BLOGS

When I came to work Wednesday at noon, I found out that a suspect had been taken in for questioning for the murder of Mackenzie Cowell. Photographer Mike Bonnicksen had just come back from photographing the location of a search where he was taken from. His name was released and it wasn't too long that a person commenting on the story linked to a photograph I made at Cowell's memorial service they thought included him. (He is in the top row, fourth from left).

With that information, I went through my archives of photographing the memorial service looking for more images. I came up with these that were put into our library for possible use if it was indeed the suspect.

After verifying through the police that this was the suspect, I worked on cutlines and attached them to the story for use on the web and in Thursday's newspaper.

The next stage was covering the suspect's preliminary hearing in superior court. While I was out photographing another assignment, photographer Kathryn Stevens checked with the Chelan Superior Court judges chambers to get the okay for having a photographer in the courtroom which was granted us by Judge Allan.

On Thursday morning, I headed up to the courtroom to check in with the courthouse security and the county corrections staff to arrange a location for me to make photographs in the courtroom. Always helpful, they saved a spot for me near the courtroom bar where I had a pretty good view of the proceedings. Television crews were busy setting up a couple cameras, having organized a photo pool amongst themselves (so there wouldn't be about a dozen cameras in the room). I was fortunate as the only still camera member of the press. Families and friends were seated in the courtroom and from having covered the memorial service, I knew who the Cowell family members were and figured out pretty quickly who the suspect's parents were.

I brought a couple cameras with me so I didn't have to change lenses and pre-focused my telephoto lens where the suspect would be coming into the courtroom. I had hoped to get a photograph with the family in the foreground as he walked in but there were too many people between us to have a clear view. I played it safe and used my telephoto to get a clear photograph of Wilson.

The second one shows him clearer but there is little context to place him in the courtroom and I liked the fact you could see all eyes on him in the reflections of the glass - and the t.v. camera in the foreground. So we went with that one for the lead photograph.

I knew we had talked to Cowell's mother so I got a new photograph of her reaction.

Then the only thing I was missing was a photograph of Wilson's parents. I waited after court and made this photograph of her meeting the public defender.

But it didn't convey the isolation that I felt they received at the hearing. While all the t.v. camera crews were waiting in the hallway for them to exit the courtroom, I overheard security that they would take them out the back stairway so I hustled to the parking lot where they would be leaving and got this image that better fits what was going on.

Then after getting back to work, going through my images and selecting what I though were the best, I got input from Mike Bonnicksen, the head copy editor and our managing editor about photo play and got the images ready for the paper. Then on to the press conference at the Wenatchee Center. (see my next blog).

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wwhd     1 year, 7 months ago

Covering the Cowell case

How long does it take to get the results from the blood found in both locations? They found it last week!

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