Robert Grant Manwill (8) R.I.P.

ROBERT GRANT MANWILL
Case Type: Endangered Missing
DOB: Jun 8, 2001
Sex: Male
Missing Date: Jul 24, 2009
Race: White
Age Now: 8
Height: 4'2" (127 cm)
Missing City: BOISE
Weight: 50 lbs (23 kg)
Missing State : ID
Hair Color: Brown
Missing Country: United States
Eye Color: Brown
Case Number: NCMC1128002
Circumstances: Robert was last seen at home on July 24, 2009 at approximately 9:30p.m. He was last seen wearing a t-shirt, blue jeans and black Airwalk shoes.

On the fifth day of an exhaustive search for a missing Boise boy, court documents revealed a family tale of abuse, tragedy and more.

Robert Manwill's mother is on probation for fracturing the skull of Robert's infant half brother, a boy the state removed from her custody.

Robert's mother's boyfriend has been convicted of burglary, battery and possession of drug paraphernalia, and is banned by the courts from being alone with Robert's half sister.

Robert's father, meanwhile, has already lost a son. In 1993, his first wife stabbed their 4-year-old boy in the chest. She spent 10 years in a federal prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

Boise police won't talk about the family or the details contained in the court documents.

The family has declined to comment except for brief statements by Robert's aunt. But police have repeatedly said they have no suspect - or even evidence to believe there is one - in Robert's Friday night disappearance at the mother's Boise Bench apartment, and have no evidence of any foul play.

"We've had questions from the media ... who we have talked to,what can we say about certain people," Boise police Deputy Chief Jim Kerns said Tuesday. "It's the very nature of police investigations that until the case is concluded - in this case, until we find Robert - specifics and details of this very active priority investigation cannot be released."

Police say the family is cooperating fully.

"We have a single focus - that's to find Robert ... he's an 8-year-old little guy and he needs our help," Kerns said. "We remain hopeful we are going to find Robert."

Here's what the court records say:

ROBERT'S MOM

Melissa Scott Jenkins pleaded guilty in March to a misdemeanor charge of injury to a child, after an October 2008 incident that left her infant son with a fractured skull.

According to court records, Jenkins "did willfully inflict" the wound "by striking the child's head on a surface, causing a fracture to the child's skull," on Oct. 19, 2008. She was sentenced to 29 days of work release, fined $75.50 and put on probation for two years.

In February, at least, the child was still in the care of the state Department of Health and Welfare, court documents said.

Jenkins, reached by phone Tuesday, declined comment and directed inquiries to Trisha Burrill, the boy's aunt who has spoken on the family's behalf.

Burrill, flanked by Jenkins and several other family members, addressed a group of reporters Tuesday night while clutching Robert's teddy bear.

"We are a joined family at this time in this crisis," Burrill said. "We are acting as one, with one goal in mind. To bring Robert back."

HER BOYFRIEND

Daniel Edward Ehrlick - Jenkins' boyfriend and the father of her infant son - has served time in Idaho prisons and faced multiple charges.

An April 2008 court document outlining Jenkins' visitation rights with her 2 1/2-year-old daughter states that the girl shall never be left "alone with Danny Ehrlick." The document does not say why.

Ehrlick, too, attended press conferences with the family.

ROBERT'S DAD

Robert Manwill's father, Charles Manwill, has had custody of the boy since January 2008, according to court records.

The records show Jenkins was admitted to the hospital that month for early pregnancy complications and was unable to care for Robert, who has lived with his dad in New Plymouth ever since. Jenkins has visitation rights, and the boy was visiting her the night he disappeared.

Almost 15 years earlier, Manwill was an officer at Fort Polk Military Base in Louisiana, in his early 20s and married to a woman named Silke Fatma Manwill.

In November 1993, according to federal court documents and Louisiana newspaper reports, Silke Manwill "upon sudden quarrel and in the heat of passion" stabbed their 4-year-old son, Michael, in the chest.

She was charged with first-degree murder; that charge was dropped when she pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

She served 10 years in federal prison and was released in 2002, federal documents show. Her sentence included five more years of supervised release.

Missing Children Cases
Robert Manwill: His mother reported that the 8-year-old Idaho boy disappeared July 24 after leaving their apartment on the southwest side of Boise. Investigators said Friday that new evidence suggests the boy may have met with a tragic event.



"The evidence we've uncovered shows that there are suspicious circumstances surrounding Robert's disappearance," Kerns said during a press conference. "Volunteers assisting in the search today are being given the information by search team officers that Robert may indeed be injured or the victim of a tragic event."
Jenkins has been at previous press conferences, but didn't attend Friday. Police wouldn't say where she was.
The boy was visiting her the night he disappeared. His father, Charles Manwill, has had custody since 2008 and lives in New Plymouth, about 45 miles northwest of Boise.
Investigators were seen taking an SUV and other items during the search of Jenkins' apartment Thursday night.
On Friday night, police searched the Boise home of Evan Wallis, who said he knows Jenkins and her boyfriend, Daniel Ehrlick Jr.
Willis told the Idaho Statesman newspaper police dug in his backyard after bloodhounds picked up a scent at the rented house. He said he does not know what they were looking for.
"I'm innocent. I'm an innocent bystander," Willis declared.
The Statesman also interviewed Daniel Ehrlick Sr, who said his son -- Jenkins' boyfriend -- accused him of taking Robert. The elder Ehrlick said officers had questioned him repeatedly.
Skip over this content

According to court records, Jenkins pleaded guilty in March to a misdemeanor charge of injury to a child following an October 2008 incident that fractured her infant son's skull. Jenkins "did willfully inflict" the injury to her other son "by striking the child's head on a surface, causing a fracture to the child's skull," on Oct. 19, 2008. She was sentenced to 29 days of work release, fined $75.50 and put on probation for two years, according to court documents.
That child is the son of Jenkins' boyfriend, Daniel Ehrlick Jr. The baby was in the care of the state Department of Health and Welfare through at least February, according to court documents.
Boise police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower said more than 1,000 volunteers showed up early Friday morning to help search, making it the biggest missing-person search in the city's history.
In the early days of the search, police were aided by hundreds of volunteers who scanned neighborhoods surrounding the mother's apartment complex.

Ada County Coroner says the fact Robert Manwill was found in water makes it harder to determine his cause of death

Kathleen Kreller and Patrick Orr - Idaho Statesman
Published: 08/04/09
Katherine Jones / kjones@idahostatesman.com

Deputy Police Chief Jim Kerns holds a press conference with new developments: The body in the canal has tentatively been identified as Robert Manwill.

Boise Deputy Police Chief Jim Kerns said local police and federal investigators remain dedicated to "finding answers" for 8-year-old Robert Manwill's family and the Treasure Valley community that has come together in the 11 days since the boy was reported missing July 24.

"Finding Robert will not be the end, but just the beginning of an entirely new investigation," he said.

In a Tuesday press conference scheduled after the Ada County Coronor "tentatively" identified a dead boy found in the New York Canal as Robert, Kerns said police were engaged in a "very active" investigation, but cautioned against speculating about what could have happened and not to jump to any conclusions.

Police have to "focus on evidence," he said.

Kerns said Robert's family is still in close contact with police and being updated throughout the investigation.

"We ask that you continue to keep Robert, his family and the dedicated investigators in your thoughts," he said.

Earlier Tuesday, the coroner's office said that the boy found in a canal between Boise and Kuna Monday was most likely Robert.

"Positive identification will be released as soon as this office receives the dental records and the forensic odontologist can compare the findings," the office said in a release. "We are working closely with the Boise Police Department and our preliminary results are being turned over to Boise police to help further their investigation."

Coroners regularly use dental records to confirm identity of victims, said Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg.

"We feel tentatively that's him and we need to do the dental identification" Sonnenberg said. "That would be a bizarre situation...another kid the same size."

The report issued Tuesday does not indicate a cause of death, that is "pending investigation." It also says the place of death is "unknown."

"I'm sure a cause of death will be released down the road," Sonnenberg said Tuesday. "Everything has got to be put together to find out just what has happened."

Sonnenberg said water complicates his work.

"You can't assume as much as quickly," he said. "Now you have to add the fact that you have...decomposition in water which greatly complicates the case."

Robert was reported missing at 10:11 p.m. on Friday, July 24. Since then, hundreds of local and federal law enforcement officers and more than 2,000 citizen volunteers have been searching to find him.

Two people called 911 Monday after seeing the body of a small boy floating in the New York Canal — the same one that crosses Vista Avenue less than a half-mile from the apartment where Robert was reportedly last seen.

The New York Canal is 47 miles long between the diversion dam on the Boise River and Lake Lowell, according to Paul Deveau, project manager for the Boise Project Board of Control.

Deveau estimates from the Vista Avenue apartment to where Manwill's body was found as a roughly 18-mile stretch.

There are no gates or grates between those two locations to stop a body, he said. And it would take more than a week for a body to float that far, he said.

"We deal with this a lot," Devaue said. "Usually, any place from Broadway to Gowen Road...if somebody goes in that area, it's going to be one to two weeks before we see them at Cloverdale."

Deveau said the canal company opened up access roads for Boise Police to conduct a thorough search of the canal after Manwill went missing.

There are a set of "body gates" at Cloverdale Road, Deveau said, but the canal company must lower them into place. That didn't happen, because Boise police "thought he wasn't in the canal so we didn't put the gates in," he said.

Boise police officials announced last week they had found undisclosed evidence indicating that Robert could be injured or the "victim of a tragic event." They still have not identified any suspects or people of interest in the case.

Community reacts to 'very sad' news of body
- Idaho Statesman
Published: 08/04/09

"I'm awfully sad that he is not found alive. When we went to do something over there, definitely half of me felt we may not find him alive because it was already five days. We were just being practical. Unless he is injured, he would have reached for help. We tried to help them out. Unfortunately, we couldn't find anything."

Boise mother Neeraja Kusuma participated in Friday's search. Kusuma's brother disappeared for 24 hours when she was 10 years old.

"We have been watching throughout the weekend and (Monday) all of the updates. We are putting the pieces of puzzle together, and we are just very sad. We are trying not to judge the parents. It's the first thing people are saying. Even if the parents did do that, something very tragic must have happened in their lives to cause them to do that. From a mother of two, I couldn't imagine. I can't imagine how life can go on. It is tragic. I just pray that his death was very fast, that he did not feel any pain and he's in a better place. I just wish it would have had a better turn out for that little guy."

New Meridian resident Jessica Meyers searched with her husband and son Friday.

"It is a scary thing for a parent to hear, when there is a child missing and you are waiting for news. ... You don't yet know ... the possibility is there. You don't know yet. It's very hard to be a parent in that position. It's relief, because yes, you have an answer. You don't keep searching and don't know what is going on.

Another way, you lost your child. It's a terrible, terrible thing. Mixed reaction. You got your answer, you know, but at the same time you lost your child."

Boise resident and parent Gloria McGuigan also searched on Friday.

"It's devastating, but happy that if it is him, he's been found, just for his family. But (it's) tragic. Not that it was unexpected, but heartbreaking nonetheless. I don't think anybody out on the search would say that it was unexpected. But it's just heartbreaking. I feel for the family. My first reaction is that it's probably him. They found that evidence where they said a tragic event could have occurred. Very disappointed. Very, very tragic."

Teachers say Robert Manwill was affectionate, quick to learn
Robert Manwill, 8, believed to be the boy found dead in a canal Monday, made a good impression in a short time in New Plymouth.
BY KATY MOELLER - kmoeller@idahostatesman.com
Copyright: © 2009 Idaho Statesman
Published: 08/05/09


Robert Manwill was a hugger.

Every day at school, Robert hugged his teachers. He freely embraced his best buddies, including some who felt they were getting too grown up for such unsolicited displays of affection.

"He was a sweet, sweet boy, always wanting hugs, and hugging other kids," said Christy Morales, who was Robert's second-grade teacher.

This June, the boy - who was reported missing from his mother's Boise apartment complex 11 days ago and was found in a canal near Kuna on Monday - completed second grade at the 450-student New Plymouth Elementary School in the tight-knit Payette County community of 1,400 people.

Robert lived in both halves of a broken home, spending most of the past year and a half of his life with his dad, Charles Manwill, in New Plymouth, and occasionally visiting his mom, Melissa Jenkins, in Boise.

When the story of his disappearance got out, and his school photo - featuring his wide-eyed face and impish grin - was plastered from pillar to post, Treasure Valley residents searched for the boy as if he were their own.

About 2,300 people searched Boise on Friday, including a busload of 60 who made the hour-and-a-half round-trip from New Plymouth.

Robert's second-grade teacher was among them, and it was the fourth search she had gone on last week.

"I'm a praying person," Morales said. "I just prayed the whole time, 'Help us find him.' We just need some closure."

Robert was one of the younger kids in his second-grade class, turning 8 at the end of the school year.

"By the end of second grade, he was a very strong student ... He just made great progress. It was fun to watch him gain skills so quickly," said New Plymouth Principal Carrie Agus.

He's remembered as a tiny kid, who liked superhero T-shirts and wore too-big brown loafers. He is described as funny, often making silly comments or telling funny stories.

Several residents at the Boise apartment complex where his mom lives described Robert as a quiet, polite boy who regularly carried out the trash and walked the family's dog - a pit bull - that seemed almost too big for him to control.

Morales said he had a cute, quirky way of answering questions.

"He'd throw out his hands and say, 'Wellllll ... ,'" she said.

"He was very verbal that way. For his age, he was very verbal. He'd go into these explanations."

Tammy Schlett, a teaching assistant at New Plymouth, tutored Robert and other kids in his class in math every day.

"He'd lean his head on you, and say, 'I love you,'" Schlett said. Robert gave her a hug on the way out of the lunchroom every day.

When she heard Robert was missing, she wept.

"I cry, even now," she said.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/856164.html

Body of Missing Idaho Child Robert Manwill Found in Canal
Posted by Blink | Missing Child, Murdered, Robert Manwill | Tuesday 4 August 2009 1:38 pm

http://blinkoncrime.com/
Boise, ID– The body of 8 year old missing Boise child Robert Manwill has been positively identified as confirmed by sources on the scene speaking to blinkoncrime on the condition of anonymity.

Yesterday afternoon, authorities pulled the body of a small boy matching Robert’s description from the New York canal in rural Ada County, Boise.

Robert was reported missing by his Mother Melissa Jenkins, after 9:30PM on July 24th.. However, sources inside the investigation believe that timeline to be considerably off.

In the past 3 days, the Boise Police asissted by the FBI and Team Adam, appeared to be narrowing their focus as they cordoned off portions of a landfill, began excavating the backayard of Evan Wallis, and were seen removing large pieces of carpet and other evidence from the apartment of Robert’s Mother and her boyfriend, Daniel Ehrlick, Jr.

Mr. Wallis alleges his truck, a Chevy Suburban, which may be tied to Robert’s disappearance, was stolen from his home on July 22nd and recovered by him upon his return Monday July 27th from a weekend away.

Ms. Jenkins is currently on probation for fracturing the skull of her infant daughter.

Please check back to blinkoncrime.com for updates to this developing story.

Robert Manwill's death being investigated as homicide
Statesman staff - Idaho Statesman
Published: 08/05/09
"Justice will not be denied" for Robert Manwill, said Boise Deputy Chief Jim Kerns in a short 6 p.m. press conference Wednesday.

The Ada County Coroner's autopsy showed that the 8-year-old boy's death was "not an accident," he said.

Police "will determine how and when Robert died, and who is responsible," Kerns said.

He said that no evidence exists that Robert was abducted by a stranger.

Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg said Wednesday that dental records confirmed that the boy found Monday in the New York Canal was the 8-year-old.

Robert was reported missing at 10:11 p.m. July 24 from an Vista Avenue-area apartment complex.

Kerns said the criminal investigation would proceed "with urgency," but he said the police would "compromise the legal procedures" and the integrity of their case by prematurely releasing details.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/856948.html

Mother's boyfriend arrested in case of missing boy
Associated Press - August 18, 2009 8:14 PM ET

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Boise police have arrested Daniel Ehrlick Jr. in connection with the disappearance and death of 8-year-old Robert Manwill, The Idaho Statesman has reported.

Manwill was missing for more than a week before his body was found floating in a Boise canal on Aug. 3. Police said evidence showed the death was not accidental.
Ehrlick is the boyfriend of Manwill's mother, Melissa Jenkins.

Ehrlick's father, Daniel Ehrlick Sr., told the Statesman that he didn't know what the charge was or if anyone else had been arrested. Boise Police Chief Mike Masterson did not immediately release any information, but a news conference was planned for 7 p.m.

Robert Manwill’s mother, boyfriend charged with 1st degree murder
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
By Express

http://www.cayleedaily.com/2009/08/robert-manwills-mother-boyfriend-charged-with-1st-degree-murder/


Daniel Ehrlick Jr. and Melissa Jenkins were both indicted for 1st degree murder
The mother and boyfriend of 8-year-old Robert Manwill have been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in his July 24 disappearance and death, Boise Deputy Police Chief Jim Kerns said in a press conference Tuesday evening.An Ada County grand jury indicted both Melissa Scott Jenkins and Daniel Ehrlick Jr. on a charge of 1st degree murder in connection with the death of 8-year-old Robert Manwill.

Deputy Chief Jim Kerns said both were also charged for failing to report a death.

Robert was reported missing July 24, sparking an unprecedented police and community effort to find him before his body was discovered in the New York Canal southeast of town.

Kerns said Ehrlick was being held without bond in the Ada County Jail. Jenkins is being held on a $2 million bond.

“Probably no other case in Boise history has touched so many people,” Kerns said.

More than 9,000 man-hours were logged in the 10 days he was missing by Boise police, FBI, Idaho probations and parole and other local and state agencies.

He said the arrests were a “major step” in the investigation, but asked anyone with information about the activities of the two in the week leading up to Robert’s reported disappearance.

Source: Idaho Statesman, www.idahostatesman.com

Manwill's Accused Killers in Court

Posted: Aug 19, 2009 06:54 PM

Boise, Idaho -- It was the first day in court for the people accused of killing 8-year-old Robert Manwill.

It seemed accusatory fingers were pointing the direction of Manwill's mother, Melissa Jenkins, and her boyfriend, Daniel Ehrlick, the moment Manwill went missing, but most of that was based on speculation, and now what police have uncovered is beginning to come to light.

Jenkins and Ehrlick entered the courtroom with little emotion on their faces, and that's how they remained through most of the arraignment as they answered general questions concerning things like the spelling of their names.

And that's likely how the arraignment would have ended, had it not been for an unusual announcement from Jenkins' attorney.

"Judge," asked her attorney, "Miss Jenkins is illiterate, so we would ask for a formal reading."

Often, lawyers will forgo a public reading of their client's indictment, but since Jenkins is unable to read it became necessary to go word for word through the indictment, which spells out just how Manwill died.

"Non-accidental abusive head trauma and or abdominal injures from which the child died or on around July 24, 2009," read Ada County judge Deborah Bail.

Jenkins and Ehrlick are both charged with first degree murder in this case for an alleged brutal beating that eventually ended in Manwill's death. But even more disturbing, the charges indicate the beating may have lasted for sometime -- beginning in June and ending July 24.

Incidentally, those charges also include a potential for torture.

"By intentionally inflicting upon Robert G. Manwill extreme or prolonged pain with the intent to cause suffering to execute vengeance or to satisfy some sadistic inclination," read Bail.

The details are sure to come out during the trial, if there is one, since there's no word yet as to how the two will plead. Nor do we know just yet whether or not prosecutors will seek the death penalty.

"Under the law we have 60 days to make a determination on whether or not we intend to sign a notice of intent to seek the death penalty," said Greg Bower, Ada County Prosecuting Attorney.

On top of first degree murder, Ehrlick is also charged with failing to report a death, which has a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Jenkins is also charged as an accessory to the same crime. That penalty is up to five years in prison.

http://www.fox12idaho.com/global/story.asp?s=10959877

Daniel Ehrlick and Melissa Jenkins Arraignment for Murder of Robert Manwill (Unedited)


http://www.fox12idaho.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=4056494&h1=Daniel%20Ehrlick%20and%20Melissa%20Jenkins%20Arraignment%20for%20Murder%20of%20Robert%20Manwill%20%28Unedited%29&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=1026200&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&rnd=66597077

Robert Manwill's Mother and Her Boyfriend Charged with Murder
Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 11:29 AM


Ada County Jail
Daniel Ehrlick
A Grand Jury indictment read this morning in Ada County Court alleges that Melissa Scott Jenkins, 30, and Daniel Edward Ehrlick, 36, killed 8-year-old Robert Manwill after subjecting the boy to beatings and torture for a prolonged period of time, culminating in his death on July 24, the same day he was reported missing.

Jenkins and Ehrlick were arrested yesterday. According to the Idaho Statesman, the indictment alleges that Ehrlick "with the intent to cause suffering, to execute vengeance or to satisfy some sadistic inclination by inflicting on Robert G. Manwill extreme or prolonged acts of brutality with the intent to cause suffering." It also states that Jenkins, the boy's mother, had full knowledge of the beatings and hid Manwill from authorities.

The Statesman has a full account of the couples' checkered past this morning.

Here's one disturbing snippet from the Statesman story:


Outwardly, to many neighbors, family and friends, Ehrlick and Jenkins seemed like good parents-even after Jenkins pleaded guilty to fracturing her infant's skull in October 2008.

In interviews days before the two were arrested Tuesday night, several of the couple's closest neighbors at the Oak Park Village apartments praised Ehrlick as an easy-going "Mr. Mom," the one who always carried the baby and diaper bag.

"He was very good with the baby," said Sean Buffington, who lives upstairs from the couple.

"He made sure that baby had clean clothes," Ehrlick Sr. said. "He made sure that baby had food. He made sure the baby had diapers. He would not leave that boy more than two or three minutes because he'd worry about him."


You can hear the indictment live at KTVB-TV [scroll down to the video player]. Maggie O'Mara's Behind the Scene blog recalls how Jenkins and Ehrlick appeared at all of the briefings while thousands of people searched for Manwill. She also reminds readers that the charges have yet to be subject to a jury and remain just that: allegations.

Melissa Jenkins Ada Jail
http://www.adasheriff.org/InmateRoster/wfrmRosterDetail.aspx

Daniel Ehrlick Ada Jail
http://www.adasheriff.org/InmateRoster/wfrmRosterDetail.aspx

Robert Manwill's mom followed steps in custody case



The state has a procedure to decide whether a child is reunited with family after possible abuse.
BY ANNA WEBB - awebb@idahostatesman.com

Published: 08/09/09

The case of 8-year-old Robert Manwill has raised two persistent questions:

Why did his mother get 30 days in jail, a suspended fine and probation for fracturing the skull of Robert's infant half brother?

Why was the baby allowed to return to his mother, who was still on probation for harming him?

Robert was found dead on Monday after being missing for more than a week. Boise police say they are investigating his death as a homicide. Robert spent most of his time living with his father in New Plymouth but was visiting his mother in Boise at the time of his disappearance on July 24.

WHY DID MELISSA JENKINS GET THE SENTENCE SHE DID?

In March, Robert's mother, Melissa Jenkins, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor injury to a child after Robert's half brother, Aidan Ehrlick, then 8 months old, suffered a fractured skull in October and was placed in foster care.

Jenkins claimed she hadaccidentally hit the baby's head on a table while burping him.

The penalty for misdemeanor injury to a child is up to $1,000 in fines and 60 days in jail. Jenkins' sentence was less than that: 30 days in jail, $75 in court costs and two years' probation.

Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Fafa Alidjani, who handled the case, said the sentence was based on an agreement with Jenkins' lawyer, public defender Ann Cosho.

Alidjani said she made the deal because she didn't have forensic evidence to disprove Jenkins' version of the story beyond a reasonable doubt, which she would have had to do in a trial.

"No one else was there to see it," Alidjani said. "My personal opinion of what happened wouldn't have mattered."

Alidjani said the sentence the lawyers negotiated was the best one for the time and circumstance, and seemed the best to get Jenkins back on track as a parent.

"Your hope is that a sentence provides that no one will be harmed in the future," Alidjani said.

WHY WAS THE BABY RETURNED TO HIS MOTHER?

Jenkins and boyfriend Daniel Ehrlick had been working to get Aidan back since Jenkins' sentencing in March.

Carol Carrillo, their friend and neighbor, said the couple was taking court-ordered parenting and anger-management classes, and that Aidan had been back in the home for about two months at the time of Robert's disappearance.

Jenkins and Ehrlick had earned custody of Aidan in stages, as is common in such cases: first with supervised visits away from their home, then supervised visits at the apartment where they lived.

Ehrlick finished his series of classes before Jenkins, so for a time the baby was able to stay overnight, but only if Jenkins stayed somewhere else, Carrillo said.

"She didn't care. Whatever it took to get the kids back. She said that whatever she and Danny had to do, they would do it."

WHAT'S THE STATE'S PROCESS FOR DECIDING CUSTODY CASES?

The Department of Health and Welfare treats every case of suspected child abuse individually, said department spokeswoman Emily Simnitt. But for any report of child abuse from any source, the state takes the same general steps.

"When we get a referral about a child being abused or neglected, we work with law enforcement to determine whether there's imminent danger to the child.

"If we, and law enforcement, come to the conclusion that child safety is at risk, we work with prosecutors and the court to make the determination of whether that child should be put into foster care," Simnitt said.

If a child is taken into state care, the department develops a case plan for that child. That plan might include living with foster parents or with relatives.

"During that time the case is reviewed by the courts. We do try to work toward reunification when it's possible," Simnitt said.

The court also may order parents to take classes, or be evaluated for drug or mental health issues as part of the case plan, said Matt Hyde, who directs the Court Appointed Special Advocate Program, a nonprofit that matches a trained volunteer with every child in foster care.

Many custody cases involving possible child abuse don't go to criminal court and never become public. Even in cases that result in criminal charges, state records involving child custody remain sealed to protect the child.

WHY WAS ROBERT ALLOWED TO VISIT HIS MOTHER'S HOME?

The presence of numerous children in a household naturally complicates custody issues.

In many cases, if one child in a family is abused, all the children in that family are brought into the foster system, Hyde said.

At other times, that doesn't happen, in particular when parents are doing everything the court has told them to do and everything appears to be going well, he added.

"In a case like Jenkins', with both the civil custody case and the criminal case occurring last year, lots of time had passed, and there had been lots of progress. Which is not to defend the actions of the parents," Hyde said.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/localn...ry/860183.html

Several hundred say goodbye to Robert Manwill




Chunk Manwill consoles his daughter as they sit in front of the cremated remains of his son Robert Manwill, 8, Sunday at a funeral service at Cloverdale Funeral Home in Boise. Robert was reported missing July 24 and later found dead in an irrigation canal. Boise police are investigating the death as a homicide.

Several hundred say goodbye to Robert Manwill
Kathleen Kreller - Idaho Statesman
Published: 08/09/09


Robert Manwill was laid to rest Sunday as white doves wheeled over head and family members wept.

Several hundred people turned out to the funeral at Boise's Cloverdale Funeral Home and Memorial Park; a small percentage of the community members who searched, held vigils and felt connected to the 8-year-old boy who was killed.

"You were a little light in a dark and cruel world and you were taken from us too soon," Charles Manwill wrote in a letter to his son read by a local pastor during Sunday's service. "...These last two weeks have proven that Boise is the city of brotherly love. Our family grown by thousands of people in last two weeks."

Family members, including Robert's siblings, released white doves during the outdoor service. Country music songs — Robert's favorites — also were featured.

Manwill went missing on July 24 from his mother's apartment complex off of Vista Avenue. He was found on Aug. 3 in the New York Canal near Kuna. Thousands in the community helped search for Robert Manwill.

The Ada County Coroner's Office said Robert's death was a homicide, and Boise police officials said the boy was not abducted by a stranger. Police continue an investigation into the child's death.

RIP, Robert you were way to young to leave this world.

First-degree murder: Robert Manwill's mom and her boyfriend are indicted in the 8-year old boy.


Melissa Jenkins and Daniel Ehrlick Jr. struggled with relationships, children and the law for years before they reported her son missing.
BY KATY MOELLER AND KATHLEEN KRELLER - kmoeller@idahostatesman.com • kkreller@idahostatesman.com

Published: 08/19/09

He had dreams of being a wildland firefighter but faced drug and legal problems and managed to battle the flames only as part of a prison work crew.

She was something of a rambler, drifting through relationships - having three children with three men in less than seven years - on the hunt for the unconditional love she felt as a little girl.

Daniel Ehrlick Jr. and Melissa Jenkins met at a poker game and quickly grew close, spending weeks together in her hospital room as she dealt with complications of her third pregnancy.

They rallied together to get that infant back from state protection after Jenkins was convicted of injuring him.

Now, they're together again - in the Ada County Jail, both facing murder charges after the disappearance and death of 8-year-old Robert Manwill, whose smile captured the community in a 10-day search that started with hope and ended in tragedy.

EHRLICK JR.'S STORY

For Ehrlick Jr. - Danny to his friends and family - trouble with the law started early.

His first run-in involved a stolen United Parcel Service box full of sunglasses, said his father, Daniel Ehrlick Sr. The boy was in junior high.

"That cost his mother and I quite a bit," Ehrlick Sr. said. "He was always picking up the wrong people to run around with."

Born in Mineral County, Nev., along with his older sister and two younger brothers, Ehrlick Jr. later moved with his family to Idaho, where he attended Nampa High School and played basketball. He didn't graduate, but he got his GED in prison, his father said.

"Danny was a troubled boy all his life," Ehrlick Sr. said. "He would get in trouble doing stupid things. ... Then he has had a lot of problems with drugs."

Now 36, he has spent nearly seven years, off and on, in Idaho correctional facilities and at least 10 years on probation in Idaho and Washington. He has been convicted of burglary, battery, possession of drug paraphernalia and more.

His father and niece said Ehrlick Jr. had worked fighting fires, but he has no work history with the state or the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Ehrlick Jr. did work on an inmate fire crew while incarcerated, said Idaho Department of Correction spokesman Jeff Ray.

"It's pretty good duty," Ray said. "You are outdoors and working hard, and you are making more money than you would in a typical institutional job."

Few people could be found to talk about Ehrlick Jr. He has never been married and has no records of having children with other women.

JENKINS' STORY

Melissa Jenkins spent years searching for the love and stability that had eluded her since she was "daddy's girl," the middle of three girls in her family, her family members say.

"I think, all in all, Melissa was after a quiet and tender life," said Meridian resident Margo Maxwell, Jenkins' great-aunt and one of the first family members to come to her aid when Robert was reported missing July 24.

Jenkins' Facebook page says she's a 1997 graduate of Meridian High School, but the district has no record of that. Boise School District records show she entered sixth grade at Koelsch Elementary and finished seventh grade at Fairmont Junior High. The district has no further record of her.

She has worked short stints in numerous clerical and manufacturing jobs - including at the Idaho Statesman's call center, the Boise Bingo Center, Scentsy and, most recently, Blackhawk Manufacturing.

Jenkins drifted in and out of contact with most of her family, including her parents, Dori and Jeff Jenkins, who now live in New Mexico. Of the three sisters, Jenkins was older than Daphney and a year younger than Trish Burrill, a Boise resident who has acted as the family's spokeswoman at police news conferences about Robert's disappearances.

Tammy Smith, best friends with Trish for a time in high school, recalled that at some point when they were teens, Trish either moved out or was kicked out. Jenkins wasn't far behind.

The sisters, who seemed to stand by each other during the news conferences, have not always gotten along.

Family members say that before the boy disappeared, Burrill had not seen Jenkins and Robert in about 18 months. A court affidavit filed by Robert's father indicates that Burrill would not take the boy in while Jenkins was hospitalized for a few weeks in 2008. (Burrill and her husband, Kyle, did not agree to interviews.)

When Jenkins met Robert's father, Charles Manwill, he was dating Trish. He and Jenkins' second cousin, Justin Smith, were buddies and roommates. Manwill was nine years older than Jenkins.

In 2000, when Jenkins was in her early 20s, she got pregnant with Manwill's child, and Robert was born in June 2001. Jenkins and Manwill were married in July, but they separated less than a year later.

Jenkins met her second husband, Frank Seiber, at a Nampa bingo parlor where they both worked. He was 27 years her senior, an age difference that bothered some of her family and friends. The pair married in 2003.

Seiber said he helped care for Robert while Jenkins was at work.

"He was like a son," Seiber said. "When I think about him, all I can see is that smile. This has been really hard."

The skeptics, though, were right about the marriage.

"She was dating other men, and I didn't know it for a while. ... I guess love has a blind eye," Seiber said, sitting on the porch of his Payette home.

They divorced in March 2006. Eight months later, Jenkins gave birth to a baby girl, RayLynn.

The father was Russell "Rusty" Ames, a truck driver and a high school friend of Jenkins' mother who began dating Jenkins after running into her at her folks' house one day.

"I've known Melissa her whole life," said Ames, now 49.

He said he's still a friend of Dori Jenkins' and said there's been a lot of family conflict over the years, particularly between the mother and her daughters.

"If one's not fighting with the other, then the other two are," he said. "You've got to be hating, or nobody's happy."

Ames said his relationship with Jenkins ran its course in a matter of months. Like Seiber, Ames felt she wasn't honest with him.

"Everything that comes out of her mouth is a lie," he said.

A VALENTINE'S DAY LIFE-CHANGER

Sometime around when Ehrlick Jr. and Jenkins met in 2007, she discovered she was pregnant.

She was trying to end a relationship that she told Manwill and others was abusive, friends and court documents said. In January 2008, complications with her pregnancy left her hospitalized for weeks.

Ehrlick Jr. was with her every day, Ehrlick Sr. said. He "practically lived in that hospital room" with her, Ames said.

The baby boy, who was named Aidan, was born on Feb. 14, 2008. He wasn't Ehrlick Jr.'s child - according to Ames and other family members and friends. (Idaho birth certificates aren't public records for 100 years, and neither Jenkins nor Ehrlick would agree to an interview for this story.)

It's unknown whether Ehrlick Jr. knew all along or found out later, but every one of his family, friends and neighbors interviewed said the same thing: He treated that baby boy as his own.

Aidan was given Ehrlick's name, and Ehrlick Jr. is acknowledged in court documents as the father.

"When he met (Jenkins), he did a 180-degree turn in his life - to the best," Ehrlick Sr. said. "After the baby was born, it got a lot better. He got more honest with me. ... He was more adult."

A NEW ROLE: DAD

Outwardly, to many neighbors, family and friends, Ehrlick and Jenkins seemed like good parents - even after Jenkins pleaded guilty to fracturing her infant's skull in October 2008.

In interviews days before the two were arrested Tuesday night, several of the couple's closest neighbors at the Oak Park Village apartments praised Ehrlick as an easy-going "Mr. Mom," the one who always carried the baby and diaper bag.

"He was very good with the baby," said Sean Buffington, who lives upstairs from the couple.

"He made sure that baby had clean clothes," Ehrlick Sr. said. "He made sure that baby had food. He made sure the baby had diapers. He would not leave that boy more than two or three minutes because he'd worry about him."

Ehrlick Jr. would get "worked up" over a runny nose and make his father wash his hands before holding Aidan.

The son still relied on his father for financial support; Ehrlick Sr. gave them a car and a deposit for the apartment they shared and often handed over cash for rent, food, diapers, cigarettes and utility bills.

Still, Ehrlick Sr. said Aidan's presence inspired changes in his son. Instead of hanging out with his old cronies, Sundays meant barbecues and family gatherings at Ehrlick Sr.'s home near Bannock and 30th streets.

For big get-togethers, the family would bring Ehrlick Sr.'s wife and the kids' mother, Barbara, home from the care facility where she has lived since suffering strokes.

Justin Smith, Jenkins' cousin who lived with her family for a while and was "basically their adopted kid," said he never met Ehrlick Jr., but that he was called on two occasions when Jenkins and Ehrlick Jr. were fighting.

"When I showed up, I didn't see any signs," said Smith, who said he went to the apartment with Trish's husband, Kyle Burrill.

When the men offered to call the police, Jenkins turned them away.

A STRICT MOTHER

Jenkins worked while Ehrlick Jr. stayed home with Aidan and Robert, when the boy visited from his father's home in New Plymouth.

Carol Carrillo, another upstairs neighbor who became close friends with Jenkins, said she trusted them both with her children. She said the couple worked hard to get Aidan back after Jenkins was convicted of injuring him.

She said Jenkins was very concerned for the safety of both of their kids. Carrillo remembers Jenkins getting on someone's case when they tried to pick up Carrillo's kids with a car that didn't have enough seatbelts for all the children.

Carrillo said Jenkins was strict with Robert. The boy wasn't allowed to go beyond the playground behind their apartment building - if he did, he got grounded. He wouldn't go into Carrillo's apartment without first asking his mother's permission.

"I never saw them be mean to the kids," said her 12-year-old daughter, Jennifer. "I went to their house all the time."

But others described Jenkins as moody and quick to anger when children misbehaved.

"Melissa was mean to kids - they wore on her patience," said Seiber, her second husband.

If Jenkins was in a bad mood, Seiber said, he would just take Robert outside and play with him "until she calmed down." But Seiber said he never saw Melissa Jenkins be violent or hit Robert.

"There was times she'd smack Robert in the back of the head to get his attention - a gentle slap in the head. Like, 'Hey, pay attention to me, do what you're told,' " Ames said.

When Robert acted out, several people said, Jenkins sometimes forced him to sit on his hands or stand with his nose against the wall with his hands behind his back in a military stance. Jenkins also was known to punish her children and others in her care with cold showers.

Robert always seemed to be on "restriction," Ehrlick Sr. said.

"He would ask her for a glass of water," said Robbyn Ehrlick, Ehrlick Jr.'s 23-year-old niece. "She would say 'Go away, you are annoying me.' "

Ehrlick Sr. said he saw Jenkins once pick up her toddler daughter by one arm and "whip" her across her bottom.

"When I said something about it, she said 'it didn't hurt her because she was wearing a Pamper,' " Ehrlick Sr. said.

Buffington said he saw a hint of Robert's fear about getting in trouble when his dog got loose one day. Sadie, a pit bull, wiggled out of her collar and ran down the stairs, where Buffington caught her.

He was surprised when he looked up at Robert, who began shaking and crying.

"He said, 'Mom's going to be so mad ... I can't lose the dog,' " Buffington said.

AFTER ROBERT'S DISAPPEARANCE

When Maxwell, Jenkins' great-aunt, brought Trish Burrill to the Oak Park apartment early on the Sunday after Robert was reported missing, the sisters cried and hugged.

"They were sweet and kind to each other, as you'd expect sisters to be in a crisis like this," Maxwell said. "As soon as Trish left, Melissa took the attitude that she didn't want to be around Trish. Melissa clung to me and my girls."

"That created a rift," Maxwell said.

Shirley Earls, Maxwell's daughter, rallied members at two local LDS churches to help with the search. She noticed that Robert's dad, Charles Manwill, was "focused" and "very military," while Ehrlick was "a mess," "a complete puddle."

"Melissa was in between," she said.

On Tuesday, when Maxwell returned to Oak Park to help, she said Jenkins appeared medicated and calm. She was ready to pursue every lead to find the boy.

"Danny was sobbing uncontrollably," Maxwell said. "He greeted me at the door and soaked my shirt with his tears.

"I said, 'Danny, are you getting any medical attention?' He said he didn't have any money."

Maxwell took him to a doctor's office, and he was prescribed medications. In the car, she said, he seemed "very, very sorrowful."

But by the next night, Maxwell said, it seemed, Ehrlick and Jenkins weren't comforting each other or even speaking.

"Danny was just walking the streets and didn't know where to go. He said he didn't know where to go or what to do," Maxwell said.

Ultimately, he went to stay with his father, Ehrlick Sr. said. Jenkins had been staying, off and on, with her sister, Trish, Kyle Burrill said.

An Oak Park Village neighbor said Jenkins' family came to retrieve her things from their apartment on Sunday, after Robert's funeral. Ehrlick Jr.'s belongings are still there.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsup...ry/869934.html

Katherine Jones / Idaho Statesman
Day 3 of the search Melissa Scott Jenkins, left, and Daniel Edward Ehrlick Jr. appear together July 27 as Boise police called for public help in the search for 8-year-old Robert Manwill. Ehrlick attended only one more of the daily briefings, where family members often joined police.

By Patrick Orr - porr@idahostatesman.com
Published: 08/19/09

Eight-year-old Robert Manwill was killed by Daniel Erhlick Jr., who tortured and beat him to death while Manwill's mother, Melissa Jenkins, hid her son from government authorities who might have helped him.

So says an Ada County grand jury indictment unsealed Wednesday morning in 4th District Court.

Ehrlick Jr., 36, inflicted repeated acts of blunt-force trauma to the abdomen and/or the head of Manwill with his hands, knees, fists and/or feet and/or by other means of physical force, physical abuse or emotional abuse, according to the indictment. The beatings caused bruises, abdominal bleeding and injuries and head injuries that prompted Manwill's death on or about July 24.

The indictment alleges that Ehrlick Jr. intentionally tortured Manwill "with the intent to cause suffering, to execute vengeance or to satisfy some sadistic inclination by inflicting on Robert G. Manwill extreme or prolonged acts of brutality with the intent to cause suffering."

Jenkins, 30, a mother of three, had knowledge of the beatings and repeatedly hid her son from authorities and others who might have intervened. She also failed in her duty to seek medical attention for her son's injuries, despite knowing Manwill "was being subjected to escalating physical violence” by Erhlick, according to the indictment.

Neither entered a plea and are expected to do so on Sept. 1.

An Ada County grand jury on Tuesday indicted Jenkins and Ehrlick Jr. on charges of first-degree murder. Both also are charged with failing to report a death. Police have provided no details about the evidence they have.

In Idaho, first-degree murder is punishable by up to life in prison or death.

Local, state and federal agencies logged 9,000 hours in the search and investigation after Robert was reported missing July 24, Deputy Boise Chief Jim Kerns said. Thousands of people volunteered in the 10-day search: “Probably no other case in Boise history has touched so many people,” Kerns said Tuesday. Robert’s body was found Aug. 3 in the New York Canal near Kuna.

Prosecutors have 60 days to decide whether to seek the death penalty. Police asked the public for information about the pair’s activities in the week before Robert was reported missing.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/eyepie...ry/870337.html

Answers to some of the community's questions about the Robert Manwill case
Though family members, police, prosecutors and state officials aren't talking, here are some answers to the questions the community is asking.

Idaho Statesman

Reported and written by Kathleen Kreller, Katy Moeller, Patrick Orr and Anna Webb.

When did Robert Manwill die?

Ada County Coroner Earl Sonnenberg said the evidence matches the July 24 day on which the boy was reported missing, but he would not give a specific date of death. The indictments say Robert was killed "on or about" that day. Sonnenberg would not say whether the child was dead before he was left in the canal where his body was found.

Where is Charles Manwill?

Manwill - known as "Chuck" - is on leave from his job with the Idaho National Guard, according to Guard spokesman Tim Marsano.

Manwill is one of about 1,000 full-time employees at the Idaho National Guard in Boise and has worked at Gowen Field since 2001. He teaches soldiers techniques on military reconnaissance.

"We're not only keeping him in our thoughts, we've been in regular contact with him," Marsano said. "We have several of his colleagues as well as chaplains, counselors and others who are offering assistance. ... We're a pretty tightly knit community out here, and he's one of us."

Many Guard members were present at Robert's funeral.

Manwill was not at his home Wednesday, according to a family member at the rural Payette County residence. He's "hurting" and needs some time alone, the family member said. Manwill's sister, Dorothy Aydelotte, said she's still processing all the information that's come out about Robert's death, and she had no comment.

Why was Robert visiting his mother when she didn't have full custody?

Robert Manwill visited his mother for seven weeks each summer, in addition to certain weekends and holidays, according to a 2008 custody agreement between his parents. Charles Manwill and Melissa Jenkins shared custody of the 8-year-old, but Manwill retained primary custody as of July 2008.

According to the custody agreement, Robert was supposed to visit his mother for four weeks, go home to his father for a week and then back to his mother for the remaining three weeks.

Ehrlick's father, Daniel Ehrlick Sr., said he believed Jenkins' visitation with Robert had been suspended when she lost custody of her infant, Aidan, in October last year when she was charged with injury to a child. He said she had since regained custody of the baby, and Robert's visitation was restored.

How are family members reacting to Ehrlick's and Jenkins' arrest and indictment?

Daniel Ehrlick Sr. said he will no longer speak to his son.

"All I care about now is Robert. Rest in peace," said Ehrlick Sr., who didn't attend Wednesday's court hearing. "They are going to pay for it every day for the rest of their lives. This boy had no chance in this world."

Melissa Jenkins' sister Trish Burrill and her husband, Kyle Burrill, declined to comment when approached after the hearing.

If what the indictment says is true, what explains the psychology of two people who grieved publicly, asked for help and attended searches and vigils while knowing the truth?

Thomas Young, a medical doctor and director of operations at The Children's Home Society of Idaho, said the couple's actions, if true, could have more to do with criminal intent than psychology.

"If I'm a criminal, I can't run away, which would make me instantly guilty, I'm going to try to blend in with the crowd," Young said. "Once they colluded, they were equally guilty under the law. They probably had to sit and discuss what they were going to do about it."

A public display of anything other than emotion and pain would have been an instant indictment, Young said.

"These people just have a perverse moral compass and were protecting themselves. They saw playing dumb as their only escape. It's almost adolescent thinking. You spill something, your mom comes in and asks who did it. You say, 'I don't know,' even if you were the only one in the house."

Who testified against Ehrlick and Jenkins in front of the grand jury?

Prosecutors called 10 witnesses against Ehrlick, including a Kuna firefighter who helped retrieve Robert's body from the New York Canal, a crime scene specialist for the Boise Police Department, Robert's father, Ada County's pathologist Glen Groben, Boise Police Department detectives and a social worker from Taft Elementary School in Boise.

Just two people were called to testify against Jenkins: a staff member of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and a member of the Boise Police Department.

Will Ada County prosecutors seek the death penalty for either Ehrlick or Jenkins?

They have 60 days to decide, and Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower said much of the decision will depend on what kind of mitigating evidence defense attorneys provide to prosecutors as they swap discovery on the case.

It's the prosecutor's job to determine whether the aggravating factors exist for a jury to sentence someone to death, like if the killing was heinously cruel, the defendant has a propensity to commit murder, or the killer showed an utter disregard for human life.

It's up to defense attorneys to find the mitigating factors a jury might consider to spare a life, like if the defendant suffers from mental illness or was a victim of child abuse themselves.

Could an Ada County jury spare the life of a child killer?

It happened in 2004 when a jury spared the life of Ignacio Sanchez, despite evidence that he beat a 2-year-old girl in his care over a period of two weeks, causing her death in December 2003. Prosecutors wanted the death penalty for Sanchez, but the jury spared his life after hearing mitigating evidence that Sanchez was abused as a child, was afflicted with depression and attention deficit disorder, and had been a methamphetamine user since he was 12. He is serving a sentence of fixed life for first-degree murder.

Who is the lead prosecutor?

Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Jill Longhurst, with assistance from Deputy Prosecutor Daniel Dinger. Longhurst is an experienced prosecutor who has been the lead counsel on six first-degree murder cases since 2000, including those of Raymond Ortiz III, Anthony Shaw and Ignacio Sanchez - in each, children were beaten to death. All three of those men are serving life prison sentences.

Who is representing Ehrlick and Jenkins?

Both said in court Monday they could not afford private counsel, so they will be represented by attorneys with the Ada County public defender's office. At least one will be represented by Amil Myshin, who has been counsel or co-counsel on more than 30 first-degree murder cases over the past two decades. He is also certified to represent defendants in a death penalty case, if Ada County prosecutors decide to go that route.

Myshin, who spoke for Ehrlick Wednesday, has represented convicted killers Erick Hall, Darrell Payne and John Delling in recent years.

Tony Geddes, another Ada County public defender, represented Jenkins Wednesday, but he won't work the case as a lead counsel. The public defender's office will likely hire an outside attorney, called "conflict counsel," to represent whoever doesn't get Myshin, to avoid conflict between defendants. That is standard practice in murder cases with multiple defendants.

Is it possible for an impartial jury to be selected in Ada County for a case so well-known?

That depends on whom you talk to.

Boise defense attorney D.C. Carr thinks it would be difficult, considering the publicity and the raw emotion much of the community seems to be feeling over the case.

"With this situation, with the small child as such a sympathetic victim, I think they are going to have a really hard time finding a fair and impartial jury," said Carr, who used to work for the Ada County public defender's office. "There have been stories every day, and that has led to a lot of fingerpointing at (Jenkins and Ehrlick on blogs and Web sites) even before they were arrested. There is so much emotion surrounding this case."

But Boise defense attorney David Leroy, a former Idaho attorney general, said he believes it is possible to pick a local jury, especially since huge groups of potential jurors can be sorted out for prejudice against either side by asking them to fill out questionnaires prior to actual jury selection.

He said he has faith that many people in Ada County who know about the case are capable of forming opinions based strictly on evidence.

How can the community channel the energy this case has created to better the lives of Idaho children?

Nicole Sirak, director of the Court Appointed Special Advocate program, said representatives from several local child welfare organizations - including Health and Welfare, St. Luke's Prenatal Care, and Idaho Voices for Children - met Tuesday to talk about new ways they might come together to create a community "web" around Idaho children.

The Manwill case, and the unanswered questions about how Robert, a child who did have caring adults in his life but still obviously need attention from the safety net, was the inspiration for the meeting.

The timing, on the day Robert's mother and her boyfriend were arrested for his murder, was coincidental.

Talks are just starting, but it's clear to Sirak that it's time to tap into community sentiment now. Since the Manwill events, she's been fielding calls from people who want to help local children but don't know how.

Some have already made memorial donations to CASA in Robert's name.

"We're good at collaboration here in Idaho. Remember, the Idaho Human Rights Memorial (now an educational park) was supposed to be a simple plaque on the Greenbelt."

http://www.idahostatesman.com/102/story/871178.html

Melissa Jenkins, Daniel Ehrlick plead not guilty to murder of Robert Manwill




Shawn Raecke / Idaho Statesman
Daniel Ehrlick Jr. and his girlfriend, Melissa Scott Jenkins, appeared in an Ada County Courtroom in Boise Wednesday Aug. 19, 2009 for an arraignment hearing. Ehrlick and Jenkins were arrested on Tuesday Aug. 18, 2009 on first-degree murder charges in the death of Jenkins' 8-year-old son Robert Manwill.


Shawn Raecke / Idaho Statesman
Daniel Ehrlick Jr. and his girlfriend, Melissa Scott Jenkins, appear in an Ada County Courtroom in Boise Wednesday Aug. 19, 2009. Ehrlick and Jenkins were arrested on Tuesday Aug. 18 on first-degree murder charges in the death of Jenkins' 8-year-old son Robert Manwill.

Patrick Orr - porr@idahostatesman.com
Published: 09/03/09

Melissa Jenkins and Daniel Ehrlick pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of first-degree murder in connection with the beating death of Jenkins' 8-year-old son Robert Manwill in July.

The two, both charged with first degree murder, stood silent during their entry of plea hearing Thursday in front of 4th District Judge Darla Williamson so not guilty pleas were entered for them.

Ehrlick is accused of beating the boy to death, and Jenkins is accused of covering up the crime and lying to police about what happened.

Ehrlick and Jenkins, who appeared separately in front of Williamson Thursday, both waived their speedy trial rights so a jury trial on the case won't likely happen until next summer at the earliest.

The next hearing in the case is set for Nov. 5, when a trial date likely will be set. Defense attorneys say they need to know whether or not Ada County prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against Ehrlick or Jenkins before they can schedule a trial.

Prosecutors have until the middle of October to make that decision.

Rob Chastain, Jenkins' attorney, told Williamson he did not yet know if he planned to file a motion to sever the cases since he had not yet received any discovery from prosecutors as of Thursday.

Both Ehrlick and Jenkins are being held in the Ada County Jail and appeared in court Thursday shackled and dressed in jail uniforms.

Both answered Williamson's questions with simple "yes" and "no" answers, as family members and friends of both suspects and Robert Manwill watched from the courtroom.

Ehrlick initially said he did not understand his speedy trial rights but later said he did after talking to public defender Gus Cahill.

Family members left the courtroom without comment Thursday.

Jenkins and Ehrlick were indicted and charged with first-degree murder by an Ada County grand jury Aug. 18.

The grand jury found that 8-year-old Robert Manwill was beaten by Ehrlick for weeks in a pattern of "escalating physical violence" that finally climaxed in his death, according to court records.

Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg said the boy died from blunt force trauma "on or about" the July 24 — the night he was reported missing. That report triggered a community-wide search for Robert Manwill that ended about two weeks later when his body was found in the New York Canal near Kuna.

Ehrlicks’s violence against the boy started as early as June, according to the grand jury indictment, which also says Jenkins "did actively and repeatedly hide (Robert) from government authorities" and kept "other persons from observing the ongoing harm" Ehrlick was doing to the boy.

The grand jury said Ehrlick repeatedly abused Robert and eventually killed the boy by the "intentional application of torture ... by inflicting extreme or prolonged pain with the intent to cause suffering, to execute vengeance, or to satisfy some sadistic inclination, by inflicting repeated acts of blunt force trauma to the abdomen and/or head of Robert Manwill."

The grand jury also found that Jenkins continued to leave Robert with Ehrlick despite the knowledge that he was "inflicting repeated acts of physical violence" on the boy, and that Jenkins lied to police about Robert's whereabouts after she knew he was dead.

Ada County prosecutors have not yet decided whether they will seek the death penalty against Jenkins and/or Ehrlick.

They have a little more than a month left to make that decision.

Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower said last month much of the decision will depend on what kind of mitigating evidence defense attorneys provide to prosecutors as they swap discovery on the case.

The entry of plea hearings for Jenkins and Ehrlick were originally set Tuesday but were later rescheduled when 4th District Judge Deborah Bail, who was originally given the case, disqualified herself in late August.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsup...ry/886965.html

Melissa Jenkins, Daniel Ehrlick plead not guilty to murder of Robert Manwill
Patrick Orr - porr@idahostatesman.com
Published: 09/03/09

Melissa Jenkins and Daniel Ehrlick pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of first-degree murder in connection with the beating death of Jenkins' 8-year-old son Robert Manwill in July.

The two, both charged with first degree murder, stood silent during their entry of plea hearing Thursday in front of 4th District Judge Darla Williamson so not guilty pleas were entered for them.

Ehrlick is accused of beating the boy to death, and Jenkins is accused of covering up the crime and lying to police about what happened.

Ehrlick and Jenkins, who appeared separately in front of Williamson Thursday, both waived their speedy trial rights so a jury trial on the case won't likely happen until next summer at the earliest.

The next hearing in the case is set for Nov. 5, when a trial date likely will be set. Defense attorneys say they need to know whether or not Ada County prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against Ehrlick or Jenkins before they can schedule a trial.

Prosecutors have until the middle of October to make that decision.

Rob Chastain, Jenkins' attorney, told Williamson he did not yet know if he planned to file a motion to sever the cases since he had not yet received any discovery from prosecutors as of Thursday.

Both Ehrlick and Jenkins are being held in the Ada County Jail and appeared in court Thursday shackled and dressed in jail uniforms.

Both answered Williamson's questions with simple "yes" and "no" answers, as family members and friends of both suspects and Robert Manwill watched from the courtroom.

Ehrlick initially said he did not understand his speedy trial rights but later said he did after talking to public defender Gus Cahill.

Family members left the courtroom without comment Thursday.

Jenkins and Ehrlick were indicted and charged with first-degree murder by an Ada County grand jury Aug. 18.

The grand jury found that 8-year-old Robert Manwill was beaten by Ehrlick for weeks in a pattern of "escalating physical violence" that finally climaxed in his death, according to court records.

Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg said the boy died from blunt force trauma "on or about" the July 24 — the night he was reported missing. That report triggered a community-wide search for Robert Manwill that ended about two weeks later when his body was found in the New York Canal near Kuna.

Ehrlicks’s violence against the boy started as early as June, according to the grand jury indictment, which also says Jenkins "did actively and repeatedly hide (Robert) from government authorities" and kept "other persons from observing the ongoing harm" Ehrlick was doing to the boy.

The grand jury said Ehrlick repeatedly abused Robert and eventually killed the boy by the "intentional application of torture ... by inflicting extreme or prolonged pain with the intent to cause suffering, to execute vengeance, or to satisfy some sadistic inclination, by inflicting repeated acts of blunt force trauma to the abdomen and/or head of Robert Manwill."

The grand jury also found that Jenkins continued to leave Robert with Ehrlick despite the knowledge that he was "inflicting repeated acts of physical violence" on the boy, and that Jenkins lied to police about Robert's whereabouts after she knew he was dead.

Ada County prosecutors have not yet decided whether they will seek the death penalty against Jenkins and/or Ehrlick.

They have a little more than a month left to make that decision.

Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower said last month much of the decision will depend on what kind of mitigating evidence defense attorneys provide to prosecutors as they swap discovery on the case.

The entry of plea hearings for Jenkins and Ehrlick were originally set Tuesday but were later rescheduled when 4th District Judge Deborah Bail, who was originally given the case, disqualified herself in late August.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsup...ry/886965.html

Our View: Fair trial still possible if warrant goes public in Robert Manwill case
ROBERT MANWILL CASE

http://www.idahostatesman.com/editorial/story/912303.html

The Robert Manwill disappearance became big news - and the Boise Police Department did nothing to discourage it.

The police held frequent and excruciatingly incremental news briefings; several coincided with live local newscasts. The police asked the community to help find clues into the disappearance of the 8-year-old, and 2,300 people turned out.

The unprecedented search effort and the intense public interest will complicate jury selection, if the case of Robert's murder goes to trial. The rights of the accused must be protected. But this can be done without sealing court documents - a judicial overreach that could embolden police and prosecutors to try to keep other documents out of public view.

Magistrate Judge John Hawley has kept a lid on a key record - a search warrant for the apartment shared by Robert's mother, Melissa Jenkins, and her boyfriend, Daniel Ehrlick. Saying the document contains accusatory hearsay statements against the two first-degree murder suspects, Hawley said its release would only make it more difficult to find an impartial jury.

It is a strangely reasoned and highly troubling decision.

Search warrants are presumed to be public records. They have been made public prior to other high-profile local trials. Hawley concedes this point, then proceeds to ignore it.

An open court process ensures accountability and holds police and prosecutors to healthy scrutiny. Again, Hawley concedes the point. "Moreover," he writes, "given the immense concern and emotion evoked by national publicity and extensive media coverage, the public has a strong interest in making sure that appropriate steps have been taken to investigate and prosecute those responsible for Robert's death."

And yet, when it came time to uphold the public's right to know, Hawley failed. His concern for the suspects' Sixth Amendment rights is valid. His compromise of the public's First Amendment rights is not.

Nor is it even necessary. Hawley's curious ruling seems to dismiss the notion that fair-trial concerns are better addressed through the jury selection process. The Statesman argued this point while seeking the release of the warrant.

We have no doubt that it will require a painstaking and costly effort to find an unbiased jury. We have seen this before. Last year, 325 potential jurors were summoned to Boise for the sentencing of confessed child killer Joseph Duncan III.

The parallels are clear. Another highly and appropriately public search for a missing child has evolved into a highly public murder case. It is impossible for a judge to unring this bell. It remains possible to seat a jury - without sealing documents.

After his July 24 disappearance, Treasure Valley residents got to know the smiling face and short life story of young Robert Manwill. Since Aug. 3, when Robert's body was found in a canal, they have learned precious little about his slaying. The case has been presented before a grand jury - and is based, to some unknown extent, on records Hawley doesn't want the public to see. A community that deserves answers is left only with new questions.

"Our View" is the editorial position of the Idaho Statesman. It is an unsigned opinion expressing the consensus of the Statesman's editorial board. To comment on an editorial or suggest a topic, e-mail editorial@idahostatesman.com.

Grand Jury Indictment 8/18/09 Jenkins



http://media.idahostatesman.com/smed...filiate.36.pdf

BOISE - A grand jury indictment paints a graphic picture of the death of 8-year-old Robert Manwill and the alleged roles his mother, Melissa Scott Jenkins, and her boyfriend, Daniel Ehrlick, played.

Fourth District Judge Deborah Bail read aloud the grand jury indictment this morning in Ada County court. The document states Ehrlick brutally beat Manwill using his hands, feet, knees or fists over a prolonged period of time. The beating caused abdominal injuries and head injuries, including brain swelling and internal bleeding from which Manwill died.
The indictment also states that Ehrlick intended either to commit aggravated battery or intended to torture and kill Manwill.

The indictment states Jenkins aided and abetted in the beating.

http://www.idahopress.com/news/?id=25603