Monday, January 23, 2017

Making Monroe County 'Safe Again', MCSD on Dateline NBC

A 'dumb mistake' by the accused helps prosecutors close the Bob McClancy Murder


Being profiled on a Dateline NBC episode, especially a 2 hour episode was a head-turner...over the past decade, suspicious deaths were common... 
At times, it seemed like MSNBC reporter Keith Morrison was conducting a "deposition" on Det. Travis Jones, who was clearly uncomfortable with some of the questions. Lack of training, and at times, a disregard for standard 'law enforcement guidelines', compromised several death investigations. 

The McClancy murder was solved, mainly because of 'a dumb mistake' by the accused'--described in the outline below, and Mclancy's stepson alerting the authorities of what he had discovered in a computer given to him by Martha Ann... (the case had been dismissed in 2006 before it went to trial, because of police mishandling of the evidence).

 If you watched the Dateline episode, you may notice striking similarities in the suspicious death of Charlie Young--in a 45 minute narrative, Charlie's son describes what he has uncovered about his father's death--watch Marvin Young Victim of Corruption.

Among the major players in the Secrets in the Smoky Mountains episode were Attorney Matthew Rogers, Former MCSD Captain Travis Jones, VA investigator Nate Landkammer, and from the 10th Judicial District Prosecutor's Office-Cindy Schemel and Mac McCoin. 



A brief outline of the Dateline 'Secrets in the Smoky Mountains' 

  • in 2006, Capt. Jones becomes suspicious that he has a 'staged death investigation' and not an apparent suicide.
  • Pictures found on a digital camera show several poses of the victim, as if the perpetrator was deciding which photo would best serve to disguise his crime.
  • The initial indictment of 'negligent homicide' was dismissed in court because Captain Jones failed to get a warrant for the camera.
  • Martha Ann and Chuck Kaczmarczyk were preparing to lessen their storage items, so they could travel the world--Now comes the biggest mistake of their criminal enterprise: Martha Ann gives her adopted son Sean a desktop computer, which had the same incriminating pictures on a file folder--(several posed pictures of Bob McClancy, before his alleged 'suicide' was reported on a 911 call back in 2006).
  • Sean sees the pictures and calls Martha...she quickly realizes how damaging the pictures could be and tells Sean: "For God's sakes, Delete those Pictures." ...Sean becomes suspicious that his dad's death was not a suicide.
  • Sean now has the pictures, and they are legally his, because Martha Ann gave him the computer.
  • The prosecutor's office re-opens the case--although prosecutors generally steer clear from cases which have been dismissed--the fact that the victim was a retired cop from Florida, may have played a significant role in re-opening the investigation. And, the Feds were involved... building a case of Social Security Fraud and other charges. It would have been terrible 'PR' for the DA's Office to stand-by and 'do nothing'...
  •  In 2016, Chuck and Martha Ann received lengthy prison sentences.