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Post by Joanna on Jan 20, 2015 1:11:27 GMT -5
Arrest in 30-year-old Kennedy Sisters murder HOUSTON – On Monday, March 5, 1984, the bodies of Lillie Kennedy (above left), 23, and her sister Yleen Kennedy (right), 33, were discovered by their father, who stopped by their house on East 12th Street after the women, who were supposed to drive him to the doctor, failed to show up. Lillie, had been shot to death. But unlike her sister's quick death, detectives believe Yleen suffered greatly before she died. Autopsy revealed Yleen had not only been shot, but also stabbed, bludgeoned and raped.
The home had been ransacked and some of those interviewed in 1984 thought jewelry was missing. Yleen ran a small business selling antique clothing and, according to investigators, was known to have large amounts of antique jewelry in the house. Detectives believed robbery was the motive for the murders and that a man carrying a duffel bag, seen by a neighbor around the time of the murders, may have been involved. According to investigators, the neighbor, thinking the man could be a burglar, confronted him. However, the stranger told the neighbor his wife had just kicked him out of the house, which was believable, and he was allowed to proceed. The mystery man disappeared.
But in 2009, investigators with Houston’s Homicide Division's Cold Case Unit took another look at the evidence collected at the scene, including that from the sexual assault of Yleen Kennedy. A DNA profile was developed and entered into the Combined DNA Index System or CODIS, a national database. But no matches were found and investigators had nothing to help point them to the killer.
Then late last year, a tipster alerted police that Edmond B. Degan (above) might be a possible suspect in the case and he was discovered living in the Houston area. When investigators requested a DNA sample, Degan voluntarily consented. When it was entered in the CODIS database, a high probability of a match was found with evidence taken from the scene of the Kennedy murders. Now, DNA has linked Degan to the killings and he has been charged with the capital murder of Yleen and Lillie Kennedy.
On Wednesday, Degan was arrested as he was driving near his home in the 3700 block of Locke Lane and was charged in the case. Degan told investigators he had worked in a wholesale used-clothing business at the time of the slayings and knew Yleen Kennedy through the used-clothing retail business she operated. He had seen her about a week before the killings.
Investigators said they were uncertain about what Degan had been doing during for the past years, though they said he had spent time in state prison and jail for unrelated convictions. When he was arrested, he was working in construction.
On Thursday, prosecutors told a judge during a probable cause hearing that last year, a man came forward and told police he saw Degan shortly after those murders. "This client told investigators that this defendant returned home with a bundle, asking for a hammer. He then began to beat a revolver into pieces and throw it in a ditch behind a house," a Harris County prosecutor told the judge. "He then lit a fire and burned numerous items in a fire pit, including ladies' wallets and small papers," the prosecutor said.
The tombstones of Yleen Faye Kennedy and Lillie Dale Kennedy (above) at Gieger Cemetery in Hallettsville read "murdered" because their mother, Rose Kennedy, didn't want people to think the two sisters who died on the same day had been killed in a motor vehicle accident.Sources: Robert Arnold, KPRC News; Dale Lezon, The Houston Chronicle, January 16, 2015; and Angelica Leicht, HoustonPress, October 31, 2014.
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Post by goldstalk on Feb 8, 2015 18:03:04 GMT -5
I've known Edmond and his family since he was 18. I don't believe he could have done such a horrible thing! I've been intimately involved with him and he has NEVER shown a dark side nor any type of violence toward women. Yleen was his girlfriend at the time which explains his DNA being there. I think someone else did the killings and was able to hold it over Edmond at the time, thus explaining why he was forced to get rid of the evidence.
I just don't think he could do what he's accused of. He's never talked about it to me, nor even mentioned the sisters' murders. I just pray the truth comes out...
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Post by catherine on Feb 8, 2015 18:50:39 GMT -5
People can have a dark side that even those closest to them don't see. Look at Ted Bundy. When he was arrested in Salt Lake City on suspicion of burglary, no one could believe that he could ever break into someone's house, let alone kill young women. A lot of the wives and girlfriends of rapists and serial killers are shocked when their husbands and boyfriends are arrested and charged with such heinous crimes. |
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Post by kitty on Feb 8, 2015 20:27:06 GMT -5
I've known Edmond and his family since he was 18. I don't believe he could have done such a horrible thing! I've been intimately involved with him and he has NEVER shown a dark side nor any type of violence toward women. Yleen was his girlfriend at the time which explains his DNA being there. I think someone else did the killings and was able to hold it over Edmond at the time, thus explaining why he was forced to get rid of the evidence. I just don't think he could do what he's accused of. He's never talked about it to me, nor even mentioned the sisters' murders. I just pray the truth comes out...
Have you thought about contacting Edmond Degan, wherever he's being held, to see what he has to say? |
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Post by madeline on Feb 9, 2015 0:44:04 GMT -5
Welcome, goldstalk!
I know that it's hard to admit that someone we know can do something like commit murder, but the article says that he had been in prison and jail for unrelated crimes. Do you know what the other crimes were?
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Post by Sam on Feb 9, 2015 2:03:31 GMT -5
I've known Edmond and his family since he was 18. I don't believe he could have done such a horrible thing! I've been intimately involved with him and he has NEVER shown a dark side nor any type of violence toward women. Yleen was his girlfriend at the time which explains his DNA being there. I think someone else did the killings and was able to hold it over Edmond at the time, thus explaining why he was forced to get rid of the evidence. I just don't think he could do what he's accused of. He's never talked about it to me, nor even mentioned the sisters' murders. I just pray the truth comes out... Welcome to our group and thank you for your comments about these murders. I'm in law enforcement and sometimes the wrong person is charged and convicted. Is he in jail waiting for trial, or is he out on bail? I'd really like to know what he has to say, so please let us know if you find out anything.
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Post by goldstalk on Feb 10, 2015 1:07:59 GMT -5
Okay, let me answer your replies in order...
kitty - I sent a letter to Edmond last week, at the Harris County Jail in Houston. I also wrote a note to his mother, letting her know my love and prayers are with her. Apparently she is losing friends - I hate that! It's not like SHE is the accused... And re the bakery owner in AK: it really threw you for a loop, right??? Hard to handle when it hits so close to home...
madeline - The worst crime was when he went to prison for 4 years for aggravated robbery. I only knew about it because he told me when we reconnected in 2010. He was convicted of armed robberies of pharmacies.
Sam - he is in Harris County jail in Houston, held without bail. Just hoping he has more to say in his defense than we are hearing. I keep looking for any news beside the news that he was arrested. From what I understand, his trial is scheduled for 2016. I wrote to him last week - if/when he answers I hope he will have some news saying he is innocent. My friends say the same stuff others in this thread are saying, and I hear that ----- BUT I still can't believe he could do that.
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Post by natalie on Feb 10, 2015 9:40:34 GMT -5
True. There have been men that raped children, some close in age to their own children, and were upstanding members of the community. Think about all the rapists and murderers there have been in the media lately, and the responses from family and friends are all the same: "I am shocked, he was the nicest guy, always willing to lend a hand." "He never showed signs of anger or mental illness." "His wife is shocked, she thought he was a family man and cannot come to terms with the crimes against him." Many relatives will even be in denial years later. Even some of the kids who have killed their parents were said to be rather close to their parents. Look at Robin Williams, he didn't kill anyone but he killed himself, and he seemed like such a happy-go-lucky guy, always laughing and making others laugh, but he was actually a very sad person inside. You just never know sometimes. It'd be interesting to hear Edmond's personal testimony and defense though, so please share it if possible, and welcome to the group.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Feb 10, 2015 11:26:19 GMT -5
Welcome to WhatLiesBeyond.
Sometimes people snap and do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do. Back in the early 90s, a man with no criminal record was working for a carpet-cleaning company and while cleaning the carpet in an apartment in Gainesville, Florida, murdered two girls. The three got into an argument, one of the girls sprayed him in the face with pepper spray and he strangled both of them to death. Later, he said he “just snapped.”
This could have been what happened with Degan. He got into an argument with the women and it escalated to violence.
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Post by gardenia64 on Jul 7, 2015 20:54:57 GMT -5
I do not know this man, but what I do know is this event forever changed many lives. DNA does not lie and I hope justice is served for the person responsible for this horrific crime.I knew Yleen and she was an amazing person and her death was tragic, brutal and the person who did this needs to meet his maker. Again, DNA DOESN'T lie.
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Post by gardenia64 on Jul 7, 2015 20:57:02 GMT -5
Does anyone know the next court date for this case?
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Post by Joanna on Jul 8, 2015 2:43:19 GMT -5
I do not know this man, but what I do know is this event forever changed many lives. DNA does not lie and I hope justice is served for the person responsible for this horrific crime. I knew Yleen and she was an amazing person and her death was tragic, brutal and the person who did this needs to meet his maker. Again, DNA DOESN'T lie. |
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Post by Graveyardbride on Jul 8, 2015 21:31:06 GMT -5
Does anyone know the next court date for this case?
The next court date is Tuesday, August 4, 2015. The judge in the case is Denise Collins.
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Post by justice on Aug 22, 2016 10:39:40 GMT -5
I don't know if anyone still reads these because they were over a year ago. But Edmond Degan is my dad and he has been my best friend my entire life. He's always been there for my no matter what the situation. We have the same personality and he's the one that's taught me to always love everyone and never to judge people, being open minded is the best. We used to always throw change out to the homeless people. We used to give food to them. He's SUCH a loving man. Yeah, maybe he has some things on his records that he isn't proud of but MURDER. God help us all. My dad would NEVER have the heart and soul to do such a thing. His case continues to get pushed back, it will be two years since he got taken away. Before he got taken I was a teenager that partied and now I am a mother. I want so badly for him to be physically here for my kid and me. I hope everything works out. And for the two ladies involved in this case, I truly feel terrible but I also feel even more terrible because their family thinks they've found the man that murdered them, when they haven't. I hope the man who did this crime is found and brought in but until then my father will take the blame until court. And I cannot thank the people on here that are sticking up for him enough. It helps me as well knowing that people aren't believing everything that is on the news and to know he still has people believing in him. xoxo, Edmonds daughter
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Post by justice on Aug 22, 2016 10:50:37 GMT -5
I do not know this man, but what I do know is this event forever changed many lives. DNA does not lie and I hope justice is served for the person responsible for this horrific crime.I knew Yleen and she was an amazing person and her death was tragic, brutal and the person who did this needs to meet his maker. Again, DNA DOESN'T lie. It's crazy how media lies huh? Although I'm only 19 and you must be older, so I'm wondering how you don't know that. My dads attorney said the match isn't 100% also saying it's been so many years that DNA gets messed up. So yes, DNA as old as that, can lie. Innocent until proven guilty. I'm sorry for your loss, I am. But I believe this is a set up so even if my dad gets trialed as guilty..don't think the man that truly did this is getting what he deserves, because he's not. He's going to be roaming free while an innocent man rots in a prison. |
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