The True Story of How a Series of Lies Sent an Innocent Man to Prison
On June 2, 2025, after 18 years, 9 months, and roughly 15 days of incarceration for a crime I don’t believe he committed, my brother Steve was finally released. It’s about time. Here he is in his son’s kitchen a few days ago. I don’t believe the book, Aggravated, was responsible for Steve’s release …
Piles of Paper During our early discussions (circa 2007-2008) Steve had given me a basic idea of what his accuser, Hanna Penderfield, claimed, but I found it impossible to believe. She said there had been 80 to 90 incidents of sexual assault, sometimes occurring in front of Steve’s wife and children, and sometimes in public …
Parts of this post were used in Aggravated. This is the fifth post of five questions/items that were part of a chapter in Aggravated. In that chapter I answered and/or explained all five in just a few paragraphs, so these are just more detailed breakdowns of the reasoning behind those answers. If you’ve already read …
Parts of this post were used in Aggravated. This is the fourth post of five questions/items that were part of a chapter in Aggravated. In that chapter I answered and/or explained all five in just a few paragraphs, so these are just more detailed breakdowns of the reasoning behind those answers. If you’ve already read …
Parts of this post were used in Aggravated. This is the second of four posts about a search for some evidence. If you haven’t read the first post yet, you should probably do that before reading this one. Here’s a link, Part 1, Why I Searched for Karla. A Trip to Deep Springs In late-August …
Parts of this post were used in Aggravated. Analysis of the Lie This is the fourth of four posts about a lie I believe Hanna told in court. If you haven’t read the first three posts yet, you should probably do that before reading this one. Start with Part 1, The Background. Why did Hanna …
Parts of this post were used in Aggravated. The Data This is the third of four posts about a lie I believe Hanna told in court. If you haven’t read the first two posts yet, you should probably do that before reading this one. Start with Part 1, The Background. Let’s compare some actual race …
Parts of this post were used in Aggravated. The Research This is the second of four posts about a lie that I believe Hanna told in court. If you haven’t read the first post yet, you should probably do that before reading this one. Part 1, The Background The lie itself, is that Hanna testified …
Parts of this post were used in Aggravated. This is a long one. The Gasnick family did not take kindly to Steve and Dad agreeing to testify against Billy. According to the book, A Gruesome End, during the two years leading up to his trial Gasnick told his attorney and his family a number of …
Parts of this post were used in Aggravated. In the first Gasnick post, I provided a little background about Steve’s connection to Billy Gasnick, and how Steve and Robin introduced him to Karen Suhler. After Karen and Billy got married, they ended up moving a number of times, and had recently moved into a dilapidated …