Perfect Murder, Perfect Town - Lawrence Schiller [214]
Hunter knew that Koby had been avoiding the inevitable—removing Eller—since the beginning. The DA had never tried to pressure Koby about it, because he wanted to preserve his relationship with the police. Between them, they had to deal with more than four hundred felonies a year. Hunter hadn’t listened to Koby when the chief wanted Wise disciplined in February. Why should Koby listen to Hunter’s suggestions to remove Eller?
Nevertheless, Hunter knew that he and Koby had to come to terms about Eller. Frustrated, he called the chief. A few days later the two men met.
Koby began by telling Hunter that he was in the midst of restructuring the department. He wouldn’t give any details other than to say that Tom Wickman now had full authority on the Ramsey case. Hunter thought Wickman was a good man, but he told Koby that some of the cops working the case were a hindrance. They were self-righteous, conspiratorial, judgmental, and unforgiving. Before Koby left, he told Hunter that the items on the to-do lists would be completed by December 1.
Thinking that Koby might listen to Epp, Hunter called the sheriff and asked him to try once more to influence the chief to remove Eller. Epp said he would.
Koby agreed to meet with Epp, and this time the chief indeed seemed to listen. Several days later, Koby called Pete Hofstrom to talk about Mark Beckner, a twenty-year veteran of the Boulder PD and now a commander, who had stood in for Koby on several occasions and was known for his organizational skills. What did Hofstrom think of Beckner? Eller’s name was never mentioned. The DA’s office had never had a problem with Beckner, Hofstrom said.
MORE DETECTIVES MAY TAKE ON RAMSEY CASE
Police Chief Tom Koby said Friday that he’s considering adding more detectives to the JonBenét Ramsey murder investigation.
“One of the things we are still assessing is all the information we got from Quantico,” Koby said. “We have to look at our work plan and see if we need additional resources or not.”
—Charlie Brennan and Kevin McCullen
Rocky Mountain News, September 27, 1997
When Alex Hunter read the “More Detectives” story in the Rocky Mountain News, he must have wondered how the other media would react. The to-do list was lengthy. The Ramseys’ neighborhood had to be canvassed again. Cars that had been parked in the vicinity had never been checked. Investigators had to take saliva swabs from many people in order to eliminate them as suspects through DNA testing. The question of the foreign DNA found in the mixed stain on JonBenét’s underpants might innocently be accounted for by finding a playmate she had exchanged clothes with. Interviews from as far back as January, February, and March still had to be transcribed. The possible use of a stun gun, the palm print on the wine cellar door, the pubic hair found in JonBenét’s blankets, and the shoe imprint were still issues. Hunter hoped all of it would be accomplished before the press got wind of what was still under investigation.
On Saturday night, September 27, Steve Thomas called Jeff Shapiro. “Jeff, let’s get together for a few beers,” Thomas said.
The next day at 9:00 P.M., in Chautauqua Park, Gosage, Thomas, and Shapiro sat crammed into the detective’s little Mustang.
The detectives were in gym clothes. Gosage had a baseball cap on backward. Shapiro was in a black James Bond blazer. It was raining outside, just like in some detective movie.
Thomas said he wanted to go over a few things. Before long Shapiro was talking about Hunter and how the DA had suggested that he get some dirt on Eller. Then Thomas asked him to describe Hunter’s office. Shapiro now felt he was being interviewed.
“There’s a picture of J. F. Kennedy over his desk,” I said. “There’s a table at the back.” They start to laugh. “OK, OK, we believe you.