The Skeleton Key Chronicles

15 hours ago

A year after pleading guilty and being sentenced in the University of Idaho student case, Bryan Kohberger is asking a judge to let him withdraw his guilty plea.

In a newly filed petition, he claims his own attorneys pressured him into accepting the plea agreement by withholding evidence, misleading him about prison life, and frightening him with false information. He also claims he repeatedly told his attorneys he was innocent and says they assured him the plea didn't have to reflect what he was telling them privately. He also raises issues about evidence he believes was never properly reviewed before he accepted the deal.

Changing a guilty plea after sentencing is extremely difficult. Before accepting the agreement, Judge Steven Hippler spent considerable time making sure he understood exactly what he was doing. He confirmed he understood the rights he was giving up, said he was making the decision of his own free will, and signed paperwork acknowledging those same points.

To succeed now, he has to convince the court that something went so fundamentally wrong during that process that the agreement should no longer stand. Legal analysts say that's an exceptionally high bar, and petitions filed after sentencing rarely succeed. Now it's up to the court will decide whether he has presented enough to move his challenge forward. As of now, no hearing or decision date has been announced.

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The Skeleton Key Chronicles

19 hours ago

Days after investigators announced that a Grand Haven Township, Michigan father was responsible for the deaths of his wife and their six children before they were found deceased in the family home, new details are beginning to emerge about the weeks leading up to the incident.

Authorities say 47-year-old Kristopher Karolkiewicz was responsible for the deaths of his wife, Amanda "Mandy" Karolkiewicz, 39, and the couple's six children inside their Riverside Trail home. Two of the children had been adopted from China, and public social media posts show Amanda had recently returned from a trip to Shanghai with the girls, where they visited Shanghai Disneyland just days before the incident. Investigators also say the fire was intentionally started after the deaths of Amanda and the children. Officials have said they are not looking for any additional suspects.

One of the latest developments involves Kristopher's employment. The American Heart Association has confirmed that his employment ended earlier this month, weeks before the incident.

Investigators have also released additional details about the timeline. Firefighters were first called to the area after multiple reports of the smell of smoke in the area, but they were unable to locate any fire. Nearly three hours later, additional 911 calls reported white smoke coming from the Riverside Trail home. When crews returned, they discovered the fire and, while searching the home, found the family inside.

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The Skeleton Key Chronicles

1 day ago

More than 40 years ago, 23-year-old Rose Marie Gayhart disappeared from southwest Florida. For decades, there were few answers about what became of her, and with no leads her case gradually faded into the background, at least from an investigative standpoint.

Florida was supposed to be a new chapter for Rose Marie after the loss of one child and the adoption of another. She had recently moved to the Cape Coral area with her boyfriend and his mother, hoping to build a life there. But according to family members and investigators, things inside the home had become increasingly strained in the weeks before she vanished.

Rose Marie was reported missing in 1985 by her parents in Dansville, New York, although she had been living in the Cape Coral and North Fort Myers area. Family members later shared that Rose had written home describing growing tension at the trailer where she was living, and investigators also looked into reported disagreements involving the people closest to her in the days leading up to her disappearance.

Around that same time, Rose had just started a job at a Cape Coral restaurant then known as Big Howie's Hot Dogs. According to investigators, on what would become just her third day at work, her boss reported seeing Rose get into a red pickup truck with an unidentified man. She never returned for her paycheck and was never seen again.

Years passed with little movement in the case. Despite interviews, tips and continued efforts by investigators, Rose Marie's disappearance remained unsolved, and her family was left waiting for answers.

That finally began to change in May 2024, when kayakers discovered human remains in a canal in northeast Cape Coral. It would take nearly two years before they were identified.
Just this week, Cape Coral Police announced they had results through forensic DNA testing identifying those as Rose Marie Gayhart. Investigators worked with the District 21 Medical Examiner's Office, while the Livingston County Sheriff's Office in New York helped obtain the familial DNA needed to confirm her identity.

With Rose Marie finally identified, investigators are continuing to piece together what happened. Police say the case remains an active investigation, and anyone with information about Rose Marie's disappearance or death is asked to contact the Cape Coral Police Department.

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