In the death of Robert Manwill: Daniel Ehrlick sentenced to life without parole/ Melissa Jenkins, mother, was sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole

Good!!!! I knew it was them. The mom had killed her other child, correct???? Doesn't say cause of death, unless I missed it!!

Thank you for posting this, Art!!

They only announced they arrested them & their bond today, they didn't take any questions from the media as to the cause of death, sadly, I am curious about the same thing. They probably BEAT the heck out of that sweet boy & tried to cover it up. I wonder how long they waited to dispose of his body as LE thinks he died days before he was reported missing. Just makes you sick.

The thing that drives me crazy about these cases is that only the CHILDREN'S FACES change, it seems like it is TOO COMMON that the scumbag parent & their boyfriend or girlfriend murder the children. It is becoming so common for these STUPID mother's to allow their children to be beaten to death at the hands of a scumbag boyfriend.

In this case, this little boy didn't stand a chance.

I agree, Art. His entire family tree was f'd up, to say the least. This reminds me of Casey - same scenario.This is tragic and there w/be a lot more to come!!

by Wrapitup Yesterday at 11:21 pm Good!!!! I knew it was them. The mom had killed her other child, correct????

It was Robert's father's wife that killed her child.....not Robert's mother. Robert's mother did crack the skull of one of her child and she no longer has custody of that child.

This didn't have to happen. No one was watching out for the well being of poor Robert.

This is according to the Idaho stateman. I missed this yesterday is this posted somewhere else on our site? Also we need to add the names of Melissa Scott
Jenkins and Daniel Ehrlick Jr to the list of accused. I cant find any details about what actually happened or they surmise happened to Robert - if someone else finds out please post
thanks

BJ Id like to blow up their dirty mugs
and use them for dart boards - the dirty lowdown
@#$@%#%

BOISE — A grand jury indictment paints a graphic picture of the death of 8-year-old Robert Manwill and the alleged roles his mother, Melissa Scott Jenkins, and her boyfriend, Daniel Ehrlick, played.

Fourth District Judge Deborah Bail read aloud the grand jury indictment this morning in Ada County court. The document states Ehrlick brutally beat Manwill using his hands, feet, knees or fists over a prolonged period of time. The beating caused abdominal injuries and head injuries, including brain swelling and internal bleeding from which Manwill died.

The indictment also states that Ehrlick intended either to commit aggravated battery or intended to torture and kill Manwill. Jenkins aided and abetted in the beating, according to the indictment.

In addition to the first degree murder charges, Ehrlick and Jenkins also face charges for failing to report Manwill's death to police.

The couple did not enter a plea on the charges. They are expected to enter a plea at their next court appearance at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 1.

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BJ, THANKS for posting Robert's picture, & for posting the ARROGANT pictures of the scumbags too.

There is already a thread that was started last night in the Lounge. Linda Marie merged the threads and they are all in one place now. I am moving this bask to the Lounge as it truly is Breaking News!!

Please make sure - before posting - to look in the Lounge first to see if a thread has already been started, and also, please only post 10% of the thread and always add the link!!

Thanks!!

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Above is another link with details of the crime.
Also it says that Melissa Jenkins is illiterate and cannot ready or write

I couldnt find their names under The Accused

artgal16 wrote:I couldnt find their names under The Accused

There names are now under the accused but the post is in the lounge for now. Hope this clears up any confusion!!!

Artgal,

Thanks for the LINK today on these murderers. As of last night, it hadn't been released so I was glad to get your link to read up on them.

Now that I have, have shed a few tears, I am now so angry I would like to kick & beat the two of them, just for a minute. They are considering the DEATH PENALTY for the male, a convicted FELON, for the DEATH PENALTY. JHMO, the mother deserves it also, I bet Robert begged his mother to save him while he was screaming & crying, help him, just makes me sick!

I hope they are in the GENERAL population, just long enough till they are beaten half to death & their cries fall on deaf ears, then they can move them to isolation.

IMO, there is no place in a sane world where these people could exist, how do such EVIL people FIND each other?

The find each other easily. The mother being illiterate interests me too. I agree the penalty they get should be the same. Robert suffered terribly at this maniacs hand. Didnt anyone in those apartments hear anything? Can you inflict such punishment without cries from the victim? It said it was over a prolonged period of time. Another time the system failed a child and one who had already lost a half=brother to murder. Can lightening strike a family twice? Yes it can, Robert Manwills father as well bears responsibility here = he could have insisted that if visitation was allowed it be MONITORED. Why didnt he? Im sorry if it sounds like Im blaming him too, but I am! Im so sick and tired of this. Inaction on his part makes him also part of this tragedy. Dont think if it were my child that I would have let that woman get within one foot of him unmonitored. He had the right on his side to ask for it, and Im sure he probably could have gotten a supervised visit, especially with the boyfriends record
there as well. Why didnt he?

Artgal,

You are exactly right on. The mother had been given back the child she harmed & was in custody of him. The bio mother had harmed another child & Roberts step mother had murdered a child. The mother tried to get the other kids to lie for the boyfriend.

I didn't think about it until you made the point, his BIO father holds a LOT OF RESPONSIBILITY here. He could have demanded MONITORED visitation but didn't. Was he so desperate to get a break from Robert that he was willing to take the risk?

We saw this too in Nevaeh Bucananon's murder. Her mother was supposed to be watching Nevaeh for the grandmother as the MOTHER HAD LOST CUSTODY. The mother WASN't watching Nevaeh, now she had been murdered & died a horrible death of being buried alive & then covered with concrete.

Something has GOT TO CHANGE to protect these children. Sterilzation, imo, is a good start.

Dont forget the horror visited on Emma Thompson -again by her mothers boyfriend. Her mother is a nurse and tried to get the other children to lie about what happened. Only the harshest penalities will do for them but also we need some judges and social workers with some damn common sense to help these children. I dont know where they are anymore. Common sense has gone out the window - I keep hearing people involved in these cases, neighbors, etc who "suspected" something wrong but sat on their hands and did nothing. Hillary Clinton says it takes a village - well the village is gone destroyed by the lack
of will to do the right thing.

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This link is a repost, BUT, it is the FAMILY TREE of Felons that were in ROBERT's life. Life certainly wasn't fair to this innocent child.

Heinous, atrocious, and cruel = DEATH PENALTY.
Mark Iglarsh at HLN Prime News says the choices are LWOP or Death. Seems to me either choice is too easy for these subhuman specimans. Sometimes I'd like to go back to the Old Testament: An eye for an eye.

Apparently from what I read below this was not a one time incident. Apparently Robert was being beaten this way for a longer period of time that we thought
and it also states she "hid" her son from authorities.
This I do not understand - anyone know anything abou this? Could Robert have been alive when reported missing at first and then killed?

From McClatchy:
Jenkins, 30, a mother of three, had knowledge of the beatings and repeatedly hid her son from authorities and others who might have intervened. She also failed in her duty to seek medical attention for her son's injuries, despite knowing Manwill "was being subjected to escalating physical violence” by Erhlick, according to the indictment.

frogs wrote:Heinous, atrocious, and cruel = DEATH PENALTY.
Mark Iglarsh at HLN Prime News says the choices are LWOP or Death. Seems to me either choice is too easy for these subhuman specimans. Sometimes I'd like to go back to the Old Testament: An eye for an eye.

Hey frogs,

W E L C O M E friend! I watch HLN in the after noon too. I like Mike Iglarsh alot, he has a sense of humor & like I MOST of his legal opinions! (after all, he is a criminal defense attorney but was a former prosecutor! LOL)


Join us on the BLOG for JVM or NG to discuss this case & others, would love to hear your thoughts on the cases! You are RIGHT ON! DEATH PENALTY would only be fair in this case!

this is just too much, i cant bear to think about this right now

OMG, How touching and heartbreaking!!!!!

Attorneys for a 30-year-old Idaho woman and her boyfriend have requested a change in venue for their up-coming murder trial for the death of her 8-year-old son. Melissa Jenkins and Daniel Ehrlick each are charged with first-degree murder in the death of Robert Manwill.
Robert's body was found floating in an irrigation canal a week after he disappeared.

Defense attorneys said moving the trial away from the Boise area was necessary because of the intense publicity surrounding the case. Thousands of volunteers in the Boise area joined the search for Robert during the week he was missing.

Death Not an Accident

After Robert's body was found, authorities said an autopsy report showed that his death was not an accident, but would give no further details.

In 2008, Jenkins also lost custody of Robert's infant half brother after she was accused of fracturing his skull. Ehrlick also has a criminal record.

Also last week, attorneys for Jenkins and Ehrlick requested separate trials.

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Trial dates have been set for the couple accused of brutally killing 8-year-old Robert Manwill.

Judge Darla Williamson, Ada County 4th District Court, decided Manwill's mother, Melissa Jenkins, will be tried after her boyfriend, Daniel Ehrlick.

Williamson said more evidence will be involved in Ehrlick's case.

Ehrlick's trial date has been set for Oct. 4 and Jenkins' will be on Nov. 29.

Williamson said it's likely that Jenkins' trial will have to take place out of Ada County, so it's fair, due to the media attention Erick's trial with likely receive.

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Melissa Jenkins and Daniel Ehrlick will face different juries in their first-degree murder trials later this year in connection with the July death of Jenkins' son Robert Manwill.

Ehrlick's trial will begin first, with jury selection set to begin Sept. 22 and testimony set to begin Oct. 4.

Jenkins' trial is set to begin Nov. 29, but no jury selection date was set by 4th Disrtict Judge Darla Williamson Thursday because she wants to see how media coverage of the Ehrlick trial affects the ability to pick an impartial jury in Ada County.

Ada County prosecutors wanted the Jenkins trial to go first, but Williamson opted for Ehrlick to go first at the request of defense attorneys.

Ehrlick's attorney, public defender Amil Myshin, argued that a Jenkins trial first would have proven to be too prejudicial to their client.

Myshin says Jenkins made incriminating statements against Ehrlick, who was her boyfriend, during the investigation into her 8-year-old son's disappearance. The boy was found dead in the New York Canal about 10 days after he was reported missing.

Having that specific testimony come out in Jenkins' trial would make it almost impossible for Ehrlick to get a fair trial, Myshin said.

There has been no mention in court of Ehrlick making incriminating statements to police about Jenkins, so that specific prejudice appears to be one-way.

Williamson said Thursday that the trials, which were supposed to begin this spring, will not be delayed again.

She warned prosecutors and defense attorneys to stick to evidence discovery deadlines — saying if they were not met, that evidence would not be admissible in the trial.

Prosecutors say Ehrlick beat Manwill in a pattern of "escalating physical violence" that ended in Robert's death "on or about" July 24.

That was the day the boy was reported missing by Ehrlick, sparking a week-long community search effort that drew more than 2,300 volunteers, the FBI and national attention.

Both Jenkins — who prosecutors say knew about the abuse and murder of her son but did nothing about it — and Ehrlick are accused of misleading Boise police for almost two weeks before Manwill's body was found near Kuna.

Jenkins and Ehrlick have been in the Ada County Jail since August, when an Ada County grand jury charged them with first-degree murder.

Both Jenkins and Ehrlick told Williamson Thursday they were willing to give up their right to speedy trial but didn't say anything else.

Like their previous court hearings, both were shackled and dressed in orange Ada County Jail jumpsuits, sitting at opposite ends of the defense table with lawyers sitting between them.

Defense attorneys have filed a motion to move the trial out of Ada County due to intense pretrial publicity, but it appears Williamson will try to pick an Ada County for the Ehrlick case in September before considering that motion.

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The man accused of beating and killing 8-year-old Robert Manwill wants a new layer.
Daniel Ehrlick Jr. was arrested last year and charged with first-degree murder. His arrest came after thousands of people helped look for the missing boy.
Ehrlick filed a motion last Thursday saying he feels his attorneys are "badgering" him.
The public defender's office would not comment on the case.
According to court documents filed by Ehrlick, he want the public defender disqualified from the case.
Ehrlick claims the public defender's office has failed to file motions on his behalf, is badgering him and communication has been extremely difficult between him and his attorneys.
Ehrlick wrote, "public defenders have lied, and misguided me and my case."
Assistant deputy prosecutor Jan Bennetts would not go on camera but said, "it doesn't affect the way we handle the case. We will proceed with the case and handle it in an appropriate fashion, regardless of who is working on the defense."
We did talk with Robert Manwill's aunt Trish Burrill. She says they are anxiously waiting for the trial to start.
Ehrlick's trial is set to start in October. Jury selection will begin in September.
The trial for the Robert Manwill's mother Melissa Jenkins is set to start in November.
Both Jenkins and Ehrlick are charged with first-degree murder.

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Monday November 9, 2009

Attorneys for a 30-year-old Idaho woman and her boyfriend have requested a change in venue for their up-coming murder trial for the death of her 8-year-old son. Melissa Jenkins and Daniel Ehrlick each are charged with first-degree murder in the death of Robert Manwill.

Robert's body was found floating in an irrigation canal a week after he disappeared.

Defense attorneys said moving the trial away from the Boise area was necessary because of the intense publicity surrounding the case. Thousands of volunteers in the Boise area joined the search for Robert during the week he was missing.

Death Not an Accident

After Robert's body was found, authorities said an autopsy report showed that his death was not an accident, but would give no further details.

In 2008, Jenkins also lost custody of Robert's infant half brother after she was accused of fracturing his skull. Ehrlick also has a criminal record.

Also last week, attorneys for Jenkins and Ehrlick requested separate trials.

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Don't know how I missed this and I apologize for letting almost 5 months go by before seeing it.

All these guilty as sin idiots want a change of venue!!

quote Wrap: "All these guilty as sin idiots want a change of venue!!"




You probably missed it because, sadly, there are just too many cases of child victims at the hands of parents across the country to keep up with.

There are dramatic new details coming out in the Robert Manwill's case showing what investigators say the abuse the eight year old endured lead up to his death.

The Idaho Statesman obtained documents that show a repeated pattern of abuse and perhaps the most chilling part is how the abuse was hidden from those who could have saved the little boy's life

The coroner's report shows that 8-year old Robert Manwill died of blunt force trauma and with the new evidence that's being made public it's showing how Robert was abused weeks before his murder.

Almost a year later there's still no justice for 8-year old Robert Manwill. His mother, Melissa Jenkins and her boyfriend Daniel Ehrlick, are accused of murdering the young boy.

The court documents show witnesses describing rough discipline, pinning the boy to the ground, pushing his face against a wall, and hitting Robert.

"There's an allegation that Daniel Ehrlick committed the use of wooden molding to hit Robert," said Idaho Statesman reporter Patrick Orr.

The little boy's mysterious disappearance sparked national attention. Thousands of community members searched high and low for Robert, while his mother insisted she had nothing to do with his disappearance.

"All I really want to say is please, please, help me find my son," said Melissa Jenkins during the search one year ago.

Just a few days after being reported missing police found the little boy dead in a canal. Now his mother is accused of covering up the crime and lying to police. The Idaho Statesman revealed new information from grand jury testimony.

Prosecutors claim for weeks before the boy's death there was a pattern of "escalating physical violence."

Ehrlick is accused of forcing Robert to lie motionless on the ground after "dropping a knee" onto his chest. The couple would also make the little boy eat food "he did not like" until he vomited. And when Health and Welfare workers would come to the mother's home court records reported Robert's mom hid him in a closet so they wouldn't see his bruises.

Now prosecutors want to force Robert's mother to testify against her boyfriend in his trial.

"She's probably the key to the prosecution because she knows better than anybody what happened," said Orr.

On Thursday there's a court hearing to try to force Melissa Jenkins to give that testimony against her boyfriend that could finally reveal what happened to her son.

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Fourth District Judge Darla Williamson postponed Daniel Ehrlick's first-degree murder trial Friday - after jury selection on the case had already begun - saying Ada County prosecutors "put the court in an untenable position."
Williamson had repeatedly told prosecutors and defense attorneys this summer she wanted to begin the trial as scheduled in October.
Ehrlick is accused of beating 8-year-old Robert Manwill in a pattern of "escalating physical violence" last summer that ended in a fatal head injury.
They say Melissa Jenkins - the boy's mother and Ehrlick's girlfriend - knew about the abuse, hid it from state child protection workers and did nothing to stop it.
Both are charged with first-degree murder, though prosecutors have been hoping to hold Ehrlick's trial first so they can force Jenkins to testify against him - under a deal stipulating that nothing she says in his trial can be used against her in hers.
But prosecutors did not hand over results of DNA evidence tests until late September, which Williamson characterized as a "failure." It did not leave enough time for the defense to have that DNA evidence tested before the trial was to begin, she said.
"If the court forces the Ehrlick trial at this time, (Ehrlick's) ability to defend will be prejudiced; and if convicted, in all likelihood the court would be facing a retrial because of this late disclosed evidence," Williamson wrote in her order.
"The court does not want to vacate and reset this trial," Williamson wrote. "The court is left with no choice ."
Jenkins' trial is still scheduled to begin in early January, and now it is possible her trial could go first.
Ehrlick's attorneys, public defender Amyl Myshin and Gus Cahill, told Williamson several times this summer they were frustrated that prosecutors had not turned over DNA evidence in a timely manner, and prosecutors said the testing was taking longer than anticipated.
At a pretrial hearing late this summer, Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Dan Dinger told Williamson that prosecutors decided they were not going to introduce any of the DNA evidence in Ehrlick's trial.
About 300 prospective jurors were brought into the courthouse Wednesday to fill out a questionnaire on whether they could be impartial jurors in the high-profile murder case.
Now it appears those jurors will likely be released from their service. The individual jury selection process - known as voir dire - was supposed to begin Oct. 13.
Manwill's reported disappearance on July 23, 2009, sparked a communitywide search that included more than 2,300 volunteers and the FBI and garnered national attention. It ended in grief about two weeks later when his battered body was found near Kuna in an irrigation canal.

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Daniel Ehrlick, the man accused of killing 8-year-old Robert Manwill was in court Thursday. While attorneys argued about what evidence will be admitted in his trial, we’re learning more about what happened behind the scenes before the boy's body was found in the summer of 2009.
Last month, Ehrlick's former girlfriend, Melissa Jenkins pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting murder. She will be sentenced Aug. 11. Prosecutors will request she serve 25 years in prison without the possibility of parole.
Thursday’s status hearing had attorneys discussing the details about what they want to include or exclude from the upcoming trial. However, the majority of the time was focused on whether evidence from Ehrlick's hospital visit a few days before Robert's body was found will be allowed in court.
Prosecutors say Ehrlick was supposed to interview with police about the disappearance of Robert Manwill on the morning of July 31, 2009, but that interview never happened.
"Apparently somebody comes over to his house extensively to give him a ride to the interview, that person finds him unresponsive, becomes concerned says some, and they believe he may have taken an overdose of medications,” said Gus Cahill, Ehrlick’s attorney.
After the incident, Ehrlick was transported to a local hospital and later admitted to Intermountain Hospital for a mental evaluation. Prosecutors allege Ehrlick faked the overdose to avoid police questioning.
"The circumstances are such that it's clear that he's trying avoid apprehension, he's trying to avoid prosecution, he's trying to avoid what he believes is an imminent arrest,” said Daniel Dinger, Ada County prosecuting attorney.
But Ehrlick's defense team says the prosecution's allegation is irrelevant because their client, regardless of what happened that morning, has a Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.
"The problem that I'm having is that it seems as though it's going to open the door to a potential comment on his right as Fifth Amendment privilege,” said Cahill.
In court, prosecutors insisted the overdose was an act.
“We have medical experts, ER doctors, nurses and others who are involved in this situation who can come in and testify in front of your honor on the record outside the presence of the jury, that in fact the symptoms he was demonstrating, one - were being demonstrated selectively, and two - the way he was behaving was inconsistent how he would behave if all 90 pills had suddenly been consumed,” said Dinger.
Another matter discussed is whether or not nearly eight hours of taped interviews will be used in the trail.
Fourth District Court Judge Darla Williamson will make a decision on these motions at a later date.
Ehrlick's trial is expected to begin in mid-May and last around six weeks.

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Police: Couple uncooperative after boy vanished

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Police said Monday that an Idaho mother and her boyfriend accused in the beating death of the woman's 8-year-old son were uncooperative on the night the child went missing.

Boise Police Sgt. Cole Farmer testified in the first-degree murder trial of Daniel Ehrlick, who has pleaded not guilty in the death of Robert Manwill during the summer of 2009. The boy's body was found in a canal about a week after his disappearance.

Ada County prosecutors say Ehrlick beat Robert to death, then stuffed rocks in the boy's pants pockets and dumped his body in a canal before reporting the child missing.

Melissa Jenkins, the child's mother, has pleaded guilty to aiding in Robert's death as part of an agreement with prosecutors and faces up to 25 years in prison at her August sentencing.

In court Monday, Farmer testified that Ehrlick and Jenkins wouldn't answer direct questions in the hours after the child was reported missing.

"Their answers were all over the place," said Farmer, who testified that the couple's behavior was not typical in cases where a child is reported missing.

Farmer testified that on July 24, 2009, Ehrlick was sweating profusely and breathing heavily when police questioned him about the boy's disappearance at his apartment complex.

"He couldn't calm down," Farmer told jurors.

Boise police detective Glen Rawson testified that when he arrived at the apartment, Ehrlick said: "Why are detectives here?"

"It kind of set me back for a second," Rawson said.

Rawson testified that he grew concerned when, at one point during the search for the missing child, Ehrlick and Jenkins talked about Robert in the past tense.

"The hair on the back on my neck went up," Rawson said.

Ehrlick's trial started May 17 and is expected to last five or six weeks.

Jenkins, who pleaded guilty in January, had lost custody of Robert in 2008 but had visitation rights. Robert lived primarily with his father in New Plymouth, Idaho, and was visiting his mother the summer he disappeared.

Prosecutors have said Ehrlick and Jenkins abused Robert and would hide him in a closet or a junk room when social workers visited the home to check on Jenkins' other son, an infant who had been previously removed from the home.

Ehrlick's defense lawyers have pointed blame at Jenkins, telling jurors she was responsible for much of the abuse that prosecutors have blamed on Ehrlick.



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Ehrlick got angry with cops during interrogation


BOISE -- Now in week six, prosecutors are continuing their case against Daniel Ehrlick, who's accused of murdering his then-girlfriend's son Robert Manwill.
Prosecutors focused on one roughly 24-hour period nearly a week after Ehrlick reported Robert missing. That day, police and FBI agents interviewed and interrogated Ehrlick for hours.
The first interview was videotaped and went for about an hour-and-a-half. During that interview an FBI agent talks with Ehrlick, mostly about possible suspects.
That agent told the jury he was primarily focused on Ehrlick, Jenkins and Ehrlick's father at that point. For a while he gave Ehrlick chances to implicate or accuse Jenkins, but Ehrlick never did.
In another attempt to try and find out where Robert is the agent suggested maybe there was an accident with Robert and he panicked.
"My point is it makes a big difference to us if this is something that was an accident that can get fixed or that we can understand," now retired FBI Special Agent Jeffrey Blevins told Ehrlick.
"I had nothing to do with this," Ehrlick said.
"I understand," Blevins said.
"No you don't," Ehrlick responded.
Eventually, Ehrlick gets angry, pushes his chair away and moves to leave several times. After that interview, a Boise Police detective confronted him in the hall.
Jurors heard that audio today as well; police by this point were directly telling Ehrlick they were suspicious of him.
"This is your only chance to assist us because when we let you go and you want to not cooperate again and we find that body, your world will come to an end at that moment, and it will come hard. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Detective Mark Vucinich said on the recording.
"I do," Ehrlick responded.
"Right now you're leading me to believe that you have a lot more information than you're telling us because you're not acting like at appropriate parent that has just lost their child. At all," Vucinich said.
By the end of the day, Ehrlick agreed he'd come back the next day and offer the truth, but Ehrlick didn't go back to police the next morning.
Instead, he was taken to the hospital for a possible overdose of anti-anxiety medication. Doctors today testified he had not taken a toxic amount. Prosecutors say he was trying to fake a suicide attempt to avoid police questioning that morning.
While prosecutors say Ehrlick's behavior around police was controlling and inconsistent with innocence, Ehrlick's attorneys maintain those same interviews prove he was being cooperative by volunteering to answer questions for hours (he was not under arrest).
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Jury foreman explains quick verdict in Ehrlick trial


BOISE -- The foreman of the jury that convicted Daniel Ehrlick of the first degree murder of 8-year-old Robert Manwill explains how they reached a verdict in just over two hours.
"I thought it was going to be easier than it was. It was an emotionally draining trial," jury foreman George Tway said.
He explained it was tough to hear some of the information and see some evidence, but said the result was justice.
"It was a very emotional experience. The little boy that's killed, and having to deal with that, and it was a brutal murder, and so it was difficult to hear all the facts and look at the pictures, but we needed to find justice," Tway said.
Inside the jury room
Tway gives a lot of credit to the way all of the jurors, including the alternates who weren't a part of the deliberation, took notes and really paid attention during the trial.
"I was really impressed with all 15 jurors," Tway said. "There was a group of people that worked very, very hard. There wasn't one person you felt wasn't taking notes, wasn't keeping up, wasn't really involved in the trial. It was really an honor to serve with all those folks."
Tway says each juror filled up several yellow legal pads of notes and would privately review their notes daily. So, he explained once the jury began deliberating, everyone had a good handle on the case.
"We did listen to a portion of one tape. We did read portions of some of the transcripts from some of the tapes. We looked at some of the pictures. We looked at some of the evidence that was there. But we didn't need to re-try the whole thing because we did have all the notes, and we did know what the evidence was," Tway said.
Tway says they took a vote by secret ballot to reach the unanimous verdict.
'It was very obvious that he was guilty'
The trial lasted 28 days and spanned seven weeks. Out of those many days, here's what Tway said stands out:
"I think the testimony about Robert and what an energetic, fun-loving boy he was had to really stick out," Tway said. "And then of course, the interviews that Daniel Ehrlick had with the FBI and with the police department certainly were very important in the evidence we saw."
Ehrlick's own comments to officers and on the stand, Tway says, are what lead to his guilty vote.
"For me, and I can only speak for me, it had to be, you know, his own words or his own testimony on the stand and his interviews with the officers. He contradicted himself. He had lied to Health and Welfare. He didn't have a straight story on what happened. So it was very obvious that he was guilty," Tway said.
Tway added, Ehrlick would have been found guilty without testifying.
"I don't think his taking the stand... We were surprised he did, but I don't know that his taking the stand made too much of a difference," Tway said. "We had heard all of that same testimony or evidence when he did the interviews with the police and FBI, and he didn't change that story too much. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't a credible witness."
Jurors thought Melissa Jenkins would testify
With several motions filed, it appeared Robert's mother Melissa Jenkins might testify about her role in her son's death. She pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting Robert's murder. The jury never heard that information though, as the state did not call Jenkins.
"Listening to the evidence as it came in, you kind of thought that you would hear from Melissa Jenkins. I think some people on the jury knew that Melissa had pled guilty to it, some people didn't. But I think we all expected that she would probably take the stand," Tway said.
While they may have expected her testimony, Tway says it didn't really matter that she never took the stand.
"I don't think it made any difference whatsoever, and I think that's probably why she didn't take the stand because I don't think it made a bit of difference," Tway said.
Proof beyond a reasonable doubt
Ehrlick's attorney Gus Cahill called it a "lack of proof case" from the beginning. During his closing argument, Cahill asked the jurors to seriously consider their decisions, making sure they could face themselves long after the verdict.
Tway says after they'd taken a vote in the jury room, they discussed if each felt good about their decision. He says they all absolutely felt comfortable.
"We all agreed that yes, he's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and we can look ourselves in the mirror and know that we made the right decision," Tway said.
A local jury: What they knew going in
The jury foreman says he was living in Nevada when the search for Robert was going on in 2009, but he knew a little about the case going in. Tway's wife had helped search for Robert, and he knew Ehrlick had been arrested. Those were things he put on his 55-page questionnaire potential jurors answered before being selected.
"One of the questions was, do you have any inkling that he may be guilty? I mean, you have to be honest, he was arrested, so I mean you kind of start with that knowing that he was arrested, but you still have to look at the evidence and see if in fact he was guilty."
Despite some having prior knowledge, Tway says he and the other jurors were able to put aside that information and look at the case piece by piece, as presented in court.
'Without a doubt, it's our duty'
Tway said while taking time out of his life was emotionally draining, he knew serving was important.
"It was tough for the jury to sit through the trial, but I mean, nothing compared to what it had to have been for Charles Manwill [Robert's father] to sit through that trial, I mean, it had to have been really hard on him," Tway said.
Tway also owns a new travel agency and admits the seven week trial made keeping up with his work difficult. But again, he encourages anyone called for jury duty to take it seriously and try to serve if at all possible.
"Without a doubt it's our duty to do that," Tway said. "I mean, you and I would not want to be on trial with a bunch of people that just volunteered, just love to be on jury duty. We would want to be tried by people who were our peers and who take their duty seriously to serve, so I think if you're called for jury duty, it's something you need to do if you possibly can."
Ehrlick will be sentenced by a judge on Sept. 2. He faces a maximum of life in prison without parole. Melissa Jenkins, Robert's mother, will be sentenced for her role next month.
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I'm so glad that this creep was found guilty of first degree murder and that the 'Mom' of little Robert plead guilty of aiding and abetting her son's murder. Justice will be served in little Robert's case. What a difference a hard working jury makes....
RIP dear child, Robert Manwill.....

I'm bumping this so everyone will see who has been convicted of murdering this poor child.

Melissa Jenkins, Daniel Ehrlick will now be sentenced on same day in September, Sept. 2
By Patrick Orr - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Published: 08/06/11

Melissa Jenkins may not have testified against Daniel Ehrlick in his just-completed trial for murdering her 8-year-old in 2009, but now they will share a courtroom in September when they find out how long they will go to prison.
The 31-year-old Jenkins, who pleaded guilty in February to aiding and abetting the second degree murder of her son Robert Manwill, was supposed to be sentenced Aug. 11. The hearing has now been rescheduled for Sept. 2 — the same day Ehrlick will be sentenced.
Ehrlick, who could be sent to prison for life after an Ada County jury found him guilty in June of first degree murder, is scheduled to begin his sentencing hearing at 9 a.m. in front of 4th District Judge Darla Williamson.
Jenkins’ hearing will begin after Ehrlick’s is finished on Sept. 2.
Jenkins’ Aug. 11 hearing was moved over scheduling conflicts with defense attorneys.
It is unclear if there will be victim-impact statements or any other testimony at either hearing, but both Ehrlick and Jenkins will get a chance to address the court — or victims —  if they want to.
Jenkins has agreed to serve a 25 year prison sentence as part of a deal with Ada County prosecutors, who dropped a first degree murder charge in exchange for her guilty plea. Prosecutors want Jenkins to serve the 25 years without possibility of parole, but Jenkins can ask for less fixed time.
When Jenkins pleaded guilty, she said she felt prosecutors could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ehrlick killed her son. She also admitted that she helped hide her bruised son from Idaho Department of Health and Welfare workers. She has never said publicly if Ehrlick ever admitted to killing the boy or disposing of his body.
Ehrlick’s trial took almost two months. Much of the evidence police developed against Ehrlick was through statements Jenkins made to police and others, and prosecutors worked to make sure they could call her to testify against Ehrlick if they wanted her to. But they never did.
Ehrlick has consistently denied killing the boy and even testified on his own behalf at the end of the trial. Jurors weren’t convinced. It took them less than three hours, following a two-month-long trial, to convict him of first degree murder.

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Melissa Jenkins tearfully apologizes during her sentencing


BOISE -- Before she was sentenced on Friday, Melissa Jenkins made a tearful apology directly to Robert Manwill's father for not protecting their son.
Jenkins was sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole for aiding and abetting second-degree murder for not doing something to stop the abuse of Robert, who died in July of 2009.
Jenkins sentence comes as part of a plea agreement. Prosecutors could ask for up to 25 years without the possibility of early release. They got what they asked for, but the judge said she deserved more punishment than the agreement allowed.
"You deserve the worst of punishments for what you allowed to happen to Robert," Judge Darla Williamson said. "Bottom line is I'd like to impose a greater sentence than 25, but I can't."
Robert's father, Charles Manwill, addressed Williamson in court during Jenkins' sentencing. He said he believed the court would give Robert justice, and added that he feels disbelief about what Jenkins did.
"The heinous nature of this crime and the fact that a biological parent could allow this to happen to their child whether she actively participated or not is beyond human comprehension," Charles Manwill said.
Charles Manwill's wife, Afton Manwill, who is Robert's stepmother and helped raise him, also spoke to the judge in court. She explained that Jenkins could have made one phone call to them, and they would have brought Robert home. She explained Robert stayed with his mom because he really loved her.
"There were so many people around here that would have helped. All [Jenkins] would have had to do is say one word to them," Afton Manwill said. "The love that Robert felt for his mom killed him, but she couldn't take 10 seconds to get him out of a situation that he was obviously in a bad way. She didn't have the courage to say anything."
Prosecutors presented several witnesses who said they saw Jenkins physically harm Robert, including biting his arm and hitting him in the face.
Just before the judge announced her sentencing decision, Jenkins stood and read a statement directly to Charles Manwill.
"I know that all I had to do was to ask for help. It's my fault that Robert's not with us. Robert would be with us now if I'd call you [Charles Manwill], and I know that. I'm guilty. You're the best dad Robert could ever have had. I should have asked for you to help. I want to go back but I can't," Jenkins said.
Charles Manwill did not make eye contact with Jenkins and looked straight ahead as she spoke.
"I do not deserve your forgiveness, but I ask one day that you will. I'm going to prison where I belong, and I hope one day Robert and you can forgive me," Jenkins said
Judge Williamson told Jenkins she failed Robert, saying everyone knows she could have prevented Robert's death. Williamson also told her she didn't believe Jenkins when she cried in court or apologized.
"I'm not buying it that you have all that remorse. I'm not buying it that you're all that sad about this and that apology you're making Mr. Manwill and the fact that you appeared to be crying the courtroom. I just don't think that's sincere. You know, I just don't think that you care," Williamson said.
Before Jenkins' sentencing, her former boyfriend Daniel Ehrlick was sentenced for first-degree murder and failure to report a death. The judge sentenced him to life without parole.
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