“Yes, sir.”
Upon arrival at the address, they found the black and white units had already arrived. Uniformed officers were covering the back and front while the other two cleared the house. In a few minutes, two uniformed officers who were clearing the house emerged with two children. One officer put the children in the back seat of one of the patrol cars. The other officer came over to fill Elgie and his team in on what they found.
“Sirs, ma’am, it’s a bloody mess in the kitchen. Fortunately, we were able to get the kids loose and get them out without them seeing their parents, but they are still asking about them. I thought it was best to wait until you got here Lieutenant to make a decision on what to tell them.”
“Good call officer.” Elgie turned to Connors. “Doctor, can you attend to the children while Kim and I examine the crime scene?”
“Certainly, Lieutenant, I can attend to the children,” Connors said.
“By the way officer,” Elgie said, “what did you mean you were able to get the children loose?”
They were handcuffed to a pipe in the basement, and they were gagged with pieces of what appeared to be a dish towel and their mouths were covered with duct tape.
As Elgie and Kim surveyed the scene in the house, they couldn’t help but be struck by the level of violence that was bestowed upon what they assumed were a couple—especially the wife. The Butcher had certainly lived up to his name in this house. The couple was handcuffed and leg-cuffed to the kitchen chairs, still gagged with duct tape over their mouths. Elgie would wait for the coroner’s investigator to determine just where the husband was stabbed. The investigator would determine what types of wounds the wife suffered as well.
Geraldo Lopez and his cameraman arrived about five minutes after Elgie and his team. They got out of the van and stayed behind the police barricade tape. Within a few minutes, other television stations had arrived followed by the print and internet media.
One of the uniformed officers stood inside the police tape that engulfed the entire front lawn and the section of the street in front of the house. One of the neighbors came across the street to speak to him.
“Sir, may I speak with the person in charge?”
“What did you want to speak to him about, ma’am?”
“I think I saw the man who did this.”
“Hold on a minute, ma’am. I’ll get the lieutenant for you.”
The officer went into the house and spoke with Elgie. One of the reporters came over to the woman and asked what she wanted to see Lieutenant Reynolds about.
“I can’t talk to you about that. I’ll only talk to the officer in charge.”
In the house, the uniformed officer caught up with Elgie.
“Sir, there is a woman out here who says she may have seen the killer.”
“What is your name, officer?”
“I’m Officer Kimble, sir.”
“Good call, Officer Kimble.”
Elgie went to the tape, bent under it and stood with the woman. The television reporters ran over, and Elgie told them to stay back, and he lifted the tape to allow the woman to go into the containment area. They walked towards the house, out of earshot of the press.
“Hello, I’m Lieutenant Elgie Reynolds of the Los Angeles Police Department. I understand you have some information for me.”
“Yes, I do officer. I saw a man I hadn’t seen before leaving the Haskell’s house wearing a long black coat and black gloves. It’s too hot for all that stuff, that’s what made me notice him. He was also carrying a black shoulder bag.”
“That’s the name of the family, Haskell?”
“Yes, that’s their name.”
“What are the names of the man and woman inside?”
“Margret and George.” Elgie wrote the information down in his notebook and took notes on the rest of the conversation.
“What is your name, ma’am?”
“I’m Delores Jackson.”
“And what did you see, Ms. Jackson?”
“It’s Mrs.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s Mrs. Jackson, not Ms.”
“Sorry, Mrs. Jackson what did you see?”
“I was in my living room watching TV when I saw a man in black leaving the Haskell’s house. He walked down the street and turned the corner. I couldn’t see him after that.”
“Did you get a good look at him, ma’am?”
“No, he was too far away, but I did see he had a beard and a large nose. Not really large, but larger than most people.”
“How tall was he?”
“He was pretty tall—about your height.”
“Thank you very much for the information. You’ve been very helpful. Here’s my card, call me if you think of something else or want to ask a question.”
Elgie went back into the house and grabbed two of the uniformed officers. He told one of the officers to take over for Officer Kimble at the barricade.
“I want you two to knock on every door down this street to the corner, then turn the corner and work your way down a block. You’re going to be asking them if they saw a man in a black coat. If they did ask them what they saw and if they got a good look at him. I want each of you to take one side of the street. Any questions.”
“No, no questions, sir,” Officer Kimble said.
“Good, now get going.”
Just as the officers were leaving the Coroner’s Investigator, Alice Cranee arrived. She had some difficulty getting through the sea of reporters and other onlookers who had gathered.
“Lieutenant Reynolds,” said Geraldo Lopez, “what can you tell us about what’s going on inside?”
“I’m not at liberty to tell you anything at this time. I’ll fill you all in later, once we have the facts.”
After introductions, Investigator Cranee got down to business and started checking the bodies.
“The woman has been stabbed twenty-two times, and the left side of her jaw is broken. The man’s jaw is broken on the right side, but he was only hit once most likely with that mallet on the table. He was also stabbed once through the heart. It goes without saying, but for the record, the manner of death is homicide by stabbing with a knife or similar object.
“Let me take their temperatures to verify the time of death—they died about a minute apart. She’s been dead around forty-five minutes. The man was killed about a minute later or before. It’s hard to tell when it’s that close.”
Elgie said, “Thank you for being so thorough.”
The SID team arrived along with a photographer. They looked through the house and were checking for fingerprints in the bathroom. They also took the bath towel and put it in an evidence bag after it was photographed because it had blood on it and they wanted to test it to see if it may contain the killer’s blood. Another member of the team was checking the knife block for fingerprints. There was one knife missing. The uniformed officers who were knocking on doors down the street had returned.
“What did you find?” Elgie asked.
“Nothing.” Officer Kimble said, “most of the people weren’t home and the ones that were, didn’t see anything.”
“Alright, at least we tried,” Elgie said.
When Connors emerged from the back seat of the black and white police cruiser, the reporters ran over to him, and they all started yelling questions at the same time. Geraldo Lopez was the only one who knew who he was.
“Doctor Connors, Doctor Connors,” Geraldo Lopez yelled, “how are the children?”
“They have been adequately cared for physically. That is the only information I can provide. You will have to speak to Lieutenant Reynolds for any further information.”
Connors went into the house to report to Elgie.
“How did it go?” Elgie asked.
“It went satisfactorily, I mean for informing children that their parents are deceased and we don’t know what’s going to happen to them.”
“What did you tell them about what happened?”
Elgie went to the Haskell’s phone, had the SID team dust it for fingerprints and collected them. Then Elgie put on a pair of gloves, looked in the directory, and retrieved the grandparents’ phone number and called them on his cell phone. Elgie informed the senior Haskells of the situation, and they stated that they would come to the scene and get the children.
Elgie walked outside to get some air and watched as Geraldo Lopez prepared to go live with a brief report on what they knew so far.
“We’re going live in five, four, three, two…” the cameraman said, then pointed at Mr. Lopez.
“We have a special report from our own Geraldo Lopez,” Chet Atkins, Channel Three News Anchor said, “reporting from the scene of multiple murders believed to have been committed by the killer known as the Butcher. What can you tell us, Geraldo?”
“First I need to inform our viewers that I received a call from someone stating that he was the Butcher and that he had killed some people at this address. He further stated that there were two children in the basement. The two children are unharmed as far as I know and are seated in the back of a police car. So far, the police have not issued a statement, but I expect Lieutenant Elgie Reynolds of the Los Angeles Police Department to fill us in within the next hour. Back to you, Chet.”
“Geraldo, do you know how many are dead inside?”
“No, not at this time. Back to you in the studio.”
“Thank you, Geraldo.”
Elgie went back into the house while Investigator Cranee was preparing to remove the bodies from the residence. One of the police officers removed the handcuffs and leg-cuffs from the couple. Elgie asked Investigator Cranee to wait to take the bodies out while he spoke with Stacy and Edna Haskell who had just arrived. They had parked a block away and made their way through the reporters as they shouted questions.
“Who are you?” Said one reporter.
“Are you related to the family?” Said another.
The Senior Haskells remained silent as they made their way through the crowd amid flashing still camera lights and high-intensity lights from the television cameras. Elgie met them at the barricade tape.
“Are you Stacy and Edna Haskell?” Elgie asked.
“Yes, where are our grandchildren?” Stacy Haskell asked.
“They’re in the back of that police car over there.”
“Where’s my son?” Stacy Haskell asked.
“His body is still inside, but they are preparing him for transport to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy.”
“I want to see him.”
“I don’t think that’s wise, he is in pretty bad shape, and your daughter-in-law is in worse condition.”
“I don’t care, I want to see them!”
“Alright sir, ma’am would you like to go over and talk to your grandchildren?”
“Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Are they alright?”
“Physically they’re fine. Emotionally—I don’t know. Your grandchildren have been through a lot today.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ma’am, they were handcuffed to a pipe in the basement and gagged. They were like that for about an hour. Seeing a familiar face would go a long way to helping them feel a sense of normalcy.”
Elgie took Stacy Haskell into the house to see his son and daughter-in-law. Once inside Mr. Haskell first saw his son facing towards him. Blood was all over his shirt from the center of his chest down to his pants. Mr. Haskell kept coming forward until he could see his daughter-in-law. She had blood all over her. She had been stabbed deeper than the previous victims. There was so much blood that some of the uniformed officers had to go outside to get some air. Then there was the missing knife from the knife block. It was stuck in Mrs. Haskell’s chest.
“I think I’m going to be sick.” Stacey Haskell ran to the bathroom and threw up in the toilet. After Stacy Haskell left the house Investigator Cranee removed the bodies.
Elgie, Kim, and Connors left the residence. Geraldo Lopez went live to the six o’clock news broadcast.
“Good evening, Chet, I’d first like to let our viewers know that I was the first reporter on the scene because I was contacted directly by someone claiming to be the Butcher. I was given this address and told there were dead bodies inside and children in the basement. Lieutenant Elgie Reynolds, Doctor Lucas Connors, and Detective Quinn Kim have emerged from the house. Lieutenant Reynolds is coming over to make a statement.”
Elgie stood by the barricade tape with Kim and Connors and made a brief statement to the press.
“Everyone, I have a quick announcement. There were two people killed here today—George and Margaret Haskell. They were most likely killed by the Butcher. There are two children who have been through a lot and have been kept away from the media and will continue to remain insulated from any disturbance. The children are physically unharmed but are being examined by the Los Angeles City Fire Department’s Paramedics as a precaution. That’s all I have for you right now.”
Once he got away from the press, Elgie told Kim and Connors to go to the car while he spoke with the children. Elgie sat on the driver’s side of the car and turned around facing the children who were each seated in one of their grandparents’ laps.
“Hello kids, I’m Elgie Reynolds, and I’m a police officer. What are your names?”
The boy spoke first. “I’m George, Jr.”
“And I’m Abigail.”
“Okay, kids I need to ask you a few questions about the man who put you in the basement. Did you get a good look at him?”
“I got a pretty good look,” George, Jr. said, “but I was scared. He had a gun.”
“A gun?” Elgie said in Sesame Street surprise-like voice.
“Yeah,” Abigail said, “it was a big gun too.”
“Would you recognize him if you saw him again?”
“Yes, I think so,” George, Jr. said.
“What about you, Abigail,” Elgie said, “would you recognize him?”
“I don’t know. I’ll try.”
“Okay, I’m going to show the two of you some pictures and tell me if any of them look like the man you saw.”
Elgie reached into the inside pocket of his suit coat and pulled out the photos of the three suspects and handed the kids one photo at a time.
“Now tell me if any of these men look familiar.”
“None of these people are the one we saw,” Abigail said. “He had a beard and a funny looking nose.”
“What do you mean, a funny looking nose?”
“It looked like there was something on it,” Abigail said.
“Yeah, it was like that kind of stuff they use on TV to make people look different,” George, Jr. said.
“You mean he had something like putty on his nose.”
“Yeah that’s it, putty,” George, Jr. said. “Like Play-Doh.”
“Okay, thanks, kids. Now I’m going to speak to your grandparents for a minute, then they’re going to take you to their house, okay.”
“Alright,” Abigail said
“Mr. and Mrs. Haskell, you can leave with the kids now. I’m finished. Here’s my card. If you have any questions or if the children tell you something they forgot to tell me, please call.”
“May I speak to you in private, Lieutenant Reynolds?” Stacy Haskell asked.
“Certainly, sir.”
Elgie and Mr. Haskell moved off out of the earshot of the children.
“Do you thi
nk this is the work of the Butcher?”
“As of now, we believe so, yes.”
“Does that mean Margret was having an affair?”
“We don’t know that yet,” Elgie said. “Do you believe she was cheating on your son?”
“My son said she went to a club called Jimmie’s in Hollywood. He thought she might be having an affair, but he didn’t have any proof. He was trying to get some though. He went to this website about cheating spouses and found out about some software to follow everything accessed online or typed into the computer. He didn’t find anything. He also tapped the phone, but still nothing.”
“What do you think?”
“I think she was just out engaging in whorish behavior like the Butcher said in that letter. I don’t think she was just having an affair with one person. I think she was just having what they call casual sex these days. I call it being a loose woman.”
“Okay, we’ll check into that. Thank you for the information.”
“One last thing, Lieutenant Reynolds, do you think they kids saw or heard anything they shouldn’t have?”
“I’m not sure, but I would guess that they heard their parents getting murdered, sir.”
“Thank you for being so frank, Lieutenant.”
Elgie went to the car to talk to Kim and Connors.
“Stacy Haskell says Mrs. Haskell was frequenting Jimmie’s in Hollywood,” Elgie said. “That’s the bar where we found Barbara McMullen’s car. Let’s go back in and find a photo of Margret Haskell. Maybe we’ll be able to find out who she left Jimmie’s in Hollywood with last night.”
“What do you think happened, Boss?”
“I think the Butcher met Margret Haskell last night at Jimmie’s in Hollywood, took her to an apartment he has for this purpose. Seduced her or let her sleep it off. Then he looked at her identification while she was asleep and got her address. I believe he wanted to kill the husband as well, which is why he waited until the next day. That’s probably because they had children. That’s the only difference between the McMullens and the Haskells.
“That evening either he forced his way into her house, or he broke in and waited for each family member to come home. Once they were all subdued, he started torturing then killing the parents. He must have had the children in the basement for at least an hour judging by how much time he took with the parents. They had to scream, and the basement door isn’t soundproof. Those poor kids. I don’t know how you ever get over something like that.”
Tracking the Butcher Page 11