Leaning forward in his chair, the man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend at least 15 times and leaving her body at Dubuque Arboretum & Botanical Gardens opened his hearing on Wednesday by addressing the judge.
“I don’t know if I’m suitable to be here,” said Richard L. Forsythe, 21, of Galena, Ill.
Associate Judge Robert Richter told him the discussion would take place later. Richter proceeded to set Forsythe’s bail at just $ 1 million in cash as he is indicted in Dubuque County Iowa District Court for first degree murder in the death of Jennifer Lopez, 20 . word.
DOCUMENTS REVEAL DETAILS
A court-ordered GPS anklet belonging to Forsythe and a bloodied hat were found by hikers on Monday, which sparked a law enforcement search that led to the discovery of Lopez’s body, documents show court decisions made public Wednesday. Police identified Lopez as being from Galena, but an obituary submitted to the Telegraph Herald indicates that she is from East Dubuque, Ill.
Court documents made available on Wednesday provide much more detail on the circumstances surrounding the murder, although questions remain.
“These are the types of cases where there are a lot of leads to follow,” said Lt. Ted McClimon of the Dubuque Police Department. “We interview residents of this region and acquaintances of Forsythe and Lopez. There are details that we are still trying to find out. “
The documents indicate that Dubuque police were sent to a residence adjacent to the arboretum property around noon Sunday after a probation official from Jo Daviess County, Ill., Was called to say that ‘A “GPS monitoring ankle bracelet alarm” was received. The alarm came from the bracelet attributed to Forsythe.
“When you have a phone ping, it gives you the closest address,” McClimon said. “This address was just outside the arboretum.”
McClimon said officers checked the address but found no sign of Forsythe or the bracelet.
The bracelet was still in the arboretum area at 9:38 p.m. Sunday when its battery died.
Police were then dispatched around 11:55 a.m. Monday to the arboretum.
Two people told police they were hiking in a wooded area of the arboretum when they found an ankle bracelet and a bloody hat. The serial number revealed that the bracelet had been assigned to Forsythe.
Officers inspecting the area saw what appeared to be blood and traced it to the body of a deceased woman, later identified as Lopez.
“Lopez was discovered to have what appeared to be around 15-20 stab wounds in the front, center (and) torso,” the documents say. “She also had several lacerations on both hands.
SITUATED ALLEGED KILLER
At approximately 2:20 p.m. Monday, Jo Daviess County Sheriff’s Department contacted Dubuque Police to tell them that Forsythe entered the county probation office with “blood on his clothes and on his person,” according to court documents.
Forsythe responded to a probation officer’s question that the body in the arboretum was “Jennifer”. Forsythe also admitted to being in Dubuque recently and having had contact with Lopez.
He was arrested by authorities in Jo Daviess County for cutting off his blood pressure monitor, according to Sheriff Kevin Turner. The GPS device was ordered in connection with a conviction handed down last month in the county.
Dubuque Police questioned Forsythe at around 3:50 p.m. Monday at Jo Daviess County Jail. He said he had been with Jennifer over the weekend but didn’t want to say anything more without talking to his lawyer.
“Forsythe added that it was a bad deal,” the documents say.
Authorities with a search warrant found Forsythe in possession of an Illinois driver’s license issued to Lopez.
The documents also state that “the shoe prints of those worn by Forsythe appeared to be consistent with the prints in the snow at the scene.”
Investigators also learned that a Lopez-registered vehicle was located around 6:25 a.m. Monday in a ditch by the Bureau County Sheriff’s Department (Illinois). Forsythe was the driver and the sole occupant.
“He was arrested in Bureau County and actually issued a ticket,” Turner said.
Court documents online indicate that Forsythe received a ticket for driving without a driver’s license.
AUDIENCE
Forsythe appeared restless during his first court hearing on the murder charge on Wednesday, alternately leaning forward and backward, turning his head to the side, then looking at the camera.
Dubuque County District Attorney CJ May III asked for the $ 1 million cash-only bond, telling Richter that Forsythe posed a considerable flight risk.
“Sir. Forsythe has no connection with the state of Iowa other than his criminal record,” May said.
That case included Forsythe convicted on Monday of burglary and drug charges stemming from an August incident in Dubuque. Forsythe did not attend that sentencing hearing, having waived his right to be personally present when he filed a written guilty plea, May wrote in an email to TH.
At Forsythe’s hearing on Wednesday, May described a pattern of behavior in which Forsythe would post bail for previous crimes, not to show up on court dates and reoffend.
“He has committed several offenses in a short period of time,” May said.
Susan Hess, Forsythe’s lawyer, pleaded for a reduced bond of $ 500,000.
“Sir. Forsythe has been cooperative,” Hess said. “It can be handled by remediation services.”
Richter sided with prosecutors and said if Forsythe is able to post bail, he is ordered not to contact Lopez’s family members and must wear an ankle monitor. Richter has set Forsythe’s next court appearance on February 12.
Reached by TH, a member of Lopez’s family declined to comment at this time, writing, “We just want to focus on our family and get through this tragedy that has happened.”
Contacted by the TH, Sandi Helgerson, executive director of the arboretum, said neither Forsythe nor Lopez had any connection to the park.
“We have no idea why they came here,” she said. “You don’t expect to get a call saying a body has been found at the arboretum.”
Helgerson said the body was found in an undeveloped wooded area of the 57-acre arboretum.
“It wasn’t in an area where people usually go,” she says.
Leaning forward in his chair, the man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend at least 15 times and leaving her body at Dubuque Arboretum & Botanical Gardens opened his hearing on Wednesday by addressing the judge.
“I don’t know if I’m suitable to be here,” said Richard L. Forsythe, 21, of Galena, Ill.
Associate Judge Robert Richter told him the discussion would take place later. Richter proceeded to set Forsythe’s bail at just $ 1 million in cash as he is indicted in Dubuque County Iowa District Court for first degree murder in the death of Jennifer Lopez, 20 . word.
DOCUMENTS REVEAL DETAILS
A court-ordered GPS anklet belonging to Forsythe and a bloodied hat were found by hikers on Monday, which sparked a law enforcement search that led to the discovery of Lopez’s body, documents show court decisions made public Wednesday. Police identified Lopez as being from Galena, but an obituary submitted to the Telegraph Herald indicates that she is from East Dubuque, Ill.
Court documents made available on Wednesday provide much more detail on the circumstances surrounding the murder, although questions remain.
“These are the types of cases where there are a lot of leads to follow,” said Lt. Ted McClimon of the Dubuque Police Department. “We interview residents of this region and acquaintances of Forsythe and Lopez. There are details that we are still trying to find out. “
The documents indicate that Dubuque police were sent to a residence adjacent to the arboretum property around noon Sunday after a probation official from Jo Daviess County, Ill., Was called to say that ‘A “GPS monitoring ankle bracelet alarm” was received. The alarm came from the bracelet attributed to Forsythe.
“When you have a phone ping, it gives you the closest address,” McClimon said. “This address was just outside the arboretum.”
McClimon said officers checked the address but found no sign of Forsythe or the bracelet.
The bracelet was still in the arboretum area at 9:38 p.m. Sunday when its battery died.
Police were then dispatched around 11:55 a.m. Monday to the arboretum.
Two people told police they were hiking in a wooded area of the arboretum when they found an ankle bracelet and a bloody hat. The serial number revealed that the bracelet had been assigned to Forsythe.
Officers inspecting the area saw what appeared to be blood and traced it to the body of a deceased woman, later identified as Lopez.
“Lopez was discovered to have what appeared to be around 15-20 stab wounds in the front, center (and) torso,” the documents say. “She also had several lacerations on both hands.
SITUATED ALLEGED KILLER
At approximately 2:20 p.m. Monday, Jo Daviess County Sheriff’s Department contacted Dubuque Police to tell them that Forsythe entered the county probation office with “blood on his clothes and on his person,” according to court documents.
Forsythe responded to a probation officer’s question that the body in the arboretum was “Jennifer”. Forsythe also admitted to being in Dubuque recently and having had contact with Lopez.
He was arrested by authorities in Jo Daviess County for cutting off his blood pressure monitor, according to Sheriff Kevin Turner. The GPS device was ordered in connection with a conviction handed down last month in the county.
Dubuque Police questioned Forsythe at around 3:50 p.m. Monday at Jo Daviess County Jail. He said he had been with Jennifer over the weekend but didn’t want to say anything more without talking to his lawyer.
“Forsythe added that it was a bad deal,” the documents say.
Authorities with a search warrant found Forsythe in possession of an Illinois driver’s license issued to Lopez.
The documents also state that “the shoe prints of those worn by Forsythe appeared to be consistent with the prints in the snow at the scene.”
Investigators also learned that a Lopez-registered vehicle was located around 6:25 a.m. Monday in a ditch by the Bureau County Sheriff’s Department (Illinois). Forsythe was the driver and the sole occupant.
“He was arrested in Bureau County and actually issued a ticket,” Turner said.
Court documents online indicate that Forsythe received a ticket for driving without a driver’s license.
AUDIENCE
Forsythe appeared restless during his first court hearing on the murder charge on Wednesday, alternately leaning forward and backward, turning his head to the side, then looking at the camera.
Dubuque County District Attorney CJ May III asked for the $ 1 million cash-only bond, telling Richter that Forsythe posed a considerable flight risk.
“Sir. Forsythe has no connection with the state of Iowa other than his criminal record,” May said.
That case included Forsythe convicted on Monday of burglary and drug charges stemming from an August incident in Dubuque. Forsythe did not attend that sentencing hearing, having waived his right to be personally present when he filed a written guilty plea, May wrote in an email to TH.
At Forsythe’s hearing on Wednesday, May described a pattern of behavior in which Forsythe would post bail for previous crimes, not to show up on court dates and reoffend.
“He has committed several offenses in a short period of time,” May said.
Susan Hess, Forsythe’s lawyer, pleaded for a reduced bond of $ 500,000.
“Sir. Forsythe has been cooperative,” Hess said. “It can be handled by remediation services.”
Richter sided with prosecutors and said if Forsythe is able to post bail, he is ordered not to contact Lopez’s family members and must wear an ankle monitor. Richter has set Forsythe’s next court appearance on February 12.
Reached by TH, a member of Lopez’s family declined to comment at this time, writing, “We just want to focus on our family and get through this tragedy that has happened.”
Contacted by the TH, Sandi Helgerson, executive director of the arboretum, said neither Forsythe nor Lopez had any connection to the park.
“We have no idea why they came here,” she said. “You don’t expect to get a call saying a body has been found at the arboretum.”
Helgerson said the body was found in an undeveloped wooded area of the 57-acre arboretum.
“It wasn’t in an area where people usually go,” she says.