Bismarck Dinius Trial Begins

The trial of Bismarck Dinius, who many believe to be a scapegoat in the 2006 death-by-speedboat of Lynn Thornton, opened yesterday in Lake County. By all accounts, the prosecutor ended up helping the defense’s case in a number of ways, supporting our conviction that Dinius in no way contributed to Thornton’s death.

ABC 7 I-Team reporter Dan Noyes, acting as the fly on this courtroom’s wall, has been posting updates throughout each day on his Twitter page, and of course following up on his I-Team blog. In his tweets during District Attorney Jon E. Hopkins’ opening statement, he noted that Hopkins admits that Mark Weber’s Beats Workin’ II left the dock that night with its nav lights on! So far he’s not given any explanation as to why he thinks someone would turn off the nav lights while leaving the cabin lights on.

It’s truly baffling why Hopkins appears to be in such deep denial as to the real cause of Lynn Thornton’s death: Lake County Sheriff’s Chief Russell Perdock’s extreme speed when he slammed into the nearly motionless sailboat in the pitch black. Perhaps Hopkins needs an additional reminder of the dangers of a speeding boat.

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