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Jeb's Taliban Hard At Work In Florida Covering-Up Murder, Pushing Drugs And Spreading Climate Of Terror, Says Sarasota Man Who Claims Father's Murder Being Hidden By Gov. Jeb Bush Steve Esdale has labored every day for three years, trying to get to the bottom of how and why his father, Murray Cohen, died under strange circumstances involving a Bolivian undercover DEA agent now working as a Probation Officer in Florida. 6 Apr 2006 By Greg Szymanski
According to Steve Esdale of Florida, 'Jeb's Taliban' is hard at work in his state covering-up murders, pushing drugs and spreading a general climate of fear and terror, claiming Gov. Jeb Bush is "real the kingpin of crime" and Florida's No. 1 "undercover crime boss." Esdale has stepped-out on a dangerous limb with these accusations not because he has a political bone to pick with the Bush family or because he is a whacked-out liberal on an anti-Republican campaign. He has stepped out on a limb because he wants to get at the truth behind his father's untimely death. And he has come to these conclusions after three years of serious investigation and first hand knowledge obtained after trying to get to the bottom of his father, Murray Cohen's, strange death officially listed heart failure. But Esdale believes otherwise, saying his father was killed with a strong dose of Corazol, a drug made in Bulgaria to induce seizures in rats, given to his 71-year-old father by a Bolivian undercover agent working with the DEA to push drugs to children in Florida. The story sounds like something out of a mysterious spy novel, but in 21st century America truth really is stranger than fiction, especially when dealing with the likes of Gov. Bush, another master of Illuminati deception placed in a position of power. After a pain staking search for the truth every day for three long years, Esdale is still unable to pinpoint an exact motive for his father's murder, but claims he "heard something he shouldn't have" related to illegal drug running and/or was killed for his money, as the Bolivian undercover spy now owns his father's Sarasota house and property. "I hope no one else ever has to go through what my family has been put through for the last 3 years, and what we are having to endure as justice remains unserved," said Esdale recently on Greg Szymanski's radio show, the Investigative Journal. For copies of Esdale's broadcast go to the archives section at both www.rbnlive.com and www.gcnlive.com. "This is one of the worst cases of organized public corruption and obstruction of justice in U.S. history. The government is now allowing the murder of our own citizens." And Esdale appears to be making these statements after sifting through the cold, hard facts, as he has collected more than enough probable cause evidence that even a first year law student could easily convince a jury his father was killed. In fact, after looking solely at how the case was covered-up and how Esdale has been stonewalled and harassed by authorities all the way up to the Governor's office, the only way to summarize what has happened is to say "it stinks to high heaven." "My father died of what law enforcement has ruled a natural death. However, I believe that my father, Murray B. Cohen, was murdered by his wife of just three weeks, Maria Cohen. My belief is based upon a number of things, one of which is a forensic audio analysis of a cassette tape copy of the 911 call made by Maria Cohen on the day of my father's death," said Esdale, adding he learned Maria has strong ties with Bolivian law enforcement and was working as a DEA undercover agent, as well as being given a front-job for the state of Florida in the juvenile division of the court system. "Maria is much younger than my father and I think he must have heard something he shouldn't have about law enforcement or the Governor's ties to promoting and sponsoring drug dealing. He was only married to her three weeks and from the facts covered-up by authorities, I am firmly convinced she killed him. Why are authorities protecting her? What are they hiding? Why have they tampered with evidence? Why have they filed false police reports? Why has Jeb Bush refused to mount a serious investigation after I made him aware of what was going on? Why after criticizing him for not forcing an investigation, did a swat team come out to my house and intimidate my wife and I? Why are they making me out to be a criminal for wanting to get at the truth and the real criminal now owns my father's house, something he worked hard for all his life? "Another major and suspicious concern is the bottle of Corazol found at the death scene, a drug made in Bulgaria used to induce seizures in rats and one the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not heard of. "I also had an audio analysis performed by GaideCom, Inc., a Long Island-based firm which also transcribed every word of the 911call, including conversations that took place in the background of the call. It clearly reveals my father was killed and the story Maria told to authorities is a fabricated lie. This alone should be enough to open up a new investigation, but authorities are covering it up. "The background conversation showed my father was still alive after Maria said he was already dead and it showed how he was very uncooperative with the 911 dispatcher. Nothing added up and that is why I had the call verified by audio experts." To verify Esdale's statements, one of GaideCom, Inc., owners Susan Gaide, who has over 20 years experience in audio analysis, said there was no doubt in her mind Maria should be considered a suspect in Cohen's murder. Esdale provided the following detailed analysis of why he thinks his father was murdered: "Law enforcement ruled my father's death as a "natural death," I can clearly hear him intermittently arguing with his wife throughout the duration of the 911 call, and you can hear his wife ordering him to "GIVE UP". "Medications and other substances were found in my father's home, including Corazol - a substance that was taken off the market by the Food and Drug Administration years ago. In fact, when I called the FDA, they didn't even recognize the name of the substance, nor its chemical name - Pentylenetetrazole. Corazol, which is manufactured solely in Bulgaria, was found in my father's home in a bottle bearing only a hand-written label. And, the bottle was empty, an indication that a significant amount of the substance had been taken or had been administered. Corazol is known to induce heart attacks, respiratory failure and seizures. And, what did Maria claim was happening to my father when she called 911? "My husband is having a heart attack," she said. "Other "green pills" - which were misidentified as Bufferin - were also found in my father's bedroom, in a bottle with a hand-written label. I have checked with the manufacturer of Bufferin and they have confirmed that Bufferin is not available in a little green capsule stamped with a number beginning with the letter "Z." Law enforcement has chosen not to question this, either! "Maria called 911 and purportedly followed CPR instructions, which, it turns out, she really didn't need - because as a police officer and trained nurse, she already knows CPR! She begins the 911 call by saying that my father "?is having a heart attack," then just moments later says that he is "not breathing" and "?is totally gone." Yet, we hear him clearly talking to her in the background each and every time she walks away from the phone to "attend" to him. At one point, the 911 dispatcher instructs Maria to get my father onto the floor in order to perform CPR. Maria walks away from the phone, goes into the bedroom and screams at my father, "Lie on the floor!" He responds with, "Why? ... I can't stand." Moments later, Maria gets back on the phone with the 911 dispatcher and says, "Okay, I got him on the floor." "Towards the end of the call, when she purports to have performed CPR on my father, she walks away from the phone for a mere 6.25 seconds and then gets back on the phone and tells the 911 operator, "Okay, I did." Medical professionals have confirmed that it would take much longer than 6.25 seconds to administer CPR - even if you are trained in CPR - especially when you have to walk 30 feet to get to the victim! "During the course of the 911 call, you can clearly hear Maria screaming at father, "Give it up!" This happens more than once during the five-minute phone call. And, at one point, you hear my father say to Maria, "You want me dead." When Maria gets back on the phone with the 911 dispatcher, the 911 dispatcher asks, "Ma'am, what were you doing?" Maria, in an attempt to confuse the 911 dispatcher, answers, "We were sleeping. We were taking a siesta." "Steven J. Beninati, First Vice President - Investments for Smith Barney/Citigroup in Manhattan, called my father on January 13, 2003 (the day of Mr. Cohen's death) for a pre-arranged telephone conference with he was supposed to have with my father. Mr. Beninati's call was made at 5:35pm, which is five minutes past the time at which Maria claims to have found my father dead. However, Mr. Beninati says that he clearly heard my father and Maria vehemently arguing. As Mr. Beninati was my father's long-term financial adviser, he is quite familiar with the sound of my father's voice and is certain that it was my father who was arguing with Maria. "Maria was awarded my father's entire estate, despite the existence of a prenuptial agreement (the existence of which she was untruthful about in documents submitted to the court and in videotaped depositions) and despite the fact that she has never produced a copy of a valid marriage license purportedly obtained in her native Bolivia, where she and my father got married and honeymooned in December 2002. According to my father's prenuptial, the bulk of the estate was to go to my 13-year old son, Ryan Esdale. "No autopsy was ordered, despite the fact that my father technically died "unattended," and despite the fact that questionable substances were found in his home. "Maria's account of that day's events has changed numerous times. Her first story was that she and my father fell asleep on the bed at 4:30pm and that she was awakened at 5:30pm by a phone call, which caused her to find my father dead next to her in bed. Later on, she recanted that story and said that she and my father had been working in the yard for hours and that my father said he felt tired. In this version of the story, she claims that she told my father to sit in the recliner and watch television, and she would make him a cup of coffee. When she returned to the chair, she purportedly found him slumped over, dead in the chair. Yet, when paramedics arrived, they found my father on the bedroom floor, wedged between the bed and the wall - a space of no more than three feet! If he died slumped over in the chair, how did this petite woman get my 225 lb. father into the bedroom and onto the floor in the position in which he was found? "When paramedics arrived on the scene, Maria shouted to them, "Come in!" (This can be clearly heard in the recording of the 911 call.) I don't know of too many people who lie down to take a nap with their front door open. I know my father would not have done something like that. The front door was open because my father had just come in from outside when the arguing between him and Maria erupted (hence, Mr. Beninnati's "ear witness" account of a domestic dispute in progress when he called my father that day and Tracy Weeks' eye witness account of my father having been at his mailbox at the time Maria claims that he was already dead)." In his three-year investigation, Esdale has compiled a list of people involved in the murder and subsequent cover-up, saying the following parties are most likely guilty of one or more offenses, including murder, altering evidence, perjury, obstruction of justice, altering witness statements, witness tampering, falsifying police reports: Sarasota Sheriff's Office (SSO): Sheriff William F. ("Bullwinkle") Balkwill Major Kevin Gooding Captain Jeffrey Bell Detective Chris Hallisey Detective David Scott Sergeant Richards Deputy Mark Eve Detective Kim NorthfieldGabrielle Taylor, Esq. (Former General Counsel, SSO) Ann Barrett, 911 Dispatcher Ann Pingel, 911 Call Center Supervisor Sarasota County: Dr. Russell Vega, Sarasota County Medical Examiner Megan Simerak, Investigator, Sarasota County Medical Examiner's Office David Winter Halter, Investigator, Sarasota County Medical Examiner's Office FDLE: Chris Siemers John Stevens Ed De Balasco Steven Emerson Andrew Rose Mike O'Connell Guy Tunnell, Commissioner Richard Lober, Chief Inspector David Perez FBI: Agent Lynn Billings (Sarasota FBI) Agent Cory Nelson (Fort Myers FBI) Agent Tracy Carbonaro (Miami FBI) Agent Nakasoni (Quantico Bay FBI) Agent Lancer (Quantico Bay FBI) The Sarasota Courts and Lawyers: Judge Nancy Donnellan Judge Rick DeFuria Steven Chase, Esq. (Maria's attorney) Abel & Band, Attorneys at Law (Steven Chase's law firm) The Governor's Office: Governor Jeb Bush Victoria Brennan, General Counsel, Governor's Office State Attorney's Office: Earl Moreland, State Attorney Dennis Nalis, Assistant State Attorney Specifically regarding Gov. Bush and his unwillingness to get to the bottom of Esdale's claims, he added: "Governor Bush has been provided proof that his Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has falsified information in order to protect both my father's killer and members of SSO who have been involved in the cover up, including his Republican ally Sheriff Balkwill," "Governor Jeb Bush has proven that he does not value life or families-unless it satisfies his political agenda or helps his friend's families or his own. My story is proof. Governor Bush told my family that he cannot get involved in our case because the Florida Statutes don't allow him to. "Recently, in North Florida, the murder of a 14 year old young man was captured on video. Governor Bush had no choice but to do the right thing in that case. But why has he not intervened in my father's case? "Why has he not looked into why my father was poisoned with a banned substance called Corazol by his wife of three weeks almost half his age. The killer is a Juvenile Probation Officer for Sarasota County and an employee of the State of Florida. Why hasn't he looked into the fact the Sarasota Sheriff's Department and FDLE altered the recording to protect my father's killer and enable Governor Bush to protect his political allies who are involved in this obstruction of justice and murder cover up." http://www.arcticbeacon.com/6-Apr-2006.html MURDER COVER UP IN FLORIDA BY SARASOTA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
With Liberty and Justice for Sale™ Anyone who has lost a family member or close friend knows the feeling of intense loss and bereavement. This site is not intended to solicit condolences but, rather, is intended to bring to public light a criminal wrong doing that has gone without justice. All of the information contained on this website is matter of public record. I hope no one else ever has to go through what my family has been put through for the last 3 years, and what we are having to endure as justice remains unserved. This is one of the worst cases of organized public corruption and obstruction of justice in U.S. history. The government is now allowing the murder of our own citizens. I invite the press and any related civil liberties support agencies to Email Me. Or, contact us by mail at:
Steven Esdale
1112 Weston Road
Suite #151
Weston, FL 33326
Please read the summary of my story below and then follow the links to the evidence that I have uncovered. And, if you believe that someone you love was murdered and that the murderer has been protected and allowed to go free, contact me and I will try to help you, too. Restore "With liberty and justice for all." SUMMARY:
My father died on January 13, 2003 of what law enforcement has ruled a “natural death.” However, I believe that my father, Murray B. Cohen, was murdered by his wife of just three weeks, Maria Cohen. My belief is based upon a number of things, one of which is a forensic audio analysis of a cassette tape copy of the 911 call made by Maria Cohen on the day of my father’s death. Another major and suspicious concern is the bottle of Corazol found at the death scene, a drug made in Bulgaria used to induce seizures in rats and one the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not heard of.
The audio analysis was performed by GaideCom, Inc., a Long Island-based firm which also transcribed every word of the call, including conversation that took place in the background of the call. That background conversation was between Maria Cohen and my allegedly “dead” father as a quite confused 911 dispatcher remained “hanging” on the line, waiting for Maria to return to the phone. The trouble is, law enforcement has covered up this and other evidence that would otherwise point to a homicide.
believe that my father, Murray Cohen, was murdered on January 13, 2003. I believe the documentation and recorded evidence shows a criminal wrongdoing, punishable by full extent of the law in the state of Florida.
My full story of my father's death - investigation by the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, Sarasota, FL. Who is the Real Maria? - click to watch the video Transcript of 911 call Enhanced, Complete 911 call with transcript (first click here, then click on the link on the Sarasota Herald-Tribune site) "Give up" being said over and over by Maria Cohen "Give up!" - complete unenhanced version
"Give up!" - complete unenhanced version "You said you were gonna to get me an ambulance, she replies yes" - my father's request
This is how Corazol got in my father's house - Video
Maria Amurrio Cohen claims to know CPR (kind of) - Video
Maria admits to calling my father's friend seeking urgent medical information because he was having a heart attack - Video
Maria states she doesn't remember she thought my father was having a heart attack - Video
More serial lies - Video
Copy of Police Report filed by Sarasota County Sheriff's Office - Page 1
Copy of Police Report filed by Sarasota County Sheriffs Office - Page 2 About Corazol - click to watch the video Read affidavit from my father's cousin, Irene Petres (November 10, 2004), who says that Maria told a different story about the events that took place on the day my father was murdered, saying "...she would bring him a cup of coffee...when she brought him the coffee, he was dead in his chair." Yet, during the 911 call and in her Florida affidavit, Maria said that my father died in bed during an afternoon nap. But, what does the only witness to the murder say? Click here to read the statement from the "ear witness" who called my father for a pre-scheduled telephone conference while he was being murdered by Maria placed January 13, 2003. 
The parties listed below are guilty of one or more of the following offenses: murder cover-up, altering evidence, perjury, obstruction of justice, altering witness statements, witness tampering, falsifying police reports:
Sarasota Sheriff's Office (SSO):
Sheriff William F. ("Bullwinkle") Balkwill Major Kevin Gooding Captain Jeffrey Bell Detective Chris Hallisey Detective David Scott
Sergeant Richards Deputy Mark Eve Detective Kim Northfield Gabrielle Taylor, Esq. (Former General Counsel, SSO) Ann Barrett, 911 Dispatcher Ann Pingel, 911 Call Center Supervisor The "unmasked" second 911 dispatcher (the 4th voice in the 911 call, the one who says, "I should beat you up.") Sarasota County: Dr. Russell Vega, Sarasota County Medical Examiner Megan Simerak, Investigator, Sarasota County Medical Examiner's Office David Winter Halter, Investigator, Sarasota County Medical Examiner's Office
FDLE:
Chris Siemers John Stevens Ed De Balasco Steven Emerson Andrew Rose Mike O'Connell Guy Tunnell, Commissioner Richard Lober, Chief Inspector David Perez FBI: Agent Lynn Billings (Sarasota FBI) Agent Cory Nelson (Fort Myers FBI) Agent Tracy Carbonaro (Miami FBI) Agent Nakasoni (Quantico Bay FBI) Agent Lancer (Quantico Bay FBI) The Sarasota Courts and Lawyers: Judge Nancy Donnellan Judge Rick DeFuria Steven Chase, Esq. (Maria's attorney) Abel & Band, Attorneys at Law (Steven Chase's law firm) The Governor's Office: Governor Jeb Bush Victoria Brennan, General Counsel, Governor's Office State Attorney's Office: Earl Moreland, State Attorney Dennis Nalis, Assistant State Attorney Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Matthew Doig, Reporter Chris Davis, Editor Tom Arthur, Editor Deb Windsor, Editor-in-chief Others: Bonne Scheflin, Esq. Ronnie Rose Dick Reilly
MY STORY AS IT HAS UNFOLDED (IN REVERSE CHRONOLOGY): WHAT DO MARTIN ANDERSON, TERRY SHIAVO AND MY FAMILY HAVE IN COMMON? READ THE ARTICLE TO FIND OUT. | Click here to read article published in New York's North Country Gazette. |
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE CONFIRMS LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN FDLE (AND WHY) | Click here to read article published in the Orlando Sentinel. |
See How Governor Jeb Bush Has Disrespected My Family By Violating Our Florida Constitutional Rights and the Sworn Oath He Took as Governor Maria's Statement to Law Enforcement Was That My Father Laid Down to Take a Nap at 4:30 PM and Never Woke Up. See What the Neighbor Said in a Sworn Deposition: EXCERPTS FROM STEVE ESDALE'S INTERVIEWS WITH RBN RADIO LIVE'S GREG SZYMANSKI Click here to hear Steve Esdale and Greg Szymanski talk about the Esdale's encounter with FDLE on March 2, 2006 Click here to read Greg Szymanski's full story on the Arctic Beacon |
THE NATION'S TOP AUDIO SPECIALIST CONFIRMS WHAT GAIDECOM, INC. UNCOVERED FOR ME OVER TWO YEARS AGO... | ...That my father's "loving wife" of just 3 weeks reported to 911 that he was dead when in actuality, she ordered him to "Lie on the floor" and "Give Up." Click here to read Paul Ginsberg's sworn affidavit confirming the statements in GaideCom's transcript |
A WARNING TO ALL FLORIDA FAMILIES: GOVERNOR JEB BUSH ALLOWS FIRST DEGREE MURDER TO BE COMMITTED IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA WHEN IT SUITS HIS AGENDA TO DO SO, OR WHEN HE NEEDS TO PROTECT HIS FRIENDS. Governor Bush and the corrupt law enforcement members who are listed above as participants in the obstruction of justice are allowing the murderer of a minor's grandfather to steal the inheritance that his Grandfather intended to be used for his college fund. | Click here to read letter from Maria to Judge Economou |
FDLE IS NOTHING BUT A PRIVATE COVERUP SERVICE FOR GOVERNOR JEB BUSH AND HIS GANG OF CORRUPT LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS WHO HAVE SEEN TO IT THAT A MURDERER CONTINUES TO GO UNPUNISHED Another Florida Family Claims Law Enforcement Is "Doing All They Can To Make Sure Nobody Is Held Accountable For A Murder" WHY DOES GOVERNOR BUSH INTERVENE IN SOME SITUATIONS, WHILE CHOOSING TO IGNORE OTHERS? For three years my family and I have requested that Governor Bush appoint a special prosecutor to investigate my father’s death. Many times, Governor Bush has been provided proof that my father was murdered. Many times, he has been provided proof that the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office (SSO) has, in fact, been protecting my father’s killer and obstructing justice. Many times, Governor Bush has been provided proof that his Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has falsified information in order to protect both my father’s killer and members of SSO who have been involved in the cover up, including his Republican ally Sheriff Balkwill. Governor Jeb Bush has proven that he does not value life or families—unless it satisfies his political agenda or helps his friend’s families or his own. My story is proof. Governor Bush told my family that he cannot get involved in our case because the Florida Statutes don’t allow him to. (Click Here) Read the article in which Governor Bush contradicts himself. (Click Here) In North Florida, the murder of a 14 year old young man was captured on video. Governor Bush had no choice but to do the right thing in that case. On the west coast of Florida, an elderly man (my father) was poisoned (with a banned substance called Corazol) by his wife of three weeks almost half his age. The killer is a Juvenile Probation Officer for Sarasota County and an employee of the State of Florida. There is a 911 recording which captures my father’s voice as he is being murdered. The Sarasota Sheriff’s Department and FDLE altered the recording (which has been proven), to protect my father’s killer and enable Governor Bush to protect his political allies who are involved in this obstruction of justice and murder cover up. Governor Jeb Bush cannot do the right thing in my case because his political loyalties take priority over the laws of our state and our country. Who gave Governor Bush the right to play God? ~Steven Cohen Esdale |
My Family’s HARROWING Encounter with the florida department of law enforcement on March 2, 2006: | Click here to read the Esdale's full account of their harrowing encounter with FDLE on March 2, 2006 |
RESPONSE TO LETTER FROM GOVERNOR JEB BUSH'S OFFICE, DATED FEBRUARY 23, 2006 Click here to read Steve Esdale's response to Governor Bush's letter of February 23, 2006 Click here to read Governor Bush's letter of February 23, 2006 Click here to read letter from FDLE to Governor Bush Click here to read supporting Affidavit from former Sarasota Medical Examiner, William Anderson, M.D. |
GOVERNOR HYPOCRITE (New documents added on March 26, 2006) Click here to read press release Bush Announces Initiative to Combat Public Corruption Click here to read second letter from Governor Bush Click here to read letter in which Governor Bush denies special prosecutor NEW Click here to read letter from Fox-13's Doug Smith regarding Steve's request for a special prosecutor NEW Click here to read Steve Esdale's request for a special prosecutor NEW Click here to read Steve Esdale's second request for a special prosecutor NEW |
RESPONSE TO 'GERALDO AT LARGE' BROADCAST, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2006 BREAKING NEWS!!! Attorney Steven Chase and Abel & Band Have Abandoned Maria!!!! | Click here to read Steven Chase's Motion for Leave to Withdraw! |
BREAKING NEWS!!! This is Something You Don't Want to Miss!!! | Geraldo Rivera investigates my father's murder on Geraldo at Large (Fox network) on Monday, February 20, 2006!! |
What's FDLE Going to Do Now? | Click here to read Letter From Governor Jeb Bush's Office to Steve Esdale Dated January 26, 2006 Click here to read Steve Esdale's Response to Letter from Jeb Bush's Office Dated January 26, 2006 |
This Is What Honest, Clean, And Uncorrupt Law Enforcement Think Of Me Where I Live | Click here to read Letter from Bernie Holler, Senior Prosecuting Attorney with the Special Prosecutions and Public Corruption Unit for the State Attorney's Office in Broward County |
Why Is My Father's Best Friend Scared To Speak The Truth? What's Really Going On In Sarasota? Will Governor Bush Finally See Through the Cover-Up????? | Click here to read Mr. Lord's letter to Governor Bush |
Could My Father's Killer Be Part of This Web of Corruption? And Is That Why My Father's Murder is Being Covered Up by Law Enforcement? Click here to read The Narco News Bulletin from January 9, 2006 to read The Narco News Bulletin from January 9, 2006 |
How Can Agent Rose Say He Hears Nothing in the Background of the 911 Call When Both GaideCom, Inc. and Paul Ginsberg Hear my Father's Killer Clearly Telling Him to "Give Up" and my Father Answering Her? Why Is F.D.L.E. Allowed To Continue Protecting My Father's Killer? Why Is F.D.L.E. Permitted To Obstruct Justice? Why Is F.D.L.E. Investigator Andrew Rose Allowed To Falsify His Report? Click here to read FDLE's Report. See The Latest Proof that FDLE is Obstructing Justice. Click here to read second affidavit from William Tidwell. |
Why Did a "Bad Copy" of The 911 Call Even Exist? Why Didn't The Herald Tribune Seek That Answer? Sheriff's Office Gives Wrong Tape click here to read article Sheriff's Office Gives Wrong Tape click here to read article 2 Sheriff's Office Gives Wrong Tape click here to read article 3 |
Why Didn't F.D.L.E Even Question Mr. Ginsberg About His Public Statements That Were Very Incriminating? Why Did The Herald Tribune Archive This Article 4 Hours After Being Posted On Their Site, When Their Normal Policy Is 14 Days? How Come Every Time The Herald Tribune Prints A New Article About My Father's Story, They Deliberately Make Sure There Is No Link To The Story? Ginsberg hears dead man speak, page 1 Ginsberg hears dead man speak, page 2 Ginsberg hears dead man speak, page 3 Ginsberg hears dead man speak, page 4 Ginsberg hears dead man speak, page 5 |
Mr. Chase and My Father's Killer Finally Made Their Biggest Slip-Up! AND, Whose Back Is Good Ole' Earl Moreland Covering For? | According to SSO, FDLE and the FBI, the voices heard in the background of the 911 call made on the day of my father's death were generated by a television or a radio. Read how Mr. Chase revealed in court on January 5, 2006 that it WAS in fact Maria talking in the background of the call -- talking to my allegedly dead father! Mr. Lord's Affidavit page 1, page 2 According to Sarasota County Medical Examiner Russell Vega, State Attorney Earl Moreland says that if Corazol were found in my father's body following exhumation and forensic examination, this would be insufficient evidence for filing criminal charges. How can that possibly be????????? Whose back is Good Ole' Earl Moreland covering?????? FDLE Letter referencing Mr. Moreland's statement page 1, page 2 |
Steve Esdale Makes Another Request for Help From the FBI Response to 911 Dispatcher Ann Barrett's Sworn Deposition Letters from Steve Esdale to Governor Bush and Maria's Attorney Was the Marriage Between My Father and Maria Invalid??? Why would the law firm of Abel & Band make this statement to my father's killer if it wasn't true? |
In the Press Updates - Breaking NEWS!
Video Updates - as seen on TV!
Breaking NEWS!
"Is my Father's killer being protected because she is part of this group"?
Sarasota Newsbrief: Sarasota Police Lure Would-Be Drug Dealers for Profit
Fox 5 in New York aired the story...
On December 13 at 10 pm, investigative reporter Mark Joyella of WNYW covered the story. Fox 13 Tampa Bay aired the story...
Investigative Reporter Doug Smith of the Fox News station WTVT aired a segment Monday, Nov 7 on the 10 o'clock news.
Justice finally coming to light after nearly three year effort by son...
The Herald Tribune's latest story announces "One of the nation's top forensic audio specialists said he can hear a man ask for an ambulance in the background of a 911 call, even though the only man in the room at the time was supposed to be dead." The report by Paul Ginsberg, who was hired by the Herald-Tribune to analyze the call, casts new doubt on the official version of Murray Cohen's Jan. 13, 2003, death. Maria Cohen's attorney, Steven Chase, said Cohen was unavailable for comment.
Read the full article here: Analysis of 911 tape revives questions about man's death A Message to Matthew Doig, Author of “Gov. Bush sparks review of Cohen case” - by Steven J. Cohen Esdale
Paul Ginsberg's, President Professional Audio Laboratories, Inc. - examination conclusion from the newly produced Sarasota cassette. "The Good Ole Boys Network" is the reason I cannot get justice..." as seen on http://www.annettemartini.us
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In pursuit of justice, I now face defamation of my character?
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement report - where they call me mentally unstable and "be on the lookout flyers" have been distributed to the SSO and all FDLE field offices
FDLE Public Records Request - my request for an unedited version
This Is How The FDLE Report Came To Me Originally (censored) - mentally unstable and "be on the lookout flyers" sections are blacked out
FDLE response stating that no flyers exist (this conflicts directly with the original FDLE letter stating flyers were sent to the Sarasota Sheriffs Office - SSO)
Sarasota County Sheriffs Office Sheriff Balkwill's response - my request for whereabouts of comment on mental stability
Sarasota County Sheriffs Office General Counsel's response - regarding the mental health statement in the FDLE letter FDLE Report - SA Siemers carefully crafted report about locating the 911 operator with the exclusion of mentioning the 911 operator did remember the call
Click below to see "What State Attorney Earl Moreland Did For Me When I Went To Him For Help"
Malicious charges brought against me - Page 1
Malicious charges brought against me - Page 2
Malicious charges brought against me - Page 3
Charges dropped
In the News...
Click here to listen to the audio... - Again, the "obsessed" son uncovers more proof that the Sarasota Sheriff's Department Has Altered The 911 Recording. Audio Specialist Paul Ginsberg Receives Altered Tape. Ginsberg's Credibility Called Into Question.
Click here to read the Sarasota Herald Tribune article - Sheriff's Office gave paper wrong version of 911 tape...The Sheriff's Office had agreed to provide the original tape recording of the 911 call. Instead, the newspaper was given a copy that was at least one generation removed from the original.
Click here to read the editorial rebuttal to "the wrong version of the 911 tape" written by Steve Cohen and addressed to Herald Tribune staff writer, Matthew Doig. |
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| | | | | FBI Findings regarding the Sarasota Sheriff's Dept. and the real 911 recording:
1. FBI - GaideCom Comparison - Page 1
2. FBI - GaideCom Comparison - Page 2
3. FBI - GaideCom Comparison - Page 3
4. FBI - GaideCom Comparison - Page 4
5. Detective Hallisey's incorrect report
Medical Examiner Doctor Vega's Findings Are Extremely Questionable
1. Medical Examiner's report #1 - Page 1
2. Medical Examiner's report #1 - Page 2
3. Medical Examiner's report #1 - Page 3
4. Medical Examiner's report #2 - Page 1
5. Medical Examiner's report #2 - Page 2
6. Rhoda Goodman - Affidavit page 1
7. Rhoda Goodman - Affidavit page 2
8. William H. Nies, Jr. - Affidavit
9. Explanation as to why Corazol was found in my Father's house (See more information on Corazol below...)
Additional Documentation in support of a Suspicious Death of my father:
1. Statement outlining the events of a scheduled conference phone call placed on January 13, 2003 to my father.
2. Transcript of 911 phone call recording - Updated
3. Affirmation of transcript of 911 phone call
4. Death Certificate from Medical Examiner - Note: Cause of death was blacked out on copy provided to me (as seen)
5. Record of medications found at the scene - Includes Corazol (see description below)
6. Copy of Police Report filed by Sarasota County Sheriff's Office - Page 1
7. Copy of Police Report filed by Sarasota County Sheriffs Office - Page 2
8. Phone call to locate 911 operator
9. Phone call to request 911 operator transcripts
10. 911 operator remembers the call with Maria Cohen (the lady that left the phone during the call to talk to my father)
Important note - All the time during my father's verbal responses as recorded on the 911 call, Maria Cohen insisted to the 911 operator that my father was unconscious and unresponsive. The operator kept asking for Maria to respond "Maam, maam... what were you doing?"... in the background you can hear Maria and my father talking.
911 Call
Actual recordings from the 911 phone call between Mrs. Maria Cohen and the operator
(WARNING: These recordings are graphic in nature)
1. "Give up" being said over and over by Maria Cohen
2. "Give up!" - complete unenhanced version
3. "Give up!" - complete unenhanced version
4. "He's not breathing, push him onto the floor"
5. "Tells him to get on the floor"
6. "You said you were gonna to get me an ambulance, she replies yes" - my father's request
7. "You said you were gonna to get me an ambulance" - my father's request (enhanced)
8. Second operator listening in on the call repeats what she heard my father say
9. Finding the 911 operator
10. Finding the 911 operator 2
11. Operator remembers the call
Corazol - Suspicious drug found at the scene of death?
Corazol was on the list of medications taken out of my father's bedroom the day he died. The FDA (food and drug administration) banned Corazol for human consumption in the US in 1998, because it was deemed to be unsafe. Also note that the medical examiner's office & the sheriffs Dept. never felt it important to investigate why this was found in his house.
Corazol information - "It has a direct stimulating effect on virually imporatant centers in medulla oblongata: the respiratory and the vasomotor centers. When applied in higher doses...clonic convulsions may be observed. Its good water solubility leads to quicker absorption and to a quicker and stronger effect...stimulating influence on respiration, the increase of arterial pressure..."
Corazol testing - "Research was conducted studying the peculiarities of development of pharmacological kindling in rats with different tolerance to hypoxia."
Conflicting Statements by Maria Cohen - With the affidavit taken by Irene Petres, please note that this is the Killer's New Jersey version that was told to over 40 people, about the day my father died, and the Florida Sheriff's Dept. found nothing inconsistent with her statements of how he died.
New Jersey affidavit - November 10, 2004
"...she would bring him a cup of coffee...She then told me that when she brought him the coffee, he was dead in his chair."
In listening to the 911 call and recorded transcripts, and in her Florida affidavit, my father was said by Maria A. Cohen to have been in bed when he died).
Meet my father's wife, Maria A. Cohen - Video
This is how Corazol got in my father's house - Video
Maria claims to not know what school she graduated from - Video
Maria Amurrio Cohen claims to know CPR (kind of) - Video
Maria admits to calling my father's friend seeking urgent medical information because he was having a heart attack - Video
Mrs. Cohen states she doesn't remember she thought my father was having a heart attack - Video
More serial lies - Video
Petitioners's (Maria Cohen) Motion for Protective Order
Page 1
Page 2
Subpeona To Depose The 911 Operator
Subpeona Letter
Detective Chris Hallisey's Falsified Timeline and Statements
Explanation of why Detective Hallisey falsified the timeline
Timeline document - January 13, 2003
Deposition - Page 1
Deposition - Page 2
Detective Hallisey's deliberate misleading of what Maria Cohen said
Proof of the Real Time of the 911 Call - Page 1
Proof of the Real Time of the 911 Call - Page 2
What's really going on at the Sarasota County Sheriff's Dept?
From LEO's Sarasota County Sheriff's Office Message Board
Leo Affairs - Post 1
Leo Affairs - Post 2
Leo Affairs - Post 3
| | | Appeals for legal justice and pursuit for investigation and proper punishment
1. Sheriffs Office letter indicating FBI investigative procedures - Note: Contradicts the audio message below
- Dec 2003/Jan 2004
2. Letter to Sheriff Balkwill, Sarasota County Sheriff's Dept. - Feb 8, 2004
3. Letter to Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida - Feb 11, 2004
4. Supplement Investigative letter, by Sarasota County Sheriff's Office - Mar 9, 2004
5. Close out letter by the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office - Page 2
6. Pathologist from the Office of the Medical Examiner affidavit - Page 1 - March 14, 2004
7. Pathologist from the Office of the Medical Examiner affidavit - Page 2 - March 14, 2004
8. Pathologist from the Office of the Medical Examiner affidavit - Page 3 - March 14, 2004
9. Audio of telephone voice mail message recording left by Sarasota Sherrifs Office in regards to FBI investigation
10. Cease and desist letter from Sarasota Sheriffs Office - Page 1 - March 15, 2004
11. Cease and desist letter from Sarasota Sheriffs Office - Page 2 - March 15, 2004
12. Order on Motion for Rehearing - Circuit Court of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit in and for Sarasota County - March 15, 2004
13. Affidavit of Abdullah Fatteh, MD, PhD, LLB, FRCP, FCLM, FAAFP - Page 1, had not been ill prior to this date...
- March 18, 2004
14. Affidavit of Abdullah Fatteh, MD, PhD, LLB, FRCP, FCLM, FAAFP - Page 2, the cause of death was not established...
-March 18, 2004
15. Affidavit of Abdullah Fatteh, MD, PhD, LLB, FRCP, FCLM, FAAFP - Page 3 - March 18, 2004
16. Letter from William F. Balkwill, Sheriff's office stating no FBI report exists March 19, 2004
17. Letter from Doug Smith in response to their contact with Governor Jeb Bush's office, WTVT Fox 13 Television Tampa Bay
18. Letter from Office of the Governor, Jeb Bush - Robert H. Fernandez, Deputy General Counsel response indicating insufficient evidence to proceed with prosecution - July 9, 2004
19. Second request letter to Governor Jeb Bush - Page 1, Page 2 - September 27, 2004
20. Letter fromWilliam F. Balkwill, Sheriff's office to Judge DeFuria stating two reports were generated by the FBI on July 13, 2004 existed in response to the Cohen 911 tape submission in Februrary 2004. - November 30, 2004
The lack of a FBI review report on the 911 taped call, a sworn affidavit from the Medical Examiner stating an autopsy will "disclose relevant information relating to Murray B. Cohen's cause of death" and the fact that the spouse, Mrs. Maria Cohen, requested that no autopsy be performed, all lead to suspicion which should be further investigated to reveal the true cause of death of my father.
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This page last updated 4/12/2006.
A father's death, a son's obsessionNothing seemed unusual about Murray Cohen. Except that he was dead.
His doctor would later say Cohen had been lucky to live as long as he did. He was 71 years old, and it appeared obvious that 60 extra pounds and a diseased heart had finally done him in.
So when investigators arrived at his Siesta Key home on Jan. 13, 2003, they ruled Cohen's death natural, gave his body a perfunctory examination, shipped him to a local funeral home and allowed embalming fluid to pickle any evidence into oblivion.
Today, Cohen's death certificate should be collecting dust in Sarasota's vital records office. And it would be, if his 45-year-old son had not spent the past two years trying to prove that a former Bolivian narcotics officer married and murdered Cohen for his money.
Steve Esdale's relentless pursuit of this theory has cost him almost everything. He has spent so much money -- more than $150,000, he says -- that he struggles to pay his bills. His landlord evicted him, his wife and their 13-year-old son from their Weston home last month.
Esdale's persistence has prompted the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office to re-examine Cohen's death at least four times and tap FBI experts to review evidence. Each time, the conclusion has been the same: Cohen died of natural causes.
None of it has gotten Esdale to stop.
Instead, he beefs up his list of suspects anytime a person or agency endorses the idea that Cohen died peacefully in his sleep. His list of conspirators now includes the FBI, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Sarasota County Sheriff Bill Balkwill, Gov. Jeb Bush and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
He believes that if a judge allows exhumation and an autopsy of his father's corpse, the entire conspiracy will unravel. Unless, as Esdale suspects, "they" already have swapped Cohen's body with that of a dead homeless person.
These days, some of the people who at one time were willing to consider Esdale's murder allegations now just consider him "mentally unstable," as a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report put it.
The medical examiner installed video surveillance equipment because Esdale's rants sounded increasingly threatening. A judge sanctioned Esdale for his deliberate disregard of the court's authority. And the Sheriff's Office pursued harassment charges against him for, among other reasons, telling a detective to "stick your gun up your ass and pull the trigger."
"He's accusing us of a cover-up, which is totally uncalled for," Sheriff Balkwill told the Herald-Tribune. "I think he's frustrated."
There is no overwhelming piece of evidence that suggests Cohen was murdered, and many of Esdale's claims can be dismissed with a logical explanation.
But among all of his wild theories are inconsistencies he has exposed that make it difficult -- even for some of the targets of his tirades -- to dismiss him entirely.
Esdale has documents that show Cohen's blood may have disappeared from the medical examiner's office. He proved that a sheriff's investigator ignored a critical piece of evidence for months. He learned that his father died next to a woman who had medical training but needed instructions to perform CPR. And he says he has an audio recording of Murray Cohen cursing his killer the day he died.
And then there is the Corazol.
The official version
Murray Cohen met Maria Amurrio through a mutual acquaintance, one of Cohen's ex-girlfriends. He was almost 70 and carried a belly that resembled a cauldron more than a pot. She was vibrant, not quite 50 and looked more like a Desperate Housewife than a Golden Girl.
Bill Nies said his friend, Murray, adored Maria because he had never had much luck with women.
"He was star struck by her," Nies said.
In December 2002, about two years after they met, Murray and Maria flew to her native country, Bolivia, and married in the capital city, La Paz.
Less than a month later, Maria found him dead in their bedroom.
Despite a spate of lingering questions, Maria's account of her husband's final hours, spelled out in investigative documents and videotaped depositions from her estate battle with Esdale, is not disputed by law enforcement.
Maria declined to be interviewed for this story.
Maria, whose résumé includes stints as a Bolivian narcotics agent, Calvin Klein's chef and the owner of a custom jewelry shop, spent the afternoon organizing her jewelry in a closet. Murray, a retired salesman, plumbing contractor and Korean War vet, shuffled paperwork while he waited for a call from his financial adviser later in the day.
The newlyweds broke away from their work and shared a bite to eat before lying down for an afternoon nap at 4:30.
It was the last time Maria saw Murray alive.
About an hour later, a ringing phone pulled Maria from her nap. She slipped into the kitchen to answer the phone so she wouldn't wake her husband.
The caller said he had an appointment to speak with Murray, so Maria went back into the bedroom to wake him.
But her calls went unanswered.
She noticed Murray wasn't breathing, his forehead was purple and he was completely lifeless. Maria hung up the phone and called 911.
Her efforts to breathe life back into her husband failed; paramedics could not save him either.
He was pronounced dead at 6:05 p.m.
Suspicions
Two days later, an uncle phoned Steve Esdale to see how he was coping with the loss of his father.
The question shocked Esdale, who had not even heard he was dead.
He wondered why Maria hadn't called him immediately.
When his father first started dating Maria, Esdale said, he was proud that his old man was romancing a woman almost 25 years his junior.
Now, he is convinced it cost him his life.
Esdale called the Sarasota Sheriff's Office with his concerns and quickly convinced detectives that his father's death deserved a closer look.
He said the two had been married less than three weeks, and the union deserved scrutiny because of Maria's youth and his father's wealth.
Esdale told investigators that he believed Maria murdered his father for his money, a million-dollar estate that included a three-bedroom home on Siesta Key.
It was enough to convince sheriff's investigators to retrace their steps. But by then, it may have been too late.
To prepare his body to be shipped to New Jersey for burial, the funeral home embalmed Cohen, replacing his blood with preserving chemicals.
Investigators tested Cohen's eye fluid for common poisons, but the embalming fluid may have spoiled their chance of finding anything, said Dr. Russell Vega, who became Sarasota County's medical examiner a few months after Cohen died.
The surest way to determine Cohen's cause of death would have been an autopsy. Maria wouldn't consent to Esdale's request for one, and the former medical examiner chose not to overrule her decision.
"Looking back, I wish that an autopsy had been performed," Vega said. "It could have eliminated some of the questions in this case, even though I'm really certain many of those questions have been adequately answered."
Esdale blames Vega for helping the Sheriff's Office conceal his father's murder. He cites records that show the medical examiner's office drew 20 milliters of his father's blood shortly after his death.
That blood is now missing and was never tested for poisons, even though blood is considered more reliable than eye fluid.
Vega said he has looked for the vials of blood and found nothing. He said Cohen's blood probably was never drawn and the records are a mistake.
"I think it's a lie," Esdale said. "I think he's covering up for what really happened there."
While Vega admits there are odd discrepancies in the case, he dismisses Esdale's allegation that he has conspired to hide Cohen's murder.
"We're simply trying to do the best we can based on the cards we were dealt," Vega said. "And I feel like we've done that."
Unraveling a mystery
Limited by the lack of physical evidence, the medical examiner's office found nothing to prove that Cohen didn't die from natural causes. The Sheriff's Office concurred and closed the case as a natural death for the second time.
But Esdale couldn't shake the feeling that his father had been murdered and that Sarasota County officials were hampered by conspiracy, not circumstance.
Esdale said this isn't the first time he has found himself tangled up in a diabolical plot. In the late '90s, he was briefly jailed after spending years battling neighbors and Davie police officers who had "conspired to ruin my life," he said.
Esdale was vindicated once the feud ended in 2001. His lawyer successfully argued that Esdale had been wrongfully charged in an egging incident, and the City of Davie cut Esdale a check for $25,000.
When he was mired in the dispute, Esdale said he would ask, "God, why are you doing this to me?"
"Now I know He was preparing me for this," Esdale said.
A self-described inventor and stay-at-home dad, Esdale had time to nurture an obsession.
He pored over every document related to his father's death. He saw every inconsistency, even something as minor as a misspelled name, as proof of the conspiracy.
Esdale said he has been pushed to uncover the truth by his father, who occasionally visits him in dreams. In one, Esdale said his father walked up to him and showed him that his palms were dirty.
After the dream, Esdale obtained death-scene photos from the Sheriff's Office, and his father's palms appear dirty in the photos. If he had been napping, as Maria claimed, Esdale wondered why his father would have gone to bed without washing his hands.
"I'm not some Ouija-board cuckoo-head," Esdale said, but he concluded that his father's spirit must be helping him uncover the truth.
Esdale said his suspicions were justified after he used his father's phone records to track down Stephen Beninati, a New York financial consultant who called the Cohen house shortly before Maria called 911.
"He was relieved when I called," Esdale said. "When he heard that my dad had died the day he called, he said that phone call really bothered him."
Esdale asked Beninati to sign a notarized statement after hearing his recollection of the call. According to the letter, Beninati said "it seemed like I had called during a domestic argument."
He said he heard a woman screaming and "a male voice screaming in the background." When he called back two minutes later, the woman was sobbing and he "also heard the same male voice, hysterical screaming in the background."
As Esdale cobbled together evidence to support his murder theory, he thought Maria's undoing might be the copy of her call to 911 the night her husband died.
The following are condensed portions of what Esdale heard.
The 911 call
Operator: 911 ... what's your location?
Maria Cohen: Oh please listen, an ambulance to my house. My husband is having a heart attack. Please (crying) please.
...
Operator: You're gonna calm down for me, okay? Your husband's unconscious?
Maria: Yes (crying).
Operator: Okay.
Maria: Hurry up (crying).
Operator: Is he breathing?
Maria: (Crying) Aah, no.
...
Operator: Okay, do you wanna perform CPR?
Maria: (Crying) ... Tell me what to do ...
Operator: Okay. I'm gonna give you instructions, we're going to go ahead and do CPR, okay?
Maria: Yes (crying).
Operator: Okay.
Background noises.
Operator: Okay, is he completely awake now, or no?
Maria: No (crying). He's totally gone (crying).
...
Operator: Okay. I need you'll ... can you get him to the floor?
Maria: He's very heavy. I will try.
Operator: Okay, try. If you need to, push him on to the floor.
Maria: Ah, ah, one moment.
Background noises.
Maria: Okay, I got him on the floor.
...
Operator: Okay. I'm going to tell you how to give mouth to mouth. Okay? Take a couple breaths, okay? We'll ... we can do this. Okay?
Maria: Okay, one moment.
Background noises.
Operator: Ma'am?
Background noises.
Operator: Ma'am?
Background noises.
Operator: Ma'am?
Background noises.
Maria: Okay.
Operator: Ma'am, what, what were you doing?
Maria: We were sleeping -- taking a siesta (crying).
Operator: You were what?
Maria: We were sleep, we were just sleeping.
Operator: Okay, no, ah, what were you doing? Okay, I'm going to give you instructions on how to give him breaths, okay?
Maria: Okay.
The investigation
Esdale played the call over and over trying to identify sounds he heard over a tape hiss that masked much of the background noise.
He thought that some of the noises sounded like a man and a woman arguing. He swore he could make out his father's voice faintly over the static.
Even the bad copy couldn't hide the apparent confusion of the 911 operator, who seemed puzzled by Maria's behavior.
Esdale thinks the operator heard his father's cries for help after Maria told her that Murray was unconscious and "totally gone."
The operator pressed Maria about what she'd been doing after Maria seemed to walk away from the phone before getting CPR instructions, Esdale said.
Esdale presented the evidence he'd uncovered to Sarasota County sheriff's officials. Sheriff Balkwill, who had a face-to-face meeting with Esdale, told the Herald-Tribune that Esdale's suspicions about the 911 call convinced him that the case should be reinvestigated.
"The only reason I did it was because of what he said about the tape," Balkwill said. "But I told him, 'No promises.' "
Detective Chris Hallisey, considered one of Balkwill's best investigators, was assigned to the case in July 2003. It was the second time the case had been reopened.
Esdale shared his theories with Hallisey and asked him to give special attention to the 911 tape, Beninati's phone call and his father's dirty hands.
He also fed Hallisey information that he'd learned about Maria during their court battle over Cohen's estate.
Esdale told Hallisey that Maria graduated from a New York nursing school in the 1980s. Prior to that, she had been a top police official in Bolivia and worked as a narcotics agent.
Esdale wondered why a woman with medical training needed CPR instructions, and he believed her narcotics background would give her the expertise to pick a hard-to-detect poison.
Hallisey checked into some of the information that Esdale shared with him. But more often than not, the detective stopped short of getting concrete answers.
Hallisey talked to Beninati, but his report doesn't address the financial analyst's assertion that he had heard a man screaming at the same time Cohen was supposedly unconscious.
He also never interviewed the 911 operator who took Maria's call. And he chose not to interview Maria because her lawyers agreed only to accept written questions.
If Hallisey ever determined her CPR capabilities, it's not revealed in his 12-page report.
Most disturbing to Esdale was that Hallisey didn't try to have the 911 recording enhanced before he closed the case and again declared Cohen's death natural.
Hallisey's investigation actually raised more doubts about Esdale than it did about Maria.
His report states that Murray's cousin said the relationship between Esdale and Murray was strained. He noted that Maria stated in a deposition for the estate case that Esdale had once reduced Murray to tears because his son only called when he wanted to borrow money.
And during the course of the investigation, Esdale hounded the detective with imaginative but unsubstantiated theories about how Maria could have murdered his father.
Five months after he began his investigation, Hallisey called Esdale and told him he'd found nothing to implicate Maria.
It infuriated Esdale that Hallisey's investigation made it look like he and his father had a rocky relationship. He pointed out that Murray always included him as a significant benficiary in his will, unlike Esdale's younger brother who was left nothing.
Esdale accuses Hallisey of covering up for Maria because of her ties to law enforcement.
Maria now works for the Florida Department of Corrections as a juvenile probation officer in Sarasota. In her state employment file, Maria claims that she worked with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration while she was a Bolivian law enforcement officer.
Maria's attorney, who works for the law firm Abel Band, laughed off Esdale's conspiracy theory.
"I will not dignify the allegations that Mr. Esdale has continually made," attorney Steven Chase said. "He has lost all proceedings and motions he's ever made."
The voices
Unfazed by Hallisey's decision to ignore the 911 call, Esdale pushed ahead with his own investigation.
In November 2003, a month after Hallisey closed his case, Esdale hired GaideCom, a New York communications company that has worked for law enforcement, to enhance the background noises in Maria's 911 call. GaideCom does not specialize in forensic audio analysis, but Susan Gaide, the company's president, said she and her partner are trained musicians who can hear what others can't.
The GaideCom transcript, which has been disputed by the FBI and a top forensic audio expert hired by the Herald-Tribune, convinced Esdale that he had unmasked his father's murderer.
Esdale read how Murray begged Maria for help, then cursed her when he realized she wanted him dead. Maria screamed at Murray to hurry up and die, according to the transcript.
The following are excerpts of the GaideCom transcript, which have been edited for brevity. GaideCom's enhancements of the background noise are in bold type. The entire transcript and the audio of the call is available at heraldtribune.com.
Operator: Okay, do you wanna perform CPR?
Caller: (Crying) ... Tell me what to do ...
Male voice: Get me help. Get me help. Hurry up.
Operator: Okay. I'm gonna give you instructions, we're going to go ahead and do CPR, okay?
Caller: Yes (crying).
Operator: Okay.
Male voice: Please get me a doctor. Get me a doctor. I'm sick.
Operator: Okay, is he completely awake now, or no?
Caller: No (crying). He's totally gone (crying).
Male voice: Help me.
...
Operator: Okay. I need you'll ... can you get him to the floor?
Caller: He's very heavy. I will try.
Operator: Okay, try. If you need to, push him on to the floor.
Caller: Ah, ah, one moment.
Male voice: Didn't you call for an ambulance?
Caller: Yes.
Male voice: You had said you were gonna get an ambulance. That's what you said to me.
Caller: Yes.
Male voice: ... I can't stand ... a heart attack.
Caller: Okay, I got him on the floor.
...
Operator: Okay. I'm going to tell you how to give mouth to mouth. Okay? Take a couple breaths, okay? We'll ... we can do this. Okay?
Caller: Okay, one moment.
Male voice: I should beat you up.
Caller: I love you, baby.
Operator: Ma'am?
Caller: When are you gonna give it up?
Operator: Ma'am?
Male voice: You're a bitch, bitch.
Operator: Ma'am?
Caller: Give up. Come on!
Caller: Okay.
Operator: Ma'am, what, what were you doing?
Caller: We were sleeping -- taking a siesta (crying).
Operator: You were what?
Caller: We were sleep, we were just sleeping.
Operator: Okay, no, ah, what were you doing? Okay, I'm going to give you instructions on how to give him breaths, okay?
Caller: Okay.
(Operator gives CPR instructions).
Male voice: You want me dead.
Finally analyzed
Esdale faxed the GaideCom transcript and a note to the Sarasota medical examiner's office in December 2003.
"Sarasota Sherrifs (sic) are covering up the fact that my dad was murderd (sic)," Esdale wrote. "Your office has been fooled by the murder (sic) and the police. I expect your office to do the right thing."
According to his investigative report, Hallisey received a copy of the GaideCom transcript and acknowledged that when he listened to the tape, he heard a male voice state, "I should beat you up."
Hallisey played the tape for the manager of the 911 communications center. She said the male voice in the background was probably a voice from the 911 center that got picked up during the call.
Hallisey agreed but decided to have the FBI analyze the tape.
In March 2004, Hallisey closed the Cohen case again with the same conclusion. He wrote in his investigative summary that the FBI was "unable to identify a third party on the 911 tape."
But Esdale later discovered that Hallisey had closed the case without having the FBI test the tape.
Hallisey sent the tape to the FBI twice in early 2004. Both times, he expected an answer to the male voice mystery, but all he got were enhanced versions of the recording.
Hallisey didn't get a definitive answer about the extra voices until a Fox news reporter started asking questions about the case in spring 2004. That prompted Hallisey to send yet another copy to the FBI and insist they provide an analysis.
In a court hearing related to Esdale's fight to win his father's estate, Hallisey admitted that media pressure was the only reason he sent the tape to the FBI for the third time.
Contrary to Hallisey's original report, the FBI analysis acknowledged that there were more than two voices on the tape. But the FBI's audio expert determined that the voices were probably from the 911 call center, or a TV or radio broadcast in the Cohen house.
The Herald-Tribune hired nationally recognized audio expert Paul Ginsberg and asked him to analyze Maria's 911 call and review GaideCom's findings. Ginsberg, the president of Pro Audio Laboratories in New York, has more than 30 years of forensic audio experience and has worked on high profile projects ranging from the Waco standoff to terrorism trials.
Ginsberg said Murray can't be heard on the tape and questioned GaideCom's analysis. The words they attribute to Murray aren't on the tape, he said.
"I'm puzzled that with my experience and my equipment, they could hear so much more than I did," Ginsberg said.
Ginsberg said he did hear a male voice, the one that GaideCom claims states, "I should beat you up." But Ginsberg said it was impossible to determine exactly what was said and that the voice might be another operator at the 911 center.
Ginsberg also said the background statements made by Maria can't be as clearly understood as GaideCom claims.
Susan Gaide said she stands by her analysis.
"Everybody has a different set of ears. Everybody has different equipment," she said. "I have the ultimate respect for Paul, but I don't know how he could not hear it."
When told of Ginsberg's results, Esdale said it was obvious that "somebody got to him."
"That's all it could be," Esdale said. "The FBI has definitely spoken to him and said, 'Shut it down.' "
The Bulgarian drug
Just when it seemed like the momentum behind Esdale's conspiracy campaign had dried up, he found something to revive the case once more.
This spring, he picked through a stack of evidence and reviewed the list of drugs that investigators had inventoried the day his father died.
He had never heard of Corazol, one of about a dozen drugs found at the Cohens' Siesta Key residence. And he had no idea why his father would need the drug, which is made in Bulgaria.
The information he uncovered gave him yet another reason to reject the idea that a natural heart attack killed Cohen.
Unlike the other medications, Corazol couldn't remedy Cohen's heart condition, kill his pain or improve his sex life.
Sarasota Medical Examiner Vega said the drug itself seems to have no medical purpose and could cause a heart attack at a high enough dose.
From what he could determine, it's a cardiovascular stimulant used in eastern European labs to cause seizures in rats to test anti-epileptic drugs.
Corazol is so obscure that representatives of the Food and Drug Administration and Drug Enforcement Administration told the Herald-Tribune they didn't even have a record of its existence.
Though he considers it unlikely, Vega has never ruled out the possibility that an exotic poison could have killed Cohen. So when the rare drug was brought to his attention, Vega had Cohen's eye fluid re-tested in May to see if Corazol was present.
The results were negative, but Vega said there is no way to know how the methanol in the embalming fluid affected the test.
"This is not as definitive a result as anybody would like to see," Vega said. "We're sort of where we were before."
Not Esdale, who says the Corazol is the final detail that proves what really happened to his father. He doesn't care that law enforcement officials don't support his theory, or that his scenario relies on imagination more than fact.
Esdale thinks his father was working out in the yard that afternoon. With his hands still dirty, Murray went to check the mail shortly before 5 p.m. He opened up an account statement and found out that Maria had added herself to one of his bank accounts.
Murray went inside and confronted Maria. They got into a heated argument, and Maria realized their relationship was over.
"She had to kill him," Esdale said. "So she poured him a cup of coffee with a mega-dose of the Corazol."
Esdale said Maria and his father continued to argue before the Corazol kicked in, and Beninati called during the fracas. When Murray finally succumbed to the drug, and Maria thought he was dead, she called 911.
But Maria underestimated how much Corazol was needed to kill a man as large as his father, Esdale said. Murray, groggy from the drug, came to during the call and spoke loud enough for the operator to hear him. Maria finished him off by suffocating him during the time she left the phone before getting CPR instructions, Esdale said.
Investigators don't buy it.
"Esdale's allegations have not been supported," Hallisey wrote in his investigative report. "After a thorough review of this case by the Sheriff's Office and the Medical Examiner's Office, Murray Cohen's death is regarded as natural."
Case closed?
Monday might be Esdale's last chance to convince a Sarasota judge that he deserves more time to prove his father was murdered and that Maria shouldn't get Cohen's estate.
If he fails, Maria may get the estate and Esdale could be on the hook for more than $100,000 of her attorney's fees.
It's questionable whether Esdale will attend the hearing with his lawyer because he fears investigators may try to silence him for good if he steps foot in Sarasota County.
"I am afraid of being pulled over, set up and tasered so I have a heart attack," Esdale said. "I'm not a chicken, but I am afraid."
He has hidden three copies of a videotape that will be released in the event he dies, he says. One copy is in California, one is in the Northeast and another is in Florida.
He said the tapes include details about his enemies, those who have conspired against him. If necessary, Esdale hopes the tapes can be used to get the justice he seeks, even if it's from beyond his grave.
"They hate me, man. They hate me because I didn't stop," Esdale said. "Until they find out what happened, my life is in danger."
Balkwill said Esdale has nothing to fear from his officers and he insists that there were no mistakes with the Cohen case. Asked to explain some of the unanswered questions from the investigation, Balkwill said, "You'd have to talk to Hallisey about that."
But he won't permit the Herald-Tribune to interview Hallisey or the 911 operator.
During an interview last month with the Herald-Tribune, an irritated Balkwill picked the Cohen case file off his desk.
"The case is closed. There is no evidence that there is a murder," Balkwill said. "My question is, why are you guys looking at this again?"
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