Perfect Murder, Perfect Town - Lawrence Schiller [244]
On Monday, January 5, Hunter and Wise met to discuss the Ramsey case. Hunter told Wise that he expected Tom Koby to come to him in about three months and say, “We just don’t have it. It’s not there.” The two men joked that they hoped Koby would still be around to say it in public. Hunter was sure Koby would also ask that a grand jury be convened. That way, he could spread the blame around. While that might be the chief’s way of closing his file on the case, Hunter knew it would give the DA’s office a chance to carry on the investigation. Then he would be able—finally—to cut Lou Smit loose. Also, the grand jury had some powers that the police and the DA didn’t have. It could require witnesses to appear and answer questions and could demand certain documents and evidence. In addition, a grand jury would have its own investigators. New evidence might well come to light under the auspices of such a secret proceeding.
“Koby still doesn’t seem to get it,” Wise told Hunter. The chief had given the Susannah Chase case to Eller, even though Eller was leaving the department on February 28. Again, the commander wasn’t cooperating with Pete Hofstrom, who was getting his information from the coroner’s office. The Chase murder was as mysterious as JonBenét’s death. No motive had been established for the killing, and the perpetrator was still at large and unknown to the police. Moreover, the threat to public safety in Boulder was escalating. Recently there had been a rash of burglaries where entry was made through unlocked doors. In the first nine months of 1997, the police had recorded 722 burglaries, of which 231 did not involve forced entry.
BOULDERITES QUERY COPS IN STUDENT DEATH
There were at least 125 victims in the savage beating death of 23-year-old University of Colorado student Susannah Chase, and they were at a meeting Monday night with Boulder police.
The residents of the Whittier neighborhood…erupted in anger, tears and frustration at times during the meeting, and police could do little to calm their fears. Police have interviewed more than 100 people, but the investigation has gone 15 days without a suspect being named.
Residents peppered police Detective Cmdr. John Eller with questions about evidence, suspects and similar assaults in the past two months. They even questioned the department’s investigative techniques.
“We’re suggesting that young white women do not walk alone after dark,” Eller said…. “I don’t want to have anymore victims.”
—Dave Curtin
The Denver Post, January 6, 1998
Tom Koby called Alex Hunter on January 6 and asked to meet. At the Foundry coffee house, after some small talk about how Koby thought Beckner was getting along with Hofstrom, the chief got down to business.
“Fleet White came in to talk to me and Beckner,” Koby told Hunter. “White wants you off the case. He says you leaked stuff to one of the tabloids after you met with him last year.” Hunter remained silent. “He’s on the warpath, and he’s threatening to see the attorney general.” Koby said that White refused to cooperate with the police as long as Hunter was still on the case. In one conversation with detectives, White had even teased the officers: “What would you say if I told you the Ramseys owned Hi-Tec shoes?”
Hunter had known for some time that the Whites were angry with him. Bob Grant, a member of his task force, had advised Hunter to mend his fences, but the Whites wanted access to their police statements, and Hunter and Mark Beckner had declined because they felt it would taint White’s usefulness as a witness. The police believed that White might have critical