There truly are angels among us!!! We have been blessed by two of these wonderful beings that have so generously stepped up to the plate on Mechele's behalf! We have the resources to get her out!!!!Hopefully everything will be done and she will be out tomorrow or Wednesday....as always I will keep everyone posted.. Thanks to everyone for your generous offers of support, spiritually, emotionally and financially. We will be setting up a fund to help with expenses and I will post info on that soon. There is a light of the end of this long tunnel and each of you has helped get us to this point. My extreme gratitude and love to all of you. Will post soon....and thanks for helping give me the best mother's day gift of all!!
A humbled and grateful mom
Sandy
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A positive place to share in the journey of bringing Mechele Linehan home.
About This Site
Free Mechele is run by friends and family of Mechele Linehan with occasional input from Mechele's husband, Colin. Mechele was convicted in October 2007 of conspiring to murder Kent Leppink. This conviction was overturned on appeal in February 2010, after she had served over 2 years in prison. Mechele is currently out on bail with heavy restrictions in Alaska, awaiting a second trial. We believe that this trial will prove her innocence, if the prosecution doesn't drop it before then due to lack of evidence.
Please be aware that this site is heavily moderated. Only positive sharing on the journey to true justice will be the focus here.
We have the deepest condolences for the Leppink family, but believe a mistake has been made in finding the person(s) responsible for the death of their son.
Please be aware that this site is heavily moderated. Only positive sharing on the journey to true justice will be the focus here.
We have the deepest condolences for the Leppink family, but believe a mistake has been made in finding the person(s) responsible for the death of their son.
Mechele's NEW site... more trial info
From Colin Linehan
Ways to Help
Sentencing Letters
Prior to Judge Volland's April 2008 sentence of 99 years for Mechele, numerous family, friends, and even strangers wrote letters asking for leniency based on what we know of her. We have been collecting and posting as many of these letters as we can, in order to create a more complete picture of who Mechele truly is, as seen by those closest to her. If you have a letter you'd like us to post, let us know.
Links of Interest
29 comments:
This is so amazing!! So happy for you guys!
YES!!!!
This is great news. Thank you to those who could help!
god bless all of you!
I'm so happy to hear this good news!
AHHHH I am so exited! I cannot wait to see my sis:)
Great news!!!
That is awesome and amazing!!! I will continue to think about all of you throughout the continued steps of this process.
Rachelle
Congratulations! That's the best news in a long time, and I'm happy to hear it :)
Absolutely delighted!!! Looking like a major step on the road to ending the nightmare.
Phil M
UK
YAY YAY YAY!!!!
I am sooooooo happy for you all!!
Its about time ( way past time actually) and God Bless the friends who are able to help so graciously...
Is there even a small chance the charges may be dropped! I hope so. Mechele and her family should not go through this twice. The Appellate Court and Judge Volland made it clear there isn't much of a case. Let Mechele, her husband, and family heal from this tragedy. In God we Trust.
What a true blessing!!! I am so happy for you all!! This is great news!! Hopefully they will drop this case, since the state does not have a case at all!
Great point,Brian!! To add a note...the state even had someone from the insurance testify that prior to the murder Mechele had called to make sure the insurance had been cancelled and that she WASN'T the beneficiary!!!!
Thankfully we have those like Brian, who is not afraid to speak up or hold back an opinion or point out how flawed the case against Mechele is. How hard must it be for Mechele's family, who must be scared to speak up in case it means more punishment for Mechele. The authorities have the power to destroy any one of us, create a story out of context, lie and get away with it, and then throw an innocent person in prison for 99 years. When the case is reversed the same authority wants to do it all again like out of control teenagers who want to be right regardless.
Mechele only mistake was being naive, living in Alaska, far from home, no family and becoming friends with the wrong group.
I left home young, had no family around, met people who
were not likely to have been my friends in my home town but far from home they were my friends. I totally imserstand why Mechele got caught up with the people she met in Alaska.
To me Mechele was in danger being around Mr Leppink someone clearly not stable and obsessive.
Like most of us we mature, as Mechele did, she got qualified, married and had a family. That is such a common story. I just can't find a murderer in that story.
I would give anything to be there when she is released so I can see the happiness on hers and everyone else's face. There could be nothing worse than spending your life in jail for a crime you didn't commit - and there are many of those people in prisons still.
Congrats!!
Please read the posts by Rolena at
http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81172&page=3
This is a compassionate and articulate account of what Mechele has experienced. Amazing read.
I keep checking in to see what's going on. Looks like everything is wonderful. I am so happy for everyone :)
Words cannot describe my happiness for you and your family. I typically do not get involved in things of this nature ( I tend to be a crime show junky), but this was just beyond my belief. I have followed this blog for months now, praying that Mechele would soon be free to be with her daughter (I have one the same age). Facts (being the operative word) aside, Mechele and her daughter both deserve to make up for lost time...I'm convinced (fingers crossed) the state will give up on this case. Many, many prosperous blessings to your family from Texas!
Two thumbs up to the "angels" helping this devastated family come up with the bail $. You beyond rock!
Adding on to input on case: Mechele told investigators about the insurance policy and both men's guns. She met with them multiple times without an attorney. The insurance agent said both Kent and Mechele contacted them to cancel, he had the message from Mechele reaffirming cancellation and request for refund. Each thing Mechele did to cooperate, Gullufsen said it was a "ruse" because he was intent on sticking to his story that she was so diabolically clever at such a young age, while all the almost middle-aged men were so stupid.
Saying it was a trick is not proof it was. Without evidence to prove that was her intent, it is Nothing but conjecture.
If she paid for the policies, why was Kent able to change the beneficiary? She requested cancellation and a refund, so why was it still in effect? Why did the insurance company pay out?
Since she paid for the policy, why did Kent tell the agent the previous week that he wanted a refund?
Following investigators' logic, why didn't they investigate the beneficiaries?
Since Kent had committed crimes in MI and his brother was initially vocal about how the family really felt about him; because his father was in Alaska within 24 hours of his death, said he couldn't remember when exactly he last saw Kent, and because they were the beneficiaries and Kent's father knew it, why weren't any of the Leppinks investigated?
Since Scott Hilke was named in the letter, never produced his travel and phone records as he was asked to, failed a lie detector test, was so much older than Mechele, and was the only one in the group who didn't like Leppink at all, why wasn't he investigated?
Since young Carlin claimed Leppink sexually harassed him, and Mechele told the investigators that was the only thing she knew of that was a real problem between Carlin and Leppink, why wasn't that investigated?
Mechele told investigators Kent used to take off from a few days to two-three weeks at a time without telling any of them where he went, and some times he took off with a man named Gary, so why didn't they investigate that angle?
Why didn't they investigate why Kent wanted his boat to go to the person he left it to?
Why didn't they investigate his relationship to someone in Nevada, references to potential gambling debts, and a string of phone calls from Nevada to their house the day before he was killed clear up to about two hours before they think he left the house?
Since Carlin's footprints were not among those at the site, he was at his son's school, on the phone, and he sent emails all in Anchorage during periods it meant he couldn't have made it to Hope and back in the time frame the authorities said Kent was killed; and since there isn't a single piece of paper, a single recording, or even a third party claiming they heard either Carlin or Mechele writing or saying anything that threatened Kent, and there is also nothing like that written between them, like a plan, why did authorities ignore all of those other potential leads to go after Mechele and Carlin?
Since investigators had all of the emails to read, they must have read Carlin saying he knew he was not going to be Mechele's mate, that he knew she wanted to leave Alaska and that she wanted to be with Helke. They must have read the email where Carlin reassures Mechele she isn't responsible if men fall for her, it doesn't mean she did anything wrong just because she doesn't share their feelings, so she shouldn't feel bad about it. Such emails prove Carlin did not believe he would be with Mechele if he got rid of Kent, and they show Mechele as caring about their feelings.
Why did Branchflower and Gullufsen want those two so much they ignored evidence that ruled Carlin out, and everything Mechele said or did that should have ruled her out they chalked up to a ruse to intentionally throw them off the track? It just seems, well, crazy!
Gullufsen used Carlin's conviction as his foundation to go after Mechele. Thanks to the state of Alaska, Carlin is now dead. Upon his death, his charge and conviction ceased to exist. As far as the state is concerned, it never happened.
The state already admitted Mechele didn't actually kill anyone herself. She was not accused of killing anyone, but of conspiring to have someone killed. So, if the AGs office insists on prosecuting Mechele again, who are they going to say was her co-conspirator this time?
Just like Mechele will be hard pressed to find jurors who haven't heard about the letter and the movie, thereby still making it difficult to get a fair trial, Gullufsen is going to have to find a jury of people who don't already know he accused Carlin!
The AGs office deciding to go forward with another trial instead of just accepting the overturned conviction and moving on is making them look even more foolish.
qbirdq: I was on my own in the world young too, and much older men offering all kind of things in an attempt to woo, seduce, exploit, romance, compete, and some on the lookout for naive young females were regular occurrences. Looking back on it, I think only idiots would claim I had the knowledge and maturity to ever be the one in control of any of them. My control was to hot foot it away when I realized I was in over my head.
So, I know what you mean.
Oh, man, I wish I could feel what Mechele is feeling, can you IMAGINE? You know for me the only (ONLY) swaying toward-the-prosecution-evidence was one email. When Mechele told that poor Carlin guy about a place where you could go after committing crimes. I think she knew he was a bad seed, and wanted HIM to go there. Everything she did wasn't perfect. But she has served more time for playing along with those total perverts, that some really do--- for murder. Time To Move on. At her age I did things to keep from "hurting peoples feelings." She did as well. I have never heard a WORD about Mechele's own daddy, but it looks to me, yeah you guessed it. She got in over her pretty little head trying to have a father figure. Mechele, go get your baby girl and live large. TOO STINKING bad you have to live in AK, but, thats only until the charges are dropped. At least the warmth is heading that way. God Blessed You, live for him.
Guess I'm a sucker for a second chance!
to "letmesay," Mechele's dad passed away from cancer when she was in her early teens. Colin lost his dad when he was just a teenager as well. Both dads were included as well as remembered in their wedding ceremony,
Me and BMialone should write a book on this case someday..lol
But seriously, although i have picked on the prosecution, sometimes fairly harshly, (like when i called the prosecution team a "few clowns short of a circus"), but it really is not personal.
I have some fun sometimes, at their expense, because some of the things they say, and theories they espouse, are so absent of any merit, and there is a rather serious point to all this:
When you prosecute a case with so much highly speculative, and barely passable circumstantial theory, that is masquerading as evidence, it can appear to be a "bad faith" prosecution, and someday when the real killer is found, the accused are going to have no choice, but to sue the State of Alaska for 10's of millions of dollars.
This is the problem with highly circumstantial cases. And a biased news media. When the real killer is found, everybody starts suing everybody else. Mrs Linehan, is innocent. That is a fact. And ultimately, you are going to have publishers being sued, magazines being sued, and the State of Alaska being sued, if we don't stop this nonsense, and close this case, right now.
If this retrial proceeds, nobody wins. The State of Alaksa loses, Mrs Linehan loses, Prosecutor Pat's team loses, and the Court loses....and when it turns out she is found not guilty, and someday when the real killer, steps out of the shadows, the lawsuits are going to be in the 10's of millions of dollars....and even if the prosecution was NOT acting in bad faith, through the prism of retrospective history, it will APPEAR that they did.
And then we will all be spending another 5 years in civil court, arguing over who did what, to whom, while the state gets sued for $50 million for destroying someone's life, in a case SO circumstantial, it had no business being brought to trial.
Is Mechele getting released today? Please give us an update.
I have been following the updates on this website ever since I saw Snapped and 48 Hours (I believe that's the show). I'm going to admit that I believed she was guilty all along and really was following this to make sure the man's death was vindicated....until today! Brian's posts have actually cast..at the very least...reasonable doubt in my mind! Everything he said really made sense to me. The more I've thought about it, the more sense it makes. While I still question her character at that time in her life (I do feel she HAS most certainly changed), I no longer am convinced she played a part in his death. I'm even getting excited at the thought of her going home to her husband and little girl.
Best wishes to all of you!!
Congrat's everybody!! How amazing!!!
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