WEBVTT 1 00:00:29.559 --> 00:00:31.199 Welcome back to the Pathway Chili. 2 00:00:31.239 --> 00:00:35.960 I'm Robin, I'm Jules, and I'm Ashley. Let's dive right 3 00:00:35.960 --> 00:00:37.079 into this week's case. 4 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:43.600 Christmas Eve nineteen seventy three, New London, Connecticut, while changing 5 00:00:43.640 --> 00:00:46.719 a tire, twenty year old Kevin Showalter is struck by 6 00:00:46.759 --> 00:00:49.439 a passing vehicle and killed in a hit and run. 7 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:53.399 When police make no effort to solve the case, Kevin's 8 00:00:53.399 --> 00:00:55.640 mother is forced to fight for answers on her own. 9 00:00:56.479 --> 00:01:00.479 Years later, a grand jury investigation is finally held, naming 10 00:01:00.520 --> 00:01:04.400 the town's former mayor as a probable driver of the vehicle. However, 11 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:08.200 further complications ensue when another man comes forward to confess 12 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:12.000 to the crime, creating much debate about who was actually 13 00:01:12.040 --> 00:01:14.120 responsible for Kevin Showalter's death. 14 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:18.879 After that, the path went chilly. So the Christmas Holidays 15 00:01:18.920 --> 00:01:21.640 are nearly upon us, So to commemorate the occasion, we're 16 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:23.799 going to be covering a case which took place on 17 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:27.480 Christmas Eve, the unsolved nineteen seventy three hit and run 18 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:31.200 death of Kevin Showalter. I first became familiar with this 19 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:33.959 story ten years ago when I included in an article 20 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:37.959 I published for listfvers dot Com about unsolved Christmas Time mysteries, 21 00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:40.319 But until I covered it on the Trail Went Cold 22 00:01:40.359 --> 00:01:43.760 in twenty seventeen, I did not realize just how deep 23 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:47.480 a rabbit hole it really was. Cold cases involving hit 24 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:50.280 and run deaths are often very difficult to solve because 25 00:01:50.359 --> 00:01:53.799 unless someone actually witnessed the event, there's usually very little 26 00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:57.079 evidence to work with. But the death of Kevin Showalter 27 00:01:57.239 --> 00:01:59.519 wound up ballooning into one of the most extensive hit 28 00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:02.519 and run in investigations in the history of the United States. 29 00:02:03.319 --> 00:02:06.200 The local police initially did such a terrible job that 30 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:09.840 Kevin's mother had to become his sole advocate. The case 31 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:12.400 eventually wound up in the hands of the Connecticut State Police, 32 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:15.080 who would spend over one million dollars on the investigation 33 00:02:15.479 --> 00:02:19.159 and garner national press coverage for the story. In spite 34 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:22.439 of this, the case is not particularly well known today, though, 35 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:25.439 but often garnered coverage in the local media, and new 36 00:02:25.479 --> 00:02:28.639 developments were still taking place in the investigation. Up until 37 00:02:28.639 --> 00:02:31.639 the mid two thousands. We have one person who has 38 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:34.800 been publicly named as the most likely perpetrator, but since 39 00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:37.400 there have been a number of unexpected twists and turns. 40 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:40.960 A lot of ambiguity still surrounds what actually happened here. 41 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:44.360 Oh, this is so sad. You have a twenty year 42 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:47.759 old young man who's killed in a hit and run 43 00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:52.759 and a mother who is really saddled with this task. 44 00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:58.000 It's unthinkable you need to do an investigation into your 45 00:02:58.039 --> 00:03:00.840 son's death if you want any kind of answers or 46 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.240 justice at all. I can't imagine the weight that that 47 00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:07.280 places on her, and not only her, but the rest 48 00:03:07.319 --> 00:03:10.400 of her family as well, because she can't turn to 49 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:13.400 local law enforcement to say, carry that burden for me, 50 00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:15.719 and so it becomes an additional burden on top of 51 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:19.120 the death of her son. So my heart is absolutely 52 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:22.479 broken for this poor woman who dedicates her life to 53 00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:25.199 justice for her son. And when you talk about the 54 00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:30.240 idea that the only named individual has been the mayor 55 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:33.879 of the town, it adds that layer of potential mix 56 00:03:33.919 --> 00:03:37.919 of politics and the lack of justice because of that, 57 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:41.719 Like did the local law enforcement not investigate because of 58 00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:45.840 the political pressure and weight of the mayor being potentially involved. 59 00:03:46.680 --> 00:03:49.360 I can't wait to hear more, but my heart is 60 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:51.639 absolutely broken for this poor mother. And it shows what 61 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:55.879 strength and incredible determination these survivors have in these moments 62 00:03:55.919 --> 00:03:58.120 when they say, if you won't do it, I'll do 63 00:03:58.159 --> 00:03:58.759 it myself. 64 00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:01.800 Yeah. Yeah. We have covered a lot of cases on 65 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:04.439 the podcast like this where the police does a terrible 66 00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:06.759 job and the victims' family members has to be their 67 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:09.319 advocate and pretty much do all the work, and they 68 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:12.120 are pretty much the only reason that the case remains 69 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:14.680 in the spotlight. It is still remembered after so many years. 70 00:04:14.759 --> 00:04:17.120 And here we're probably we're going to be profiling one 71 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:20.240 of the worst police investigations I've seen for a cold case. 72 00:04:20.519 --> 00:04:22.560 But when you hear the twist about the town mayor 73 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:25.800 possibly being the perpetrator, you can understand why there have 74 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:29.480 been allegations of potential cover up and rumors that the 75 00:04:29.519 --> 00:04:31.519 investigation was botched intentionally. 76 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:36.959 Our story begins in New London, Connecticut, in nineteen seventy three. 77 00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:40.680 Our central figure is twenty year old Kevin Showalter, who's 78 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:44.439 currently a student at Mitchell College. Kevin's parents are divorced, 79 00:04:44.439 --> 00:04:47.439 but he still remains close to his mother, Lucille's Showalter, 80 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:51.160 and his two brothers. On Christmas Eve, Kevin was working 81 00:04:51.160 --> 00:04:54.360 his job at a discotheque in Waterford, which is located 82 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:58.120 just three miles outside New London. He became friendly with 83 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:02.199 a young female patron named Debrah Emilita and invited her 84 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:06.199 to attend a Christmas party with him. After Kevin's shift ended, 85 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:08.720 he left his own car behind to the discothech so 86 00:05:08.839 --> 00:05:11.439 he and Deborah could use her Ford Pinto to drive 87 00:05:11.480 --> 00:05:14.680 to his apartment in New London. They spent the next 88 00:05:14.759 --> 00:05:17.360 few hours hanging out together and decided that they would 89 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:20.279 not attend the Christmas party after all, so Kevin asked 90 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:22.399 Deborah to drive him back to the discothech so he 91 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:25.160 could pick up his own car. On their way there, 92 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:29.079 Deborah's Pinto suddenly sustained a flat tire on Pequot Avenue, 93 00:05:29.160 --> 00:05:32.000 a residential street located less than two blocks from where 94 00:05:32.040 --> 00:05:36.000 Kevin's mother lived. Deborah pulled over, and after discovering that 95 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:39.079 the front driver's side tire was flat, Kevin pulled out 96 00:05:39.079 --> 00:05:41.639 a jack and crouched down beside the Pinto to change 97 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:45.120 the tire. He recommended the Deborah switch off the vehicle's 98 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:48.680 parking lights in order to conserve the battery, but tragedy 99 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:52.800 would soon occur. At around eleven eleven PM, Kevin was 100 00:05:52.839 --> 00:05:55.879 attempting to change the tire when he was suddenly struck 101 00:05:55.920 --> 00:05:59.319 by a passing vehicle, which propelled his body fifty feet 102 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:02.560 onto the sideway. The driver of the vehicle did not 103 00:06:02.680 --> 00:06:06.079 bother to stop and just kept on going. At the time, 104 00:06:06.199 --> 00:06:08.480 Deborah was sitting on top of a stone wall six 105 00:06:08.519 --> 00:06:11.319 feet away from the pinto and remembered hearing a thud. 106 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:13.399 Well she was able to catch a glimpse of a 107 00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:16.000 tail light driving away in the distance, she did not 108 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:19.959 actually see the vehicle. In fact, even though numerous witnesses 109 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:22.720 in the neighborhood would recall hearing noises from their homes 110 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:24.800 and catching a glimpse of the tail lights to the 111 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:27.959 vehicle which struck Kevin, none of them got a clear 112 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:29.920 enough look at it to provide a description. 113 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:34.480 Here's what's so difficult about this is that you have 114 00:06:34.680 --> 00:06:37.160 Kevin and Deborah. They're, you know, hanging out, they're on 115 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:40.439 a date, and they make this decision that they're not 116 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:42.360 going to go to the Christmas party. So Kevin says, 117 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:45.680 take me back to my car, and he's literally right 118 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:50.000 near his mother's home, so about two blocks. Thinking, like, 119 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:53.759 you know, had he walked back home, had he asked 120 00:06:53.759 --> 00:06:55.519 his mom to you know, drive them to get his 121 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:59.199 other car, things like that this might have actually not 122 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:02.800 even a cur So this crazy moment where he's getting 123 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:05.680 out just to fix his friend's tire or girlfriend's tire 124 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:10.360 turns into him losing his life. It's the unthinkable, which 125 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:12.800 is why when you have Deborah sitting up on that 126 00:07:12.920 --> 00:07:16.720 wall and she hears a thud, it almost on the 127 00:07:16.759 --> 00:07:19.920 surface seems impossible that she wouldn't see the car. But 128 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:22.720 when she hears that thud, the last thing going through 129 00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:25.160 her mind is most likely that Kevin had been hit. 130 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:28.040 It would be that catching up in your mind and 131 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:30.360 your conscience to say, wait a minute, what just happened. 132 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:33.360 Oh my god, Kevin's hurt. And by the time you 133 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:35.720 realize that and you look up, all you can see 134 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:39.240 are those tail lights. And so my heart is absolutely 135 00:07:39.240 --> 00:07:43.160 broken for Deborah. This young kid who's just being a 136 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:48.519 gentleman and kind and helping get this car fixed loses 137 00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:52.120 his life and the person doesn't even stop. It makes 138 00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:54.759 you think were they drinking, were they under the influence 139 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:58.319 of something, Because yes, you would be scared if you 140 00:07:58.759 --> 00:08:00.839 hit something you didn't know what you would hit, But 141 00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:04.040 you would think that most people would pull over if 142 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:07.639 they were innocent and they accidentally hit somebody who was 143 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:10.480 changing a tire in the dark. Remember, he had turned 144 00:08:10.519 --> 00:08:13.399 the car off, so there'd be justification of saying I 145 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:17.040 didn't see the poor kid. But they kept going, which 146 00:08:17.079 --> 00:08:19.439 makes me think there was a reason they could not stop. 147 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:23.439 I was thinking that they must have been intoxicated, because 148 00:08:23.480 --> 00:08:26.560 for Deborah not to see the vehicle after hearing that thud, 149 00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:29.680 even if it's going fairly fast, for her eyes not 150 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:33.519 to be on the road seemed strange. But Robin, I've 151 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:36.440 got a question for you. Do you know how well 152 00:08:36.519 --> 00:08:37.799 lit that area was? 153 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:41.480 It does not sound like it was particularly well lit. 154 00:08:41.639 --> 00:08:43.679 And I think that's the most senseless thing about this 155 00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:47.519 whole tragedy is that it probably was legitimately an accident, 156 00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:49.759 and that if the driver, as long as they weren't 157 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:52.000 drunk and they just pulled over, I'd admitted to what 158 00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:54.840 they did, they may not have received any jail time. 159 00:08:54.919 --> 00:08:58.200 Because there's Kevin approached by a vehicle like changing a 160 00:08:58.279 --> 00:09:00.639 tire on the car which has turned the light, So 161 00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:03.159 you can't really you can kind of understand why this 162 00:09:03.320 --> 00:09:05.799 motorists might have hit him by accident, but the fact 163 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:07.799 that they didn't even bother to stop and just took 164 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:10.240 off in a panic. Just pretty much caused this whole 165 00:09:10.279 --> 00:09:12.840 thing to spiral out of control because they didn't fess 166 00:09:12.919 --> 00:09:15.240 up to it. And that's why people are still talking 167 00:09:15.240 --> 00:09:16.879 about this case fifty years later. 168 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:19.559 And see that's why I think the driver had to 169 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:23.960 be intoxicated because or under the influence of something, because 170 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:27.559 or they had some materials in their car. There was 171 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:31.039 something going on that once they hit him, they didn't 172 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:33.279 pull over. Yes, the kids could have been drinking and 173 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:36.720 maybe Kevin was being incredibly responsible asking Deborah to drive 174 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:39.080 him and so he didn't drive his car. But I 175 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:42.279 think the driver of the vehicle that struck him had 176 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:45.519 to have a legal reason they didn't stop. 177 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:48.320 Well, look at Chap equittic like the whole thing with 178 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:52.080 what was it Robert Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Ted Kennedy. Sorry, 179 00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:53.679 I don't want to get the Kennedy's mixed up, but 180 00:09:53.720 --> 00:09:56.519 he basically like left the scene, went in processed this 181 00:09:56.639 --> 00:09:59.279 for this good chunk of time before you realize he's 182 00:09:59.320 --> 00:10:01.039 going to be tied to this, He's going to have 183 00:10:01.080 --> 00:10:03.960 to cop to what happened. So I think when you are, 184 00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:06.600 I mean he was part of a political dynasty, and 185 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:08.840 if we're looking at this through the lens that this 186 00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:13.360 could have been the mayor allegedly, then it's very possible 187 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:16.000 that just the status of being the mayor would be 188 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:18.399 enough that it would be like, oh my god, my 189 00:10:18.519 --> 00:10:21.320 career could be over, my life could be over. Because 190 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:25.039 people think worst case scenario in that situation. But I 191 00:10:25.080 --> 00:10:27.919 do agree. I think there's probably a strong likelihood that 192 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:30.559 if it was indeed the mayor or somebody else, they 193 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:34.679 were likely intoxicated because to keep going and not even 194 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:37.879 to pause for a minute, it just seems so strange. 195 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:43.279 That night, Kevin's mother, Lucille Showalter, had been attending Christmas 196 00:10:43.279 --> 00:10:45.960 Eve services at her church before she returned home and 197 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:48.600 went to bed. She would be woken up during the 198 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:51.480 early morning hours of Christmas Day when officers from the 199 00:10:51.480 --> 00:10:54.320 New London Police Department arrived at the front door and 200 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:56.799 informed her that her son had been hurt in an accident. 201 00:10:57.600 --> 00:10:59.919 Lucille went to the hospital where Kevin had been taken, 202 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:02.960 but when she arrived, she learned the horrifying news that 203 00:11:03.080 --> 00:11:06.600 Kevin was dead. The police informed Lucille that Kevin was 204 00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:08.840 the victim of a hit and run, and she assumed 205 00:11:08.840 --> 00:11:11.120 that they would be investigating the crime and doing their 206 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:15.200 best to find the driver who was responsible. However, Lucille 207 00:11:15.240 --> 00:11:17.759 started a sense that something was wrong when she showed 208 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:19.840 up at the New London police station a few weeks 209 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:24.080 later to retrieve Kevin's personal effects. To her astonishment, the 210 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:26.840 police claimed that his personal effects have been lost and 211 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:29.559 flat out told Lucille that the case would probably never 212 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:33.159 be solved. So this motivated Lucille to launch her own 213 00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:37.320 independent investigation. She got her hands on an FBI lab 214 00:11:37.399 --> 00:11:40.480 report which stated that dark green paint particles had been 215 00:11:40.519 --> 00:11:43.519 found on Kevin's clothing, which were consistent with the same 216 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:46.600 shade of green which was often used on nineteen sixty 217 00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:50.559 eight Krysler vehicles. Lucille then did some exhaustive leg work, 218 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:53.759 searching throughout the area for dark green vehicles which had 219 00:11:53.799 --> 00:11:56.639 any signs of damage on them. She asked local auto 220 00:11:56.720 --> 00:11:59.919 dealers and garages if they had repaired any damaged vehicle 221 00:12:00.200 --> 00:12:02.840 shortly after Christmas Eve, and learned that most of them 222 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:06.720 had never even received any inquiries from the police. Lucille 223 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:10.480 also interviewed a number of people, including witnesses from Kevin's accident, 224 00:12:10.519 --> 00:12:13.440 seen and reached the conclusion that the driver hit him 225 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:16.440 was likely from the area, given that Pequat Avenue as 226 00:12:16.440 --> 00:12:19.200 a residential street not known for getting much traffic. 227 00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:24.000 So not only does Mom have to do this investigation 228 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:28.480 by herself, but she also goes to the police department 229 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:33.080 and is shut down that basically good luck finding who 230 00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:35.360 killed him, right, that this is likely not going to 231 00:12:35.480 --> 00:12:38.919 have a resolution. But they also lost his personal effects, 232 00:12:38.919 --> 00:12:42.879 which is absolutely devastating. Even if there wasn't much on him, 233 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:46.240 that's all she had left. She was going to get 234 00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:49.919 his things back and bring them back into her possession 235 00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:52.320 so that she could do what she wanted to, and 236 00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:56.840 they lost them like he didn't matter, right, that there 237 00:12:56.919 --> 00:13:01.039 wasn't a mother out there that wanted his belongings. That's hurtful. 238 00:13:01.159 --> 00:13:02.799 The fact that they say good luck, there's not going 239 00:13:02.840 --> 00:13:05.279 to be a resolution, the fact that they're not doing 240 00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:08.559 any work because she's doing work and finding out that 241 00:13:08.600 --> 00:13:12.080 the police have never spoken to these repair shops and 242 00:13:12.120 --> 00:13:14.240 things of that nature, which would be the first thing 243 00:13:14.279 --> 00:13:17.480 you would think police would do. But I do have 244 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:19.879 a question when you get down to the idea that 245 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:25.200 it's on this back residential street. Mom had to be 246 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:27.679 thinking this is someone I go to the grocery store with. 247 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:30.159 This is someone I'm in church with, This is someone 248 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:32.279 who I could have gone to school with, my son 249 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:35.240 could have gone to school with. That makes it even 250 00:13:35.480 --> 00:13:39.279 more devastating that you could easily be standing next to 251 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:42.279 someone you know and are familiar with and they hit 252 00:13:42.360 --> 00:13:43.919 your son and kept going. 253 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:47.879 That is true because it does seem certain that this 254 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:50.559 was not an outsider lived away from New London, that 255 00:13:50.600 --> 00:13:52.559 it was someone who lived in the area and had 256 00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:56.639 probably cross paths with Lucille and her family on numerous occasions. 257 00:13:56.919 --> 00:13:59.240 And as we're about to talk about momentarily, the person 258 00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:02.320 who would later be come the prime suspect acted so 259 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:06.159 nice to Lucille and offered her so much comfort afterwards, 260 00:14:06.200 --> 00:14:07.759 and then it turns out that maybe they might have 261 00:14:07.799 --> 00:14:09.679 been doing this to cover their own ass. 262 00:14:10.519 --> 00:14:13.600 Lucille kept a written record of all her findings and 263 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:16.399 attempted to turn it over to the police, but they 264 00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:19.759 only became angry about her investigation and accused her of 265 00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:24.159 withholding evidence. In spite of this, Lucille continued to actively 266 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:27.639 campaign for answers and even convinced the state of Connecticut 267 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:31.639 to offer a two thousand dollars reward for information. One 268 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:35.120 prominent citizen who offered Lucille his full support, who had 269 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:38.240 previously served two terms as mayor of New London and 270 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:41.960 was now a wealthy, well respected jewelry merchant. He told 271 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:45.000 Lucille that he had actually driven past Kevin's accident, seen 272 00:14:45.080 --> 00:14:48.559 at around eleven twelve pm on Christmas Eve, only about 273 00:14:48.559 --> 00:14:52.080 a minute after Kevin had been struck. Mala remembered seeing 274 00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:54.559 a dark green car parked at an angle in front 275 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:57.279 of the Pinto and saw a middle aged, clean shaven 276 00:14:57.360 --> 00:15:00.960 man talking to a younger woman nearby. Malave claimed that 277 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:03.919 he initially thought the guy might be a policeman, since 278 00:15:03.960 --> 00:15:08.399 city police were known for driving unmarked dark green vehicles. However, 279 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:11.240 records showed that the earliest help arrived at the scene 280 00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:12.720 that night was eleven fifteen. 281 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:16.200 Wait a minute, Okay, so the former mayor's saying that 282 00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:20.039 not only did he see a dark green car part, 283 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:23.159 but he also saw a middle aged, clean shaven man 284 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:26.879 talking to a younger woman. If that had happened, Deborah 285 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:29.000 would have seen that and known that, and she may 286 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:31.679 have even been that younger woman. So how does he 287 00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:32.759 explain that? 288 00:15:33.799 --> 00:15:35.879 Yeah, and that's The issue, as we're going to find 289 00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:37.720 out as we go along, is that he tells this 290 00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:41.440 story to Lucille, seemingly offering her these leads, and then 291 00:15:41.480 --> 00:15:43.679 she'll later speak to Deborah and all the other witnesses, 292 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:46.440 and no one else reports seeing the same thing. And 293 00:15:47.080 --> 00:15:49.679 you could think that, well, maybe that young woman was Deborah, 294 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:52.519 but Kevin had a beard. He was not a middle aged, 295 00:15:52.559 --> 00:15:56.080 clean shaven man. So here thinking is he really confused 296 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:59.360 or could he be completely fabricating this guy out of 297 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:03.639 thin air in order to send Lucille in the wrong direction. Anyway, 298 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:06.080 The next few years would be an exercise and frustration 299 00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:09.480 for Lucille, as she constantly wrote numerous people in authority, 300 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:12.600 such as the new London police chief, a local superior 301 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:15.799 court judge, and the state's attorney, to demand a proper 302 00:16:15.799 --> 00:16:19.720 investigation into her son's death, but she was often completely ignored. 303 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:23.720 But Lucille's persistence eventually paid off when she wrote a 304 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:27.639 letter to Connecticut Governor La t. Grosso only a few 305 00:16:27.720 --> 00:16:30.879 days before Christmas in nineteen seventy six. A one man 306 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:33.879 grand jury was created to investigate the case, and a 307 00:16:33.879 --> 00:16:37.240 Superior court judge named Joseph Donaghy would be appointed to 308 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:40.440 the position. This launched a one year investigation from the 309 00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:44.159 Connecticut State Police, which involved re examining the evidence and 310 00:16:44.200 --> 00:16:48.000 re interviewing witnesses by the state. In total, they spent 311 00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:51.240 over one million dollars, the largest amount ever spent on 312 00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:54.000 a hit and run case at that time. The whole 313 00:16:54.039 --> 00:16:57.720 situation exposed just how badly the New London Police Department 314 00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:01.080 had bungled the original investigation, as in addition to showing 315 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:03.399 a lack of initiative to solve the case, they had 316 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:06.799 also apparently lost some key pieces of evidence. The tow 317 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:10.000 truck driver who arrived at the accident scene remembered finding 318 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:13.319 green automobile body putty and turning it over to the 319 00:17:13.359 --> 00:17:18.079 police before it inexplicably disappeared. Some amber plastic, which may 320 00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:20.079 have been part of a signal light on the vehicle 321 00:17:20.119 --> 00:17:22.839 which struck Kevin, was also found at the scene but 322 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:26.960 subsequently went missing. The new London PD found some glass 323 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:29.279 and did turn it over to the FBI for testing, 324 00:17:29.640 --> 00:17:32.000 and they determined that it likely belonged to a general 325 00:17:32.039 --> 00:17:35.839 electric headlight before sending it back. However, when the State 326 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:39.400 police requested to analyze this glass years later, the new 327 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:42.279 London PD turnover a box containing what appeared to be 328 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:46.960 glass fragments from multiple vehicles. An engineer from General Electric 329 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:49.799 would determine that at least one of these glass fragments 330 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:52.759 could not have been dislodged by a vehicle heading a pedestrian, 331 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:55.440 and that it was likely removed from a headlamp socket 332 00:17:55.519 --> 00:17:58.880 by force. In other words, this glass fragment did not 333 00:17:58.920 --> 00:18:02.079 belong to the car which struck Kevin. The State police 334 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:05.160 also concluded that the dark green paint particles found on 335 00:18:05.240 --> 00:18:08.400 Kevin's clothing probably did not originate from the vehicle that 336 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:08.960 struck him. 337 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:12.759 I'm assuming they did more advanced testing. I mean, there 338 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:17.359 are different paint components that are and I don't know, 339 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:20.519 molecules and things like that that make up different types 340 00:18:20.519 --> 00:18:25.240 of paint automobile paint versus craft paint versus home paint. 341 00:18:25.640 --> 00:18:28.200 So did they do end depth analysis of it to 342 00:18:28.279 --> 00:18:31.640 conclusively say that it didn't come from a vehicle. 343 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:34.440 I think so it's kind of murky what kind of 344 00:18:34.440 --> 00:18:36.880 testing they did. But I remember how I said earlier 345 00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:39.160 that they thought this was the type of paint used 346 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:42.359 on a green dark Green nineteen sixty eight Chrysler, and 347 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:44.839 they were able to determine that it did not match 348 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:46.880 the type of paint used on that vehicle, and I'm 349 00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:49.920 guessing they did extensive testing to realize that, no, this 350 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:52.599 doesn't belong to a vehicle. Kevin probably got it from 351 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:54.000 something completely unrelated. 352 00:18:55.480 --> 00:18:59.400 In total, the grand jury investigation contained five months worth 353 00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:02.720 of hearing, featuring testimony from one hundred and seven witnesses. 354 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:06.440 One of the most prominent witnesses was a police informant 355 00:19:06.519 --> 00:19:10.599 named Katherine Krause, who claimed that sometime in nineteen seventy five, 356 00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:13.279 two women at a party told her about a father 357 00:19:13.359 --> 00:19:16.880 and son duo named Walter Spring Junior and Walter Spring 358 00:19:16.920 --> 00:19:20.119 the third who'd allegedly done repairs on the vehicle which 359 00:19:20.119 --> 00:19:23.920 struck Heaven. The Springs had operated an auto repair shop 360 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:27.160 in New London in nineteen seventy three before moving to 361 00:19:27.240 --> 00:19:30.880 New Jersey. Kraus came forward and shared this information with 362 00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:34.400 the state police in February of nineteen seventy seven, but 363 00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:37.200 claimed that once the Springs found out about it, they 364 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:39.279 took her to Florida and held her in a motel 365 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:42.079 for a month in order to prevent her from testifying. 366 00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:45.759 For months. The Springs were very uncooperative with the grand 367 00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:49.319 jury investigation and would not show up to testify until 368 00:19:49.319 --> 00:19:52.240 they received a court order. While Krous passed a lie 369 00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:55.160 detect or test about her story, the Springs refused to 370 00:19:55.160 --> 00:19:58.440 take one. A state trooper also testified that the Springs 371 00:19:58.440 --> 00:20:02.039 had allegedly threatened to rub out anyone who talked about 372 00:20:02.039 --> 00:20:04.119 their repair work of the hit and run vehicle. 373 00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:09.359 And these two guys are not considered main suspects. 374 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:11.440 Well, I don't think that they were involved in the 375 00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:14.279 actual hit and run, but it does seem clear that 376 00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:17.160 something shady was going on with them, and that there's 377 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:19.839 a good chance that whoever did hit Kevin probably went 378 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:21.559 to them to get their vehicle repaired. 379 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:25.079 Well, yeah, this idea of obstructing justice, right, and being 380 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:29.599 two people that would have information they know who owned 381 00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:33.000 that car, So if they repaired that car, they're basically 382 00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:37.640 protecting a killer. Somebody who might have on accident hit 383 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:41.359 him but then didn't stop, didn't pull over to see 384 00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:47.039 if he could help, didn't have any compassion for Kevin. So, 385 00:20:47.880 --> 00:20:49.839 I mean, I don't know, how do you sit there 386 00:20:49.839 --> 00:20:52.079 with that kind of information and say, yeah, we'll fix 387 00:20:52.119 --> 00:20:55.279 your car and we're totally fine. Knowing that this car 388 00:20:55.400 --> 00:20:57.839 killed a kid and his family has no justice. 389 00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:01.279 And if that's the case, you see just this escalation 390 00:21:01.400 --> 00:21:04.319 where they're trying to hide what they've done. If we're 391 00:21:04.359 --> 00:21:07.240 to believe what Catherine Cross is saying, because to hold 392 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:11.160 somebody in a hotel room for an entire month against 393 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:15.039 their will, that sounds really intense if it's true. 394 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:18.319 I mean, and the whole thing was based on hearsay rumors. 395 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:21.000 So if it turned out the rumors weren't true, all 396 00:21:21.039 --> 00:21:23.279 the Springs would have to do is just testify and 397 00:21:23.400 --> 00:21:25.400 grand in front of the grand jury and says, Nope, 398 00:21:25.400 --> 00:21:27.359 these are all lies. We had nothing to do with this. 399 00:21:27.400 --> 00:21:29.920 We never repaired any vehicle. But the fact that they 400 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:32.240 kept dodging it and would not and would refuse to 401 00:21:32.279 --> 00:21:35.480