"There’s so much stress, especially in homicide, it was just his nature to do that and relax people," Wilkerson said. Lesher was the lead on many homicide cases in his nearly 10 years in the unit, including a high-profile case in 2010 in which he helped dig a body out of the basement of an Old Louisville home. DiCiccio and Nowakowski Dream.

The footage is delightfully tongue-in-cheek — it opens with a traditional New Orleans funerary band following Detective Rayell on a death investigation call while bewildered onlookers gawk — and utilizes title cards and graphics that are very similar to First 48's scene transitions. Interestingly enough, most seem to agree to be shown on the show, even firsthand witnesses. Direct quotes from past or present detectives regarding their The First 48 experiences are rare, but what little exists is largely positive. His attorneys said prosecutors lied to the original grand jury by telling panelists the couple had never treated the wound.

That’s part of a pattern in this case of keeping secret commonplace records. The First 48 has enthralled viewers since 2004 by documenting homicide squads' lives and jobs across more than a dozen cities. It undercuts the couple’s claims that they only tried to help the little girl, and alleges that, rather than seek medical help for a serious of rare and series maladies, they ignored medical advice. Prosecutors said in their response motion there was no way to prove the Cunningham’s claims, and even if they could, it didn’t matter. "I respected Jon for many reasons, but one of the biggest was that he never treated me like an enemy," Kaelin said. Much like investigating homicides, the initial day or two after a person goes missing are the most critical. "He was so good at interviewing people because he was so likable. On October 27, 2016, DCS launched a second probe of the family. Circulation, Sylvia Norwood, right, mother of the deceased girl, Sanaa Cunningham, following a hearing for Germayne Cunningham in January. “The allegations have been proposed for substantiation,” DCS said. But prosecutors painted a more damning new portrait last week in court documents. They had, defense lawyers argued, and to ignore the fact kept exculpatory evidence from the grand jury. "He could cut through the B.S. Most homicides aren't actually solved in 48 hours, so this program takes the opportunity to follow extended investigations. In its statement, DCS noted it had opened four separate investigations. Become a Courier Journal subscriber today to support stories like this one. Memphis' city council, for example, grew nervous about the show portraying the city as dangerous and pulled their support over the department chief's objections. They reasoned the wound was severe enough it “could have contributed” to Sanaa’s death, and “that only putting Neosporin and gauze on a festering, possibly fatal wound is not treatment.”. "They would get to the point where they’d trust him so much they’d tell him anything,” Wilkerson said. In 2010, First 48 was filming with Detroit PD's Special Response Team (in simpler terms, a SWAT team) when seven-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones …

Specifically, it barred Goodyear PD, DCS, and the two legal teams “from disseminating any and all materials related to the criminal investigation” of the case.
He left Miami-Dade County Jail after posting bond Wednesday afternoon. Once detectives are featured on The First 48, they enjoy a certain amount of fame and notoriety within the sphere of true crime entertainment. By February 7, 2017, Germayne and Lisa Cunningham noticed Sanaa was “catatonic, constantly shaking, drooling, and unable to eat or drink normally.”, “Instead of seeking immediate medical help, the defendants instead took cellphone videos of the victim,” prosecutors alleged last week, adding the couple communicated by text with doctors, “but opted to wait until the visible injuries on her arms and legs could heal.”. Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at 502-582-4989 or mglowicki@courier-journal.com. Sgt. Public records requests for the investigation files have not been answered. She laughs when recounting one memory in particular. And while they came at cases from opposing sides, Kaelin said they weren't adversaries. Make a financial contribution or sign up for a newsletter, and help us keep telling Phoenix's stories with no paywalls. The case was closed and stamped “unsubstantiated.”. Often, judges issue bench warrants for arrests in less serious cases. None of the officers portrayed in The First 48 are paid, nor do their departments receive any compensation (though you will, on occasion, see little bits of First 48 production swag on officers' desks, like hats, stickers, or water bottles). The autopsy noted scars on at least 60 locations on Sanaa’s body, about more than 100 cuts and bruises. That’s where they put the girl in an oversize shirt and tied the sleeves behind her back, like a straitjacket. Find out more about Miami, FL and the rest of the cast on A&E. Participating police departments are, by and large, perfectly happy with this arrangement and consider it a good public service to help citizens understand homicide investigation more deeply.

Detective Chris Anderson, a main personality in Birmingham episodes, retired from the prestigious Crime Reduction Team in 2016 and announced in 2017 that he was headlining a new Investigation Discovery program called Reasonable Doubt with an attorney out of Los Angeles. The details of Sanaa’s final months gave prosecutors plenty to ponder.
This is the untold truth of The First 48. Then they said nothing could be released. It was the last official report officials released, and the only one that was more than a summary. Germayne Cunningham had always insisted his daughter suffered a series of rare and severely disabling mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, pica, mood disorders, and conditions that led her to urinate and defecate uncontrollably.

Engaging with our readers is essential to Phoenix New Times's mission. One of the most common and lingering criticisms of The First 48 is that its content profits off the suffering of murder victims as entertainment. You can find Detective Summer Benton, seen in a number of Atlanta episodes, as well as Detectives Jenny Luke and Jennifer Mitsch from Cincinnati episodes on the short-lived Investigation Discovery program Inside Homicide. None of that has been released formally until now. Careers, That’s because on Valentine’s Day, February 14, prosecutors and defense attorney’s filed a sealed emergency motion asking the Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Kemp to clamp down on pubic releases. The Cunninghams retrofitted their laundry room to confine Sanaa there. "It’s almost like he made it his job to make people feel better.”. Jon Lesher joined LMPD in 2001 after serving in the U.S. Army and working at Louisville Metro Corrections. “They would find a doctor, describe the victim’s behavior (as reported only by them), and then fail to follow up on the doctor’s advice when it was not what they wanted,” prosecutors said. The surprisingly soft, warm and rumbling voice heard during voiceover segments in First 48 episodes is supplied by Dion Graham, a veteran screen presence who may be familiar to some keen-eared fans through his work on The Wire as attorney Rupert Bond. Many are not directly affiliated with or funded by the state/local PD and rely very heavily on donations as non-profit charities. He was "a true staple" of the department, she said, "who led from the front and always, always had the backs of his people.". It’s also despite prosecutors being granted a third extension to consider filing — or not — their plans to seek the death penalty for the Cunninghams. She waited until morning to text Germayne Cunningham, and together they took Sanaa to urgent care. Sign Up ›.