The primary aim of the "Novel Excerpts" blog category is to showcase my creative writing, specifically from the novels I've written. Hopefully, these posts will provide a glimpse into my storytelling style, themes, and narrative skills. It's an opportunity to share my artistic expressions and the worlds I've created through my novels.

The Boaz Scorekeeper, written in 2017, is my second novel. I'll post it a chapter a day over the next few weeks.

Ever since the vehicle had been extracted from Aurora Lake via a crane and transported to the State Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery, rumors had been flying around Boaz.  Since the April 27th discovery of what appeared from Jeff Marks’ photos to be a Volkswagen Beetle, tall tales ignited of how a prominent Boaz family, after World War II, had stopped a foreign car dealership from encroaching on its General Motors territory.  Speculation surfaced that Vincent Prader and his wife Helga had been murdered and buried in their Beetle in the eastern end of Aurora Lake.  Shortly after the tornado and Marks’ photos hit Facebook, a feisty and eager journalist with the Sand Mountain Reporter took to the archives and found a photo and article used in its March 25, 1946 edition. The Reporter refused to republish the article until facts were confirmed but someway a copy of the photo and article made their way to Facebook and the world. 

The article was titled Boaz Hero to Open Volkswagen Dealership.  The photo revealed a stocky and smiling Vincent Prader in full Army regalia with pinned service awards across his chest standing at the hood of a tan colored 1946 Beetle.  The tall, beautiful woman with dark curly hair standing at the rear of the shiny car was his wife Helga.  It was clear the photo had been taken on Main Street in Boaz in front of the Rialto Theater.  The Best Years of Our Lives, co-starring Fredric March & Myrna Loy, was boldly visible on the Theater’s marquee.

The article described Vincent’s World War II ventures that produced for him both the Medal of Honor for his bravery, and a Purple Heart for his battle wounds.  It spoke of how he had rescued Helga Katz in Nuremberg, Germany while U.S. and Allied forces lay siege during the latter days of the War in April 1945.  The article described how Vincent and his squad had been instrumental in helping Helga, her family, and several neighbors escape the rubble of a bombed-out Nuremberg and obtain shelter and care in an American camp.  There was a long paragraph about how Vincent and Helga had fallen in love, almost at first sight, how they had corresponded by mail after the War ended, and details about Helga’s journey to American in late October 1945.  They were married March 21, 1946, just four days before the Sand Mountain Reporter photo.

On May 10, 2018, the rumors were transformed into solid facts.  The Department of Forensic Sciences released to the Etowah County Sheriff and District Attorney its final report.  Once again, the report found its way to Facebook.  The vehicle was a 1946 Volkswagen Type 11 Beetle complete with a 1,131cc OHV Air-Cooled Flat 4-Cylinder Engine, a single solex carburetor, and a 4-Speed Manual Transmission.  It contained the skeletal remains of Vincent Prader and his wife Helga Katz Prader.  The Report did not reveal how the Department had made this later determination. Nor did it speculate how the Beetle found its way to the bottom of Aurora Lake or how long it had been there.  However, it estimated that the Beetle and the two bodies had likely been there since they went missing in March 1946.  An autopsy report was included and stated that Vincent and Helga had both died from gunshot wounds to the head.

After I reread the full report, I left the office and drove to McDonald’s for a cup of coffee.  Ever since the tornado, I had been contemplating calling Nick Baker with the New York Times.  I felt it was time he return to Boaz and research and write the follow-up story to his 1998 piece where he featured the demise of the Outlet Center, the 1972 deaths of Wendi and Cindi Murray, and the then current wrongful death lawsuit by Bill and Nellie Murray against members of five prominent Boaz families.  I walked inside, bought a large cup of coffee and an apple pie, and sat outside in an empty playground.  Nick Baker answered his phone on the first ring.

The primary aim of the "Novel Excerpts" blog category is to showcase my creative writing, specifically from the novels I've written. Hopefully, these posts will provide a glimpse into my storytelling style, themes, and narrative skills. It's an opportunity to share my artistic expressions and the worlds I've created through my novels.

The Boaz Scorekeeper, written in 2017, is my second novel. I'll post it a chapter a day over the next few weeks.

Today was Friday, April 27, 2018, one month since Etowah County Circuit Court Judge William Stivender had granted District Attorney Royce Harper’s motion to dismiss my case.  It seemed Harper, unrelenting as he was, finally acknowledged that all evidence pointed to my innocence in the abduction and murder of Gina Tillman.  Gina’s diamond-carved signature in the trunk of James’ Impala, and the State Lab’s determination that the two extra graves at Oak Hollow contained horse bones, appeared to be the final push Harper needed.  Of course, the mountain of evidence that Greg had obtained through his Federal investigation and that he had shared with Harper didn’t hurt either.

Now, it was late April and early afternoon but it was dark and raining.  The humidity was like mid-August. Matt and I were headed to Marshall County District Attorney Abbott’s office in Guntersville to meet with him and Walter Tillman. 

Guntersville is the county seat of Marshall County.  This pristine city is a beautiful mountain-lake oasis, sitting alongside the largest lake in Alabama, all 69,000 acres of it.  Lake Guntersville was created by Guntersville Dam along the Tennessee River, and is maintained and managed by the Tennessee Valley Authority.  This great body of water provides some of the best opportunities for bass-fishermen in the country.  This gorgeous and romantic city of less than 10,000 is where the real money lives in Marshall County.  I’ve heard this all my life.  And, it’s mostly true.  But, maybe, some of these folks that say this, haven’t heard of the Flaming Five and their families.

In February, Matt and I both had spoken with Abbott about seeking an indictment against David Adams for the death of Wendi Murray.  At the time, he was too focused on the 2016 murder of Harold Maples and the 1998 murders of Bill and Nellie Murray.  Walter had finally agreed to talk about that fateful night in May 1972 when he saw David Adams smother a young and innocent Wendi Murray. Matt and I both believed that with mine and Walter’s testimony, and that of Cynthia Radford, Raymond’s ex-wife, there would be no problem securing an indictment for murder against David Adams.

At 1:55 p.m., we sat at the intersection of Highways 431 and 75 waiting for the light to change.  We saw two firetrucks, three MUB Utility trucks, and two police cars crossing in front of us heading east on Highway 75.  Matt turned on WQSB radio and heard a weather siren in the background and an interview with Rainsville’s Police Chief Cedric Jennings.  He said the EF5 tornado had struck Highway 35 a mile south of town around 12:30 p.m. and traveled north tracking the Highway while cutting a half-mile swath on either side.  He also sadly relayed that there were “many deaths.” After the end of the interview the newscaster spoke with the radio announcer about how the tornado had briefly touched down in North Etowah County before leaping skyward and northeasterly again to kill, maim, and destroy in the small Dekalb County town of Rainsville.

Tragic as this was, it was even more eerie.  Today was the seventh anniversary of the worst weather day in Alabama.  It was April 27, 2011 that 238 people lost their lives across the State.  Rainsville alone lost 35 gentle souls.  This was strong evidence that the end of April in Alabama, North Alabama especially, was a place to avoid.  Also, the fact just three days ago, April 24th, had been the 110th anniversary of the 1908 tornado that had caused 15 deaths and virtually destroyed Albertville.  If all this weren’t bad enough, just a little over eight years ago, April 24, 2010 (the 102^nd anniversary of the 1908 tornado death and destruction) another tornado ripped East Main Street and other parts of Albertville.  The only consolation in 2010, was that no one was killed.

When we reached DA Abbott’s office, his receptionist told us we would have to reschedule.  Abbott was on his way to Rainsville to check on his sister and her family who lived in the area. The older receptionist said that when Abbott heard about the tornado he immediately tried calling his sister but was unable to reach her by phone.  He had left shortly thereafter and asked her to apologize for his absence.

We stayed glued to WQSB during our return trip to the law office.  The station kept alternating interviews with folks on the ground in Dekalb and Etowah Counties.  Ed Shultz, head of the Etowah County Emergency Management office, told a newscaster that shortly after noon the large funnel cloud touched down and destroyed Belton Howard’s poultry farm northeast of the Shady Grove Road/Highway 179 intersection.  The raging funnel then continued northeasterly and leveled the store at Aurora.  It hopped over and spared the William Kinney farm but settled to mow down a quarter mile swath of trees before breaking the dam at Aurora Lake and lifting skyward to continue northeasterly towards Rainsville.

Matt and I stayed at the law office until almost 9:00 p.m.  By 4:30 both Birmingham and Huntsville TV stations were on site both in Etowah and Dekalb County.  We sat in the conference room glued to the large flat screen TV that we had recently installed to use for Skype interviews with out of town clients and witnesses.

Just before dark, a helicopter crew filmed and showed footage starting with a sea of snow-white but dead chickens at Belton Howard’s farm.  As the helicopter slowly made its way northeasterly I could see that Club Eden’s cabin had not been spared.  It was still standing but there were trees toppled over making it look like someone was building a giant teepee.  I could tell that the water level in Aurora Lake was down a few feet but the newscaster said that the damage to the dam was only minimum, cutting out a section thirty or so feet wide but only four or five feet deep.  Repair crews were already on hand.

Before heading home, I was back in my office reviewing my emails and phone messages that had accumulated since leaving the office after lunch, when Matt hollered for me to “hurry, you need to see this.”

A WBRC FOX 6 news reporter from Birmingham, a young lady whose blond hair was wet and frizzled, was interviewing a Jeff Marks whose house suffered only mild damage.  The young reporter was not there to talk about the two pine trees hanging off the side of Marks’ house in the background.  His property was on the northeastern end of Aurora Lake, what locals called, ‘the shallow end.’  As the young reporter was asking Marks questions, she had her camera crew step behind Marks and focus on the lake.  There, in the middle of the lake, maybe 150 feet or so from the shore at the ‘shallow end,’ was a car of some sort.  Marks shared how after the winds had died down he had come up out of his basement and out onto his pier.  He could tell the water level in the lake was going down.  He walked westward, across his neighbor’s yards, all the way down to the dam.  That’s when he noticed the damage and why the water was running out of the lake like a draining bathtub.  He had returned to his property and that was when he noticed the vehicle.  Before cutting away from the interview, the young reporter told Marks that the car looked like an old Volkswagen her grandfather had bought in Birmingham after World War II.

Matt flipped off the TV and looked at me. “Do you think there is any way that car has anything to do with Vincent Prader?”

“Yep, I would bet my life on it.”  I drove home, hardly needing my headlights.  The brightness of the moon was welcome.  However, it also created the second eerie feeling I had had today.  I kept wondering what secrets the old Volkswagen, if that’s what it was, had held the many years it had sat at the bottom of Aurora Lake.  Pulling into the garage I realized the true source of my second eerie feeling.  What else in Aurora Lake would the EF5 tornado reveal?  My only salvation may have been that the dam was not destroyed and the Lake completely drained.  The remainder of the night I lay in bed wondering whether Fred had been awakened by the storm, or if he was still sleeping soundly and securely.

The primary aim of the "Novel Excerpts" blog category is to showcase my creative writing, specifically from the novels I've written. Hopefully, these posts will provide a glimpse into my storytelling style, themes, and narrative skills. It's an opportunity to share my artistic expressions and the worlds I've created through my novels.

The Boaz Scorekeeper, written in 2017, is my second novel. I'll post it a chapter a day over the next few weeks.

The forensic evidence found in James’ Impala and the information provided by Fitz Billingsley played a significant role in Greg’s ability to bring formal charges.

By mid-morning, February 8, 2018, a Federal Grand Jury Indicted Wade Tillman and James Adams for the kidnapping and capital murder of Gina Tillman, and for their conduct regarding Alma Castenada, one capital charge for conspiracy to kidnap by violence for sexual exploitation.  They were also indicted on four counts of conspiracy against rights (18 U.S.C. § 241).

The same Grand Jury indicted Boaz Police officers Chris Anderson, Paul Thomas, and Edward Hall for four counts of violent interference with federally protected rights (18 U.S.C. § 245), and four counts of conspiracy against rights (18 U.S.C. § 241).  Statute 18 U.S.C. § 245 makes it a crime to use, or threaten to use, force to willfully interfere with any person because of race, color, religion, or national origin and because the person is participating in a federally protected activity, such as public education, employment, jury service, travel, or the enjoyment of public accommodations, or helping another person to do so.  Statute 18 U.S.C. § 241 makes it unlawful for two or more persons to conspire to injure, threaten, or intimidate a person in any state, territory, or district in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him or her by the Constitution or the laws of the U.S. 

Greg failed to secure an indictment for the hate crime murders of Vincent Prader and his wife Helga Katz committed in 1946.  Four of the actual killers, Eugene Adams, Samuel Radford, Farris Billingsley, and Benjamin Ericson, were all dead, having died in the 80s and 90s.  The fifth killer, 106-year-old Rudolph Tillman, survived, but for some unknown reason, Greg had refused to pursue prosecution.  Finally, the Grand Jury had refused to indict David Adams and Franklin Ericson, although Greg had presented evidence they were present and played some role in the murders. 

Greg and Marshall County District Attorney Charles Abbott had perfectly choreographed their respective grand juries to issue indictments on the same day. The only difference was the Federal indictments were issued in the morning and the State indictments during the afternoon.

DA Abbott had little trouble securing a 19-count indictment against Walter Tillman, Franklin Ericson, Raymond Radford, and David Adams for extortion and embezzlement.  DA Abbott called Fitz Billingsley to appear before the Marshall County Grand Jury.  He testified that he procured the cyanide that was used in the murders of Bill and Nellie Murray, and Harold Maples.  Fitz described how he gave the cyanide to David and Raymond and about the plan they devised.  Fitz even furnished documentation showing when and where he purchased the poison.  For some unknown reason the Grand Jury indicted David and Raymond for the murder of Harold Maples, but voted against charging them for the deaths of Bill and Nellie Murray.  Undeterred, DA Abbott pressed on another hour and a few minutes before 5:00 p.m. secured one final indictment against David and Raymond.  This time for the death of young Shawn Taylor in 1973.

The primary aim of the "Novel Excerpts" blog category is to showcase my creative writing, specifically from the novels I've written. Hopefully, these posts will provide a glimpse into my storytelling style, themes, and narrative skills. It's an opportunity to share my artistic expressions and the worlds I've created through my novels.

The Boaz Scorekeeper, written in 2017, is my second novel. I'll post it a chapter a day over the next few weeks.

A few days after Greg, Matt, and I met in Interrogation Four, I had asked Matt to contact Fitz Billingsley and encourage him to contact Greg.  Matt did so and shared that a Federal investigation was under way and that he was going to be the center of attention that likely would not turn out well for him and his family unless he cooperated fully with the U.S. Attorney’s office.  Matt’s visit and information alone should have been more than enough to motivate Fitz to make the call but add in the ever-present death threat from the unknown man who had abducted and no doubt murdered Fred caused Fitz to call Greg the next day.

Over the next several weeks Matt and Trevor, or one of them, drove to Birmingham almost every day to assist U.S. Attorney Gambol.  He pursued one activity: gathering evidence to present to a Grand Jury for indictments against Wade, James, and anyone else involved in the federal crimes.  Matt and Trevor were both faithful to drop by the jail on their way back to Boaz every evening to update me on what was going on.

It was now February 9^th.  Shortly after Fitz had called Greg the first time, he convinced him to not only cooperate with him in the Federal case but also to assist Matt as he prepared my capital murder defense.  It was surprising to Greg, Matt, Trevor, and me how ‘on-board’ Fitz was.  He even asked if he could ride with Matt or Trevor as they drove nearly every day to Birmingham.  It was like he was truly part of our team.  His team play was never more evident than when he shared what he knew about Club Eden’s involvement in sex trafficking.

With Fitz’ assistance, the FBI had been able to convince Dale Watson, one of the four corrupt police officers, to also cooperate.  I never cease to be amazed at the power of prosecutorial immunity.  Most often, if a person has committed a serious crime he knows it.  That’s obvious.  Also, he clearly knows when he has been caught, when his foot is in the trap and there is nothing he can do to spring it.  This is where Dale Watson found himself after Fitz, wearing a wire, met with him and laid out the Federal case that was about to go public.  Dale, like Fitz, was an intelligent man and quickly concluded he had no choice but to cooperate if he wanted to retain his freedom.

Today, under oath at Greg’s office, Dale shared how he and three other Boaz Police officers, Chris Anderson, Paul Thomas, and Edward Hall, had abducted young Hispanic girls at night after a pretextual traffic stop.  Dale stated that these stops were not random but targeted.  He said he didn’t know how James Adams got his information but that it was never wrong.  Dale was always the one to meet with James, there was never any written communication.  After the scheme began, he and James would meet the first Sunday night of each month to discuss the operation.  If during the prior month there had been a successful abduction, James would have a new name, a new target.  The targets were always illegal, that is, they were not naturalized citizens.  This was the key to the scheme.  This way the families of the abducted girls would be far less likely to go to the police after their loved one had been taken.  Usually, these families simply moved away, which is what Club Eden wanted most of all.  Dale also shared how he and his three other police officer team-mates would search out and stalk the targets waiting for the opportune time to make a traffic stop.  All abductions arose from a traffic stop by two of the four corrupt officers.  Once the target was seized, the other two officers in another police cruiser would come and take the target’s vehicle to hide for later disposition.

This day, Greg had Fitz and Dale alternate the ‘testifying’ to fill in as many holes as they could.  Not having any type of paper trail worried Greg so he turned to Fitz.  He shared that he and Wade oversaw locating suitable targets and that the other members of Club Eden fed them leads.  Fitz said he kept a log of every target, potential or actual.  He also kept a written accounting of all sales as he put it.  When asked how much the Club received from the sale of a Hispanic girl, he said that it depended, but the prettiest, what he called a ten, brought in $50,000.

Greg asked Fitz to describe how the sex trafficking scheme had gotten started.  He said that when Boaz Poultry sold out to Platinum Foods in 1965 part of the deal benefited Liam Nilsson, the son of Ludvig Nilsson, the Swede who had helped the Flaming Five’s grandfathers set up the processing plant back in the early 20’s.  After the sale Ludvig Nilsson, who was at least 75 years old, returned to Sweden but Liam stayed on as Plant Manager of Platinum Foods because he had a family and was well settled in Boaz.  Liam had a son and a daughter.  Lucas was born in 1952 and by the mid-sixties was good friends with John Ericson and James Adams.  Liam retired from Platinum Foods in 1996 and he and his family moved back to Sweden to care for his ailing mother after his father had died several years earlier.  Lucas, in 1977, after graduating from Auburn in Poultry Science, had returned to Boaz and was promoted to Plant Manager in 1993.  He and John and James’s friendship had grown over the years even to the point of Club Eden entertaining the thought of admitting Lucas as a member.  In the end, it decided against it based on the near disaster caused by my membership, me being the only outsider ever admitted to Club Eden.

In 2004 Lucas introduced his cousin, Gustav Nilsson, to Wade and James who was in town for a two-week visit.  One night, after Lucas and Gustav had toured the Processing Plant, Wade and James joined them for a few drinks.  At some point Gustav said, “I have a business proposition that can make you guys millions.  If you have the stomach for it.”  This was the beginning of Club Eden’s sex trafficking scheme.  Gustav said that his organization had a need for pretty Hispanic girls.  It had a chain of massage parlors across Norway, Sweden, and Finland.  Gustav described his operation as ‘upscale’ and providing select girls a comfortable and prosperous life.  Someway Gustav convinced Club Eden to come to Sweden for a visit and tour several of the massage parlors.  A few weeks later, Wade and James flew to Stockholm to see for themselves whether Gustav was shooting them straight.  He was.  Over the next several months there were multiple trips and meetings between Gustav and several of his associates, and Wade, James, Fred, John, and Randall.  By 2005, the scheme was fully created and organized and four Boaz Police officers were enlisted and trained. 

The first abduction took place March 8, 2005.  Two 17-year-old Hispanic girls were seized on a cold and rainy Friday night.  Julisa and Nadia Gomez were twins.  Dale Watson and Edward Hall drove the girls to a small hotel outside Dalton, Georgia and stayed until the next morning when they drove the two girls to the Dalton Municipal Airport and met Gustav and his two sons who were piloting a King Air 250.  An exchange of girls for $100,000 in cash was made.  Fitz didn’t know how Gustav and his associates had gotten out of the country and back to Stockholm.

Matt said Greg waited until the day was almost over before surprising them all with the story of Alma Castenada.  Greg’s question to Fitz, “who was the last Hispanic girl that was seized?” was a prison sentence for Fitz if he lied.  And, Greg would know if he were lying.  FBI agents Teague and Lonagan had supplied Greg’s office with solid evidence that Alma Castenada was abducted by Boaz Police Officers Chris Anderson and Paul Thomas Friday, May 26, 2017, following the Boaz High School graduation ceremony.  Greg knew he had to trust Fitz and having verifiable evidence was the best way to test Fitz’ credibility and avoid a courtroom disaster. 

Fitz answered truthfully, “Alma Castenada.”  Greg then asked him to share everything he knew from the night she was abducted up until now.  It took him nearly an hour and he was sweating and his eyes were a mix of light and darkness as though he was eternally thankful for being on the prosecutor’s side, but finally aware of the evil he had become.

Alma Castenada was the Valedictorian of the 2017 Boaz High School’s graduating class.  It was either a miracle or the rarest of coincidences that had brought her and her family to Boaz in 1999.  Wade had made good friends with Brian Thompson of San Marcos, Texas when the two of them were in Seminary.  Around 1985, Brian had become pastor of First Baptist Church of San Marcos.  Over the years, Wade and Brian kept up with each other.  In 1995, Wade led a group from a collection of Marshall County churches, on a mission trip to San Marcos to assist Brian’s church in building a sister church for the growing population of Hispanics that Brian had been successful in assimilating, but who wanted their own place of worship.  Wade’s 14-year-old son, Warren, went along and fell in love with the area and returned every summer to stay and work with Brian and his ministry.  In the fall of 1998, after Warren graduated high school, he moved to San Marcos to attend Texas State University and to pursue a passion of helping Hispanic people.

By this time, Brian’s church, along with the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Creel, were working with the Tarahumara Indians.  Creel was a town in the Sierra Tarahumara of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The Tarahumara Indians are a people group that years ago fled to the isolation high in the Sierra Madre Mountains.  It was during the summer of 1999 that Warren made his first trip with Brian to the Sierra Tarahumara.  There, they met Mateo Castenada.  Mateo had just returned with his pregnant wife Natamar, and three young children, from living two years among the Tarahumara Indians.  Natamar was having problems with her pregnancy and needed special medical care.  Long story short, Warren took a serious liking to Mateo and Natamar and convinced his father, Wade, to help.  By this time, Wade and Club Eden were contemplating a tactic that countered their inner dislike for the local and vibrant Hispanic community in Boaz.  Wade had convinced his fellow Club members to start a Hispanic ministry and to hire an Hispanic pastor to lead the church.  Wade believed there was no better way to divert scrutiny than to have a visible ministry teaching and loving the very people you hate. Within three weeks of Warren’s request, Mateo and family had been smuggled out of Mexico, and Sophia was receiving the best of prenatal care at UAB in Birmingham.  Alma Castenada was born December 2, 1999.

Alma had severe health problems as a young child, but with excellent medical care overcame them all by the time she was a third grader.  Alma was the perfect student, with high IQ and dogged determination to become a doctor.  She also was her father’s golden goose in persuading local Hispanics to attend and participate at Esperanza Baptist Church.  Her and Mateo’s efforts, were so astounding, that around 2012 or 2013 the church facilities Mateo used were no longer large enough to contain the ever-burgeoning crowd on Sunday morning.  Mateo had always encouraged his members to visit First Baptist Church of Christ and grow their relationship with Christ by learning from Wade, an educated and trained theologian.  Wade and Club Eden’s diversion strategy to minister to local Hispanics backfired when every Sunday more and more of Mateo’s following became regular visitors at First Baptist Church of Christ.  This was the beginning of Club Eden’s planning to dismantle their Hispanic ministry.  And, what better way to disperse the growing Hispanic crowd than to have their magnetic leader disappear.  Alma Castenada was the key to making that happen.

The primary aim of the "Novel Excerpts" blog category is to showcase my creative writing, specifically from the novels I've written. Hopefully, these posts will provide a glimpse into my storytelling style, themes, and narrative skills. It's an opportunity to share my artistic expressions and the worlds I've created through my novels.

The Boaz Scorekeeper, written in 2017, is my second novel. I'll post it a chapter a day over the next few weeks.

After the Preliminary Hearing and my light-bulb moment, Matt had filed an Ex Parte Motion with Circuit Judge William Stivender requesting he order James’ Impala seized and transported to an independent lab in Atlanta.  The Judge denied Matt’s secret motion but offered to grant the request if DA Harper agreed.  Harper had no choice knowing that if he refused, Matt could use it against him at trial simply by asking Detective Morrow on the witness stand whether there was a forensic search of James’ car.  A ‘no’ response would empower Matt to include in his closing argument a statement such as “Detective Morrow admitted that James’ car was never considered as a source of evidence for Gina’s murder.  There was no forensic evaluation of the car.  You heard Mr. Tanner testify that Gina called him from the trunk of James’ car.  Ladies and Gentlemen, the Etowah County’s Sheriff’s Department and DA Harper were either incompetent in their failure to fully and properly inspect James’ Impala, or they were attempting to railroad my client.” Of course, DA Harper agreed to Matt’s request.

I never believed James’ Impala would still be available.  I was shocked to learn that Deputies located it parked in the Used Car lot at Adams Chevrolet, Buick & GMC.  Matt had spoken with one of the Deputies who stated that James’ son Justin tried his best to stop them.  “He was white as a ghost, even tried calling his lawyer while the rollback was loading the Impala.”

The Impala was taken to Montgomery to the State Department of Forensic Sciences.  Their team found no traces of Gina in the trunk, but determined someone had used bleach to clean up or destroy any incriminating evidence.  The trunk was a total bust.  However, the OnStar system delivered a mother lode.  It was General Motors OnStar headquarters that delivered the goods.  Their system in the Impala maintained only two weeks of data.  Headquarters kept a permanent record.  Judge Stivender issued a subpoena to General Motors’ OnStar Department to provide all statistical data for the Impala, “since it was first put into operation.”  This data was latitude and longitude numbers, location information.  The State Lab’s technicians fed this data into a mapping program, like Google Maps, to create a real-time illustration of where James’ vehicle had traveled on Saturday, November 4, 2017.  The evidence was clear.  James’s Impala had gone from Wade’s house by the Church on Sparks Avenue, to Club Eden’s cabin at Aurora Lake and then to Oak Hollow at the dead-end of Dogwood Trail.

However, we still had a problem.  We couldn’t prove Gina was in James’ car at any time it was traveling.  The defense has a right to see all evidence prior to trial.  On January 22, 2018, Matt and Trevor met DA Royce Harper in Montgomery to inspect the Impala and query the Department’s staff.  Matt and I had talked before his visit.  I had a gut feeling that Gina would have tried to leave her mark, something that would not have been so easy to destroy.  She had dropped her ring at the cabin.  I knew she had done this intentionally.  Her wedding ring was a cluster of diamonds that were so arranged to have made a sharp cutting instrument.  Again, luck was on our side.  Matt had carried a magnifying glass and spent nearly an hour scouring the inside of James’ trunk.  DA Harper had become impatient and pissed, even calling Judge Stivender complaining.  He had Harper put Matt on the phone.  Matt was told he had 15 minutes to conduct his inspection.  It was a miracle moment.  Lying inside the trunk, Matt finally spotted it.  ‘Gina 110417.’  The scribbling was not overhead on the underside of the trunk lid but on the inside of the driver’s side quarter panel close to where the trunk’s floor joins.  Gina’s last act was something only a true Ninja warrior would do. She used the only weapon she had.  With her diamond ring, she told the world where she was moments before she was murdered.

After Matt shared this information and left me in Interrogation Four, my mind couldn’t do anything but visualize Gina in James’ trunk frantically scratching out her farewell message.  I was confident it would be enough to catch her killers and set me free.