Some thoughts on the Joplin Globe's article on the Jayda Kyle murder investigation

I am still not quire sure what to make of the page one article in Sunday's Joplin Globe about the investigation into the murder of three-year-old Jayda Kyle of Carl Junction.

It started with the headline- Documents drive wedge between families in abuse case.

That does not seem right. From everything I have seen and heard about this horrible event, it was the death of Jayda Kyle that drove the wedge between the families.

Yet that story was about the documents and about the Joplin Globe's efforts to make it appear as if there was something suspicious about those documents.

The reports that have popped up appear to be the type of documents often provided to families involved in DSS and juvenile office cases. They are not records normally made public or released to the media and the Globe has not been able to obtain them through official channels or to confirm their validity.

I hate to think of how many important stories the public would never know about if reporters relied on documents provided through official channels.

Then after the article makes it clear that it can't confirm the documents, the newspaper tries to have it both ways- we can't confirm these documents are real, but people are talking about it on social media, so here is what these unconfirmed documents are saying.

One problem with the Globe's approach is that later on in the article, the reporters confirm that the documents were legitimate through quotes from the lawyer representing Devyn Kyle and her parents, Judd and Carmen McPherson.

"It is unfortunate that confidential documents have been released by the other side," Springfield attorney Joe Passanise, who represents Devyn Kyle and her parents, told the Globe.

Passanise does not say that these are forged documents or allege that important information was left out of the documents- he says quite clearly that confidential documents were released.

So why all of the fuss about the Globe not being able to confirm that the documents were legitimate?

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the article is appearing in the Globe five days after these documents have already been on Facebook sites and have already been featured prominently both on the Turner Report and by reporter Jordan Aubey on KOAM.

Aubey confirmed that the documents were legitimate and so did I. And as far as i can tell so did the two Joplin Globe reporters who worked on the story. 

The Globe article does appear to have a strong slant toward the family of Devyn Kyle:

There is nothing in either document that refutes or contradicts the probable cause affidavit filed with the charges against Vaden.

(Note: Jalen Vaden, Devyn Kyle's live-in boyfriend, has been charged with second degree murder and felony child abuse.)

And then there are the final two paragraphs of the Globe article:

Passanise wishes to put to rest concerns about the investigation raised by the DSS report.

I can say that the McPherson family denies any wrongdoing and has been fully cooperative with law enforcement and the DSS office in their investigations," Passanise said.

Once again, this confirms that the documents are legitimate and that raises a question.

What was the Joplin Globe trying to prove with this article?

Previous Articles

Children's Division documents: Grandfather attempting to manipulate Jayda Kyle murder investigation

Juvenile Office documents: Jayda Kyle suffered bleeding from brain, severely torn retina, likely already brain dead when she arrived in K. C.

Probable cause: Carl Junction man abused three-year-old, left her floor bloody, unconscious