Nadia Kersh, 23, is missing

[Unamused Cat]

Nadia Kira Kersh

A CSX railroad worker today found the purse belonging to a Homewood woman who has been missing since Monday.

Sgt. Doug Finch of the Homewood Police said Nadia Kira Kersh's purse was found on an overpass near Montevallo Road in western Birmingham.

Finch said several of the 23-year-old woman's belongings were still inside the purse.

Finch also said two more men have been detained as persons of interest in the case. One man, an ex-boyfriend of Kersh's is already in custody.

The two men latest men detained are from Birmingham. Homewood police brought in one man on Thursday night and another this afternoon, Finch said.

The search for Kersh will continue in western Birmingham, Finch said. Homewood Police have called in the FBI for assistance in the case.

Kersh was last seen Monday at about 1 p.m. when she left work at Tria Market, he said. She did not pick up her son from day care and her car was found in west Birmingham on Tuesday.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2008/11/...t_purse_o.html

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Homewood police have switched from a missing person to a criminal case in the disappearance of Nadia Kersh, 23, last seen Nov. 3, officials said Monday.

"We will have a suspect soon, in my opinion," said Homewood Det. Sgt. Doug Finch. Police believe they have built a strong case against an Irondale man and acquaintance of Kersh questioned early on. The man was held, but released for lack of evidence to make a charge, Finch said.

"We have good, strong information from witnesses," Finch said. "We have strong forensic evidence. It gets stronger as the days go by."

Asked why, with such strong evidence, the police have not charged the suspect, Finch said. "It's hard to charge homicide without a body."

Finch said he has not given up hope of finding Kersh alive. "You never want to give up hope. But it's been two weeks, and it doesn't look good."

Finch said the results of DNA analysis, which can take weeks, could be a key in the case. That analysis is being done at FBI headquarters in Quantico, Va.

The Irondale man police believe to be a suspect has hired an attorney and has not talked to police since his release, Finch said. He declined to be specific about the man or his relationship to Kersh.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnew...220.xml&coll=2

[Unamused Cat]

Police Tuesday announced the arrest of 27-year-old Joacquas Haywood. According to CBS affiliate WIAT, Haywood is an acquaintance of Kersh. He is charged with her murder.

Kersh was 23 when last seen Nov. 3, 2008, leaving her job at Tria Market in Homewood, Ala., south of Birmingham. It was first noticed that she was missing when she failed to pick up her young son from day care.

Haywood has been charged with capital murder, because authorities believe Kersh's death occurred during a burglary. Neither police nor Jefferson County District Attorney Brandon Falls would provide details, though they are confident the woman was murdered.

Kersh's body has never been found.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_1...21-504083.html

[Dakota Valkyrie]

The lone suspect held for the disappearance of Nadia Kersh will be released from jail Monday night.

The State of Alabama dismissed its case against Joacquas Haywood who had been waiting to go to trial for fifteen months.

Jefferson County District Attorney Brandon Falls says the state awaits DNA tests on Kersh's car keys and cell phone before moving forward with their case.

The state requested a continuance but that request was denied. So there were no pending charges to keep Haywood in jail.

Haywood's lawyers are happy for their client and look forward to the results of the state's evidence test.

Alaric May says, "Our position is once the evidence is tested we believe that it will further strengthen our case, that Mr. Haywood had nothing to do with this incident. And I can't call it a crime because we don't even know that a crime has been committed."

Falls says once results from the evidence are returned the state will decide how to proceed.

It could take 3 more months to get the DNA test results back from a lab.

Nadia's mother, Nancy Kersh, has not given up on finding her daughter's body.

She says police are aware of several tips about where Nadia may be. Nancy says the search for her daughter will continue this weekend.

http://www.myfoxal.com/story/1535553...ased-from-jail

Circuit Judge Clyde Jones' decision came two weeks after he refused to delay Haywood's trial set for Sept. 19 and criticized the prosecution for its lack of evidence that Haywood intentionally killed Kersh in 2008 during a burglary.

"If you arrest people you should be able to prove the person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt within a reasonable period of time," Jones said in an Aug. 15 hearing.
[...]

Prosecutors sought the trial delay after discovering earlier this month that two pieces of evidence had not been tested for DNA at an FBI laboratory, as had been requested, said Brandon Falls, the district attorney.

Failure to test those items -- which could either point to or exclude the defendant at the killer -- could have been an appealable issue, Falls said.

"We made the decision that if the judge would not continue the case, we would make certain those items were tested before going forward," he said.

Prosecutors have the right to refile the capital charge against Haywood if more evidence surfaces.
[...]

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/08/...e_drops_c.html