Consider this case in Portland where The Intercept filed a public records lawsuit against the Portland police:
The mother of murder victim Sean Kealiher commented on the timing of an arrest in her son’s 2019 murder:
“They would have let this go nowhere if it hadn’t been for you guys,” Kealiher told The Intercept. ‘They literally, in my opinion, waited until they were like, ‘Oh, shit. They’re going to prove that we have not done anything even though we have all this evidence.’”
Great article. But police and prosecutors are rarely held accountable, and Sean’s mother knows that. At least The Intercept forced the PD’s hand with a public records lawsuit. This didn’t work in the OCCK case (especially since the FOIA suits were filed by a victim’s father the prosecutor and cops were happy to publicly and privately mistreat). Nothing works in the OCCK case.
Transparency? Answers? Right.
Every single person who worked on this case who is still alive should be asked three questions at a minimum.
- Why do you think the OCCK case was never solved? (And, no standard bullshit please.)
- How can we keep serial crimes against children from happening again?
- How can we make sure there is never an investigation like this one ever again?
I believe the OCCK could be solved if just one person in a position of power would cooperate. There are so many avenues that could be pursued… DNA, Hastings polygraph, Tracking down Gunnels, Pressuring Sloan (I know I am making it sound so simple, and I know Cory did a lot of work on all of that. But he was hit with constant roadblocks and then removed from the case).
Regarding Hastings, I think LE was tainted by Helen, but she has been gone awhile and maybe fresh eyes from people that were not involved when she was lying and such could make a difference. I can’t imagine how Cory feels knowing Hastings basically failed the poly and Michigan never cared.
However, someone in power needs to care soon, the clock is ticking on everyone except Gunnels.
Unfortunately, having looked into OCCK as it overlapped into some abductions/murders of children in the south and southwest, I have come to a rather cynical opinion: this and many other unsolved murders/abductions of children will never be solved even as DNA identification techniques continue to evolve. Why? It’s just what you’ve concluded, of course–corruption. Children who are pulled into the sophisticated labyrinth of organized pedophilia to the extent of murder (and there are so many whose bodies have never been found) are unlikely to receive justice, not, at least, on this earth. Perps on the lower rungs of the ring/organization will, from time to time, be caught up in the dragnet, but they won’t talk or they will be eliminated for a multitude of obvious reasons. Through research I can attest that there is a vast swath of connected pedophile rings across the corners of this earth. No, I’m not talking about PizzaGate, but the concept is not as farfetched as one might think; only this “cabal” is not beholden to one political party over another, but is bound by avarice and the depravity of soul.