From David - A weblog (with full archive)

September 12, 2022 — At last the answers to the murder of Sharon Kay Hammack.

1996. Sharon Kay Hammack was found murdered. This according to John Tunison of mlive: “Her body was found by a truck driver, who discovered her wrapped in a cloth and dumped along 76th Street SE, near Kraft and Broadmoor avenues in Caledonia Township. She had been strangled.

“She also had been stabbed twice in the head.”

And now, thanks to DNA and a whole lot of hard work, Garry Dean Artman, 64, an over-the-road trucker, has been charged with her murder. Artman was most recently based in Florida but he lived in Grand Rapids in the mid-90s when at least a dozen local women, including Hammack, were found dead in Kent, Muskegon, and Ottawa counties.

He was arrested down south and has been extradited and arraigned. One of my favorite reporters, Susan Samples of WOOD TV, filed this report.

I am more than dilatory getting this posted.

In other actions, Beverly McCallum, accused of leading the assault on Roberto Caraballo in Charlotte, MI, in 2002, will be facing her preliminary hearing in Eaton County District Court Sept. 20. Our friend Alysia Sofios will be in court and I’ll ask her for an update.

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July 24, 2022 — Postponed

The probable cause hearing and conference for Beverly McCallum was postposed Friday in Eaton County District Court until 10:00 a.m. August 29, with the preliminary now scheduled for September 20.

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July 21, 2022 — Hearing for Ms. McCallum tomorrow

Beverly McCallum is scheduled to go before 56A District Judge Kelly Morton tomorrow morning at 10:30 for a probable cause hearing and conference. Beyond that, Ms. McCallum is scheduled for a preliminary exam July 29 at 1 p.m., again before Judge Morton. It is entirely likely that this latter meeting will have to be postponed if all goes to schedule. Of course, there are a wide range of other outcomes…she may waive her preliminary and plead, or waive the prelim. and go right to trial.

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July 13, 2022 — Fifty years ago yesterday, Kathy Wilcox went missing

And the questions remain. Here is a well done update with Fox 17 reporter Matt Witkos.

As always, I believe that somebody knows something.

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July 11, 2022 — Beverly McCallum is back and has been arraigned

Booking photo for Beverly Ann McCallum/Magliochetti

Beverly McCallum/Magliochetti/any number of other aliases/ has been returned to the Eaton County Sheriff’s Department and staff for arraignment today in Eaton County District Count. After a lengthy delay in a Roman jail, her extradition-blocking efforts came to naught, and Italian authorities told U.S. Federal Marshalls to come pick her up or they would release her. It didn’t take them long to swoop in and escort her back to the states. She was booked into the Eaton County Jail at 1:19 a.m. Saturday morning. And this afternoon she was arraigned in 56A, the court room of Judge Kelly E. Morton. She was bound over to circuit court on charged of second degree murder and for exhuming or mutilating a body. Her bond was placed at $10 million.

McCallum is scheduled to appear in court on July 22.

The only hitch? Judge Morton denied our request to video the proceedings, something pretty much inexplicable.

I have a deep gratitude for the U.S. Marshalls who did the heavy lifting to get Ms. McCallum here, the Eaton County Sheriff’s office, the Eaton County Prosecutor’s office, the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department (Bob Donker, ret., in particular) for their steadfast determination to see her face justice, accused in the 2002 murder of her husband, Roberto Caraballo.

The Eaton County Sheriff’s Facebook page makes mention of others, too: “On Friday, July 8, 2022, Eaton County Deputies took custody of Beverly McCallum at the Grand Rapids Gerald R. Ford International Airport. McCallum has been in custody since February 2020 in Rome, Italy, for pending Murder-related charges. We would like to thank the United States Marshall’s Service Western District of Michigan, the Eaton County Prosecutor’s Office, the Polizia di Stato of Rome, Italy, and the Gerald R. Ford Airport Police Department for the smooth transition of taking McCallum into our custody.”

Meanwhile, her daughter, Dineane Ducharme remains in the Huron Valley Complex/Women’s. She rolled the dice at trial and lost: instead of taking any plea she was convicted of first-degree murder. That’s a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

So, why is Ms. McCallum charged with only second degree murder and not first? My understanding is that it had to do with even the possibility of having her extradited. This is on the Roman justice system. I think local prosecutors made a wise decision to get her back and to honor their agreement. The penalties for second degree murder might well range from 20 to 40 years. It may well be a life sentence. I’m not wasting a minute second guessing it.

McCallum is scheduled to appear in court on July 22. We’re at the start of what might turn out to be a long process. Will she choose to go to trial, plead nolo contendere, or guilty? We’ll wait it out.

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February 7, 2022 — Long sentences

Dineane Ducharme was sentenced to life in prison today for her part in the 2002 murder of her stepfather, Roberto Caraballo.

On this same day, Dennis Bowman was sentenced to 35-50 years in the no-contest plea in the murder of his adopted daughter, Alexis Badger (aka Aundria Bowman) in 1989. You can read about it here and you can watch the prosecuting attorney’s press conference after the sentencing.

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February 1 , 2022 — Sentencing postponed

The mandatory life sentence for Dineane Ducharme has been postponed until next Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. So far we think it’s scheduled for 1 p.m.

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December 29, 2021 — One plea, one partial answer

Dennis Bowman pled no contest in the murder of his adopted daughter Alexis Badger/Aundria Bowman in 1989. Here is the Holland Sentinel story about that. The plea comes as a relief.

The second bit of news concerns an unidentified murder victim from 1994 known to Ottawa Country Sheriff’s Department as Matilda. While the department has not yet disclosed a name, DNA analysis identified the young woman. Twenty-seven years and she will at last be known. Here is a WOOD TV report from Ken Kolker. Once she is given her name again, the sheriff’s department may have more tools to identify her killer. Yeah, I got a little involved in this case with this account.

These are two good elements with which to close out a year.

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December 16, 2021 –Guilty on all counts

Dineane Ducharme has been found guilty of first-degree murder (mandatory life), conspiracy to commit murder, and mutilation of a dead body. Sentencing is February 1.

Now we await the return of Dineane’s mother, Beverly Anne Magliochetti, from her hold in a Roman jail. She has been portrayed as the mastermind of the crime and its prime assailant.

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December 15, 2021 — The case is now with the jury

All the testimony has been elicited, all the exhibits shown, and all the arguments have been made. The evidentiary part of the trial is now concluded. This morning came the closing arguments for the prosecution, the defense, a rebuttal from the prosecution, and lastly, instructions for the jury from the judge. It all comes down to reasonable doubt for defendant Dineane Ducharme. And, if she is found guilty, to which of the three charges (open murder, conspiracy to commit, and mutilation of a body) and, in the case of murder, degree: first or second.

We wait.

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