Dienes cleans house.

Channel 5 interviewed neighbors of Frank Dienes after he was released from jail yesterday. Check out the update here.

The reporter also noticed Dienes and his family have removed boxes and boxes of items from the house and garage. I hope the police properly searched the house for evidence in the Kopp and Mihaljevic cases. If no one secured a search warrant related to the Mihaljevic case before they had a chance to clean house, the entire investigation should be turned over to a more committed law enforcement entity.

Frank Dienes is out of jail!

According to Fox 8 News, Frank Dienes posted a $500,000 bond and was released from the Cuyahoga County Jail.

Unbelievable.

I usually fall well on the side of the defense, but I think there's little doubt about what happened to Joe Kopp, an eccentric man who seems to not have a violent bone in his body, a man who often told people Dienes was involved in Amy's murder. And now Dienes is out of jail.

I'm interested to see what they try for a defense. Painting Dienes as mentally incompetent ain't gonna sit well with a jury. He owned a business. And somebody buried Kopp in that back yard. That shows planning and forethought. Especially if the allegations are true that he killed Joe while Char, his wife, was at the movies.

Good story on Frank Dienes, Amy links

I posted this a couple weeks ago but just noticed it was lost in that Blogger crash so I'm reposting.

Follow this link to view a comprehensive video from Channel 5 reporter Paul Kiska on Frank Dienes' connections to the Amy Mihaljevic case.

Cleveland Scene Jumps Into the Fray

Great article by up-and-commer Kyle Swenson in today's Cleveland Scene. It gives a comprehensive outline of the Frank Dienes/Kopp story and includes some new information from neighbors, including this nugget:

One former neighbor, Tom Carolin, remembers Kopp telling the kids around Rustic Oval to stay away from Dienes because he'd "killed Amy."

Again, Dienes lawyer Eric Nemecek lies about Dienes being ruled out as a suspect, but since BV detectives didn't return Swensen's calls, the lie couldn't be refuted.

FBI interested in blue vans in 1995.

Seems the FBI and Bay Village police were actively searching some leads in the Amy Mihaljevic case, in 1995. That was the year Frank Dienes was first questioned about the abduction.

This morning, I was contacted by a woman who, like Amy, received strange phone calls, in 1989. She says the FBI came by her home in 1995 and collected paint scrapings from her father's...blue van. At the time, they said they were taking it to possibly match against material in Amy's case.

If the FBI were interested in blue vans, did they take paint scrapings from Dienes' blue van, too?

Plain Dealer comes to party late, throws insults and untruths.

I wondered if I would have to address why the Plain Dealer has been so far behind the curve covering this new info about Dienes/Kopp/and Amy's case. I didn't want to because it's a lot of "inside baseball" as they say. But after reading today's article, it looks like I need to.

First, let's clear up the untruth that reporter James Ewing could not be bothered to fact check. Here's a quote from attorney Ian Friedman from the article:

"our sole focus is on the indicted case against Mr. Dienes. But there is no information that anything has changed since Bay Village police closed their investigation almost two decades ago. It was my understanding that [Dienes] was eliminated as a suspect" in the Mihaljevic case."

As Det. Spaetzel, who Ewing also spoke to, will say, when asked, the case has never been closed. Not for one minute. And nobody has been completely ruled out as a suspect.

And then there's this:

The defense attorney and the police lieutenant sounded the same cautionary note when they warned there are many rumors circulating, fueled by people heedless of the difference between rumor and fact.

See, if you know Ewing, you know he's a petty, vindictive sob who likes to slip in little slaps like this aimed at the people he's writing about. At one time he was even bumped down to writing obits again for these kind of shenanigans. His hard-on for a Portage County judge's removal was some of the worst yellow journalism the Plain Dealer has printed in the last fifty years.

I also suspect metro editor Chris Quinn had something to do with the lack of coverage for this new development. And certainly this particular article should have passed by Quinn's desk. Quinn isn't a Renner fan. Not since I exposed his tight relationship with 1st assistant prosecutor Michael O'Malley, who would pass stories to Quinn which would then show up in the pages of the Plain Dealer.

For the record, let me state again, I am not convinced of Dienes' guilt. There are many likely suspects, which you can read about on this blog. But Dienes needs to be looked at. Needs to be questioned. And people need to know the police are looking at this guy.

Fox 8 Covers Joe Kopp Vigil

Bill Martin was at the candlelight vigil held in honor of Joe Kopp last night and gets people on camera confirming that Kopp was talking about Dienes' possible involvement in Amy's murder shortly before he was killed.

Message to "Old Neighbor"

I'm interested in hearing more. Please send your contact information to me at becarriedaway@hotmail.com

I need to speak with you about this in person or over the phone.

Dienes Connection to North Olmsted Girls?

I've always believed the key to solving this case is to find a link between Amy Mihaljevic and the girls from North Olmsted who police believe were contacted by Amy's killer in 1989.

Last night, I received an email from one of these girls, now an adult. She says her parents replaced the floors in their home around the time Amy went missing. They are combing through their records to see if they had contracted with Dienes at the time.

Frank Dienes Questioned by Police 16 Years Ago *UPDATED*

Channel 5 broke the news and Fox 8's Bill Martin shows up tonight with an interview with Dienes' lawyers last night (sorry for the late post on this, blogger was down for a bit).

Martin learned that Frank Dienes was questioned about Amy's abduction way back in 1995. Which, doesn't prove anything off hand, except that Dienes is, as I expected, a manipulative liar--he said he had never heard Amy's name before and had never been questioned by police.

Also stretching the truth until it's paper-thin is Dienes' co-councel, Eric Nemecek, who told Martin:

"They didn't specifically say why they ruled [Frank Dienes] out years ago however it is clear that they did rule him out. He was never formally charged."

Not only is this an untrue statement, it is detrimental to the ongoing investigation when said on TV.

Frank Dienes was never ruled out. NEVER. Just because police stop questioning a suspect does not mean he has been ruled out. It means they do not yet have evidence to support an arrest. Further, the fact that Bay Village police have said in the past week that they are looking at Frank Dienes shows they have not ruled him out. Nemecek is smart enough to know this. It sounds like spin to me.

Meanwhile, Dienes was in court again this morning. I'll have links to coverage soon.

***UPDATE***

Channel 5's Paul Kiska was in the room for the interview, too, and has a little more here.

Do I think Frank did it?

That's the question most people are asking in posts and emails. And the one that Dienes' camp is wary of me answering.

But the answer is I just don't know.

The problem with this case is the number of individuals who look promising one way or another. You can find info about them here, too.

There are enough red flags about Frank Dienes that he should be seriously looked at. And questioned.

But there is no doubt in my mind that Joe Kopp told people Frank was involved in the girl's abduction. That alone makes Frank interesting.

But, like everyone else, I'm still waiting for that missing piece.

Is Frank Dienes Competent?

Seems the court is trying to determine if Frank Dienes is competent to stand trial at all. Dienes is floating this story that he was brain damaged after his mother gave him bad oranges a few years ago.

I'm calling shenanigans.

We're talking about a guy who ran his own flooring business, a man, who, according to his LinkedIn profile, has received Communications awards and drives boats and motorcycles. So, he's competent enough to install flooring at Mark Mihaljevic's but not competent enough to stand trial for Joe Kopp's murder? Competent enough to allegedly wait until his wife was at the movies to shoot and bury Kopp, but not stand trial?

When I spoke to him today he understood the questions I posed. He answered every one of them. He knew who I was. Seemed quite competent to me.

*UPDATED* Dienes Attorneys Have Made Me a Witness

In an attempt to end all access to Frank Dienes and his court hearings, attorney Ian Friedman got a signed order from Judge Russo today which essentially makes me a witness for the defense.

As such, I'm barred from speaking to any other potential witnesses or gathering evidence related to the Joe Kopp homicide.

The motion goes a long way in limiting reporting on this case, as the other news outlets have used this blog as a source of information.

I have no choice but to obey the order until the trial concludes.

However, I can continue reviewing any information that may link Frank to Amy Mihaljevic. So keep it coming.

EXCLUSIVE: Jail House Interview With Frank Dienes

Last Friday, I quietly made a request to visit with Frank Dienes at the Cuyahoga County Jail for 10:30 a.m. today. I didn't expect him to show up. But he was there, waiting for me when I finally got through security.

We spoke for about five minutes before he finally walked away.

Some highlights:

Renner: Do you want to tell me what you know about Amy Mihaljevic?

Dienes: Who is that? I've never heard that name in my life.

Renner: You did work on her father's house.

Dienes: I don't remember that.

Renner: You did a lot of work in Bay Village didn't you?

Dienes: Yes. For my flooring business.

Renner: Ever do work on Lindford?

Dienes: Don't remember.

Renner: Who do you remember working for in Bay Village?

Dienes: I don't remember anybody.

Renner: You don't remember the name of a single person you did work for in Bay Village?

Dienes: No.

Renner: But your business is all word of mouth. How do you not remember your referrals?

Dienes: I don't know.

Renner: Something wrong with your memory?

Dienes: I had a fever. My memory isn't good.

Renner: Your brother Jim hasn't spoken to you or your mother since around the time Amy went missing. You want to tell me about that?

Dienes: It was about the business. We had a fight.

Renner: What about the business? Did he want more money?

Dienes: I can't remember.

Renner: Did your brother suspect you had something to do with Amy?

Dienes: I don't remember.

Renner: A lot of people are telling me Joe Kopp thought you had something to do with Amy's murder. That he could prove it. Did he ever talk to you about that?

Dienes: I don't know. I don't remember.

Renner: Why did you kill him?

Dienes: I can't talk about that. My lawyers said not to.

Renner: What color was the van you were driving in 1989.

Dienes: Blue.

Renner: You can remember the color of the van you were driving in 89, but not the name of a single person you did work for in Bay Village?

Dienes: (shrugs)

Renner: Have the police or FBI been in to talk to you?

Dienes: No.

By the time Dienes walked away, his bottom lip was quivering and he was quite shook up.