IVA RAE HERMAN - 15 yo (2010) - El Mirage (NW of Glendale) AZ

El Mirage AZ ---- The body of a 15 year-old girl was found beaten to death and stuffed
in a canal drainage ditch this week. Police have now accused the
girl's 16 year-old ex-boyfriend of the crime.
Police in El Mirage discovered
the body of a young girl, in a canal near 126th Avenue and Thunderbird
on Wednesday. She's been identified as 15 year-old Iva Rae
Herman. Detectives say her mother contacted police after she
didn't return home from school on Wednesday. The Coroner's
Officer later performed an autopsy and found that Iva died of multiple
blows to the head. During their investigation, police learned
that Iva was last seen with her ex-boyfriend in the area where she was
found murdered. Detectives later took DNA from the ex-boyfriend,
and examined his body. Investigators found numerous bruises, scratches
and abrasions on his upper body. The suspect chose not to talk
with police about what happened. But officers believe he was responsible
for Iva's death. The 16 year-old has been transferred to the
Juvenile Detention Center and charged with one count of First Degree Murder.

June trial set for teen accused in El Mirage murder of girl

by D.S. Woodfill on Mar. 24, 2011, under Arizona Republic News

A murder trial is scheduled to begin in early June for Thomas James Odom. Odom is accused of bludgeoning 15-year-old Iva Rae Herman and disposing of her body in a drainage culvert at 126th Avenue and Thunderbird Road.
THE CASE
Iva’s mother told detectives that her daughter went to the El Mirage Branch Library after school to work on a project on April 21, the day she was killed. Detectives say surveillance video at the library, which is less than a mile from the crime scene, showed the girl leaving with a young man earlier that day. Library records showed Odom had signed onto a computer about 30 minutes earlier.
Odom, now 17, was later questioned and booked into a Maricopa County jail on $750,000 bond.
Odom, who was charged as an adult with first-degree murder and attempted sexual assault, pleaded not guilty in May.
An autopsy showed Iva died of multiple blunt-force traumas to the head.
Paul Kittredge, a deputy county attorney who is prosecuting the case, has said the homicide is one of the most violent crimes he has prosecuted in his 20-year career.
THE TRIAL
Jerry Cobb, spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, said jury selection is due to take place June 7 at the Maricopa County Superior Court building in downtown Phoenix.
If the selection process goes smoothly, opening arguments will start the following day.

El Mirage teen found guilty in murder of 15-year-old girl
Jul. 5, 2011 10:11 PM

An El Mirage teen was found guilty Tuesday of murdering his former 15-year-old girlfriend in a crime that stunned a community and veteran law-enforcement authorities.

A Maricopa County Superior Court jury, which spent three weeks listening to arguments and graphic witness testimony, found Thomas James Odom guilty of first-degree murder but found him not guilty on a count of attempted sexual assault.

Family members of the victim, Iva Rae Herman, wept and held one another as the guilty verdict was announced to gasps in the courtroom. Odom, 17, showed no emotion, never turning to his father and other family who sat behind him.

Judge Karen O'Connor set sentencing for Aug. 19 in downtown Phoenix. Odom faces life in prison. He was tried as an adult but as a juvenile will not be considered for the death penalty.

Jurors found Odom bludgeoned Herman to death with rocks in April 2010 inside a drainage ditch tunneling under a street in El Mirage. She was discovered a few hours later by two boys.

Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Paul Kittredge pointed to blood evidence found on Odom's watch that matched the victim's, a police tape recording of Odom admitting guilt to his father and testimony from Odom's former cellmate, who prosecutors said had information about the crime that was never publicly released.

Defense attorney Ken Countryman contended other people killed Herman, saying signs pointed to a nearby group home for troubled kids.

He said the El Mirage Police Department wanted to bring quick closure to the case because of a potential public backlash related to crime problems around the culverts. That caused them to rush to the conclusion that Odom was the killer and fail to follow other leads, Countryman said.

Mike Frazier, El Mirage chief of police at the time and now the Surprise police chief, said Herman and her family got the justice they deserved.

Frazier, whose career spans nearly four decades, including 32 years with the Phoenix Police Department, said he was shocked by the crime.

"That was clearly one of the more brutal ones I've ever seen. It may be the most brutal," Frazier said.

Steve Campbell, El Mirage police chief, said the guilty verdict was a huge relief and will bring a sense of closure for his community, department and the family.

Herman's death triggered a push by a group of residents who demanded the city cap the eight culverts spanning the city.

The group argued the culverts, which are essentially tunnels large enough to walk through, presented a public-safety threat. The City Council recently voted to allocate $200,000 in next fiscal year's budget to build the barriers.



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/westvalley/articles/2011/07/05/20110705el-mirage-teen-found-guilty-murder-brk.html#ixzz1Ue24BVdv

El Mirage teen sentenced to life in prison for murder of girl, 15

An El Mirage teen convicted of bludgeoning his 15-year-old girlfriend in 2010 was sentenced to life in prison Friday.

Thomas James Odom, 17, was found guilty of first-degree murder in Maricopa County Superior Court in July.

Jurors found Odom beat Iva Rae Herman to death using rocks in April 2010 inside a drainage ditch tunneling under a street in El Mirage. She was discovered a few hours later by two boys.

The sentence, which is natural life, means Odom will never be eligible for parole. He was tried as an adult but as a juvenile was not considered for the death penalty.

Odom's attorney, Ken Countryman, pushed for a lesser punishment of 25 years to life, given Odom's age and what he said were overwhelming mitigating factors. He said Odom, who was 16 at the time he killed Herman, had significant psychological problems including paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Odom was also sexually abused when he was young, Countryman said.

Countryman, who expressed frustration at the tough sentence, said Odom will likely die in prison.

"The whole family's devastated by the court's ruling," he said.

Deputy County Attorney Paul Kittredge, who prosecuted the case, said he was unmoved by Odom's personal problems when pushing for the maximum sentence. He said Odom's crime was "horrifically violent," and he got the punishment he deserved. Odom was a danger to society who would kill again if given the chance, the prosecutor said.

Kittredge, who has been a prosecutor for more than 20 years, said the violent nature of Herman's murder and Odom's young age made this the most shocking case he has handled.

"There are certain cases that stay with you for your entire career," Kittredge said. "This is one that will do that."

Odom's trial, which concluded in July, lasted three weeks.

Prosecutors pointed to blood evidence found on Odom's watch that matched the victim's, a police tape recording of Odom admitting guilt to his father and testimony from Odom's former cellmate, who prosecutors said had information about the crime that was never publicly released.

Countryman contended other people killed Herman, saying signs pointed to a nearby group home for troubled kids.

He said the El Mirage Police Department wanted to bring quick closure to the case because of a potential public backlash related to crime problems around the culverts. That caused them to rush to the conclusion that Odom was the killer and fail to follow other leads, Countryman said.

Herman's death triggered a push by a group of residents who demanded the city cap the eight culverts spanning the city.

The group argued that the culverts, which are essentially tunnels large enough to walk through, presented a public-safety threat. The City Council recently voted to allocate $200,000 in this fiscal year's budget to build the barriers.



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/08/19/20110819el-mirage-teen-killing-sentenced-life-prison.html#ixzz1VgMGBqCr