Delayed Justice

Barbara Brott, 18, and her roomate Maryann Hicks, 19, both of Grand Rapids, MI, were murdered in 1972. Hicks was separated from her husband and had three children (aged 1, 2 and 3). Maryann and Barbara were last seen on March 10, 1972, leaving the Canopy Bar in Grand Rapids. Their decomposed bodies were found in Muskegon County on July 25, 1972 in a wooded area off a two-track near White Lake Road, in Twin Lake, MI.

We include contemporary newspaper accounts from The Grand Rapids Press and you can click on each image to enlarge it.

The Grand Rapids Press, July 26, 1972, Front page

The Grand Rapids Press, July 27, 1972, Front page

The Grand Rapids Press, July 28, 1972, page 7B

The Grand Rapids Press, Sept 7, 1972, page B1

Maryann Hicks, 19, and her roomate Barbara Brott, 18, of Grand Rapids, MI, were murdered in 1972. Hicks was separated from her husband and had three children (aged 1, 2 and 3). Maryann and Barbara were last seen on March 10, 1972, leaving the Canopy Bar in Grand Rapids. Their decomposed bodies were found in Muskegon County on July 25, 1972 in a wooded area off a two-track near White Lake Road, in Twin Lake, MI.

We include contemporary newspaper accounts from The Grand Rapids Press and  you can click on each image to enlarge it.

The Grand Rapids Press, July 26, 1972, Front page

 

The Grand Rapids Press, July 27, 1972, Front page

 

The Grand Rapids Press, July 28, 1972, page 7B

 

The Grand Rapids Press, Sept 7, 1972, page B1

The Michigan Supreme Court has decided that it’s going to take another look at one of its recent decisions, the Trentadue case. In that 2007 decision, the High Court, under the leadership of then-Chief Justice Cliff Taylor, ruled that a daughter could not bring suit against the employer of her mother’s murderer because a term of more than three years had elapsed. …Never mind that the daughter didn’t know who had killed her mother for more than a decade after it happened. This was a cold case that bears more than passing similarity to the murder of Janet Chandler. More than 27 years would pass before Jim and Glenna Chandler had any measure of criminal justice in the matter. If they had wanted to sue within the first three years they would not have known whom to sue. Only after the case was decided against the six now in prison for Janet’s murder could they have made that judgement. Their assessment was that Wackenhut, the company that had hired their daughter’s murderers (five out of the six held responsible by the law; there are The Others), bore some responsibility, especially given testimony from the witness stand that the guard company, a paramilitary organization, was the last stop for drunks and druggers (per supervisor Glenn L. Johnson). …That and the fact that the head of the detail, the man entrusted to hold the company line, was THE ONE who organized and hosted the murder party. Carl Paiva was THEIR guy.

The Trentadue decision became the law of that land with only Justices Betty Weaver and Marilyn Kelly writing their dissent. And the current court has only one personnel change…Justice Diane Hathaway in for former Justice Cliff Taylor. That’s still not a majority. That means that somebody is going to have to change his or her vote. And given that Justices Young and Corrigan have dissented from the measure to reconsider, I’m pretty sure it won’t be them. Nor do I think Republican Stephen Markman will go that way. That means it’s down to Justice Cavanagh. Although he didn’t write a dissent he DID vote against the verdict in 2007 and voted to reconsider it, too.

This should be interesting. But it represents the best chance for the Chandlers in their drive in a civil suit to hold a corporation responsible in some measure for their daughter’s murder. If Trentadue is overturned they might at least have their day in a civil court.

Mmmm-mmm-mmmmm. When something serendipitous happens I marvel. I marvel a lot, in fact, almost every day. But this would have been THE BIG SERENDIPITY. I had been having lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Margarita’s, in Holland. The food is Mexican and very, very good. And the people who run the restaurant are always so pleasant. The young woman who waited on us got to talking. She wanted to know if I was a cop. My question to her was “Do I look like a cop?” (I sure didn’t think so.) “Maybe,” she said. No, I explained, I’m just this old guy who makes films about unsolved murders. One thing led to another which led to a story on her part about an uncle and cousin who disappeared from the Thumb area of Michigan in 2002. My ears went up. When in 2002? What happened? The timing might have been right for Jack in The Box. Just maybe. Would she speak with Det. Bob Donker, the Ottawa County investigator who has the Jack case? Yes, she would.

So, I put them in touch. And for about five minutes we thought that just maybe we had Jack’s identity. Maybe. As Det. Donker put it: “That would have been the strangest way I’ve ever seen a case open up.” He allowed that he also had a little flutter.

But…no. The timing was close, but not close enough. Jack was discovered in Ottawa County May 2, 2002, beaten to death and burned beyond recognition, and these two men were last seen July 18, 2002. One of them even had contact with a Huron County Sheriff’s deputy that day. Dang, dang, dang.

So, instead of any closure in the matter, we have added two more disappearances (abductions, really) to We Remember, Ricardo Evangilio Garcia, 56, and Jose Fidencio Felix, 31.

We’ve just posted their cases and there will be more to come. Det. Richard Koehler of the Huron County Sheriff’s Department is sending on a poster that has their pictures. We anticipate we’ll come up with additional details, too.

And we know that somebody or some-bodies know(s) something all three of these cases, Jack, Ricardo, and Jose. Somebody ALWAYS knows something. And Detectives Donker and Koehler, two officers from two distant counties, really, really want to know what that is.

Serendipity? Oh, it’s great and all, but with a little intention, these cases could be solved. Maybe that falls under the category of miracle. That’s probably what it’s going to take. But miracles happen every day, too. That’s what my old friend Mae Teeters said. Mae graduated with a master’s degree at age 87 from Central Michigan University. That’s when she talked with me about miracles. And then she added this: “The secret is in recognizing them.” That was almost 27 years ago and I’ve lived by that ever since. I find she was correct.

This by Stacey Langley at The Huron Daily Tribune:

Detectives search for missing men
BAD AXE – Detectives from the Huron County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the possible abduction of two migrant workers last seen in a vehicle driving away from a Bad Axe motel.
By STACY LANGLEY
Published: Monday, August 5, 2002 3:00 AM EDT
According to Detective Richard Koehler, the missing men have been identified as Ricardo Evangilio Garcia, 56, and Jose Fidencio Felix, 31, both of Hidalgo County, Texas. Koehler said he believes the men traveled from Texas to Michigan separately in mid-July.

“One of the men spent the night at the Bad Axe motel [Maples Lanes Motel], and the next day on July 18, the second man arrived at the motel, walked across the motel parking lot, and the two haven’t been seen since,” Koehler said.
Detectives have learned that there was a confrontation between the missing men and the suspects at the motel over what Koehler believes to be illegal activity. Witnesses reported that both Garcia and Felix got into the vehicle with the suspects, two man and a woman. The missing men haven’t been heard from since.

Numerous interviews of witnesses, family and friends have been […] seeking leads as to the whereabouts of the two men. So far, Koehler said, two vehicles believed to be tied to the case have been recovered.

“Those vehicles have been impounded and have been examined by the Michigan State Police Crime Lab out of Bridgeport,” Koehler said. “The description of the third vehicle has only been given to police agencies which have been alerted to be on the lookout.”

Both Koehler and Detective Ron Roberts have been investigating the disappearance of Garcia and Felix since family members reported them missing on July 21 – four days after the incident in the motel parking lot.

Koehler said both Garcia and Felix traveled to the Thumb area to work in the fields with their families. Koehler said family and friends of the missing men said it is uncommon for the men to go without contacting them – especially this long.
Koehler believes the suspects in the case are long gone from the Thumb area, and that they frequent the Texas, Indiana or Chicago areas. Both Roberts and Koehler continue to be in contact with detectives from those areas.

“From what we gather, the suspects have strong ties to the Texas and Indiana areas,” Koehler said.

Anyone with information about suspicious activity involving people from out of the area around July 18 is asked to contact Roberts or Koehler at the Huron County Sheriff’s Office at (989) 269-6500.

This by Stacey Langley at The Huron Daily Tribune:

Detectives search for missing men
BAD AXE – Detectives from the Huron County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the possible abduction of two migrant workers last seen in a vehicle driving away from a Bad Axe motel.
By STACY LANGLEY
Published: Monday, August 5, 2002 3:00 AM EDT
According to Detective Richard Koehler, the missing men have been identified as Ricardo Evangilio Garcia, 56, and Jose Fidencio Felix, 31, both of Hidalgo County, Texas. Koehler said he believes the men traveled from Texas to Michigan separately in mid-July.

“One of the men spent the night at the Bad Axe motel [Maples Lanes Motel], and the next day on July 18, the second man arrived at the motel, walked across the motel parking lot, and the two haven’t been seen since,” Koehler said.

Detectives have learned that there was a confrontation between the missing men and the suspects at the motel over what Koehler believes to be illegal activity. Witnesses reported that both Garcia and Felix got into the vehicle with the suspects, two man and a woman. The missing men haven’t been heard from since.

Numerous interviews of witnesses, family and friends have been […] seeking leads as to the whereabouts of the two men. So far, Koehler said, two vehicles believed to be tied to the case have been recovered.

“Those vehicles have been impounded and have been examined by the Michigan State Police Crime Lab out of Bridgeport,” Koehler said. “The description of the third vehicle has only been given to police agencies which have been alerted to be on the lookout.”

Both Koehler and Detective Ron Roberts have been investigating the disappearance of Garcia and Felix since family members reported them missing on July 21 – four days after the incident in the motel parking lot.

Koehler said both Garcia and Felix traveled to the Thumb area to work in the fields with their families. Koehler said family and friends of the missing men said it is uncommon for the men to go without contacting them – especially this long.

Koehler believes the suspects in the case are long gone from the Thumb area, and that they frequent the Texas, Indiana or Chicago areas. Both Roberts and Koehler continue to be in contact with detectives from those areas.

“From what we gather, the suspects have strong ties to the Texas and Indiana areas,” Koehler said.

Anyone with information about suspicious activity involving people from out of the area around July 18 is asked to contact Roberts or Koehler at the Huron County Sheriff’s Office at (989) 269-6500.

Jim and Glenna Chandler have said that they want Wackenhut Corporation held accountable for what they see as its role in their daughter’s murder. And after U.S. District Court Judge Janet Neff dismissed their lawsuit last month they want to take the civil lawsuit against the corporation all the way, so their attorney, Rob Gaecke, has filled an appeal in the case with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District (in Cincinnati).

Here’s the WOOD TV report in broadcast form. And here’s the story from the station’s newsroom.

And here’s the coverage from The Grand Rapids Press.

At issue, of course, is the idea that had they known who was at fault in their daughter’s death the Chandlers would have filed suit in a timely fashion. Judge Neff ruled that the clock ticked out in 1983 for the 1979 murder. So, how do you file a lawsuit against persons unknown? The law is not always about logic.

Now they wait. Again.

Ken Kolker is a tremendously talented reporter who moved from the print world of The Grand Rapids Press and has thrived with the transition to broadcast journalism at WOOD TV, channel 8.  Last night that station carried a half-hour special by Kolker of the investigation into the disappearance and presumed murder of Deanie Peters.  The piece was excellent and the result could be even better: someone may come forward…someone who knows what happened, who saw what happened.  The principal suspect in the case is dead, but there likely are others who had something to do with the case.  And as long as they had nothing to do with causing her death, Det. Sgt. Sally Wolter of the Michigan State Police and the Kent Metro Cold Case Team says they will NOT be prosecuted.  Deanie’s parents need to know.  The community wants to know.  And Ken has done something we do in this kind of work: he has reached out to a mass audience but aimed at one or two who can be the solution to this particular mystery, this particular crime.  At any rate, that’s the reason we try to tell these stories: we hope to reach the right ears and eyes.  For the rest…it’s really not entertainment or intended as such.  But it is a story and–because Deanie’s life has enduring meaning–the story has meaning for all of us.