza. Untrue. Police and prosecutors have said they do not know the motive for the robbery or the murder.
• Barbeau and Paape were “two gorgeous All-American boys” with “no history of problems.” The criminal complaint, however, states that Barbeau was a runaway from the Sheboygan County Juvenile Detention Center when the murder occurred. Neighbors and friends have said in interviews that Barbeau had recent run-ins with police. Spoerl said in court that Paape has never been “in custody,” but the same friends and neighbors told reporters Paape had frequently been in trouble at school.
A spokesman for Grace’s show could not be reached for comment.
Since hosting her own show on CNN Headline News in 2005, Grace often has been criticized for sensationalizing cases, misconstruing facts and ignoring the legal presumption of innocence and taking a pro-prosecution stance in several high-profile cases. Her show is the fourth-highest rated among cable network news shows in her time slot, behind “The O’Reilly Factor” on Fox News, “The Ed Show” on MSNBC and “Anderson Cooper 360” on CNN.
“I watched a part of it and I quit listening, I was getting so irritated,” Limbeck said Friday. “She was talking as if the facts were out and they’re not. She’s talking as if what’s in the criminal complaint is proof.”
Both DeCecco and Limbeck said the report will make it more difficult to select a jury in the case.
“It makes it tough to pick a jury, that’s for sure,” DeCecco said. “But I think it will be overcome. It’s not whether so much they heard about the case but if they’ve formed opinions.”
Limbeck agreed.
“The most direct effect (of Grace’s report) might be trying to pick a fair and unpartial jury,” Limbeck said. “Any and all media coverage potentially runs the risk of minimizing the number of fair and impartial jurors you can find. Even with accurate reporting.”
Sensationalistic reporting could potentially taint the juror pool in Sheboygan County, Limbeck said, which could lead to either the trial being moved out of the county or in bringing jurors in from outside the county.
“That’s even more of a possibility when the reports they’ve heard are so inflammatory and so full of guesswork and speculation like what I heard last night” on Grace’s show, Limbeck said.
DeCecco said “there’s a balance to be found. The public has a right to know but, unfortunately, you get some misinformation,” adding that more facts will come out in a preliminary hearing scheduled for Tuesday. “This has become a national story. I knew this case would be a shock to the community and the state in general. But I’m a little surprised it’s been picked up nationwide.”
Sheboygan Falls Police Chief Steve Riffel was a phone guest on the show. Riffel could not be reached for comment Friday.
http://www.sheboyganpress.com/interactive/article/20120929/SHE0101/309290256/TV-s-Nancy-Grace-ripped-Sheboygan-Falls-homicide-story
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