Deer: You Should See the Other Guy

Strange things happen during the rut (mating season) to be sure.  You may have seen the photo of an elk trying to mount a buffalo statue just outside of West Yellowstone, Montana.  I can’t say what the result was in that case, but whether the bull elk was satisfied with his ‘hard body’ or not, he came away much luckier than the buck that chose to fight with a 640 pound ornamental statue of a big buck.  Antler marks indicate that the challenger locked antlers with the stoic buck, before finally choosing to  ram the concrete statue head first.  The buck staggered off about twenty yards from the statue (which finally tipped over) and died.  Don’t worry, the man who owns the property is a hunter with a deer tag.  I imagine it was the easier ‘hunt’ anybody’s heard of:

1. Rise from bed.
2. Scratch.
3. Pee. 
4. Walk from bedroom to front room.
5. Notice statue on its side, and dead buck about twenty-five yards from the front door.
6. Call butcher to pick up and butcher the deer. 
7. Pick up venison at butcher, tell the story of the ‘hunt’ to everyone you encounter.
8. Put the meat in the freezer. 
9. Scratch.

   And, as you contemplate the poor dead buck who took on the badass big buck in your front yard; the very buck that wanted to be a big shot with the lay-ay-ay-dees, it occurs to me that this episode is an example of natural selection, and this buck has been spotted by the great lifeguard in the sky, who says sternly: “Hey! You!  Yes you, the guy with the cracked skull!  You are OUTTA the Gene Pool!

Deer loses head-butt with Wisconsin lawn ornament - TwinCities.com

Technorati Tags: humor,funny photos,funny pictures

Monfort Paralyzed by Shooting, Prepared to Kill as Many Police Officers as Possible

Accused murderer Christopher John Monfort is paralyzed below the waist, according to a statement from his family released by his designated counsel, Julie Lawry.  "Chris Monfort's family, like any other family in the same position, is heartbroken for all parties and is struggling to understand this tragedy.  At the same time they love and stand by Chris and look forward to coming to a fuller understanding of recent events."

Monfort’s condition has been upgraded to satisfactory.  He remains at Harborview Medical Center under guard by King County Sherriff’s Deputies.  Monfort was wounded when he was approached by Seattle Police Department homicide detectives.  The detectives were present to follow up on a tip (now attributed to the apartment complex manager)  that a rare early eighties Datsun B210 was parked in Monfort’s apartment building lot, and that it had been covered for the first time just after the murder of Seattle Police Officer Tim Brenton. 

When Monfort left his apartment (just as the memorial service for Officer Brenton was concluding) he approached the Datsun and his main car which was parked next to it.  Monfort’s usual car is a black Crown Victoria, probably a former police unmarked car.  Detective identified themselves and said they had a few questions.  At that, Monfort drew a Glock nine millimeter pistol, pointed the muzzle directly into the face of Detective Sergeant Gary Nelson and pulled the trigger.  Monfort had sixteen rounds in the clip for the Glock – the magazine was full - but he had not drawn back, or ‘racked’ the slide mechanism on the weapon.  Thus, there was not round in the chamber and the firing pin simply made a small but emotionally deafening clicking sound.  When the gun did not discharge, Monfort ran to a stairwell and tried to reach his apartment.  He was blocked before he could reach it and when he turned and brought the pistol up again three detectives fired.  One shot hit Monfort in the cheek, another in the torso. 

Monfort was pulled into the parking lot by detectives and an ambulance arrived very quickly to take the man to Harborview, the city’s trauma hospital.   Reporters who had arrived at the Emergency entrance to Harborview reported that there was a very large volume of blood – an unusual quantity according to several.  That observation concerning heavy blood loss, as well as the news helicopter live feed that I watched and commented on in an earlier post was the only information available until Acting Chief Diaz reached Harborview.  He also indicated at that time that the car found under a cover was indeed “the car” used in the attack.  We now know that the car carried a bullet fired by the courageous and composed beyond her years on the force Britt Sweeny.  Monfort was immediately rushed into surgery, where he underwent a very long surgery to repair damage caused by the two bullets that had hit him.  He was listed in critical condition and was not upgraded to serious condition until the following evening.  Monfort was upgraded today to satisfactory today. 

Police have read him his Miranda rights, and say he has not requested an attorney.  Assistant Chief Pugel, responsible for the Investigations bureau of the Seattle Police Department has stated that Monfort is not being interrogated at this time – in response to speculation by defense attorneys that SPD might be sequestering Monfort for the purpose of getting him to confess.  The Assistant Chief’s manner suggested to me that there was so much physical evidence already that a confession is not of great importance to securing a conviction in the case.  A recap of the evidence, as it is known now:

• Datsun B210 matching the descriptions of witnesses  as well as the video of the car obtained from the dashboard camera in Officers Brenton and Sweeny’s unit and others responding to the shots fired radio call.  The Datsun was covered with a car tarp for the first time shortly after the Halloween shooting, and remained so in the space next to Monfort’s other car – a Crown Victoria which looks to be a retired unmarked police unit.
• A bullet recovered from the Datsun B210, matched to Officer Britt Sweeny’s service weapon.
• .223 rifle matched in ballistic testing with the rifle used to wound Officer Sweeny and kill Officer Brenton, found in Monfort’s apartment.
• Improvised explosive devices and the materials to make fire bombs, found in Monfort’s apartment.  Included was a notebook listing the time it took various fuse lengths to burn down.  Monfort’s apartment was booby trapped to detonate fire bombs on entry, and SPD used a robot to make entry.  Police also found several other incendiary materials including a fine powder accelerant used to create explosive force when confined to a small area (like, say, a pipe) and ignited.
• A long document expressing rage at police in general.  A copy has not been made available and police have offered no ‘on the record’ details'.  Some reports indicate the manifesto also threatened to attack officers, but I haven’t seen any confirmation of that.
• DNA from:
• a US flag left at the maintenance yard arson site;
• a threatening letter left at the maintenance yard;
• a Us flag bandana at the location of the shooting;
• water bottle and cap left at the maintenance yard;
• A copy of the letter left at the maintenance yard arson, decrying police brutality and threatening to kill officers, was found on Montfort’s printer, in his apartment when police entered.
• Materials were found in Monfort’s apartment matching the improvised explosives used at the maintenance yard firebombing that damaged a mobile command unit and three squad cars, and only narrowly missed injuring or killing police and firefighters responding to the arson call.
• Propane bottles matching the ones used in the fire bombing at the maintenance yard were found in Monfort’s apartment – some already assembled into an explosive device.
• Witness testimony indicating that a Datsun matching the description of the car provided by police dash camera videos and Officer Sweeny had been seen following a police patrol car several times in the half hour prior to the shooting.
• Witness testimony that this car – Monfort’s, as we have come to know because he hid the car, it contained a bullet from Officer Sweeny’s gun, etc. – had tailed Sweeny’s patrol car, stopped and reversed into a dark parking lot just behind the police vehicle.  He waited until the traffic stop was concluded, and then pulled alongside the police car and opened fire.  Witness also saw Monfort execute a 3point turn to avoid the dash cam (avoidance FAIL).  The appearance of the Datsun on Sweeny’s dash cam just fifteen minutes prior to the shooting corroborates the witness statement as well.
• Video of a traffic stop just two blocks from the site of the shooting nine days prior to Halloween.  The video documents that Monfort had come to the attention of an SPD unit on routine patrol because he had been driving around the area slowly, looking back and forth.  The officers thought he many be lost, and when he failed to signal a turn he was stopped.  From the first sentence, where and officer asked Monfort if he knew where he was trying to go was met with a snappish remark in return.  The video tends to document Monfort’s state of anger at police, as well as indicating that he may have been cruising the neighborhood.  Perhaps he was planning his escape route to Tukwila or perhaps looking for areas where he noticed police cars present.  In the light of the events which followed, this video tends to augment the other evidence above.
• A military style knife identical to one found at the maintenance yard was found in Monfort’s apartment.
• Though it is not evidence, the profile police of the unknown suspect in the shooting, and published along with the dash videos of the suspect’s Datsun, matched the suspect identified the next day as a result of the manager’s tip so closely it is hard to believe that the profile author(s) did not already have a suspect and reverse-engineered a profile.  I’ve never seen one this accurate in such detail.
• Monfort’s reaction when detectives approached him in the parking lot of his apartment building.  His response when the officers identified themselves and said they wanted to talk with him, was to draw a Glock, aim at a detective at close range and pull the trigger. Had Monfort remembered to charge the firing chamber when he loaded the magazine another officer would be injured or worse.  The reaction was immediate and showed no hesitation, and to me that says that Monfort was willing and ready to shoot an officer if he was approached.  He tried to run, and when hemmed in he reacted without hesitation and attempted to bring his pistol to bear again.  Flight has been treated as a consciousness of guilt in our justice system, and in this case it seems quite clear to me that Monfort’s first decision when police asked to speak with him was to attempt to kill a policeman – or God knows how many with sixteen rounds in one magazine before he’d need to reload.  His second reaction was to run, and when he was blocked from reaching his cache of weapons and explosive materials in his apartment, Monfort raised the Glock again.  Attempted murder, flight, attempt to shoot officer again adds up to a strong indicator of consciousness of guilt.
• Monfort made a presentation while studying criminal justice at the University of Washington (the presentation is posted in several places, just Google ‘Christopher Monfort jury nullification”).  The presentation supported the work of a professor at another university who has advocated jury nullification (a jury which disregards the judge’s instructions), and in fact Monfort wished to augment the professor’s work by advocating that juries acquit accused minority defendants regardless of the evidence or instructions of the judge.  He argues that the justice system is unfair to people of color, and because of this juries had a duty to level the playing field.  Monfort apparently was not picky about crimes in advocating jury nullification.  He included all crimes in his concept that juries should acquit.
• I expect that the state crime lab will be adding additional forensic evidence in the coming weeks, such as demonstrating that the composition (chemical constituents, manufacturing process, impurities or contaminations information, brands, etc.),  of the materials used at the fire bombing site and in Monfort’s apartment.   I don’t believe I’ve listed all the evidence in these bullet points, but I do think that I’ve explained why the Assistant Chief may have hinted that the family and Ms, Lawry need not worry that police were isolating Monfort to intimidate him into confessing.  I’m sure the Chief need not have hinted that not only were officers NOT talking with Monfort in an effort to get a confession, but of course the Seattle Police Department does not ever coerce confessions.  And in this case, I read the Chief’s non-verbal cues as conveying the impression that there was so much evidence that police didn’t need a confession to get a conviction.

Monfort’s mother answered some questions through Ms. Lawry, counsel appointed to his case.  Monfort is an only child (though a person claiming to be his half-brother with a shared father has been posting in forums about the case).  Lawry also made available some questions she had asked and answers given by Monfort’s mother:

“As a little boy it was Scouts, baseball, football, playing outside with friends at any chance. He loved putting model cars and airplanes together. He developed a major interest in ariplanes and collected books on them and later learned to sky dive and as an adult learned to love scuba diving, motorcycling and he loved to travel. While in Community College he began to paint and loved to paint to music and won a prize for one of his paintings at the school. He also is a lover of music - all genres and taught himself guitar and would often give gifts of music to friends and family.”

Prosecutor Dan Satterberg’s statement at the press conference announcing that he would file aggravated first degree murder charges among others brought an unwelcome image to my mind of Waco, Texas and the Branch Davidian compound conflagration. According to Satterberg:

“This case is unique in that Monfort deliberately planned to confront police and kill as many officers as he could.  He was planning to make a final armed stand should he be discovered."

Monfort had booby trapped his apartment, had fire bombs waiting for use, as well as his .223 rifle.  In retrospect, the consequences of approaching Monfort to ask questions could have resulted in other deaths win the ranks of both the targeted group - police officers and a likely unintended group – other residents in the apartment building.  Had Monfort made it to his apartment, the scene I watched live as news helicopters hovered above the building might have been of a firefight followed by explosions and a very big fire in the apartment building rather than a brief view of the accused being stabilized for transport and then of the covered B210, and the dozens of police cars stacked up for several blocks on the road leading to the building.  The street was so jammed with vehicles that when the  SWAT and crime scene vehicles arrived, officers had to move some patrol cars just to get the larger vehicles to the scene.

That Monfort carefully planned these crimes is clear, and his letter to police, left at the scene of the arsons and on his printer, Monfort told police to:

“Start policing each other or get ready to attend a lot of police funerals."

Thankfully, an alert citizen and quick and careful police work by Seattle Police Department investigators brought down the curtain on Monfort’s play before anyone else could be harmed.

Technorati Tags: Christopher John Monfort,Murder,Seattle Crime,Seattle True Crime,True Crime,Criminals,Death Penalty

Seattle Prosecutor Enumerates Five Charges Against Accused Cop-killer

In a press conference held just blocks from where Christopher John Monfort remains hospitalized in serious but stable condition at Harborview Medical Center, the trauma center for the Seattle area, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg enumerated five charges he expects to bring against Monfort.  “The death penalty is reserved for the worst of the worst.  Killing a police officer falls within my definition of the worst of the worst crimes.” Satterberg said.  The charges are aggravated first degree  murder, three counts of attempted murder – for the attempt on the life of Officer Britt Sweeny, the try at killing officers responding to the first fire bomb by detonating a second bomb, and for the incident when detectives approached him to question him and he responded by drawing a pistol and pulling the trigger.  He had forgotten to charge the chamber in his sixteen shot Glock, and only that prevented Homicide Detective Sergeant Gary Nelson from being shot in the face.  The final charge will be for arson at the maintenance yard.

At this point the prosecutor will be delayed in making a determination if Monfort is eligible for the death penalty.  An evaluation of mental state will need to be completed and Monfort’s recuperation will need to progress before an arraignment can take place.  It may well be next spring before the death penalty determination is made.

According to SeattleCrime.com’s Brian Slodysko, Satterberg also mentioned another item found in Monfort’s apartment, in addition to the bombs, fire bombs, bobby traps, rifles and handguns:  child pornography.  I missed that tidbit.  I didn't think I could like the accused less, but of course I could and can.  I wonder if his mother will say that the police planted it?  Like they fire bombed their own command vehicle and squad cars, nearly killing officers and then planted in Monfort’s apartment bomb-making materials linked to the maintenance yard arson? 

Documents included in the filing of charges contained the full text of the letter left at the maintenance yard fire bombing:

“October 22nd is the 14th National day of protest to stop police brutality. These Deaths are dedicated to Deputy Travis Bruner, he stood by and did nothing, as Deputy Paul Schene Brutally beat and Unarmed 14 year old Girl in their care. You Swear a Solemn Oath to Protect US from All Harm, That includes You ! Start policing each other or get ready to attend a lot of police funerals.

We Pay your bills.

You Work for us.”

According to Satterberg, and clearly shown by the photographs of Monfort’s apartment, the accused murderer had made his home into a bunker from which he could make a stand should police identify him.  Satterberg referred to Monfort as a “one man war” in the making, had he not been apprehended.

 

Technorati Tags: Christopher John Monfort,Murder,Seattle Crime,Seattle True Crime,True Crime,Criminals

 

 

Cold Case Gets a Boost from Local Television News Station

KIRO 7 reporter Chris Halsne has done a brilliant job of developing a story that could very well put a serial killer in prison.  Over thirty-five years ago, three seemingly unrelated disappearances went from baffling to cold cases, leaving families and investigators frustrated.  Now, with the unlikely help of a news reporter, cold case detectives may have another chance to close these long cold cases after all.

In 1973, a woman and her young son disappeared from the small town of Port Townsend, across Puget Sound from Seattle. A roommate told people the woman and son had left, and no missing persons report was ever filed.  Three years later, in 1976, a mother of five living in Kent, a suburb just south and east of Seattle.  As with the disappearance of the woman and her son from Port Townsend, the woman left home for a routine activity (studying for a college exam) and never returned.  Both families have wondered for more than thirty years just what might have been the fate of their loved ones.

Halsne has spoken with investigators in both Kent and Port Townsend about the cases, and about the man police are calling a suspect: Glenn Bagley.  Bagley is a retired civil engineer who worked for the Jefferson County managing roads projects at the time of the two cases.  He left “suddenly” shortly after the disappearance of the second woman, moving to the Philippines and earning a living as a freelance engineer. 

How did the original detectives link Bagley to the cases?  In the case of Althea Blankenship and her son Jeffrey, Bagley was sharing a home with Blankenship as his roommate.  They developed a romantic relationship.  Bagley was separated from his soon-to-be ex wife – the woman who would go missing three years later – at the time.  She was last heard from at the home and Bagley is believed to have been the last person known to have seen the woman and son.  Bagley has claimed that he drove the two to Seattle Tacoma International Airport, where they planned to take a flight to Greece.  No records document the pair leaving Sea Tac on any flight, and customs doesn’t have a record of them leaving the country.  The Kent woman who disappeared three years after Blankenship and her son was called Esther Mae Gesler.  She had left home saying she was going to study for a college exam over the weekend.  Her ex-husband was Glenn Bagley.  Shortly after Gesler’s disappearance, Bagley left the country “abruptly”, according to the Jefferson County Sherriff’s investigator.  When contacted about the disappearance, Bagley said he didn’t see Gesler and that he had an alibi for that weekend.  His girlfriend was willing to give a statement saying that Bagley had been with her in Port Townsend building a cat house in his garage.  It was enough at the time.

Years later, though, the woman came forward and told investigators that she had lied.  She claimed in 2004 that Bagley had threatened to kill her if she ever revealed the false alibi, and that she’d “end up in the same culvert in Quilcene as Esther”, according to Halsne.  The accusation rang true to investigators, who knew that Bagley’s job as a roads project engineer would have given him local information and cover for disposing of remains in hard-to-find places throughout the county. 

At some point after Bagley’s former girlfriend had recanted her alibi, cold case investigators discovered that Bagley’s name came up in both cases.  Bagley claimed that he’d not had any contact with his ex-wife in the months prior to her disappearance, but after determining through phone records that Bagley had called her, police connected the two cases and Bagley became the prime suspect.  As Kent Homicide Detective Wayne Himple told Halsne,  “What are the chances? What are the odds of one person being associated with the disappearance of three people? And not just three people, but of people he was closely related to or in proximity of. They lived with him. The odds have to be astronomical, in my view…”

The Port Townsend paper interviewed a number of people who knew Bagley, including another ex-wife.   He was described as a good engineer, organized and neat professionally, but with a more exotic personal life.  One person said he was ‘weird’ and that no one who knew him would be too surprised if he is guilty of three murders.

When interviewed in Port Townsend regarding his ex-wife’s murder, Bagley appeared nervous to detectives.  His girlfriend provided an alibi, and not long thereafter Bagley was on his way to the Philippines.  Detectives have not been able to speak with Bagley in person since 1976.  When they began looking for Bagley in 2004 following the recanted alibi, he was nowhere to be found. and Kent did not have the cold case budget to send detectives to Manila to interview Bagley now.  Fortunately, as KIRO News investigative reporter Chris Halsne contacted investigators about the cases, as well as surviving family members and the ex-girlfriend who recanted the alibi she’d given Bagley, Halsne was able to track down Bagley in the Philippines.  Moreover, Halsne was able to arrange a trip to do what police couldn’t afford.  Interview Bagley.  It is worth a look at the video of the report to watch the suspect’s demeanor and answers to questions.

After several days of street surveillance and some encounters Halsne describes as ‘unpleasant’ with armed men guarding Bagley’s residence, he was able to speak with Bagley in person.  Some excerpts are available in the link below, as well as photos, a timeline and transcript of the interview.  His answers, at least to me, are consistent with a man who could kidnap and murder two women and a small child.  He chuckles when discussing the disappearances, and is rather blase about them, but shows discomfort and perhaps a stronger emotion when told what his ex-girlfriend had said in recanting her alibi of him.  Word is that investigators are surveying culverts in Jefferson County to see if they can locate any remains.  At 69, Bagley may have thought he’d gotten away clean (if he is guilty of these crimes), but for the first time in thirty plus years he must look over his shoulder to find close pursuit.   Halsne has put together a top-notch report, and KIRO has not only pursued a fascinating story, but may end up helping to solve three very old, but no longer cold cases.

http://www.kirotv.com/news/21442051/detail.html

http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=25531&TM=23660.71

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2009/10/is_port_townsends_glenn_allan.php

http://www.kirotv.com/video/21474222/index.html

PHOTOS- COLD CASE TIMELINE

http://www.kirotv.com/station/21457924/detail.html

Technorati Tags: cold case,Glenn Allan Bagley,KIRO,Murder,Port Townsend,crime,true crime,criminals,murder,missing persons

Monfort Motivations Continue to be Unclear

It is plain as can be that Christopher Monfort developed a deep rage against police officers.  It is just as plain that he wanted to participate in a career within the justice system and even as a police officer himself, during his student years.  There was a militant aspect to Monfort’s writings, and his beliefs about the justice system seem to have evolved (or devolved as it were) into something angry and enraged.  In the last two or three days several sources have mentioned what police have called a “manifesto”.  This document, left amid the handguns, rifles, booby-traps and improvised bombs which police found when they entered Monfort’s apartment, is said to be lengthy and to rail against the police, and Monfort’s views that the police are brutal and unfair in treatment of minorities.  Monfort’s motivation clearly included the rage that built for whatever reason against police, but what remains unclear is what drove him to such a drastic escalation in the past few weeks. 

One neighbor said that he’d spoken with Monfort about a month before the shooting and Monfort had asked the man about what it took to be an electrician, as his job as a security guard was not going well.  About two weeks later the same man found two uniform shirts for a security company wadded up and in the trash of the apartment complex laundry.  The man took them, not putting them together with Monfort.  This was shortly after he had received a $550 citation for driving without insurance.  Speculation around Monfort’s motivations is a stew of longer-standing beliefs about the basic fairness of police and the judicial system, a recent incidence of police brutality by a King County Sherriff’s Deputy (now being prosecuted), Monfort’s personal demons (those that kept him from forming close relationships, perhaps made him feel he wasn’t given the proper standing in the community), difficulties at work, and who knows what else.  As I mentioned on Friday night, it is amazing how closely Monfort fits the profile police developed – days before there was a suspect.

Technorati Tags: Christopher John Monfort,crime,true crime,Seattle Crime,Police Officer murdered,Criminal Profile

Are M's interested in trade for Overbay?/ $200 million for King Felix?

The Seattle PI Mariners Blog is carrying a report from the baseball meetings this week in Chicago.  Several sources have indicated that the Mariners are talking about a trade to bring Overbay to Seattle to play first base.  The timing of the rumors and reports are interesting as the Mariners first baseman Russell Branyan, who had a breakout year this season before a herniated disc shut him down, turned down a one year contract offer by the Mariners, saying he’d like to get a two year deal.  The Mariners may be wary of a 34 year old first baseman with a herniated disc – probably with good reason – and Overbay has similar numbers to Branyan (though he had roughly half the homers in an almost equal number of at-bats).  Are the M’s letting slip a bit about the negotiations with Toronto to let Branyan know they have options?  I think they want him back – they’d not have made a one-year offer otherwise – but perhaps due to his back they want to minimize the downside if it is serious and lingering.  That’s smart.  Personally, I’d love to see Branyan back and healthy all year.  He got his first chance to play every day with the Mariners, and before the back injury he responded very well to the chance to hit against both left and right handed pitching. 

Are M's interested in trade for Overbay?

I was listening to the morning show on KJR Sportsradio 950 this morning and Mitch Levy mentioned a report from the meetings in Chicago that the Yankees could conceivably offer Felix Hernandez a contract worth as much as $200 million, guaranteed.  The discussion was over whether the Mariners were going to try and sign him to an extension, despite two years remaining on his current contract.  Could the M’s get him for $125 now, by allowing him to start making the bigger bucks sooner?  Who knows?  One thing is certain: If King Felix continues to pitch anywhere near what he did this year over the next two seasons, he’ll be a brilliant, dominant number one starter with more than six seasons of major league experience, and possibly another 12-14 years to pitch in the major leagues.  But $200 million guaranteed?  Holy Cow!

Technorati Tags: Felix Hernandez,Seattle Mariners,baseball,free agents,Mariners trades,Mariners players,Russell Branyan

Anacortes “Dog Whisperer” Suspected Dead (Updated December 8)

In a strange case that will likely be unfolding for quite some time, a well-known dog trainer has disappeared and police believe he has been murdered. 

Mark Stover has been missing for about two weeks now, and the various pieces of information that have trickled out thus far suggest that Stover is likely to have been murdered.  Sometime on October 28, a neighbor of Stover’s noticed one of Stover’s cars and a car owned by the boyfriend of Stover’s ex-wife.  The neighbor filed a trespassing report saying he’d seen only Oakes standing next to the cars, and he also witnessed Oakes holding a tarp or large sheet of plastic between the vehicles.  They were parked back-to-back which certainly suggests that he was transferring something between the two vehicles.  The man, named Michiel Oakes, was stopped by police later that night and the officer noticed that Oakes had stacks of blankets in his car, as well as a lot of dog hair on his shirtsleeve.  The officer warned Oakes against trespassing, and sent him on his way.

The next morning Stover’s fiancée reported him missing.  Police entered Stover’s home and found his dog bleeding profusely from a gunshot to the face.  There were few signs of Stover – just a few blood smears on the front porch, a hallway and bedroom.  Police reported that there was a very heavy smell of bleach in a bathroom, and it does seem ominous that a bathroom was thoroughly cleaned with bleach, and that the boyfriend of the victim’s ex-wife was seen with a large amount of plastic on the night before the man was reported missing.

Oakes has been arrested for murder, despite the fact that the body has not yet been found.  No word yet on whether Stover’s ex-wife was aware of or a participant in the murder or disposal of remains.  I’m not including her name because she has not been charged in connection with the case.

There are mixed reports about the circumstances of Stover’s divorce.  Some reports indicate that it was a bitter split, while others give the impression that it was in the past.  Stover’s ex-wife was granted a protection order in 2008, and there may have been some friction recently over sale of a private island on which Stover and his then-wife had operated a dog training business.  Clients included many high profile people from the Northwest.  Stover bought his wife out of the business at the time of the divorce.  Her family owned the island and he was apparently seeking some share of the sale price based on work he had done there.

Police traveled to the ex-wife’s home, and interviewed her along with Oakes.  At one point Oakes excused himself to retrieve some medicine from his car.  He withdrew a bag and tossed it down a slope, where police later found it.  The bag contained a .22 pistol and smelled strongly of bleach.  Oakes was carrying a 9mm handgun on his person as well.  Presumably, the combination of Oakes effort to hide the gun, the bleach smell suggesting a possible connection to the bleached bathroom at the victim’s home, the witness who saw Oakes with a large amount of plastic, his own car and Stover’s car added up to probable cause and he was arrested.  No doubt there is additional evidence which has not been made public, and  the size of the bond – Oakes is being held on a $5 million bond – is a reflection of flight risk and the judge’s assessment of danger to the community.

Update 1:  Police found Stover’s car, abandoned at a tribal casino.  It had blood smears on inspection, as well as a typed letter to police and the car keys were on the driver’s seat.  Police have not released any information about the letter’s contents.

Update 2:  Some new information came out this week when charges were filed.  The court documents indicate that in addition to the above fiasco whereby Oakes kept the weapon and bleach throughout a two hour drive over a mountain pass.  He only discarded it down a ravine next to Stover’s ex-wife’s house when police were there.  Worse, he made a couple of statements to his ex-wife that are pretty damning.  Oakes is quoted as telling his ex that if the police ‘find what’s in my car I’ll be in jail for the rest of my life’.  He is also said to have told her that he had a big and dangerous mission that went bad.  Apparently he met her in Everett after the killing but before driving to see his girlfriend (Oakes’ ex-wife).

Now from the court documents, we learn that not only did he have the .22 and bleach-smelling bag, but police also found a receipt for three ankle weights, anchor line, a backpack, shin guards and camouflage clothes.  In the car, the police found a backpack matching the receipt (which indicated the items were purchased on the day Stover disappeared), a set of instructions for a silencer and a bulletproof vest.  Just everything a guy needs for a big, dangerous mission involving a guard dog and his master.  Had Oakes not purchased the items that very day when Stover went missing, he might have had an argument to make that those things weren't unusual to find in his car at all.  Oakes had initially met Stover’s ex-wife when he was hired as her bodyguard (presumably to protect her from Stover, whom she had taken out a protection order against, claiming she had hidden on her property and pointed a gun at her), and it might be an argument that he had the vest, and the rest (all but the bleach), all because they were tools of his body guarding gig.  Of course, the bleach, the receipt showing it was all bought the very day Stover went missing, and his little ploy to sneak out and throw the incriminating evidence into a ravine next to the girlfriend’s house, are very much indicative of consciousness of guilt.  He kept the items as he drove through forests, but decided to throw them out while a deputy watched.  That is almost too dumb to believe – maybe too dumb to live. 

As new information has come out, it throws Oakes in a bit different light,  Was Stover really stalking his ex-wife?  Was she afraid that he’d shoot her next time?  Is that why she hired Oakes to protect her?  I think the answer to all of those questions is yes, and the motive likely comes clearer in knowing this.  As he ‘guarded’ Stover’s ex-wife’s body, the two became romantically involved and were planning a trip to Portland.  Perhaps the motive was that he wanted an end to Stover’s nuisance, and he intended to threaten Stover to  teach him a lesson.  Maybe he went to Stover’s house thinking he was a movie tough-guy body guard who would scare the stalker off.  Perhaps, when Oakes confronted Stover, Stover ordered his guard dog to attack Oakes,  This is consistent with the fact that Oakes had a lot of dog hair on his shirt sleeves when the officer stopped him and warned him not to trespass (the lot where the two vehicles were spotted with plastic between them is private property).  That could mean that the dog – Dingo – had attacked.  Guard dogs are trained to clamp down and hold onto the arm of the person they’re charging.  Also, since the dog received a glancing blow, and from the initial comments it appears that the wound was from above (shooting at a downward angle), Oakes might even have shot the dog when Dingo was already chomping on his arm.  Then, with things out of hand, perhaps Stover says he is calling the police, or maybe makes a dash for his own gun.  Did Oakes then, with the situation out of hand, and likely having visions of a long prison sentence for numerous felonies, pull the trigger?  Perhaps he stopped Stover by threat, warning shot, whatever, and made Stover get in the bathtub, where he shot and killed him to keep him from being the witness that could put Oakes away for a very long time.  Though there was reportedly trace blood found in the bathroom, the room had been doused with bleach, which is sometimes used by people who intend to destroy DNA evidence – and sometimes it does. Is this scenario plausible with what we know of the evidence?  Did Oakes just go to Stover’s house thinking he’d intimidate Stover and thereby keep him from stalking the woman Oakes was hired to protect, and then when things suddenly got out of hand (Did Stover send the dog at him when Oakes entered his house?  When Oakes pulled his 9mm?), Oakes felt he had to kill Stover to try and keep out of jail.  Is that the moment when the big, dangerous mission turned into a job gone bad? 

I think his original plan was to kill Stover for several reasons: first,  the typed ‘suicide’ letter found in Stover’s car is likely to have been typed beforehand.  Second, Oakes bought anchor rope and ankle weights that day, which would make any reasonable person think he planned to sink the body to hide it.  Third, he bought children’s shin guards, something I failed to notice in my first review of the purchases.  Shin guards for an older child would make pretty good forearm protection if one was concerned about a guard dog attacking, it seems to me.  

If this scenario is the really the way it happened then Oakes was damned unlucky that the witness called police about his trespassing.  And then there is the trespassing itself.  The witness reports that the vehicles of both men, just Oakes visible, parked back-to-back with plastic stretched between them and blocking observation of what, if anything, was being transferred between vehicles, the piles of blankets and tarps (which were apparently not in the vehicle when it was searched after arriving at the girlfriend's home in Winthrop); these were all important in putting Oakes in the area at the time.  They go a long way toward showing that Oakes had the opportunity to murder Stover. 

It is likely that police would have looked at Oakes anyway, eventually, just based on his relationship with Stover’s ex-wife.  They might have canvassed all the area stores to see if Oakes had bought anything that tended to incriminate him, but without the receipt they found in his car this would be a manpower intensive effort for a smallish police force.  

When police working the case received a call from the Snohomish County Sherriff putting them in contact with Oakes’ ex-wife,they began looking at Oakes in earnest, since they now had him with opportunity and incriminating statements.   Once the deputy who had spoken with Oakes’ ex-wife alerted the case detectives they immediately left for Winthrop, and found Oakes, the bag and other items including the receipt.  I have this impression of Oakes coming seeing the ex, amped up after the event and saying man, ‘my big dangerous mission went bad!  If the police find what’s in my car I am going to prison for the rest of my life’.  Perhaps his girlfriend had known that he was going to go put the fear of Oakes into Stover, but didn’t expect this.  Or maybe she didn’t know about it at all, and was surprised when Oakes was arrested.  Whatever the scenario with Stover’s ex, we know that Oakes’ ex did the moral thing when she heard Stover was missing.  She called the Sherriff.  She told the investigators what he’d said to her. 

Sadly for Stover’s ex, she isn't such a good judge of men.  At least twice burned, with a possible stalker and a murderer in her last two relationships.  One wonders if she will be gun-shy, as the saying goes, to get involved with a man again?

Update 3:  Additional tidbits emerging from review of court documents:  Added to her allegation that Stover had been on her property and pointed a gun at her, the protection order Stover’s ex sought also indicated that Stover was seen by a neighbor going through her trash.  The ex-wife’s name is now being made public (I’m reluctantly going to use her name also since it is already ‘out there’ now).  Ms. Opdycke has become a licensed private investigator since the couple’s divorce.  By the way, the dog Dingo, a Belgian Malinois, is recovering and expected to make a complete recovery. 

One trivial coincidence was that when the story appeared in the Seattle Times, the two advertisements which were linked to the story were for the Wal-Mart store where Oakes made his purchases and the casino where Stover’s car was found.  Not such a big co-incidence given Google’s ad to content software is so good, but kind of eerie anyway.  The final tidbit for this update is that when police searched Oakes’ laptop they found a receipt for a tactical training school where he had paid to attend a course.  I am working on getting the name of the school to see what tactics they teach in the course.

Update 4 (November 27, 2009):

Attorneys for Michiel Oakes petitioned the court for a reduction in bail from the $5 million initially set when Oakes was arrested.  His counsel pointed to Oakes strong ties to Washington, having raised four children and no criminal history as factors to be considered in setting reasonable bail.  The Superior Court Judge in Skagit County  agreed that Oakes bail should be lowered, and he placed it at $2.5 million.

Divers searched an area of the Swinomish Channel near a highway bridge after cadaver dos alerted in the area.  The search was called off without results, and a police spokesman indicated that although divers may return to the area, the current is so quick at that site that the remains, if they had been placed in the channel, they quite likely would have floated or drifted a great distance.

A weird development in the case is a report from the police investigating the murder that in August a tip was called in saying Stover was carrying drugs.  He was stopped and officers found a small quantity of marijuana in his car.  “There was some odd circumstances about this anonymous tip,” according to Chief Criminal Deputy Will Reichardt.   “There were some (indications) that maybe there was a setup.”  Friends of Stover have told reporters and commented in online forums that Stover was never known to use drugs.  Reichardt would not elaborate as to why he suspected the marijuana found in Stover’s car is likely to have been a setup.

Detectives have said that they were able to locate Stover’s car on surveillance video being parked in the casino parking lot.  No word on whether they were able to identify the driver who parked the car that evening.

Update 5 (December 4, 2009)

Michiel Oakes, the man accused of murdering Mark Stover, will likely be released on bail sometime today.  His original bail was $5,000,000, but the judge reduced it to $2,500,000.  His family may have raised the $250,000 it takes to post the $2.5 million bond.  The judge, in response to prosecution requests, has imposed some extra conditions:  Oakes will be required to wear an ankle locating and tracking bracelet, remain in his home in Renton, and is barred from speaking with about half the witnesses in the case.  The judge granted protection orders for the woman who reported Oakes vehicle next to Stover's at the Grange, and for the accused's ex-wife.  That means that should he contact them he would face an additional felony charge (I wonder how much deterrent that is when facing murder 1?).  Local comments online are virtually unanimously opposed and/or outraged that Oakes may make bail.

Update 6 (December 8, 2009)

Oakes was sent home to a residence south of Seattle today. He posted the $250,000 required to secure the $2.5 million bond. He had actually posted the bond by Sunday, but it took an extra couple of days to get the monitoring ankle bracelet into the Skagit County jail.

Oh, a couple other items: I have been able to track down information from the court filings when the dog trainer, Mark Stover, was indeed arrested for stalking his ex-wife. The allegations were that he repeatedly drove the several hours to her home uninvited, would hide on the property and watch through the windows, exposed himself, made lewd comments on voicemail and made 82 calls after being instructed not to contact his ex-wife anymore. It sounds to me that he was indeed kind of coming unwound a bit.

A lot of people are speculating that the ex-wife put Oakes up to this, but I sort of lean toward a theory of the case that he (Oakes) had been hired as a bodyguard for the ex, and had then become the boyfriend. I think he just wanted the guy out of the way so he could pursue his relationship and his girlfriend could stop being afraid. I don't even know that he would have let her know what he planned to do.

Of course, these are just theories of the case; attempting to anticipate what the prosecution will attempt to prove.  It is mere speculation and we really won’t know much more about what the prosecution thinks happened until the case is brought before a jury.
One rather chilling part of the record from the court documents when his ex had him prosecuted: Stover, a collector of sorts, had owned fifteen or more firearms. As a result of the case, he was ordered not to own any firearms until 2010. Friends said this visibly shook him up. And at least two people would have known that if they came through his door unannounced, he would no longer be able to shoot back. The ex, and her boyfriend, and bodyguard, Michiel Oakes.

 

Technorati Tags: Crime,True Crime,Anacortes Crime,Seattle Crime,Dog Whisperer

Murder Suspect’s Last Known Interaction with Seattle Police.

From Seattlecrime.com today comes video of the traffic stop I have referred to in prior posts.  Monfort, the accused murderer, was stopped while driving repeatedly through a neighborhood when he failed to signal.  The officer approached the car, thinking he may be lost and intending to help the guy out.  When he asked, “Do you know where you’re going today?” Monfort replied, “Do you?”  The officer asked for his identification and registration and gave Monfort another chance, but was again met with a rude and hostile answer.  At that point the officer cited Monfort for failing to signal and expired insurance and sent him on his way.  Days later, Monfort would fire bomb the Seattle Police Maintenance Yard, and nine days later he would ambush Officers Brenton and Sweeny.  To watch and hear the traffic stop, it can be found here:  http://seattlecrime.com/2009/11/10/i-dont-think-i-want-to-give-you-my-phone-number

Monfort continues to be in serious condition with gunshot wounds to the cheek and stomach.  Prosecutors have 72 hours from today’s hearing to charge Monfort, and the office is considering an aggravated first degree murder charge, which could net Monfort the death penalty.  If ultimately found guilty and given a death sentence, it will no longer be necessary for Seattle Police Officers or the rest of us to wonder if Monfort knows where he is going. 

There is an outstanding summary of the police news conference, which outlined a lot of information about Monfort’s movements and activities in the weeks before the attacks.  As I and others speculated, on the night he was shot, police moved very methodically into Monfort’s cars and apartments.  It was a good choice for many reasons, not least because he had bobby-trapped the apartment:

Police sent in a robot and then the bomb squad to deal with what they called ‘one-step above crude’ bomb-making.  Another tidbit from the news conference was the sequence at the maintenance yard.  Monfort planted multiple devices, then set off the device on the Mobile Command Unit as a decoy.  Officers responded and approached the command unit, at which time the secondary devices detonated.  It was a fortunate thing that officers were not quite near enough to be killed, but it was a very near-miss.  SeattleCrime.com has the post Anatomy of a Murder here, and it has excellent reporting and writing as has come to be expected of  Jonah Spangenthal-Lee : 

http://seattlecrime.com/2009/11/09/anatomy-of-a-murder

Technorati Tags: Seattle Police Murder,Christopher John Monfort,Seattle True Crime,True Crime,Officer Tim Brenton,Death Penalty

Remicade, Lidocaine and Cortisone

I went in today for my Remicade infusion.  After two loading doses I had definitely felt some real improvement in my smaller joints.  I’d had pain and stiffness in my hands, which had made typing and even writing much with pen or pencil difficult.  My left thumb and my right middle finger would sometimes lock in position and I literally had to snap them loose with the other hand.  And it didn’t feel good!  My feet as well as the heels of the foot were always stiff and sore, especially with any standing at all.  The thickening of both shoulders had stretched the muscles and connective tissue and those hurt often.  There were other aches and pains as well.  Remicade thus far has improved the way those smaller joints feel by a noticeable amount.  I am hoping that I see even more benefit now that it is at full strength in my blood.  Since advanced osteoarthritis – something I have a strong family history of, but that likely was set in motion decades earlier than typically by the bone-grafting and revascularizations surgeries I had on my left knee as an early teen – is another contributor to my creakiness, and my knees have both been very sore, I got injections today of lidocaine (numbed the joint for an hour or two) and cortisone (intended to reduce inflammation).  Hopefully the cortisone will reduce the inflammation.  I’ll also have the synthetic joint fluid injections done next week or so.  Those of you who’ve had needles inserted into swollen and sore joints will know that it isn’t that much fun.  Today the lidocaine kicked in quickly and within seconds the knees weren’t hurting at all.  I’d love to be able to use lidocaine every day!  I’ll have to hope that the cortisone does it’s bit and the synthetic joint fluid works well also. 

It is always complicated to resolve interrelated conditions - when you have more than one or two issues contributing to one another, and I’m working on a half-dozen conditions that feed one another.  I’ve been pretty limited and I am still not able to be very active.  But for the first time in years I have seen this degenerative group of conditions stopped, and actual progress has begun.  So I have my fingers crossed.  I’d seen a rheumatologist a couple years ago, but that doc noted advanced osteoarthritis and sent me on my way with instructions to see an orthopedic surgeon and get the knees replaced.  I was referred to Dr. Stephen Overman at Seattle Arthritis Clinic and from the moment I had my intake appointment I knew that if I could be helped, I would be.  He’s written a great book for people combating diseases which are not obvious, called You Don't Look Sick!, written with a patient named Joy H. Selak (http://www.joywrites.com/). 

As a person who has always been active, busy, engaged and had a good time too, the degenerative process that I had been experiencing over recent years was more like a death in the family than an illness.  I found myself unable to do so many things I’d always done, and my sense of humor went to live with somebody else!  Though I have a long way to go, Dr. Overman, the book he has written with Ms. Selak, Remicade, and the many tools and techniques I’ve been made aware of at the Seattle Arthritis Clinic have given me the first progress I’ve seen in years, and hope that I’ll gain back a meaningful semblance of the things I have seen slip away in recent years. 

Technorati Tags: Arthritis Research,Chronic Illness,Chronic Pain,Ankylosing Spondylitis,Remicade,Arthritis Treatment,Dr. Stephen Overman,Osteoarthritis

Nicholas Francisco Not Dead, Merely a Jerk

Just less than two years ago, Nicholas Francisco left work and was never heard from again.  Well, not never.  After a huge search and missing person campaign, along with a police investigation which looked into any possibility of foul play, there was no sign of Francisco.  His wife at the time was pregnant and was left with two children she’d already had with her husband.

Word today from the King County Sherriff indicates that Francisco simply abandoned his pregnant wife and children, and allowed a search to be conducted because he wished to leave.  His wife has since divorced him, though she was subjected to theories that she had murdered her husband throughout his absence.  The Sherriff’s office didn’t indicate where he was living but some sources have made it known he is living in California.  He broke no laws in Washington and thus, is free to keep his new identity.  One can only hope that the man is tagged for support for his three children. 

I saw the signs all throughout my neighborhood for months, as it was the neighborhood from which Francisco had disappeared after work.  I wondered what had happened, and felt a bit guilty for thinking that it was really unusual for an adult male to be taken against his will by a predator.  I know now I didn’t need to feel guilty, and I wasn’t merely cynical.

Technorati Tags: Missing Persons,Seattle crime,Abandoned family,double life

Ballistics, Touch DNA and Plans to Kill More

Suspected murderer Christopher John Monfort intended to kill more than one officer, and has been connected by ballistics, DNA and materials used in making bombs to both the fire bombing at the Seattle Police Maintenance Lot and the murder/assault of Officer Tim Brenton and Britt Sweeny.  Monfort’s DNA was found on both a small American flag left at the scene of the arson, as well as on a flag bandana left at the scene of the shootings.  The Datsun B210 found near Montfort’s apartment had a bullet from Officer Britt Sweeny’s weapon embedded within the body.  A .223 rifle found in Monfort’s apartment matched exactly the rounds fired at Brenton and Sweeny.  It is believed that the prosecution is preparing aggravated first degree murder charges, in addition to others related to the assault and bombing.  First degree murder with aggravating circumstances opens the door to the death penalty under Washington State law.  If it isn’t used in this case I can’t think of a case which would merit the ultimate penalty.

Technorati Tags: True Crime,Crime,Seattle Police Officer Shot,Seattle,Seattle Crime,Shots fired,Manhunt,Christopher John Monfort,Officer Tim Brenton

Threatening Note Takes on Greater Significance in Retrospect

A note left at the Seattle Police maintenance lot just nine days before the murder of Officer Tim Brenton and the wounding of Officer Britt Sweeny is taking on some added significance for many.  The note was left at the lot along with a flier about police brutality, and it included a threat that there would be loss of life on the police force.  Many are wondering whether the Seattle Police Department could have provided officers better warning to be on alert prior to the Halloween night ambush – particularly some officers themselves. 

I wonder how many threats the department becomes aware of each year?  In this instance, it would be human nature to expect an arsonist or firebomber to carry out a threat – if ever – by using a firebomb or pipe bomb.  Typically a killer that will use a detached method of killing will not later choose a more ‘up-close’ method.  In this case, it now looks like this will indeed be that unusual circumstance where the original crime was carried out on property using a fire bomb, but the crime which carried out a threat to kill was carried out using a rifle. 

Over at SeattleCrime.com, there are rumors of some grumbling by Seattle Police officers, who feel that the department didn’t do all it could to protect officers from the specific threat to kill a policeman which was left at the location of the fire bombing October 22.  I was particularly interested in a comment made by a reader there, who indicated that through listening to the scanner regularly he thought that the department may have taken the threat to be significant, but expected it to be carried out by use of a firebomb and not a gun.  He cites examples where SPD was extremely cautious with situations where suspicious packages or barrels were discovered.  It is an argument that resonates with me, for the reason I mentioned earlier in this post:  killers seldom progress from poison or arson to guns, knives or hands in committing a murder.  I think the commenter is correct in his statement that SPD probably took the threat seriously, but never expected it to be carried out with a rifle instead of a bomb or fire bomb. 

Beyond that, I will be surprised if there are not threats made on officers every week – we already knew of two in addition to the one left by Monfort, and those were in the days just before the attack at 29th and Yesler.  I doubt that the department could change deployment practices to protect the officers in response to very many threats.  The officers already wear protective equipment, and are trained to be alert to any potential threat.  Prior to an act that is unprecedented in post-war Seattle, it would be an almost unforeseeable event that a man would ambush and murder officers in their patrol car.  Looking back, we all wish they would have somehow known to take this threat seriously.  I hope that with the shooting and arrest of Monfort we will have seen the last of this type of attack. 

Suspect Christopher John Monfort remains in serious condition and under police guard at Harborview Medical Center.  His mother and aunt have traveled from Alaska to Seattle and have asked John Henry Browne, a well-known Seattle criminal defense attorney, to help them with the case.  At this point neither Browne or family members have been allowed to see Monfort.

Technorati Tags: Seattle police Officer Shot,Tim Brenton,Christopher John Monfort,Murder,Crime,True Crime,Seattle True Crime