Quiet Town Haunted By Brutal Murders | The New Detectives | Real Responders

paper was light gold in medieval times i want tobacco sugar everything we thought we knew about the world could turn out completely wrong a

quiet

washington state community becomes the backdrop for a series of

brutal

murders

and all the evidence suggests that a serial killer is responsible as investigators struggle to identify a suspect, more bodies continue to turn up in Michigan, the pregnant wife of a promising young lawyer is found dead in the couple's home, although it appears to be the result of a tragic accident, police are not convinced it is appropriate for forensic examiners to expose the truth, solving a murder requires a team of experts whose efforts often go unnoticed when crime fighters meet crime writers, their story It is finally told and many times it is a story stranger than fiction.

Bellevue Washington is located just east of the city of Seattle. a thriving community of around 100,000 people who live, work and play here, but in the summer of 1990 dead young women began turning up all over the city on Saturday June 23rd. Bellevue police received a 9-1-1 call. A restaurant employee had come across the lifeless body of a young woman. Investigators went to the scene and found the victim lying among the trash next to a trash container behind the restaurant. She was naked except for a necklace. Her arms and legs were positioned as if she were lying in a coffin.

A pineapple rested on it. From her hands it was clear that the victim's body had been placed by the murderer. The technicians managed to locate a single black hair near the woman but found no clues about her identity or that of her murderer. Bellevue Detective Marvin Skeen was assigned to the case. He knew this. It wasn't going to be an easy murder to solve at most crime scenes. You already know who your victim is at this particular crime scene. We had no idea who our victim was. Her identification. We were also missing clothing, so we were unable to provide a description of it.

When we asked the public for help in determining who the victim was, the medical examiner concluded that the woman, probably between 25 and 35 years old, had died as a result of strangulation; she had also been

brutal

ly beaten and sexually assaulted, in addition to collecting biological data. Evidence of dozens of fibers attached to the victim's body was also recovered, although it wasn't much work for

detectives

who sent what little evidence they had to the Washington State Patrol crime lab in nearby Tacoma after examining the fibers under a microscope, everything that scientists could conclude. was that they had originated from the carpet or mat in the trunk of a car.

Black hair collected from the crime scene was then analyzed in the hope that it would provide some clue to the killer's identity. Forensic scientist Terry Mcadam, can look at it to predominantly help pigmentation. We decided what possible broad racial groups it might belong to based on color, texture, and shape. McCadam determined that the hair came from an African-American man, but since it was found among trash and rubble, its connection to the crime was uncertain. Investigators knew best The way to find this killer would be to first identify the victim, but no missing persons report filed with the city of Bellevue matched his victim.

We went to the media who, of course, were interested in this. In the case, they asked for your help. We also went to tickers and bulletins to surrounding law enforcement agencies asking them to look for missing persons in their cases shortly after investigators got their first break. In a neighboring jurisdiction a woman had reported her roommate missing from photographs taken in The autopsy identified the victim as her 27-year-old friend Marianne Polreich said she had last seen Marianne three nights earlier while she was getting ready for a night out. Marianne had borrowed her roommate's necklace. It was the same one she wore. found around the victim's neck Marianne normally spent Fridays at a bar just a few blocks from where her body was found, the roommate indicated to us that Marianne's personality was free-spirited and that Marianne definitely liked dance and that he would go to the different local clubs to dance, that was his main purpose in terms of recreation.

We learned that Marianne was a very hard worker, we also learned it from co-workers and employers, but the roommate indicated to us that Marianne would not go with a stranger. Someone unknowingly, following the roommate's information, the police went to the bar where Marianne was hanging out. her Friday nights, the restaurant manager knew her well and she had been there the night before her body was discovered, although he had not

real

ized who she was with, he believed she had left in a hurry, Marianne had forgotten her sweater and her purse, investigators collected the items. Hopefully it contained some clue to the identity of his killer, but the tests did not yield any useful information.

The investigation into the murder of Marianne Polreck was going nowhere and the caseload for Bellevue

detectives

was about to increase. On August 9, 1990, police were sent to Carol Beathy's home. Her ex-husband, Paul, had received a call from her two young sons earlier that day, when Paul arrived home and discovered her ex-wife Carol, 36, dead inside her bedroom. She looked as if she had shot herself when the police entered the room. However, it was clear that it was not a suicide, although there was a shotgun near the victim; she had not been shot; Instead, the killer had posed the victim's naked body and graphically used the shotgun as a prop.

Evidence of rape was found. The technicians picked up some black hairs from the sheets. Theft did not appear to be a motive. Family members later determined that Carol's inherited ring was missing. Bellevue homicide detective Dale Foote the similarities between the

murders

of Marianne Pol Wright and Carol Beathy. It had to be more than a coincidence. Bellevue is a pretty

quiet

suburban

town

and we don't have many homicides here, so we have two cases with women openly showing themselves and posing naked. Yes, we have some questions why. Are these two cases so similar in nature? Is there any connection between them?

They know each other? Do your friends know each other? Know? Did you work together? Do you know? Did you attend any of these nightclubs together? We had to answer those questions and answer them very quickly to find out if the cases were

real

ly connected. Police sent hairs recovered from the Carol Beethy crime scene to the lab when examiners compared them to the one recovered from the Marianne Poll Right crime scene. They concluded that the hairs had originated from the same person. Bellevue police were now faced with the possibility that a serial killer was loose in their city looking to find a common thread between the two victims.

Investigators began interviewing Carol Beathy's co-workers at a popular restaurant. where she had worked as a waitress, Carol's friends couldn't imagine why anyone would want to hurt her, although she and her ex-husband Paul were divorced, they had a great relationship and Carol's two daughters constantly showered her with love and affection, although Carol Beathy sometimes goes to nightclubs the police were unable to establish any connection between her and marianne polrank the two unsolved murder investigations quickly became headline news soon the mystery caught the attention of veteran crime writer jack olsen with 10 true crime novels to his credit olson He acknowledged that as a writer, this story was too unusual to be ignored.

I think what made this case unusual was the unseen, seen but not seen posing of the bodies very often. It represents a kind of deep-seated something. Hate towards women and Bellevue police feared that such deep-seated hatred would not disappear on its own if they did not identify a suspect in the murders and quickly, it would only be a matter of time until more victims came forward. In Bellevue Washington struggled to solve the sexual assaults and murders that had claimed the lives of two young women, the bodies of Marianne Polreich, 27, and Carol Beathy, 36, were discovered less than two months apart, having found both victims savagely sexually beaten. attacked and their bodies posed after death, investigators had reason to believe that the murders were the work of a predator, but until now they had no idea who it was or when it would attack next on September 3, 1990, the Police in neighboring King County received a 9-alarm 1-1 call.

The body of Randy Levine, 24, had been discovered by his landlady. He had beaten her savagely and her naked body was posed suggestively on her bed. Technicians located a single dark hair near the victim's body, the only item determined to be missing. In the room there was an antique ring. At the autopsy, the medical examiner confirmed that Randy Levine had died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head, although she had also been sexually assaulted. No biological evidence was found, but the medical examiner found evidence that the young woman. The woman had been tortured. 283 small puncture wounds dotted her body.

The pattern of some of the wounds suggested the killer had played tic-tac-toe because Levine's homicide occurred outside the Bellevue city limits. The parallels of it with the unresolved Reich Survey. and the beefy murders might have gone unnoticed, but then Bellevue Police Detective Ed Mott got a call from a paramedic who happened to be called to all three crime scenes and couldn't help but notice the similarities. He says I am not a police officer. I'm not a cop, he says, but in the last three murder cases I've been on, he says it's really strange that all three bodies have been posed.

Bellevue police also learned that Randy Levine had been at a Bellevue nightclub the night before she was found murdered there. There was now no doubt that a serial killer had claimed the lives of three female officers from across the area and they began to pool their resources in desperation to identify this killer before he struck again. The senselessness of the killings left veteran crime writer Jack Olson struggling for answers. he wondered why these particular women had been targeted for murder he couldn't find any rational explanation they were perfectly good women doing exactly what we would expect decent young women their age to do 20 30 35 they had jobs they were responsible yes, they were going to the Nightclubs from time to time are admirable people as search for serial killer intensifies A Seattle Police Department intelligence officer believed he had uncovered a possible lead a few days after the murder of Randy Levine in King County A man named George Waterfield Russell was arrested near his residence for impersonating a police officer.

According to reports, when Russell, 32, was stopped for traffic violations, the officer saw him try to hide something under the vehicle. Russell initially identified himself as an undercover police officer, but later recanted himself as a suspect. The patrol officer searched his car, located a police scanner, a knife and two IDs hidden under the vehicle, found a loaded handgun, a check of the serial numbers revealed the gun had been recently stolen, Russell was arrested for impersonating an officer and being in possession of a stolen gun, a records check showed Russell had an extensive criminal history that included sexual assaults and cat thefts.

An additional background check revealed that Russell was known to frequent nightclubs in the Belgium area and that he had a reputation, so George was a charmer. and basically he was liked in the nightclubs, he was a popular man in the nightclubs, he had a good conversation, he would sneak up to the DJ and they would have a nice conversation and then he would sneak up to the bar and he would have a nice conversation with the bartender and then Several people, usually young women who were under his aura, would sit with him, buy him drinks and tell him what a good guy he was, although that was not a crime to investigators.

He went a long way toward explaining how the three victims could have been manipulated into being alone with the killer. Detectives wanted to talk to George Russell about the murders. He claimed that he did not know anyone named Carol Beathy or Randy Levine. However, he admitted to knowing Marianne Polrike. ofIn fact, he had seen her in a bar the night before she was found murdered, but said they were not there together and did not speak, remembering that fibers had been recovered from a Reich Police vehicle. Police asked for permission to search his car. Russell claimed he had borrowed a friend's truck that night.

Eager to cooperate, he gave police the address of his friend who had lent him the vehicle. The man confirmed he had lent him his truck. to Russell several months earlier he added that when Russell returned the vehicle the next day there were large stains on the seats and the interior of the car reeked of a horrible smell, it was so strong that he cleaned the truck that same day for investigators looking for evidence of that George Russell was a serial killer, that was the worst news they could get. I heard that investigators in Bellevue Washington believed that 32-year-old George Russell was responsible for a series of brutal sexual assaults and murders that had claimed the lives of three young women.

Now they needed to prove it. Police located the vehicle Russell had borrowed the night of the first. Victim Marianne Polrike was murdered in the hope that it contained evidence of murder, but in the days following the homicide, the owner had thoroughly cleaned the truck, but under the upholstery technicians located a suspicious stain that appeared to be blood, however , was too degraded for a more complete evaluation. Analysis of fiber samples from the vehicle's carpet were also collected at the Washington State Patrol crime lab. Examiners compared the fibers recovered from the truck to those collected from Marianne Pol Reich's body, although they were consistent with each other.

Supervising forensic scientist Terry Mcadam knows that if the analysis is not perfect, we cannot say that that fiber came from that car because unless we can pull out the exact fiber and match its ends, we cannot say that what we can say is that the fiber that we found in a suspect's car matches what was found in The victim's clothing has similar microscopic characteristics, we can't say it matches, but the finding was enough to allow investigators to obtain a search warrant for the suspect's apartment. suspicious. There they found a sports bag full of pieces of paper with women's names. and phone numbers written on them the police contacted several of the women whose names were found in russell's house most knew george russell well although many had no idea how he obtained their phone numbers they did not feel threatened russell had told them said he was an undercover cop.

We keep hearing these same stories about George working for the police and being an undercover agent, that kind of thing. George is a very articulate young man, very charismatic and a lot of people accepted his story and, in fact, the fact that they bought it and we believed his story, uh, it was an obstacle for us because they prefer to trust theirs and they prefer to trust police, but one of the women contacted felt differently and had an interesting story for police. She said that George Russell had recently given her an antique ring as his way of apologizing for letting her go on a date the previous week, although she had suspicions that the ring had been stolen, she reluctantly accepted the gift shortly after she learned that Russell was a suspect in the murders when she started hearing that George was involved or possibly involved in these homicides, she freaked out and gave this ring to another friend of hers who happened to be leaving

town

, he was on his way to Florida so He took that ring and got there. a little short on cash she went to a pawn shop and found this ring.

Luckily, that ring was still there when we called. Investigators confirmed that it was the same ring that had been stolen from Randy Levine's room at the time of his murder. They were convinced that they had Next, serial killer investigators sought to link the suspect to the murder of Marianne Polreik. Detective Marvin Skeen decided to take advantage of a new forensic technology called DNA testing. At the time, in 1991, presenting DNA evidence in court was a first for King. county in the state of Washington, so it was new, very new and it was something that we had to look at and spend a lot of time to make sure we did it correctly and for the court to accept it, it was time well spent.

On January 10, 1991, examiners determined that George Russell's DNA matched biological samples found on Marianne Polreck. He was later charged with her murder based on analysis of her hair. He was also charged with the murders of Carol Beathy and Randy Levine. Police believe George Russell used his abundant charm to lure women into his network and once he had them where he wanted, he pounced on the unsuspecting victims. George Waterfield Russell was found guilty of all three murders and was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. More 28 years old George is a professional listener not because he really cares, but because that's how he lowers your defenses and can do whatever he wants.

I spent three hours with George in the Walla Walla penitentiary and I want to say this is one of the most horrendous murderers that ever lived, but that's what it was. it's a lovely three hours, he's interesting on every subject, he's friendly, he smiles and makes jokes, that's all the outside, what's underneath, which I don't think even George knows that the shock value was part of the murderous plan of George Russell and did his best. manipulating their crime scenes to do so, often the significant facts of a case lie just below the troubled surface, just north of Detroit, Michigan, lies the city of Hazel Park, its three square miles home to 8,000 families and in 1999, a nasty scandal in the afternoon.

On Monday, August 16, Hazel Park Police dispatcher received a frantic call. What happened was that a man reported that his wife had accidentally shot herself when the officer arrived a few minutes later. Michael Fletcher, a prominent local lawyer, was waiting outside his house, where is the bedroom? his wife was inside, he had checked her pulse but she was not breathing, he took the officer to the bedroom where his wife Leanne, 29, was lying on the floor following protocol, the officer stopped Michael Fletcher from entering the room, but there was no nothing anyone could do. Did Leanne Fletcher die as a result of a single gunshot wound to the head?

Any shooting death, even an accidental one, is treated as a crime scene and this one was no different. Crime scene technicians began processing the room for evidence to help them piece together what had happened. It happened that they picked up the .45 caliber pistol found inches from the victim's body, not sure what to do with the findings, the police began searching the contents of the victim's purse for a suicide note that she may have left, but found it. What they found was a greeting. card from her husband he was expressing his joy at leanne's recent pregnancy leanne fletcher's body was removed for autopsy by investigators all findings suggested that the expectant mother's death had been the result of a tragic accident police in hazel park michigan continued to investigate the tragic shooting death that had claimed the life of 29-year-old expectant mother leanne fletcher the victim's husband michael fletcher was brought in to make a statement the 29-year-old attorney could not Believing his pregnant wife to be dead, Michael told police that after dropping off his three-year-old eldest daughter that morning he and Leanne went to a local shooting range.

He wanted her to learn how to properly shoot a gun in case she ever needed to protect herself and the children. At first, Leanne was hesitant to handle the gun, but according to Michael. She finally felt comfortable and then fired a few bullets when the couple returned home. Michael wanted to clean himself up and change his clothes before going to work. He asked Leanne to load bullets into the magazine and then put the gun in her case that he kept by the door. side of the bed the next thing he knew he heard a gunshot and ran outside to find his wife bleeding to death.

He was sure the safety was on when he handed her the gun and didn't remember that a bullet had already been fired. camera, as a matter of procedure, investigators collected the shirt that Fletcher had been wearing at the time of the accident for testing, although Michael Fletcher's account was consistent with an accidental shooting as a matter of routine. Investigators were to interview the couple's friends and family when questioning them. The victim's mother was upset and angry. She said she never trusted Michael Fletcher and was convinced her daughter's death was not an accident. Almost six months earlier, Leanne had complained to her mother that she was unhappy in the marriage and she wanted to divorce her when she confronted her husband.

She was furious to learn that she had gone so far as to hire a divorce lawyer, but soon after Michael began trying to repair the marriage, he had just started earning a substantial income and the mother believed he was simply trying to avoid having to pay. alimony. Leading investigators to take a closer look at Leanne's death, they sent the .45-caliber pistol to forensic examiners, believing it was possible the gun had misfired in the hands of an inexperienced Leanne Fletcher. Using weights placed on the trigger, they discovered that To successfully fire the weapon a significant amount of force had to be applied, it was unlikely that the weapon had accidentally discharged on its own, but that still left investigators with the possibility, however unlikely, that the future mother would have taken her life in the autopsy that the forensic doctor Dr.

L. J. Dragovich sought. signs of suicide, although large blood stains were found on the victim's hands, could not find gunpowder residue or fog like blood splatters that are usually present in self-inflicted gunshot wounds, there will be a fine blood fog created by the bullet impacting the skin causing the wound, you would have been able to see evidence of that pattern of fine mist droplets on the victim's hand that was not there when you examined the wound, you noticed that the size and shape of the powder burns or the Dotted patterns on Leanne's head were consistent. Because the gun was fired from less than two feet away, the bullet had entered from above and behind the victim's right ear.

Based on his findings, Dr. Dragovich concluded that it would be almost impossible for Leanne Fletcher to have held the gun in the position necessary to take into account the trajectory of the bullet, it is very uncomfortable to attempt to self-inflict the injury in the way that one would be contortionist to be able to do it, in addition to having a long enough arm, this is not physically possible, although The findings were powerful, they did not prove that Michael Fletcher had killed his wife, even so rumors began to circulate through the small community. Freelance writer Tom Henderson followed the story and conducted his own investigation, but as an outsider he knew that uncovering the truth wouldn't be easy.

I gathered the information through basic reporting that you get used to when you're a reporter, you're out of your comfort zone, you're getting ready to knock on that door with people who don't really want to see you say hey, I want to do a book. About your family's tragedy, could you slowly cooperate? People opened up to Henderson. People close to the couple did not speak kindly of the young lawyer, but they all agreed that Lee Ann was a dedicated, supportive mother and a wonderful human being. Read Ann Fletcher for Allah Counts. uh, he was everyone's best friend and that was one of the touching things: you interviewed friends, sisters, they all said Leanne was my best friend.

Michael Fletcher was asked to come to the station to answer questions that said he had nothing to hide. He agreed, but only under the watchful eye of his lawyer, he admitted to the police that his marriage had been unstable, but over the past few months he said he and Leanne had managed to reconcile their differences. In fact, just two days before her death, Leanne prepared a special dinner for the family. She took the opportunity for the couple's daughter to announce to everyone that there was going to be a new baby in the family. Michael was elated although he could not explain the evidence surrounding Leanne's death.

He insisted that he was still very much in love with his wife. In the four or five months before the shooting, everyone was happier than ever. She told her family, her sisters, or her friends that he was finally being the guy she wanted him to be through the medical examiner's findings. had led investigators to suspect foul play, they struggled to find evidence to support that theory, police went to the shooting range where Michael had taken Leanne the morning of her death, the range manager recalledwell to the couple, he said he never saw the victim shoot. the gun and despite her husband's persistence she refused to even handle it, which contradicted michael fletcher's story that leanne fired the gun that investigators theorized michael had arranged the trip to the gun range to leave behind gunpowder residue. in his wife's hands before shooting her if that The plan failed, but for those who followed the investigation, the case against Michael Fletcher was unclear, there was not a shred of hard evidence to prove that Fletcher had murdered his wife. and there was no obvious reason why Mick Fletcher couldn't stand it. to gain anything financially from his death there was no insurance policy the house was in fact in his name and his parents ended up being responsible for its sale his family did not receive any of the profits he did not receive any of the profits there were however, there was no financial gains, the medical examiner's findings were enough to allow investigators to obtain a warrant to search the suspect's home hidden in Michael's closet.

They discovered a secret stash of emails, photographs and love letters, but the items apparently had nothing to do with Michael's wife Leanne. Michael Fletcher had a mistress and, more surprisingly, she was a respected district court judge. Police in Hazel Park, Michigan, suspected the shooting death of 29-year-old expectant mother Leanne Fletcher was no accident as she searched for evidence to prove her husband, prominent local attorney Michael Fletcher. was responsible Investigators learned she had been having an affair with the respected district court judge Detectives went to interview the 32-year-old judge When faced with the evidence, she admitted that she and Michael had been involved in a relationship romantic for about a year, he said he last saw michael the night before leanne died, he had come to her house, michael had not mentioned that leanne was pregnant, in fact, he told his lover that he and leanne were living as strangers and that the only reason he stayed in the marriage was for the sake of his little Daughter, his true feelings were for the judge.

The judge who was also married was tolerant of the situation at least for the moment, but he had one condition: if he discovered that Michael was being intimate with Leanne, the judge would end the relationship immediately. Park Homicide Detective Thomas Clayman realized that he had just discovered a possible motive when Mr. Fletcher discovered that his wife was pregnant and he led us to believe that she couldn't find out, the judge couldn't find out because if they were having sexual relations according to her, the relationship Detectives soon learned that what was at stake was more than just an affair, as Michael Fletcher ruled it a homicide in his statements to the police, the judge admitted that after she and fletcher became involved, she had helped his career and appointed him to the court. -Appointed attorney in dozens more cases than any other local attorney, this translated into thousands of dollars of additional income for the ambitious attorney.

Crime writer Tom Henderson knew this story was as compelling as it was tragic. This case is about a set of dynamics that you would only expect to find in a made-for-TV movie story, you have the very handsome young lawyer, you have the very pretty, vivacious wife, you have the pretty young and powerful judge, the triangle, the classic triangle, and you have a dead woman on the ground. It just caught everyone's attention, this shows that he knew she was pregnant, although the police believed they had finally established a motive, they struggled to find solid physical evidence that could prove that Michael Fletcher was a cold blooded killer because I want to be sure , but there was one. article that had not been tested the shirt that Fletcher was wearing at the time of the shooting after reviewing the suspect's statement Detective Clayman realized that the shirt could contain evidence of the young lawyer's guilt he stated that he was not in the room when the shot was fired, uh, prosecutors wanted that shirt to test the possibility of blood spatter or fog on that shirt, with the naked eye, the shirt was observed to be clean or stain-free, the human eye could not see any of the stains, then it was taken to Michigan.

State police crime lab examiner David Woodford couldn't find any traces of blood under a magnifying glass, but then, on the cuff of his right sleeve, he noticed small fog-like spots, seeking to identify the substance. Woodford placed the shirt under a stereoscopic microscope under the magnifying glass. Motorized lens determined that the tiny stains were actually human blood. Their fog-like pattern was consistent with high-velocity blood spatter produced by the recoil of a firearm. The evidence contradicted Michael Fletcher's claim that he was not in the room when his wife was shot, more importantly, the blood on the bracelet put him within two feet of the victim when the bullet hit her head.

The police finally had enough evidence to arrest Michael Fletcher and arrived just in time when the police arrived and found the suspect near a parked caravan. In front of the house, Michael Fletcher was arrested and charged with the murder of his pregnant wife. The prosecution's argument is that it was an orchestrated and well-planned homicide that took months to carry out. He had been nice to her for months. He had been sweet-talking her to get her to like him, he bought her a card that morning, not because he loved her, because he needed an alibi, he took her to the shooting range, not because he wanted her to share a hobby with him, but because he needed to get some gunpowder. in his hands, but this case was not over.

On August 19, the day of Leanne's funeral, Michael Fletcher's lawyer obtained the right to a second autopsy by a renowned medical examiner, but was at a disadvantage because the body of the victim had been cleaned, embalmed and his skull. However, reconstructed based on his experience and the size and location of the wound, he believed it was plausible that the gunshot wound had been self-inflicted. Dr. Dragovic did the first autopsy and his conclusion was quite obvious. This is murder. This is neither accidental nor autopsy. - caused the defense to hire their own medical examiner, his results were inconclusive at all, which is fine for the defense, they just wanted someone to say this is not clear, but ultimately those findings were not enough to create reasonable doubts in the case.

In the minds of jurors, the evidence suggested that when Michael Fletcher found out his wife was pregnant, he realized that his relationship with his lover would be destroyed and that there was too much at stake to simply let that happen after returning from the shooting range. Michael saw his opportunity and took advantage. Michael Fletcher was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Murder is the most absurd human tragedy and, curiously, the most compelling writers are forced to write about it, readers are forced to read it, and although forensic experts will never be able to explain it.

Why someone feels compelled to kill can give us the satisfaction of bringing the guilty person to justice