Posted 8:37 AM by Murph.

Looks like a few new articles up on Google in the last day:

• WTAE in Pittsburgh has a very short blurb.
  
• The Pacific Stars and Stripes has a longer story.
  
• Huntington Herald-Dispatch has an article which cites Heath's e-mail posted below.
  

So, not a whole lot that we haven't already read. I'm hoping that, at some point, transcripts of the hearings become available so that we can all see the details of the trial. It is kind of frustrating to only have those details the newspapers find major enough to put in published stories.

Posted 5:38 PM by Murph.

I received this all of 3 minutes ago, after spending all day compulsively checking my mail:

Hello Everyone-
 
This is great news, not the best, but very, very good. No matter what happens, Kenzi will be released from prison on 5 June!  She may need to stay for some more hearings, but she will be out and about! 
 
The hearing yesterday went very well.  I found out the head of the Pennsylvania FBI office is the one who told the agents to "go after Kenzi."  So, it was a very political decision.   The final question to Agent Mansfield was, "Was any blood of Jamie's type found of any of Kenzi's clothes?"  His answer was, "No."  That kind of sums it up, doesn't it?  At the end of our session the judge said that he was giving the FBI until 5 June to come back with any kind of physical evidence.  That conjecture was not enough to keep a person in prison."  Thank goodness the witness did not speak English!  (And the judge made sure the translater had a microphone for us.)  I did not want to miss this.
 
After the hearing the pastor took me out to dinner.  Food has never tasted that good, and I slept for 12 solid hours! 
 
So, two more weeks to wait, but that is all.  After 15 months, what's two weeks?  Anyway, Kenzi is learning a Korean chess-like game, and it will give her a chance to master it.   
 
I look forward to sending a message on 5 June and Kenzi will be able to thank you all in person!  Thank you for your prayers and concerns.  This is not over yet, but it is getting close!  We know there is no evidence that puts Kenzi at the scene of the crime, but there has been much trickery and lying and I thank God that we are witnessing justice.  Keep this issue in your prayers for just two more weeks, please.
 
Most Sincerely and Greatfully, Heath

I haven't found anything on google news yet, but Heath's e-mail has the important bits.

Posted 4:28 AM by Murph.

Heath checks in; as mentioned before, the next hearing is May 22, which is tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have news to post two days in a row.

Hello Everyone-
 
Hopefully this is the good news we have been waiting for.  I went to see the lawyer, his lovely daughter was there and translated for us.  He feels Kenzi will be in jail no more than 5 weeks, that should be the maximum!  He is confident that the testimony from CID Agent Mansfield will show that there was no just cause for going after Kenzi in the first place.  So, two weeks if the judge insists on trying to get the students from the Netherlands and Finland, and 3 weeks for the judges decision.  As always, it could just be dismissed tomorrow, but I am learning not to get too disappointed when this does not happen.
 
My trip to Thailand was productive and I can not believe what good friends I have there!  They came over, helped pack and clean and kept me going.  Also a wonderful couple (Ed and LaVerne) who shall remain nameless, are willing to find the packing company and sell my things at the school's Sala Sale!  Can anyone ask for more??  I don't think so!
 
I shall email again tomorrow to tell you what actually happened in court, but I was excited and wished to share the news.  Please pray for truth and justice (and speed).   
 
As ever, thank you for your encouragement!  Remember: saying anything is better than saying nothing.  Most Sincerely, Heath

Posted 11:39 AM by Murph.

I got a few e-mails today looking for news. Unfortunately, I don't have much to give. I haven't heard from Heath since the last message in mid-April. I just recently got a letter from Kenzi, who sounded well, but it has apparently been sitting at my old address for weeks before being forwarded, so it's not a good indication of her recent state.

A more intensive look on Google news shows a few more recent articles about a hearing since Heath's last message; no real breakthroughs, though:

• The Huntington Herald-Dispatch
  
• Stars and Stripes
  

It sounds as though her lawyer knows of all the different ways her confession could be thrown out of court and is pursuing all of them (as one would hope). If the Herald-Dispatch's note that she was not read her rights by the agents who interrogated her, that would seem to be a nearly automatic way to get the confession thrown out in an American court, though the standard I-am-not-a-lawyer disclaimer applies to anything I say.

The next hearing date is given as May 22; hopefully we'll get an update from Heath after that.