A conversation at a law enforcement conference in Florida last year led to an arrest in the cold-case rape of a Tulane University student 45 years ago.
The evidence was tested using the most modern DNA testing.
“It’s a truly remarkable story and a credit to all the dedicated people involved,” said Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro.
The new Oakland County prosecutor must demand an accounting from the Michigan State Police of the status of all of the evidence in the OCCK case.
List all evidence in the four cases.
List all DNA test results whether nuclear, mtDNA or Ystr.
Was evidence extinguished during testing? Describe.
Was evidence subjected to multiple tests? Describe.
Is there any evidence as yet untested using the most modern technology?
What labs were used for testing?
Dates for all tests.
Has the physical evidence been returned?
Where is the physical evidence stored and how is it being stored?
If it is not all being stored at the same facility, why is that?
Do any local PDs or the FBI have any of the evidence?
What evidence should be retested using the most modern methods?
Has a genetic genealogist been consulted?
Consult with Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy about the difficulties getting the MSP to locate and test evidence over the years.
Have the actual pieces of evidence–anything from these cases, or the actual physical files been used over the years for POST training, thus contaminating it?
Why was the evidence unaccounted for and mishandled and improperly stored for decades in the biggest unsolved serial murder case in Michigan history?
The MSP and the current Oakland County prosecutor have unfairly elevated this case to a DNA-hit-solve-only case. If investigators are at the end of the road with DNA testing (samples extinguished during testing or in such poor condition they will not yield usable samples), that’s it. The case can no longer be considered “open” under FOIA law (and as of this minute I would argue authorities can no longer hide behind the “active investigation” exception) and steps must be taken to open all of the files for public examination. There must be an accounting to the public about where the case stands. I would also argue for an accounting of all of the funds allegedly spent in this case.
Let web sleuths or a Michelle McNamara solve these cases. At a minimum, the state police have to explain themselves. They have provided cover not only for their inadequate investigation but for the local PDs and the Oakland County prosecutors over the years who did not want to touch this case. Time’s up.
The last day to register to vote is rapidly approaching in many states. In states that make it difficult to vote, the deadline may have already passed. Make sure you are registered to vote and check your state’s voting requirements and other information at these sites:
If you are one of those people who think voting is a waste of time, or that your day-to-day life doesn’t depend on who you vote for at every level, think again. If you think I exaggerate about voting like your life depends on it, if you voted for L. Brooks Patterson for prosecutor for his term covering the years 1976 and 1977, think about how that vote impacted my brother Tim’s life and the course of a 43-year-old, still unsolved investigation into the serial murder of four Oakland County children. I believe this was due not only to Patterson’s direct actions in January 1977 (going along with voodoo doctor/MSP polygrapher Ralph Cabot in clearing Chris Busch and Greg Greene despite a mountain of evidence that should have required further investigation, then publicly stating both men had been cleared in the OCCK case in the weeks before my brother’s body was found in Wayne County after Busch got pass after pass from prosecutors and judges and was roaming the streets) and in 1978 after Busch was found dead, but also because of the kind of person he was. Concerned only about himself, his image and his political advancement and power. Sound like someone you know of today?
This article from the Ann Arbor Sun, dated November 5, 1975, was referenced by a reader:
Again I cite to the most cogent comment I have ever read on the subject of Patterson’s involvement in the OCCK case by a reader of my blog. The comment is in the center of the body of the post. I reread this comment from time to time after someone gaslights me in this case. It reassures me that I am not crazy:
Yes, the corruption was already baked in. While Chris Busch was getting pass after pass–special treatment reserved for those with big money and a parent with big influence–from Birmingham PD, Bloomfield PD, the Oakland County prosecutor, Oakland County judges and judges and prosecutors from other counties around Michigan, and the BIG PASS from the Michigan State Police, the ticking time bomb was on the streets waiting to make someone like my 11-year-old brother another statistic.
Still think your vote for prosecutor, sheriff or a judge doesn’t matter? That it’s not worth a little consideration beyond “incumbent” or the designation R or D?
The hold on power in OC and specifically in the OCCK case leaves us relegated to waiting for a whistleblower. Not for someone to come forward with a tip about one of the many dead pedophiles from that area, but a literal whistleblower from the Oakland County prosecutor’s office or the Michigan State Police. Someone knows how and why this case got sidetracked the way it did and where all of the hundreds of thousands of dollars allegedly designated for the OCCK investigation went. I’d love to see your database in this case, MSP. Computerized yet? How about even a document detailing the status of every piece of evidence in this case, what has been tested, retested, extinguished in testing, where and how the physical is now being stored, what tests are pending?
Oakland County has always had an interesting way of doing business. See, for example, https://catherinebroad.blog/2019/08/10/delete-delete-delete-now/. You better keep your eye on the people preparing the “home cooking” in Oakland County. Not much appears to have changed over four decades. It doesn’t affect you, you might say. Until it does and then you are screwed. Need a whistleblower? It’s not happening on Planet Oakland County.
Someone asked me if I had any recommendations about the judicial races in Oakland County. I don’t. I’ve warned before about the recommendations provided by state bar associations governing attorneys. And give some thought to why criminal defense attorney groups or prosecutors or law enforcement groups would support certain judges. It’s all bullshit. I think the better course is to do your own research online and if you don’t know the judge personally and can’t find any reassuring information in your online search, leave the choice blank. Just because someone’s name is on the ballot does not mean they deserve the job, even if they are running unopposed. You might end up reaffirming a judge like this, https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2020/10/03/judge-truman-morrison-sexual-assault-allegation/?arc404=true. Or keep a judge on the bench like the one in Flint who reduced Busch’s bond down from $75,000 to $1,000 after his January 1977 arrest for numerous CSCs with minors. You know, a “special treatment” judge.
As always, Oakland County has additional other little twists. A few years ago I received an email from someone in Michigan who described the following about Michigan judges, specifically in Oakland County. It’s worth considering.
As a rule no non-incumbent ever runs for Oakland County Circuit Judge unless it’s an election where there is an open seat meaning the candidate is not challenging an incumbent seeking re-election. Reason: if a lawyer runs against an incumbent and loses the entire Oakland Circuit bench will punish that lawyer for having challenged a member of their club and the lawyer’s practice can be ruined. A racket, and what a cesspool , indeed!
So when you vote, think about who that person has the power to oversee, the power to appoint, the power to crush; who they may owe favors to, what their biases are, and if they are one of the all-too-common types who will succumb to undue influence. From the guy on planning and zoning who throws all the decisions in favor of his developer/builder buddies; to a city council member who is afraid to take on a rogue police chief; to a judge too lazy to do the real work but knows how to avoid being reversed on appeal; to a sheriff who is a “make no waves/do no real good,” highly compensated good old boy; to a prosecutor who violates his or her oath on the regular. The ramifications can be serious indeed. And that’s just at the local level. This time shit’s gotten really real at every level.
Make sure you are registered to vote, vote early and follow every single instruction very carefully so your voice is heard. If you are lucky enough to live in a state providing vote tracking for mail-in or drop-off ballots, be sure to sign up for texts and emails so you will know about your ballot status.
Troy PD is “teaming up” with Gail’s three adult daughters to revisit the case. The department observed that “many investigative techniques have changed since the case was opened. Officials are in the process of exploring new investigative avenues, including possible new lab analysis.” Wow.
The article describes a car that could have been connected to the killer(s) as a blue or green 1968-1970 Pontiac Tempest or Chevrolet that was beat up, rusted, dirty, with body damage.
This car was seen a number of times in the area of Gail’s apartment, as well as a few weeks prior to the murder in a parking lot of Piper’s Alley, after Gail’s daughter’s keys to the apartment were stolen while she was there. One tip described the driver as a 25-year-old white man standing about 6 feet tall and weighing 160 pounds with black, curly hair and wearing an Army jacket. Some 40 minutes before Gail’s body was found, this car was seen being driven in the vicinity by a blonde man.
The Troy apartment where Gail was living at the time:
Gail Webster’s apartment (Troy Police Department)
I realize the odds of this particular car being the same Pontiac Tempest described by the witness who drove past a car pulled off of the road on I-75 in the very early morning hours of December 26, 1976, at the exact place Jill Robinson’s body was found in Troy are slim. But how about it, Troy PD–if you, unlike the MSP, are able to find out who drove the car connected with Gail Webster’s murder in 1978, how about sharing that information with someone associated with the OCCK investigation who will actually do something constructive with the information?
According to the article, Troy PD is tweeting more information about Gail’s case this week. If you have information about the 1978 murder of Gail Webster call #248-524-0777.
