Posted on 10/01/2008 3:15:30 PM PDT by Tennessee Nana
A single swipe of the card opened any door at the West Knoxville motel.
Police say Valentino Vasquez Miranda used that card the morning of Sept. 20 to get inside Jennifer Lee Hampton's room and strangle the former Alabama homecoming queen.
The card, together with Miranda's bloody clothes and a tip from his worried wife, led to his arrest, according to a warrant.
Miranda, 19, faces a charge of first-degree murder in Hampton's death. Authorities served him with the warrant this morning in jail.
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Miranda and his wife, Rosa Rodriguez Hernandez, lived and worked at the motel. Knoxville Police Department Investigator Steve Still arrested Miranda and another man the day the investigation began when Still said they showed him bogus Social Security cards.
The same day, Hernandez turned over her husband's bloody clothes, Still wrote in an arrest warrant. DNA tests showed that blood came from Hampton, according to the warrant.
Motel records show Miranda used his master key card to unlock the door to Hampton's motel room, Still wrote.
Bond on the murder charge was set at $1 million. Miranda could appear in court Oct. 10 for a preliminary hearing.
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"We believe the Knoxville Police Department has a very strong case against him," the lawyer said. "Nobody can understand how any human being can commit such a horrendous act against such a beautiful, caring young lady."
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No murder charges have been filed against Rogelio Melchor, 38, the other man arrested on forgery charges at the motel. The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency put a hold on him and Miranda after their arrest. That means neither man can leave jail, even with bail money.
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(Excerpt) Read more at knoxnews.com ...
PING
Tennessee PING
This is why you put the chain on the door. Still, what the hell are these people doing in this country?
I’m sick of American citizens being murdered and killed by illegal aliens - and I lay the blame at the feet of every American politician - most notably John McCain and Lindsey Graham.
Nothing to see here. Just murdering the homecoming queens Americans won’t.
But if she'd been ugly it would make sense.
So how many identities does this savage killer have?
And how many TN voting districts are he and his wife---and the rest of the relatives here illegally---registered in?
Mexico is lying in wait, salivating like a feral animal.
When the federales show their citizens voted in large numbers, the massive transfer of US wealth south of the border will commence.
Days Inn should be liable. You hire illegals you pay for all of their “labor”.
I have to hand it to the wife. She stepped up when so many wouldn’t turn in a family member or friend.
ping
The Mother of All Lawsuits: they literally gave a foreign criminal the keys to the house.
I have a running legal battle with a timeshare I own on that very subject. They clearly hired illegals to housekeep and it nauseates me that they have access, so we have been in a little war for the last 4 years.
Days Inn should go down for a few tens of millions over this very predictable outcome.
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