Just ask your pal Harvey Weinstein. The courage of his victims was an incredible contrast to Weinstein’s bullshit, old-school defense. And kudos to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for bringing this case against a monster who victimized and intimidated with impunity. Money can’t buy you everything, Harv.
Justice for all
A year ago today a documentary about this case, Children of the Snow, aired on Investigation Discovery. It is now available on Hulu. If you haven’t watched it, you should. https://www.hulu.com/series/children-of-the-snow-e5670464-7adc-4907-80c1-9f38ce17ee82
Please read this letter from Michael Farquar, sent to Governor Gretchen Whitmer on December 5, 2019, about the reason for his participation in the documentary. I received permission from Mike to publish this letter on the one-year anniversary date of the documentary airing. When I copied it, the file name said “Justice for all.” In Michigan it seems it is often “Justice for none.”
Governor Whitmer did not respond to Mike’s letter. Her office did, however, send him a generic holiday greeting a few weeks later. Let’s hope 2020 brings some answers and some peace. Let’s hope law enforcement makes it a priority to actually work on the tips that have come forward in the wake of Children of the Snow. As Mike says in his closing:
“My family and I have already felt the wrath of public exposure; wrath that was never visited on the perpetrators of these crimes or the investigators and agencies who failed to bring anyone to justice. Someone at the highest levels of Michigan government needs to evaluate what has taken place here out of a sense of justice to all the child victims and to ensure nothing like this is allowed to fester in Michigan ever again.”
“I appreciate your interest in the solving of the Oakland County Child Murders that occurred in the mid-1970s.”
Here is a copy of a letter dated March 29, 2001 from the late Det./Sgt. Ray Anger to the late Helen Dagner:
A few observations. First, at least Anger was smart enough to respond to Dagner’s information. And in writing! When does that ever happen??? Second, John was alleged to have held more than one passport and to have engaged in passport doctoring. Also, good excuse. Busch tried that one, too, only he got his dates wrong and turns out he returned from Europe in plenty of time to abduct or hold Mark Stebbins in February 1976. On March 16, 1977, the day my brother was abducted, an Oakland County divorce court ordered that John’s parents could proceed with the eviction of the adult son (him) and that the home on Tuckahoe, just a stone’s throw from Busch’s parents home on Morningview Terrace, could be put on the market for immediate sale at an offset price with no broker. The house was sold on March 24, 1977.
Maybe the parents were getting the job done while the adult son was in Europe. Funny thing is that the family when interviewed about this seemed to give different dates and explanations about how he got to Europe.
When he was questioned in 1977 there was apparently no mention of Europe or a passport. We now know that a potential participant’s alibi for a time period relating to just one of the abductions is about as good as the fact that he did not drive a blue Gremlin. And we all know now how well the MSP did with polygraphs back in the day.
There has always been speculation that a cop had to be involved in these crimes. But is it just as likely that it was so easy to stay one step ahead of police in this case, that of course the abductions continued with impunity?
I called a cop to ask about John years ago and he said “Cathy, you can make anything fit if you try hard enough.” Like maybe this?: