Mel Ignatow
Encyclopedia
Mel Ignatow was a resident of Louisville, Kentucky
, U.S.
, who was accused of murdering his former girlfriend, Brenda Sue Schaefer, in 1988. The case was controversial because Ignatow was acquitted of the charge, but photographs proving his guilt were uncovered after the trial. Under the legal principle of double jeopardy
, however, Ignatow could not be tried a second time for the murder. He was, instead, convicted and jailed for perjury
in his grand jury testimony for the case on several occasions.
in the woods behind it. Shore took pictures while Ignatow raped and tortured Shaefer and assisted Ignatow in covering up the murder.
Ignatow forced Schaefer to strip, photographed her in suggestive positions, rape
d, sodomized
and beat her before killing her with chloroform
. Ignatow and Shore buried her behind Shore's house. He took Schaefer's jewelry and the exposed film.
body had been buried for over a year. The autopsy
showed she had been abused, but any DNA evidence, from blood
and semen
, had decomposed.
The investigators convinced Shore to wear a wire
, by promising only to charge her with tampering with evidence. In the surveillance, Shore told Ignatow that the FBI was hounding her and she was afraid the property behind her house was being sold and developed. He was on tape berating her for letting the FBI "rattle" her and told her he didn't care if they dug up the whole property because "that place we dug is not shallow."
With this apparently damning piece of evidence in their hands, prosecutors brought Ignatow to trial for the murder in 1991. The trial was moved far outside the Louisville/Jefferson county area, to Kenton county where far less publicity had been generated and in the opinion of some eventually, there was far less concern for the murder of a young woman. One section of the recorded conversation between Ignatow and Shore contained the following dialogue by Ignatow: "That place we dug is not shallow. Beside that one area right by where that safe is does not have any trees by it." In court, the jury decided that one word on the tape was "safe", not "site", as the police believed. This led the jurors to conclude that the discussion involved a buried safe. Furthermore, Shore, the prosecution's star witness, wore a tiny miniskirt to court and laughed during her testimony
, undermining her credibility in the eyes of the jury. The defense argued that Shore, not Ignatow, had killed Schaefer.
In light of these considerations and their own desire to get the trial over with before the coming Christmas holiday, the jury acquitted Ignatow. Before giving their decision to the courtroom, laughter and loud talk was heard coming from the deliberation room. The judge was so embarrassed by this verdict given, that he took the unusual step of writing a letter of apology to the Schaefer family. Schaefer's parents died before the trial began. According to some family and friends, their deaths were premature due to the heartbreak and stress of Schaefer's murder.
in a hallway. Under it he found a floor vent had been carpeted over. Inside the vent, the carpet layer found a plastic bag, taped to hold it inside the vent. He handed it over to the new owners who knew that the previous owner was Ignatow. Inside the bag was the jewelry Schaefer had taken with her to return on the night of her disappearance and three rolls of undeveloped film. When developed, the film showed Ignatow torturing and raping Schaefer, just as Shore had described. Ignatow's face was not in the pictures, but body hair patterns and moles
matched him perfectly.
, Ignatow confessed in court at his perjury trial. He turned to Schaefer's brothers in court and said that he had killed her, but that she had died peacefully.
Ignatow served five years of an eight year sentence for perjury. The state later prosecuted him on perjury charges for testimony he gave in a case against Schaefer's employer for threatening to kill Ignatow if he didn't tell where Schaefer was. He was sentenced to nine years for that perjury charge.
Author Bob Hill wrote a book on the case called Double Jeopardy, which became a bestseller and provoked widespread interest in the case. Television documentaries on the case are occasionally aired on MSNBC
and CourtTV.
Mel Ignatow was released from prison for the second time in December 2006. He returned yet again to Louisville, living in a home four miles from the house where he murdered Brenda Sue Schaefer.
Brenda Sue Schaefer is buried in her family's plot in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.
Ignatow's upstairs neighbor also described him as a "a sick and elderly man, alone and struggling for help when he apparently stumbled to his death. I used to hear him all night, asking for Jesus
to come get him, because he was in a lot of pain." Ignatow's son admits that his father's sins may never be forgiven. "He will probably go down as one of the most hated men in Louisville". He went on to say that now he hopes his father's death will help people forget some of his transgressions. "Maybe it'll just put it to rest, that we all don't have to keep dealing with this over and over. That's what I hope."
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, who was accused of murdering his former girlfriend, Brenda Sue Schaefer, in 1988. The case was controversial because Ignatow was acquitted of the charge, but photographs proving his guilt were uncovered after the trial. Under the legal principle of double jeopardy
Double jeopardy
Double jeopardy is a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same, or similar charges following a legitimate acquittal or conviction...
, however, Ignatow could not be tried a second time for the murder. He was, instead, convicted and jailed for perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
in his grand jury testimony for the case on several occasions.
Background
Ignatow and Brenda Schaefer had been in a relationship for two years at the time of the murder. Schaefer, who had complained that Ignatow was abusive, was planning to break off the involvement, an intention of which Ignatow was aware. Intending to murder Schaefer, he worked with a former girlfriend, Mary Ann Shore, to lay out plans for the murder. They spent several weeks making extensive preparations. Shore testified they had "scream tested" her house and dug a graveGrave (burial)
A grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries....
in the woods behind it. Shore took pictures while Ignatow raped and tortured Shaefer and assisted Ignatow in covering up the murder.
Murder
On September 23, 1988, Schaefer met Ignatow to return some jewelry of his that she had in her possession. Instead, Ignatow took Schaefer to Shore's house, where he pulled a gun on Schaefer and locked her in the house. Schaefer was blindfolded, gagged and bound hand and foot.Ignatow forced Schaefer to strip, photographed her in suggestive positions, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d, sodomized
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
and beat her before killing her with chloroform
Chloroform
Chloroform is an organic compound with formula CHCl3. It is one of the four chloromethanes. The colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid is a trihalomethane, and is considered somewhat hazardous...
. Ignatow and Shore buried her behind Shore's house. He took Schaefer's jewelry and the exposed film.
Investigation and trial
After Schaefer's disappearance, police quickly suspected Ignatow, but were unable to locate any witnesses or physical evidence linking him to Schaefer's disappearance, or even to locate Schaefer's body. In search for any lead that could let them move forward with the case, police invited Ignatow to clear his name by testifying before a grand jury. There, he mentioned Shore's name, bringing her into the investigation for the first time. The police interviewed Shore, who eventually confessed to helping plan the murder, and to taking pictures of Ignatow as he tortured and abused Schaefer. Shore also led the investigators to the grave site, where Schaefer's badly decomposedDecomposition
Decomposition is the process by which organic material is broken down into simpler forms of matter. The process is essential for recycling the finite matter that occupies physical space in the biome. Bodies of living organisms begin to decompose shortly after death...
body had been buried for over a year. The autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
showed she had been abused, but any DNA evidence, from blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
and semen
Semen
Semen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that may contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize female ova...
, had decomposed.
The investigators convinced Shore to wear a wire
Covert listening device
A covert listening device, more commonly known as a bug or a wire, is usually a combination of a miniature radio transmitter with a microphone. The use of bugs, called bugging, is a common technique in surveillance, espionage and in police investigations.A bug does not have to be a device...
, by promising only to charge her with tampering with evidence. In the surveillance, Shore told Ignatow that the FBI was hounding her and she was afraid the property behind her house was being sold and developed. He was on tape berating her for letting the FBI "rattle" her and told her he didn't care if they dug up the whole property because "that place we dug is not shallow."
With this apparently damning piece of evidence in their hands, prosecutors brought Ignatow to trial for the murder in 1991. The trial was moved far outside the Louisville/Jefferson county area, to Kenton county where far less publicity had been generated and in the opinion of some eventually, there was far less concern for the murder of a young woman. One section of the recorded conversation between Ignatow and Shore contained the following dialogue by Ignatow: "That place we dug is not shallow. Beside that one area right by where that safe is does not have any trees by it." In court, the jury decided that one word on the tape was "safe", not "site", as the police believed. This led the jurors to conclude that the discussion involved a buried safe. Furthermore, Shore, the prosecution's star witness, wore a tiny miniskirt to court and laughed during her testimony
Testimony
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. All testimonies should be well thought out and truthful. It was the custom in Ancient Rome for the men to place their right hand on a Bible when taking an oath...
, undermining her credibility in the eyes of the jury. The defense argued that Shore, not Ignatow, had killed Schaefer.
In light of these considerations and their own desire to get the trial over with before the coming Christmas holiday, the jury acquitted Ignatow. Before giving their decision to the courtroom, laughter and loud talk was heard coming from the deliberation room. The judge was so embarrassed by this verdict given, that he took the unusual step of writing a letter of apology to the Schaefer family. Schaefer's parents died before the trial began. According to some family and friends, their deaths were premature due to the heartbreak and stress of Schaefer's murder.
New evidence
Six months after Ignatow's acquittal, however, a carpetlayer working in Ignatow's old house, which had been sold to fund his defense, pulled up a length of carpetCarpet
A carpet is a textile floor covering consisting of an upper layer of "pile" attached to a backing. The pile is generally either made from wool or a manmade fibre such as polypropylene,nylon or polyester and usually consists of twisted tufts which are often heat-treated to maintain their...
in a hallway. Under it he found a floor vent had been carpeted over. Inside the vent, the carpet layer found a plastic bag, taped to hold it inside the vent. He handed it over to the new owners who knew that the previous owner was Ignatow. Inside the bag was the jewelry Schaefer had taken with her to return on the night of her disappearance and three rolls of undeveloped film. When developed, the film showed Ignatow torturing and raping Schaefer, just as Shore had described. Ignatow's face was not in the pictures, but body hair patterns and moles
Melanocytic nevus
A melanocytic nevus is a type of lesion that contains nevus cells .Some sources equate the term mole with "melanocytic nevus". Other sources reserve the term "mole" for other purposes....
matched him perfectly.
Aftermath
Ignatow was brought to trial for perjury in his grand jury testimony. Knowing that he could not be retried for the murder because of double jeopardyDouble jeopardy
Double jeopardy is a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same, or similar charges following a legitimate acquittal or conviction...
, Ignatow confessed in court at his perjury trial. He turned to Schaefer's brothers in court and said that he had killed her, but that she had died peacefully.
Ignatow served five years of an eight year sentence for perjury. The state later prosecuted him on perjury charges for testimony he gave in a case against Schaefer's employer for threatening to kill Ignatow if he didn't tell where Schaefer was. He was sentenced to nine years for that perjury charge.
Author Bob Hill wrote a book on the case called Double Jeopardy, which became a bestseller and provoked widespread interest in the case. Television documentaries on the case are occasionally aired on MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
and CourtTV.
Mel Ignatow was released from prison for the second time in December 2006. He returned yet again to Louisville, living in a home four miles from the house where he murdered Brenda Sue Schaefer.
Brenda Sue Schaefer is buried in her family's plot in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.
Death
On September 1, 2008, Ignatow was found dead in his home. At the time of his death, Ignatow was 70 years old. An official cause of death has yet to be determined; however, based on initial remarks made by his upstairs neighbor who found Ignatow's body, and follow-up remarks given to the media by Ignatow's son, it is believed that Ignatow's death was due to an accidental fall that caused a laceration to either his head or his arm and that he had eventually bled to death. "Apparently, he fell and hit a glass coffee table and, from what I can tell, he cut his arm" Ignatow's son stated. The upstairs neighbor on the other hand stated that it appeared Ignatow had cut his head and not his arm; "It just looked like he had fell and hit his head on the table," And he tried to go to the kitchen, and there was a blood trail that way, and then it looked like he tried to make it to his room, before he made it to his room, that's where they found his body at."Ignatow's upstairs neighbor also described him as a "a sick and elderly man, alone and struggling for help when he apparently stumbled to his death. I used to hear him all night, asking for Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
to come get him, because he was in a lot of pain." Ignatow's son admits that his father's sins may never be forgiven. "He will probably go down as one of the most hated men in Louisville". He went on to say that now he hopes his father's death will help people forget some of his transgressions. "Maybe it'll just put it to rest, that we all don't have to keep dealing with this over and over. That's what I hope."