What are you afraid of in the OCCK case, Michigan?
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The Oakland County Child Killer
What the Hell is the Deal with the Oakland County Child Killer Investigation?
What are you afraid of in the OCCK case, Michigan?
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I would say if JH is involved in any way, there is plenty.
It cannot be denied that the John Hastings lead has not been evaluated objectively or professionally. In 2009 a polygrapher for Georgia Highway Patrol/Public safety tested Hastings in the murders of Mark, Jill and Kristine. He had previously “passed” a Michigan polygraph concerning my brother’s case in 1992. I have no idea why this GA polygrapher did not test on my brother’s case. The polygrapher told Det/Sgt. Garry Gray of the MSP: “Duncan advised that there was no question in his mind, whatsoever, that [Hastings] has some involvement
with the murders of these children. He stated he didn’t know to what degree of involvement he may have,
whether knowledge, did the murder or assisted, but he firmly believes he was involved. Duncan stated that in
polygraph, you can’t just pull out one part, and hang your hat on it. Duncan did however state again, that there
is no question in his mind that he is involved with these murders.” NO QUESTION IN HIS MIND THAT HASTINGS IS INVOLVED WITH THESE MURDERS.
No one circles back–not the MSP, not the OCP, no other investigators who had worked the case, when this inconvenient piece of information is in the FOIA response from the MSP and they are all made aware of it. The guy is still alive. His siblings are still alive. Doubtful there is a David Koczynski in that bunch. It’s off-the-charts outrageous.
When my brothers and I filed a FOIA request with the Birmingham PD a few years ago to attempt to get a report on a completely separate issue (the surveillance of the funeral home my brother’s body was kept), the department actually made a deep search to see if any documents about my brother’s case remained there or whether they had all been forwarded to the MSP. Files concerning the 1992 investigation into Hastings were found. I posted the documents on this blog. A couple of us who know the case very well reviewed these documents and we all agreed–there is no way this guy is not involved somehow in these crimes. No. Way.
Had Gray informed Cory Williams of the statements made by Steve Duncan, or made the logical decision to immediately circle back to Hastings after his crash and burn with the Georgia polygraphs, we might not be here today. Reading the transcripts of Birmingham PD Commander Don Studt interviewing Hastings in 1992 is chilling. Of course after all that work, the inevitable happens and some goddamn Michigan polygrapher passes Hastings on my brother’s case (only), and that’s that. Fast forward to 2009 when Garry Gray is pitching softballs to this freak, who literally showed up to the interview with some big compendium of serial killers, allegedly to support his claim that he just likes talking about this kind of shit. And while Hastings vehemently denied ever knowing Chris Busch, who lived a hop, skip and a jump from his house in Bloomfield Village, polygrapher Duncan tells Gray–oh yeah, this guy knows Busch.
And as far as I’m concerned, Hastings has been credibly linked to Busch, Greene and the child sex ring (not as a pedophile but as a procurer) by a survivor of that ring who was older than most of the victims. A weird hanger-on who was scared shitless of Greene (good move) and tolerated by Busch. Did he participate peripherally in the OCCK crimes, simply have knowledge/heavy suspicions about the perpetrators, or branch out on his own? It appears no one in law enforcement wants to go near this one and short of some DNA hit (right), we will never know.
Why it is not being done—consider this possibility:
The “Shirky Principle” may be in effect, that is, “Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution.” More broadly, stated “Every entity tends to prolong the problem it is solving”.
The Shirky Principle means that those institutions (e.g. MSP, the Oakland Co. Prosecutor’s Office, etc) that are responsible for thoroughly investigating, solving and adjudicating the Oakland County child killings case, may actually hinder attempts by other agencies and or individuals to examine the case in order to ensure that the institutions remain relevant. Alternatively, those institutions may be so stuck in the historic ways in which they handled the case that they fail to adopt better techniques, strategies and technologies as they become available, thus prolonging the case by not bringing it to closure.
So, what are these organizations afraid of? Criticism, loss of respect, challenges to authority, loss of credibility, public exposure of incompetence, indifference and malfeasance.
Of course, a label does not make the OCCK look or feel any better, especially when decades-old cases are being solved across the country.
There is so much truth in what you are saying. Whether it is in an everyday business, or in a government agency, historical procedures/processes are followed because that is what has always been done, and that is all they know.
Any new procedure or tool would make the current people uncomfortable, so it is met with resistance. They are no longer the people with the expertise, and it is more work for them. They are possibly no longer needed.
And in a government agency, the main goal is to get your pension and lifetime benefits. Certainly do not wish to upset that goal.
Agreed. And it’s all so self-defeating: by not acting, the organizations involved only engender the very distrust and anger they fear will occur if they DO act.
The MSP and Prosecutors Office need to look more carefully at the social reactions to the solving of cold cases. There’s inevitably more relief than anger, more confidence in the organization than distrust.
All they would have to do is approach him and the siblings once again and one of them would crack just like already witnessed by the lost polygraph from Georgia. Reading over the interviews they had with the family members in 92 it reads like they already started to crack back then. They seem to be quite aware of what took place and more than one of them is involved. Would MSP be able to handle the humiliation that would follow by finally solving the case?
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” James Baldwin, 1962.
Wow! Just wow! Closure for the girl’s family after so long.
Now, we need closure on the Oakland County Children’s cases. We need peace for Mark and the rest of the poor victims and their families.