How the testimony fits into the prosecution's case was not clear Thursday, but the implications are of the sort that has prompted Mirabal family members and church friends to blast sheriff's investigators for treating them and Matthew Mirabal unfairly and ignoring other potential leads. Jacobson took up the argument Thursday, asking Ainsworth to explain why detectives spent so little time looking into a string of possible abduction attempts reported near grocery stores in Broomfield and Longmont, including one reported at a Longmont King Soopers just hours before Natalie Mirabal's disappearance. He also asked why detectives discounted a Safeway employee's recollection of seeing a car similar to Natalie Mirabal's in the store parking lot around 1 a.m. the night of the murder. "That'd be pretty strong evidence she did go to Safeway to get some food and something bad happened, wouldn't it?" Jacobson asked. He asked Hale to review Matthew Mirabal's 911 call to Longmont police, and the videotape of his interrogation shortly after her body was found, and judge for himself if Mirabal was treated fairly. Hale promised to review the material before the hearing reconvenes Monday morning. It is scheduled to feature lengthy testimony from sheriff's Detective Tony Matthews, who handled the physical evidence investigators believe ties Mirabal to his wife's murder.
How the testimony fits into the prosecution's case was not clear Thursday, but the implications are of the sort that has prompted Mirabal family members and church friends to blast sheriff's investigators for treating them and Matthew Mirabal unfairly and ignoring other potential leads. Jacobson took up the argument Thursday, asking Ainsworth to explain why detectives spent so little time looking into a string of possible abduction attempts reported near grocery stores in Broomfield and Longmont, including one reported at a Longmont King Soopers just hours before Natalie Mirabal's disappearance. He also asked why detectives discounted a Safeway employee's recollection of seeing a car similar to Natalie Mirabal's in the store parking lot around 1 a.m. the night of the murder. "That'd be pretty strong evidence she did go to Safeway to get some food and something bad happened, wouldn't it?" Jacobson asked. He asked Hale to review Matthew Mirabal's 911 call to Longmont police, and the videotape of his interrogation shortly after her body was found, and judge for himself if Mirabal was treated fairly. Hale promised to review the material before the hearing reconvenes Monday morning. It is scheduled to feature lengthy testimony from sheriff's Detective Tony Matthews, who handled the physical evidence investigators believe ties Mirabal to his wife's murder.
mirabal-hearing-under-way.docx