Murder by the Bathhouse Door

                                                                                       Prologue

                                                                                     From the Movie Scream/1996
 
            Billy Loomis looked at his girlfriend.  “Now Sid, don’t you blame the movies. Movies don’t create psychos, movies make psychos more creative.”
            “We all go a little mad sometimes.”
 
 
********
 
 
                                                                                         September, 1997
 
            Detectives Beaudet and Sambataro were interviewing Eric Jeleniewski at the Salem, NH Police Department.  Jeleniewski was recounting the murder of 18 year old Kimberly Farrah at Hedgehog Park.
            “I loved the feeling of her warm blood flowing through my fingers,” Jeleniewski said.
            Sambataro’s shoulder and back muscles involuntarily contracted.  He had a daughter Kimberly’s age.  Sambataro got up and shut off the video camera.  He then turned toward Beaudet, “Roger, go get a cup of coffee.”
 
 
********
 
 
 
 
                                                                                           Murder on the Orient Express
 
            Hercule Poirot, the world renowned detective, was traveling on the elegant Orient Express and accompanied by his friend M. Bouc.  The train was unusually crowded for this time of year and a large winter storm was brewing.
            While on the train, Poirot is approached by the mysterious millionaire, Mr. Ratchett.  Ratchett wants Poirot’s protection while on the train and is willing to pay him handsomely from the death threats he has been receiving.  Poirot refuses since he sees Ratchett as a man of questionable character and repute.  That evening, the train is stopped and stranded by a large snowdrift.  Over dinner, Poirot notices some strange occurrences amongst the passengers on the train
            As he is sleeping, Poirot is awakened by a cry in the night.  When the conductor checks the room of M. Ratchett, a voice from the room states, "Ce n'est rien. Je me suis trompé,"(It’s nothing.  I was mistaken).  The conductor assumes this is the voice of Ratchett.
            The following day, while the train is still stranded, Bouc informs Poirot that Ratchett has been murdered and the murderer is still aboard having no way to escape in the snow. As there are no police onboard, Poirot takes up the case.  With the help of Dr. Constantine, one of the train’s passengers, Poirot examines the body of Ratchett after his locked stateroom is opened by the conductor.
            The Doctor is troubled.  There are inconsistencies in the stab wounds, twelve of them.  Some are severe and any one of them could have been the cause of death.  Some of the stab wounds are superficial, and barely puncture the skin.
            Some of the wounds did not bleed, signifying that they were delivered post-mortem, after Ratchett died.
            And finally, at least one of the wounds was delivered by a person that was left-handed.
            Poirot wonders, did the murder, (murderers?), leave the room and then return to make sure the deed was complete? 
            “What other explanation can there be?” Dr. Constantine asks.
            In Poirot’s words to Dr. Constantine:
            “That is what I am asking myself.  Some of these blows point to a weakness, a lack of strength or determination.  Some are feeble glancing blows.  But this one here, and this one, well great strength was needed for those blows.”
            “Ah! C’est rigolo, tout ca!” (Ah!  It’s all funny).
 
 
********
 
 
                                                                                                      Fall Semester 1985
 
            John Tommasi had just been promoted to Sergeant at the Salem, NH Police Department and he was in his third year of teaching at Northern Essex Community College on a part-time basis. He had previously earned his MBA degree from the University of New Hampshire.  After teaching financial accounting and management courses for 2 years, he was asked to transfer to the Criminal Justice department because of a shortage of Lecturers.  He was teaching Intro to Criminal Justice and todays lecture was going to be on serial killers.  After, taking attendance, he started.
            “A person becomes a serial killer when he commits three or more murders.  They are either a psychopath or sociopath.  Whereas all serial killers are either, not all psychopaths and sociopaths are serial killers.”
            Dave DeBurro, a student, asked a question, “Aren’t they the same thing?”
            “They’re similar Dave, but different.  The main difference is that a psychopath has no conscience and that’s what makes him more dangerous.  A lack of conscience makes an individual more cold blooded and calculating.  A sociopath does have a conscience but it is a weak one. Both will manipulate people for personal gain and feel little if no remorse.  When it matters, psychopaths tend to be both charming and manipulative, and they are usually intelligent.  A sociopath recognizes what they are doing but rationalizes it away and his or her social skills may not be as good as a psychopath.  The psychopath doesn’t care or fear the consequences of his actions, as long as it is a means to an end.  Probably, the best example I can give you is Ted Bundy.
            “Bundy killed 36 different women over a 10 year period and is suspected in possibly another 50 to 100 killings before he was finally caught in 1978.  He could be very charismatic and was studying for his law degree.  The question brought to mind is it nature or nurture.  In other words, are people born killers or do life experiences shape them?  I suspect that will be a question for years to come.  It is believed that Bundy’s grandfather was also his father, and until he was about 10 years old, he thought that his mother was his sister.  I recently read an article that stated scientists want to examine Bundy’s brain after his death to see if there is anything out of the ordinary.”
             He also gave examples of other psychopath serial killers such as  David Berkowitz who was known as the Son of Sam and John Wayne Gacy.
            “Professor,” Dave DeBurro asked again, “Do you have any other training besides police work in this area?”
            “Some Dave, my undergraduate major was behavioral psychology at UNH.  Whereas that in no means makes me an expert, my knowledge is a bit more than rudimentary; and keep in mind, psychology is far from an exact science.
            In the years to come, Tommasi would be surprised at the number of psychopaths that he would encounter as a police officer, one as young as fifteen years old.
 
 
********
 
 
                                                                                                      Spring 1997
 
            Eric Jeleniewski was in his fourth week of boot camp for the army reserves when the accident happened.  One of the recruits in the company, Tim Campbell, was climbing the high bars when he slipped and fell twenty feet to the ground.  He landed on his head and died instantly from a broken neck.
            It was the first time Jeleniewski saw someone die and it didn’t upset him.  He kind of liked it and wondered how it would be to take someone’s life.
Authors note: the musing of Eric Jeleniewski were suppositions by the author gained as a result of interviews with detectives involved in the murder investigation in the following pages.
 
 
********
 
 
                                                                                                               August 1997
 
            There were six people living in the small motel 6 room in Leominster Ma.  There were the three friends, Eric Jeleniewski, James “Opie” Grant and Chris Doucette.   There was also Eric Jeleniewski’s friend, Jacob Romero and two girls that came and went.  They were living off of $500 that James Grant had stolen from a business from which he had been previously fired.  They supplemented that by stealing food and 30 packs of beer.
            Eric Jeleniewski watched the same movie over and over again in those 10 days.  The movie was Scream and it was a comedic horror movie that was inspired by the real-life case of the Gainesville Ripper.  Jeleniewski seemed to be obsessed with killing people and he would also brag to his friends about his sexual exploits when he went “parking” with his girlfriends in cemeteries.
            He occasionally took a break from watching Scream and watched Scarface, starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana, but his favorite was Scream and he would often portray the slashers as he watched the movie.
            There were some particular scenes from Scream that he loved.  He loved the part about the rules of horror movies:
             "There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie. For instance, number one: you can never have sex.  Drugs and alcohol are also a problem and no one should say "I'll be right back."  When Stu, one of the movie’s characters, repeated the line, Randy said, "See, you push the laws and you end up dead. Okay, I'll see you in the kitchen with a knife."
            He also liked the scene where one of the murderers licked the blood from a stab room, and maybe there would be a reporter like Gale Winters who would cover his story.
            He loved the movie and wanted to be part of it.
 
 
********
 
 
            After ten days in the motel, they ran out of money and the three boys went one way, and Jacob Romero another.
            It was estimated that Jeleniewski watched Scream10-20 times while at the motel.

 

​                                                                                    Chapter 1
 
                                                                                              The Murders
                                                                                     Saturday, September 13
 
            It was an unusually cold and damp September morning as Dorothy Myers was walking her German Shepard past Hedgehog Park on Route 38 in Salem.  It was a little past 6:30 AM and traffic was light when she noticed what looked like a girl lying on the ground about 40 feet from the road.  The girl was on the northern edge of the pond that was in the park, and when Dorothy walked closer, she noticed that the girl’s pants were pulled down slightly and her bra and shirt were pulled up around her neck.
            She ran across the street to Klem’s Variety and spoke to the clerk, Thomas Mathews.
            “There’s a young girl across the street by the pond lying on her back.  She’s not moving and her legs look deformed.  I think we should call the police.”
            Thomas Mathews dialed 911.
            After receiving the call, Peggy Mickles, the police dispatcher, made sure that the fire department was sending an ambulance and then called the sector car.
            “Salem 72, respond to the area of Hedgehog Pond by the northern edge of the Pond.  We have a report of a woman down.  Be advised, an ambulance is also responding.”
            Steve “Bucky” Malisos was in his fifth year as a patrolman.  He was hoping that it would just be a passed out drunk, but something nagged at him.  It didn’t have the feel.  He felt that this may be a serious call and he responded with his emergency lights on. Fortunately, traffic was still light.
            “Ten-five,” he acknowledged the call.
            “Seventy-five headquarters, I’ll back him,” radioed John Lozowski, who was in his fourth year as a patrolman.
            When Malisos arrived on the scene, Dorothy Myers and Tom Mathews were in the parking lot of Klem’s variety where they pointed out the location of the girl’s body across the street.
            Malisos exited his cruiser and approached the girl, he noticed that something was wrong. The young girl had no shirt or bra on and seemed in an unnatural position.  He heard the ambulance’s siren in the background.
            “Salem, tell the ambulance to step on it.  This girl appears injured.”
            As he got closer to the girl, he noticed that she was more than injured.  He had a crime scene, and possibly a murder crime scene.
            Steve noticed that her shirt was pulled up around her neck, and her neck was saturated in blood.  She was cold to the touch.   He also noticed that lividity was beginning to set in. 
            The Fire department ambulance arrived and paramedics confirmed that she was dead.  One paramedic offered that the time of death was probably in the previous 5-10 hours.
            By then John Lozowski arrived on the scene and both he and Malisos began stringing Police tape around the entrance to Hedgehog Park while Malisos called the station.
            “Seventy-two to Salem, we have a 10-54, you need to contact State Police, the AG and Medical Examiner.  I also need a Supervisor and detectives.”  A 10-54 was police code for a homicide.
            “Roger that.”
            Lieutenant Bob Tine was the station supervisor.  “Okay Peggy, I’ll help you make the calls.  You call everyone from state, and I’ll call the Chief and detectives.”
            “Thanks Lieutenant.”
            Within the hour, Salem Police Detectives arrived on the scene along with the Senior Assistant Attorney General, Pat Donovan, who lived in the Salem area.
            Within two hours, Detective Captain Gould and Chief MacKinnon arrived, along with the state police Crime scene van and State Medical Examiner Thomas Andrew, who was just recently appointed to the position.
            Once Malisos and Lozowski secured the scene, Lozowski stayed with the body while Malisos went across the street to interview Tom Mathews and Dorothy Meyers.  He learned little else than what was initially reported to dispatch.
Authors note: Lividity refers to the discoloration of some skin after death. It is a common sign associated with rigor mortis.  Since the heart is not pumping blood through the body, gravity pulls the blood to the lowest part of the body giving it a bluish-purple tinge.
 
 
********
 
 
            Paul Marchand, the senior detective, arrived at the same time as Kevin Swift and they were joined shortly by Roger Beaudet.  All were experienced detectives with each having been on the force for twenty years.  All were highly decorated with Marchand twice receiving the coveted officer of the year award, something no other officer had achieved at the time.  Malisos showed them the body and stayed on the periphery. 
            Marchand then said, “Why don’t we do this, Roger stay with the body and take some pictures.  It already looks like the immediate scene has been contaminated by the paramedics.  Kevin why don’t you walk east around the pond and I’ll walk west.  I want to check out the bathhouse.”  The bathhouse was on the western side of the pond about 70-80 yards from the body.  It had restrooms, a fireplace and a small picnic area.
            As Marchand walked into the bathhouse he noticed blood on the cement by the hearth and on the hearth.  As he turned the corner, he noticed another young girl’s body.  He got on the radio on the private detectives channel.
            “Kevin, Roger, I have another body.  It’s just outside the bathhouse door.  Roger when you’re done, come over with the camera.”
            “Okay,” Beaudet answered.  “I’ll call the station and let them know too.”
            Once Peggy Mickles received the news of the second body, it was relayed to state police.
            When Beaudet arrived at the bathhouse, he noticed a driver’s license on a shelf above the fireplace.  He pointed it out to Marchand who had latex gloves on.  He looked at the NH license and then at the dead girl’s body.  Her pants were pulled down and off one leg.
            “Well, we know who this is; it’s Kimberly Farrah and she lives on Barron Ave.  Probably goes to Salem High, she’s 18.”
            “Shit,” was all Beaudet said as he looked at Kimberly’s lifeless body.
            “Hey Paul look,” as he pointed to Kimberly’s thigh.
            “Is that a palm print in the blood?”
            “Certainly looks like it Rog, we’ll let the crime lab guys know when they get here.”
            All three detectives continued the search but found nothing else.
 
 
********
 
 
            Patrick Donovan was the first state official to arrive at the scene.  Donovan had graduated from Dartmouth in 1986 and received his Juris Doctor from Boston College.  He then worked for two years as the prosecutor for Salem, NH before going on to clerk for NH Supreme Court Justice, Stephen Thayer III.  He then worked for the Boston Law firm of Goodwin, Proctor and Hoar.   He accepted his appointment to the NH Department of Justice in 1994 as an Assistant Attorney General. 
            To no surprise, he worked exceptionally well with Salem PD and he would be in charge of the overall investigation and subsequent prosecution.  After detectives brought him up to speed and showed him the two bodies, he stood back to wait for the ME and State Crime Scene Van.
 
 
********
 
 
            Thomas Andrew, the Medical Examiner, arrived shortly before the crime scene van along with Chief MacKinnon and Captain Gould.  Marchand brought Andrew over to the bathhouse to see Kimberly Farrah’s body and then they walked back to a staging area that was in the parking lot just west of the bathhouse.
            When Andrew got back he said to Donovan, “I’ll hold off on my initial examination until the crime scene guys are done.  I don’t want to contaminate the scenes any more than they already are.”
            Donovan noticed that Andrew had a troubled look as he observed Leeann Millius’ body.
            “What’s the matter Tom?” Donovan asked.
            After a few seconds, Andrew said, “I won’t know until I examine her, but it looks like three different types of stab wounds.”
            “What do you mean?”
            “I mean, there’s probably more than one killer.”
            Everyone just looked at each other.
 
 
********
 
 
            It was a little after eight AM when Sergeant Mark Pearson arrived at Hedgehog.  The state crime scene unit was already there and working.  He was the day shift street supervisor and was given the unpleasant task of notifying Kimberly’s parents of her murder.  Before he did, he stationed two patrolman to stop traffic on Route 38 (also known as Lowell road in Salem) eastbound and westbound to ask motorists if they had seen anything unusual during the past 12 hours.  This yielded no results.
              Once the crime scene investigators were finished, Tom Andrew had done a preliminary examination and pegged the time of death between midnight and 2 AM.  He was also quite confident there were three different types of stab wounds.  He would know with certainty after the autopsy.   The crime scene troopers were able to identify Leeann by her driver’s license which was found in her pants pocket.
            Before he went to the Farrah house, Pearson took another patrolman with him.  It wasn’t his first death notification nor would it be his last.
            Kimberly’s father, Bill Farrah, was living on Budron Ave in Salem.  He was recently divorced from Kimberly’s mother.  To Pearson, there are no words to describe the grief of a parent who’s been told that a child has died. 
            Pearson learned from Bill Farrah that Kim’s mother, Carol Horton, lived in Hampton, NH.  Kim had recently dropped out of school from Winnacunnet high in Hampton where she was a cheerleader and while she was living with her father, she was not attending Salem High.  Bill Farrah said he would contact Kim’s mother and he also asked about Kimberly’s car, a 1990 blue Chevy Cavalier.  Pearson radioed this to dispatch and it was entered into NCIC.  She was immediately notified by police that the car was found abandoned in the parking lot of a retail store, North Carpet Mills, in Oxford, Mass.
            Roger Beaudet and another detective, Phil Smith Sr., went to Leeann’s home on Pelham Road to deliver the death notification to her divorced mother, Mary Wallace.  Bill Farrah and Mary knew each other and would eventually enter into a relationship.
            While at the house, Mary informed the detectives that Leeann and Kimberly were with three boys last night.  She identified the boys as James Grant who had the nickname “Opie”, Eric Jeleniewski and Christopher Doucette
            “Leeann had been dating Grant over the summer and she told me that he was really jealous of other boys she was seeing.  When the boys were here, she looked like Leeann was more interested in the Doucette boy.  Before they went out, they had pizza and I think they got the pies from the Salem House of Pizza around 8:30 PM.  When they went out, they had both Kim’s car and Jeleniewski’s, an older red Honda Prelude.”
            “How did Leann meet Grant?” Beaudet asked.
            “She has a friend in Fitchburg, Jessica Phillips, who introduced them.”
            “Would you have her number?”
            “Yes I do,” and she wrote down for Beaudet.
            “Thank you Mrs. Wallace.  I know how hard this is and if there is anything we can do, please call,” Phil Smith said.
            As they were leaving, Beaudet noticed three pizza boxes in the garbage and he turned to Smith.
            “Hey Phil, we should grab those for fingerprints.”
            “Yea good idea.”
            The boxes were fingerprinted and were found to have the fingerprints of all three boys.
            Police now had suspects.
 
 
********
 
 
            Twenty year old Bob Abbot got to work at seven in the morning.  He had been working at the Mobil station on the River road exit off of route 93 in Andover for two months.  One of his first chores was to clean the men’s room.  He really hated that job but his boss always checked and he was a stickler for a clean restroom.
            As Abbot walked into the restroom, the light was on and he was greeted with a sight he had never seen before.  The walls, floor and the sink in the restroom were covered in blood.  It looked as if somebody had committed a murder.  He locked the door and ran back into the station to call the police.
            After an Andover cruiser arrived on the scene, Mass State Police were contacted and two crime scene investigators arrived at the gas station by 9 AM.  They finished processing the restroom by noontime, and by that time, they were aware of the double homicide that occurred in Salem. 
            They notified Salem who sent Detective Rheault down.  He got copies of their pictures and reports.
            After an analysis was performed the following week, the blood was found to be that of Leeann Millius and Kimberly Farrah.
 
 
********
 
 
            By 11 AM, Detectives Paul Marchand and Roger Beaudet were on their way to North Carpet Mills in Oxford Ma, to meet with the local police and Mass State Police.  Marchand informed Oxford Police of the double homicide and who the suspects were.  At this point they weren’t sure where the boys may be and a Mass State Police K9 unit was at the carpet retailer’s parking lot when Marchand and Beaudet arrived. 
            A quick look at the car showed that someone had attempted to torch it.  The gas cap was removed and there was a partially burnt rag protruding from it.  Later analysis showed that the rag had been soaked with lighter fluid.
            Roger Beaudet began to search the car.
            “Hey Paul, you’re not going to believe this.  There’s a wallet on the floor of the back seat.”
            “Get the fuck out,”
            “Really.”
            As Marchand walked over to Beaudet, Beaudet was searching the wallet and found a driver’s license belonging to Christopher Doucette along with a probation ID card from Michigan. 
            “I’m going to call the station and have them run this guy,” Marchand said.  “If he’s on probation, he’s probably in NCIC.”
            Beaudet nodded his head.
            The subsequent check revealed that Doucette had been previously arrested for burglary and he had lived with his mother, Deborah Brachel, in Manton, Michigan, a small municipality of 1300 people.  The Michigan State Police were also able to send the Salem Detectives a picture of Doucette.
            The state trooper then put his German Shepard K9 into Kimberly’s car to get a scent and the dog started on a track into the woods behind the carpet retailer.  Marchand had been a K9 officer in the 1980s for seven years and was familiar with a K9’s actions.  Suddenly, the Shepard stopped and stood on his rear paws with his front paws on a tree.  The trooper began to pull at him to continue the track.
            “Wait a second,” Marchand said.  “He’s onto something.”  The trooper gave him a skeptical look and Marchand then began to climb the tree.
            About fifteen feet up, he leaned against a branch, put on a pair of latex gloves and took an evidence bag out of his pocket.
            “What do ya got?” yelled Beaudet.
            “I got a set of keys that was stuck in a little notch in the tree.  It looks like there’s some blood on it and maybe a fingerprint.”
            The keys were to Kimberly’s car, and it was found to be Leeann’s blood.  The fingerprint was smudged, but James Grant’s fingerprints were later discovered in the car.
 
 
********
 
 
            After delivering the death notification to Bill Farrah, Mark Pearson returned to Hedgehog Park and noticed that beer cans were being collected as evidence. 
            Pearson had just completed the 13 week course at the FBI academy and went over to talk to the state tech.
            “Do you know how to interpret the code at the bottom of beer cans?”
            “No, what does it tell you.”
            Pearson gloved up and turned one of the cans over.  He then explained to the tech that the code on the bottom of the can will tell you where it was brewed, bottled and what store it was shipped too.
            “Thanks, we’ll make sure to do that.”
            Pearson noticed that there were two news helicopters circling the scene.  He then went over to talk to Captain Gould and asked if the State Police helicopter was available.
            “Why?” Gould asked.
            “Well, the leaves are falling early this year and we might be able to see something from the air that we haven’t found by walking the area.  That and we can take some aerial pictures of the area.”
            “Good idea.”
            Pearson then called the FAA Control Tower at Lawrence, Ma. Airport and received clearance to do this.  The tower contacted the channel 7 news helicopter that was circling Hedgehog Pond.
            Channel 7 said they would be happy to assist, especially since it would look good on the evening news.  They landed in a nearby parking lot and Detective Mark Sambataro, who recently arrived at the crime site, went up in the helicopter and took pictures.  Nothing new was discovered.
 
 
********
 
 
            At the time of the murder, the Detective Sergeant position at Salem was vacant.  Gould got approval from Chief MacKinnon to temporarily put patrol Sergeant Mark Cavanaugh in that position.
            Mark became an officer in Salem in 1975 and went onto detectives by 1980.  He then left for 3 years to become a NCIS special agent in 1983.  He then returned to Salem in 1986 and was soon promoted to Sergeant.
            Once the boy’s names were revealed, he did background checks on them and learned that Eric Jeleniewski had recently completed basic training and was scheduled for advanced infantry school later in the fall.  He also learned that his mother worked as a civilian administrator for the army at Fort Devins in Shirley, Ma.
            She was divorced from Eric’s father and her name was now Misty Maciejewski.  He was able to contact her while she was at work.
            “How do I know that I’m talking to a real Detective Sergeant?” she asked.
            “Ma’am, if you have caller ID, you can verify that I’m calling from the Salem, NH police station.”
            After she did that, she asked, “Why are you calling me?”
            “Were trying to locate your son Eric, Ms. Maciejewski, he may be involved in a crime.”
            “Well, I’m not sure,” she said hesitantly.
            Cavanaugh thought she knew where her son was.
            “Ma’am, this is extremely important.  He may be involved in a murder with two other boys.”
            Misty only hesitated for a moment.
            “He may be on his way to Michigan with his two friends, Chris Doucette and James Grant.  They may be going to Doucette’s mother’s house.  I think she lives somewhere in upstate Michigan.” 
            “Thank you.  Would you be able to email me a picture of your son?”
            “Yes I can.  I have a picture of him in uniform on my desk.”
            “Thanks very much Ms. Maciejewski.”
            “One other thing detective, Eric’s a real good boy, but he doesn’t seem to have any conscience.”
 
 
********
 
 
            After the phone call, Cavanaugh walked into the patrol supervisor’s office.  John Tommasi was the four to midnight sergeant but had been called in early because of the murder.  Cavanaugh, Marchand and Tommasi were roommates prior to each of them getting married and were best friends since they got on the police department in the mid-seventies.  They gave their usual greeting to each other:
            “Hey worthless and weak, what’s up?” Tommasi said.
            “Not much ugly and stupid, I take it you’re aware of what’s happening.”
            “Yea, Pearson told me everything, including the three suspects we have and the bloody restroom in Andover and the stolen car in Oxford.”
            “Well, I just spoke to the mother of one of the suspects, Eric Jeleniewski.  She said something interesting.”
            “What pray-tell.”
            “She said that he’s a good kid, but has no conscience.”
            Tommasi contemplated this for a moment.  “That’s part of the classic definition for a psychopath Mark.  This guy could not only be very dangerous but also a very good liar.  Psychopaths could be lying through their teeth and pass a polygraph without a problem.”
            “Why thank you Sigmund Freud.”
            “Anytime.”
            As Cavanaugh was walking out, Tommasi yelled to him.
            “Hey Mark, did you hear about the psychologist whose receptionist told him that there’s a patient in the waiting room who thinks he’s invisible?”
            “No.”
            “The psychologist replied, ‘I can’t see him right now.’”
            Cavanaugh hesitated for a minute and just shook his head as he walked out.
 
 
********
 
 
            Roger Beaudet had told Mark about Leeann’s friend Jessica Phillips and before talking to Jeleniewski’s mother, Cavanaugh had called Jessica Phillips, told her about Leeann’s death and asked her to come to the station to which she agreed.  She walked in just as he was walking out of the Patrol Supervisor’s office.
            During the interview, she confirmed that she had introduced not only Grant to Leeann, but also Jeleniewski, who didn’t seem that interested.  Jessica had told the Sergeant that some of her friends had dated Jeleniewski and felt that he was really weird and creepy.  Two of Jessica’s friend had accompanied her to the Salem Police Station to offer support and comfort.
            Cavanaugh was satisfied with the interview but felt she was holding something back.
 
 
********
 
 
            On their way back from Oxford, Beaudet and Marchand stopped at Doucette’s house in Lunenburg where they spoke to his father.  Doucette’s father told the detectives that his son was probably on his way to Manton, Michigan to stay with his mother, Debra Brachel, and gave Marchand her phone number.  He also knew that his son was with Jeleniewski and Grant. 
            “Why are you looking for them?” Doucette’s father asked.
            Marchand didn’t mince words.  “They are suspects in a murder investigation.”
            Doucette’s father just shook his head.  He didn’t seem surprised to the detectives.
 
 
********
           
 
            At 5 PM all detectives met at the station and compared what they had and what they were going to do.
            The murder weapon had not been found and Cavanaugh was going to organize a skirmish line on Sunday to search the woods in the hope of finding it.
            Two Cruisers were stationed at Hedgehog to keep people out and preserve the area.
            Swift and Marchand were going to Manton Michigan and they had to make arrangements.
            Everyone started writing their reports.
 
 
********
 
 
            After finding out who had jurisdiction in Manton, Michigan, Marchand called the Wexford County Sheriff’s office which was the county Manton located and spoke to Dan O’Riley.  He was the Detective Sergeant and was made aware of the murder suspects that were headed his way.    Swift and Marchand were going to fly to Michigan the next day and O’Riley told them the closest airport was in Traverse City, Mi., about fifty miles north of Cadillac where the County Sheriff’s office is situated and 15 miles north of Manton.  O’Riley said he would also inform Michigan State Police and the police in Manton which was a part-time department.
            “Hey Paul,” O’Riley said, “American flies into Traverse City.  When you find out your flight info, let me know.  I’ll pick you up at the airport and make hotel arrangements for you.”
            “Thanks Dan it’s much appreciated, and we have pictures of two of the boys, and a description of the third, we’ll send them to you.”



              Chapter 1
 
                                                                                              The Murders
                                                                                     Saturday, September 13
 
            It was an unusually cold and damp September morning as Dorothy Myers was walking her German Shepard past Hedgehog Park on Route 38 in Salem.  It was a little past 6:30 AM and traffic was light when she noticed what looked like a girl lying on the ground about 40 feet from the road.  The girl was on the northern edge of the pond that was in the park, and when Dorothy walked closer, she noticed that the girl’s pants were pulled down slightly and her bra and shirt were pulled up around her neck.
            She ran across the street to Klem’s Variety and spoke to the clerk, Thomas Mathews.
            “There’s a young girl across the street by the pond lying on her back.  She’s not moving and her legs look deformed.  I think we should call the police.”
            Thomas Mathews dialed 911.
            After receiving the call, Peggy Mickles, the police dispatcher, made sure that the fire department was sending an ambulance and then called the sector car.
            “Salem 72, respond to the area of Hedgehog Pond by the northern edge of the Pond.  We have a report of a woman down.  Be advised, an ambulance is also responding.”
            Steve “Bucky” Malisos was in his fifth year as a patrolman.  He was hoping that it would just be a passed out drunk, but something nagged at him.  It didn’t have the feel.  He felt that this may be a serious call and he responded with his emergency lights on. Fortunately, traffic was still light.
            “Ten-five,” he acknowledged the call.
            “Seventy-five headquarters, I’ll back him,” radioed John Lozowski, who was in his fourth year as a patrolman.
            When Malisos arrived on the scene, Dorothy Myers and Tom Mathews were in the parking lot of Klem’s variety where they pointed out the location of the girl’s body across the street.
            Malisos exited his cruiser and approached the girl, he noticed that something was wrong. The young girl had no shirt or bra on and seemed in an unnatural position.  He heard the ambulance’s siren in the background.
            “Salem, tell the ambulance to step on it.  This girl appears injured.”
            As he got closer to the girl, he noticed that she was more than injured.  He had a crime scene, and possibly a murder crime scene.
            Steve noticed that her shirt was pulled up around her neck, and her neck was saturated in blood.  She was cold to the touch.   He also noticed that lividity was beginning to set in. 
            The Fire department ambulance arrived and paramedics confirmed that she was dead.  One paramedic offered that the time of death was probably in the previous 5-10 hours.
            By then John Lozowski arrived on the scene and both he and Malisos began stringing Police tape around the entrance to Hedgehog Park while Malisos called the station.
            “Seventy-two to Salem, we have a 10-54, you need to contact State Police, the AG and Medical Examiner.  I also need a Supervisor and detectives.”  A 10-54 was police code for a homicide.
            “Roger that.”
            Lieutenant Bob Tine was the station supervisor.  “Okay Peggy, I’ll help you make the calls.  You call everyone from state, and I’ll call the Chief and detectives.”
            “Thanks Lieutenant.”
            Within the hour, Salem Police Detectives arrived on the scene along with the Senior Assistant Attorney General, Pat Donovan, who lived in the Salem area.
            Within two hours, Detective Captain Gould and Chief MacKinnon arrived, along with the state police Crime scene van and State Medical Examiner Thomas Andrew, who was just recently appointed to the position.
            Once Malisos and Lozowski secured the scene, Lozowski stayed with the body while Malisos went across the street to interview Tom Mathews and Dorothy Meyers.  He learned little else than what was initially reported to dispatch.
Authors note: Lividity refers to the discoloration of some skin after death. It is a common sign associated with rigor mortis.  Since the heart is not pumping blood through the body, gravity pulls the blood to the lowest part of the body giving it a bluish-purple tinge.
 
 
********
 
 
            Paul Marchand, the senior detective, arrived at the same time as Kevin Swift and they were joined shortly by Roger Beaudet.  All were experienced detectives with each having been on the force for twenty years.  All were highly decorated with Marchand twice receiving the coveted officer of the year award, something no other officer had achieved at the time.  Malisos showed them the body and stayed on the periphery. 
            Marchand then said, “Why don’t we do this, Roger stay with the body and take some pictures.  It already looks like the immediate scene has been contaminated by the paramedics.  Kevin why don’t you walk east around the pond and I’ll walk west.  I want to check out the bathhouse.”  The bathhouse was on the western side of the pond about 70-80 yards from the body.  It had restrooms, a fireplace and a small picnic area.
            As Marchand walked into the bathhouse he noticed blood on the cement by the hearth and on the hearth.  As he turned the corner, he noticed another young girl’s body.  He got on the radio on the private detectives channel.
            “Kevin, Roger, I have another body.  It’s just outside the bathhouse door.  Roger when you’re done, come over with the camera.”
            “Okay,” Beaudet answered.  “I’ll call the station and let them know too.”
            Once Peggy Mickles received the news of the second body, it was relayed to state police.
            When Beaudet arrived at the bathhouse, he noticed a driver’s license on a shelf above the fireplace.  He pointed it out to Marchand who had latex gloves on.  He looked at the NH license and then at the dead girl’s body.  Her pants were pulled down and off one leg.
            “Well, we know who this is; it’s Kimberly Farrah and she lives on Barron Ave.  Probably goes to Salem High, she’s 18.”
            “Shit,” was all Beaudet said as he looked at Kimberly’s lifeless body.
            “Hey Paul look,” as he pointed to Kimberly’s thigh.
            “Is that a palm print in the blood?”
            “Certainly looks like it Rog, we’ll let the crime lab guys know when they get here.”
            All three detectives continued the search but found nothing else.
 
 
********
 
 
            Patrick Donovan was the first state official to arrive at the scene.  Donovan had graduated from Dartmouth in 1986 and received his Juris Doctor from Boston College.  He then worked for two years as the prosecutor for Salem, NH before going on to clerk for NH Supreme Court Justice, Stephen Thayer III.  He then worked for the Boston Law firm of Goodwin, Proctor and Hoar.   He accepted his appointment to the NH Department of Justice in 1994 as an Assistant Attorney General. 
            To no surprise, he worked exceptionally well with Salem PD and he would be in charge of the overall investigation and subsequent prosecution.  After detectives brought him up to speed and showed him the two bodies, he stood back to wait for the ME and State Crime Scene Van.
 
 
********
 
 
            Thomas Andrew, the Medical Examiner, arrived shortly before the crime scene van along with Chief MacKinnon and Captain Gould.  Marchand brought Andrew over to the bathhouse to see Kimberly Farrah’s body and then they walked back to a staging area that was in the parking lot just west of the bathhouse.
            When Andrew got back he said to Donovan, “I’ll hold off on my initial examination until the crime scene guys are done.  I don’t want to contaminate the scenes any more than they already are.”
            Donovan noticed that Andrew had a troubled look as he observed Leeann Millius’ body.
            “What’s the matter Tom?” Donovan asked.
            After a few seconds, Andrew said, “I won’t know until I examine her, but it looks like three different types of stab wounds.”
            “What do you mean?”
            “I mean, there’s probably more than one killer.”
            Everyone just looked at each other.
 
 
********
 
 
            It was a little after eight AM when Sergeant Mark Pearson arrived at Hedgehog.  The state crime scene unit was already there and working.  He was the day shift street supervisor and was given the unpleasant task of notifying Kimberly’s parents of her murder.  Before he did, he stationed two patrolman to stop traffic on Route 38 (also known as Lowell road in Salem) eastbound and westbound to ask motorists if they had seen anything unusual during the past 12 hours.  This yielded no results.
              Once the crime scene investigators were finished, Tom Andrew had done a preliminary examination and pegged the time of death between midnight and 2 AM.  He was also quite confident there were three different types of stab wounds.  He would know with certainty after the autopsy.   The crime scene troopers were able to identify Leeann by her driver’s license which was found in her pants pocket.
            Before he went to the Farrah house, Pearson took another patrolman with him.  It wasn’t his first death notification nor would it be his last.
            Kimberly’s father, Bill Farrah, was living on Budron Ave in Salem.  He was recently divorced from Kimberly’s mother.  To Pearson, there are no words to describe the grief of a parent who’s been told that a child has died. 
            Pearson learned from Bill Farrah that Kim’s mother, Carol Horton, lived in Hampton, NH.  Kim had recently dropped out of school from Winnacunnet high in Hampton where she was a cheerleader and while she was living with her father, she was not attending Salem High.  Bill Farrah said he would contact Kim’s mother and he also asked about Kimberly’s car, a 1990 blue Chevy Cavalier.  Pearson radioed this to dispatch and it was entered into NCIC.  She was immediately notified by police that the car was found abandoned in the parking lot of a retail store, North Carpet Mills, in Oxford, Mass.
            Roger Beaudet and another detective, Phil Smith Sr., went to Leeann’s home on Pelham Road to deliver the death notification to her divorced mother, Mary Wallace.  Bill Farrah and Mary knew each other and would eventually enter into a relationship.
            While at the house, Mary informed the detectives that Leeann and Kimberly were with three boys last night.  She identified the boys as James Grant who had the nickname “Opie”, Eric Jeleniewski and Christopher Doucette
            “Leeann had been dating Grant over the summer and she told me that he was really jealous of other boys she was seeing.  When the boys were here, she looked like Leeann was more interested in the Doucette boy.  Before they went out, they had pizza and I think they got the pies from the Salem House of Pizza around 8:30 PM.  When they went out, they had both Kim’s car and Jeleniewski’s, an older red Honda Prelude.”
            “How did Leann meet Grant?” Beaudet asked.
            “She has a friend in Fitchburg, Jessica Phillips, who introduced them.”
            “Would you have her number?”
            “Yes I do,” and she wrote down for Beaudet.
            “Thank you Mrs. Wallace.  I know how hard this is and if there is anything we can do, please call,” Phil Smith said.
            As they were leaving, Beaudet noticed three pizza boxes in the garbage and he turned to Smith.
            “Hey Phil, we should grab those for fingerprints.”
            “Yea good idea.”
            The boxes were fingerprinted and were found to have the fingerprints of all three boys.
            Police now had suspects.
 
 
********
 
 
            Twenty year old Bob Abbot got to work at seven in the morning.  He had been working at the Mobil station on the River road exit off of route 93 in Andover for two months.  One of his first chores was to clean the men’s room.  He really hated that job but his boss always checked and he was a stickler for a clean restroom.
            As Abbot walked into the restroom, the light was on and he was greeted with a sight he had never seen before.  The walls, floor and the sink in the restroom were covered in blood.  It looked as if somebody had committed a murder.  He locked the door and ran back into the station to call the police.
            After an Andover cruiser arrived on the scene, Mass State Police were contacted and two crime scene investigators arrived at the gas station by 9 AM.  They finished processing the restroom by noontime, and by that time, they were aware of the double homicide that occurred in Salem. 
            They notified Salem who sent Detective Rheault down.  He got copies of their pictures and reports.
            After an analysis was performed the following week, the blood was found to be that of Leeann Millius and Kimberly Farrah.
 
 
********
 
 
            By 11 AM, Detectives Paul Marchand and Roger Beaudet were on their way to North Carpet Mills in Oxford Ma, to meet with the local police and Mass State Police.  Marchand informed Oxford Police of the double homicide and who the suspects were.  At this point they weren’t sure where the boys may be and a Mass State Police K9 unit was at the carpet retailer’s parking lot when Marchand and Beaudet arrived. 
            A quick look at the car showed that someone had attempted to torch it.  The gas cap was removed and there was a partially burnt rag protruding from it.  Later analysis showed that the rag had been soaked with lighter fluid.
            Roger Beaudet began to search the car.
            “Hey Paul, you’re not going to believe this.  There’s a wallet on the floor of the back seat.”
            “Get the fuck out,”
            “Really.”
            As Marchand walked over to Beaudet, Beaudet was searching the wallet and found a driver’s license belonging to Christopher Doucette along with a probation ID card from Michigan. 
            “I’m going to call the station and have them run this guy,” Marchand said.  “If he’s on probation, he’s probably in NCIC.”
            Beaudet nodded his head.
            The subsequent check revealed that Doucette had been previously arrested for burglary and he had lived with his mother, Deborah Brachel, in Manton, Michigan, a small municipality of 1300 people.  The Michigan State Police were also able to send the Salem Detectives a picture of Doucette.
            The state trooper then put his German Shepard K9 into Kimberly’s car to get a scent and the dog started on a track into the woods behind the carpet retailer.  Marchand had been a K9 officer in the 1980s for seven years and was familiar with a K9’s actions.  Suddenly, the Shepard stopped and stood on his rear paws with his front paws on a tree.  The trooper began to pull at him to continue the track.
            “Wait a second,” Marchand said.  “He’s onto something.”  The trooper gave him a skeptical look and Marchand then began to climb the tree.
            About fifteen feet up, he leaned against a branch, put on a pair of latex gloves and took an evidence bag out of his pocket.
            “What do ya got?” yelled Beaudet.
            “I got a set of keys that was stuck in a little notch in the tree.  It looks like there’s some blood on it and maybe a fingerprint.”
            The keys were to Kimberly’s car, and it was found to be Leeann’s blood.  The fingerprint was smudged, but James Grant’s fingerprints were later discovered in the car.
 
 
********
 
 
            After delivering the death notification to Bill Farrah, Mark Pearson returned to Hedgehog Park and noticed that beer cans were being collected as evidence. 
            Pearson had just completed the 13 week course at the FBI academy and went over to talk to the state tech.
            “Do you know how to interpret the code at the bottom of beer cans?”
            “No, what does it tell you.”
            Pearson gloved up and turned one of the cans over.  He then explained to the tech that the code on the bottom of the can will tell you where it was brewed, bottled and what store it was shipped too.
            “Thanks, we’ll make sure to do that.”
            Pearson noticed that there were two news helicopters circling the scene.  He then went over to talk to Captain Gould and asked if the State Police helicopter was available.
            “Why?” Gould asked.
            “Well, the leaves are falling early this year and we might be able to see something from the air that we haven’t found by walking the area.  That and we can take some aerial pictures of the area.”
            “Good idea.”
            Pearson then called the FAA Control Tower at Lawrence, Ma. Airport and received clearance to do this.  The tower contacted the channel 7 news helicopter that was circling Hedgehog Pond.
            Channel 7 said they would be happy to assist, especially since it would look good on the evening news.  They landed in a nearby parking lot and Detective Mark Sambataro, who recently arrived at the crime site, went up in the helicopter and took pictures.  Nothing new was discovered.
 
 
********
 
 
            At the time of the murder, the Detective Sergeant position at Salem was vacant.  Gould got approval from Chief MacKinnon to temporarily put patrol Sergeant Mark Cavanaugh in that position.
            Mark became an officer in Salem in 1975 and went onto detectives by 1980.  He then left for 3 years to become a NCIS special agent in 1983.  He then returned to Salem in 1986 and was soon promoted to Sergeant.
            Once the boy’s names were revealed, he did background checks on them and learned that Eric Jeleniewski had recently completed basic training and was scheduled for advanced infantry school later in the fall.  He also learned that his mother worked as a civilian administrator for the army at Fort Devins in Shirley, Ma.
            She was divorced from Eric’s father and her name was now Misty Maciejewski.  He was able to contact her while she was at work.
            “How do I know that I’m talking to a real Detective Sergeant?” she asked.
            “Ma’am, if you have caller ID, you can verify that I’m calling from the Salem, NH police station.”
            After she did that, she asked, “Why are you calling me?”
            “Were trying to locate your son Eric, Ms. Maciejewski, he may be involved in a crime.”
            “Well, I’m not sure,” she said hesitantly.
            Cavanaugh thought she knew where her son was.
            “Ma’am, this is extremely important.  He may be involved in a murder with two other boys.”
            Misty only hesitated for a moment.
            “He may be on his way to Michigan with his two friends, Chris Doucette and James Grant.  They may be going to Doucette’s mother’s house.  I think she lives somewhere in upstate Michigan.” 
            “Thank you.  Would you be able to email me a picture of your son?”
            “Yes I can.  I have a picture of him in uniform on my desk.”
            “Thanks very much Ms. Maciejewski.”
            “One other thing detective, Eric’s a real good boy, but he doesn’t seem to have any conscience.”
 
 
********
 
 
            After the phone call, Cavanaugh walked into the patrol supervisor’s office.  John Tommasi was the four to midnight sergeant but had been called in early because of the murder.  Cavanaugh, Marchand and Tommasi were roommates prior to each of them getting married and were best friends since they got on the police department in the mid-seventies.  They gave their usual greeting to each other:
            “Hey worthless and weak, what’s up?” Tommasi said.
            “Not much ugly and stupid, I take it you’re aware of what’s happening.”
            “Yea, Pearson told me everything, including the three suspects we have and the bloody restroom in Andover and the stolen car in Oxford.”
            “Well, I just spoke to the mother of one of the suspects, Eric Jeleniewski.  She said something interesting.”
            “What pray-tell.”
            “She said that he’s a good kid, but has no conscience.”
            Tommasi contemplated this for a moment.  “That’s part of the classic definition for a psychopath Mark.  This guy could not only be very dangerous but also a very good liar.  Psychopaths could be lying through their teeth and pass a polygraph without a problem.”
            “Why thank you Sigmund Freud.”
            “Anytime.”
            As Cavanaugh was walking out, Tommasi yelled to him.
            “Hey Mark, did you hear about the psychologist whose receptionist told him that there’s a patient in the waiting room who thinks he’s invisible?”
            “No.”
            “The psychologist replied, ‘I can’t see him right now.’”
            Cavanaugh hesitated for a minute and just shook his head as he walked out.
 
 
********
 
 
            Roger Beaudet had told Mark about Leeann’s friend Jessica Phillips and before talking to Jeleniewski’s mother, Cavanaugh had called Jessica Phillips, told her about Leeann’s death and asked her to come to the station to which she agreed.  She walked in just as he was walking out of the Patrol Supervisor’s office.
            During the interview, she confirmed that she had introduced not only Grant to Leeann, but also Jeleniewski, who didn’t seem that interested.  Jessica had told the Sergeant that some of her friends had dated Jeleniewski and felt that he was really weird and creepy.  Two of Jessica’s friend had accompanied her to the Salem Police Station to offer support and comfort.
            Cavanaugh was satisfied with the interview but felt she was holding something back.
 
 
********
 
 
            On their way back from Oxford, Beaudet and Marchand stopped at Doucette’s house in Lunenburg where they spoke to his father.  Doucette’s father told the detectives that his son was probably on his way to Manton, Michigan to stay with his mother, Debra Brachel, and gave Marchand her phone number.  He also knew that his son was with Jeleniewski and Grant. 
            “Why are you looking for them?” Doucette’s father asked.
            Marchand didn’t mince words.  “They are suspects in a murder investigation.”
            Doucette’s father just shook his head.  He didn’t seem surprised to the detectives.
 
 
********
           
 
            At 5 PM all detectives met at the station and compared what they had and what they were going to do.
            The murder weapon had not been found and Cavanaugh was going to organize a skirmish line on Sunday to search the woods in the hope of finding it.
            Two Cruisers were stationed at Hedgehog to keep people out and preserve the area.
            Swift and Marchand were going to Manton Michigan and they had to make arrangements.
            Everyone started writing their reports.
 
 
********
 
 
            After finding out who had jurisdiction in Manton, Michigan, Marchand called the Wexford County Sheriff’s office which was the county Manton located and spoke to Dan O’Riley.  He was the Detective Sergeant and was made aware of the murder suspects that were headed his way.    Swift and Marchand were going to fly to Michigan the next day and O’Riley told them the closest airport was in Traverse City, Mi., about fifty miles north of Cadillac where the County Sheriff’s office is situated and 15 miles north of Manton.  O’Riley said he would also inform Michigan State Police and the police in Manton which was a part-time department.
            “Hey Paul,” O’Riley said, “American flies into Traverse City.  When you find out your flight info, let me know.  I’ll pick you up at the airport and make hotel arrangements for you.”
            “Thanks Dan it’s much appreciated, and we have pictures of two of the boys, and a description of the third, we’ll send them to you.”