Perfect Murder, Perfect Town - Lawrence Schiller [196]
The trip to Quantico was sure to put more public pressure on everyone, however. Even now the DA’s office was being deluged with letters of complaint: “Why is this taking so long?” “Obviously you’ve been paid off.” “How come the rich always get away with it?” Hunter didn’t delude himself that the public would get more patient over time.
IS THE CASE PROGRESSING?
Just as JonBenét’s father was revealing a preposterously useless profile of her merciless killer, Boulder investigators were plodding along on their own determined path—a path now leading directly to the FBI in Quantico, VA.
Respected profilers say that unless a profile is meticulously defined by actual clues at the scene of a crime, it is little more than a wild guess.
For frustrated observers, [Hunter’s] decision to send the lead prosecutor [Hofstrom] to Quantico is a major step in developing a potential case for presentation in court.
The methodical, determined course now being pursued by police and prosecutors is in sharp contrast to their earlier conduct—a bickering, mistrusting relationship best symbolized by police withholding critical evidence from the D.A.’s office.
—Chuck Green
The Denver Post, July 25, 1997
On July 28 the Globe published a cover story under the headline ARREST THEM NOW, COPS TELL DA. It emphasized the frustration of the police and asserted their view that Lou Smit, with his Christian beliefs, had somehow bonded with Patsy over their mutual religious convictions and that it was hindering the case.
When Steve Thomas read the story, he immediately asked Jeff Shapiro to come to police headquarters. The detective lost no time in escorting him into the witness room.
“Jeff, you fuckin’ burned me,” Thomas said.
“I told my editors our conversations were off the record,” Shapiro protested. “I’m sorry—I know I screwed up. I didn’t mean to.”
“Fuckin’ Koby says to us, ‘We’ve got a fuckin’ leak and I’m going to find out who it is!’” Thomas told Shapiro.
Shapiro didn’t know what to say.
“If anyone thinks I’m leaking this…” Thomas continued. “Can you imagine what’s going to happen if [Ramsey attorney] Hal Haddon puts me on the stand?”
Shapiro was embarrassed.
“I can’t fuckin’ lose my badge over you,” Thomas said. “I’m the fuckin’ thorn in the Ramseys’ side. If I’m kicked out of here, or if us five detectives get kicked out, no one is going to be getting justice for this little girl.”
Mumbling apologies, Shapiro left.
After that, Thomas ignored Shapiro’s calls.
Indeed, in the span of seven months, Thomas had conducted 164 interviews and had traveled to Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina, and West Virginia. Thomas and a partner had interviewed every member of the Ramsey family, their friends, neighbors, ministers, and business associates, possible suspects, and prostitutes. Thomas had tracked down the sources of evidence, followed people and information on the Internet, looked into the world of beauty pageants, dealt directly with the Ramseys’ investigators, and verified the alibis of over four dozen people. Eller had given him a free hand. There were few police officers who could match Thomas’s encyclopedic knowledge of the case. He was determined to bring JonBenét’s killer to justice.
Meanwhile, Carol McKinley’s police source contacted her.
“We’ve decided to hire our own lawyers to look at the case,” the detective told McKinley. “How do you think it will play out?”
“It’s not going to make you look bad,” McKinley reassured him, but she could sense how nervous the officers were about the step they were taking.
McKinley sat on the story for three days, not knowing if her source wanted it made public. Then she called the detective and told him that if she broke the story, it would reflect favorably on the police. The public would see there was forward momentum in the case. He agreed.
At 5:00 P.M. on July 31, McKinley called Eller. “I know about the lawyers,” she said. “Do you have a comment?”
“I knew you guys would get this