237:. He was arrested without offering any resistance, and a .22-caliber pistol was seized from the front seat of his vehicle. Upon inspection of his home, authorities located a piece of paper with the Kirtland's home address written on it, as well as newspaper clippings regarding Kandy's abduction. He was placed in the Brazos County Jail with a $ 75,000 bond, but denied any and all responsibility in the girl's abduction. Later that same day, a man taking a stroll around a road leading towards the surrounding forest accidentally stumbled upon a pile of rags and cardboards that had a white tennis shoe sticking out of it, and upon closer inspection, noticed that an ankle was protruding from there. He then hurried back home and quickly contacted the local authorities, who quickly deduced that the body belonged to a young girl. While it was suspected early on that the body was that of Kirtland, it was sent to the Southwest Forensic Institute in
270:. However, the prosecution's witnesses continued to claim that he matched the exact description of the man who was seen talking to Kirtland on the day of her abduction, that he had exchanged his cars at a dealership under the alias "George Stevens" and a hotel clerk testified that he had taken some towels with him while on the run from the police. In the end, Earhart was found guilty by jury verdict after less than three hours of deliberation, and was promptly sentenced to death.
299:, which she had planned to sell to a supposed client. An examination of DNA extracted from underneath her fingernails led to a familial match to Earhart's son, and with this, the company brought their findings to the authorities. On June 26, 2018, Earhart's body was exhumed and sampled, with the remains sent to the Institute of Forensic Anthropology at the
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in the kitchen and went back to retrieve her backpack. At around 3:40 PM, the girl was seen talking to a man who had parked his car in front of the driveway. When her parents returned home, Kirtland was not at home but her key was next to the stove and her backpack was still at the front door and they quickly reported her missing.
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for an autopsy. In the meantime, Earhart's bond was raised to $ 100,000, with Bryan Police Chief
Charles Phelps announcing that his department would investigate him in at least two additional murders in the vicinity. The respective victims were 51-year-old Ruth Richardson Green, who was abducted from
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On May 12, 1987, 9-year-old Kandy Janell
Kirtland, a fourth-grade student at Crockett Elementary School in Bryan, Texas was dropped off by bus at an intersection steps away from her house. Reportedly, she left her backpack at the front door as she used her key to open the door. She put her key down
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reviewed the cases of
Earhart and several other death row inmates, following a recent ruling in the case of Dorsie Johnson. His sentence was not commuted, and he was promptly scheduled to be executed on August 11, 1999. Earhart made no final statement, and was executed via lethal injection in the
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was distributed to help locate the suspect. On May 22, the Bryan Police
Department issued an arrest warrant for James Otto Earhart, a 44-year-old local junk dealer who lived in a house shared with his mother and siblings, who matched the description of Kirtland's abductor. A day after the
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After his execution, Earhart's body was interred at the
Blackjack Cemetery in Huntsville, but his DNA was not collected by authorities at the time. In 2017, Parabon NanoLabs were asked by the Brazos County Police Department to aid with the county's oldest
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On May 28, the autopsy confirmed that the body indeed belonged to
Kirtland, resulting in Earhart being charged with capital murder and first-degree kidnapping. Due to the severity of the crime, the trial venue was moved to
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Authorities interviewed witnesses, who described the man as a heavyset white male with either dishwater blond or brown hair, weighing approximately 400 pounds and driving a brown/burnt orange
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October 2019, the Brazos County Sheriff's Office officially confirmed the match, thus solving Freeman's murder. His DNA was later entered into
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At a pre-trial hearing, Earhart claimed that he had made his confession during an exhausted state and supposedly under the effects of
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On the early morning of May 26, 1987, Earhart was found sleeping in a recently traded car in the
Stubblefield Lake area of the
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announcement, authorities released a photograph of
Earhart in the press and distributed 5,000 flyers in Bryan and
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in 2019, and authorities are investigating whether he can be linked to any other violent crimes committed in
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and
Earhart was ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation at the Memorial City Hospital in Houston.
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was later convicted and executed for killing Alice Martin, as well as two other women.
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181:(April 29, 1943 – August 11, 1999) was an American murderer, kidnapper and suspected
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465:"Eagle Archives: The James Otto Earhart investigation and capital murder trial"
598:"Texas executes serial killer Daniel Corwin for 1987 Southeast Texas slayings"
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executed for the 1987 kidnap-murder of 9-year-old Kandy Janell Kirtland in
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389:"FIRST ON KBTX: DNA evidence solves oldest cold case in Brazos County"
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postmistress who was found stabbed to death on February 14, 1987.
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a Bryan bakery on February 8, 1986, and found shot to death near
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Executed American murderer and suspected serial killer
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Whitney Miller and Rusty Surette (October 7, 2019).
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363:"Killer of 9-year-old girl executed in Huntsville"
582:. The Bryan-College Station Eagle. Archived from
524:"Slaying suspect is questioned in other deaths"
436:"Body of girl found in woods near Bryan, Texas"
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698:People executed by Texas by lethal injection
334:List of people executed in Texas, 1990–1999
329:List of people executed by lethal injection
492:"Officials Find Body After Suspect Jailed"
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494:. Tyler Morning Telegraph. May 27, 1987.
678:American people convicted of kidnapping
542:"Burial services set for murder victim"
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361:Michael Graczyk (August 12, 1999).
604:. December 8, 1998. Archived from
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713:Executed suspected serial killers
262:Trial, imprisonment and execution
658:20th-century executions by Texas
434:Jerry Humphries (May 28, 1987).
708:Violence against women in Texas
653:20th-century American criminals
471:. June 25, 2018. Archived from
469:The Bryan-College Station Eagle
673:American murderers of children
544:. The Town Talk. May 30, 1987.
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703:People from Huntsville, Texas
578:Kenny Wiley (June 28, 2018).
324:Capital punishment in Texas
235:Sam Houston National Forest
215:1976 model Chevrolet Impala
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688:Executed people from Texas
506:"Man questioned in deaths"
628:Earhart v. Johnson (1998)
602:Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
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556:"Earhart to die tonight"
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668:American male criminals
418:Tyler Morning Telegraph
303:for further analysis.
586:on November 23, 2021.
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608:on January 29, 2015.
663:American kidnappers
560:Kilgore News Herald
286:Posthumous findings
134:Span of crimes
562:. August 11, 1999.
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23:James Otto Earhart
312:Daniel Lee Corwin
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168:May 26, 1987
56:(1999-08-11)
648:1999 deaths
643:1943 births
623:Birth Index
637:Categories
345:References
244:Huntsville
35:1943-04-29
293:cold case
248:Normangee
223:identikit
138:1981–1987
318:See also
268:hypnosis
256:Giddings
152:State(s)
82:Executed
393:KBTX-TV
228:Houston
143:Country
125:Victims
120:Details
239:Dallas
45:, U.S.
308:CODIS
157:Texas
114:Death
128:2–3+
51:Died
29:Born
219:FBI
191:DNA
84:by
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