"Baby Hope" Case Development

The New York Times has revealed that police have identified the mother of 'Baby Hope,' the name given to the corpse of a young girl stuffed in an iridescent blue cooler in a wooded area near the Dyckman Street exit off the Henry Hudson Parkway in Washington Heights on July 23, 1991. The young victim appeared to be between three and five years of age, malnourished, and subsequent tests showed she had been sexually abused.

For more than two decades, her identity has remained a mystery. No one ever came forward to report this young girl missing. In 2011, the medical examiner's office completed a DNA profile of the victim after exhuming her remains from St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx. Unfortunately, no matches were made when tested against a database of convicted felons or active missing persons cases.

As a retired police officer who worked in the Crime Stoppers unit for 13 years and a current volunteer who serves on the Board of Directors of Crime Stoppers of Suffolk County, Inc. (which I joined two days after my retirement in 2007), I have something to say (okay, a rant) about the information revealed in this article.

First, however, some information I'd like to share:

It is common practice in Crime Stoppers to profile an unsolved case on or near an anniversary date. There are several reasons for this; among them:

1)The news media refrains from airing/printing 'old news.' However, if a request by Crime Stoppers and the police emerges on/near an anniversary date, it justifies a valid reason to report, once again, on certain unsolved cases. Whether it's print, radio, TV, internet, the reporter/journalist/news broadcaster can say, "It's been X years since..." and include visuals that have been previously issued to the public, or in some cases, release a 'new' visual if one is available, and of course alert the public to the existence of the Crime Stoppers Tips Line.

2) Over time, relationships shift ~ and it's to law enforcement's benefit. Someone in possession of information who was once reluctant or afraid to come forward may now find him or herself in a different situation; it may be due to separation, death, divorce, health reasons, incarceration, a woman (or man) scorned, revenge, guilt ~ any number of reasons that a person with information may NOW feel secure ~ in some cases compelled ~ to reveal what they know. This is why it is vital for Crime Stoppers to periodically issue a plea for information, especially on an anniversary date.

3) When the plea is issued on/near the anniversary date, there's a chance that people who frequent that area during that time of year might see or hear the story, realize they can call (and now text or email) anonymously, and possibly be eligible for a cash reward, if they contact Crime Stoppers. For example, if a crime was committed the day before, after, or on a holiday ~ let's say Thanksgiving ~ if it's a habit to 'return home' to be with loved ones, the advertising of the crime might catch the attention of the 'right' people. Also, it may jar some people into realizing that the information they've held on to for so long is more significant than they realize ~ or they may even have mistakenly assumed the case was solved, and their information is unnecessary.

My years of experience in Crime Stoppers taught me this: If the 'right' person (meaning someone with information vital to an investigation) with a 'good conscience' (one who is willing to 'do the right thing') comes across the plea in whatever medium (a poster, article, blog, radio or TV news report, word-of-mouth, etc.), and becomes aware of the number to call/text/email anonymously to pass that information along, it's a formula for success.

A victim's family and friends, after years of enduring agony and heartache, might have a chance to obtain answers they've wished, hoped, prayed, and dreamed about getting.

This past summer, after the police issued a plea for information about the Baby Hope case, someone (the 'right' person) apparently came forward with information. The caller's information led to a confirmation of the mother's identity through scientific evidence.

Sadly, officials revealed the contents of the confidential tip, evidenced by the journalist printing exactly what the informant told Crime Stoppers. It's unfortunate that the journalist didn't realize the severity of the violation even if the source, the unnamed "official"quoted in this article, did not.

When I handled the tips line, my subsequent reports to corresponding units or agencies responsible for follow up did not even contain the gender of the caller, as is protocol.

The Wall Street Journal reveals that the mother has been identified and is cooperating with police. It also states that the police do not consider the mother a suspect: "...she appears to have been estranged from the girl at the time of her death."

This photo of the victim's grave was included in a tweet by Tim Fleischer from Eyewitness News:

Big break! #NYPD cracks 22 y/o cold case Baby Hope's mother found Live EWN @ 5 @eyewitnessnyc pic.twitter.com/0VtczllzEt

— Tim Fleischer (@TimFleischer7) October 8, 2013

If you look closely at the bottom of the gravestone, there's a plea for information along with the NYC Crime Stoppers number. It promises, "All calls will be kept confidential."

I am absolutely thrilled that this case may be on its way to a successful conclusion, as the identity of the Baby Hope is now known to police, and the murder investigation can properly begin. However, I am deeply saddened that "officials" decided to violate the basic premise (and promise) of the Crime Stoppers program. Because of this violation, it may preclude future callers from reaching out, as they now know that a caller's information (and gender, which can certainly clue a murderer/fugitive/bank robber/drug dealer/kidnapper/rapist in to whom called the tips line) may be exposed by "officials" to the media. This is a serious breach of trust that could have a negative impact on such a valuable program.

The information may appear to be benign in most reader's eyes, but for anyone who's worked or volunteered with Crime Stoppers, it is a blatant infraction.

The information given could have easily been provided to the media without revealing the gender of the caller nor the content of his/her information; it could simply have been revealed that as a result of the publicity on the anniversary, information was received that has led investigators to the possible identity of the mother of Baby Hope. End of story ~ at least until the investigation has a chance to get underway and updated information can be released, while all along protecting the existence and identity of the anonymous source who came forward.

In the unlikely event the informant doesn't mind having his/her identity or information revealed, in the interest of protecting the program, it's still optimal for law enforcement and journalists to keep that information confidential. If there is an insistence to have one's gender or information revealed, at the very least, a statement should be included that it's against the protocol of the Crime Stoppers program to reveal an informant's gender and the content of his/her information, but with this rare exception, it's being revealed at the request, consent, and/or insistence of the informant. In this situation, future callers might then be assured that the confidential information they may provide would not routinely be released to the public, and that Crime Stoppers does guarantees anonymity.

An updated New York Times article online now reveals:

According to two law enforcement officials who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, the mother is originally from Mexico and at one point lived in Queens. She was interviewed by detectives and Manhattan prosecutors in recent days.

Follow me on Twitter @katcop13. 

Happy Birthday, Wilkie Collins

On this date in 1824, British novelist Wilkie Collins was born. 


T.S. Eliot described The Moonstone as the first and greatest of English detective novels.


A quote from The Woman in White seems to have stood the test of time:


"There are foolish criminals who are discovered, and wise criminals who escape.  The hiding of a crime, or the detection of a crime, what is it?  A trial of skill between the police on one side, and the individual on the other. When the criminal is a brutal, ignorant fool, the police, in nine cases out of ten, win.  When the criminal is a resolute, educated, highly-intelligent man, the police, in nine cases out of ten, lose."


Click here for more Wilkie Collins quotes.  

New Gilgo Theory: One Killer

Today's Newsday headline blasts, "Newsday Exclusive: New Gilgo Theory: One Killer - From LI" with a sub-headline, "Top cop: Police fear serial killer will strike again."

This information surprises me, and then again, it doesn't. The first thing that came to mind is that the Police Commissioner of the past eight years, Richard Dormer, is leaving office soon (as a new County Executive, Steve Bellone, takes office in January, he will choose a new police commissioner). It's conjecture on my part, but it's possible that Newsday wanted to give him a chance to say any last parting words about the case, and he gave it to them (hence the exclusive). The article has been written by Tania Lopez.

It was nearly one year ago that a K-9 cop, conducting a search in the hopes of possibly finding evidence of missing person Shannan Gilbert, came across remains. Subsequent searches turned up multiple remains (eight females, one male, one female toddler); yet none belonged to Shannan. Dormer states in the article that detectives do not think Shannan's case is connected; that it was pure coincidence that she went missing in Oak Beach, and the bodies were found on Gilgo Beach.

I worked on the Crime Stoppers tips line (1-800-220-TIPS) for thirteen years, and spoke with hundreds of people who called with information that lead to arrests for homicide, narcotics, robbery, larceny, and other felonies. This case truly needs the break of someone with information to step forward. If you, or someone you know has information, please consider giving a call, or emailing or texting a tip anonymously. There is a cash reward available via the Crime Stoppers program, a civilian organization, of which I am a volunteer.

The Suffolk County Police Department's website has set up a page with sketches of two unidentified victims, and jewelry recovered with the remains of two victims. Please give it a brief view and see if it looks familiar.

Casey Anthony Murder Trial

Casey Anthony

Are you following the Casey Anthony murder trial? She is the Florida mother accused of killing her two-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony. Caylee was last seen on June 16, 2008, but not reported missing until July 15, 2008 -- which triggered a nationwide search. Her remains were discovered near her home in December 2008.

The Orlando Sentinel is covering it extensively. The Caylee Daily also covers stories about the case.

You can follow updates on Twitter at @OSCaseyAnthony, or simply use the hashtag #CaseyAnthony and find tweets related to the case.

"In Session" on TruTV (formerly Court TV) is airing live coverage of the trial.

CNN's Nancy Grace is covering the trial, too, weeknights at 8 pm EST. Follow @TeamNancyHLN for an inside view of the trial.

There's been a series of bombshells since the trial started; Casey's defense attorney claimed that Caylee drowned -- and that she and her father, a retired police officer -- covered it up. The attorney has also brought up that Casey has been sexually abused by her father and her brother. Casey's dad was the first prosecution witness, and he denied the sexual abuse allegations and the defense attorney's claims of finding Caylee in the family swimming pool.

Caylee Anthony

Who Killed Brenda Martinez?

DNA might help some cold cases, but sometimes the best chance police and family members have in solving a decades-old mystery is when someone with information comes forward.

The case of 23-year-old Brenda Martinez has gone unsolved since the day she disappeared -- just before Christmas, 1988, in Flint, Michigan, after she walked to a pay phone on Fenton and West Atherton Roads, and never returned.

Her body was discovered on January 5, 1989, near Tobaggan Hill in Holloway Regional Park. Her cause of death was not revealed, but her death has been labeled a homicide.

Brenda also used her maiden name, Harvey. She left behind a daughter, six-year-old Stephanie Bellanca.

The law enforcement agencies investigating the case are the Michigan State Police and the Richmond Township Police.

I learned about this unsolved murder from Vidster, the blogger behind "Defrosting Cold Cases." 

In March 2011, The Flint Journal published "Tip energizes probe of 1980s slaying of 23-year-old Brenda Martinez," written by Khalil AlHajal. DNA is being analyzed and people are being re-interviewed. Stephanie Bellanca, now 28, is still hoping for a break in the case, which is being handled by the Michigan State Police/Flint PD Violent Crime Task Force, Cold Case Office.

Anyone with information concerning the death of Brenda Martinez can call Flint Area Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-422-JAIL or leave a web tip. Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest.

Clerk Retains Stick-up Note - Robber's Name on Back

Bruce Manlove
photo via Doverpost.com

A quick-thinking convenience store clerk retained a stick-up note from a robber who demanded cigarettes. They argued over the note -- which simply stated, "This is a robbery," but the clerk held onto it and the robber fled.

Shortly after, patrol officers in Dover, Delaware, stopped the robber's vehicle, which contained 17 packs of Newport cigarettes.

Even if the officers hadn't pulled over the vehicle, the stick-up note had 36-year-old Bruce Manlove's name on the back of Department of Corrections paperwork. He had been released from DOC custody on April 11 -- but he's right back where he started from, after failing to post $6,500 bail.

Manlove was charged with robbery, terroristic threatening, disorderly conduct, and trespassing.

Cold Case Chat Recap: April 1, 2011

Today I was privileged to guest host the Cold Case Live Chat on Twitter from 12-1 p.m. EST, using the hashtag #CClivechat. This weekly Friday chat began in February, hosted by @Vidocq_CC and @ColdCaseSquad. My Twitter username is @katcop13.

I started a thread of discussion concerning the recent discovery of a 5th body on Gilgo Beach. When a K-9 officer searched Gilgo Beach in December for missing person Shannan Gilbert, he found remains -- and additional searching turned up three more bodies -- but none turned out to be Shannan. The latest body was located about a mile away. The police will now expand the search to reach approximately 7.5 miles.

The fifth body has also turned out not to be Shannan. This piece of information was revealed to us during the tweet chat from @ColdCaseSquad. The most recent update can be read here.

Anyone with information about the victims found at Gilgo Beach or the whereabouts of Shannan Gilbert can anonymously contact the SCPD by leaving a tip here.

Richard Mark Case (@TrickyCase), a fingerprint expert from The Fingerprint Society in the U.K., joined in the first half of the chat to answer questions. We learned that fingerprints would be too difficult to lift from building materials due to its coarseness, but there's a chance a finger/palmprint can be left in wet cement. The discussion continued concerning several other sources from which a print can or can't be lifted -- even skin!

Richard believes the best opportunity for prints in the Heath case would be the garbage bags.

The lively chat included questions and comments about DNA, fabric, vacuum metal deposition, and several other topics.

Another thread I began had to do with the recent request by the FBI for assistance in cracking a code in a 1999 case. Turns out this particular case stems from St. Louis ~ @bluedog89's neck of the woods, and we learned that @LilacLounge is interested in cryptography. These chats are always fascinating.

Thanks to @TrickyCase @ColdCaseSquad @LilacLounge @oceanbluepress and @bluedog89 for participating in today's chat ~ and I am grateful to @jamesatkinspics @UCsci @nancyjparra @DiscoveryID for their RTs.

You can read a transcript on either Tweetdoc.org or SearchHash (I tried fitting one of them onto this blog post, but was unsuccessful).

I look forward to participating in many more Cold Case Live Chats ~ hope to see you there.

War Story Wednesday: Cops by Mark Baker

Cops: Their Lives in Their Own Words by Mark Baker is a book of police war stories, first published in 1985. The stories are wild. Police work has changed quite a bit since then, but it remains an eye-opening collection.

Here's a 2002 review which captures the content quite well.

A preview is available online via Google Books.

Page 28 contains a harrowing story of a rookie handling an accident with multiple fatalities; a warning, however: the tragedy involves young children. It certainly predates mandatory infant car seats and seatbelt laws, although in this head-on collision, a seat belt might not have saved anyone. It's a shocker.

The cover contains a blurb from Elmore Leonard: "As authentic as you can get...that's the way it is."

If you have any war stories you'd like to share, post them in the comments section, or write your own blog post and send the link ~ I'll update this page. If you're interested in writing a guest post here on War Story Wednesday, give me a shout @ katcop13 at gmail dot com.

Cold Case Twitter Chats

Another cold case Twitter chat just ended ~ and it was fabulous!

Chats are hosted by @Vidocq_CC (of "Defrosting Cold Cases" blog) and @ColdCaseSquad ("The Cold Case Squad" blog) on Fridays, between 12 noon - 1 p.m. EST. They began on February 25; this was our fourth chat.

This is a wonderful opportunity for cold case bloggers, cops, media, the families of victims, lawyers, and many other like-minded folks to converse. It's beneficial to writers, also, who can pose questions.

The hope we have for cold cases is that someone with information becomes willing to come forward. The incentive varies, of course, but a person may be persuaded to come forward if certain relationships change; it might be for reward money; a promise of anonymity; the person has matured or his/her conscience is getting the better of him/her. It might very well be to simply "do the right thing." If a shift in a relationship occurs -- which might include divorce, death, a break-up, a renewed friendship -- police usually benefit when it comes to solving cold cases. It is important to keep the dialogue open. The families of the victims should know that the police don't forget; the memory of their loved ones live on as we promote awareness of his/her case.

The hashtag is #cclivechat (short for cold case live chat). If you're not familiar with Tweetchat.com, now's the perfect time to get to know it. You enter a hashtag, and it's the only Twitter stream you see -- and another bonus, it automatically adds the hashtag for you ~ no need to retype it!

@Vidocq_CC has been recapping the chats if you'd like to scroll through the old ones.

Joe Giacalone has recently published The Criminal Investigative Function: A Guide for New Investigators. I ordered a Kindle edition through Amazon for my Mac, and I'm enjoying it tremendously.

If I'm near a computer at 12 noon EST on Fridays, I will join in. Hope to see you there -- and bring questions or certain cases you'd like to discuss. 

War Story Wednesday: The Battery

 "The Battery"

One of my co-workers, a car buff who enjoyed restoring vehicles, banged in [cop talk for calling in sick] because he dropped a battery on his foot. (To appreciate this story, you should know that he was a bit of a whiner.)

Upon hearing this, my salty supervisor said, 

"It was probably a double A."

Got a war story to share? Enter it in the comments, or send me a link to your post and I'll update this page. 

War Story Wednesday: Halloween Tragedy

My first night in the Public Information Bureau (a unit located at the front desk of Headquarters; liaison between the department and the media, among many other functions) was October 31, 1989. Even if it hadn't been Halloween night, I would always remember my first tour after transferring from patrol.

This four-to-twelve tour remains memorable for two particular reasons.

It rained something awful -- which cut down on the 911 calls as far the "usual" Halloween pranks, such as egg-throwing, shaving cream spraying, and toilet-papering. I was answering the media phone calls, which was every hour on the hour as they prepared their Halloween stories for the evening news and the following day's papers. The officers training me that night said I should respond, "Nothing's going on" when asked by reporters, since nothing was going on. One particular reporter kept pushing, though. After he asked several times, I said something like "the weather must be doing it in" as the reason for such a quiet Halloween night.

It appeared in the paper the next day. I learned my very first lesson in PIB (although Public Info is widely known in agencies as PIO, Public Information Office or Officer): whatever I say better be printable. I certainly would have said something more intelligent had I known he was going to QUOTE me. Can you imagine, I actually expected the reporter to warn me? (Lesson #2).

Back to Halloween night:

Anyway, before the tour was over, something DID happen.

I responded with Officer Randy Jaret to my first scene while assigned to PIB -- and it was tragic.

I listened as Randy gave interviews to reporters near the train tracks in Shirley as we all stood in the rain with our umbrellas.

When the railroad crossing gate had lowered, a 20-year-old male driver stopped to wait for the train to pass.

Meanwhile, a 17-year-old driver, speeding on the wet pavement, couldn't stop his car in time. He plowed into the back of that waiting car and pushed it right into the path of the oncoming train.

The driver of the crushed vehicle was injured, but survived.

His passenger, however, was killed.

His 61-year-old mother.

Fallen Officer: P.O. John Falcone: Update

I recently posted about fallen officer John Falcone of the Poughkeepsie City PD -- the hero cop who saved a three year old child before making the ultimate sacrifice. I just read a beautiful tribute post on www.policeone.com, "Mourning Our Slain LEOs" by Terrence P. Dwyer, a retired 22-year-veteran of the New York State Police. His post reminded me of standing alongside thousands of brother and sister officers at the funeral of P.O. Glen Ciano in February 2009. I had the privilege of working with Glen in the Second Precinct in Huntington for several years.

In Dwyer's post, I learned that Officer Falcone was posthumously promoted to Detective and awarded a department Medal of Honor. According to Stephen, who blogs at EMT to Physican Assistant, it was the first time ever in the history of the Poughkeepsie City PD a Medal of Honor was bestowed.

This information warranted a new post and a tremendous "thank you" to Detective Falcone for his service and sacrifice on this "Thank-a-Cop-Thursday," that is celebrated on Twitter each Thursday. I am so grateful that the Poughkeepsie City PD honored Detective Falcone in this appropriate manner.

Thanks also to retired officer Terrence P. Dwyer, for his years of service, and for this graceful post honoring our slain LEOs. Thirty-two officers have died in the line of duty in the U.S. in 2011 so far -- that's thirty-two too many. I pray there will be no more.

Read more on the origin of "Thank-a-Cop-Thursday." On Twitter, use the hashtag: #tacop.

On Twitter, follow @PoliceOne and Stephen @emttopa.

Image source: EMT to Physician Assistant

Fallen Officer: P.O. John Falcone

An 18-year veteran of the Poughkeepsie City Police Department made the ultimate sacrifice when responding to "shots fired" call on Lower Main Street near the Poughkeepsie Train Station on Friday, February 18, 2011.

Officer John Falcone, age 44, came upon 27-year-old Lee Welch of Catskill, holding a three-year-old girl and waving a gun. Officer Falcone was most likely unaware that Welch had already shot his 28-year-old wife, Jessica, inside a vehicle in a nearby parking lot. Jessica succumbed to her wounds by the time she was taken to the Vassar Brothers Hospital.

Welch fled with the child, with Officer Falcone in pursuit. The officer caught up with him, pulled the child from Welch, and passed her off to the safety of a nearby civilian. Along with fellow officers, Falcone continued to pursue Welch, and they exchanged gunfire. It is believed, however, that Welch turned his gun on himself after shooting Officer Falcone. Officer Falcone underwent surgery, but succumbed to his injuries.

Lee Welch had been arrested for domestic incidents several times in January. The couple recently separated. News reports have identified the child as the couple's daughter; they have two other children. After their recent separation, they were meeting near the train station so that Jessica could take possession of the car.

Officer John Falcone, a true hero, is the 27th officer to die in the line of duty in the United States in 2011. He is survived by his parents. He was the third officer to die in the line of duty in Poughkeepsie City, the last one occurring in 1969, and before that, in 1916.

On Twitter, updates have been posted to #pjshooting. A press conference is slated for Sunday morning at 10 a.m.

Photos from the incident can be found at The Poughkeepsie Journal. A photo of the bunting displayed at the Poughkeepsie City PD was taken by YNNHudsonValley and shared on Twitpic.

For more information on Domestic Violence, or how to get help, visit The National Domestic Violence Hotline.

War Story Wednesday: "A Breeding Ground..."

While working in Public Information, my partner received an telephone inquiry from a gentleman who lived in California. He and his wife were considering a move to a particular town (that shall remain nameless) in Suffolk County.

As police officers, we have to tread carefully when answering questions of this nature. There are ways to answer truthfully and diplomatically.

My partner chose to give him a direct, blunt reply.

"It's a breeding ground for criminals," he said.

The caller promptly notified his real estate agent, who in turn responded forthwith to her county legislator's office, who called the Police Commissioner.

My partner got in trouble.

Years later, that particular legislator resigned from his post when he pleaded guilty to bribe receiving in office. He worked out a deal, however, by working with the District Attorney's Office on a dozen other public corruption cases. Three years later, he served six months in jail, after pleading guilty to bribe receiving and scheming to defraud. Thirty-three other charges were dropped.

Fallen Officer: P.O. Michael J. Califano

I am heartbroken to learn of the death of an officer in my neighboring police agency, the Nassau County Police Department. Michael J. Califano, age 44, a 12-year-veteran, had pulled over a box truck on the Long Island Expressway, shortly before 11 p.m. on Friday, February 4, 2011, for insufficient lighting. While writing a summons in the patrol car, a flatbed tow truck driver plowed into the police vehicle, pushing it under the box truck, but also landing on top of Califano's car. It took rescue workers 30 minutes to free him.

He was taken to Nassau University Medical Center, where Officer Califano died from his injuries.

John Kaley, age 25, of New Britain, Connecticut, was arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide, assault, and failing to move over for an emergency vehicle. New York became the 48th state to enact the "Move Over" law, which took effect in 2011.

The occupants of the box truck and a passenger in the flatbed suffered injuries and were treated at the hospital.

Officer Califano is the 19th officer to be killed in the line of duty in the United States in 2011.

He leaves behind a wife, Jacqueline, and three sons: Michael, Christopher, and Andrew.

May he rest in peace.

UPDATE: Michael Puccio, a friend of Officer Califano's, sent me a tribute video he created on You Tube in memory of Officer Michael Califano.

War Story Wednesday: "Shots Fired" by Wayne Zurl

I am truly honored to welcome a fellow retiree of the Suffolk County Police Department (and fellow writer), Wayne Zurl, to War Story Wednesday. He and his wife, Barbara, live in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee. Wayne's mystery/detective novel, A New Prospect (cover, below) was recently released by Black Rose Books. You can find Wayne on Facebook and Twitter. Wayne recently conducted an interview over at A Moment With Mystee, in which he was asked some intriguing questions, and he provided fascinating answers.

Today, Wayne takes us back on patrol with him in 1974 with "Shots Fired." I know you'll enjoy it!

If you would like to share a war story, either enter it in the comments below, or provide a link to your blog and I'll update this page. Or, if you have a war story you'd like to submit for War Story Wednesday, contact me at katcop13 (at) gmail (dot) com. Thanks!

Shots Fired

by Wayne Zurl

I hated the place at first sight; a narrow enclosed stairway with a slight dog-leg to the right obscuring a door at the top. A bare forty-watt bulb hung above the landing, casting an eerie light over the scene. Once we started up the steps we were in a tunnel—sitting ducks. I looked at Louie. He looked at me. I shrugged.

“You’re the one high on the sergeant’s list,” he said. “I’ll follow you, my leader.”

“Nothing like an ambitious partner to make you feel secure,” I said.

He grinned and I pushed the safety on the Remington pump shotgun to the left. A round of magnum double-O buckshot already sat in the chamber. Louie drew his Colt Trooper and we started up the stairs.

* * *

Ten minutes earlier we sat in a dark spot on the eight-hundred block of Taylor Avenue. A 5th Squad detective told me about a new felony warrant for a burglar named Glenwood Orange. Most everyone called him Pee-Wee. He weighed a hundred-and-ten-pounds soaking wet.

Pee-Wee wasn’t good at hefting TVs or stereo sets, but being skinny enough to fit through the smallest window, he excelled at stealing cash, guns, and small valuable antiques. He really knew his antiques.

We waited across the street from his mother’s house, watching. Sooner or later Pee-Wee would show up. He always did.

Then the dispatcher interrupted our meaningful work.

“Unit five-oh-three, five-zero-three, handle a 10-17, possible gunshot, upstairs, 752 Bellport Avenue, off Brookhaven. Complainant Mayo is in the first floor apartment.

“10-4, headquarters,” Lou said, as I hit the gas and steered our big blue and white Plymouth away from the curb. “We have back-up?”

“Negative, five-oh-three, closest car is on the other end of the precinct.”

“10-4, headquarters,” he said, and then turned to me. “Saturday night and everybody but us looks for a DWI. We end up with a gun call and nobody’s around when you need them.”

“That’s why we get the big bucks, partner.”

“Shit.”

I made a left on Brookhaven Avenue and switched on the flashing red lights. It was a short fast drive along a main drag. When I crossed Station Road, the primary north-south route between North Bellport and another classy community called Eagle Estates, I killed the lights and slowed down, coasting up near the address the dispatcher gave us. Evil Estates, as the cops called it, occupied a piece of another precinct—someone else’s headache.

Number 752 on Bellport Avenue was a ramshackle two-and-a-half story Victorian; senior member on a block littered with post-war cracker boxes built on fifty-by-a-hundred postage-stamp lots. They all looked like they had seen better days and were long overdue for their twenty year reunion with a paint brush.

The night was damp and the autumn air felt cool on my face. Everything around us looked as dark as an abandoned cemetery. Unknown vandals shot out the corner street light earlier that week. A crescent moon cast only a ghostly glow from behind some high cloud cover.

We walked up to the front door of the complainant’s house, keeping an eye on the upstairs entrance and an ear open for anything we could hear.

A wizened old party named Sefus Mayo answered the door. He was the owner and landlord of the place and a common fixture in the neighborhood for decades. In a hushed conversation, he told us he thought he heard a shot fired in the upstairs apartment.

“Why do you think it was a shot, Mr. Mayo?” I asked. “Why not a car backfire outside or some other noise?”

He spoke in clipped, staccato sentences, with an accent I took to be South Carolina, mixed with too many years in New York.

“Cause I knows what a shot sounds like. I heard a damn shot, son. A .22 mebbe, nuthin’ big. Saturday-night-special be my guess.” He finished that thought with a quick and decisive nod to punctuate his last statement.

A large gray-haired woman in a house dress sat on the couch inside the living room watching television. I heard the theme from The Rockford Files.

I took his date of birth for my field report and his pass key to open the downstairs door to the upstairs apartment. I told him to stay inside and if he heard any more gunfire to call 9-1-1 again. It was 1974, before the days of miniature portable radios and cell phones. We relied a lot on good citizens to do the right thing.

Lou and I walked quietly to the door and slipped the dead-bolt. I winced as the hinges creaked. I remembered my mother listening to a radio show called Inner Sanctum. The sound of a creaking door began that program every week.

We looked up at the dim fly-specked light bulb at the top of the stairs. What I presumed to be Caribbean music came from inside the apartment, not overly loud, but audible from the ground floor.

We began our slow ascent, hoping the door remained closed until we reached the top. We walked softly, but the old boards groaned beneath our steps. I felt prickles go up my spine.

It was October 14th. Two weeks earlier we had gone back to long-sleeved shirts and put on our ties. The tight collar annoyed me. I reached the half-way point up the stairs and I felt like I needed a drink.

At the top of the staircase we looked at each other again. Lou nodded. He stood ready at my back. I slapped the door four times.

“County police, open the door!”

Nothing. The music played on. I knocked again.

What sounded like a small caliber handgun popped behind the door.

Lou said, “Son of a bitch!”

I braced myself and hit the door with my shoulder. The frame cracked; the door swung inward.

Six people with chairs drawn in close, sat around a cocktail table. One man held a two-dollar bottle of champagne tightly around its neck. His smile of only moments ago turned to a look of fear. Everyone froze with their glasses held over the center of the table.

Oops!

***

Copyright 2008, Wayne Zurl www.waynezurlbooks.net

Serial Killer Indicted in Cold-Case Murders

A serial killer on death row in California for the murder of a 12-year-old girl and four other women, incarcerated since 1980, has been indicted for the murder of two New York women: Cornelia Michel Crilley in 1971 and Ellen Jane Hover in 1978. Both women were 23 years old at the time of their deaths.

In a creepy twist, the suspect, 67-year-old Rodney Alcala (photo, above, via the New York Post) had appeared as a contestant on The Dating Game in the late '70s ~ and he won. However, the woman ultimately decided not to go on a date with him ~ she found him "too creepy," according to New York magazine. At the time he appeared on the show, he had already committed two murders.

Alcala, a photographer, used an alias of John Berger when he lived in New York, according to the New York Times article by Mosi Secret. The New York Daily News indicates that Alcala studied film with Roman Polanski and had a genius IQ.

The New York Daily News has a collection of 215 photos taken by Alcala in the '7os, in which NYPD is looking for clues from the public. Anyone with information about the photos is asked to call 1-800-577-TIPS.

On this Thank-a-cop-Thursday (#tacop on Twitter), I'd like to thank the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., and his cold case squad who didn't give up on the murders of Ellen Jane Hover and Cornelia Michel Crilley. Thanks to Detectives Wendell Stradford, Robert Dewhurst, and (retired) Stefano Braccini for their efforts.