In this week’s edition of Law and Order with The Legal Lady, we break down the top stories making headlines for the week of January 9th.
Joran Van der Sloot gets sentenced to 28 years prison for murdering Stephany Flores in Peru in May 2010. On Wednesday, Van der Sloot plead guilty to the murder and on Friday he got two years short of the maximum sentence the prosecution was hoping for. Van der Sloot must also pay about $74,500 to Flores’ family in reparations. Van der Sloot’s sentencing comes just one day after an Alabama judge declares Natalee Holloway legally dead. Her father, Dave, filed a petition to declare his daughter dead in June, saying the move would provide him with some closure 6 and a half years after her disappearance in Aruba. However, Holloway’s mother, Beth, was opposed to the move and says she “will always hope and pray for Natalee’s safe return.” As Van der Sloot prepares for a long stay behind bars, his legal troubles are not quite over. He faces a possible extradition to the U.S. on charges of wire fraud and extortion after allegedly trying to extort $250,000 from Beth Holloway in 2010 in exchange for details regarding the whereabouts of Natalee’s remains.
Jenelle Evans, one of the stars of Teen Mom 2, found herself back behind bars this week on charges she made harassing phone calls and communicated threats. Evans was arrested but posted $1,000 bail shortly after. Her attorney claims Evans ex-roommate pressed charges out of retaliation and calls the charges “completely absurd.” This week’s mugshot is Evans third after pleading guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia in April and failing a drug test while on probation in July. She also landed in front of a judge in September after getting into a violent public fight while on probation. Evans claims the latest charges are part of an ongoing duel between her and her ex-roomie.
Just one week after a video update recorded by Casey Anthony hit the internet, her probation officer is claiming the video was illegally hacked. Her PO claims the video and others were maliciously hacked and stolen off Anthony’s personal computer. Anthony’s defense attorney, Jose Baez, appeared in television interviews this week proclaiming he will seek legal action against the allegedly criminal hacker. Yet in a mysterious turn of events, just a day later Baez declared he was removing himself from Anthony’s legal team. There are rumblings Anthony and Baez disagreed over how to handle media interview requests, this as website The Dirty offers Anthony $350,000 for her first interview. Meanwhile, the depositions of two of Anthony’s pre-trial psychiatrists were made public this week, showing that Anthony was not declared mentally ill. The doctors say Anthony was convinced her father, George, had something to do with Caylee’s death and even told doctors she was raped by her father and that George is Caylee’s biological father. DNA tests have shown her beliefs were false. The doctors wrote Anthony “uses lies as a protective measure” and that she seems “detached from a lot of her feeling and emotion.”
And Lindsay Lohan’s legal battles continue as an LA paparazzo sues Lohan and her chauffeured driver, claiming he was injured in a run-in with her car outside a Hollywood club in January 2010. Grigor Baylan is seeking $25,000 in damages. The lawsuit comes the same week as Lohan is slapped with a $93,000 tax lien stemming from allegedly unpaid federal income taxes in 2009. This was not Lindsay’s week. Let’s hope next week, with her next probation progress report hearing scheduled for Tuesday, goes better.
And finally, Dr. Conrad Murray is back in the news once again. First up, 100 Michael Jackson fans in France are suing Murray for emotional distress over causing the pop star’s death. Each fan could win up to $13,000. The case is scheduled to be heard in court April 11th. Meanwhile, Murray is asking an LA judge to deny MJ’s family full restitution. MJ’s family stands to gain $100 million in restitution. However, Murray filed legal documents himself this week asking for evidence never submitted in trial that he claims could show Jackson administered the fatal dose of Propofol himself and is partly to blame for his own death.
That’s it for this week’s edition of Law and Order with The Legal Lady. Stay tuned for further developments on these stories and more.
