Colucci Indictment Dismissed: Justice Delayed AGAIN for Sara Lynn; Why, How, & What’s Next?
Happy Sunday!
Whatever shock we felt on the Live Premium Colucci Trial Broadcast feed, likely pales in comparison to the disappointment and utter devastation that Tuesday’s dismissal of charges brought to Sara Lynn’s loved ones. Her mother, her daughter and so many others who waited a decade for justice now are back waiting again for who knows how long…
While we can debate about the validity of the arguments or who is at fault, how much longer we wait is entirely at the feet of SC Attorney General Alan Wilson.
Incontrovertibly, Colucci’s dismissal is an ultimate failure by the state in a four-hour hearing to grasp hold of any arguments to dispute Michael Colucci’s claims of prosecutorial misconduct. Team Colucci — made up of attorneys Bill McGuire (who was one of Dylann Roof’s attorneys), Scott Bischoff and Sandy Smith’s short-lived attorney Andy Savage — asserted that not only did the SLED agent in charge of the murder investigation (David Owen, who also led the Murdaugh murder investigation) fail to pass on the contents of a conversation between Sara Lynn and her mother two weeks before her death, the prosecutor Megan Burchstead Burleson (who was the prosecutor in Paul Murdaugh’s boat crash case) appears to have also known about it and never told the defense.
In my opinion, the actual color of the comments would not have passed muster with a jury if allowed to hear them with arguments from AG’s Office Prosecutors Kinli Abee and Joel Kozak. The utterance was ad hoc, made no semblance of an actual plan, and the circumstances were wildly different.
And I strongly believe that Judge Young was open to the idea of an unintentional mistake on the part of the state which would have removed malice from the equation… until Megan Burchstead Burleson took the stand. Her inability to act professionally, empathetically, or at the very least polite was one reason she may have not swayed the jury in the first prosecution back in 2018. Her actions on the stand Tuesday stirred a stern admonishment and threat of a criminal charges for contempt from the judge right out of the gates and at that moment, I realized justice was in jeopardy.
Our preparations for this trial on Cup of Justice #134 included mention of this hearing and how it rested on “conclusive evidence” not provided to defense counsel. ‘Conclusive’ we now know is a stretch, but Megan’s performance left little doubt that there was more to this than an “honest” mistake. And I believe the judge picked up on that too.
It sucks, but I respect Judge Young’s decision. We are told that the family is devastated, but understands how we got here… Megan’s actions or inactions, and Alan Wilson’s inattention to this critical case.
We break down the why’s, hows, and potential next steps in True Sunlight #104 and we are hoping to bring you an exclusive interview next week that dives into so much more.
Until we get word about the state’s intentions, we are diving back into the Spivey wrongful death case, new developments in JP Miller’s array of criminal and civil investigations, and some glimmers of justice around the corner for Christa Bauer Gilley.
Thank you for staying with us and we hope to see you in just under a month to walk a couple miles with Sandy Smith in Hampton, SC. Click the link below to Register to walk in person or virtually with our immense appreciation for supporting the mission to get answers in Stephen’s case.
As always, your support is immensely appreciated and keeps us motivated to expose the truth wherever it leads, give voice to victims and get the story straight.
Stay Tuned, Stay Pesky, and Stay In The Sunlight…
– Mandy
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