Sitterly ducks hard questions about out-of-bounds 'off record' comments
Won't say if he'll give grieving mother assurances Ashli Ford won't be at her Tuesday meeting with sheriff
NORWALK — Huron County Prosecutor James Sitterly won’t say why he told a reporter on Thursday that Ashli Ford might show up at the sheriff’s office when a grieving mother is scheduled to meet with the sheriff for the first time in eight years.
Tricia Shepard and an advocate working with her have demanded that the sheriff’s office turn over the investigation to the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI). The sheriff and his staff are too compromised because of their failure to properly investigate Amanda Dean’s murder in 2017, Thom and Tricia say, and other operational failures, thefts, domestic violence complaints, at-fault accidents and other problems in the department.
Corbin and deputies also are under investigation for potential criminal wrongdoing for how they handled the Amanda Dean homicide case, which Corbin ignored for almost 6 years.
There’s speculation from inside the sheriff’s office that Corbin is planning an exit, but he’s refused to comment on that, or the ongoing investigation by the state into why he caused the Dean investigation to be delayed.
Kaitlin Shepard, 21, was killed a year after Amanda Dean, in July 2018, when her pickup went off the road and burst into flames. Katelynn’s remains were found in the passenger seat, and investigators never determined who, or if there was a driver when the truck left the road. The sheriff conducted a brief investigation, but never recontacted Katelynn’s family or updated them. A crash reconstruction team determined there were no mechanical problems with the vehicle, no skid marks on the road and no determination why the truck burst into flames.
‘Library leak’
Sitterly met the reporter at the law library in Huron County. He was dressed in “hip” street clothes, the source said, seemingly out of character and styled for a younger person. It was a casual meeting that was out-of-step for how Sitterly runs the prosecutor’s office. Like Corbin, he ignores the press.
Sitterly did not respond to emails and phone messages asking him specifically about each contention the source said about what he told the reporter. When contacted, the reporter did not deny talking with Sitterly in the library or disavow the statements attributed to Sitterly.
Sitterly also did not deny or suggest the information was not accurate.
Sitterly told the reporter he doubted the Shepard case would move forward, suggesting BCI would “likely reject” a request for a new investigation. It’sunknown how he knows that, or why he would ask the reporter to warn Tricia about that instead of speaking with Tricia and Thom himself.
Why would the prosecutor be managing expectations in a library before a state agency has even made a formal ruling?
Sitterly’s suggestion to the reporter that Ashli Ford might be a surprise guest at the sheriff’s office Tuesday, also was not explained by the prosecutor. He was asked why he wanted the reporter to relay the message to Thom and Tricia, which the reporter did. He did not respond.
Thom and Katelynn’s mom are sscheduled to meet with Sheriff Corbin for an update about the investigation of her daughter’s homicide, and her harassment complaint against Ashli Ford.
Sitterly did not mention to the reporter any intention of stopping Ford from attending, which would likely be a violation of Marsy’s Law, the victims’ bill of rights in the state’s constitution. Sitterly was told about those potential violations in the emails we sent to him on Thursday and today and in the telephone messages left for him, but he did not respond. He and the sheriff’s office were asked to confirm they would prevent those violations from happening. They did not respond.
Sitterly also was asked if he intended to talk to Tricia about Ford, who she says exploits her daughter’s tragic death and uses it as clickbait at social media. Ford has posted private text messages from Tricia’s family at Facebook, making claims she’s solved the mystery using recycled old news stories as proof of her detective work. Ford’s been asked repeatedly to provide whatever new evidence she’s gathered to investigators, but she’s failed to follow through, which is her MO.
Sitterly did not respond Thursday or today to written requests or telephone messages left for him asking whether the sheriff’s office was going to assure that Tricia was protected from Ford while her complaint against the convicted podcaster is being reviewed by a special prosecutor,
Stay Tuned.
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