Who Killed Yolanda Bindics?

November 04, 2008

Earlier this week I was in Jamestown, N.Y., looking into the case of 36-year-old Corrie Anderson, a southern-tier mother of three who went missing on Oct. 28. Since that time, I have received several e-mails from readers alerting me to similar cases in the area. While there does not appear to be a connection to Corrie's case, I did find one involving a missing mother of four that I found particularly interesting.

Aug. 10, 2004, started out as a typical day for 25-year-old Yolanda Bindics. She left her kids in the care of her brother and went to her job at the Family Dollar store in Jamestown. Later that night, at about 8:20 p.m., Yolanda called her brother and told him that she was on her way to the store to pick up a few groceries and would be home soon. Yolanda's brother called her back roughly 15 minutes later, but she never picked up the phone.

The following day, police found Yolanda's car in the parking lot of an Arby's restaurant on Fluvanna Ave. The location is about a half a mile from the Family Dollar store. In the days that followed, dozens of volunteers began searching wooded areas around the region for any sign of Yolanda. During this time, it was revealed that Yolanda had been involved in a relationship with Michael Watson, a Jamestown police officer. As a result, the officer was placed on paid leave to avoid a conflict of interest.

On Sept. 8, 2004, police found Yolanda's purse, keys, and other personal items in two separate storm drains in Jamestown—one at the intersection of 8th and Monroe and the other near the intersection of 6th and Jefferson. All of the items were sent to a forensics lab so that they could be examined for fingerprints and DNA evidence.

Roughly one month later, police arrested Michael Watson on unrelated stalking charges, which included one count of official misconduct, two counts of stalking, two counts of harassment, and four counts of aggravated harassment.

"It's certainly disturbing to find out that something has gone on and that it's been going on over a period of time," Capt. Lee Davies of the Jamestown Police told WKBW.com. "It's certainly problematic, and we want to make sure that we take steps to ensure that in the future any of that type of information would come forward much more quickly."

Watson was released after posting a $10,000 bond. Investigators said the charges were not related to Yolanda's case; however, they did say that he was considered a "person of interest."

Police also named Clarence "Carl" Carte, the father of Yolanda's youngest child, a "person of interest" in the case. According to police, Carte had been seen at a gas station across the street from the Family Dollar store the night Yolanda disappeared. In the weeks that followed Yolanda's disappearance, Carte was allegedly arrested on a probation violation. The outcome of that case remains unknown.

On Sept. 10, 2006, hunters discovered human remains in a state forest in the Town of Charlotte, which were subsequently identified as Yolanda Bindics. During a press conference, Chautauqua County District Attorney David Foley officially announced that Yolanda's death was a homicide; however, he declined to comment on the cause of death.

Yolanda's remains were kept at a forensics lab in Erie, Pa., until November 2007, when they were finally turned over to the family. On Nov. 7, 2007, Yolanda was laid to rest in Holy Cross Cemetery in Lackawanna.

The unrelated case against Michael Watson, 38, continued until June 3, 2008, when he accepted an Alford plea to a single misdemeanor charge of official misconduct. An Alford plea is a legal plea in which the defendant maintains his innocence but admits that there may be sufficient evidence that could result in a conviction.

On Aug. 1, 2008, Watson was sentenced to three years' probation. During the sentencing hearing, State Supreme Court Justice Richard Kloch told Watson that he had misused his authority as a police officer.

"You admit to having sex while in uniform; that is not what an officer is supposed to do. This is not what a gentleman does, and you know it," Kloch said.

As a result of the ruling, Watson will never again be able to work as a police officer.

Watson, who had no prior criminal record, continues to claim his innocence with regard to the misconduct charge and the disappearance of Yolanda Bindics. According to his attorney, Watson has consented to and passed a lie detector test in regard to Yolanda's case. His attorney also claims that he has a solid alibi for his client's whereabouts during that time period.

Clarence Carte also maintains his innocence in Yolanda's disappearance.

As of this writing, Yolanda's case remains unsolved. A Web site devoted to the case, Findyolanda.com, has fallen silent since her funeral. Perhaps the pain of the unknown has become too much for her family to maintain it. In one of her last public statements, given to Buffalonews.com in August 2007, Yolanda's mother, Patricia Bindics, spoke about the heartache she has suffered since her daughter's death.

"I wish Yolanda were here today to see the strides her children have taken," Patricia said. "I wish Yolanda were still enjoying the warm summer breezes, the beautiful sights and memories, the hopes of wonderful years she had ahead of her.

"About what happened to her and the person responsible? I believe someone needs to be held accountable for the death of our daughter and my grandchildren's mother."

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for taking Yolanda Bindics' life. Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI at 716-484-7085 or Crimestoppers at 716-856-5600.

Comments

[Dr. X]

Both of those guys look like "Real" Winners.
What about the father(s) of the other 3 kids?

[Searching4theLost]

So many young mothers, so many motherless children. Such a tragedy. Having lost my mother during my teenage years, I know the pain these children must suffer, and it is unbearable. I pray that someday, someone is brought to justice for Yolanda's murder. I pray for peace for her family. Thanks for bringing some light to her case.

[cb]

"Roughly one month later, police arrested Michael Watson on unrelated stalking charges, which included one count of official misconduct, two counts of stalking, two counts of harassment, and four counts of aggravated harassment."

So where is this guy now? Was he stalking someone who knew him , or a complete stranger? Is he still technically on the police force?

What happened with the fingerprint and DNA testing? Has Watson gone to trial yet?

You never know if they may be related. There was that horrible case of the creepy man in Syracuse who was abducting and imprisoning women and even after released , police were disregarding statements from the victims. It took awhile for them to put the pieces together.

And what of the "friend" of Corrie Anderson who worked at the car dealership? Outside of the estranged husband, he is the next most likely candidate that would need to be ruled out as a person of interest because he was probably the last person to see her alive? Any new info on that, or her relationship with her ex? Was their separation highly acrimonious?

[cb]

I just saw the rest of your info regarding Watson. It's weird, but sometimes it appears that I don't get the full post at once...sorry

BTW, here is some new info on the Leah Walsh case:
Sounds like there may be some anger management issues in the family, in general:

Brother arrested trying to see teacher murder suspect
http://www.news12.com/LI/topstories/article?id=220243
PLAY THE VIDEO Play the video
(11/04/08) EAST MEADOW - The brother of the Bethpage man accused of killing his wife is now behind bars.

Thomas Walsh was arrested Monday at the Nassau County Correctional Center. Officers say he started a fight with jail guards when he tried to visit his brother outside of visiting hours.

Thomas Walsh was held overnight at the 3rd precinct before he faced a judge Tuesday. He was arraigned on charges of criminal trespassing, obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest.

Walsh, police said, is the brother of William Walsh, who's accused of strangling his wife during a fight about allegations he cheated on her and then trying to make it look as though she was a victim of random roadside violence.

Special education teacher Leah Walsh's body was found along a highway last week.

William Walsh says he didn't kill his wife. He's applied for a court-appointed attorney as he fights a murder charge.
Thomas Walsh will be back in court on Thursday. If convicted, he faces a year behind bars.

[John Lloyd Scharf]

When the crucial evidence is a DNA match, I ask the following questions:

Are they going to do FULL DNA TESTING??? IF they do not do full testing, it is all for naught.

Not all DNA tests are created equal.

I would like to know how the DNA sample(s) in this case were tested. Were they a CODIS/ autosomal test? YDNA test? Or mtDNA test? How many markers were used? If a mtDNA test was done, was a full genome sequencing done?

Is it a CODIS test? The CODIS system has been tested and there are perfect matches within the database of different persons.

A study of the Arizona CODIS database carried out in 2005 showed that approximately 1 in every 228 profiles in the database matched another profile in the database at nine or more loci, that approximately 1 in every 1,489 profiles matched at 10 loci, 1 in 16,374 profiles matched at 11 loci, and 1 in 32,747 matched at 12 loci.

Is it a mitochondrial DNA test which matches everyone who descended from the same maternal ancestor in the last 20 generations as THE DEFENDENT(S)?

Is it a Y Chromosome test which matches everyone who has the same paternal lineage for the past 400 years?

There may be a way to combine all of these that will resolve the identity to one person, but is what they have beyond a reasonable doubt unless they do FULL testing?

-Edited by David Lohr to add: they used dental records to identify Yolanda-

[John Lloyd Scharf]

YET ANOTHER CASE WHERE DNA IS MAGICALLY SUFFICIENT:

When the crucial evidence is a DNA match, I ask the following questions:

Are they going to do FULL DNA TESTING??? IF they do not do full testing, it is all for naught.

Not all DNA tests are created equal.

I would like to know how the DNA sample(s) in this case were tested. Were they a CODIS/ autosomal test? YDNA test? Or mtDNA test? How many markers were used? If a mtDNA test was done, was a full genome sequencing done?

Is it a CODIS test? The CODIS system has been tested and there are perfect matches within the database of different persons.

A study of the Arizona CODIS database carried out in 2005 showed that approximately 1 in every 228 profiles in the database matched another profile in the database at nine or more loci, that approximately 1 in every 1,489 profiles matched at 10 loci, 1 in 16,374 profiles matched at 11 loci, and 1 in 32,747 matched at 12 loci.

Is it a mitochondrial DNA test which matches everyone who descended from the same maternal ancestor in the last 20 generations as THE DEFENDENT(S)?

Is it a Y Chromosome test which matches everyone who has the same paternal lineage for the past 400 years?

There may be a way to combine all of these that will resolve the identity to one person, but is what they have beyond a reasonable doubt unless they do FULL testing?

[Loretta]

So sad and tragic for Yolanda's family and children.

Not so sad for the officer that he can no longer wear the uniform. He gives "pig" a whole new meaning.

[John]

Let's not jump to conclusions regarding the former police officer. Yes, he may have been guilty of misconduct, but that is no reason to assume that he is guilty of murder. I think that to do so is a disservice to Yolanda.

[JohnLloydScharf]

In Illinois, 903 pairs of profiles matching at nine or more loci turned up in a database of about 220,000. In Maryland, with a "database of fewer than 30,000 profiles, 32 pairs matched at nine or more loci," the Times reports. Three of the pairs were "perfect" matches, identical at 13 out of 13 loci.

http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/26025944.html

The term "partial match" is used to mean that two profiles match at some subset of their loci. For example, a 9-locus partial match between two profiles means that they match at some nine loci and fail to match at the remaining four loci. The Arizona DNA Offender database contained 65,493 profiles, and the following partial matches were observed:

Observed partial matches in Arizona data
number of matching loci number of partial matches
9 of 13 for 122
10 of 13 for 20
11 of 13 for 1
12 of 13 for 1

http://dna-view.com/ArizonaMatch.htm

On November 6th of 2008, a jury and all the alternates (14 people) found Josa Murillo-Sosa not guilty of killing two woman in south Nashville.

For one juror, Matthew Slater, he said it came down to the lack of evidence. Slater said he felt the DNA didn't prove anything, as it only had five points out of 13.

"Beyond a reasonable doubt" means you should be willing to accept the same consequences as the defendant should the defendant later bexonderated.

http://www.wsmv.com/news/17973779/detail.html

[Margaret Bindics]

I just wanted to say a huge "thank you" to David Lohr for keeping my sister, Yolanda's story in the light. I would love to get in touch with you to discuss my book I'm hoping to have published in the near future in regards to Yolanda and the many others that have gone missing. I would like to also thank all the ones that continue to pray for my family in hopes that there WILL be JUSTICE.

[Edo]

What was Carl Carte doing at the store that night? How far away does he live away from Yolanda? Why did he go to that specific store? How did he get there? Was he seen after there more than once at the grocery store? Where did he go after hes been at the store? Who was he with? Around what time was he at the location where he stayed at? What i beleive, that Yolanda while she was driving to pick up groceries, carl carte came up to her asking for a ride or trying to talk to her,(maybe about getting back with him). She probablly refused and told him to leave her alone, he probablly asked her to give him a ride somewhere. While driving him to his location she has been either attacked while driving or she pulled over for UNKNOWN reason. While she got out of the car he attacked her, and killed her.

[jamestwn7]

in regards to the comment by edo posted feb 11,2009, obviously edo has no clue as to the situation as yolanda did not have to drive to the grocery store as they are in the same building as her work in fact they are right next to each other.as for the post from edo is nothing but a fictitious story that he dreamed up. not being based on any facts.i say this because i have known both yolanda and carl for several years.although this is a sad situation there are many things that are not being said,maybe out of respect for the families loss or for some other reason.it is time that everything was out in the open.. yolanda was a sweet person but her lifestyle was not at all that of an average person.