Amber Alert Girl Charged In Brutal Slay

Florida Cops Say 15-year-old Morgan Leppert And Her Convict Boyfriend Killed A 66-year-old Man And Stole His Truck

(AP)  North Florida authorities charged a 15-year-old girl, who was the subject of an Amber Alert, and her boyfriend with fatally beating, stabbing and suffocating an older man.

Putnam County Sheriff Dean Kelly said Tuesday at a news conference that a first-degree murder warrant had been issued for Morgan Amanda Leppert, who is in custody with her boyfriend in El Paso, Texas, charging her with the slaying of 66-year-old James Stewart.

State Attorney John Tanner said it will be up to a grand jury whether to charge Leppert as a juvenile or adult.

Her boyfriend, Toby Lowry, 22, will be extradited on charges of grand theft auto for stealing Stewart's pickup and interference of custody. Lowry will be charged with first-degree murder when he returns to Florida, authorities said.

Authorities did not know if Leppert or Lowry had lawyers.

The couple was picked up in El Paso Saturday evening when a motorist spotted them after seeing the Amber Alert and called police.

The 2003 Toyota Tacoma pickup that authorities say they stole from Stewart was found nearby. He was found dead Thursday in his home in Melrose, about 20 miles east of Gainesville. Police also believe they took money from Stewart.

Stewart was beaten with two metal rods, stabbed several times and suffocated with a plastic bag over his head.

Putnam County investigators had been searching for Leppert since she was reported missing on April 22. The case was elevated to an Amber Alert when deputies made a connection between her disappearance and Lowry.

Officials said Lowry has a lengthy criminal history and was released from prison last summer after serving a 20-month sentence for burglary and criminal mischief.

Putnam County investigators interviewed Leppert and Lowry in Texas on Sunday.

[pfd572]

Plus, you comment that in the past there was no knowledge or vision for DNA evidence actually blows your theory. Had they known, they would most likely have been inclined to require a greater burden of proof in death penalty cases. They were mostly men of great foresight and risked their lives for a more equal system. The fact that we now do have DNA and will most likely have even greater scientific knowledge to assist law enforcement actually supports the call to abolish the death penalty until science ''catches up''.

[pfd572]

rhs: What a illogical argument. If the system can''t guarantee that we would not be executing an innocent person then we should not be executing anyone. Our Founding Fathers were flawed human beings, not omnipotent beings. Just because they saw fit to allow capitol punishment doesn''t mean we have to continue the wrong. They also condoned slavery, but we finally ended that barbaric practice. No one is immune from being caught up in the nightmare of being falsely accused, even you. What kind of person or society says its okay to execute an innocent person (it is naive and ignorant to believe that has never happened), as long as we get the guilty, too. The death penalty is also applied in a wide and diverse methodology. Why do we cry when an ''innocent'' person is the victim of a violent crime, but rejoice and condone the death of an ''innocent'' person by the hands of the Judicial System?

[pfd572]

ranger: what part of my comments led you to make that ridiculous statement? I never said or insinuated that she shouldn''t be held accountable for any crimes she may have committed. What I said is that punishment should not only fit the crime, but fit the age, influencing circumstances and any other mitigating factors. You don''t know any more of the facts then I do, yet you are ready to condemn and end the life of a child of only 14 years old. Shame on you.

[ranger1948]

pfd572
So if they are underage by your statements we should give them a free pass and send them home ?

[cam79901]

Just a few quick questions, I have heard through several reports different stories on where Leppert%u2019s cell phone was found, one the mother brought it in and that%u2019s how authorities originally went to Stewarts home, then it was found smashed in Stewarts yard, and also back at lowery%u2019s home, although they had not been staying at his home but in the woods behind Stewarts house. So does any one actually know where the cell phone was found or how many cell phones%u2019 Leppert had? Also how have the authorities been able to question Leppert, she is a minor? And why has she not been aloud to speak with her family? Is a confession being pulled out of a young scared girl? No record, never been held by authorities, scared to admit anything just so she can go home?

[cam79901]

Just a few quick questions, I have heard through several reports different stories on where Leppert%u2019s cell phone was found, one the mother brought it in and that%u2019s how authorities originally went to Stewarts home, then it was found smashed in Stewarts yard, and also back at lowery%u2019s home, although they had not been staying at his home but in the woods behind Stewarts house. So does any one actually know where the cell phone was found or how many cell phones%u2019 Leppert had? Also how have the authorities been able to question Leppert, she is a minor? And why has she not been aloud to speak with her family? Is a confession being pulled out of a young scared girl? No record, never been held by authorities, scared to admit anything just so she can go home?

[cam79901]

Just a few quick questions, I have heard through several reports different stories on where Leppert%u2019s cell phone was found, one the mother brought it in and that%u2019s how authorities originally went to Stewarts home, then it was found smashed in Stewarts yard, and also back at lowery%u2019s home, although they had not been staying at his home but in the woods behind Stewarts house. So does any one actually know where the cell phone was found or how many cell phones%u2019 Leppert had? Also how have the authorities been able to question Leppert, she is a minor? And why has she not been aloud to speak with her family? Is a confession being pulled out of a young scared girl? No record, never been held by authorities, scared to admit anything just so she can go home?

[rhs648]

torch1000: That is a critical misunderstanding. DNA isn''''t collected from every crime scene, in fact its a very small percentage. Investigators have to find fluids, hair or other DNA source and that isn''''t left at every crime scene or the scene is too messed up to obtain uncontaminated and separate samples. Plus, you have to have the DNA sequence from the perpetrator, not everyone''''s DNA is on file and available to every jurisdiction. Prosecutors are having trouble with juries because they are expecting DNA evidence, too. When it isn''''t presented they are ''''hanging'''' more and more juries. DNA isn''''t the end all and be all of criminal investigation or prosecution. So, again, abolish the death penalty until we have a fully no mistake system.

Posted by pfd572

Those who wrote the death penalty laws never envisioned DNA or a fully mistake free system. In fact, most early death sentences were carried out almost immediately. Lawyers with appeal after appeal and courts willing to hear these appeals have led to our current system. To demand a fully mistake free system is equivalent to no death sentence. The founding fathers and those who wrote the death penalty laws did not expect perfection. Why should the rest of us expect perfection?

[pfd572]

leesa: so a persons sketchy past excuses their being convicted of a crime they didn''t commit? It justifies sentencing them to death when they are innocent? There are very few ''fool proof'' or ''slam dunk'' convictions. When the evidence is circumstantial, relies on eye-witness testimony or finger print analysis and no DNA or other scientific evidence the risk is too great that someone maybe be convicted of a crime they did not commit. Regardless of what is written for tv drama, DNA evidence is VERY RARE. Anyone of you is at risk for a wrongful conviction. Just being in the wrong place at the wrong time or knowing the wronger people/person is all it takes.

[pfd572]

FYI...the parents were made aware and did tell her she could no longer see this ''older'' man. Its one of the reasons the police think they ran off together.

[pfd572]

Leesa: wrong. It costs taxpayers a great deal more to prosecute a death penalty case then it does to incarcerate someone for life. Death penalty court cases are 10 times more expensive, courts are much more careful and prone to allow taxpayer monies to pay for investigations, testing, experts, etc. when they may be taking someone''s life. Lawyers are more expensive, whether private or a public defender. Death penalty cases require a higher standard for lawyers and that costs money. Appeals, automatic and numerous, are extremely expensive. Separate, more secure cell blocks for housing death row inmates, who stay in these cells for decades sometimes. The list goes on and is very expensive. So if its a dollars and cents argument, you lose.

[keithle1]

Stupid people are breeding. Make them stop. This is the kind of thing that their idiot offspring get up to. Baby mamas & baby papas. No one has heard of birth control. Condoms cost $100 and no one knows how to put them on.

"I done got pregnant again, Momma. I think it''s Virgil this time. Of course it could be Shorty. Or Tyrone. Waaaaahhhhh!"

[hippychicky-2009]

diatreme:

I agree with you partially in the fact that it is hard to rehabilitate criminals. But especially her age has to be taken into consideration. And it will be, she is still a minor. The really sad part about this story is why weren''t her parents more involved. Where were they, when their daughter was dating a 22 yr old man???
They are partially to blame. At 15 3/4 of the decisions that are made are unthought out. And thats why you have parents.

[keithle1]

A 15-year-old girl with a 22-year-old boyfriend... Isn''t that illegal? Where are Mom & Dad? Drunk or in jail? Way to screw up your life, girl. Didn''t take you long. Guess you like bad boys. Well isn''t that special.

Why kill him? Just steal his car & money. Better than a first-degree murder warrant. Most criminals are not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

[leesa429]

It costs more to jail someone for life then it does to just kill them; as a productive member of society, I do not want to foot the bill so convicted murderers can have the comforts%u2019 my dollar affords to them. Every system has its flaws; maybe people should run with a better circle of friends or live better life styles as to not be "wrongly" accused of something. Most people who were wrongly sentenced had sketchy pasts.

[pfd572]

diatreme: you are a narrow minded, stubborn, ignorant fool. As I said, personality is separate from the physical development of the brain. A child with a great personality will still have problems with impulse control until the brain has fully developed. Can you grasp that simple science? And your boring mantra about bleeding hearts isn''t effective. Its about facts, knowledge and understanding truth. But if my knowledge, education and empathy make be a bleeding heart, okay. At least I know what I''M talking about. Wonder what your position would be if it was someone you care about that was only 14 or 15? Gloating and wishing someone dead, for any reason, with the investigative capabilities, flaws, inconsistent defense and justice system corruption makes you just as sadistic and

[pfd572]

Nonaya: besides the lack of DNA evidence (check the facts, I was an emergency responder and I assure you the CSI shows are fiction, some of the equipments, tests and especially the speed of performing tests are fiction) it is cheaper to sentence someone to life imprisonment than the death penalty. Not only fewer appeals, but the cost of a death penalty case and the appeals far exceeds the costs of housing a prisoner for 30 years.

[pfd572]

What you have in most cases is eye witness or finger print testimonies. Both are subjective and neither is a science. Eye witness testimony is extremely flawed and finger print evidence isn''t even standard. It depends on a person interpreting the matches. Some jurisdictions require a 13-point match, some as little as a 4-point match (do you know how many people would have a 4-point match to a single finger print...hundreds, if not thousands) and some don''t have any standard at all. So, its better to err on the side of caution, use life imprisonment, not the death penalty and hope science catches up.

[pfd572]

torch1000: That is a critical misunderstanding. DNA isn''t collected from every crime scene, in fact its a very small percentage. Investigators have to find fluids, hair or other DNA source and that isn''t left at every crime scene or the scene is too messed up to obtain uncontaminated and separate samples. Plus, you have to have the DNA sequence from the perpetrator, not everyone''s DNA is on file and available to every jurisdiction. Prosecutors are having trouble with juries because they are expecting DNA evidence, too. When it isn''t presented they are ''hanging'' more and more juries. DNA isn''t the end all and be all of criminal investigation or prosecution. So, again, abolish the death penalty until we have a fully no mistake system.

[ranger1948]

The 22 year old will face kidnapping and statutory rape charges as well as the murder charge, and also grand theft as well as federal statues since he crossed from one state to another.