Serendipity

A truck similar to the type Shawn loved to build and paint Infidelity/Betrayal/Murder...Families torn apart. Is the right man spending life in prison...or...did the real killer flea to Costa Rica with a new wife and start a new life? No! This is not the next James Patterson or John Grisham novel, nor is it a Hollywood blockbuster! This is a true story about my son Shawn Campbell whom was convicted in 2005 for murder in the second degree and is currently serving 25 years to life in a maximum security prison in upstate New York. Please take a few minutes of your time to read this story. September 27, 2004, was a day that changed a lot of lives and a day that rocked the small town of Bath, NY. A woman by the name of Rhonda Bilby was murdered that morning. On the morning of September 29, 2004, my son Shawn received a call from Senior BCI Investigator Ricky Kemp asking him to come into the Bath State Police Barracks because they had some questions about  the “Bilbys”....

(**Previously published 5/9/11**) As I have mentioned in my previous post, my son, Shawn Campbell, is struggling to find  justice  in a case that some have called a 'slam dunk'.  He was railroaded into  pleading guilty  for a crime he did not commit, and has proof that the county District Attorney's office had been forewarned of a 'murder to hire plot' that was going around Wende Correctional Facility at in weeks prior to Rhonda Bilby's murder. He is back in court today, and I will have the details as they become available to me.  As well, I will post each section of the interview as they are aired.                              

Today, I was at the court hearing of Shawn's that was supposed to be the process of showing that his previous lawyer Bill Kelly was not only ineffective counsel but also that he did not ever once, make Shawn aware of the two letters (from inmate incarcerated at the prison at that time) which were sent to the District Attorney's office forewarning of a "murder for hire" plot that was going around Wende Correctional Facility prior to the murder of Rhonda Bilby in September of 2004. I am sorry to say that the whole morning seemed to be a waste of time for everyone and that very little was accomplished in Shawn's favor.  I'll explain why... The first witness called by Shawn's lawyer, Mr. Baxter, was Christopher Lian, an officer with the Steuben County Jail, where Shawn was housed for some time before his case went to trial. The focus of the line of questioning was that a visitors record is kept as to who comes to see a particular inmate at the jail....

Shawn was born July 13, 1977, weighing 4 lbs., 13 oz.  He was a good baby...and we really didn't have many problems with his health through the years. He was the typical all American boy...dirty hands, ripped knees in his jeans, always looking at things with the eyes of a curious child.  He played hard and slept hard! He loved cars and trucks...loved going to stock car races too.  He's always had a fascination with vehicles and how they run...and by the time he was 13-14, he rebuilt a car engine with little help from anyone else!     He honestly never really liked school, although when he applied himself, he received high grades.  In many respects, I think school bored him.     Even as a child, he had a very charismatic personality...he loved people and people loved him! Here...even on a cold day...he had to be outside...looking at rocks and picking up the pretty ones! He's always loved working with his h...