Going back to our season one case, the nineteen ninety seven disappearance of Amy
Robettel. There's been a long awaited legal development as relates to Dale Wayne Eaton,
a possible suspect in Amy's case, that is coming up next. Welcome
to this update episode of Frozen Truth. I'm Scott Fuller, and on this
brief update episode, i'd like to direct your attention back to our season one
case, the disappearance of Amy Robettel from the Mountains round Lander, Wyoming in
nineteen ninety seven. We covered Amy's case over a series of five episodes in
our very first season here on Frozen Truth, and it might benefit your recollection
of the update that we're going to bring you here if you go back and
listen to especially the second episode of the series, which was an episode called
Junkyard Dale. It dealt very briefly with a man named Dale Wayne Eaton,
who was eventually convicted of killing a woman named Lisa Marie Kimmel was a very
young, eighteen year old young woman was driving one night from Denver to visit
her boyfriend and her family in Montana, and somewhere along the road there came
across the path of day A Wayne Eaton. Day A Wayne Eaton abducted Lisa
somewhere along the highway, and he held her captive for upwards of a week,
and essentially when he was done with Lisa, he discarded her off a
bridge near Casper. Eventually, several years later, he was convicted of that
crime and authorities were able to find her car buried at his property in Menita,
Wyoming. You'll recall Menita from the very first season of Frozen Truth,
both Eaton's time there and when I say there, it's an unincorporated town of
four or five people, relatively near where the whole rest of the case of
Amy Robectel takes place. I distinctly remember what you hear in that season of
me driving through that barren central part of the state, and anyone who's ever
driven it. I get so many emails from people. If you've driven that
highway, the chances are you recall it because it's a unique American highway.
Anyway, the authorities found Lisa's car buried there. That's where day Awayne Eaton
had buried Lisa's car after he had done what he did to her. There
is a strong suspicion among many in law enforcement including the FBI that day awayne
Eaton is responsible for several other murders. One of those, possibly for reasons
we talk about again in season one, might be the ninety seven disappearance of
Amy Robecto from The Mountains round Lander, the short version of a good part
of what we spend the first season on, and again highly recommend you tread
back to the first season if you haven't listened in a while, or haven't
listened at all, and any of this intrigues you. There is some pretty
substantial reason to believe that day awayne Eaton may have been in the area of
Amy's on that day in July of ninety seven when she disappeared. When Daywayne
Eaton was eventually arrested and convicted of the crime of Lisa Marie Kimmel's death,
he was sentenced to death for it, and on appeal, a US district
judge named Allen B. Johnson overturned that ruling on essentially a technicality. And
I don't mean to minimize the ruling by saying it was only a technicality,
but it's what we lay people with term a technicality. It was ineffective counsels.
There was going to be an appeals process for any capital case anyway,
But once that particular ruling was made, it kind of set the course for
day A. Wayne Eaton to at least avoid the death penalty. But as
the appeals process sort of wove its way through, prosecutors kept exercising their option
to pursue the death penalty. Even as the death penalty is annually an open
question at the state legislature, and I must say, judging by the vote
counts it receives in the Wyoming legislature, it's not a one sided issue either.
Necessarily, the appetite for a death penalty in the state is sort of
influx. But every single year when that death penalty repeal legislation comes up,
so far it has failed to include this last legislative session, So eventually the
appeals process weaves its way very recently now in the last two years, to
a federal court judge in Denver, Colorado, And interestingly, that federal court
judge in Denver made the ruling that Eaton can face the death penalty, specifically
that the state can pursue the death penalty in his case. After that ruling,
the only hope that Eaton's defense team has appeals team has is the US
Supreme Court, highest court in the land, but the Supreme Court first has
to decide to hear it. Now, what is that criteria? Generally speaking,
the justices on the court will rely on precedents, and the whole function
of the US Supreme Court is basically to constitutionally settled disputes between law and prior
court precedent. And it does that using only as its guide the United States
Constitution. In reality, that's each justice's interpretation expert interpretation of the US Constitution.
But there are very few cases that are new footprints on the constitutional moon.
A lot of these cases the justices will decide fall under the state or
federal constitutions, or they just won't take because there is no role for the
court to fulfill unless it is setting new constitutional ground. Usually that brings us
to the news event of the day. As expected, the US Supreme Court
has refused to hear Dale Wayne Eaton's appeal, and I can't remember now that
I think of it. I think it had to do with he is not
basically not being mentally evaluated properly during his first trial. Something along those lines.
May even say here in the article the Casper Star Trib has this is
breaking news on their website tonight. Let me read here from Shane Sanderson,
who we have quoted before. The country's highest court made its announcement following a
closed justice's conference for consideration of potential cases. It did not offer an explanation,
which is typical for those cases the court declines to take. And then
some background here. Following the Supreme Court decision, the Tenth Circuit US Court
of Appeals ordered that the case be returned to Natrona County district court where Eaton
was convicted. So that brings us to where we're at right now. Once
you appeal to the Supreme Court and they refuse to hear your appeal, you
have nowhere else to go. That's the end of the line. The last
highest court ruling stands. Also from the article, the sentencing hearing will become
the second that Eaton, who is seventy five, is faced. He was
sentenced to death shortly after his conviction, and he was for a time the
only person on Wyoming's death row. In twenty fourteen, a federal appeals court
throughout eaton sentence, ruling he had not received appropriate representation. We've basically,
given you all that, all that background, why does this matter as relates
to Amy Robecktel our Season one case is kind of our focus here tonight.
There are many in law enforcement who believe that Daily Eaton killed more women than
Lisa Marie Kimmel. If Amy Robecktel is one of them, and if Eaton
is involved at all in his defense or cares at all about whether he lives
or dies, which is not a given. When he gets to capital cases,
cases that deal with the death penalty, there are passionate lawyers, ideologically
passionate lawyers who will take up your case pro bono just because they're anti death
penalty. So the fact that it was appealed for decades doesn't mean that Eaton
actually knows what's going on. But if he does, and if he cares
about what happens to him, this is possible leverage on any of the other
cases that authorities with the State of Wyoming and the FBI believe that Eaton is
involved in. Amy Robacto may or may not be one of those cases.
But this ruling, while it may be a long shot, is nothing but
good news for those cold cases in Wyoming because it can't hurt those open cases.
What this really is, this news tonight is not necessarily a bombshell.
It's not breaking news as relates to Amy's case. It's like a mile marker.
It is possibly a significant milestone in the case, but that remains to
be seen. One thing it does do, regardless of all these other variables,
it starts a stop watch, starts a clock. There are no more
avenues for Dale we Neaton to go to, and it's not going to be
terribly long now. It's not going to be yours anymore. Obviously, the
coronavirus is a factor with the court systems all over the country, but I
know of one state believe Missouri is going forward with a planned execution like soon.
I think it's next week, even in the midst of the pandemic,
which they're taking some heat for, but nonetheless here pursuing. So the wheels
of justice turned slowly until you get to the very last notch on the wheel,
and it tends to happen quickly. That's our update. If you're interested
further in the Lisa Marie Kimmel case, I've just produced just happened to have
in the last two months produced two episodes for the ten Cast network for a
show I produce called Dead and Gone in Wyoming. If you're not listening already,
you may enjoy it. The April episode it's monthly. The April episode
had to do with Lisa Marie Kimmel, it's just her case. And the
May episode, just out May sixth, has to do with a great Basin
serial killer wh is very probably not one killer, but day Awayne Eaton may
be one of a couple of men responsible for a series of a dozen or
so murders across America's West. If you're at all interested in those Dead and
Gone in Wyoming is available on all the podcast places. Also, just for
fun, we're doing something different here tonight with a Patreon. We did a
bit of a pre role and after I wrapped the main feed episode, here
for our Patreon people, I will go a little bit further into the I
thinks my own personal opinion that doesn't matter as much, and we're going to
discuss this ruling a little bit more for our Patreon supporters. So if you're
interested, you can find a link to the Patreon support page, which is
a way to support Frozen Truth. In any event, you get the extra
content too. In the show notes for this episode, I want to thank
you all for subscribing. I hope all is well with you and yours,
and we'll be in touch soon, I hope, with more such developments from
all three of our cases.