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SUPPORT UNCLE RAISIN |
Ted Kuhl and Nancy Nivinski’s Murder The evening of December 7, 1996 The scene is a Loves Park, IL parking lot in the Meadow Mart Mall, outside of the Backyard Bar and Grill. It was late, and cold. According to weather reports, it was 28 degrees that evening. Ted Kuhl, Janet Nivinski, Rick Mueller and Christa Peterson shared a late night meal and drinks inside the Backyard Bar and Grill. It was shortly after 1:15 AM that Rick Mueller left, with the others leaving together moments later. It was very dark outside that night, and with the parking lot lights out for the night, the darkness was blinding. According to reports, visibility was very limited and people seemed like shadows. Surveillance video footage confirms this, and leaves us wondering who could possibly be responsible for what is about to happen. BOOM! BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, rings too fast in the air for the normal mind to process when it is unexpected. Rick Mueller scurries in fear away from the scene, calling 911 a couple of blocks up the road. Ted and Christa, nearby, getting into their cars, hide for fear at first reaction, and then rush to Janet whose body lay on the ground with a fatal head wound emptying her blood onto the ground - dead instantly. Soon police show up and as the events unfold to them, things become more confused rather than clearer. Immediately, and over the next several days, in retrospect, it becomes clear to this writer that investigation tactics are designed more to find someone to tag the crime on than finding the truth of what happened and who committed the act. Did Mark Karner and Glen Weber, under Paul Logli's leadership,"Duke" Ted Kuhl? Michael Nifong has become a by-word for Prosecutorial misconduct and corruption. His authority to bring criminal charges was so compromised when the details of the indictment of the Duke Lacrosse players became known that he was disbarred and forced to resign as a Prosecutor in North Carolina. What Michael Nifong did is now known as being "Duked", which describes what occurs when the prosecution railroads a case for, what amounts to, political purposes. In December 1996, Winnebago County Assistant State's Attorneys Mark Karner and Glen Weber, under the leadership of Paul Logli, convened a Grand Jury to authorize murder charges against Ted Kuhl in the murder of Janet Nivinski. The problem is: the "evidence" they used to obtain his indictment was based on deceit! Not one piece of forensic evidence was presented that could rationally implicate Mr. Kuhl, either to the grand jury or at trial. Indictment and Trial As the process of indicting a person for a crime goes, a Grand Jury is convened and evidence is presented that either justifies the Prosecution's interest in pursuing charges, or they are denied until such a time as sufficient evidence can be presented. In the Ted Kuhl case, the incriminating documents presented were a supposed "confession", and Rick Mueller’s prosecution witness testimony that had changed no less than 16 times. The confession was obtained after 16 hours of relentless interrogation. According to experts, the tactics used often fail to obtain truthful and reliable testimony. That notwithstanding, keeping the person awake for 24 hours, piping annoying music and audio into the booth for hours on end without relief, feeding him/her coffee without allowing a bathroom break, and like tactics are routinely used in cases like this. The clear truth is that interrogation is used to wear a person down instead of getting at the truth. Most often the truth is a casualty of this process and so is justice. Mark Karner and Glen Weber are very adept and skilled in front of the Grand Jury, as well as in court. They are no less adept during pretrial motions. In these types of trials, it is common that "motions in limine" are obtained, which preclude certain facts from being introduced. Such was the case here. Every prosecutor must prove motive, opportunity and means in order to prove guilt of any crime.
Evidence presented at trial:
Evidence not presented at trial There is a class of evidence in this case that leaves you scratching your head and asking, "Where the hell
was the defense lawyer in all of this?" There were more than a few pieces of evidence and testimony
that would scream for a challenge, which even the most novice lawyer could see, but that are not even
objected to or brought up in cross examination. Here are just two of the most obvious examples:
Attorney Albert Altamore is a fine DUI lawyer, but his skills as a criminal defense lawyer must be sorely
lacking. In DUI cases, you work out settlements and plea bargain, accepting Court Supervision and fines
for your client. Not so in a criminal case of this magnitude. Soon after Altamore resigned from the
defense team, Attorney Dan Cain and Pete Nolte took
on the Appellate system for Ted, without a stitch of success. This isn't Hollywood and this wasn't the
Dream Team; and Ted Kuhl didn't have the connections and access of the Duke Lacrosse players.
Paul Logli, regarding Ted Kuhl conviction: "It is beyond the authority of this prosecutor or any prosecutor to simply agree to a retrial of a case
without substantial, conclusive basis for such decision. This is especially true when the effect of that
decision would be to overrule a jury that heard all the evidence in the case and determined unanimously
that the defendant (Ted Kuhl) was proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. There is no evidence to
factually prove that Kuhl is innocent of the crime, or that someone else besides him is factually guilty of
the crime. This office has no choice but to rely on the decision of a jury, trial court an appellate court of
this state, all of which found the evidence sufficient to convict Ted Kuhl beyond a reasonable doubt in
the murder of Janet (Nivinski)."
The words used by Paul Logli are very carefully crafted. He says, "(t)here is no evidence to factually
prove that Kuhl is innocent of the crime": please notice he uses the phrase "factually prove", which very
specifically refer to "facts" only presented in the trial. The implication is that evidence not presented at
trial could prove Ted Kuhl's innocence. Secondarily, Paul Logli's statement is "factually" wrong; he can
call for a retrial, as prosecutor, if justice was not served in the original trial. That is basic to his office.
This expose reveals those "facts" for all to see, and will demonstrate (more than) beyond a reasonable
doubt, that Ted Kuhl is not guilty. We read this account and records and can only conclude that Paul
Logli, Mark Karner and Glen Weber are the guilty ones, and should be impeached for violations of their
public trust! Why this case should matter to every one of
us Harriet Ford wrote about this case in a book entitled Shadow in the Rain, in which she chronicles the
story of Ted Kuhl. It is written as a mystery novel that can best be described as a
fiction/documentary/romance/who-done-it, using the facts of the Kuhl case as a framework. I highly
recommend that you buy it and read it. This is one of those rare opportunities to get involved and make
a difference for truth and justice, by calling on the powers that be to exonerate and release Ted Kuhl.
Even if our efforts to get Ted Kuhl exonerated and released prove successful, it is not enough: the
prosecutorial and investigative misconduct that is responsible for this miscarriage of justice should be
impugned and made infamous. We should demand the system be fixed and those not up to the task of
truthfulness be removed. Such injustice should be made known to help insure that no one else suffers
as Ted Kuhl.
Post trial developments:
Ted Kuhl Today Today, Ted Kuhl sits in Canton, IL prison for 30 more years, of his original 40 year sentence, for a crime he did not commit. As a result, justice escapes, and the killer could kill again, and perhaps already has. Appeals are in process, and most have fallen on deaf ears. Parole is not a possibility, and freedom for an already 58 year old man, seems just as impossible. However, when people of good character do small things enmasse, perhaps what is left of justice in this case can be done. What Can You Do? Buy Shadow in the Rain. Proceeds will go to help free Ted Kuhl. |
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