“Thirty total, maybe,” Joanna said. “It’s mostly locals, but it includes news outlets in Tucson and Phoenix, although Phoenix hardly ever shows. Why?”
“You need a BIG press conference,” Anna Rae insisted. “You have victims from all over the country, and you need to attract reporters from all over the country. You write up the release, and I’ll send it to our distribution list. Believe me, that’s national and it includes every network known to man, including Telemundo.”
“But what do I say?” Joanna asked.
“Some of Stephen Roper’s treasures were his victims’ treasures too. Those missing items might not mean anything to the cops involved, but they’ll mean something to grieving families if they ever have a chance to hear about them. And what about the commonalities?” Anna Rae asked. “Manual strangulation, no sexual assault, fully clothed, disposed of in bodies of water, and something missing. Anything else?”
“Yes,” Joanna said. “I’ve identified more since I talked to you. Roper went hunting for victims during the summers, so a summer timeline is important. Also, he liked to target special occasions—festivals, fairs, that kind of thing—in small jurisdictions with limited law enforcement capability.”
“Okay,” Anna Rae said. “As I said, write it up. If you hit a wall, you’ve got a husband who’s a writer. Get him to help you. Let people know that Roper has murdered people all over the country, and see what happens. Cops care, yes, but families care more. Send it to me tonight if possible, so I can get it out first thing in the morning. Mention that the charging hearing will be on Monday, correct?”
“Correct,” Joanna agreed.
“Then set the press conference for late in the afternoon,” Anna Rae added. “That’ll give people from the East Coast a chance to get there.”
“How many people do you think will show?”
“Several hundred, unless I miss my guess,” Anna Rae said. “So be sure you have a venue that’s big enough.”
Joanna thought about possible venues in town. The high school auditorium would probably work, but given the fact that Roper had taught at the high school for decades, asking to use it didn’t seem feasible.
“We’ll probably use the parking lot at my department,” she said after thinking it over.
“In December?” Anna Rae asked.
Joanna laughed. “December in Arizona is a lot different from December in Denver, but about that press release. One of my CSIs is taking photos of all Roper’s trophies. Should I include those?”
“Nope,” Anna Rae replied. “Make it short and sweet. Mention that photos will be available upon request at the press conference. That should up the attendance.”
By then Joanna was already turning onto High Lonesome Road. At the house, the kids were nowhere to be seen, and the door to Butch’s den was closed. Knowing he was working, Joanna let him be. Instead she made a pot of coffee, dished up a bowl of Cheerios, and then settled into the breakfast nook with her laptop at the ready.
Writing a press release was a lot like writing an essay, and the last time she’d been assigned to do one of those had been in Stephen Roper’s class all those years ago. She seemed to remember that he’d given her a C+ on that one.This one, she decided,is going to be an A+.
On Monday, December 11, 2023, a suspect in two separate homicides will be arraigned in Cochise County’s Superior Court. While investigating those crimes, detectives from the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department found evidence suggesting that the suspect in question is most likely a prolific serial killer.
Starting in the fifties this individual left a trail of slaughtered victims, many of them children, all over the country—in Washington, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Missouri, Minnesota, and Tennessee.
Homicide investigators are in possession of a trophy box that indicates he may be responsible for close to a hundred murders. Only a few have been resolved. The grieving loved ones of the others need answers.
We are asking for jurisdictions from all over the country to open their cold case files and search for crimes with these commonalities: a summer time frame; a victim who vanished from crowds during a festival or celebration of some kind—a county fair or community event; cause of death was manual strangulation; the body showed no signs of sexual assault; remains were found fully clothed and dumped in a body of water; and finally something belonging to the victim was missing from the remains.
Right now, the key to solving many of those long-unsolved crimes may depend on items that were found in our suspect’s trophy case. We’ve already gained clarity on several cases by connecting trophy case items to the deceased. We expect to have the remaining items available and on display in time for our press conference, which will be held on Monday afternoon, December 11, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. The address is 205 N. Judd Drive Mile Post 345, Highway 80, Bisbee, AZ 85603.
If you are unable to attend but have any questions, please feel free to contact me or my department.
Joanna was reading back through it when Butch emerged from his den, empty coffee cup in hand. “I didn’t know you were here,” he said. “When did you get home, and what are you doing?”
“A writing assignment,” she answered. “Anna Rae thinks we need to do a press conference, and I’m working on the press release. Want to take a look?”
Butch scanned through it. “Not exactly Ernest Hemingway, but it’ll do,” he said. “Still, the BOLO is working, isn’t it?”
Joanna nodded. “From items in Roper’s trophy case, we’ve cleared several—two in Minnesota, and others in North Dakota, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Missouri, and Tennessee,” she said, counting off on her fingers. “He has verified them all, including his deceased step-grandmother.”
“Why switch from a BOLO to a press conference?”
“Because BOLOs usually only go to cop shops. News stories may reach actual family members.”
“Makes sense,” Butch said.
