Published: December 01, 2006 07:17 pm            

Local crimes headed for primetime on CBS and Court TV

COMING SOON

• CBS’ “48 Hours Mystery” will air a two-hour look at the David Camm murder trials from 9 to 11 p.m. Dec. 9. WLKY-TV is the local affiliate for CBS. Visit www.cbsnews.com or www.wlkytv.com for more

information. Look for a complete story in The Evening News and The Tribune later this week.



Court TV tonight will air its second story about a New Albany murder, and authorities say a third is in the making for 2007.

Producers from Court TV approached Captain Keith Whitlow, Chief of Detectives for the New Albany Police Department, in 2004 about an intriguing mid-1990s murder case that involved a love triangle and a body that was never found.

Dayle Hinman — the host of the channel’s regular show “Body of Evidence” — heard about the case from a friend, Rod Englert, who was an expert blood splatter witness in the first David Camm murder trial.

That show — which aired the same year — featured the trail of evidence that led police and prosecutors to arrest and later convict Jonathan Whitesides of New Albany. Although the body of Eric Humbert was never actually found, investigators used DNA evidence to prove that Whitesides shot him and may have thrown his body in the Ohio River.

Whitlow said Whitesides was having an affair with Humbert’s wife and shot him so he could have her for himself. Whitesides is serving a prison sentence, but is up for parole in 2008.

Just two months after the show aired, producers approached Whitlow about doing another show. “Deadly Triangle” — which Saturday night’s show has been dubbed — is set to air at 10 p.m. and features the story of yet another local love triangle.

In March 2001, New Albany police arrested then 28-year-old Damon Slaughter for the murder of 34-year-old Ernest McCallister. Whitlow said McCallister’s wife, then 28-year-old Tina McCallister, lured him to an office building near University Woods Apartments where Slaughter shot him. The two were reportedly having an affair, Whitlow said.

“Slaughter chased him all over that building,” Whitlow said. “He shot the whole place up. McCallister was eventually shot, but was able to get outside and run about 100 yards before he died.”

Whitlow said the show’s producers have already asked to work on a third show featuring another murder case, but due to heavy workloads, Whitlow said it would have to wait until later in 2007. The delay, however, isn’t because he doesn’t appreciate the publicity.

“It makes me feel really good that we operate at a level where we gain national prominence,” Whitlow said. “The fact that we do a good enough job that people want to air it as a national TV show is an amazing compliment.”

On average, Whitlow said Hinman and the rest of the show’s crew work with police for about five 10 to 12 hour days to complete just one show. The process, he said, is tedious and exhausting.

Dayle Hinman — the show’s host — started her career in Florida as a deputy sheriff, Whitlow said. She later served as a criminal profiler with the Florida Division of Law Enforcement, a talent which led her to have her own show with Court TV.

The initial episodes of Body of Evidence dealt with her experiences in Florida, but she later decided she wanted to expand her show to include cases from locations around the country.

Visit www.courttv.com for more information.

        

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