STEPHANIE CONDON - Aged 14 years - Oregon (USA)

CBS News

September 21, 2010

Stephanie Condon Murder: Change of Venue Hearing for Dale Wayne Hill

ROSEBURG, Ore. (CBS/KVAL) The parents of Stephanie Condon, the 14-year-old Oregon girl who went missing over ten years ago, have waited a long time for the trial of her accused murderer. Now the first of many proceedings - a change in venue hearing - has begun.

Attorneys for Dale Wayne Hill, who police believe to be the last person to see Stephanie alive, have asked for his murder trial to be moved of out Douglas County where the young girl's disappearance and death was highly publicized.

Hill's attorneys are concerned that their client will not get a fair trial if the venue is not changed.

At Monday's session, a Josephine County judge listened as several current and former law enforcement officers testified about evidence surrounding Hill before and after Condon's disappearance, reports CBS affiliate KPIC.

The change of venue hearing is expected to conclude at the end of the week.

Condon, an honor student from Riddle, Oregon, vanished Oct. 30, 1998 while she was babysitting for her cousin's twin toddlers in Myrtle Creek; however, her disappearance baffled investigators who suspected Hill, but could not find any concrete proof of his guilt.

Over the next ten years, Stephanie's family as well as the community pitched in by posting flyers and billboards, as well as hosting vigils, in hopes of finding the missing girl, reports KPIC.

On March 13, 2009, a hiker came across skeletal remains near an abandoned logging road. Police confirmed that the remains were those of Stephanie Condon, and Hill was taken into custody in Nevada the same day.

"It is a case that has been investigated by state, federal and international agencies for 10 1/2 years," Mark Sabit, one of two attorneys representing Hill, said at a previous court hearing.

Hill, 40, has pleaded not guilty to Condon's murder and kidnapping and has been held without bail at the county jail where he awaits a trial tentatively starting in February.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20017123-504083.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CBSNewsWebMD+%28CBS+News%3A+Health%3A+WebMD%29

KVAL. com

Mar 1, 2011

Trial begins this week of man accused of killing teen in 1998



ROSEBURG, Ore. - Dale Wayne Hill faces aggravate murder and kidnapping charges in the October 1998 death of teen Stephanie Condon.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges, and opening arguments are expected Thursday morning. He could face the death penalty.

First, the court will assemble a jury from 50 potential jurors to hear the case.

The pool was completed Tuesday.

The defense has not yet filed another change of venue motion, but they could still do that before the trial begins.

Pre-trial motions will be heard Wednesday morning, and final jury selection will happen in the afternoon.

If opening arguments come Thursday, the judge expects to take the jury to view the scenes where the crimes took place on Friday. Testimony in the case would likely begin Tuesday morning.

http://www.kval.com/news/local/117205898.html

KPTV Portland

4 March 2011

Jurors View Sites In Trial Over Slain Teenager‎

Jurors in the trial of a man accused of kidnapping and killing a 14-year-old girl left the courtroom Friday to see places related to the case.

They went to locations near Roseburg where prosecutors say Dale Hill could have been the night Stephanie Condon disappeared.

Condon was last seen baby-sitting in a nearby town more than 12 years ago. Her remains were found two years ago in a rural wooded area.

Hill's attorney says there is no motive or evidence linking him to the slaying.

http://www.kptv.com/news/27087305/detail.html

KPTV Portland

8 March 2011

Witnesses Testify In Trial Over Teen's Slaying‎

Prosecution witnesses began testifying Tuesday against a man accused of kidnapping and killing a Douglas County teenager.

Prosecutors say Dale Hill killed 14-year-old Stephanie Condon.

Hill’s trial began last week -- almost two years after a hiker found Condon's remains near a logging road outside the small town of Glide.

On Oct. 20, 1998, Condon babysat her cousin's twin toddlers but was gone when her cousin returned early the next morning, police say.

Officers say Hill, who once dated Condon's cousin, was quickly identified as a suspect, but he’s maintained his innocence.

http://www.kptv.com/news/27127101/detail.html

KCBY

9 March 2011

First witness in Dale Hill trial heard scream‎

Testimony began Tuesday in the Dale Hill trial, and the first witness told the court he heard a scream the night Stephanie Condon disappeared.

Patrick Ireland, a former neighbor of the woman that Stephanie was babysitting for the night she disappeared in October of 1998, said he heard a young girl scream, and a pickup drive away that night.

Ireland told the court that he lived just a short distance away from the mobile home where Cheryl Smith lived, but he didn't think much of the scream until later when he found out Stephanie had disappeared. "We went back to watching TV and talking about our hunting trip, and our plan for the next day," he said. "I really didn't think much of it."

http://www.kcby.com/news/local/117620153.html

KCBY

10 March 2011

Murder trial: 'All I remember her saying is: Stephanie's not here'‎

An emotional Christine Condon, the mother of Stephanie Condon, took the witness stand Wednesday afternoon in the aggravated murder trial of Dale Hill.

The trial was in its second day of testimony in front of Judge Martin Stone.

Christine identified the pajamas that Stephanie was wearing the night she disappeared in October 1998 and told the court about the phone call she got from the woman Stephanie was babysitting for that night.

"It was Cheryl," Condon told the court, "and all I remember her saying is, 'Stephanie's not here,' and I thought I was dreaming, because, who calls and says that."

Christine also talked about how she found out about Stephanie's remains being found. She said that when she got home one day, there were Sheriff's officers sitting on her couch. "That's when they told us they had found the remains. They weren't sure it was her, and they had to do some testing, and then once the testing was done, they notified us that was positive, (it was) her."

Her remains were found about 10 years after she disappeared, in a remote site off Little River Road south of Glide, a short distance away from the home of Dale Hill's parents.

http://www.kcby.com/news/local/117739263.html

KEZI TV

10 March 2011

Former Lead Detective Takes Stand in Dale Hill Trial‎

The state called one of its most important witnesses to testify in the trial of Dale Hill.

Former lead detective Joe Perkins Jr. was one of very few investigators who had close contact with the defendant during the case. Perkins testified about Dale Hill's behavior and what he called inconsistent stories.

It was after the night Stephanie vanished that Perkins met Hill for the first time.

Perkins asked Hill a question previous investigators already had.

"I asked him if he killed Stephanie Condon...his response was...I appreciate your asking me that. And immediately changed subjects," says Perkins.

The next time Perkins met with Hill was at a laundromat.

Hill told the detective that he went inside Cheryl Richey's house the night he saw Stephanie.

But just a few days before he'd told investigators the exact opposite.

As days passed with no sign of Stephanie, Perkins says Hill began to add information to his story and switch things around.

http://kezi.com/news/local/206633

KVAL

17 March 2011

FBI agents testify about finding Stephanie Condon's remains‎

FBI agents testified on Wednesday about finding the remains of Stephanie Condon in March of 2009, in the aggravated murder trial of Dale Hill.

The trial finished its seventh day, with special agent Shelley Ulsenheiner telling the jury about finding a skull in a clear-cut area east of Glide off Little River Road...

.....FBI Special Agent Craig Mueller, who participated in the recovery, also searched Evergreen Park in Myrtle Creek several years earlier, and told the jury about a comforter that was located along a creek. "It was kind of wedged into the creek bank with tree roots growing through it, which looked kind of like bones, which I think that's what made people think it might be a body, and you could tell It'd been there for awhile," he said. "The roots had grown through it."

The comforter was found in June of 2003, five years after Condon disappeared.

Another member of the FBI team also testified about the spot where the remains were found, which is a short distance from Dale Hill's parents' home.

http://www.kval.com/news/local/118171014.html

KMTR News Source

21 March 2011

Defense ready in trial of Dale Wayne Hill for Condon murder

Defense attorneys for the suspect in the 1998 murder of Stephanie Condon are ready to begin calling witnesses.

Condon's remains were found in 2009 in a remote spot near Glide in Southern Oregon, and 41-year-old Dale Wayne Hill was arrested on an aggravated murder charge.

http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/story/Defense-ready-in-trial-of-Dale-Wayne-Hill-for/1hbqZm7OO0eTieH6v-Z0wQ.cspx

KVAL

21 March 2011

Defense witnesses question decade-old murder evidence‎

Lawyers for the man accused in the 1998 murder and kidnapping of an Oregon teenager continued to chip away at decade-old evidence this week.

Dale Wayne Hill's defense team expects to wrap up by next Wednesday, at which point proescutors may call rebuttal witnesses in an attempt to answer the questions and doubts raised by defense witnesses during this sixth week of the trial.

From the outset, prosecutors admitted their case rests on circumstantial evidence: the location where Stephanie Condon's remains were found; phone calls and statements to police from Hill; and other evidence.

http://www.kval.com/news/local/118658959.html

KVAL

30 March 2011

Dale Hill defense wraps up with testimony on condition of skull‎

The defense in the Dale Hill murder trial wrapped up Tuesday, with it's expert witness disputing the prosecution testimony on the condition of Stephanie Condon's skull when it was found.

The state's witness said earlier in the trial that the damage to the back of the skull was from blunt force trauma, and if it had been hit by logging equipment it would have been destroyed.

Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat of Erie, Pennsylvania, whose specialty is outdoor crime scenes and forensic archeology, told the jury that the injuries to Condon's skull could have just as well have been inflicted after her death.

http://www.kval.com/news/local/118920554.html

KMTR NewsSource 16

30 March 2011

State brings rebuttal witnesses for Dale Hill murder trial

As the Dale Hill murder trial nears a verdict, the prosecution brought in witnesses to refute arguments made by the defense during the trial earlier this week.

http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/story/State-brings-rebuttal-witnesses-for-Dale-Hill/wBEP2aOZy0qU_wFECQY-0g.cspx

KPIC

31 March 2011

Murder trial closing arguments start Thursday‎

The evidence is all in and closing arguments will start Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. in the Dale Hill murder trial.

Wednesday, attorneys called rebuttal witnesses to refute testimony from earlier in the trial.

A close friend of Stephanie Condon was called to the stand to counter testimony earlier in the trial by a defense witness. That witness had testified that Stephanie had gone to a back room of the home where she was babysitting with two older men, and the witness implied that she was doing devious things.

Renea Clark told the court that Stephanie only had one boyfriend the whole time she knew her, and that was just a short time relationship. "They were friends together and they saw each other for three days, approximately, it was definitely less than a week," said Clark. "Just holding hands and talking, and she broke up with him because she thought that it would, that her parents would be disappointed."

http://www.kpic.com/news/local/118982999.html

KVAL

31 March 2011

Fate of man accused of teen's 1998 murder now rests with jury‎

Dale Wayne Hill chewed his lip as his attorney read the transcript of a voicemail he left threatening suicide - and challenging an investigator to find the person who killed Stephanie Condon.

Hill's eyes turned glassy, and he wiped away tears as his attorney told the jury Condon wasn't the only victim in the case.

And Condon's mother Christine shook her head 'No' time and again as the defense made its closing argument. Her husband Marty cried and held his wife's hand as they sat in the front row of the courtroom as they had throughout the trial.

Prosecutors told the jury they had a job to do.

"Don't let him get away with this," Douglas County District Attorney Rick Wesenberg told the jury.

http://www.kval.com/news/local/119016294.html

Greenfield Daily Reporter

31 March 2011

Jury begins deliberating in murder trial of Oregon man accused of killing teen girl in 1998‎

A jury in Roseburg has begun its deliberations in the aggravated murder trial of an Oregon man accused of killing a teenage girl in 1998.

KVAL-TV in Eugene reports that closing arguments wrapped up the trial of Dale Wayne Hill on Thursday, sending it to a Douglas County Circuit Court jury after seven weeks.

http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/9631abdc12564710ada03bc2c05ca3fa/OR--Condon-Trial/