Dateline NBC is a TV program focusing on real-life murder mysteries. It is a cut above the average fare in the genre, and the programs I have seen all involved respectable, and respectful, reporting – fresh air after some of the schlock that passes for cable crime coverage. Fortunately, for those of us who can't stay up late or prefer our crime stories in print, many of its features appear in an on-line format.
One of the most compelling stories comes from Michigan. In A Decades-Old Murder Mystery in Saginaw, Dateline asks, who murdered Cheryl Miller in 1974?
Was it her boyfriend from Iran, who, days after her murder, packed up all his belongings and left the United States for good? Was it her roommate's cousin, whose hair was similar to the hairs found on her body?
Or was it her ex-boyfriend, who was on his honeymoon with a new bride when Cheryl was murdered? Or is a honeymoon that good an alibi after all? And can three separate trials on a charge of murder result in a "trifecta of injustice"? You may find yourself as troubled as I was by the outcome of this case.... and for the record I am not easily troubled.
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