Imagine my surprise this morning, as I thought about a Groundhog Day-themed post and read this post on Substack:
https://substack.com/home/post/p-185606943
Not only did it address how forensic evidence is used in cold cases, it was penned by Arthur Busch of Michigan. I did not realize he had served as Genesee County Prosecutor after years of criminal defense practice. I meant to reach out to him last month when he joined Substack to ask about his representation of sex offender Douglas Bennett, who ended up in the tank with Greg Greene and Chris Busch in Flint in 1977 (and claims to have had no connection to either man). Also the obvious question–is there any relation to the family of H. Lee Busch? I sent him a message this morning asking those questions and suggesting he pick up a copy of Guarded by Jackals.
Either way, the man makes a good point regarding cold case units and the “time-delayed witnesses” found in properly preserved forensic evidence. He explains that solving cold cases takes time that regular detectives don’t have and should be assigned to a dedicated cold case unit. Amen.
Since 2019, the OCCK cases have been passed on to a succession of detectives in the MSP Special Investigations Unit. SIU detectives probably have in excess of 50 active cases. And by active, I mean obtaining evidence for arrests in current crimes and testifying in court. Constantly.
The MSP has a cold case division. The OCCK case should have been reassigned there in 2022.
The only thing “special” about the OCCK case is that the lid needs to be kept on it. What better way than to add a 50-year-old series of at least four homicides to the plate of a detective who has six court appearances next week? When is he supposed to spend time on this cold case? The case then waits for the next desk to land on when the current detective gets promoted. In the meantime, the public information officer acts as a buffer to any inquiry about case status. No need to worry about any pesky questions; some PIO is paid to run defense and basically obstruct.
We want our brother’s case and those of the other unsolved child homicides in Oakland County, to be treated like Roxanne Wood’s 1987 homicide case was.
https://wmich.edu/coldcase/cases/roxanne-wood
Why can’t these kids get the same level of attention and treatment?
Do they deserve any less?
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Arthur Busch responded promptly. He is not related to Christopher Busch. He did represent Douglas Bennett. He wanted me to know he was not a prosecutor in 1977–which I knew and restate here. It would be hard to represent a criminal defendant and be a prosecutor. I get it.
Cathy,
Hello. My name is David Hayes and I am a criminal behavioralist. I teach forensic psychology at a couple of universities in Michigan but am passionate about helping families and survivors regarding cold cases. I was very young in the 1970s in and around Detroit, but remember the palpable fear. If I can help in any way, please let me know. I am a little late to this, but have capacity now for large scale case analyses. Message direct at davidchayes@hotmail.com and I can send over my credentials. I hope you are well.
David Hayes
Thanks, David. My email is OCCKTruth@protonmail.com.