Palmer Park is 725 acres. On Nov 30, 1994, two friends are hiking in Palmer Park and come across the body of a big white male in the South Canyon. When police arrive they realize the victim was hit in the hit with some large object.
The coroner places his death in early afternoon after multiple blows to the head.
From the crime scene Lt Joe Kenda determines this is where the victim was killed. It was very personal. They take plaster casts of the footprints around the body. Whoever killed him was in his case delivering blow after blow. They also collect blood samples around his head thinking perhaps the killer in his frenzy injured himself too.
They take an inventory of vehicles in the park and narrow it down to one vehicle, registered to 50 year old Robert Walton, the deacon of a local church.She
Police question Mrs. Walton. She says Robert was loved by everyone.
Police question the Faith Alliance Church where Robert worked. He counseled members and was respected by everyone. He was a gentle person. No one disliked him. But Robert had a curious hobby–horticulture. He loved growing plants and people called him Dr. Bob. They claim he went to Palmer Park to collect greenery for church displays. But police found nothing used for collecting plants at the crime scene. He was there for another reason.
Police release a public request for information. A couple saw Robert at the park. They saw a white male with Robert who was angry. He was in his thirties, 5’10”, 170 pounds, curly hair. They work with a sketch artist to create a sketch. It looks like a local named Jesse who hikes Palmer Park. His ex-wife says he’s violent. So police bring him in. Palmer Park has another reputation, as a meeting place for homosexuals. So Kenda asks this man his sexual preference. He goes ballistic. But they can’t connect him to Robert Walton’s murder.
Robert Walton was around 300 pounds. He was not a hiker.
During the autopsy, the coroner finds a washcloth that’s been rolled and tucked into his crotch. This is a common technique in the homosexual world to simulate male endowment. So they believe he was in the park looking for homosexual sex. The South Canyon of the park is known for that. So police go back and question Mrs. Walton about her husband’s sexuality. She tells them back when they were living in Montana, she found a homosexual magazine in his underwear drawer. He flew into a rage and said it was a prank. He’s also been away from home a lot lately, disappearing in the late afternoon frequently. When she asked him where he was going, he told her to stop asking, but never told her where. They tell her they suspect he was in the park soliciting homosexual sex. She says absolutely not. So they ask her about the wadded up washcloth in his underwear. She says he was incontinent, that he accidentally urinated on himself.
Police stake out the South Canyon of the park looking for the killer and they make several arrests so they can question the prostitutes. No luck. So they turn to local homosexual bars. No one recognizes Robert Walton’s photo.
Police go back to the beginning and start all over again. They look back to where Robert worked before the church. He worked at Sonshine Florist. They catered to Christians. He was fired for theft, but never charged with a crime. Several employees were fired. On the day of his murder, he visited Sonshine Florist. Brice Miller, one of those employees fired at the same time, has a record of assault. He fits the description of the curly haired man who was talking angrily with Robert at the park. When police arrive at Brice’s home, they see his boots outside and they match the boot pattern around Robert’s body. As they’re speaking to Brice, he mentions another person and says he was having problems with her too. Too as in he was having problems with Robert.
They bring Brice into the police station and he eventually cracks. He confesses. They met in that park by accident. Brice claims Bob tried to rape him so he picked up a rock and hit him. Kenda doesn’t believe it. The odds of the two of them bumping into each other on accident is astronomically low. It looks more like they had a sexual relationship ongoing from the florist shop.
Brice’s boots are not positively identified as matching the impressions at the crime scene. He is sentenced to 40 years in prison. Eligible for parole in 2012.
This case shows the importance of a police detective to stop pursuing one line of investigation when it leads nowhere. Brice was arrested 18 months after Robert’s murder. But it does look like being a closeted homosexual led to his death, so the initial line of investigation did come up with motive.
Bibliography
Homicide Hunter Season 1 Episode 4: Everybody Lies, air date: Nov 14, 2011
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