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The power of social media to solve a mystery case

A nameless man brought garbage bags full of photos and priceless documents into 2News studios one morning and asked that they be given to the rightful owner. He only said he found them in a car wash trash can in downtown Salt Lake City. Then he was gone.

As the social media lead at KUTV2News, I posted some photos on our Facebook page and a story on our website asking for help from the public to identify anyone in these photos. Some photos were a dated back to the mid 1900s, while others were birthday cards from the '90s, or Catholic baptismal records. Within a few hours we found the owners. We were able to help find the owner of hundreds of lost photos and get them back to their rightful owners.

2News reporter Dan Rascon tells the rest of the story about how they got lost in the first place in his "Inside The Story."

John Brickman Wall Murder trial: From 2011 to now news stories

If you are just now hearing about the story of Uta von Schwedler and John Brickman Wall for the first time and need a recap. Go here:

World News Videos | ABC World News
48 Hours did a in-depth piece on the whole story.

In Sept. of 2011 Uta von Schwedler was discovered dead in her bathtub in her Sugarhouse home. I had several tips that her death was anything but a suicide.

After weeks of canvassing the Salt Lake City neighborhood and trying to get authorities to go on the record about von Schwedler's death being something more, there was finally a breakthrough.

I was able to get enough to publish a story on Feb 16, 2012 where Salt Lake City police said the death was now being considered "suspicious." Police said nearly four months after the death that they still had "no suspects or persons of interest, but they (weren't) ruling anything out."

Several stories later and almost exactly three years to the date from the publishing of my initial story, John Brickman Wall, Uta von Schwedler's ex-husband will be on trial for her murder. Court and police records showed John Brickman Wall was initially one of the first people police interviewed and interrogated within 24 hours of the reported death.

It took more than 18 months from when he was first interviewed by police to actually be charged with murder.

This story I wrote in July of 2013 as a freelance reporter for City Weekly encapsulates the entirely of a son suspecting his own father of killing his mother.

Arguably, the most instrumental part in the case moving forward was when the oldest son, Pelle Wall von Schwedler put a petition in court accusing his father of killing his mother and asking the courts to take his younger siblings away from his father.

10 month wait for FOIA request. Persistence pays off for results of Union Pacific train accident in Utah

It took 10 months. In fact, since my first day working at the Standard-Examiner I reported on a Union Pacific train derailment in Weber Canyon. After coming back to the office, I promptly put in a (Freedom of Information Act) FOIA request for the details of what happened in the accident.
In June, I got a response letter telling me it could take 6-9 months for the investigation to be complete.
10 months later, I finally got the report.

Here is the follow up story.  along with the original video from the first story I did.


 

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN!

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: facebook.com/SECimaron

Professional Broadcast Demo Reel

Broadcast Demo Reel:

Judge orders John Brickman Wall to stand trial in murder case of U of U biologist.

Utah 3rd District Court Judge Robin Reese found probable cause to move forward a murder case to go to trial. The case, involving the death of a U of U biologist from the Sugar House area who was found dead in her bathtub. Uta Von Schwedler's ex-husband, a former pediatrician for Wasatch Pediatrics in Murray is accused by prosecutors of killing Von Schwedler. On Oct 21, a judge will arraign John Brickman Wall, 49, on his charges of murder, and aggravated burglary, both 1st degree felonies that could put him behind bars for life. During the final minutes of the hearing Judge Reese explained why the case would be bound over and says it's believed Johnny Wall murdered Uta — Wall slightly shakes his head no. He chained up by the guard and taken out of the court room. No trial date has yet been set. Stay tuned for more updates!

LIVE TWEETING: John Brickman Wall Murder charges Preliminary Hearing DAY 1 of 3.

It has been several months since John Brickman Wall has been charged with murder of his ex-wife Uta Von Schwedler on Sept. 27, 2011. The former pediatrician has been incarcerated while he awaits the preliminary hearing Oct. 1-3. This hearing is set up for the judge to decide if there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial. Watch for my Live Tweets today beginning at 9 A.M. MST. Tweets by @CimCity

There is a Deadly Suspicion.

DEADLY SUSPICION: A look inside a ‪Utah‬ son's fight to keep his father in jail, for what he believes was the murder of his mother.

“Your mother is dead and [the police] think I did it.”

An in-depth look at how an international think-tank of family, friends and a teenager helped keep the case going. My first investigative Salt Lake City Weekly freelance story on a heavy topic.‬ http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/article-489-17864-deadly-suspicion.html

PART 2: John Brickman Wall Murder Charges Bond Reduction Hearing.

I will be live tweeting the John Brickman Wall bond reduction hearing today. Several weeks ago the hearing was rescheduled because the judge over the case was on vacation. Now he is back. Today the defense hopes to get the $1.5 million bail reduced and the family of Uta Von Schwedler want to keep him behind bars. Follow my twitter feed below for the latest developments. Tweets by @CimCity

UTAH DOCTOR involved in MURDER CASE: Bail stays at $1.5 million for pediatrician John Brickman Wall charged in Utah Murder Case

NEW STORIFY OF LIVE TWEETS!: Hearing held off, to be rescheduled when current judge on the case comes back from vacation. To the elation of Uta Von Schwedler supporters and son Pelle Wall, bond remains at $1.5 Million for now. I live tweeted the bond reduction hearing for John Brickman Wall, a Utah Pediatrician charged with murder of his ex-wife. Wall is charged with breaking into his ex-wife's home on late Sept. 26 or early morning 27, 2011 and murdering Uta Von Schwedler, 49, a University of Utah biologist inside her Salt Lake City home. Click here for a quick recap on what happened in the case leading up to the alleged murder. The family of the deceased Von Schwedler has said they believe Wall killed her out of frustration he was losing a bitter custody battle over the couple's four children. Medical examiner reports show a sign of a struggle and cuts on Von Schwedler's body that indicate possible defensive wounds. She was found in ice cold water in her bathtub with a knife underneath her and a lethal dose of Xanax (anxiety medication) in her system, a medication she did not have a prescription for. Wall requested a reduction to his $1.5 million cash-only bail from the Salt Lake County Jail. His attorney Fred Metos contests that Wall is not a flight risk and the bail should be lowered to $100,000. The change in bail amount would mean allowing Wall to leave jail while awaiting the murder trial. Various witnesses, family members, friends from both sides and even Wall's oldest son, who has accused him of murdering his mother, are expected to testify during the hearing. His 19-year-old son wants him behind bars.

NATIONAL TV Appearance on GMA: Utah doctor charged with murdering ex-wife

18 Months in the making: 

National TV Good Morning America appearance discussing a case I have covered from the beginning about a Utah doctor charged with murdering his ex-wife and leaving her for dead in her bathtub.

John Brickman Wall Murder Trial: Pediatrician Expected He'd Face Murder Charges | Video - ABC News

The background:

 

When I was a reporter for The Salt Lake Tribune I incurred a story many reporters do on a regular basis. It was so unbelievable it couldn't be true. As an intern reporter one time I fell for this and got burned and wasted several days if not weeks chasing down a murder story that never turned out. I learned my lesson and became highly skeptical for future stories that didn't pass the smell test. In this case, a man, a wealthy pediatrician in the Salt Lake City area, is believed and reported by neighbors to have murdered his ex-wife in her own house and drown her in a bathtub, then leave her until the dead woman's boyfriend finds her after he goes to her home after not hearing from her for most of the next day.

Police initially called it a non-significant event and an unattended death, likely believed to be a suicide. But a few things didn't add up. 

When I canvassed the neighborhood and talked to neighbors in Oct of 2011, just two weeks after the death. Everyone said police were discussing how this looked like a homicide. Then after I called neighbors back to discuss those claims further they clammed up and said they no longer wanted to talk because they didn't want to mess up the police investigation or get in trouble for pointing out an issue. So I knew there was some digging to be done.

I started talking to the family. They said I was the only news outlet or reporter to give them the time of day. I had them dump all the information and heresy on me and I would go back and document and back up the missing pieces with court recordings or corroborate in other ways. 

I landed an exclusive interview with the oldest son when he publicly accused his father of killing his mother and moved out. And I ran the first story on the death possibly not being a suicide but a homicide, despite police claims. A document of all my stories are found here on the justice for Uta website.

 

Fast forward to late April 2013, the ex-husband, John Brickman Wall is charged with murder and burglary for breaking into his ex-wife's home and killing her with a knife and giving her a lethal dose of Xanax. DNA evidence of him was found underneath the ex-wife's fingernails.

Now that a national audience begins to watch this case, I continue to report it as a freelance reporter, having left the Tribune to pursue other ventures that paid better to support my family and allowed me to still report on the side.

I left the Tribune in March of 2013, about a month later the charges are filed against Wall. A few days after the story runs, it is picked up nationally and I get a call from New York City from a producer with ABC News and Good Morning America. He asks if I would like to appear to talk about the case. Absolutely I would! This case has been something I have been working on extensively for nearly two years, and it is just about to get even stranger.

I hope you enjoy following my reporting. I will continue to update on here. Check back often for updates.

-CN

John Brickman Wall Murder Trial: Pediatrician Expected He'd Face Murder Charges | Video - ABC News

John Brickman Wall Murder Trial: Pediatrician Expected He'd Face Murder Charges | Video - ABC News

INVESTIGATION: Fledging movie studio, or tax payer drain?
What is South Salt Lake doing with its money?
I utilized some Freedom of Information Act knowledge to find out how much tax payers in the suburb of Salt Lake City has spent since the city led the residents to believe a deal had been finalized.
Find out how much the indecision to buy the property has cost residents so far and see the lease agreements in the story.


Story: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55797213-78/font-lake-salt-scribd.html.csp

OWL CITY!

Utah has one of about 50 federally protected migratory bird refuges in the country. Jan. 12 they held Owl Day to educate the public on wildlife.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is quite the diamond in the rough of the desert. An oasis of sorts, even in the winter time. Check out this video I shot of a family learning about owls. A 4-year-old also finds out to find the bones he has been dissecting an owl pellet. The look on his face when he makes that realization is priceless. It wasn't just brown dirt.

Here is the print story I did of all the facts about which owl can live up to 20 years and why the bird refuge hosts the events for free to the public.
A great place to take the children when experiencing cabin fever in wintertime or during summer break.

Cimaron's Social Media feeds

I'm on REBEL MOUSE.

Check out my one stop shop for all things SOCIAL MEDIA.

See my interaction, my stats, my reach and my skills.

www.rebelmouse.com/CimCity

Featured on Romenesko: Morning Glory in Utah

Click link below to see story.

Salt Lake Tribune reporter says Morning Glory Road story was hard to report

Morning Glory: Utah's offending street sign.

What's in a name? Morning Glory! Covering a story that goes international.

STORY: MORNING GLORY STREET NAME GONE IN UTAH BECAUSE OF ERECTION CONNECTION 

My editor asks me to check my email and says "you'll want to get on that ASAP," that is it. I open my inbox and see a link to a story out of Provo's local newspaper about a street name change.
I had to explain to readers in Utah why Morning Glory Road was considered offensive by a company and introduce the conservative demographic to a uncommon slang term for when men get an erection in the morning, aka morning wood. Lehi city council approved a change to Morning Vista Road, which has already been updated with a new definition on Urban Dictionary.

The local paper story skirted around the issue of what a company calling for the name change said was an offensive street name. So when I wrote the story I decided to come right out and say it.

Here is my story that went international and garnered emails from the DailyMail in UK asking to use my story and pictures I had taken of the street sign. Also Jim Romenesko contacted me asking me about how I went about reporting the story and what the response has been on what has been one of the hardest stories I had to interview for. It was awkward to report, but it got quite the attention.

Disney's 'Up' movie house in Herriman Utah celebrates Christmas

I took a peek inside the 'Up' house during Christmas time to see what the new owners of the home have done with the place. You won't believe it. The California natives brought Santa Claus to the porch for donations toward The Sub-For-Santa Charity.

See the video below:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55493137-78/hamblin-param-value-disney.html.csp

Utah Highway Patrol investigative story

Investigating the Blindspot of Discipline at

 the Utah Highway Patrol

In this multi-media story I interviewed a former UHP trooper and he explains some issues with how discipline is inconsistent.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
or copy and paste this link http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55290911-78/uhp-complaints-wilder-trooper.html.csp

 See video below.

"To this day, to know how Gary was treated versus how I was treated is frustrating"

The issues go far beyond Trooper Lisa Steed.
I worked with The Salt Lake Tribune colleague Nate Carlisle to investigate and expose the inconsistencies in discipline at UHP.
We went on KUTV Ch. 2 (CBS affiliate) to promote our story.

Click link here to see : Promoting story on KUTV Ch. 2.

Here is the link to our in-depth investigative story. It discusses how one trooper will be treated different and even lose their job while others in similar cases will only be given a verbal warning.