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Six years after Missouri police dominated Elizabeth “Libby” Caswell’s 2017 demise a suicide, her household and a nonprofit group that performed an investigation into the case say she died by strangulation.
The Justice Undertaking at Alliance for HOPE Worldwide, a nonprofit combating home violence and different types of abuse, performed the investigation that concluded, “with out query, Libby Caswell was murdered six years in the past” in a motel room in Independence, Missouri, on Dec. 11, 2017.
“The Independence Police Division failed her, and their investigation was zero on this case, and so they simply continued to attempt to show suicide as a substitute of attempting to open their minds and doing the precise, correct investigation,” Cindy Caswell, Libby’s mom, mentioned throughout a Dec. 11 press convention with Alliance for HOPE Worldwide.
Libby, 21, was discovered useless in a motel rest room along with her physique positioned in order that her face was turned towards a wall, in line with Dr. William “Invoice” Smock of the Louisville Metro Police Division, the one police surgeon in the US and the co-founder of the Coaching Institute on Strangulation Prevention. He oversaw the unbiased investigation into Caswell’s demise.
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The Justice Undertaking at Alliance for HOPE Worldwide, a nonprofit combating home violence and different types of abuse, performed an investigation that concluded, “with out query, Libby Caswell was murdered six years in the past” in a motel room in Independence, Missouri, Dec. 11, 2017. (Fb/Cindy Caswell)
Her boyfriend on the time referred to as 911 round 8 p.m. that day to report that Caswell had died by suicide after hanging herself with a belt within the rest room whereas he was sleeping. When police arrived on the Sports activities Stadium Motel in Independence, the place they had been staying, her boyfriend was not current.
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Police dominated her demise a suicide inside hours of arriving, in line with the Alliance for HOPE. The nonprofit’s investigation revealed {that a} belt had been tied round Caswell’s neck twice and he or she had belt marks on her chest.
Caswell, 21, was discovered useless in a motel rest room along with her physique positioned in order that her face was turned towards a wall, in line with Dr. William “Invoice” Smock, of the Louisville Metro Police Division and co-founder of the Coaching Institute on Strangulation Prevention. (Google Maps)
Gerald Fineman, a retired prosecutor working for the Justice Undertaking, mentioned there was additionally a footprint on Caswell’s again, in line with FOX 4 Kansas Metropolis.
“I’ve been investigating for nearly 40 years. … That is probably the most horrible case I’ve seen in my whole profession the place a legislation enforcement company completely missed the boat,” Smock mentioned.
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Smock mentioned he has offered Caswell’s case to greater than 1,000 prosecutors and legislation enforcement personnel throughout the nation who imagine her demise was “homicidal.” He additionally alleged that Independence Police “ignored” proof on the scene, together with blood within the motel room the place Caswell died, her damaged fingernails and marks on her neck.
Dr. Invoice Smock mentioned he has offered Caswell’s case to greater than 1,000 prosecutors and legislation enforcement personnel throughout the nation who imagine her demise was “homicidal.” (Cindy Caswell)
“The Independence Police Division didn’t do fundamental murder investigations [sic]. They didn’t get the video surveillance tape that was there and obtainable to them. They didn’t … accumulate the cell telephones of the people who had been current on the time. They didn’t comply with up on inconsistencies in witness statements,” Smock mentioned.
The Alliance for HOPE additionally says it recognized three males who had been within the motel room the place Caswell was staying on Dec. 10, 2017.
“An eyewitness and caring individual had paid for [Libby and her boyfriend] to remain at a distinct motel, and but at 6:30 within the morning on Dec. 11, there was Libby in a motel room with at the least two, and we imagine three, males,” mentioned Casey Gwinn, president and co-founder of the alliance.
Independence Police dominated Libby Caswell’s demise a suicide inside hours of arriving, in line with the Alliance for HOPE. (Cindy Caswell)
Independence Police mentioned in a press release Monday that authorities held the crime scene on the Sports activities Stadium Motel on Dec. 11, 2017, “till detectives might interview witnesses and/or individuals which will have been within the room on the time.”
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“As soon as Investigators decided there was no want to carry the scene and no arrests had been acceptable on the time, the scene was launched, nevertheless the investigation continued,” police mentioned. “Through the course of the investigation, the case was reviewed by a number of detectives inside the Legal Investigations Unit. At one time, the case was reopened on the request of Elizabeth’s household and Alliance For HOPE Worldwide. The FBI assisted IPD throughout that investigation.”
The Independence Police Division mentioned Monday authorities held the crime scene on the Sports activities Stadium Motel on Dec. 11, 2017, “till Detectives might interview witnesses and/or individuals which will have been within the room on the time.” (Tommy Brison through Cindy Caswell)
The case was additionally offered to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Workplace “to find out if there have been any legal costs to be filed,” police mentioned. However the police division maintains that “detectives imagine that given the proof that was obtainable, Elizabeth Caswell’s demise was almost certainly a suicide.”
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“The Independence Police Division welcomes any witness statements that haven’t already been given to investigators. We additionally welcome an investigation by an unbiased celebration concerning this case,” police mentioned of their assertion.
“The Independence Police Division failed her, and their investigation was zero on this case, and so they simply continued to attempt to show suicide as a substitute of attempting to open their minds and doing the precise, correct investigation,” Cindy Caswell, Libby’s mom, mentioned throughout a Dec. 11 press convention with Alliance for HOPE Worldwide. (Fb/Coaching Institute on Strangulation Prevention)
Michael Mansur, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Workplace’s director of communications, mentioned the workplace “reassigned a second veteran prosecutor to overview the case a second time however decided that the proof was inadequate to justify legal costs for a number of causes.”
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“That prosecutor’s willpower and findings had been communicated to a member of the family earlier this yr. We’re grateful for the investigation by members of the IPD and the work of the FBI,” Mansur mentioned in a press release. “The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Workplace has labored diligently to find out how Libby’s life ended and whether or not legal costs had been supported. We’ll proceed to have a look at any new proof.”
The Alliance for Hope is asking Missouri Legal professional Common Andrew Bailey and the FBI to pursue unbiased investigations into Libby Caswell’s demise. (Fb)
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Coaching Institute on Strangulation Prevention CEO Gael Strack inspired different victims whose instances haven’t been correctly investigated by the Independence Police Division to return ahead.
The Alliance for HOPE is asking Missouri Legal professional Common Andrew Bailey and the FBI to pursue unbiased investigations into Caswell’s demise.
Missouri girl’s household believes her demise in motel, dominated suicide, was homicide by strangulation
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