Authors: Burl Barer
Head Shot (14 page)
“The subject of the search,” Moore confirmed, “was an approximate five-gallon metal bucket containing the partial remains of a homicide victim. I had previously indicated to Lieutenant Moorhead that the use of volunteer search and rescue personnel should provide the expertise to allow for the recovery of the partial remains.”
Granted permission to use voluntary emergency service personnel, Moore marshaled his resources. “I contacted Evergreen Search and Rescue, and the Pierce County unit of Explorer Search and Rescue. I then got hold of the Tacoma Citizens Band Radio Association, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, and the Puget Sound Sea Rescue Association. In combination, these groups provided the necessary personnel to conduct a safe and detailed search of the Puyallup River below the upriver side of the Lincoln Avenue Bridge.”
After several meetings with Denny Guy, the Puget Sound Sea Rescue (PSSR) Association's diving expert, October 13 was selected as the target date for evidence recovery. As an additional safety measure, and at the urging of PSSR, a specific type of divers float was constructed at Moore's home. The float would be attached to a span line, and positioned via hand lines to specific search grid areas.
“The approximate center of the Lincoln Avenue Bridge was located with six-foot grids marked off on the upriver railing,” explained Moore. “The depth of the river was twenty-four feet, but the average river depth in the center span area was only eight feet.”
The search effort, from conception to execution, was complex, elaborate, and demanding. Extensive preparation, coordination, and interagency cooperation were imperative.
“We involved Puget Power, Tacoma City Light, Army Corps of Engineers, the National Weather Service, and the Tacoma Fire Department,” said Moore. “We also contacted Tacoma Public Works and requested forty traffic barricades, four Detour Ahead signs, and ten portable No Parking signs for the early morning of October thirteenth.”
Moore also enlisted the command duty officer of the USS
Implicit
, whom he contacted at the Naval Reserve Training Center. The simple request of four 400-foot of “long line” (rope) was easily honored, and an additional offer of navy-trained divers was forthcoming from the USS
Implicit
watch officer.
Implicit
, whom he contacted at the Naval Reserve Training Center. The simple request of four 400-foot of “long line” (rope) was easily honored, and an additional offer of navy-trained divers was forthcoming from the USS
Implicit
watch officer.
The coordination and cooperation among diverse state, local, and county agencies and associations was exemplary, as was the international teamwork. “We used eight different volunteer organizations for time handling, diving, and safety. There is a current problem on the river, plus tidal backwash and mud. The depth of the water varied from one side of the river to the other. Additional hazards were fishing nets in the river just prior to undertaking this search. Thankfully, that problem was resolved. The Puyallup Nation's Tribal Council was contacted via Sergeant Evans of the Tribal Police,” said Moore, “and a letter of request was forwarded to the Tribal Council regarding the temporary closure of the Puyallup River to net fishing and boat traffic by tribal fisherman. The Tribal Council cooperated fully, closing the river for the duration of the search.”
At noon, on October 13, 1984, the Lincoln Avenue Bridge was closed to all traffic, and the rigging of the span and in-hand lines, supplied by the USS
Implicit
, began. Everything was ready by 4:00
P.M.
when the Pierce County Sheriff's Office jet boat transported PSSR divers Peter Reese and Ronald Campbell to the divers' float. “Deputy Dillon and Sergeant Schmidt piloted the boat,” stated Moore, “and the divers worked a grid search of the river bottom starting to the east of the center span and working westbound.”
Implicit
, began. Everything was ready by 4:00
P.M.
when the Pierce County Sheriff's Office jet boat transported PSSR divers Peter Reese and Ronald Campbell to the divers' float. “Deputy Dillon and Sergeant Schmidt piloted the boat,” stated Moore, “and the divers worked a grid search of the river bottom starting to the east of the center span and working westbound.”
After fifty minutes underwater, Reese and Campbell's search of the first grid neared completion. The river was extremely muddy with near-zero visibility at the river bottom. Then, in eleven feet of water, the two divers spotted the protruding bottom edge of a five-gallon orange bucket, lid end down, nearly covered by silt and sand.
“The dive team first cited a possible metal five-gallon bucket at approximately fifteen-fifteen hours,” reported Parkhurst, “this was brought to the surface at fifteen-thirty hours.” Schmidt, Dillon, and Parkhurst lifted the bucket to the jet boat's rear dive platform.
Once ashore, the bucket was photographed several times by Identification Technician J. Dunatov. “Approximately twelve photos were taken,” the official report stated. “There were two of the bucket, two of a distant view of the bridge, three of the approximate location of the find, two of the concrete survey marker used to mark the site, and two photographs of Reese and Campbell.”
“The bucket had a lid, and this was removed by Officer Keen,” said Parkhurst. “The reason for removing the lid was to ascertain if the bucket was, in fact, full of cement. There was about a half-inch layer of silt at the top of the bucket, and once this was rubbed away, the bucket was completely filled with cement. Then, as prearranged through the Pierce County medical examiner, the bucket was transported to the medical examiner's office. The bucket was X-rayed, and the results revealed a skull encased in the cement. The bucket was released to Deputy Medical Examiner Jack Tropriano.”
“Lists of all volunteer workers were obtained from each unit,” reported Officer Moore, “and there was a sketch drawn by Ronald Campbell of the bucket as it was found on the river bottom. The complete de-rigging and release of volunteer personnel was accomplished by seven-thirty
P.M.
, and all involved were requested to not talk about the recovery until completion of any court trial.”
P.M.
, and all involved were requested to not talk about the recovery until completion of any court trial.”
The Tacoma Police Department quickly called a press conference where Dean R. Phillips, director of Tacoma Police Services, announced that important evidence in the Achord homicide case was recovered at 3:30
P.M.
“A preliminary investigation by the Pierce County medical examiner's office has confirmed that the container contains the evidence the Tacoma Police were searching for,” Phillips said. “However, police are awaiting a confirmation on the identity of the body part by the medical examiner.”
P.M.
“A preliminary investigation by the Pierce County medical examiner's office has confirmed that the container contains the evidence the Tacoma Police were searching for,” Phillips said. “However, police are awaiting a confirmation on the identity of the body part by the medical examiner.”
Two days later, October 15, 1984, Dr. Lacsina and his staff peeled the bucket away from the cement and exposed the skull by chipping away at the cement casing. “The skull was found to be in remarkably good shape,” Parkhurst reported. “There was a bullet entrance to the mouth region on the front of the skull. However, there was no exit point noted by Dr. Lacsina. There also was no bullet found inside the skull.”
Dr. Lacsina explained the absence of a bullet, despite no exit wound, as “resulting from the bullet having lodged in the area where the head was removed from the main body, and it may still be at the grave site. Lacsina also noted,” recalled Parkhurst, “that the skull had a hole on the right side of the head, just above the hairline, which also corresponded to an injury that the listed victim had suffered. Dr. Peter F. Hample, DDS, an expert in forensic odontology, charted the skull's teeth and dental work.”
“I arrived at the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office on October 15, 1984,” recalled Dr. Hample, “at which time I was shown the specimen of what appeared to be a human male head and neck in an advanced stage of decomposition. I was told that the head and neck had been in a five-gallon paint bucket filled with concrete and had been recovered from the Puyallup River. After my initial examination, I felt it would expedite matters and allow for a more complete forensic dental examination if I could resect the maxilla and the mandible from the remains.”
Dr. Lacsina granted Hample permission to undertake the task, and after doing so, Hample reported that the maxilla and mandible were shattered into many pieces, and many teeth were severely fractured. A thorough examination of the specimen also revealed numerous tooth and bone fragments. After cleaning the fragments, the tedious task of reconstructing the maxilla and the mandible was performed using cyanoacrylate adhesive (superglue). Following this reconstruction, the postmortem dental charting was prepared, and postmortem dental X rays and photographs were obtained.
On October 16, Dr. Hample received a photocopy of the most recent dental chart of John L. Achord from the office of Dr. Alan D. Brooks covering the period of November 8, 1974, through November 17, 1975. Hample also received from Dr. Brooks dental X rays of Achord taken during that same time period. From this material, Dr. Hample prepared the antemortem dental chart of John Achord.
“The comparison of the postmortem dental chart and dental X rays ... with the antemortem dental chart and X rays stated to be John L. Achord show no inconsistencies. Therefore, I feel that within reasonable dental certainty that the specimen noted as Pierce County Medical Examiner case number ... and John L. Achord are one and the same.”
On November 14, Carl Hultman used these confirmed autopsy results as his primary justification for launching a new charge against Christopher St. Pierreâfirst-degree aggravated murder.
Nine
Originally, only Paul St. Pierre was charged with the premeditated murder of John Achord; his younger brother had been charged with rendering criminal assistance. Hultman now requested superior court judge Robert H. Peterson to amend the charges. Christopher St. Pierre would now be held equally responsible for John Achord's death.
“When Chris St. Pierre gave the police his statement describing the killing of John Achord, he did not mention the fact that John Achord was stabbed,” asserted Hultman. “He indicated that this man was lying there, apparently dead on the floor from gunshot wounds to the head, and then described how the body was disposed of. When he gave his statement to the police, he hid the fact that he was present and watched his brother stab John Achord twelve times or more in the back. He didn't mention it at all.”
The complete autopsy of John Achord, involving a thorough examination of the body and the head, revealed that Achord was very much alive after a gunshot wound to the jaw. According to Andrew Webb's “official statement,” it was Christopher St. Pierre who objected to summoning aid for the injured Achord.
“When Andrew Webb suggested that they call the police,” explained Carl Hultman, “Paul said it would be self-defense, and that he would be all right because this had happened before when he shot someone. Christopher St. Pierre said, âNo, we can't do that. They will never believe Paul. He's high on acid,' therefore suggesting that they had to hide the crime of shooting John Achord. Perhaps worse, he expressed concern that the police, looking into John Achord's shooting, might discover something about Damon Wells, who had been murdered in February.”
“I would urge the court,” said Hultman, “that reading the words of Chris St. Pierre suggests nothing more than this man has to be killed; this man has to be dead before we can bury him. Webb's statement said the man âis laying there making gurgling noises.' There is no indication in this evidence that Chris St. Pierre is deaf, and accordingly, I think the court is entitled to believe he heard those same noises. I think there is probable cause to believe that he aided, abetted, urged, and, in fact, he was the inspiration for Paul St. Pierre stabbing John Achord in the back to hide evidence of him being shot, but more importantly, to hide the evidence of the murder of Damon Wells.”
Defense attorney Ladenburg, dismayed at Hultman's attempt to charge Chris St. Pierre with John Achord's murder, strongly opposed the amended charges with a barrage of solid legal arguments. He insisted that the state's “evidence” regarding the nonfatal nature of John Achord's head wound was “cumulative and superfluous to the argument of whether or not they had probable causeânot whether or not they had a great case or the best case, but whether they had a probable case.”
Ladenburg further argued that Hultman based his entire justification for the new charge on Andrew Webb's statement: “Chris stopped me and said he didn't think it was a good idea [to call the police] because Paul was high on acid, and the police might not believe him. And if the police came snooping around, they might find out about Damon Wells, so we should bury the body in the mountains like Damon and no one will find out.”
“Where is the probable cause that Chris ever encouraged or asked Paul to kill him?” asked Ladenburg. “After the gentleman is pointed out to be alive, it is not Chris that is alleged to take any action, or to say anything at that point. Neither statement from Andrew Webb make any such allegation, that Chris encouraged or asked or did anything to indicate that this gentleman should be killed.”
Carl Hultman interpreted the matter differently. “The words of Chris St. Pierre, âWe got to get rid of this person so they won't find out about Damon Wells; we're going to take him and bury him,' suggests nothing more than this man has to be killed, that man has to be dead before we can bury him. It is clear,” insisted Hultman, “that the idea for finishing off John Achord came from Chris St. Pierre.”
The two attorneys argued back and forth until their words and reasoning became repetitive. At that point, the judge interrupted them. “I'm ready to rule,” he announced. “I'm going to permit the amended complaint. I'm going to find that there was probable cause.”
The official charges against Christopher St. Pierre were then read aloud in the courtroom. “I'll ask you, Mr. St. Pierre,” intoned Judge Peterson, “how do you plead, guilty or not guilty?”
“Not guilty,” replied Christopher St. Pierre.
“All right,” responded Peterson.
Christopher St. Pierre was now under the same oppressive legal cloud as his brother. On that same day, Paul St. Pierre, in a self-described show of power, fired his lawyer.
“Paul charges that he has no confidence in counsel,” Connelly said to Judge Waldo F. Stone, “he believes that counsel lied to him, and he says that because of my background in the prosecutor's office, I was âa sellout artist.' ”
“I fired him because he was lyin' to me about things,” said Paul St. Pierre, “tellin' me I didn't have a right to this or that.” St. Pierre could not actually fire his lawyers; he could only officially request that they be replaced.
“This is a transparent effort to disrupt the start of the trial,” Carl Hultman insisted, objecting to St. Pierre's demand for new legal counsel. Fred Weedon, director of Assigned Counsel, bemoaned the fact that a new attorney “would have to start from scratch to prepare a defense for Paul St. Pierre. The defense of the St. Pierre brothers has already cost taxpayers ten thousand dollars, and it will cost much more if a new attorney is appointed.”
Judge Stone asked Ellsworth Connelly and Jeffery Gross how they felt about being replaced. The two defense lawyers told Stone that they were “perfectly comfortable” with the situation. In light of the seriousness of the case, said Connelly and Gross, dismissing them now would eventually be “less trouble.”
The court had to rule on the matter, and Carl Hultman insisted that Paul St. Pierre was simply angry at Connelly for suggesting he accept a plea-bargain deal with the prosecution. “There is no fuckin' way,” insisted Paul St. Pierre. Andrew Webb had made a deal like that, and Paul St. Pierre despised Webb.
With reluctance, the court granted Paul St. Pierre's request for new counsel. “There will be only one shift of attorneys,” Stone told St. Pierre. “Whoever the new attorney is, that will be it. Period.” Weedon's task was to find a new attorney for St. Pierre as quickly as possible.
“I also wish to change my plea,” blurted out the defendant. Judge Stone was unimpressed. “I heard that loud and clear. But as I indicated to you, and I indicate again, the court will be dealing with a new attorney, and you will bring that information to his attention if and when appropriate. He will make the proper motion. I don't wish in any way to be rude, but I want to be crystal clear. I am dealing with your attorney and not with you, sir.”
The only available qualified attorney with previous homicide trial experience was David Murdach. He introduced himself during a fifteen-minute meeting at the Pierce County Jail. Paul St. Pierre asked one question of David Murdach: “Did you ever work for the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office?”
The honest response was received with marked irritation. Murdach had previously worked in the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office at the same time as the recently dismissed Ellsworth Connelly. Paul St. Pierre was not pleased.
“I would choose not to represent Mr. St. Pierre,” Murdach told Judge Stone on the afternoon of November 16. “Obviously, he does not want me because of my background. I think an attorney should be appointed that either did not work at the prosecutor's office,” he suggested, “or an attorney who has his offices outside of this county.”
David Murdach then turned to his potential client, saying, “I will simply turn it over to Mr. St. Pierre and he can tell the court what he wants.” Judge Stone told the defendant to go ahead and speak up.
“I object to be represented by Mr. Murdach on the grounds that he being an ex-prosecuting attorney of the County of Pierce, and that is all I have to say, Your Honor,” St. Pierre stated.
“If Mr. St. Pierre is going to be hostile toward me,” commented Murdach, “and does not want me to represent him, I don't know if I can provide effective representation. I will need his cooperation in working with him.”
Carl Hultman sympathized with David Murdach, called him “an excellent attorney,” and insisted that St. Pierre had no right to refuse Murdach's services. “Mr. St. Pierre seems confused about who runs these cases and who runs the courtroom. There has not been any history of performance or basis upon which to discharge Mr. Murdach, and I ask the court to approve the appointment.”
David Murdach did his best to get out of it, citing St. Pierre's negative attitude, potential lack of cooperation, possibility of appeal due to the unique nature of the situation, and “from a personal standpoint,” he didn't really feel up to it. Judge Stone appointed him anyway. Murdach, despite his best efforts and those of his reluctant client, was now defense counsel for Paul St. Pierre.
To allow Murdach time to prepare his client's case, Chris St. Pierre agreed to a continuance. His brother, whom Murdach now represented, strongly objected. He wanted the trial to begin immediately. His objection was overruled and a new trial date was selected.
On November 16, a week prior to Thanksgiving, Judge Stone set February 13 as the new trial date. The attorneys, judges, and their respective families could set aside thoughts of the upcoming murder trial until the first of the new year. For the heartbroken families of Damon Wells and John Achord, there would be no happy holiday season.
“We're having a holiday coming upâChristmas, without Damon,” said brother Brandon Wells. “We try to make it all nice and neat for Mom and Dad, and try not to mention his name so we don't have to see the hurt in their faces. The night before Damon was murdered, he and I got in a fight, and I tried to call him the next night to apologize. I just never had the chance to tell him I'm sorry, and I loved him.”
“We got life with no parole, no nothing,” said younger brother Sean Wells. “Never, ever again will we ever have another Christmas, Thanksgiving, or anything with Damon. We're all messed up in my family. I can only speak for my family. Nothing has ever been the sameânot Christmas, nothing. Nothing's the same.”
Christmas at the Webb household in 1984 was also not the same as previous years. The Webb family, although distraught at Andrew Webb's homicidal behavior, saw him in a more positive light. He was being reinvented in the family's eyes as a transformed and inspired agent of the Lord.
“No sooner was he in the Pierce County Jail,” recalled Anne Webb, “than he found God. Since God had forgiven him, everything was fineâmaybe inconvenient, but basically OK. Besides, it couldn't be Andrew's fault because Andrew never did anything wrong.”
“Christmastime tended to be highly charged in the Webb household. Dolores really went all out to make it warm and wonderful,” said Marty Webb. According to her, any big Webb family get-together was when one of the Webbs would most likely reveal some shocking secret or inappropriate behavior. “With the Webbs,” she insisted, “no pleasant occasion transpired untouched, and the holiday season brought up more ghosts of Christmas past than Charles Dickens.”
Marty Webb, countered her ex-brother-in-law Ben, makes up negative exaggerations because she is bitter about the way his family treated her.
“They treated me like shit,” elaborated Marty, “and that was simply because I had some slight bit of backbone. Not enough, but just enough to piss 'em off.”
In Ben Webb's memories, Christmas with his family was a Norman Rockwell painting come to life. Ben moved out in 1981, and only returned home for two Christmas celebrations. In his entire experience, he only recalled one unexpected confession, involving drugs.
Anne explained family members' positive memories, “No matter what you or somebody else did, everyone could be forgiven if they were a good Christian, and simply prayed for forgivenessâforgiveness for themselves, or for someone else. Even Andrew Webb facing life in prison for murder was nothing that the power of prayer couldn't overcome.”
Opal Bitney, mother of John Achord, was a good Christian woman who, no matter how hard she tried, could not overcome her inability to pray for her son's murderers. She could not forgive; she could not plead with God on their behalf. She tried, but it was difficult. “In fact, I find it impossible,” she said. “I hate now. I've never hated before in my entire life. They've taken the compassion, the ability for me to have compassion for them. They have taken that away.”
Compassion for all concerned was a virtue best exemplified by Mark Ericson. “It was really a sad thing for everybody involved,” he commented several years later, “especially for the families of Damon Wells and John Achord. And imagine what it was like for Lowell and Dolores Webb, and George and Carmella St. Pierre. My God, how tragic it would be for them living with the sadness and shame of their little baby boy turning into a murderer. Another sad aspect of this whole tragic story was that Paul St. Pierre's sister Mary was engaged to a Tacoma Police officer at the time. They already had their wedding plans and everything. He's a policemanâhe can't just marry the sister of a killer and have Paul St. Pierre as his brother-in-law, that would be too much. Mary did end up marrying a really nice guy years later, but how devastating what these boys didâit was really horrible, sick, and crazy.”
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