June 4, 2024 • 52 mins
In the small, tightly-knit communities of Hawaii's Big Island, the Schweitzer brothers—Albert Ian and Shawn—once lived a seemingly idyllic life, overshadowed by their wrongful convictions for one of Hawaii's most notorious crimes: the 1991 rape and murder of 23-year-old Dana Ireland. This episode explores the brothers' journey from being wrongfully accused and imprisoned to their eventual exoneration, highlighting the flaws in the justice system and the cultural biases that influenced their case.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:49):
Welcome to crime Pedia. It's beenso long I almost forgot how to do
this. My name is Morgan.I am your host this week. I
hope you are having a wonderful dayand with me as always is my true
crime bff. Coming all the wayfrom sunny England. It's a lovely Cherry.
Hello Cherry, how are you forchange? Hello, it is sunny
(01:12):
today, it's very very sunny.And yes, if you're not usually listening
to us, Morgan is based inthe good old US of A and I
am based in lovely England, andtogether we fallat Yes, we are still
around. Yes, we are stillalive. We've just been extremely busy the
(01:34):
past I don't know a few months, especially the past month or so.
But we are back with a brandnew episode in a brand new case for
you to listen to and enjoy.Yeah. Yeah, it's been a bit
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(01:56):
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(02:22):
yeah, yeah, thanks, shouldbe back to normal soon so we
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it's good. It's all good,and I'm happy to be back. It
feels like it's been such a longtime. It has been a very,
very long time. I'm sure thatwe have I'm sure that we have some
news or notes that we can givepeople that we can do at the end
(02:43):
of the episode. But for now, Cherry, how about we jump right
into this week's case. Let's goin the small, highly knit communities of
Hawaii's Big Island. The Schweizer brothers, albert Ian and Sean once lived a
seemingly idyllic life, overshadowed by theirwrongful convictions for one of Hawaii's most notorious
crimes, the nineteen ninety one ravenmurder of twenty three year old Dana Ireland.
(03:08):
In this episode, we explore thebrother's journey for being wrongfully accused and
in prison to their eventual exoneration,highlighting the flaws in the justice system and
the cultural biases that influenced their case. This is Crinpedia, and this is
wrongfully accused. The murder of DanaIreland Okay Cherry. Dana Ireland was a
(03:34):
bright, ambitious young woman with apassion for physical education and a love for
the outdoors. Born and raised inVirginia, she had a closeness knit family
that included her parents, John andLouise, and her older sister Sandra.
Dana's vivacious spirit and compassionate compassionate natureand endeared her to everyone she met,
(03:54):
making her untimely death all the moretragic. After graduating from George Mason University
with a degree in physical education,Dana decided to take a break before starting
her career. Her sister Sandra,who lived in Hawaii, invited her to
spend some time with her on theBig Island, offering Dana a chance to
(04:15):
explore the island's natural beauty and enjoya much needed break. The island sisters
were incredibly close, and the prospectsof spending the holidays together was something they
both look forward to with great anticipation. I must say spending Christmas in Hawaii
would have to be one of mytop things I would want to do.
(04:40):
It'd be absolutely amazing. I thinkit sounds pretty cool. I'd like to
But I'd like to do like aHawaiian Christmas, like you know, the
way that they do, not justlike take normal Christmas and just have it
there. I'd like to like embracehow the Hawaiian people would have right their
normal Christmas. That would be reallycool to expert. It's completely different to
(05:00):
how are you usual? So nodragging a giant Christmas tree with you across
the across the ocean. Yeah,like no cook in turkey unless that's what
they do, Like no cook inturkey, no potatoes, you know,
all that kind of stuff. Justsee what they have, and like I
would hope it would be like afresh fish, seafood kind of Christmas.
(05:23):
That would be quite interesting, interestingsatan sun, Yeah, fresh fruit,
like really wholesome Christmas, not thestart and the tins and sweets. It
would your Yeah, maybe actually loseweight over the holidays instead of you know,
gaining ten pounds, Yeah exactly,And I wouldn't I wouldn't miss you
(05:45):
know, I would be okay nothaving a white Christmas. It'd be fine
with me. No snow. Yeah, we didn't get that here. We
hardly ever get We hardly ever geta white. It wouldn't be missing anything,
so it doesn't make it a differentyou would actually just no. Instead,
it'd be nice and water, whichwould be lovely perfect. We need
to do that sometime. I'm downwith that. I'm down with that,
yeah now. Dana arrives in Hawaiiin late nineteen ninety one, just in
(06:08):
time to celebrate Christmas with Sandra.The sisters spent the days exploring the island,
hiking through lush forests and lounging onpristine beaches. Dana quickly fell in
love with the island's breathtaking landscapes inthe warm, welcoming community. However,
the vacation would take a devastating datingturn on Christmas Eve. That afternoon,
(06:29):
Dana decided to go for a bikeride near Kopoho, a remote and scenic
area on the island. As thesun began to set, Dana's family grew
concerned when she did not return home. Hours later, a passerby discovered her
mangled bicycle on the side of theroad. Dana's severely injured body was found
in a secluded area miles away,barely clinging to life. She would be
(06:54):
rushed to Hilo Hospital, where shesuccumbed to her injuries later that night.
It's horrible, isn't it. It'salways horrible when somebody goes missing and the
family just don't know where they are, and then they've got all of that,
which is the worry, and thenthen it's the finding of the person
and the state that they're usually leftin. Its heartbreaking. It's so awful
(07:15):
when the one thing, the onething that really stands out to me is
that when they say that her bicyclewas mangled, to me, that almost
sounds like she got hit by acar, right, she got hit by
a car, and then instead ofcalling for help or trying to help her
(07:38):
out, they're taking her body tohide it. Ah, that's awful.
And how bad did you feel ifyou're her family? How bad did you
feel that somebody hasn't tried to helpinstead of trying to help and get an
ambulance or you know that they've beensneaky and like all sorts of things that
be going through your mind. Wasshe alive when when they left her?
(07:59):
Was she Did they kill her?Out right? And did she you know,
because I think most family members wantto know how, you know,
did they die painlessly? Were theyin pain? Were they calling out for
me? That kind of stuff.It's the kind of thing that just goes
through your head as a human andthen to hear that that's just callous and
horrible. Yeah, But as weget so, this is what I don't
(08:22):
understand. Right, So the bike'smangled, she's taken away. It sounds
like, you know, it couldhave been simply an accident where someone hits
her and and tries to h triesto protect themselves. Maybe they had been
drinking and they're worried about you know. Yeah, now it's gonna be fault.
So instead of just being a tragicaccident, now it's like, Okay,
(08:45):
I was doing something I should havebeen. Now I'm going to be
charged with, you know, manslaughteror whatever. Yeah. Yeah, But
as as we're going to learn herein second, I don't It's there's more
to this than just a simple accident. Okay. Now, obviously, the
(09:07):
death of Dana Island would shock thecommunity and would garner widespread media attention.
It would quickly we would quickly learnthat the nature of this actual crime was
one where it was just a young, an innocent woman who actually was brutally
(09:28):
attacked and assaulted and left to die. So was it simply just didn't run,
she was actually attacked. Obviously,the community with that point there was
this, there was this intense desireand demand for justice in the case.
(09:48):
Now the local police would be putunder immense pressure by both the public as
well as the media. They wouldlaunch an extensive investigation to find Dana's killer,
but despite their efforts, the initialinvestigation yielded few substantial leads and the
case began to grow cold, leavingDana's family and the community desperate for answers.
(10:11):
Now, it's kind of go let'skind of rewind a little bit and
kind of go over what happened.So now, the events of Christmas Eve
nineteen ninety one would mark the beginningof a long and arduous journey for the
Island family in the white community.Dana's bike, intended as a peaceful escape
into nature, ended in a brutaland senseless attack that left her fighting for
(10:31):
her life. The immediate aftermath ofthe cry saw fury of activity as police
and emergency responders descended on the scene. Like we said earlier, Dana's bicycle
was found mangled and abandoned on theside of the road, and this was
obviously the first sign that something wasterribly wrong. Nearby, the ground boar
signs of a violent struggle, withbloodstains and broken branches, indicating that Dana
(10:54):
had fought fearlessly against her attacker.The discovery of discovery of her body in
the remote area miles away from theinitial crime scene added to the mystery and
the horror of the case. Soobviously this is something something else is going
on here. I mean, didit start out as an accident and then
(11:16):
turn into an attack? Was this? Did someone see her and plan her
and you know, plan this outand purposely hit her? I don't know
how else a bike becomes mangled besides, you know, yeah, yeah,
yeah, So did someone see hereand decide, okay, I'm going to
go and attack this girl, andyou know, decided the easiest way to
(11:37):
to to get her off the bikewas just to hit it. And I
know it's very strange, isn't it. Yeah, definitely, so I don't
know. It's very strange already.Now the local police force, which was
led by seasoned investigators, began theirwork with a sense of urgency. They
(11:58):
would canvass the area, interviewing anyonewho might have seen or heard something on
the day of the attack. Flyerswith Dana's pitchers were just distributed widely,
and a tip line was established togather any information that might might lead to
an arrest. Despite these efforts,the investigation faced significant challenges from the outset.
(12:18):
The remote location of the crime scenemeant that there were very few witnesses
and the physical evidence collected was sparseand inconclusive. So because of this lack
of immediate leads, it would onlyheighten the sense of urgency in this case
for the police. So obviously you'dbe worried, like, we don't really
(12:41):
have anything to go off of.We don't have anyone that saw anything,
we don't have anything that's anyone thathas heard anything. So obviously it would
be very stressful for the police atthis point, oh one hundred percent,
They've got nothing to go on,they've got no no needs, nothing to
tell them other than physically what's infront of them. They've got they've got
(13:03):
nothing. Yeah, that's really hard. I mean I have not been to
the Big On. I have beenhold to Hawaii, and like, if
you know about these roads and howtheir community is set up, I mean
there are a lot of times they'revery widespread. You have a lot of
very small, tight knit communities.The islands are heavily forested. So yeah,
(13:24):
I mean it would be very difficultto in these sorts of circumstances to
have eight witnesses to have at youknow, obvious evidence or things to collect.
Besides, like you know, youhave your blood stains, you have
(13:45):
broken branches, but that's not reallygoing to tell you a whole lot.
No. And also in tight ningcommunities like that, they don't often like
speaking to law enforcement exactly. Sothat's that's the other thing that they're facing,
is it probably a whole white wallof just silence because they're not the
sort of communities they liked to engagewith law enforcement no matter what's happened.
We find that a lot with theindigenous communities, don't we we in the
(14:07):
cases that we've looked at, thatthey're not keen on speaking with authorities outside
of their community. And so Iwould imagine maybe wrong, but I would
imagine that this may be a problemthat they might face in small communities like
this. Yeah, no, absolutelyabsolutely. Now, as the days turned
(14:30):
into weeks, the initial momentum ofthe investigation began to wane. The medias
were lentless. Coverage of the casekept it in the public eye, but
the lack of progress was frustrating foreveryone involved. Yeah, the police continued
to follow up on leads and tips, but none of them seemed to bring
them any closer to finding Dana's killer. Now, in this atmosphere of desperation
(14:52):
and frustration, the police actually receivedanonymous tip in March nineteen ninety two that
would change the course of the investigation. The tip pointed them towards Frank Pauline
Junior, who is a local manwith a criminal record and ties to the
Gonsalevs Family. Now, the Gonzalesfamily, they were notorious in the area
(15:13):
and they were led by a knowndrug dealer named Timmy Gonsalevs. Okay,
so, okay, obviously, nowyou have someone in the community who's come
forward and like, hey, youmight want to look at this Frank Pauline
Junior. Guy, I love ananonymous tip. I love it. I
love it when people do the rightthing. They're struggling with the morality of
(15:35):
it because they're frightened, but theythe overwhelming urge to do the right thing
breaks through, and good on them. Good on them for just like giving
the name, giving the police somethingto look at, because that poor girl
and that poor girl's family, Andlike we always say, all it takes
is one phone call, one bitof you know, one little bit of
evidence, one name. That's allit takes that could actually break this all
(15:58):
open. And you have you're notmentioned at all because you've done it anonymously.
So if you know, something likesaying to say something, because that
little phone call could be the differencebetween this case being called forever and this
case being solved. No exactly now, Pauline was brought in for questioning,
(16:18):
and under the intense pressure, heclaimed that he had overheard a conversation implicating
a man by the name of IanSchweizer and Dana Island's murder. So so
so you have one tip coming in. He gets call in now he's pointing
his finger at someone. By theway, I overheard a conversation they named
(16:44):
this other guy obviously very convenient.Now, Pauline's statement was the first real
quote unquote lead the police had receivedin months, and they were and they
quickly shifted their focus to the Schweizerbrothers. All Right, so there are
two Ian and Sean Schweitzer. Okay. Now, these two brothers were well
(17:10):
known in the community and they actuallyhad a strained relationship with the Gonsalez's family.
So this obviously added a very intriguinglayer to the case. So you
have someone has a community to havea connection to the Gonzalez family, pointing
his finger towards the Schweizer brother whohas who has beef or issues with this
(17:32):
other family? Right, So now, yes, it's turning into he said,
she said, it's too arguing feudingfamily. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Now, despite the lack of physicalevidence linking them to the crime,
at this point, the police believedthat they had found their suspects, Okay,
(17:52):
which is I don't know why,it just kind of I don't This
is where it's like you go backto situations where you have like like like
prison snitches, right, yeah,who are reaching out like, oh yeah
I know something, and this iswhat I know, and this is who
did it, and they're doing itso that they can get, you know,
(18:15):
treat better treatment, they get yeah, time off maybe time off whatever.
So it's like, how do youtake the word of someone who is
a known criminal, who is who'sinvolved with a family that's that's involved in
a drug drug trade, and you'relike, Okay, this sounds legit.
Let's just go through what have tosay. I mean, they haven't got
(18:37):
the most stella kind of like reputation, have they really? So can you
trust what they're saying? I don'tknow if I would. I mean i'd
listen, but would I trust itone hundred percent? And that would be
where I would be going. IMean. The other thing is, like
we always say, is we're notprivy to everything that the police are told.
So there must be a really goodreason why they've thought that. There
(18:59):
must be reason, yeah that's makingthem go that way. Yeah. But
here's the other thing. Is like, even if he says, oh,
I overheard a conversation which said thatIan Schweizer was involved in the yeah,
committed the murder. This is hearsayanyways, right exact, Yeah, of
course, so that was hearsay,But the police still were like interested in
(19:22):
like focusing on these brothers like theyhad to have done it. Not only
that is it's kind of like that. Pauline's state statements actually underwent several revisions
over the next few years. Okay, each version would become more and more
detailed and would become more incriminating towardsthe Schweizer brothers. Oh, that's suspect,
(19:45):
straightway, isn't it. O.Yeah, Yeah, that's that's quite
suspect. But despite the inconsistencies inPauline's testimonies, the police were egal eager
to make an arrest. Of course, they've had a lot of pressure.
Of course, they need something needsto happen. Yeah, something needs to
happen. They need to make arrest. Yeah. And because of this,
(20:07):
and because it was the high profprofile nature of the case, they obviously
decided, Okay, this is gonnawork. We're gonna pin this on this.
I don't want to say pin's useit. We're gonna pin this on
the Schweizer brothers, and they're gonnabe They're basically a convenient target for us.
That's what it seems like at thispoint. Now. I don't want
(20:32):
to say that the Sweizers weren't withtheir own weren't didn't have their own problems.
Because they were within the community,they were seen as local trouble troublemakers,
right, yeah, but they weremostly involved in minor, minor skirmishes
in disputes with their neighbors, theGonzalez and so this kind of made them
(20:52):
an eaty scapegoat for this crime.Right. Yeah. So a lot of
people within the community knew of thebrothers and they didn't like them because they
were kind of like they were hottheads, right, and they were seen as
trouble makers. They caused commotion,they you know, they were disruptive,
and so I don't people Stephen StephenAvery's of the Hawaiian Hawaiian Yeah, yeah,
(21:17):
So, I mean it kind ofseems like even if they weren't the
ones involved, they didn't do thiscrime, it kind of seems that the
community were like, Okay, well, you know, we'll get rid of
them. Yeah. It's very strangethat that you can do stuff like this
and you can kind of like isit but is it? Is it just
(21:41):
as No, it's not just atall. If you just kind of like
just pick someone out of you know, pick someone out of the community,
like well, we don't really likethem, so let's just say they did
it. Yeah, it's crazy.Now, both Ian and Shawn Schweizer would
be arrested in charge with Dana Island'smurder. This is despite the fact that
there was no physical evidence that wasthat linked them to the crime. So
(22:04):
there's nothing that linked them to thecrime. Crazy. The police and the
prosecutors would build build their case solelyon Pauline's testimonies, as well as reports
of a damaged Volkswagen Beetle allegedly connectedto the brothers. Okay, so uh
so apparently there there's there was informationthat that indicated that vol Volkswagen Beetle may
(22:30):
have been involved in this crime andthe brother there. The brothers were known
to have a volks Wagon Beetle,so that's okay, linked it a little
bit, right, Yeah, yeah, Now, there were also statements from
various informants who were seeking leniency fortheir own offenses, who came forward to
(22:52):
point the finger at the Schweizer brothers. Everyone's going in the brothers there,
They were like, yeah, yeah, they did it. Give me some
time of seconds, I'll tell youthey did it. Yeah. Here at
this point, like Eve, evenif the Schweizer brothers did commit this crime
(23:12):
or were involved in this crime.There's there's not enough to even to go
forward with prosecuting. There's nothing toarrest them on. So it's I mean,
it's already an injustice that that thepolice were just kind of like,
okay, they were so eager,they were just going to make an arrest
and they were just going to It'slike they're just they're fabricating evidence or statements
(23:34):
to incriminate these two mm hmm.Now, the prosecution's case obviously against the
brothers were obviously fraught with inconsistency,inconsistencies, and weak evidence. Okay,
going back to the testimonies, thiswas basically the key element of their case,
right, Yeah, but we alreadyknow so, but we all already
(23:56):
know Pauline's testimony had changed multile timesover the years. And they're also going
off an alleged sighting of a VolkwagenBeetle near the crime scene. You know,
I remember early when the case firsthappened, the investigations first started,
no witnesses. Now all of asudden, there's an alleged sighting of a
(24:19):
beetle in the area. Okay,I don't think that's incredible, to be
fair, absolutely not. You couplethat with these informants who are trying to
get their charged reduced. Not lookinggood at all. It's not looking great
no. Now. Despite these questionablesources, the prosecution constructed a narrative that
(24:41):
portrayed the Schweitzers as local delinquents witha penchant for violence. Okay, so
this is their story, that thesetwo are troublemakers. They love violence.
Doesn't matter who it is, theywill fight and they will attack, and
they will assault anyone that comes comesacross their way. Local bad boys mm
(25:02):
hm h. During the trial,prosecution would present Pauline as their star witness,
despite his history of dishonesty and changingstories. While his testimonies were filled
with inconstencies, the prosecution decided touse them as a way to weave a
compelling, compelling story of GUILTI.Once again, physical evidence was scant.
(25:25):
The damaged Voltawarean Beetle, which wasreportedly linked to the crime, lacked any
definitive, definitive forensic connection to theisland case. So they were able to
find the Volkswagen Beetle and there isnothing that indicated that that it could have
been involved or that could link itto either hitting the bicycle, hitting h
Dana herself. So there's nothing thatcould actually ya that that car to the
(25:49):
actual crime itself. Yeah. Now, the defense team for the Schweiser brothers
would face uphill battle. They attemptedto discredit discredit Pauline's testies by highlighting his
history of criminal behavior in his numerouscontradictions. They pointed out the lack of
direct physical evidence tying the Schweizers tothe crime, and they argued that the
(26:10):
prosecutor's cage was built on unreliable informantsand circumstantial evidence, which absolutely was I
agree, Yeah, I agree,it absolutely was. Now, despite these
efforts, the jury was swayed bythe prosecution's narratives. The emotional weight of
Dana Ireland's tragic death, combined withthe persuasive but flawed testimonies, led to
(26:32):
the conviction of Ian Schweitzer for themurder and sexual assault of Dana Ireland.
That's crazy, that's crazy. Now, Sean Schweizer, under immense pressure of
facing a long prison sentence and thestrain on his family, would actually accept
(26:52):
a plea deal for a reduced chargeof manslaughter resulting in time served. Oh
wow. So they they went toSean. They say, hey, Sean,
if you accept the plea deal andsay it was you committed manslaughter slaughter,
you know you'll be found guilty,but you'll have time served and you'll
be able to walk free, sorather than have to face a long prison
(27:15):
sentence. He yeah, he said, okay, let's do it, and
he accepted. Please. Well,you can't blame him because if he's going
to walk out of their free timeserved, why wouldn't you. You know,
you've got a choice between Okay,you're gonna spend a long time in
prison if you if you go notguilty, but if you just go guilty,
you're gonna get out straight away withtime served and it's all over.
(27:36):
Okay, No, no, yeah, it's a no brainer. You just
and yeah, you just saw yourbrother gonna, you know, be found
guilty. Yeah, that's right,he's going to be facing from prison.
Yeah, so why wouldn't you.I can see why he did. Yeah,
I can see why. And honestly, the brothers are close, and
I if it was me and mybrother in this situation, yeah I was
(27:56):
found guilty, i'd, like,you know, i'd take the deal.
I would tell them to take theYeah, I would do Yeah, I
agree, I would too. Imean, once again, I mean,
this is a it's a tough situationbecause what if they did commit this crime?
But what but they there's nothing thatreally points to the unly, isn't
(28:18):
It's unlikely unless they're unless they're likeyou know, unless they're super forensically aware
and have cleaned up all the evidence. I mean, it's very very unlikely
that they did this. They maybe local, wrong, wrong lads,
but there's nothing linking them to this. What I would be interested and so
we kind of talked about this onour CRIMEPYA extra today is we were talking
(28:44):
about when people have public defenders,and I'd be curious to know if this
was a public if their defense team, if it was public defenders. The
big problem with it, while it'sgood that people are able to have representation
and they need to have representation whenthey're not able to afford legal counsel.
Yes, yeah, the big problemthat we that we discussed in the c
(29:08):
is the fact that a lot oftimes these public defenders are getting a flat
fee for their services, so they'regoing to get paid the same amount if
they are putting one hundred hours intoa case or if they're putting ten hours
into a case. So no matterhow much time and effort their puttings are,
the case, they're going to getpaid the same amount. And the
fact that they are crazily overworked,you know, their workload and case load
(29:30):
is ridiculous. That's the other thingis that they they're not they're not read.
I mean realistically, the hours thatyou need to put into building a
case. They don't have those hoursbecause if it's so many cases that all
require the same amount of hours tobe put into them, and they just
physically don't have the hours to dothat. And that's like we were saying
(29:51):
in the crime ped direction, that'sso worrying and must be frustrating for them
because they're trying to do the bestthey can. They're in this job because
that they you know, they arethere to defend people and help people,
and yet they're not getting the toolsand they're not getting the time to do
their job properly because there's not enough. There's not enough public defenders. There
just isn't. There isn't. Thoseguys are so so overworked it's ridiculous.
(30:17):
They could have we don't know howmany cases they have, you know,
on their dockets at one time theyget just with the OKA, they could
have ten cases, they kept twentycases, whatever it might be. They're
completely overworked. And so this iswhy I'm wondering, because it's like,
I don't understand how their lawyers weren'table to prove reasonable doubt with the lack
(30:38):
of well, there's circumstantial evidence,with the fact that the only people coming
forward and the only winness is thatthey're using are completely unreliable. They're all
either in prison or they are involvedin criminal activities. Not credible witnesses,
are they really? How can ajury sit there and go, oh,
(31:03):
without without doubt, these two committedthis crime? How can how can a
jury do that in the case?Now, I don't understand. So obviously
it's like, well, what didthe defense do or not do to convince
the jury that there's a reasonable doubtin this case? I mean, I'm
sitting here and I'm telling you,like, obviously I'm not doing the case
(31:25):
word for word, but I'm sittinghere telling you that there is there is
no direct physical evidence that would brothersto this crime. There's no reliable testimonies
that would link these brothers to thecrime. So how can a jury sit
there and say, without it,without without a doubt, they committed this
crime. I don't know. No, No, I personally don't think so,
(31:52):
I personally wouldn't be able to makethat from from the evidence that we've
just I mean, I'm sure therewas a lot more in in the court
case, but from what we readand what we're seeing and the evidence is
being given and the people that aregiven the evidence, no, I don't
think it's credible, And no,I don't think it's reliable. So no,
I wouldn't. If I was onthat jury, I would say no,
I can't say beyond a reasonable doubt. No, I couldn't. I
(32:15):
couldn't go home and feel good aboutabout, you know, what I did.
I couldn't feel good that, like, I put away two people that
deserve to be in in prison.And that's the other thing is the fact
that you didn't put away the peoplethat did do this. Is you know,
you put away maybe innocent people,but at the same time, you
haven't caught the real people that didthis. So they are still out there
(32:37):
and they are still able to doit again. So it's not a case
of just getting anyone for it.You want the people that did it.
That's the whole point. So yeah, I agree absolutely. Now. Ian
Schweiser's life in federal prison was markedby routine in resilience. Every day began
with the same early morning wake upcall, followed by a structure schedule designed
(32:58):
to maintain order with in the prisonwalls. For Ian, this regromended life
was both a curse and a lifeline. The physical challenges of prison life were
daunting. Ian spent countless hours inthe yards, lifting weights and exercising to
stay physically fit. This routine notonly kept his body strong, but also
helped him maintain a sense of purposeand control. The physical exertion provided an
(33:23):
outlet for his frustration and anger,allowing him to channel his energy into something
positive. Now. Despite the harshrealities of prison, Ian never lost sight
of his innocence. He maintained asteady correspondence with his family, drawing strength
from their unwavering support Jerry and LindaSchweitzer. His parents were tireless in their
(33:45):
efforts to advocate advocate for their son'srelease. They reached out to legal experts
in organizations, and anyone who mighthelp overturn Ian's wrongful conviction. That dedication
was a consistent source of hope forIan in reminding him that he was not
alone in his fight for justice.Now, inside prison, Ian formed a
(34:07):
small circle of trusted friends. Theserelationships provided emotional support and camaraderie, helping
him navigate the challenges of incarceration.Fellow inmates who believed in his innocence offered
encouragement and solidarity, creating a semblanceof a community within the prison walls,
which is absolutely amazing, right,yeah, yeah, that So you have
(34:29):
people in there who you have peoplein there that are in prison for whatever
crimes they committed, who have morebelief in you than the police, than
your jury of a jury of peers, more belief in you than the community
that you came from, which isin a sense, I mean, it's
good, it's great that he hasit, but in the sense, it's
really sad that the people that shouldbe protecting you from from things like this
(34:55):
didn't have your back. Yeah,exactly, exactly. It's really really sad.
Now, education and self improvement becamean essentral part of Ian's prison life.
He would enroll in various courses rangingfrom vocational training to academic subjects.
Determined to use his time productively,these classes provided mental stimulation and the sense
(35:17):
of accomplishments, enforcing his belief thathe could rebuild his life once he was
free. Now, spirituality also playeda significant role in Ian's resilience. He
found solace in prayer and meditation,drawing strength from his faith. Religious services
and discussions with the prison chaplain offeredmoments of reflection and hope, helping Ian
maintain a positive outlook despite his direcircumstances. Now, Seawn Schweizer, although
(35:45):
no longer incarcerated, face a differentset of challenges. The plead deal that
resulted in his release came with aheavy burden of a criminal record. In
the sigma associated with it, Seanstruggled, Oh absolutely, Song struggled to
find employment, often being turned awaydue to his past. Societal judgment and
(36:06):
isolation were difficult to bear, andthey frequently found himself battling feelings of despair
and frustration. So we got toremember that too, right, So yeah,
was great that, you know,he didn't have to face any more
jail time. That plea deal completelychanged his life up, uprooted life.
(36:27):
He can't live a normal life fromfrom here on out because anytime he applies
for a job and they do abackground scheck check, what's the first thing
is going to pop up? Man? Yeah, exactly, Yeah, and
rightly or wrong they realistically, who'sgoing to want to employ him with that
one his you know? Yeah?That on issome history. Now. Despite
(36:49):
the challenges, Sean remained close tohis family. The Schweizer's home became a
sanctuary where he could escape the harshjudgments of the outside world. Family gatherings,
shared meals, and moments of laughterprovided much needed respite from from a
respite and reminder from what he wasfighting for. Okay, so yeah,
yeah, so it was very importantto him. Sean also sought ways to
(37:14):
contribute positively to his community. Hevolunteered at at local organizations, offering his
time and skills to help others.These acts of service were therapeutic, giving
him a sense of purpose and helpingto rebuild his tarnished reputation. Yeah.
His volunteer work also allowed him toconnect with people who saw beyond his criminal
(37:35):
record, appreciating him for his dedicationand kindness. So, I mean I'm
glad that he's got that support.Yeah, glad that he's got that.
It's very important. I think.I think it's important for a lot of
people who are coming out of incarcerationto have support like that, right because
(37:59):
it has to you have to almostfeel like a sense of hopelessness, right
when you come out of prison andyou can't get job you have. The
people that you were friends with beforeyou went to prison may not be there
for you anymore. They might bein prison themselves. They might now want
to associate you, associate with youbecause of your criminal past. So and
(38:24):
life moves on, you know,life moves on for everybody else. Yeah,
I mean, could you imagine likebeing in prison for five, ten,
fifteen years, whatever it might be, and how much people have changed
and how much the world is.Yeah, since you've been in prison and
now you're coming out into a worldthat's completely changed. The people that you
knew in your twenties now are intheir thirties or forties, whatever it might
(38:45):
be, could have families, couldbe a completely different person. But you've
been in prison. You haven't beenable to you may not been able to
change the way that they have changedexactly and like we talked about in Crembelia
extra funny enough that this all sortof tied in that is that you know,
when you are incarcerated for a seriouslength of time, everything does change
(39:10):
and for you when you come out, it's a whole new world again,
but you always do have that stigmabehind you of what you've been incarcerated for.
And then that's sometimes people can't dealwith that very well. Sometimes they
don't have the support from people togo back and have a normal life because
no matter where you go, nomatter what you do, that's always there.
(39:31):
And if you're innocent and you didn'tactually do it, then that's quite
harsh, you know. And ifpeople don't have hope, they don't have
any hope and they are feeling hopeless, they've got nothing to lose. And
I think even though people are inprison, depending on what they've done,
because I'm not going to say thisas a blanket thing, but I think
(39:51):
that I think you need to givepeople some kind of hope. They need
some kind of hope. Yeah,no, absolutely absolutely. Now throughout the
years, the bond between Ian andSean would remain unbroken. They did support
(40:12):
each other, support each other throughletters, phone calls and the occasional prison
visit. These interactions were lifelines,staining their spirits and reaffirming their commitment to
proving their innocence. Obviously, thebrothers fight for their justice was far from
over. Ian's family continued to workhighly to bring new evidence to light and
(40:34):
challenge of flawed convictions. Their terminationnever wavered, driven by a belief that
the truth would eventually prevail. Asthe years passed, this relentless pursuit of
justice began to bear fruit, settingthe stage for a dramatic turn of events
that would change their lives forever.Now Ken laws In, a former defense
attorney, would play a crucial rolein reinvestigating the Schweitzer case. His case
(41:00):
through the Hawaii Hawaii Innocence Projects.Lawson and his team would re examine all
the evidence using modern forensic techniques,particularly DNA analysis, which had not been
available during the original trial. TheDNA evidence found at the crime scene did
not match Ian Schweitzer or any otheraccused person in the case, casting significant
(41:25):
doubt on the validity of the convictions. Right, so, now we have
DNA. Now they're able to testDNA. Now they're be able to say
this DNA does not match anyone whohas been viewed as a suspect, who
who who could who could have beenin this anyone that that is known in
(41:51):
really in the area. So inno criminals. So this is completely upends
everything that police try to depend onthe schz brothers right now, the team
would also scrutinize the testimonies that hadformed the crux of the prosecution's case.
Frank Pauline's junior inconsistent statements were thoroughlydiscredited. Obviously really a shaky foundation for
(42:15):
the initial conviction yea. Furthermore,the Innocent Innocent Project highlighted the problem problematic
nature of informant testimonies, exposing theirulterior motives for cooperating with the prosecution.
Obviously we know this. We knowthis, so it's like, I know,
(42:36):
why was this not a problem?Then we know that this is a
huge issue. Yeah. Now,The legal process to overturn the convictions was
arduous, right. The Innocent Projectsfiled multiple appeals and motions presenting their new
findings to courts. This persistent Thispersistence, combined with the unwavering support of
(42:57):
the Schweizer family, led to aseries of court where the new evidence would
be examined. Now. The breakthroughcame when the judicial system acknowledged that the
new DNA evidence and the flawed testimoniesleading to Ian Schweizer's would lead to Leens
Schweitzer's exoneration and release. Okay andso oh absolutely this moment was a profound
(43:25):
victory for the Instance Project in theSchweizer family, demonstrating the power of dedicated
LEO advocacy and modern forensic science inoverturning wrongful convictions. Yeah. Now,
in early two Salem twenty three,Ian Swizer would be exonerated, which would
mark the end of decades long nightmare. His release from prison was a moment
(43:49):
of immense relief and joy for theSchweitzer family, but it also signaled the
beginning of a new journey. Ianfaced the daunting task of rebuilding his life
after years of wrongful imprisonment. Psychologicaland emotional impact was profound, but the
support from his family and community provideda foundation for healing. But the road
to complete exoneration for himself was stillfraught with challenges. Both brothers sought to
(44:14):
raise awareness, I bought about wrongfulconvictions and advocate for justice reforms. So
because of Sean Shawn actually pleaded guilty. It's much harder to get exoneration when
you plead guilty than when you're foundguilty by jury. Right already he went
and said, yeah, I'm guilty. I'm gonna accept my punishment. So
(44:36):
it's kind of it's really hard tooverturn that. Yeah, you are saying
that that you did it, youdid it. Yeah. Now, the
broader implication of the Schweitzer case arevery significant now that it highlights systematic issues
within the criminal justice system, includingthe reliance on unreliable informant testimony, prosecutor
(44:58):
prosecuting prosecuting prosecutor, and misconduct inthe critical need for forensic advancements. Now,
this case underscores the importance of organizationslike the Innocent Projects and providing a
pathway to justice for wrongfully convicted.No, just the whole thing with this,
(45:19):
all I keep thinking about is butthe family. Now. I mean,
great for these two guys that havebeen exonerated and have got a new
lease of life, But then Ijust think about those family are going to
have to go through this all overagain, because they've gone through all of
this to get these two into courtand into prison, and they you know,
they hopefully that they I mean,I don't know. I mean,
they obviously believe that they had somethingto do with it, and then now
(45:42):
they're finding out that actually is acomplete load of nonsense, and these guys
have been wrongly incarcerated. Everyone's celebratingthem coming out, but actually you've now
got a family who have still losttheir daughter in a horrific way and there's
still no closer to finding out thetruth. It's awful, It is very
awful. So good news is isin October twenty twenty three, so this
(46:06):
was this was months after Ian wasexonerated. Sean himself would be exonerated in
the Dana Island murder case. Soa circuit judge reverse the conviction, his
conviction even though he did he eventhough he did admit or takes the plead
(46:27):
deal saying that he was guilty ofmanslaughter. Good good, But yeah,
so it's great for the schwizers thatDana Ireland murderer is still out there.
Yeah, and it's now I thinkbecause you painting yourself in this corner as
a police, it's going to bevery difficult to get this case solved.
(46:49):
Right, You're gonna need have verysignificant evidence that points to a specific person,
right, Yeah, Because now evenif you find find someone and you're
like, this person is is theperson who killed Dana Ireland? Yeah,
because you've already you've already put twoinnocent men in prison or for this crime.
(47:13):
Now the defense team's gonna be ableto use this to say, well,
how do we know that you're notjust doing the same thing to this
new person. Yeah. I agree. It's very difficult, very very hard.
Yeah, so we have I mean, so the Schweitzer families, they
they got justice after years and yearsbecause feel of hardship. But now what
(47:37):
happened to Dana Ireland still it's atragedy. It's a tragedy to what happened
to her, it's a tragedy towhat happened to Schweitzer's Wing's a mess.
Yeah. So but we still need, we still need justice for the Ireland
family because because Dana didn't deserve tobe attacked, to be killed, to
(47:58):
be murdered, to be ripped fromher family. No, she didn't.
And it's I hope that they can, hope that they can get more evidence,
and I hope that they can solveit. Because it's that's brutal for
her family. It's horrible. Itis absolutely horrible. Right, you know,
you're going there to spend holiday withthe sister in that's it. Next
(48:22):
thing, you know, that's yeah, that's it. Your world's just changed.
Yeah, it's horrible, it is. That's very bad. So that
is this week's episode. Thank you, Thank you for that. It was
it was really interesting and I hopethey do. I hope they do get
to get justice for her. Okay. So usually at the end of the
(48:45):
especially with a case like this whereit's so frustrating and it's you know,
you come out of it after thinking, oh, you know, I just
wish for some for some you know, some kind of news for the family.
We like to cheer things up alittle bit at the end of our
show with something that he liked tocall dumb criminal a criminal use a dirmy.
(49:07):
This that was the perfect intro tothis one. So this I found
this on the internet the other week, and it's a Kentucky man was arrested
after passing out. A guy calledDavid Ratliffe is forty three and he passed
out behind the wheel of his car. Okay, in the parking lot of
a video store of as on theUS Route forty to one in Manchester,
(49:29):
Okay, which is about one hundredmiles south of Lexington, if you know
that area. So the police arrivedat the scene and asked him for his
ID. So when he was pullingout his ID to give the police,
he also whipped out a bag ofmeth, some pills, a large sum
of US currency Okay, So thiswas this is Clay County, Clay County
(49:52):
Sheriff's office, and they've actually gota picture of like that, you know,
like when the police lay out allthe stuff that they find. So
they've actually got a picture of itall laid out, right. So in
his in handing over this to thepolice, he handed over nine grams of
meth. Right, he handed overseveral ventanyl pills and three thousand and thirty
(50:14):
four dollars in cash Okay. Sohe was arrested on charges of trafficking in
a trafficking a controlled substance and alsopublic intoxication and was taken to Clay County
Detention Center. So what idiot he'spulled over, he's obviously off his face
anyway, in charge of a vehicleand then not only that is that when
(50:36):
he's arrested and the police ask himfor his iding and everything else, Like,
what an idiot. It's so nicewhen they just make it easy,
right there, you go, Yeah, exactly, like now I'm absolutely not
intoxicated, officer. Oh whoops,here's my meth, here's my ventinyl pills,
and here's three thousand, three thousanddollars in cash. Okay, well
(51:00):
idiots, but so much fun.So yes, he was obviously detained.
To be honest, when you saidwhip it out, I was worried,
where are you going with this?I'm like, oh, okay, well
no, there was no indegent exposurein this, in this dumb criminal episode.
I'm quite surprised himself. Off hisface. I'm surprised that nothing else
(51:22):
did occur, to be fair,but no, just a little bit of
drugs and quite a lot of hereyou go, sir, yeah, hand
it over nothing here. No,okay, So future criminals, you put
your idea in the other pocket,didn't put it all in together, and
you might just go away with itor wait until you get home before you
(51:42):
start using and passing out people.Yeah, it's not no, it's not
a good good idea, but obviouslythe moral of the story is you're going
to get caught, and he didand that was great. So another one
off the road and in the inthe jail cell, so I love that.
It was a good one. Soyeah, so thank you very much
(52:05):
for listening to us today. It'snice to be back with you all,
and we'll be back with another episode, next one with my episode, and
we'll bring that to you very shortly, so for now, be nice and bye.
Welcome to crime Pedia. It's beenso long I almost forgot how to do
this. My name is Morgan.I am your host this week. I
hope you are having a wonderful dayand with me as always is my true
crime bff. Coming all the wayfrom sunny England. It's a lovely Cherry.
Hello Cherry, how are you forchange? Hello, it is sunny
(01:12):
today, it's very very sunny.And yes, if you're not usually listening
to us, Morgan is based inthe good old US of A and I
am based in lovely England, andtogether we fallat Yes, we are still
around. Yes, we are stillalive. We've just been extremely busy the
(01:34):
past I don't know a few months, especially the past month or so.
But we are back with a brandnew episode in a brand new case for
you to listen to and enjoy.Yeah. Yeah, it's been a bit
crazy. We've been. There's alot going on and we've been very,
very busy. So we do appreciateyou guys for subscribing and staying with us
(01:56):
to this. We've still got ahardcore, hardcore crime Pedia fans that will
start with us through thick and thin, and we do appreciate every every single
one of you, So thank youso much. Now good news is probably
here soon. Were our schedules aregoing to start getting a little lighter,
and we're going to get back tonormal, yes, bash, so expect
to get Yeah, we'll be backto normal here very soon, I think,
(02:22):
yeah, yeah, thanks, shouldbe back to normal soon so we
can bring you the episodes you enjoyevery every other week. So yeah,
it's good. It's all good,and I'm happy to be back. It
feels like it's been such a longtime. It has been a very,
very long time. I'm sure thatwe have I'm sure that we have some
news or notes that we can givepeople that we can do at the end
(02:43):
of the episode. But for now, Cherry, how about we jump right
into this week's case. Let's goin the small, highly knit communities of
Hawaii's Big Island. The Schweizer brothers, albert Ian and Sean once lived a
seemingly idyllic life, overshadowed by theirwrongful convictions for one of Hawaii's most notorious
crimes, the nineteen ninety one ravenmurder of twenty three year old Dana Ireland.
(03:08):
In this episode, we explore thebrother's journey for being wrongfully accused and
in prison to their eventual exoneration,highlighting the flaws in the justice system and
the cultural biases that influenced their case. This is Crinpedia, and this is
wrongfully accused. The murder of DanaIreland Okay Cherry. Dana Ireland was a
(03:34):
bright, ambitious young woman with apassion for physical education and a love for
the outdoors. Born and raised inVirginia, she had a closeness knit family
that included her parents, John andLouise, and her older sister Sandra.
Dana's vivacious spirit and compassionate compassionate natureand endeared her to everyone she met,
(03:54):
making her untimely death all the moretragic. After graduating from George Mason University
with a degree in physical education,Dana decided to take a break before starting
her career. Her sister Sandra,who lived in Hawaii, invited her to
spend some time with her on theBig Island, offering Dana a chance to
(04:15):
explore the island's natural beauty and enjoya much needed break. The island sisters
were incredibly close, and the prospectsof spending the holidays together was something they
both look forward to with great anticipation. I must say spending Christmas in Hawaii
would have to be one of mytop things I would want to do.
(04:40):
It'd be absolutely amazing. I thinkit sounds pretty cool. I'd like to
But I'd like to do like aHawaiian Christmas, like you know, the
way that they do, not justlike take normal Christmas and just have it
there. I'd like to like embracehow the Hawaiian people would have right their
normal Christmas. That would be reallycool to expert. It's completely different to
(05:00):
how are you usual? So nodragging a giant Christmas tree with you across
the across the ocean. Yeah,like no cook in turkey unless that's what
they do, Like no cook inturkey, no potatoes, you know,
all that kind of stuff. Justsee what they have, and like I
would hope it would be like afresh fish, seafood kind of Christmas.
(05:23):
That would be quite interesting, interestingsatan sun, Yeah, fresh fruit,
like really wholesome Christmas, not thestart and the tins and sweets. It
would your Yeah, maybe actually loseweight over the holidays instead of you know,
gaining ten pounds, Yeah exactly,And I wouldn't I wouldn't miss you
(05:45):
know, I would be okay nothaving a white Christmas. It'd be fine
with me. No snow. Yeah, we didn't get that here. We
hardly ever get We hardly ever geta white. It wouldn't be missing anything,
so it doesn't make it a differentyou would actually just no. Instead,
it'd be nice and water, whichwould be lovely perfect. We need
to do that sometime. I'm downwith that. I'm down with that,
yeah now. Dana arrives in Hawaiiin late nineteen ninety one, just in
(06:08):
time to celebrate Christmas with Sandra.The sisters spent the days exploring the island,
hiking through lush forests and lounging onpristine beaches. Dana quickly fell in
love with the island's breathtaking landscapes inthe warm, welcoming community. However,
the vacation would take a devastating datingturn on Christmas Eve. That afternoon,
(06:29):
Dana decided to go for a bikeride near Kopoho, a remote and scenic
area on the island. As thesun began to set, Dana's family grew
concerned when she did not return home. Hours later, a passerby discovered her
mangled bicycle on the side of theroad. Dana's severely injured body was found
in a secluded area miles away,barely clinging to life. She would be
(06:54):
rushed to Hilo Hospital, where shesuccumbed to her injuries later that night.
It's horrible, isn't it. It'salways horrible when somebody goes missing and the
family just don't know where they are, and then they've got all of that,
which is the worry, and thenthen it's the finding of the person
and the state that they're usually leftin. Its heartbreaking. It's so awful
(07:15):
when the one thing, the onething that really stands out to me is
that when they say that her bicyclewas mangled, to me, that almost
sounds like she got hit by acar, right, she got hit by
a car, and then instead ofcalling for help or trying to help her
(07:38):
out, they're taking her body tohide it. Ah, that's awful.
And how bad did you feel ifyou're her family? How bad did you
feel that somebody hasn't tried to helpinstead of trying to help and get an
ambulance or you know that they've beensneaky and like all sorts of things that
be going through your mind. Wasshe alive when when they left her?
(07:59):
Was she Did they kill her?Out right? And did she you know,
because I think most family members wantto know how, you know,
did they die painlessly? Were theyin pain? Were they calling out for
me? That kind of stuff.It's the kind of thing that just goes
through your head as a human andthen to hear that that's just callous and
horrible. Yeah, But as weget so, this is what I don't
(08:22):
understand. Right, So the bike'smangled, she's taken away. It sounds
like, you know, it couldhave been simply an accident where someone hits
her and and tries to h triesto protect themselves. Maybe they had been
drinking and they're worried about you know. Yeah, now it's gonna be fault.
So instead of just being a tragicaccident, now it's like, Okay,
(08:45):
I was doing something I should havebeen. Now I'm going to be
charged with, you know, manslaughteror whatever. Yeah. Yeah, But
as as we're going to learn herein second, I don't It's there's more
to this than just a simple accident. Okay. Now, obviously, the
(09:07):
death of Dana Island would shock thecommunity and would garner widespread media attention.
It would quickly we would quickly learnthat the nature of this actual crime was
one where it was just a young, an innocent woman who actually was brutally
(09:28):
attacked and assaulted and left to die. So was it simply just didn't run,
she was actually attacked. Obviously,the community with that point there was
this, there was this intense desireand demand for justice in the case.
(09:48):
Now the local police would be putunder immense pressure by both the public as
well as the media. They wouldlaunch an extensive investigation to find Dana's killer,
but despite their efforts, the initialinvestigation yielded few substantial leads and the
case began to grow cold, leavingDana's family and the community desperate for answers.
(10:11):
Now, it's kind of go let'skind of rewind a little bit and
kind of go over what happened.So now, the events of Christmas Eve
nineteen ninety one would mark the beginningof a long and arduous journey for the
Island family in the white community.Dana's bike, intended as a peaceful escape
into nature, ended in a brutaland senseless attack that left her fighting for
(10:31):
her life. The immediate aftermath ofthe cry saw fury of activity as police
and emergency responders descended on the scene. Like we said earlier, Dana's bicycle
was found mangled and abandoned on theside of the road, and this was
obviously the first sign that something wasterribly wrong. Nearby, the ground boar
signs of a violent struggle, withbloodstains and broken branches, indicating that Dana
(10:54):
had fought fearlessly against her attacker.The discovery of discovery of her body in
the remote area miles away from theinitial crime scene added to the mystery and
the horror of the case. Soobviously this is something something else is going
on here. I mean, didit start out as an accident and then
(11:16):
turn into an attack? Was this? Did someone see her and plan her
and you know, plan this outand purposely hit her? I don't know
how else a bike becomes mangled besides, you know, yeah, yeah,
yeah, So did someone see hereand decide, okay, I'm going to
go and attack this girl, andyou know, decided the easiest way to
(11:37):
to to get her off the bikewas just to hit it. And I
know it's very strange, isn't it. Yeah, definitely, so I don't
know. It's very strange already.Now the local police force, which was
led by seasoned investigators, began theirwork with a sense of urgency. They
(11:58):
would canvass the area, interviewing anyonewho might have seen or heard something on
the day of the attack. Flyerswith Dana's pitchers were just distributed widely,
and a tip line was established togather any information that might might lead to
an arrest. Despite these efforts,the investigation faced significant challenges from the outset.
(12:18):
The remote location of the crime scenemeant that there were very few witnesses
and the physical evidence collected was sparseand inconclusive. So because of this lack
of immediate leads, it would onlyheighten the sense of urgency in this case
for the police. So obviously you'dbe worried, like, we don't really
(12:41):
have anything to go off of.We don't have anyone that saw anything,
we don't have anything that's anyone thathas heard anything. So obviously it would
be very stressful for the police atthis point, oh one hundred percent,
They've got nothing to go on,they've got no no needs, nothing to
tell them other than physically what's infront of them. They've got they've got
(13:03):
nothing. Yeah, that's really hard. I mean I have not been to
the Big On. I have beenhold to Hawaii, and like, if
you know about these roads and howtheir community is set up, I mean
there are a lot of times they'revery widespread. You have a lot of
very small, tight knit communities.The islands are heavily forested. So yeah,
(13:24):
I mean it would be very difficultto in these sorts of circumstances to
have eight witnesses to have at youknow, obvious evidence or things to collect.
Besides, like you know, youhave your blood stains, you have
(13:45):
broken branches, but that's not reallygoing to tell you a whole lot.
No. And also in tight ningcommunities like that, they don't often like
speaking to law enforcement exactly. Sothat's that's the other thing that they're facing,
is it probably a whole white wallof just silence because they're not the
sort of communities they liked to engagewith law enforcement no matter what's happened.
We find that a lot with theindigenous communities, don't we we in the
(14:07):
cases that we've looked at, thatthey're not keen on speaking with authorities outside
of their community. And so Iwould imagine maybe wrong, but I would
imagine that this may be a problemthat they might face in small communities like
this. Yeah, no, absolutelyabsolutely. Now, as the days turned
(14:30):
into weeks, the initial momentum ofthe investigation began to wane. The medias
were lentless. Coverage of the casekept it in the public eye, but
the lack of progress was frustrating foreveryone involved. Yeah, the police continued
to follow up on leads and tips, but none of them seemed to bring
them any closer to finding Dana's killer. Now, in this atmosphere of desperation
(14:52):
and frustration, the police actually receivedanonymous tip in March nineteen ninety two that
would change the course of the investigation. The tip pointed them towards Frank Pauline
Junior, who is a local manwith a criminal record and ties to the
Gonsalevs Family. Now, the Gonzalesfamily, they were notorious in the area
(15:13):
and they were led by a knowndrug dealer named Timmy Gonsalevs. Okay,
so, okay, obviously, nowyou have someone in the community who's come
forward and like, hey, youmight want to look at this Frank Pauline
Junior. Guy, I love ananonymous tip. I love it. I
love it when people do the rightthing. They're struggling with the morality of
(15:35):
it because they're frightened, but theythe overwhelming urge to do the right thing
breaks through, and good on them. Good on them for just like giving
the name, giving the police somethingto look at, because that poor girl
and that poor girl's family, Andlike we always say, all it takes
is one phone call, one bitof you know, one little bit of
evidence, one name. That's allit takes that could actually break this all
(15:58):
open. And you have you're notmentioned at all because you've done it anonymously.
So if you know, something likesaying to say something, because that
little phone call could be the differencebetween this case being called forever and this
case being solved. No exactly now, Pauline was brought in for questioning,
(16:18):
and under the intense pressure, heclaimed that he had overheard a conversation implicating
a man by the name of IanSchweizer and Dana Island's murder. So so
so you have one tip coming in. He gets call in now he's pointing
his finger at someone. By theway, I overheard a conversation they named
(16:44):
this other guy obviously very convenient.Now, Pauline's statement was the first real
quote unquote lead the police had receivedin months, and they were and they
quickly shifted their focus to the Schweizerbrothers. All Right, so there are
two Ian and Sean Schweitzer. Okay. Now, these two brothers were well
(17:10):
known in the community and they actuallyhad a strained relationship with the Gonsalez's family.
So this obviously added a very intriguinglayer to the case. So you
have someone has a community to havea connection to the Gonzalez family, pointing
his finger towards the Schweizer brother whohas who has beef or issues with this
(17:32):
other family? Right, So now, yes, it's turning into he said,
she said, it's too arguing feudingfamily. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Now, despite the lack of physicalevidence linking them to the crime,
at this point, the police believedthat they had found their suspects, Okay,
(17:52):
which is I don't know why,it just kind of I don't This
is where it's like you go backto situations where you have like like like
prison snitches, right, yeah,who are reaching out like, oh yeah
I know something, and this iswhat I know, and this is who
did it, and they're doing itso that they can get, you know,
(18:15):
treat better treatment, they get yeah, time off maybe time off whatever.
So it's like, how do youtake the word of someone who is
a known criminal, who is who'sinvolved with a family that's that's involved in
a drug drug trade, and you'relike, Okay, this sounds legit.
Let's just go through what have tosay. I mean, they haven't got
(18:37):
the most stella kind of like reputation, have they really? So can you
trust what they're saying? I don'tknow if I would. I mean i'd
listen, but would I trust itone hundred percent? And that would be
where I would be going. IMean. The other thing is, like
we always say, is we're notprivy to everything that the police are told.
So there must be a really goodreason why they've thought that. There
(18:59):
must be reason, yeah that's makingthem go that way. Yeah. But
here's the other thing. Is like, even if he says, oh,
I overheard a conversation which said thatIan Schweizer was involved in the yeah,
committed the murder. This is hearsayanyways, right exact, Yeah, of
course, so that was hearsay,But the police still were like interested in
(19:22):
like focusing on these brothers like theyhad to have done it. Not only
that is it's kind of like that. Pauline's state statements actually underwent several revisions
over the next few years. Okay, each version would become more and more
detailed and would become more incriminating towardsthe Schweizer brothers. Oh, that's suspect,
(19:45):
straightway, isn't it. O.Yeah, Yeah, that's that's quite
suspect. But despite the inconsistencies inPauline's testimonies, the police were egal eager
to make an arrest. Of course, they've had a lot of pressure.
Of course, they need something needsto happen. Yeah, something needs to
happen. They need to make arrest. Yeah. And because of this,
(20:07):
and because it was the high profprofile nature of the case, they obviously
decided, Okay, this is gonnawork. We're gonna pin this on this.
I don't want to say pin's useit. We're gonna pin this on
the Schweizer brothers, and they're gonnabe They're basically a convenient target for us.
That's what it seems like at thispoint. Now. I don't want
(20:32):
to say that the Sweizers weren't withtheir own weren't didn't have their own problems.
Because they were within the community,they were seen as local trouble troublemakers,
right, yeah, but they weremostly involved in minor, minor skirmishes
in disputes with their neighbors, theGonzalez and so this kind of made them
(20:52):
an eaty scapegoat for this crime.Right. Yeah. So a lot of
people within the community knew of thebrothers and they didn't like them because they
were kind of like they were hottheads, right, and they were seen as
trouble makers. They caused commotion,they you know, they were disruptive,
and so I don't people Stephen StephenAvery's of the Hawaiian Hawaiian Yeah, yeah,
(21:17):
So, I mean it kind ofseems like even if they weren't the
ones involved, they didn't do thiscrime, it kind of seems that the
community were like, Okay, well, you know, we'll get rid of
them. Yeah. It's very strangethat that you can do stuff like this
and you can kind of like isit but is it? Is it just
(21:41):
as No, it's not just atall. If you just kind of like
just pick someone out of you know, pick someone out of the community,
like well, we don't really likethem, so let's just say they did
it. Yeah, it's crazy.Now, both Ian and Shawn Schweizer would
be arrested in charge with Dana Island'smurder. This is despite the fact that
there was no physical evidence that wasthat linked them to the crime. So
(22:04):
there's nothing that linked them to thecrime. Crazy. The police and the
prosecutors would build build their case solelyon Pauline's testimonies, as well as reports
of a damaged Volkswagen Beetle allegedly connectedto the brothers. Okay, so uh
so apparently there there's there was informationthat that indicated that vol Volkswagen Beetle may
(22:30):
have been involved in this crime andthe brother there. The brothers were known
to have a volks Wagon Beetle,so that's okay, linked it a little
bit, right, Yeah, yeah, Now, there were also statements from
various informants who were seeking leniency fortheir own offenses, who came forward to
(22:52):
point the finger at the Schweizer brothers. Everyone's going in the brothers there,
They were like, yeah, yeah, they did it. Give me some
time of seconds, I'll tell youthey did it. Yeah. Here at
this point, like Eve, evenif the Schweizer brothers did commit this crime
(23:12):
or were involved in this crime.There's there's not enough to even to go
forward with prosecuting. There's nothing toarrest them on. So it's I mean,
it's already an injustice that that thepolice were just kind of like,
okay, they were so eager,they were just going to make an arrest
and they were just going to It'slike they're just they're fabricating evidence or statements
(23:34):
to incriminate these two mm hmm.Now, the prosecution's case obviously against the
brothers were obviously fraught with inconsistency,inconsistencies, and weak evidence. Okay,
going back to the testimonies, thiswas basically the key element of their case,
right, Yeah, but we alreadyknow so, but we all already
(23:56):
know Pauline's testimony had changed multile timesover the years. And they're also going
off an alleged sighting of a VolkwagenBeetle near the crime scene. You know,
I remember early when the case firsthappened, the investigations first started,
no witnesses. Now all of asudden, there's an alleged sighting of a
(24:19):
beetle in the area. Okay,I don't think that's incredible, to be
fair, absolutely not. You couplethat with these informants who are trying to
get their charged reduced. Not lookinggood at all. It's not looking great
no. Now. Despite these questionablesources, the prosecution constructed a narrative that
(24:41):
portrayed the Schweitzers as local delinquents witha penchant for violence. Okay, so
this is their story, that thesetwo are troublemakers. They love violence.
Doesn't matter who it is, theywill fight and they will attack, and
they will assault anyone that comes comesacross their way. Local bad boys mm
(25:02):
hm h. During the trial,prosecution would present Pauline as their star witness,
despite his history of dishonesty and changingstories. While his testimonies were filled
with inconstencies, the prosecution decided touse them as a way to weave a
compelling, compelling story of GUILTI.Once again, physical evidence was scant.
(25:25):
The damaged Voltawarean Beetle, which wasreportedly linked to the crime, lacked any
definitive, definitive forensic connection to theisland case. So they were able to
find the Volkswagen Beetle and there isnothing that indicated that that it could have
been involved or that could link itto either hitting the bicycle, hitting h
Dana herself. So there's nothing thatcould actually ya that that car to the
(25:49):
actual crime itself. Yeah. Now, the defense team for the Schweiser brothers
would face uphill battle. They attemptedto discredit discredit Pauline's testies by highlighting his
history of criminal behavior in his numerouscontradictions. They pointed out the lack of
direct physical evidence tying the Schweizers tothe crime, and they argued that the
(26:10):
prosecutor's cage was built on unreliable informantsand circumstantial evidence, which absolutely was I
agree, Yeah, I agree,it absolutely was. Now, despite these
efforts, the jury was swayed bythe prosecution's narratives. The emotional weight of
Dana Ireland's tragic death, combined withthe persuasive but flawed testimonies, led to
(26:32):
the conviction of Ian Schweitzer for themurder and sexual assault of Dana Ireland.
That's crazy, that's crazy. Now, Sean Schweizer, under immense pressure of
facing a long prison sentence and thestrain on his family, would actually accept
(26:52):
a plea deal for a reduced chargeof manslaughter resulting in time served. Oh
wow. So they they went toSean. They say, hey, Sean,
if you accept the plea deal andsay it was you committed manslaughter slaughter,
you know you'll be found guilty,but you'll have time served and you'll
be able to walk free, sorather than have to face a long prison
(27:15):
sentence. He yeah, he said, okay, let's do it, and
he accepted. Please. Well,you can't blame him because if he's going
to walk out of their free timeserved, why wouldn't you. You know,
you've got a choice between Okay,you're gonna spend a long time in
prison if you if you go notguilty, but if you just go guilty,
you're gonna get out straight away withtime served and it's all over.
(27:36):
Okay, No, no, yeah, it's a no brainer. You just
and yeah, you just saw yourbrother gonna, you know, be found
guilty. Yeah, that's right,he's going to be facing from prison.
Yeah, so why wouldn't you.I can see why he did. Yeah,
I can see why. And honestly, the brothers are close, and
I if it was me and mybrother in this situation, yeah I was
(27:56):
found guilty, i'd, like,you know, i'd take the deal.
I would tell them to take theYeah, I would do Yeah, I
agree, I would too. Imean, once again, I mean,
this is a it's a tough situationbecause what if they did commit this crime?
But what but they there's nothing thatreally points to the unly, isn't
(28:18):
It's unlikely unless they're unless they're likeyou know, unless they're super forensically aware
and have cleaned up all the evidence. I mean, it's very very unlikely
that they did this. They maybe local, wrong, wrong lads,
but there's nothing linking them to this. What I would be interested and so
we kind of talked about this onour CRIMEPYA extra today is we were talking
(28:44):
about when people have public defenders,and I'd be curious to know if this
was a public if their defense team, if it was public defenders. The
big problem with it, while it'sgood that people are able to have representation
and they need to have representation whenthey're not able to afford legal counsel.
Yes, yeah, the big problemthat we that we discussed in the c
(29:08):
is the fact that a lot oftimes these public defenders are getting a flat
fee for their services, so they'regoing to get paid the same amount if
they are putting one hundred hours intoa case or if they're putting ten hours
into a case. So no matterhow much time and effort their puttings are,
the case, they're going to getpaid the same amount. And the
fact that they are crazily overworked,you know, their workload and case load
(29:30):
is ridiculous. That's the other thingis that they they're not they're not read.
I mean realistically, the hours thatyou need to put into building a
case. They don't have those hoursbecause if it's so many cases that all
require the same amount of hours tobe put into them, and they just
physically don't have the hours to dothat. And that's like we were saying
(29:51):
in the crime ped direction, that'sso worrying and must be frustrating for them
because they're trying to do the bestthey can. They're in this job because
that they you know, they arethere to defend people and help people,
and yet they're not getting the toolsand they're not getting the time to do
their job properly because there's not enough. There's not enough public defenders. There
just isn't. There isn't. Thoseguys are so so overworked it's ridiculous.
(30:17):
They could have we don't know howmany cases they have, you know,
on their dockets at one time theyget just with the OKA, they could
have ten cases, they kept twentycases, whatever it might be. They're
completely overworked. And so this iswhy I'm wondering, because it's like,
I don't understand how their lawyers weren'table to prove reasonable doubt with the lack
(30:38):
of well, there's circumstantial evidence,with the fact that the only people coming
forward and the only winness is thatthey're using are completely unreliable. They're all
either in prison or they are involvedin criminal activities. Not credible witnesses,
are they really? How can ajury sit there and go, oh,
(31:03):
without without doubt, these two committedthis crime? How can how can a
jury do that in the case?Now, I don't understand. So obviously
it's like, well, what didthe defense do or not do to convince
the jury that there's a reasonable doubtin this case? I mean, I'm
sitting here and I'm telling you,like, obviously I'm not doing the case
(31:25):
word for word, but I'm sittinghere telling you that there is there is
no direct physical evidence that would brothersto this crime. There's no reliable testimonies
that would link these brothers to thecrime. So how can a jury sit
there and say, without it,without without a doubt, they committed this
crime. I don't know. No, No, I personally don't think so,
(31:52):
I personally wouldn't be able to makethat from from the evidence that we've
just I mean, I'm sure therewas a lot more in in the court
case, but from what we readand what we're seeing and the evidence is
being given and the people that aregiven the evidence, no, I don't
think it's credible, And no,I don't think it's reliable. So no,
I wouldn't. If I was onthat jury, I would say no,
I can't say beyond a reasonable doubt. No, I couldn't. I
(32:15):
couldn't go home and feel good aboutabout, you know, what I did.
I couldn't feel good that, like, I put away two people that
deserve to be in in prison.And that's the other thing is the fact
that you didn't put away the peoplethat did do this. Is you know,
you put away maybe innocent people,but at the same time, you
haven't caught the real people that didthis. So they are still out there
(32:37):
and they are still able to doit again. So it's not a case
of just getting anyone for it.You want the people that did it.
That's the whole point. So yeah, I agree absolutely. Now. Ian
Schweiser's life in federal prison was markedby routine in resilience. Every day began
with the same early morning wake upcall, followed by a structure schedule designed
(32:58):
to maintain order with in the prisonwalls. For Ian, this regromended life
was both a curse and a lifeline. The physical challenges of prison life were
daunting. Ian spent countless hours inthe yards, lifting weights and exercising to
stay physically fit. This routine notonly kept his body strong, but also
helped him maintain a sense of purposeand control. The physical exertion provided an
(33:23):
outlet for his frustration and anger,allowing him to channel his energy into something
positive. Now. Despite the harshrealities of prison, Ian never lost sight
of his innocence. He maintained asteady correspondence with his family, drawing strength
from their unwavering support Jerry and LindaSchweitzer. His parents were tireless in their
(33:45):
efforts to advocate advocate for their son'srelease. They reached out to legal experts
in organizations, and anyone who mighthelp overturn Ian's wrongful conviction. That dedication
was a consistent source of hope forIan in reminding him that he was not
alone in his fight for justice.Now, inside prison, Ian formed a
(34:07):
small circle of trusted friends. Theserelationships provided emotional support and camaraderie, helping
him navigate the challenges of incarceration.Fellow inmates who believed in his innocence offered
encouragement and solidarity, creating a semblanceof a community within the prison walls,
which is absolutely amazing, right,yeah, yeah, that So you have
(34:29):
people in there who you have peoplein there that are in prison for whatever
crimes they committed, who have morebelief in you than the police, than
your jury of a jury of peers, more belief in you than the community
that you came from, which isin a sense, I mean, it's
good, it's great that he hasit, but in the sense, it's
really sad that the people that shouldbe protecting you from from things like this
(34:55):
didn't have your back. Yeah,exactly, exactly. It's really really sad.
Now, education and self improvement becamean essentral part of Ian's prison life.
He would enroll in various courses rangingfrom vocational training to academic subjects.
Determined to use his time productively,these classes provided mental stimulation and the sense
(35:17):
of accomplishments, enforcing his belief thathe could rebuild his life once he was
free. Now, spirituality also playeda significant role in Ian's resilience. He
found solace in prayer and meditation,drawing strength from his faith. Religious services
and discussions with the prison chaplain offeredmoments of reflection and hope, helping Ian
maintain a positive outlook despite his direcircumstances. Now, Seawn Schweizer, although
(35:45):
no longer incarcerated, face a differentset of challenges. The plead deal that
resulted in his release came with aheavy burden of a criminal record. In
the sigma associated with it, Seanstruggled, Oh absolutely, Song struggled to
find employment, often being turned awaydue to his past. Societal judgment and
(36:06):
isolation were difficult to bear, andthey frequently found himself battling feelings of despair
and frustration. So we got toremember that too, right, So yeah,
was great that, you know,he didn't have to face any more
jail time. That plea deal completelychanged his life up, uprooted life.
(36:27):
He can't live a normal life fromfrom here on out because anytime he applies
for a job and they do abackground scheck check, what's the first thing
is going to pop up? Man? Yeah, exactly, Yeah, and
rightly or wrong they realistically, who'sgoing to want to employ him with that
one his you know? Yeah?That on issome history. Now. Despite
(36:49):
the challenges, Sean remained close tohis family. The Schweizer's home became a
sanctuary where he could escape the harshjudgments of the outside world. Family gatherings,
shared meals, and moments of laughterprovided much needed respite from from a
respite and reminder from what he wasfighting for. Okay, so yeah,
yeah, so it was very importantto him. Sean also sought ways to
(37:14):
contribute positively to his community. Hevolunteered at at local organizations, offering his
time and skills to help others.These acts of service were therapeutic, giving
him a sense of purpose and helpingto rebuild his tarnished reputation. Yeah.
His volunteer work also allowed him toconnect with people who saw beyond his criminal
(37:35):
record, appreciating him for his dedicationand kindness. So, I mean I'm
glad that he's got that support.Yeah, glad that he's got that.
It's very important. I think.I think it's important for a lot of
people who are coming out of incarcerationto have support like that, right because
(37:59):
it has to you have to almostfeel like a sense of hopelessness, right
when you come out of prison andyou can't get job you have. The
people that you were friends with beforeyou went to prison may not be there
for you anymore. They might bein prison themselves. They might now want
to associate you, associate with youbecause of your criminal past. So and
(38:24):
life moves on, you know,life moves on for everybody else. Yeah,
I mean, could you imagine likebeing in prison for five, ten,
fifteen years, whatever it might be, and how much people have changed
and how much the world is.Yeah, since you've been in prison and
now you're coming out into a worldthat's completely changed. The people that you
knew in your twenties now are intheir thirties or forties, whatever it might
(38:45):
be, could have families, couldbe a completely different person. But you've
been in prison. You haven't beenable to you may not been able to
change the way that they have changedexactly and like we talked about in Crembelia
extra funny enough that this all sortof tied in that is that you know,
when you are incarcerated for a seriouslength of time, everything does change
(39:10):
and for you when you come out, it's a whole new world again,
but you always do have that stigmabehind you of what you've been incarcerated for.
And then that's sometimes people can't dealwith that very well. Sometimes they
don't have the support from people togo back and have a normal life because
no matter where you go, nomatter what you do, that's always there.
(39:31):
And if you're innocent and you didn'tactually do it, then that's quite
harsh, you know. And ifpeople don't have hope, they don't have
any hope and they are feeling hopeless, they've got nothing to lose. And
I think even though people are inprison, depending on what they've done,
because I'm not going to say thisas a blanket thing, but I think
(39:51):
that I think you need to givepeople some kind of hope. They need
some kind of hope. Yeah,no, absolutely absolutely. Now throughout the
years, the bond between Ian andSean would remain unbroken. They did support
(40:12):
each other, support each other throughletters, phone calls and the occasional prison
visit. These interactions were lifelines,staining their spirits and reaffirming their commitment to
proving their innocence. Obviously, thebrothers fight for their justice was far from
over. Ian's family continued to workhighly to bring new evidence to light and
(40:34):
challenge of flawed convictions. Their terminationnever wavered, driven by a belief that
the truth would eventually prevail. Asthe years passed, this relentless pursuit of
justice began to bear fruit, settingthe stage for a dramatic turn of events
that would change their lives forever.Now Ken laws In, a former defense
attorney, would play a crucial rolein reinvestigating the Schweitzer case. His case
(41:00):
through the Hawaii Hawaii Innocence Projects.Lawson and his team would re examine all
the evidence using modern forensic techniques,particularly DNA analysis, which had not been
available during the original trial. TheDNA evidence found at the crime scene did
not match Ian Schweitzer or any otheraccused person in the case, casting significant
(41:25):
doubt on the validity of the convictions. Right, so, now we have
DNA. Now they're able to testDNA. Now they're be able to say
this DNA does not match anyone whohas been viewed as a suspect, who
who who could who could have beenin this anyone that that is known in
(41:51):
really in the area. So inno criminals. So this is completely upends
everything that police try to depend onthe schz brothers right now, the team
would also scrutinize the testimonies that hadformed the crux of the prosecution's case.
Frank Pauline's junior inconsistent statements were thoroughlydiscredited. Obviously really a shaky foundation for
(42:15):
the initial conviction yea. Furthermore,the Innocent Innocent Project highlighted the problem problematic
nature of informant testimonies, exposing theirulterior motives for cooperating with the prosecution.
Obviously we know this. We knowthis, so it's like, I know,
(42:36):
why was this not a problem?Then we know that this is a
huge issue. Yeah. Now,The legal process to overturn the convictions was
arduous, right. The Innocent Projectsfiled multiple appeals and motions presenting their new
findings to courts. This persistent Thispersistence, combined with the unwavering support of
(42:57):
the Schweizer family, led to aseries of court where the new evidence would
be examined. Now. The breakthroughcame when the judicial system acknowledged that the
new DNA evidence and the flawed testimoniesleading to Ian Schweizer's would lead to Leens
Schweitzer's exoneration and release. Okay andso oh absolutely this moment was a profound
(43:25):
victory for the Instance Project in theSchweizer family, demonstrating the power of dedicated
LEO advocacy and modern forensic science inoverturning wrongful convictions. Yeah. Now,
in early two Salem twenty three,Ian Swizer would be exonerated, which would
mark the end of decades long nightmare. His release from prison was a moment
(43:49):
of immense relief and joy for theSchweitzer family, but it also signaled the
beginning of a new journey. Ianfaced the daunting task of rebuilding his life
after years of wrongful imprisonment. Psychologicaland emotional impact was profound, but the
support from his family and community provideda foundation for healing. But the road
to complete exoneration for himself was stillfraught with challenges. Both brothers sought to
(44:14):
raise awareness, I bought about wrongfulconvictions and advocate for justice reforms. So
because of Sean Shawn actually pleaded guilty. It's much harder to get exoneration when
you plead guilty than when you're foundguilty by jury. Right already he went
and said, yeah, I'm guilty. I'm gonna accept my punishment. So
(44:36):
it's kind of it's really hard tooverturn that. Yeah, you are saying
that that you did it, youdid it. Yeah. Now, the
broader implication of the Schweitzer case arevery significant now that it highlights systematic issues
within the criminal justice system, includingthe reliance on unreliable informant testimony, prosecutor
(44:58):
prosecuting prosecuting prosecutor, and misconduct inthe critical need for forensic advancements. Now,
this case underscores the importance of organizationslike the Innocent Projects and providing a
pathway to justice for wrongfully convicted.No, just the whole thing with this,
(45:19):
all I keep thinking about is butthe family. Now. I mean,
great for these two guys that havebeen exonerated and have got a new
lease of life, But then Ijust think about those family are going to
have to go through this all overagain, because they've gone through all of
this to get these two into courtand into prison, and they you know,
they hopefully that they I mean,I don't know. I mean,
they obviously believe that they had somethingto do with it, and then now
(45:42):
they're finding out that actually is acomplete load of nonsense, and these guys
have been wrongly incarcerated. Everyone's celebratingthem coming out, but actually you've now
got a family who have still losttheir daughter in a horrific way and there's
still no closer to finding out thetruth. It's awful, It is very
awful. So good news is isin October twenty twenty three, so this
(46:06):
was this was months after Ian wasexonerated. Sean himself would be exonerated in
the Dana Island murder case. Soa circuit judge reverse the conviction, his
conviction even though he did he eventhough he did admit or takes the plead
(46:27):
deal saying that he was guilty ofmanslaughter. Good good, But yeah,
so it's great for the schwizers thatDana Ireland murderer is still out there.
Yeah, and it's now I thinkbecause you painting yourself in this corner as
a police, it's going to bevery difficult to get this case solved.
(46:49):
Right, You're gonna need have verysignificant evidence that points to a specific person,
right, Yeah, Because now evenif you find find someone and you're
like, this person is is theperson who killed Dana Ireland? Yeah,
because you've already you've already put twoinnocent men in prison or for this crime.
(47:13):
Now the defense team's gonna be ableto use this to say, well,
how do we know that you're notjust doing the same thing to this
new person. Yeah. I agree. It's very difficult, very very hard.
Yeah, so we have I mean, so the Schweitzer families, they
they got justice after years and yearsbecause feel of hardship. But now what
(47:37):
happened to Dana Ireland still it's atragedy. It's a tragedy to what happened
to her, it's a tragedy towhat happened to Schweitzer's Wing's a mess.
Yeah. So but we still need, we still need justice for the Ireland
family because because Dana didn't deserve tobe attacked, to be killed, to
(47:58):
be murdered, to be ripped fromher family. No, she didn't.
And it's I hope that they can, hope that they can get more evidence,
and I hope that they can solveit. Because it's that's brutal for
her family. It's horrible. Itis absolutely horrible. Right, you know,
you're going there to spend holiday withthe sister in that's it. Next
(48:22):
thing, you know, that's yeah, that's it. Your world's just changed.
Yeah, it's horrible, it is. That's very bad. So that
is this week's episode. Thank you, Thank you for that. It was
it was really interesting and I hopethey do. I hope they do get
to get justice for her. Okay. So usually at the end of the
(48:45):
especially with a case like this whereit's so frustrating and it's you know,
you come out of it after thinking, oh, you know, I just
wish for some for some you know, some kind of news for the family.
We like to cheer things up alittle bit at the end of our
show with something that he liked tocall dumb criminal a criminal use a dirmy.
(49:07):
This that was the perfect intro tothis one. So this I found
this on the internet the other week, and it's a Kentucky man was arrested
after passing out. A guy calledDavid Ratliffe is forty three and he passed
out behind the wheel of his car. Okay, in the parking lot of
a video store of as on theUS Route forty to one in Manchester,
(49:29):
Okay, which is about one hundredmiles south of Lexington, if you know
that area. So the police arrivedat the scene and asked him for his
ID. So when he was pullingout his ID to give the police,
he also whipped out a bag ofmeth, some pills, a large sum
of US currency Okay, So thiswas this is Clay County, Clay County
(49:52):
Sheriff's office, and they've actually gota picture of like that, you know,
like when the police lay out allthe stuff that they find. So
they've actually got a picture of itall laid out, right. So in
his in handing over this to thepolice, he handed over nine grams of
meth. Right, he handed overseveral ventanyl pills and three thousand and thirty
(50:14):
four dollars in cash Okay. Sohe was arrested on charges of trafficking in
a trafficking a controlled substance and alsopublic intoxication and was taken to Clay County
Detention Center. So what idiot he'spulled over, he's obviously off his face
anyway, in charge of a vehicleand then not only that is that when
(50:36):
he's arrested and the police ask himfor his iding and everything else, Like,
what an idiot. It's so nicewhen they just make it easy,
right there, you go, Yeah, exactly, like now I'm absolutely not
intoxicated, officer. Oh whoops,here's my meth, here's my ventinyl pills,
and here's three thousand, three thousanddollars in cash. Okay, well
(51:00):
idiots, but so much fun.So yes, he was obviously detained.
To be honest, when you saidwhip it out, I was worried,
where are you going with this?I'm like, oh, okay, well
no, there was no indegent exposurein this, in this dumb criminal episode.
I'm quite surprised himself. Off hisface. I'm surprised that nothing else
(51:22):
did occur, to be fair,but no, just a little bit of
drugs and quite a lot of hereyou go, sir, yeah, hand
it over nothing here. No,okay, So future criminals, you put
your idea in the other pocket,didn't put it all in together, and
you might just go away with itor wait until you get home before you
(51:42):
start using and passing out people.Yeah, it's not no, it's not
a good good idea, but obviouslythe moral of the story is you're going
to get caught, and he didand that was great. So another one
off the road and in the inthe jail cell, so I love that.
It was a good one. Soyeah, so thank you very much
(52:05):
for listening to us today. It'snice to be back with you all,
and we'll be back with another episode, next one with my episode, and
we'll bring that to you very shortly, so for now, be nice and bye.
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