Widow outraged over officer's mishandling of crime scene evidence
HOUSTON (FOX 26) - "He wasn't a confrontational person. Everyone liked him. He loved being around his family and the kids," Latoya Coleman said.
But Edmond Ford's common law widow says all that changed one Saturday morning in November. It was about 8:30 a.m. They were still in the bedroom when there was a knock on their southwest Houston apartment door.
"He closed our door before opening it. I heard scuffling and him says 'oh ****' and then I heard a gunshot," Coleman said.
She says she fled, bursting through the bedroom window and running to a neighbors for help, when a second attacker confronted her.
"He put the gun to me and I put my hands up and I said please don't kill me, please don't kill me. He put the gun down and he just ran," Latoya said.
That was the last time anyone saw the killers. The case went cold. Now comes news that it might never warm up again. An audit released by the the Houston Forensic Science Center shows problems with dozens of cases due to errors made by a Crime Scene Unit officer. The District Attorney's Office is notifying lawyers and defendants about the problem and admits the situation is far from ideal
"It can create problems of proof later on in the court of law," said David Mitcham.
The DA's office is rushing to try to undo or limit the damage. Has there been any damage to Fords's murder case? We may never know. His killers haven't been caught much less gone to trial. However according the the audit, they didn't process any finger prints regardless. Now Latoya Coleman feels victimized again.
"I want justice to be served and if something comes and hinders it. I just feel. I don't know. It just makes me mad," Latoya.