Absence of Evidence : An Examination of the Michelle Young Murder Case

Title: Absence of Evidence
Author: Lynne Blanchard
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: September 1, 2016
Page Count: 213
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Having recently finished Steven B. Epstein's excellent Murder on Birchfield Drive, I came upon this book and felt compelled to get a counterview of the case.

Blanchard was approached by members of Jason Young's family and therefore her book provides information that was not revealed in the court proceedings.  On the other hand, it also clearly has a bias toward Jason Young.

Blanchard reveals that initially the police suspected that Michelle's sister, Meredith, was not truthful about her actions the night of Michelle's death and may have been involved. She also relates that the family hired a private investigator to go through the house and found several things the police had missed. Blanchard also brought to light several oddities about Casssidy and the family dog that were never addressed.

Where Blanchard falters, in my humble opinion, is her slant that everything is a possible conspiracy or a result of a police blunder.  Although upon finishing the book, I was left with the feeling there is a slight chance that maybe, just maybe, the police were too myopic in their quest and too focused on making all the oddities of this case fit into proving that Jason Young killed his wife.

If you read both books, please leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts about this case.  Thanks!

Murder on Birchleaf Drive: The True Story of the Michelle Young Murder Case

Title: Murder on Birchleaf Drive
Author: Steven B. Epstein
Publisher: Black Lyon Publishing
Release Date: June 1, 2019
Page Count: 272
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Steven B. Epstein is a welcome addition to the world of true crime literature.  Epstein brings 30 years of experience as an attorney as well as a crisp writing style that clearly presents the case, the personalities and the legal strategies.

Jason and Michelle Young had just recently celebrated their third wedding anniversary and appeared to live a charmed life. With a 2-1/2 year old daughter, Cassidy, and a son on the way, the young couple had a solid core of friends, a lovely home and good jobs. Michelle's brutal murder on November 3, 2006 is shocking, but no less disturbing is that Cassidy was in the house during the murder and there are tiny bloody prints throughout the crime scene.

But as gruesome as the scene is, there is no bloody fingerprints (other than Cassidy's in the bathroom and her bedroom) and no sign of a break-in. Jason, immediately a suspect, was 3 hours away in a Best Western and if he did kill Michelle, it was a very tight timeframe for him to kill her and get back to the hotel by morning.  But what about Cassidy, who despite the footprints, was free of blood from head to toe.  Who took the time to clean her up?

This is a fascinating case because, IMHO, it hinges on a series of assumptions based on circumstantial evidence with little in the way of direct evidence.  The prosecution does an exceptional job of weaving all the circumstantial evidence into a strong argument that ultimately convicts Jason.

Unfortunately, Epstein had no access to the families or attorneys and as thorough as his research of the court documents and trial recordings was, getting insight from detectives, attorneys, and the families may have given some other theories of the crime as well as perspectives and insight.  But overall, this is an excellent book about the Jason and Michelle Young case. 4.5 stars.