7/19 - Nick McGuffin guilty of manslaughter in the death of Leah Freeman/ Nicholas McGuffin sentenced to 10 years/ Judge will hear McGuffin's motion on 9/9/2011/BREAKING NEWS: JUDGE WILL NOT ALLOW A NEW TRIAL!!!!!

[mommyof3kids]

I am just glad that the World is at least taking the time to update their website with information and updates! I only wish we had a LIVE FEED like CA's Trial!

[mommyof3kids]

Oh and BTW, I was there (Coquille) this weekend and I hear there was TONS of Media surrounding the Courthouse last Thursday, so that is a good sign as well! I know BJ has us covered, but I too will also post any updates I can find!!

[mommyof3kids]

Wittnesses in the Nick McGuffin murder trial testified today that McGuffin had smoked marijuana before going to pick up Leah Freeman the night of her death.
Several wittnesses with McGuffin that night said that they were too high to remember exact details from the evening.


Read more: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[mommyof3kids]

Testimony in Nick McGuffin’s murder trial today included a witness who saw a dark car approach Leah Freeman after she was last seen on Central Avenue. The witness identified the car as looking similar to McGuffin’s Mustang.

Read more: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[lisette]

Friends testify in day 2 of McGuffin murder trial

Coquille (KMTR) - The state called a handful of witnesses this morning, most friends of either Leah Freeman or Nick McGuffin. Cheri Mitchell was Leah Freeman's best friend at the time she disappeared; she's also one of the last people to have seen Freeman alive. In her testimony Monday morning, Mitchell recounted the events of the night her friend went missing, and her concerns about the relationship with Nick McGuffin.

Cheri Mitchell says she knew Nick McGuffin as a "druggie" in high school, and she was always concerned about her friend getting involved with him. Once Freeman and McGuffin began dating, Mitchell says things changed, “She started using drugs. She stopped being bubbly and fun to be around, and kind of became like, serious and dramatic." Mitchell testified that Freeman was always aware of her disapproval, but she didn't express it outright until June 28, 2000, the night Leah Freeman went missing. The two were at Mitchell's home, and got into an argument, when Mitchell told Freeman exactly what she thought of Nick McGuffin.

"I didn't think they were very good together,” Mitchell said, “They didn't bring out the best in each other they brought out the worst in each other."

Mitchell says Freeman walked away from the house, and Nick McGuffin arrived shortly after, when he was supposed to Freeman up.

As for what happened next, the prosecution and defense will each present their own version of the events of that night.

Brent Bartley also took the stand Monday. He was with Freeman and McGuffin for part of the night Freeman went missing. Bartley was questioned about McGuffin’s car. He drove a mustang, and Bartley said the trunk was usually pretty messy, until after Leah Freeman disappeared. Bartley testified that after Freeman went missing, McGuffin’s trunk was clean.

The trial is expected to last three weeks, and testimony continues Tuesday.

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[Guest]

Thanks for the update lisette.

Brent Bartley also took the stand Monday. He was with Freeman and McGuffin for part of the night Freeman went missing. Bartley was questioned about McGuffin’s car. He drove a mustang, and Bartley said the trunk was usually pretty messy, until after Leah Freeman disappeared. Bartley testified that after Freeman went missing, McGuffin’s trunk was clean.

I wish we knew if Bartley was done testifying or is there more he is now admitting to? Does he still have immunity?

[Nama]

Witnesses continued to paint a picture of the events before and after Leah Freeman disappeared on June 28, 2000, as prosecutors continued to whittle away at the clean-cut image of the man accused of killing his high school girlfriend more than a decade ago.

Nick McGuffin faces a charge of murder in Freeman's death. Her body was found thrown off the side of a road in August 2000. A grand jury indicted McGuffin last year.

Sherrie Mitchell, who considered Leah to be her best friend at the time, testified to the changes in Freeman after she started dating McGuffin.

"She started using drugs, um, she stopped being, like, bubbly and happy and fun to be around and kind of became, like, serious and dramatic," Mitchell testified Monday, "and she was really jealous, which I didn't remember her being before."

Prosecutors also called McGuffin's friend, Brent Bartley, who testified that he noticed a change in the trunk of McGuffin's Mustang after Freeman's disappearance. He told the court the trunk looked "clean."

"What about the trunk?" asked Chief Deputy District Attorney Erika Soublet.

"Dirty, because that's where he threw all his stuff, usually, then after it was clean," Bartley said.

"I'm sorry," Soublet said, "can you say again, what?"

"It was clean," Bartley said.

"And when was that?"

"After this all happened."

"By 'this all happened,' you mean after Miss Freeman went missing?" Soublet asked.

Bartley answered, "Yes."

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[Nama]

[Nama]

Sorry about the bad quality of this video

[Nama]

The Leah Freeman murder trial resumed with the prosecution delving into the culture of drinking and drug-use that they allege Nick McGuffin brought Freeman into as they dated.

Brent Bartley, a friend of McGuffin's, testified that he and his girlfriend, Nicky Price, gathered with McGuffin and Freeman for a night of movies and drinking at his grandparents home, as they were away, on the night of June 28, 2000.
That was the night the 15 year old teen disappeared, but Bartley also testified that he had trouble remembering some of the events because, besides being 11 years ago, he had been drinking and smoking marijuana.
He did tell Chief Deputy District Attorney Erika Soublet that he remembered his friend's Ford Mustang, which usually had a dirty trunk, had a clean trunk after Freeman went missing.
Under cross-examination, Defense Attorney Shaun McCrea sought to dispel an assertion from the prosecution earlier in the trial that a witness had recalled seeing two men, who matched the description of McGuffin and Bartley, walking on Fairview Mountain late that night. They reportedly had a blond girl with them.
When asked if he was on Fairview Mountain that night or early the next morning, Bartley stated he had not.
The last person known to have talked with Leah Freeman before the disappearance was her friend Sherrie Mitchell.
Mitchell noted that she had seen changes in her best friend after she started dating the 18-year-old McGuffin during her Freshman year at Coquille High School.
She said her friend had started using drugs after dating McGuffin, who she said was a known "druggie," and had become more jealous.
The two, she said, seemed to bring out the worst in each other, noting that both were flirtatious and jealous, causing arguments.
When Freeman had been at her home on the evening of the 28th, "hanging-out," she wrote a note to Mitchell as the two listened to music in her room.
Mitchell read the letter in court, which included an update on Freeman's relationship with McGuffin. "...Nick and I have been getting along a lot better," Freeman wrote, "I wasn't really mad at Nick when I got out to come over to the house, I just didn't feel like being around him anymore tonight. I love him to death, but that boy gets an attitude sometimes..."
Before she had found the note in her room, Mitchell and Freeman had argued after Mitchell's mother wouldn't let Sherrie go jogging with Leah.
Discussion again turned to her relationship with McGuffin. "They didn't bring out the best in each other, they brought out the worst in each other and, you know, it wasn't something I had really told her before and so I was just honest. I told her I didn't think that they were a great couple."
District Attorney Paul Frasier asked how Leah Freeman responded to that. Mitchell replied, "She said, 'I'm sorry I'm not good enough for you'...and she walked away.
Mitchell testified that it was pretty soon after that that McGuffin arrived at her home looking for Freeman.

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[mommyof3kids]

I know there have been a lot of the same articles, but this one seemed to have more info then some of the others

COQUILLE -- She thought Leah would come back.
Cheri Mitchell took another deep breath as she sat on the witness stand waiting for the next question during her testimony at Nick McGuffin's trial for Leah Freeman's 2000 death.
Eleven years ago, Mitchell had a big fight with her best friend.
Fifteen-year-old Freeman was dating McGuffin, who was older and a 'known druggie," Mitchell said. She did not approve.
What was worse, Mitchell testified, during the relationship Freeman began using drugs as well.
'I said I thought she was better than doing drugs," Mitchell said.
But that wasn't all. As the two friends stood in Mitchell's front yard, Mitchell spoke her mind.
Freeman's relationship with 18-year-old McGuffin was toxic, she said. They were not good together. They brought out the worst in each other.
Freeman did not take the lecture well.
'She said, 'I'm sorry I'm not good enough for you,' and walked away," Mitchell testified.
'I thought she would come back."
Troubled friendship
When Freeman didn't turn around, Mitchell went back into her house.
A short while later, McGuffin came to pick up his girlfriend.
He had dropped her off at Mitchell's house two hours earlier, around 7 p.m.
Freeman looked a little peeved coming out of the car, Mitchell testified.
'Nick hadn't wanted her to come in by herself," Mitchell said. He thought the two friends would fight over his relationship with Freeman, she said.
Still, the rendezvous was fun. Mitchell and Freeman listened to music and gossiped.
It turned south when the friends decided to go jogging a little before 9 p.m. and Mitchell's mom said no.
In the past, McGuffin had picked Freeman up in the middle of the girls' jog, and Mitchell was left to come home alone in the dark. It made her mom nervous.
Freeman overheard the conversation.
'She walked straight outside," Mitchell said. 'She said, 'Your mom hates me.'"
No, Mitchell replied, she just disapproved of her decision making, of late.
When Freeman started dating McGuffin, her personality changed, Mitchell testified.
When they first met 'she was hilarious," Mitchell said Monday, crying. 'She was fun, goofy -- that little ball of energy nobody could keep up with. Everybody wanted to be around her."
But Mitchell said the drugs and McGuffin changed that.
'She stopped being bubbly and happy and fun to be around," she testified. 'They would fight in the high school parking lot in front of everybody. Leah slapped him."
Leah's words
Mitchell wasn't the only one to notice the change.
Freeman was an avid letter and journal writer during her life. So on Monday, Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier let jurors hear Freeman's story from Freeman's perspective, with letters she wrote to McGuffin.
In the first letter Freeman seemed lovesick. 'I can't believe I miss you as much as I do and it is only Friday," Freeman wrote. 'Have you noticed how much more comfortable I am around you?"
Freeman goes on to tell McGuffin how much she loves him, and apologize for not telling him more often.
When she wrote the second letter, Freeman was less happy.
'I don't understand how you can be so pissed at me," the letter began. Apparently, the two had a fight about another boy flirting with Freeman.
'You can't keep treating me like I'm just your bitch.
'I depress all my friends because you depress me.
'With all these problems I think we would have broken up by now."
In the final letter Frasier read Monday, Freeman asked McGuffin for a break from the relationship.
'We've forgotten how much we need each other," she wrote. 'Would time apart help?"
Still, the evening of June 28, Freeman did not want to hear that from her best friend, Mitchell said. And she stormed off.
'You had to have just missed her," Mitchell told McGuffin a few minutes after Freeman left her house. 'She's walking home, you'll catch her."
McGuffin had just come from smoking marijuana by Johnson Mill Pond, several witnesses testified.
Earlier in the day, McGuffin and Freeman were picking out movies with McGuffin's friend Brent Bartley. After Freeman left Cheri Mitchell's house, the three and Bartley's girlfriend had planned to drink alcohol and watch movies at Bartley's grandparents' house.
But Freeman was not where she was supposed to be.
The walk down Central
Many people saw Freeman as she made her way down Central Avenue. Mark Kirn and Mike McAdams watched her pass Hunter's Eatery and Creamery while they scarfed down hamburgers. Heide Crook drove past her as she walked by McKay's. Thomas Bounds saw her standing in the parking lot of the high school.
Then 11-year-old Alicia Hartwell spotted her walking past the high school. Hartwell was riding home from a church activity with a friend's family.
She spotted Freeman along the road, then glanced back as her van drove past.
Hartwell saw a dark, older-model car with one round headlight dimmer than the other pull up next to Freeman.
'She stopped and spoke to someone in the car," Hartwell testified. 'It appeared that she had known who it was."
She couldn't remember exactly what time it was.
McGuffin drove a dark blue Mustang that had a burnt-out headlight later that night.
During the cross examination, McGuffin's lawyers pointed out that in 2000 Hartwell told police and the grand jury that the vehicle she saw that night was a compact car.
Around the time Hartwell's van drove past, Bounds came back from his trip to town and spotted Freeman again, this time in the phone booth in front of the Shell gas station, across from the high school.
About 10 minutes later -- after he got home to his apartment behind the gas station -- he heard a girl scream, he testified.
Reporter Jessie Higgins can be reached at 541-269-1222 ext. 240 or [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].


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[Guest]

Thanks mommy. We appreciate the updates. Nick was pulled over the night of the 28th. Was it because he had a head light out?

[Nama]

A witness at Nick McGuffin’s murder trial said that McGuffin told him he did find Leah Freeman after she left her friend’s house around 9 p.m. June 28, 2000, even though he told police he did not.
Dennis Scott Hamilton he testified this morning that years after Freeman’s death he asked McGuffin if he had anything to do with Freeman’s disappearance.
McGuffin told him that he had nothing to do with it. He went to pick up Freeman from Cheri Mitchell’s house that night, but Freman had already left. He said that he caught up with Freeman on Central Avenue, but the two of them got into an argument and he dropped Freeman off by McKay’s.
Except McGuffin told police he never caught up to Freeman.
Hamilton also said that he and McGuffin later went to the spot on Lee Valley Road where Freeman's body was found. He said McGuffin looked over the edge and said, "It's almost like I can see her lying down there."
In cross-examination, defense attorney Robert McCrea asked Hamilton whether that had happened before or after Freeman's body was found.
Hamilton said he didn't remember.
McCrea then read a series of statements Hamilton had to police made during the initial investigation and more recently, after the investigation was re-opened. McCrea pointed out inconsistencies in the statements, saying his story about that night has changed.
Hamilton altogether denied making some of the statements, saying he wouldn't have said those things because they weren’t true.
Testimony continued in the afternoon. Read more in Wednesday's World.

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[Guest]

Well now that is very incriminating. He did catch up to her and they got in a fight.

Hamilton also said that he and McGuffin later went to the spot on Lee Valley Road where Freeman's body was found. He said McGuffin looked over the edge and said, "It's almost like I can see her lying down there."
In cross-examination, defense attorney Robert McCrea asked Hamilton whether that had happened before or after Freeman's body was found.
Hamilton said he didn't remember.

:jaw dropping:

[Wrapitup]

From what we're reading, I think Nick is toast!

[Nama]

Once again, witness testimony in the Nick McGuffin murder trial turns to establishing a timeline of events, the night Leah Freeman went missing.

One thing that's for sure in the early part of the prosecutions case, is that a decade old case makes clear recollection difficult for witnesses.
The proceedings began Wednesday morning in Judge Richard Barron's courtroom, with the prosecution calling on four people who claimed to have been with, or seen McGuffin the night Freeman went missing.
The first being Nick's high school friend Brett Mauro who claimed he saw nick at about 9:40 that night at the Fast Mart.
"I asked the defendant to go somewhere with me and he said 'no' his girlfriend was gone. And I said, 'she can't be gone she has to be somewhere' and he said, 'no, she's gone.'" says Mauro. Coos County District Attorney Paul Frasier follows up by asking, "And did he repeat that she was gone?" "4,5,6 times," Mauro replied.
What was perhaps the most shocking testimony also led to the some of the sharpest exchanges in the trial as McGuffin's friend Danny Hamilton claimed McGuffin and Freeman met up together after McGuffin dropped her off at Sherrie Mitchell's house.
McGuffin has always claimed he never saw Freeman again after he dropped her off that evening.
"She was supposed to be going to a friends house and I think they may have got into an argument about it or what not, and some point or another, they met up again in his car. Nick found her and they were arguing and she got out of the car somewhere around McKay's and Nick said he drove around a loop and went back to go find her and never could find her," says Hamilton.
But the defense had credibility issues with Hamilton, when he said he couldn't remember saying certain things to detectives investigating the case.
McGuffin's defense attorney Robert McCrea asks Hamilton, "did you make that statement to the detective?" "Not that I remember, no... like you're saying this is ten years ago, it's hard to remember some of it. I remember the stuff in my mind that seemed funny but other than that I don't remember all that other stuff," says Hamilton.
Kristen Steinhoff-Ramsey and Tina Mims also took the stand testifying to seeing McGuffin that night.
It is anticipated the defense could start presenting their case by the end of the week.

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[Wrapitup]

[Wrapitup]

By KCBY News and KVAL News Published: Jul 12, 2011 at 3:16 PM PDT

COQUILLE, Ore. - A witness who claimed to hear a man accused of murdering his high school girlfriend in 2000 telling someone to "watch her mouth and not talk to the cops" broke down in court Tuesday, saying she tried to go to police a decade ago but no one would listen.

Nick McGuffin is on trial for the 2000 murder of 15-year-old Leah Freeman. She vanished in June of that year. Her body turned up in August.

Prosecution witness Kristen Steinhauff told she court she smoked meth with McGuffin the night Leah disappeared - and that McGuffin tired to have sex with her that night.

She told the court "it was weird because Leah was missing."

Another witness, Tina Mims, said that after Leah vanished, she overhead McGuffin telling Steinhauff "watch her mouth and not talk to the cops" and something about "the back of a car being cleaned out."

That testimony sent an audible gasp through the courtroom.

Mims then broke down crying, saying she tried to go to police 10 years ago and say something but that no one would listen.

This is a developing story. Watch this website and its TV affiliate at 5, 6 and 11 Tuesday for updates.

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[charminglane]

Mims then broke down crying, saying she tried to go to police 10 years ago and say something but that no one would listen.

Right, no one listens when a young woman vanishes and then turns up dead later.

[lisette]

Testimonies Reveal McGuffin's Behavior During Disappearance

July 12, 2011

By Sharon Ko

COQUILLE, Ore. -- Prosecutors worked to paint a picture of Nicholas McGuffin as someone who acted strangely after his girlfriend's disappearance. Even one who would threaten his own friends.

One witness Kristin Steinhoff-ramsey told jurors the night Freeman went missing, she and McGuffin almost slept together.

But she stopped because she said it was weird that he pursued her while Leah was missing.

The defense countered that McGuffin worried his girlfriend might be cheating on him and sleeping with a friend was an act of revenge.

Days later, Steinhoff-ramsey says McGuffin threatened her when he found out she was talking to police.

"Threatened you to keep your mouth shut or you'd wind up like Leah?" asked Erika Soublet, prosecuting attorney.

"I don't remember," said Kristin Steinhoff-ramsey.

The state revealed a hand-written note from Steinhoff-ramsey saying she felt scared and McGuffin was acting weird.

Another witness testified that she overheard the defendant threatening her.

The defense wanted to know why she didn't tell investigators before last year?

She says the police chief wouldn't listen to her.

"I put forth an effort to do what was right with no help. I was filing for felony probation at that time and could not get anyone to listen as far as the Coquille Police Department," says Tina Mims.

Another of McGuffin's friends, Scott Hamilton, told jurors a week after Freeman was still missing he and Nick got out of the car near a gravel pit.

"Nick kept on looking over the bank and talking about how, if he could see her laying down there by some rock or stump," says Hamilton.

The defense countered maybe McGuffin said that because he was mourning.

When the case was reopened, Hamilton says he called the suspect to tell him he was gonna talk to investigators.

McGuffin said that he could tell them whatever he wanted.

"But then I said you want me to tell them what about you taking me out there? And Nick's like 'Oh. I kind of forgot about that. Well if you would, don't tell them about that,'"says Hamilton.

The prosecution has more witnesses lined up. New witnesses will testify Wednesday.

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[Nama]

[Nama]

Prosecutors worked to paint a picture of Nicholas McGuffin as someone who acted strangely after his girlfriend's disappearance. Even one who would threaten his own friends.

One witness Kristin Steinhoff-ramsey told jurors the night Freeman went missing, she and McGuffin almost slept together.

But she stopped because she said it was weird that he pursued her while Leah was missing.

The defense countered that McGuffin worried his girlfriend might be cheating on him and sleeping with a friend was an act of revenge.

Days later, Steinhoff-ramsey says McGuffin threatened her when he found out she was talking to police.

"Threatened you to keep your mouth shut or you'd wind up like Leah?" asked Erika Soublet, prosecuting attorney.

"I don't remember," said Kristin Steinhoff-ramsey.

The state revealed a hand-written note from Steinhoff-ramsey saying she felt scared and McGuffin was acting weird.

Another witness testified that she overheard the defendant threatening her.

The defense wanted to know why she didn't tell investigators before last year?

She says the police chief wouldn't listen to her.

"I put forth an effort to do what was right with no help. I was filing for felony probation at that time and could not get anyone to listen as far as the Coquille Police Department," says Tina Mims.

Another of McGuffin's friends, Scott Hamilton, told jurors a week after Freeman was still missing he and Nick got out of the car near a gravel pit.

"Nick kept on looking over the bank and talking about how, if he could see her laying down there by some rock or stump," says Hamilton.

The defense countered maybe McGuffin said that because he was mourning.

When the case was reopened, Hamilton says he called the suspect to tell him he was gonna talk to investigators.

McGuffin said that he could tell them whatever he wanted.

"But then I said you want me to tell them what about you taking me out there? And Nick's like 'Oh. I kind of forgot about that. Well if you would, don't tell them about that,'"says Hamilton.

The prosecution has more witnesses lined up. New witnesses will testify Wednesday.

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[NiteSpinR]

[Nama]

Tuesday’s testimony brought to light the difficulties in trying a murder case over a decade after the victim was killed. Several witnesses have made differing statements between 2000 and 2010; some simply don't remember what they told investigators back when Leah Freeman went missing 11 years ago.

Brett Mauro was first on the stand Tuesday. He's a friend of Nick McGuffin's, and says he saw McGuffin the night Freeman disappeared, shortly after she walked away from a friend's house. Mauro testified that the defendant made some interesting statements that night, "I asked the defendant to go somewhere with me, and he said no. His girlfriend was gone. And I said, ‘She can't be gone she has to be somewhere.’ And he said, ‘No she's gone.’" Mauro also said he and McGuffin smoked marijuana together later that night, but he never told investigators about that until 2010.

Another friend of Nick McGuffin, Scott Hamilton took the stand today. He testified about the night Freeman went missing, and a conversation he overheard between McGuffin and another friend that night, "The only thing I heard him say was that he didn't know what to do and he needed help." The defense questioned Hamilton extensively about inconsistencies in statements he's given to law enforcement over the years. Several times Hamilton insisted he never said certain things, or did not remember them.

Kristen Steinhoff testified Tuesday as well. She told the jury the night Leah Freeman went missing, she and McGuffin smoked methamphetamines together, and he tried to have sex with her. Steinhoff said the two stopped before things went too far. She also testified that McGuffin later threatened her, and told her to keep her mouth shut about that night.

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[mommyof3kids]

Just after midnight June 29, 2000, a woman driving up Fairview Road saw two men hauling a blond girl up the mountain.
'My impression was that person was alive, but needed help walking," Jennifer Stokes testified at Nick McGuffin's trial for the 11-year-old murder of Leah Freeman.
Stokes was one of 11 witnesses called by the prosecution Tuesday. The prosecution expects to rest its case this afternoon; defense lawyers will be ready to call witnesses.
The two men, wearing sweatshirts with the hoods pulled over their heads, were supporting the blond girl between them.
It startled Stokes, so she kept driving. She said she was thinking about going back to help the three figures when she saw a pickup parked just around the corner.
Stokes said she decided, since they were walking toward a vehicle, they didn't need her help, and she went home.
The prosecution pressed Stokes further.
Did one of the men resemble Brent Bartley, Nick McGuffin's friend who said he helped McGuffin search for Leah that night?
It could have been Bartley, Stokes answered. She had known Bartley for many years.
McGuffin and Freeman had plans to watch movies and drink alcohol with Bartley and his girlfriend the evening of June 28, 2000, but Freeman went missing a little after 9 p.m.
She left Cheri Mitchell's house around 9 p.m. Witnesses saw her walk down Central Avenue and end up at the high school.
McGuffin told police, he tried to find Freeman by driving down Central Avenue, but never did.
He was seen searching for Freeman at various places around Coquille until roughly 2 a.m.
According to McGuffin's own timeline that he submitted to police in 2000 -- which was read in court Tuesday -- Bartley was with McGuffin searching from roughly 11:40 p.m. to 12:25 a.m.
'I cannot say that it was not Brent Bartley," Stokes testified. 'But I cannot say that it was."
The men walking up Fairview Road appeared to Stokes to have the same height and stature, she said, but she did not see their faces.
They were at milepost 4 when she drove past. Lee Valley Road -- where Freeman's body was found Aug. 3, 2000 -- is at milepost 7.
The truck stood out to Stokes as being 'unusual" but she could not remember why.
'It was not a normal small pickup and not a normal large pickup," she testified.
At the time, Stokes worked as a lab technician at Coquille Valley Hospital with Cathy McGuffin, Nick McGuffin's mother.
Cathy McGuffin drove a pickup. After that night, Cathy McGuffin's truck appeared to have new tires, Stokes said.
Stokes said she tried to tell then-Coquille Police Chief Mike Reaves what she saw when the search for Freeman initially began, but her report was not taken seriously.
'He made me feel like an idiot for coming forward," she testified.
When the case was re-opened in 2010, investigators didn't know she had seen anything.
More witnesses
Other witnesses Tuesday included friends and police officers who testified about McGuffin's actions and demeanor in the days after Freeman went missing.
McGuffin went with Freeman's mother and sister to file a missing person report on June 29, 2000, at 10 a.m. But Coquille police thought Freeman might have just run away, David Hall, the now-retired officer who handled Freeman's case, testified.
The search for Freeman began on July 3 after her shoe turned up on Elm Street, near the gas station parking lot across from the high school where she was last seen. Her other shoe was found on Hudson Ridge two days later.
Coquille Police called in the FBI and later the Coos County Major Crimes Team to assist in the search.
Multiple police from multiple agencies interviewed McGuffin.
McGuffin maintained that Freeman would not have run away without calling him.
He also told multiple officers that he thought Freeman might have been walking by the river, fallen and hit her head on a rock.
'I thought it was strange, off the wall, considering all the other things that could have happened," North Bend Police Officer Buddy Young testified Tuesday.
McGuffin's first police interview was June 30, 2000.
The prosecution played a recording of that interview in court Tuesday.
Eighteen-year-old McGuffin spoke fast, describing Freeman's personality and all the places he had gone looking for her the night she went missing.
'She's like, part of my family," McGuffin said.
McGuffin told police Freeman didn't drink and wouldn't have run away.
'She would have called someone by now," he said. 'She would have at least called me."
Police began eyeing McGuffin as a potential suspect. Officers searched his parents' house and his Mustang, before Freeman's body was discovered.
On July 5, roughly a week after Freeman went missing, Mark Ranger, a detective with the Oregon State Police talked to McGuffin.
'He said, 'Mark, I used to call her my angel,'" Ranger testified.
McGuffin's use of past tense struck Ranger as significant, he said. It meant that McGuffin either knew or thought Freeman wasn't coming back, he said.
The day after Freeman's body was found off Lee Valley Road, Dean Perske with the Oregon State Police went to visit McGuffin.
'He was very obviously nervous," Perske said. 'He was shaking, chain smoking cigarettes one after another. Very, very obviously nervous."
Reporter Jessie Higgins can be reached at 541-269-1222 ext. 240 or [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].


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[mommyof3kids]

I'm really not sure where this woman came from about seeing 2 guys holding a female up where her body was found and I sure hope that she is not lying! I have never heard this story before! So it's news to me, of course!

[mommyof3kids]

COQUILLE — An acquaintance of Nick McGuffin and his brother Wayne testified today that shortly after police discovered Leah Freeman's shoe on Hudson Ridge near Coquille, Wayne joked that it had been put there as a decoy.
Kristen Young, who at the time was staying with a friend of the McGuffins, testified as a witness for the prosecution in Nick McGuffin's trial for murder in the death of Freeman.
Another witness, Richard Bryant, shared a cell in the Coos County jail with Nick McGuffin after McGuffin was arrested as part of the Freeman investigation last summer. He said McGuffin told him he was sad that he hadn't been able to do anything to help Freeman. "I could picture her there with her head sitting on a rock, and I couldn't do anything about it."
This afternoon, medical professionals and the director of an Oregon State Police crime lab will testify.


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And this jail cell mate???? are people trying to get there 30 seconds of fame? Or are these witnesses really telling the truth???

[adelacruz]

there's new things here!! and the prosecution is resting their case?? super fast

[mommyof3kids]

I know! I can't believe how fast this trial is going! :jaw dropping:

[Nama]

Who done it?
Eleven years ago, police found a receipt belonging to Raymond Lewis near the discarded remains of 15-year-old Leah Freeman near Fairview Road.
The police questioned Lewis, then 16, about the receipt for truck lifts found on Hudson Ridge.
Lewis said he had the receipt in his pickup. He spent a lot of time hunting and mudding on Hudson Ridge. He didn't know how the receipt got there.
The police did not pursue Lewis any further.
But during Nick McGuffin's trial for the murder of Leah Freeman on Monday, the defense lawyers had many questions for Lewis.
Why would he have been on Hudson Ridge during that time?
The receipt was dated May 30. Freeman went missing June 28. Her body was found 37 days later.
There was no hunting season during those months, Robert McCrea, one of McGuffin's lawyers, pointed out.
It was summer, so there was no mud.
Lewis testified that he could not remember exactly where he went the night of June 28. It was a long time ago, he said.
He did remember seeing Freeman walking down Central Avenue sometime after 9 p.m. as he drove by in his truck.
He owned a hunting rifle and knife, but rarely had them in his truck, he testified.
'The police didn't look in your pickup?" McCrea asked.
'It was never processed by a crime lab? The police never searched your home?"
No, Lewis answered.
Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier was even more direct.
'Did you have anything to do with the disappearance or death of Leah Freeman?" Frasier asked.
'No," Lewis replied.

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[Nama]

An acquaintance of Nick McGuffin and his brother Wayne testified today that shortly after police discovered Leah Freeman's shoe on Hudson Ridge near Coquille, Wayne joked that it had been put there as a decoy.
Kristen Young, who at the time was staying with a friend of the McGuffins, testified as a witness for the prosecution in Nick McGuffin's trial for murder in the death of Freeman.
Another witness, Richard Bryant, shared a cell in the Coos County jail with Nick McGuffin after McGuffin was arrested as part of the Freeman investigation last summer. He said McGuffin told him he was sad that he hadn't been able to do anything to help Freeman. "I could picture her there with her head sitting on a rock, and I couldn't do anything about it."
This afternoon, medical professionals and the director of an Oregon State Police crime lab will testify.


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[Guest]

I don't think anyone would gain anything from being dishonest in their testimony.

[laga]

I don't think anyone would gain anything from being dishonest in their testimony.

I agree!

[mommyof3kids]

by lindamarie Today at 12:25 pm

I don't think anyone would gain anything from being dishonest in their testimony.

An inmate might? Sometimes peoples stories change with time because simply memories fade with time. I don't disregard what the woman says, but when it comes to a cell mates coming forward as a witness, I am always skeptical of the truth to it! Not saying he is lying, just saying it's always sketchy! I do however think if his statement is true, then it goes hand in glove with what Nick said about how Leah could have died by walking by the river and tripping and falling on a rock hitting her head? Maybe in his mind, he is trying create his own version of what happened that night?

[mommyof3kids]

Criminologist found no forensic evidence
Story Posted: Wednesday, July 13, 2011 12:48 pm

Retired Oregon State Police Criminologist Kathy Wilcox testified at the Nick McGuffin murder trial this morning.
Wilcox processed all items brought to the OSP Coos Bay crime lab in the summer of 2000 in connection with the Leah Freeman case, including McGuffin’s home and cars, and Freeman’s clothing.
Wilcox said she found no forensic evidence linking McGuffin to Freeman’s disappearance in either McGuffin’s Mustang or his parent’s Thunderbird. She also found no evidence in the McGuffin house.
When Freeman’s body was discovered, Wilcox processed her clothing. She found no evidence on the pants.
Testimony about the other articles of clothing will continue at 1 p.m.
Wilcox said examining the clothes was very difficult.
“Leah Freeman’s clothes were in really bad condition,” she said.
Freeman’s body had been outside for over a month during the hot summer, she said.
“She had basically melted inside her clothes,” Wilcox said.
Read more in Thursday’s World.


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[adelacruz]

by lindamarie Today at 12:25 pm

I don't think anyone would gain anything from being dishonest in their testimony.

An inmate might? Sometimes peoples stories change with time because simply memories fade with time. I don't disregard what the woman says, but when it comes to a cell mates coming forward as a witness, I am always skeptical of the truth to it! Not saying he is lying, just saying it's always sketchy! I do however think if his statement is true, then it goes hand in glove with what Nick said about how Leah could have died by walking by the river and tripping and falling on a rock hitting her head? Maybe in his mind, he is trying create his own version of what happened that night?

I agree that the cell mate is sketchy.. is he getting anything out of testifying?

[mommyof3kids]

IDK, maybe it's with all the drama surrounding stupid Casey Anthony and all the Clowns that came out of the closet during her time in jail and also during trial! I need to keep an open mind, but also realize this is not FLORIDA!!

[adelacruz]

IDK, maybe it's with all the drama surrounding stupid Casey Anthony and all the Clowns that came out of the closet during her time in jail and also during trial! I need to keep an open mind, but also realize this is not FLORIDA!!

[Slys Hunny]

Am I reading things wrong the last few days or have 2 people testified the police chief didnt listen to them?

[Guest]

Sly your reading things correctly. The former Chief was having some personal issues at the time this all happened. I know inmates will lie for one reason or another. But I consider all the other witnesses to be coming clean after all these years. The guilt had to eat these people alive and they are finally telling it as they best remember it.

[mommyof3kids]

Totally agree with you on that LM, I didn't mean to sound like I was attacking that lady for coming forward, I just was saying that I had never heard about her sighting of 2 men caring a young lady before, so it was news to me! The other witness testimonies I had heard but now in more detail! I have done a LOT of reading in the past on this case, so some of this obviously comes to a surprise to me and of course not all these people had come forward before with all the detail!
I will say that I can not imagine how hard it must for some of these witnesses to have to remember every detail and word they had stated in 2000! Most of them were in High School back then and probably trying to block this horrible night from their memories!

[Guest]

I know Mommy that has to be hard for them all. It has been a long time and memories do fade. Since we are not seeing this live it is hard to figure out if the State is making any head way with the jury. The experts were testifying this afternoon. I am very interested in seeing what they had to say.

[mommyof3kids]

Testifying for the prosecution in Nick McGuffin's murder trial Wednesday afternoon, a witness said McGuffin threatened him in 2002.
David Breakfield said that Nick McGuffin told him, "I strangled that bitch and I'll strangle you too. I killed before and I'll kill again."
Breakfield was 16 at the time. McGuffin threatened him because he was dating a girl McGuffin had previously dated, Breakfield said.
Defense lawyer Robert McCrea remarked how strange it was that Breakfield had waited so long to come forward with this information.
Breakfield said he never told anyone till police inrerviewed him in 2010.


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[laga]

I killed before and I'll kill again."

Are there any other unsolved murders in areas he has frequented?

[mommyof3kids]

[Nama]

It looks like prosecutors in the Nicholas McGuffin trial are trying to depict the murder suspect as dishonest. Plus, the state brought in a witness who examined several key pieces of evidence.

The prosecution team started the trial by playing a taped conversation between McGuffin and a witness who testified Tuesday.

The jury heard McGuffin in the recording warn Scott Hamilton not to tell police that the two visited the place where Leah Freeman's body was later found.

Hamilton testified that Nick said he could picture Leah dead, lying near a rock.

"As far as that part I don't know about that but I mean, they don't need to know about that," says Nick McGuffin.

An old cellmate of McGuffin's said Nick had said the same thing while in jail. The witness says Nick was emotional and crying.

"He could picture her laying there, sitting on a rock and he couldn't do anything about it," says Richard Bryant.

And as prosecutors called more witnesses, it became clear they were focusing on McGuffin's character.

One witness told the jury she was sleeping with McGuffin while he was dating Freeman and that the relationship continued even after she went missing

Another witness testified about a strange incident that happened when she hung out with McGuffin and his brother.

There was a TV news report about one of Freeman's shoes being found.

"Wayne looked at his brother and addressed him and the room, 'Oh they won't find anything from that shoe. It was put there to think she was up there,'" says Kristy Cabley.

When investigators found that shoe and took it in for analysis they found four spots of blood spatter on it.

A forensic scientist who examined it says because of the small size of blood drops, there was force behind it.

She also examined McGuffin's car.

"No spare tire, no trunk liner. I remember when I opened it, I went wow! There's just nothing," says Kathy Wilcox.

But the expert found no blood evidence in the car linking McGuffin to Freeman and she says there was nothing on her clothes.

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[Nama]

As the prosecution continued to call witnesses to the stand Wednesday during the Leah Freeman murder trial, the case turned largely to the CSI kinds of evidence, with a former OSP criminologist focusing on the forensics of the case.

Five more witnesses appeared before Judge Richard Barron and a packed courtroom., to testify against Nick McGuffin in the death of Leah Freeman.
One witness, Kristen Young, testified to hearing Wayne McGuffin and brother Nick joke about police finding Freeman's shoe.
"Wayne looked at his brother and addressed him and the room that, 'oh they won't find anything from that shoe, it was put there to make them think she was there,'" explains Young. District Attorney Paul Frasier followed up by asking, "how did the defendant respond to that comment?" Young says, "he nodded his head in agreement, acknowledged his statement and laughed about it."
But the defense quickly jumped on Young's statement.
Defense attorney Shaun McCrea asks, "and during the grand jury you didn't say anything at all about Mr. McGuffin laughing or nodding in agreement." "No," replied Young.
Also on the stand, retired Oregon State Police criminologist Kathy Wilcox, testified in forensic analysis conducted on Nick McGuffin's vehicles and Leah Freeman's clothes. While there didn't seem to be anything unusual that was discovered, she was struck by something when asked by Frasier if there was anything in the trunk of McGuffin's Mustang.
"Not a thing, nothing. No spare tire, no trunk liner. I remember when I opened it I was going like, 'wow there's just nothing,'" Wilcox told the jury.
She also testified that there was no blood found in the trunk.
Under cross examination the defense asked, if someone were to hose out a trunk, would blood still be detectable if it had been there? Wilcox said it could be.
The prosecution expects to rest it's case Wednesday night.
It looks like sometime Thursday morning the defense could begin it's case and it's believed they will call their own forensic expert to testify.

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[NiteSpinR]

[jeanne1807]

to Cory. Stay strong!

Justice for Leah.

[mommyof3kids]

COQUILLE -- 'It's amazing what you can get away with in Coos County," Nick McGuffin allegedly told Leah Freeman's cousin in 2003.
Melissa Beebe, Freeman's cousin, testified at McGuffin's murder trial on Wednesday. She said his comment infuriated her.
Whether the comment was a joke or an admission of guilt is up to the jury to decide.
Several prosecution witnesses Wednesday said McGuffin either alluded to or admitted killing Freeman. District Attorney R. Paul Frasier said he expects to close his case this morning.
Freeman went missing from the streets of Coquille sometime after 9 p.m. on June 28, 2000. Police found her severely decomposed body on Aug. 3, 2000, down an embankment off Lee Valley Road.
McGuffin's alleged words, repeated by the witnesses who knew him, had tempers flaring in the courtroom Wednesday.
Strangled
'He said, 'I strangled that bitch and I'll strangle you too,'" Michael Breakfield said. It was 2002, and then-16 year old Breakfield was dating a girl who recently had been McGuffin's girlfriend, Breakfield testified.
'He said, 'I killed before and I'll kill again.'"
Breakfield didn't tell anyone about the threat until police interviewed him in 2010.
McGuffin's lawyer, Robert McCrea, said Breakfield's delay in telling the story was odd. He asked Breakfield whether McGuffin's incarceration now could help Breakfield win the affections of that same ex-girlfriend, and whether he had seen reward posters offering $10,000 for anyone with information that lead to an arrest.
Breakfield denied both suggestions.
'I can see her laying there'
In mid-September 2002, McGuffin shared a jail cell with Richard Bryant for about a week.
One day, McGuffin became very emotional, Bryant testified.
'He said he could picture her laying there, with her head sitting on a rock, 'and I couldn't do anything about it,'" Bryant said.
This was the first time Bryant had mentioned anything about a rock, McCrea pointed out.
Dennis Scott Hamilton also testified Tuesday that McGuffin drove him to the Lee Valley Road site shortly after police found the body. McGuffin, staring over the ledge, told Hamilton he could picture Freeman lying with her head on a rock, and there was 'nothing he could do," Hamilton said.
Several police officers who interviewed McGuffin before authorities located Freeman's body testified on Tuesday. They said McGuffin told them he thought Freeman might have fallen and hit her head on a rock while walking by the Coquille River.
Decoy shoe
The day police found Freeman's second shoe, discarded along Hudson Ridge, McGuffin and his older brother Wayne McGuffin were at a house with then-18-year-old Kristen Young.
A news report about the shoe came on the television, Young testified.
'Wayne McGuffin said, 'Oh, they won't find anything from that shoe, it was put there to make them think she was up there,'" Young said.
Nick McGuffin nodded and snickered, she said.
Shaun McCrea, McGuffin's other lawyer, pointed out that Wednesday's testimony was the first time Young ever indicated Nick McGuffin agreed with his older brother's comment.
Lee Valley Road
Kimberly Pugmire, known in those days as Kimberly Courtright, saw Nick McGuffin three or four days after Freeman's June 2000 disappearance. He was in the Fast Mart parking lot, a popular teen hangout, she said.
Pugmire is Freeman's older cousin and knew McGuffin well. So it was no surprise that McGuffin came to talk to her.
'He said, 'Kim, you know I had nothing to do with this,'" Pugmire testified.
She said she believed him.
Pugmire and two friends left for Myrtle Point after the conversation, taking Fairview Road. She saw McGuffin pass their car in a red car with two other men she did not recognize.
A little later, Pugmire and her friends ended up on Lee Valley Road. She saw McGuffin and the two men from the red car standing in a gravel turnoff. She drove away without speaking to them, she said.


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This puts him in the location of Leah's body BEFORE she was ever found!!! I wonder who those two other men were? Could that have been when that Hamilton Guy was out there with NM and he was saying he could almost see her laying down there with her head on a ROCK! This could also prove the Cell mates story as well!!! JMO!!!

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