Liberty Lies
NEW VIDEO! It’s time for Liberty County to stop playing games, hiding the truth from the brokenhearted family of Sherry Novosad. We were finally offered a chance to see police video cameras from the day deputies found Novosad dead at her home. What we actually got were some LIBERTY LIES.
Liberty Lies
“You know what really pisses me off? When law enforcement officers, who I generally love, lie to me. And when a county attorney throws up unnecessary roadblocks to deny a mom damn justice after her daughter was shot in the neck. Instead, all we seem to get are lies from Liberty,” Wayne Dolcefino told the camera.
They all called Sherry Novosad’s death a suicide. Didn’t even bother to check the blood in her trailer.
But we followed the DNA trail. Found blood on the curtains that belonged to a guy. Then a bombshell. Sherry’s bloody shirt. We found male blood mixed in with her blood.
“The clueless Liberty County Sheriff is Bobby Rader. And after we finally confronted him, he said he would reopen the investigation,” Dolcefino told the camera.
“So what steps are you going to take now?” Dolcefino said.
“What did I tell you? Get me the blood results, and I will open it up and look and see,” Bobby Rader said.
“You’ll reopen the investigation?” Dolcefino said.
“Sure, that’s not a problem,” Rader said.
“From the very beginning, it was clear the Liberty County Sherriff’s Office didn’t want us involved in this case, even though we were trying to do what they should have been doing from the beginning, look for justice,” Dolcefino told the camera.
“Are you trying to tell me that you guys are still investigating this case? Andrea Palacio said.
“That’s not at all what I just said. What I told you-” Captain David Meyers said.
“So you’re not investigating anymore,” Palacio said.
“This case is still open, ma’am,” Meyers said.
“Then you’re still investigating. That’s just what I said,” Palacio said.
“We’re not going to play attorney cop here, ok?” Meyer said.
“Captain Myers was later demoted. What a shame. He was a real peach,” Dolcefino told the camera.
But a new captain, John Bennett, followed up and promised transparency after our chat with the sheriff. Seems like a good guy.
“My goal is to be as transparent as I can be without compromising the integrity of the case.”
What case?
“The captain made an offer to let Kathy and Carl Hatcher and my team come to the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office to look at all the body body camera video. We wanted to see a couple of things. Blood trail, if deputies botched the investigation as we suspect. We also wanted to see if anyone talked about this alleged affair she was having,” Dolcefino told the camera.
But the long-awaited meeting ended soon after it began. We had to capture the family’s exit on an iPhone, not our usual fancy camera. Sherry’s sister gave them an earful before she left. But she didn’t want to be seen on the screen.
“It seemed like nobody cares, and it is going to keep going because they are never going to release anything.”
“What happened? We were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement before we could look at the video. It’s funny, it says on the confidential document that is for transparency meeting,” Dolcefino told the camera.
We could not talk about the video after we watched it. Not us, not the Hatchers. And we couldn’t assist any investigative journalist, media outlet, private investigator, or third party investigating or reporting on this case. It pierces the journalist shield law. Makes me acknowledge that body camera videos are confidential from public disclosure in an active investigation. Sometimes maybe that has to happen, but a lot of times no.
“I refused to sign that nonsense. So did the Hatchers. In my view, it was designed to essentially shut down our investigation and keep the Hatcher from making any more public comments, denying us the right to do the investigation those yahoos should have done from the beginning,” Dolcefino told the camera.
The ridiculous document was prepared by the county attorney’s office. I’ve dealt with County Attorney Matthew Poston before. He should be ashamed of this, but I bet he’s not.
The family calls it a cover-up. Sherry was married when she died, but her husband tracked her car to a Liberty County sheriff’s deputy’s house: James McQueen.
“Her husband claims that you were having an affair with his wife. We’re going to be reporting this,” Dolcefino said.
They want his DNA, and they demand transparency. Real transparency.
“Liberty County says the Texas Rangers are still investigating McQueen’s connections to Sherry Novosad, but it’s been seventeen months. We think it’s really more of an excuse, another excuse to keep those body camera videos from the public, the folks who pay for them,” Dolcefino told the camera.
Ranger John Sullivan has ignored our recent phone calls. The family is not a fan.
“What do you think about the Rangers right now after this experience?” Dolcefino said.
“They are pieces of shit.”
“Not sure why the leadership of the Texas Rangers are silent on this. I sure would like to talk to them. But I’ve heard from the family that they’ve been treated horribly by the Liberty County Ranger. That doesn’t help the old reputation of the Rangers,” Dolcefino told the camera.
“The Rangers suck,” Carl Hatcher said.
It’s my recent criticism of the Rangers that got me thrown out of a Liberty County Commissioners meeting the other day.
“The Rangers were great in the 1800s, they suck now in terms of investigating public corruption. That’s my opinion,” Dolcefino said.
“Let’s watch our language please,” Jay Knight said.
“They suck now, Judge,” Dolcefino said.
“Ok, that’s enough then. If you’re not going to curtail your language then you can leave,” Knight said.
“So saying the word suck is some offensive language” Dolcefino said.
“It is offensive,” Knight said.
“One more rant and it’s about the body camera law here in the state of Texas. It is bullshit. We paid for the damn cameras. We pay the people who wear them. Most of the time, the body cameras videos are actually good for law enforcement because they show the kind of crap cops have to put up with. But sometimes they also show] mistakes, even potential crime. With the exception of sex crimes, body camera videos should be required to be made public after a set time period. Maybe a month, maybe a couple of weeks. There is no reason not to release them. Law enforcement could do it tomorrow. Some do. Liberty County apparently wants to keep it a big secret,” Dolcefino told the camera.
But most importantly, Kathy Hatcher deserves to see her daughter’s crime scene, watch the videos. However gruesome it is, to get some answers.
“What the hell is wrong with these public officials in Liberty County? The voters should remember what they are doing,” Dolcefino told the camera said.
“It breaks my heart because there are so many questions that are unanswered, and it seems like everybody just shoves us around and doesn’t want to answer anything,” Kathy Hatcher said.
“You’re upset,” Dolcefino said.
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