Civil Suit Announced

Trenton, NJ.

In the wake of the widely publicized Satin Strangler criminal trial acquittal, the family of murder victim Edgar Stahl has announced a civil suit against Destiny Blande.

“Despite the jury’s decision in the criminal case, we know Blande is guilty’” said Wynn Cravens, the family’s attorney. “We want her to pay for her crimes and the damage they have done to this family.” He added that they are hoping to get the trial underway as soon as possible in an attempt to minimize the psychological toll on the family.

Blande is now thought to have strangled more than 80 men along the east coast. Her father, Sinclair Blande, owner of Neon Lights advertising agency, called the allegations “completely absurd and unfounded.” “Destiny is innocent,” he said. “Her trial in this state has already proven that. This is double jeopardy. They have no case against her.”

Destiny Blande’s criminal defense attorney, Horace Krouch, will not be at her side in this trial. She has instead chosen local defense attorney Barbara Randolph to assist her. “This is a witch hunt,” Randolph said. “She was proven innocent in the criminal trial, and we will prove her innocent of these allegations as well.”

In the civil case, the plaintiff’s attorney will be required to show only a “preponderance of the evidence” that Blande is guilty, allowing a jury to determine if there is at least a 50.1% chance of guilt. This differs greatly from a criminal case, in which the burden of proof is substantially higher, requiring evidence beyond a shadow of a doubt that the defendant is guilty. Only 9 of 12 jurors are needed for a decision, rather than the unanimous decisions required in criminal cases. Unlike the criminal case, Blande cannot plead the 5^th amendment and refuse to take the stand. She may be required to testify in her defense if called to the stand.

There is much speculation over the anticipated outcome of the civil suit against Destiny Blande, who is already in dire financial straights, according to insiders. Blande, who has preferred to remain in obscurity behind a snowballing frenzy of media attention since her arrest for the Satin Strangler murders, was not available for comment.

That’s the dirt from Trenton.

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