Police believed slaying evidence strong

David Kihara

Monday, Dec. 12, 2005 | 8:19 a.m.

By nearly all accounts, Metro Police had the right man in the killing of Jamie O'Rourke -- her husband, Lawrence.

His wife was dead in a locked room at the Nellis Lodge motel, and he was the only one in the room with her. And Lawrence O'Rourke said he had no idea what happened.

But authorities released him on Wednesday after a man in Colorado confessed to the crime.

Still, police and prosecutors say Metro wasn't all wrong.

"If the same evidence was presented to us (again), we would take the same steps," Metro Deputy Chief Greg McCurdy said.

McCurdy said the evidence against O'Rourke was strong, including signs of a struggle and no evidence of forced entry.

Clark County District Attorney David Roger said cases of wrongly charged suspects are terrible but rare.

"From our perspective, this is a prosecutor's worst nightmare," he said. "We work hard to review cases and get it right."

The evidence, while circumstantial, appeared to be solid, he said.

"After reviewing the evidence by police, we believed we had enough evidence to go forward with a prosecution," he said.

O'Rourke was injured. He told police he had been lying on the floor before they arrived and was suffering from a neck injury. Police found scratch marks on his chest and "fingertip-size" bruises on his shoulders. Police said he told them he had been up for three days using methamphetamine and didn't know how he received the injury or what happened.

Police suspected that the injuries happened during a fight, which they believed was between husband and wife. Detectives noted that it didn't appear to be a robbery -- Jamie O'Rourke's jewelry was still on her.

Jeff Chinn, the assistant director of the California Innocence Project and an attorney, reviewed the police reports used by the district attorney's office to bring the charges. He also concluded that there was likely enough evidence to bring a case against O'Rourke.

While Chinn said there were still questions regarding the investigation, such as what the interrogation produced and what other evidence was collected at the scene, the case appeared substantial enough to merit probable cause.

He said, however, that any DNA evidence and a further investigation could have helped clear O'Rourke if someone else didn't confess, but he said, "He is a very lucky man."

Metro arrested Charles Mundlin-Rindfliesch, who told an employee of Catholic Charities in Grand Valley, Colo., that he killed Jamie O'Rourke and was feeling guilty about it.

"Charles said they were holding someone else for the crime and he felt bad," according to a police report.

Mundlin-Rindfliesch, who was staying at the same motel as the O'Rourkes, admitted to going to the victims' room intending to rob them, the report says. People were allegedly doing drugs, and at some point Mundlin-Rindfliesch hit both Jamie and Lawrence O'Rourke over the head with an oxygen bottle, a police report stated.

Lawrence O'Rourke, the police report notes, said he and his wife were "very ill" with hepatitis C, and he used oxygen and took several medications and marijuana.

Police wouldn't discuss how Mundlin-Rindfliesch could have entered and left the room, but say they believe that's the case.

According to the arrest report on Mundlin-Rindfliesch, however, there were continuing questions regarding his confession as well.

While he had information about the killing that was not previously publicized, such as the fact a medical oxygen bottle was used to hit the victims, he said the crime occurred in a back yard, while police believed it took place in the motel room, a police report stated.

"That's one of the issue's we're ironing out," McCurdy said.

David Kihara can be reached at 259-2330 or at davidk@lasvegassun.com.