http://www.omaha.com...6&u_sid=2176262
Bed parts examined in O'Grady probe
Published Tuesday May 23, 2006 BY JENNIFER GREFF AND SUSAN SZALEWSKI WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS
A box-spring mattress, broken into little pieces, was found Monday night inside the home of the boyfriend of a missing Omaha woman, Douglas County Sheriff Tim Dunning said today.
It appeared someone was trying to remove the mattress from the home without being noticed, he said.
"Why would someone do that?" Dunning said.
Sheriff's officials have interviewed Jessica O'Grady's boyfriend in connection with her disappearance, but he has not been arrested and denies any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, in Council Bluffs, authorities searched the home of Stan and Tracy Tribble. Tracy Tribble's body was found Friday after she was reported missing May 3.
In the O'Grady case, Dunning said the 19-year-old boyfriend has been cooperating with authorities.
O'Grady, a 19-year-old University of Nebraska at Omaha student, last was heard from on May 10. She called friends on her cell phone just after 11:45 p.m. that day as she drove toward 120th and Blondo Streets.
Monday night's search of the home, which is northeast of 132nd and Blondo Streets, was the second conducted there by sheriff's officials. Officials also searched the house with a warrant on May 17.
Attorney James Martin Davis is representing the boyfriend and his aunt, who owns the home and also lives there. Davis said family members were not home when sheriff's deputies arrived with the search warrant about 9 p.m. They did receive a call notifying them that the deputies were entering the home, he said.
"I think the police have a job to do," Davis said, "but I don't want the public to jump to any conclusions.
"I hope (police) are not prematurely turning it into a homicide case."
The sheriff's mobile crime lab officers could be seen removing items from the home Monday night. Neighbors said officials carried out boards, carpet, shovels, brooms, a stair rail and parts of a bed, along with several paper bags.
Dunning said it appeared from Monday's search that there had been a "major" cleanup inside the home, and the windows had been taped up so no one could see inside, he said. Evidence from the search is being analyzed, he said.
During the May 17 search of the home, a neighbor saw crews carry out a headboard, three large bed pillows and large paper bags.
After that search, Douglas County Chief Deputy Marty Bilek said, "We've recovered some evidence to indicate a crime has been committed. It's gone from a missing person to a criminal investigation."
The Sheriff's Office also has seized the boyfriend's car, and they are continuing to search it for evidence, Dunning said.
O'Grady's car was found May 16 at a strip mall in the area of 144th Street and West Center Road.
In Council Bluffs Monday, police served a second search warrant at the home of Stan and Tracy Tribble, 133 Benton St., about 8 p.m.
Tracy Tribble apparently was last being seen by her husband when he left for work the morning of May 3. Stan Tribble said he had "a tiff" with his wife the previous night.
Tracy Tribble's body was recovered Friday from the Missouri River on the southern edge of Council Bluffs. Investigators have said they still are awaiting a cause of death for Tribble and said they are waiting for the results of more tests before deciding whether her death was a homicide.