Bachmurski Trial: Day 2

DECORAH — The second day of the trial of James Bachmurski began with opening statements from the prosecution and defense, with District Court Judge Laura Parrish presiding. 9:16 a.m. — Prosecuting Attorney Andrew B. Prosser told jurors this morning that Jade Colvin, a teenager with a turbulent home life, vanished "forever" after being left at a rural Winneshiek County residence with Bachmurski in 2016. Prosser said that evidence would show the defendant disposed of Colvin's body after she was left in his care by her mother, LaDawn Colvin, with whom he had been involved through online dating. "Her life was far from ideal," Prosser noted, describing Jade's situation as "a mess" shaped by instability and drug use in her mother's household. State health officials intervened in 2015, placing Jade in foster care. She ran away twice; the second time, in 2016, she was listed as missing by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children before being found living in Phoenix, Arizona, with her uncle. According to prosecutors, LaDawn Colvin brought her daughter back to Iowa on March 23, 2016, to the defendant's secluded home in rural Winneshiek County. LaDawn then left Jade there alone "to keep her secreted from HHS," the prosecutor said. Jurors were told that there were photographs of Jade with her mother from that time, as well as messages between Jade and the defendant's son. But after March 30, 2017, all communication from Jade abruptly ceased. Prosser said investigators later found that all messages between Jade and LaDawn had been deleted from the defendant's phone, and that his residence had been thoroughly cleaned after the alleged killing. His phone was eventually recovered in a storage unit by law enforcement. Prosser said the defendant later moved from Iowa to Georgia and began using the name "Bob Sage." 9:42 a.m. — Defense Attorney Les M. Blair III told jurors that the state's case against Bachmurski is built on gaps and assumptions, stressing that no body has ever been recovered and no witness can say Colvin is dead. "There will be gaps in the prosecution's case," the defense said in opening statements. "There won't be any gory pictures, no autopsy photos. There is nothing in this case that tells you that she is dead or when she died." The defense argued that prosecutors are asking jurors to believe the worst without hard proof. "You are not going to hear from a single witness that knows she is dead," the attorney said, adding that "the state is telling you to be cynical and to think the worst." Jurors were told the state's evidence relies on absence rather than fact. "The state doesn't want you to think about what isn't there," the defense said. 10:02 a.m. — A state social services supervisor testified that Iowa officials first got involved with Jade Colvin and her siblings in September 2015 over concerns about their mother's instability and drug use, leading to Colvin's removal and placement in a Des Moines shelter from which she ran away. Kristine Purvis, with HHS (formerly DHS), told jurors that Colvin later fled a Sioux City shelter in May 2016 and was located by U.S. Marshals at a Des Moines gas station on June 8, 2016; she was placed back in shelter care the next day but left again. Purvis said Colvin was listed as a missing child in 2016, and officials coordinated with her mother, LaDawn Colvin, in efforts to bring her home. In March 2017, Purvis's office received word that LaDawn and Jade were in Arizona, with later references to Georgia; by mid-April, LaDawn reported she no longer knew Jade's whereabouts. State supervision of the case ended in March 2018, Purvis testified. 12:12 p.m. — A U.S. Marshal testified that all communications from missing teenager Jade Colvin stopped in March 2017 and that investigators later tied her to Bachmurski's rural Iowa home. Senior Inspector Scott Cannon, a Missing Children Investigation Coordinator in Iowa, told jurors that Colvin's case came to the Marshal's Service through "Operation Homecoming," which examines older missing child cases. The case was referred by Des Moines police, and Cannon took it over in 2022. Cannon said investigators relied on interviews, data analysis and police reports. He testified that "all outgoing communications from Jade ceased mid-March in 2017," with the final message, on March 27, sent to one of defendant Bachmurski's sons. "In May of 2022, we conducted a few interviews and found that she was at Bachmurski's residence," he told the jury. According to Cannon, Colvin's mother, LaDawn, had taken her from relatives' home to Bachmurski's residence, "only to come back and find that she wasn't there anymore." During cross-examination, Cannon said the Service explores all avenues in missing child cases, including human trafficking, and acknowledged he was familiar with Colvin's "history of running away" from Ames and Des Moines police reports. He added that every time Colvin ran away, "she wanted to be with her mother." Defense attorney Blair highlighted evidence of a "plan" Colvin had made during one of her runaway attempts and confronted Cannon with a document of his communications with Des Moines police. With the jury watching, lawyers conferred with the judge, and court recessed for lunch. 1:18 p.m. — Cross-examination continued with Inspector Cannon. During recess, Cannon had an opportunity to review the document. Blair stated that the document contained messages from Summer Colvin that allege that Jade was being human trafficked by Joey "Rain" Colvin, Jade's sister, claiming that she herself had been trafficked by "Rain" in Oklahoma. Cannon asserted that Jade was not brought to Oklahoma. Blair argued the possibility that Jade was capable of setting up new social media accounts and messaging from them, rather than her own account, referencing recovered social media messages from Kristina Wilson, a friend of Jade's. Cannon noted that he had no knowledge of the messages from Wilson that claimed that Jade was in California. Blair also produced and presented what Cannon called "messages from LaDawn under the name 'Josie Colvin'" dated from April 15, 2018, to Jade Colvin. Cannon acknowledged that that was the last message sent to Jade's account. Prosser then asked Cannon how many children he had found during his investigations. Cannon replied "twenty-eight," including Jade Colvin. Blair attempted to strike the statement from the record, citing irrelevance, but was overruled by Judge Parrish. 1:44 p.m. — Daniel Noonan of Iowa Workforce Development testified that he found no criminal, employment, driver's license or public assistance history for the Social Security number, date of birth, or name of Jade Colvin. Noonan described the absence of any records as unusual, stating it was "not normal" for someone Colvin's age to "leave no trace." He indicated the likely reasons for having no records would be illegal activities or independent wealth. The witness attempted to locate a phone number connected to Colvin but found nothing in Iowa Workforce Development's records. During cross-examination, defense attorney Blair suggested that if Colvin had fled to a location like Canada and stopped using her legal name, there would be no financial records. Noonan acknowledged this was "correct." "So for all you know, she's doing all of these things under a different name or Social Security number," Blair said. Noonan confirmed he had only verified that no information was flagged under Colvin's legal name. Winneshiek County Attorney Andrew Van Der Maaten questioned Noonan about Social Security Administration requirements for changing Social Security numbers. Noonan testified that individuals over age 12 must appear in person with proof of identity when requesting a new number. Blair noted this requirement assumed someone was attempting to change their Social Security number legally. Noonan acknowledged illegal Social Security number changes were a known problem "in the country right now." 2:05 p.m. — Jason Nolte, a friend of Jade's, testified that LaDawn told him Jade had moved to Arizona. Nolte stated he was happy to hear from Jade and they communicated through text and Snapchat. Prosecutor Prosser noted the prosecution had obtained Snapchat records. Nolte described the messages between them as showing he was excited to see her again. Nolte testified he helped facilitate LaDawn's trip to Arizona to pick up Jade by giving LaDawn money. He stated Jade had wanted him to get her a ticket directly to Iowa instead of helping LaDawn travel to Arizona. "To leave mom out of the equation?" Prosser asked, which Nolte confirmed was correct. Nolte confirmed he did not hear from Jade after she arrived in Iowa, despite expecting her to contact him. During cross-examination, Blair asked if Nolte's last Snapchat contact with Jade was March 17, which he confirmed. Blair then asked about continued conversation after that date. Nolte stated they continued to text until Jade's last message on March 23, 2017, at 1:41 p.m., which related to her getting on a plane. 2:31 p.m. — Tina McLaughlin, LaDawn's sister and Jade's aunt, testified and confirmed that LaDawn "had issues" that would have affected her ability to raise her children, but asserted that she loved her daughters. McLaughlin went on to describe Jade's relationship with their family, stating that she spent a lot of time with Tina's mother Sandra, Jade's grandmother. She stated that she first became concerned about Jade's safety in June of 2017, when Jade did not call her grandmother on her birthday. "She always called on her birthday," McLaughlin stated. 3:14 p.m. — Special Investigator Holly Witt of the Iowa Department of Public Safety testified about digital evidence recovered from a cellphone found in October 2023. Witt became involved in the investigation after Deputy Chris Wuebker of the Winneshiek County Sheriff's Office requested DCI assistance regarding the recovered phone. The agent presented subpoenas for information from social media companies and cellular providers, along with evidence suggesting the phone belonged to Bachmurski, including texts where Bachmurski refers to himself in first person and a selfie allegedly taken by him. Witt testified that multiple phone numbers were used on the recovered device, with a new number activated on April 30, 2017, and changed again on May 2, 2017. She noted the number was changed approximately 30 days after Jade went missing. The agent presented photographs of Bachmurski's kitchen, bedroom, and porch, noting distinctive paint, linoleum, and wood patterns. Photos of LaDawn, "Rain," and Jade were found on the phone showing these same distinctive locations. Witt presented evidence of communications between LaDawn Colvin, stored in the phone as "Jose Colvin," and Bachmurski starting November 16, 2016. The agent testified that communications related to LaDawn were systematically deleted from the device, though photos and contact information remained. A photo of LaDawn's driver's license was also found on the device. Communications related to Joey "Rain" Colvin and Jade Colvin, listed as "Jenny Colvin," were similarly deleted except for photos and contact information. A video showing LaDawn in what appeared to be Bachmurski's residence was presented, featuring audio of someone other than LaDawn clearing their throat. Witt presented audio extractions discussing "Jade staying in Decorah while LaDawn stays in Ames where she is working with DHS" and LaDawn telling Jade she would be living with Bachmurski and working for his farm business. Two additional recordings were scheduled for presentation but postponed due to technological issues. Witt showed a photo of a plane ticket in LaDawn's name from Iowa to Phoenix and multiple Instagram posts from Jade's account with comments about her return to Iowa. A MoneyGram allegedly sent from Bachmurski to LaDawn using the name "Lori Stevens" was also presented. According to Witt, Jade's phone first appeared in Decorah, Iowa, on approximately March 23, 2017, with intermittent service throughout her time there. Photos of Jade and LaDawn holding guns on Bachmurski's property were shown, with the last photo of LaDawn appearing March 26 and the first photo of Jade in Decorah on Bachmurski's phone. Witt presented messages between Kimberly Barta and Bachmurski, noting Bachmurski was in a "texting relationship" with Barta and that she was the first and last person he would text each day during that period. Conversations from March 27, 28, and 29, 2017, were presented. The agent noted Bachmurski alluded to poor cellular signal during conversations with Barta. Witt presented historical photos from Pizza Ranch in Decorah taken by DCI agents for comparison with photos from Bachmurski's phone featuring Jade and Bachmurski's son Bryan, as well as bonfire photos of the pair. She testified the bonfire photos were significant because they were not sent to Barta, despite other photos showing only his son being sent to her. These were identified as the last known photos of Jade taken by the phone. Witt presented text communications between Jade and Bryan, featuring what she described as the last message Jade ever sent, representing her final digital footprint on March 30, 2017. Judge Parrish dismissed court at approximately 4:27 p.m., with proceedings set to continue at approximately 9:00 a.m. tomorrow.