Authors: Don Bullis
Tags: #Murderers, #General, #New Mexico, #Historical, #Fiction
The furnace remained unrepaired on Tuesday morning but Mr. Jaramillo let the heaters operate the night long. He rewired two old fans in the high ceiling so they could turn, ever so slowly, holding what warm air there was in the lower half of the room. Those efforts resulted in a consistent indoor temperature of sixty degrees.
―Yes, Mr. Pratt, quite cool, but we'll manage. Thank you for not moving for dismissal. Are you ready to begin, Mr. Wilcoxson.‖
―Yes sir. Call J. B. Spurlock.‖
Doc wore a dark brown western-cut suit, white shirt with a brown and blue stripped necktie. His black boots were polished to a high military gloss, and he carried a snow-white Stetson hat in his hand. Sworn by the bailiff, he took his seat.
―How are you currently employed, Mr. Spurlock?‖
―New Mexico State Police. Criminal Agent.‖
―In November of 1967 did you have occasion to work on a investigation involving the murders of Bud Rice and Blanche Brown?‖
―I was case agent.‖
―What does that mean? Case agent?‖
―I was pretty much responsible for the investigation. Me and
―Just answer the question, officer Spurlock. Don't volunteer information not requested.‖
―Whatever you say, Mister Wilcoxson.‖
Pratt got to his feet. ―Your honor, Mr. Wilcoxson seems to be arguing with his own witness.‖
―Mr. Wilcoxson. Care to respond?‖
―I'm tempted, your honor, to ask permission to treat officer Spurlock as a hostile witness. I'm not sure he wants to cooperate in giving testimony in this case.‖
―Officer Spurlock,‖ Judge Ziram said, ―how would you respond to the state's attorney?‖
―Mr. Wilcoxson‘s jumpin' to conclusions, Judge, just like I seen him do before. I'm a peace officer, and I'm here to testify on this case, and that's what I'll do. I don't have to like Don Wilcoxson in the doin‘ of it. He asks the questions. I'll answer them.‖
―Let's proceed, Mr. Wilcoxson.‖
―Officer Spurlock,‖ Wilcoxson said. ―As case agent, you were responsible for gathering the physical evidence at the scene of the crime. Is that correct?‖
―I processed the crime scene and what was left of the physical evidence. Yes.‖
―What did you do with it?‖
―Your honor,‖ Pratt said, ―I already stipulated to the chain of custody of the physical evidence. I don't think we need to go through it again.‖
―I was just trying to show, your honor,.... Oh, never mind. I'll just withdraw it.‖ Wilcoxson knitted his brows. He walked to the prosecution table and took a drink of water before he picked up the alleged murder weapon. He walked back to the witness box. ―FBI Agent Madison has testified that you gave him this gun as evidence in this case. Is that correct?‖
―It is. You was there when I give it to him.‖
―Just answer the question I asked.‖
―We'll recess for ten minutes,‖ Ziram said. ―Bailiff, see to the jury's
coffee needs.‖ The jury filed out. ―In my office!‖ Pratt and Wilcoxson followed the judge. Ziram stopped and turned back toward Spurlock. ―You too.‖ The judge didn‘t bother to sit down. ―Now, I don't know what the problem is between you and this witness,‖ he said to the ADA, ―but it doesn't exist in my courtroom.‖ He shifted his attention to Spurlock. ―You will both conduct yourselves in a way that serves the cause of justice or I'll have you in contempt. Both of you. Am I clear?!‖
Both men nodded in the affirmative. Wilcoxson stuffed a cigarette into his mouth and strode purposefully out the door and into the hall as Judge Ziram took off his robe and sat down. Doc walked back into the courtroom. He shook hands with Sheriff Jack Elkins who stood behind Billy Ray White.
Billy Ray White stood up a little more quickly than the officers expected and both of the officers reached for their guns. Billy Ray held his hands out in front of him. ―Don't get excited, boys. You get done with your reminiscing, I need to piss. You want to take me to the john, Jack, or is it to the jack, John?‖ White laughed at his own joke.
―How you doin', Billy Ray?‖ Doc asked. ―I ain't seen you since the lineup last fall.‖
―Can't say I'm real happy to see you here, Spurlock,‖ Billy said pleasantly. ―But I guess you got your job to do.‖
Elkins latched a pair of handcuffs into place around Billy Ray's wrists and Doc walked along, down the stairs, to the rest room on the floor below.
―You will notice,‖ Billy Ray said and he winked at Doc as they walked along, ―that Jack cuffed my hands in front of me. He learned after the first time. See, that time he cuffed them in back. When we got to the john, he had to aim my dick at the urinal to keep me from pissing my pants. I kinda liked it, but I guess he didn‘t.‖ Billy laughed again.
Doc smiled in spite of himself as they entered the rest room. The officers stood a step back and a step to either side as the defendant relieved himself.
―I heard you was lookin‘. No. I ain‘t got a thing. Can‘t hardly afford to pay the three deputies I got.‖
―I was joshin‘, Jack. I think maybe I got somethin‘ lined up down home. Chaves County.‖
―It ain‘t a usual thing for you state cops to quit. This gonna cost you on your retirement?‖
―Don‘t matter. After Wilcoxson got me fired for two weeks last spring, I figure my chances for advancement in the State Police are 'bout good as Billy Ray's chances of becomin' a Baptist preacher. ‗Sides, the wife and I been separated for damn near a year. I‘m ready to get back with her.‖
―You talkin‘ about workin‘ for Sheriff Tom Lord?‖
―Yep.‖
―Good ole boy.‖
―Yeah. Friend of my daddy. He thought he‘d have somethin‘ for me around the first of the year, but it‘s taken this long. You know how county governments work.‖
―Too bad, Doc. Hate to see you go. You was one we could get along with. You know, old Troy McGee, he just barely tolerates us sheriff types, and Charlie Scarberry and Freddy Finch just flat don't like us at all.‖
―You cops think you got it tough,‖ Billy Ray said, ―you should be in my shoes for a while. Hell. Even my friends is gonna come in here and testify against me. You can't count on nothing in this life, and if I lose, I get hung from a tall tree.‖
―That always been your problem, Billy Ray?‖ Doc asked. ―Poor choice of friends?‖
―That,‖ Billy Ray said with a smile, ―and whiskey, drugs, whores, greed and laziness.‖
The two officers and the prisoner returned to the courtroom as the jury filed in. Doc resumed his seat in the witness box.
―Let's get started again,‖ Judge Ziram said and looked sternly at both Wilcoxson and Spurlock.
―Officer Spurlock,‖ Wilcoxson began in his best courtroom manner. ―You gave the alleged murder weapon to FBI Agent Madison for processing. Please tell the court where you got it.‖
―We, myself and several other officers, retrieved it from a clearditch not too far from the Lourdes School in the south valley of Albuquerque on February 9th, 1968.‖
―How did you know where to look for it?‖
―Durin' our investigation we interviewed a subject by the name of Joe Cato. He alleged to us that he'd provided a gun to the defendant. He said he was present when the defendant throwed it into the clearditch. Cato went with us to the location and after we searched around for a few hours, by use of a big electromagnet, we found it.‖
―And Mr. Cato confirmed that the gun was the one Billy Ray White threw into the river?‖
―Yes. Clear-ditch.‖
―And this is the gun?‖
―If they's two little notches in the right-hand wood grip, about a third of the way up from the bottom, it'd be the same gun we found in the water.‖
―What do the two notches represent?‖
―I don't have no idea. I just made a note of them in my report for identification purposes.‖
―Ok. Now, how did Mr. Cato say he came into possession of the gun in the first place?‖
―I object, your honor,‖ Pratt said. ―Mr. Wilcoxson is asking for hearsay evidence.‖
―A criminal investigator is allowed to testify as to what he learned in the course of an investigation, Mr. Pratt,‖ Judge Ziram said. ―Your objection is overruled. Answer the question, Officer Spurlock.‖
―Cato said he got the gun from a guy name of Wally Webb. He said he gave, or sold, the gun to Billy Ray Stirling, who is also known as Billy Ray White.‖
―Go on.‖
―Cato said he got the gun from Webb on November 16th, or thereabouts, gave it to White on the 17th or thereabouts; then White used it to do the robbery on the 18th and on the 19th, him, White, and another guy by the name of Dave Sipe, throwed it in the clear-ditch.‖
―What else, if anything, did Joe Cato say about the gun?‖
―Nothing I can remember.‖
―That's all I have your honor.‖
―Mr. Pratt.‖
Parker stood and looked thoughtfully at Doc. ―Officer Spurlock, while we're on the subject of the gun, I want to be clear. This gun, marked as state's evidence, is the gun this Joe Cato said Billy Ray White used to commit the crimes in question. Is that right?‖
―That's right.‖
―And this is the same gun you recovered from the river.‖ ―Clear-ditch. Yes.‖
―Was it still loaded when you found it?‖
―Yes. They was a round in the chamber and at least one in the magazine. The way the clip is made, you can only see one cartridge.‖
―Thank you. Now, Agent Spurlock, you said you were case agent. Is that right?‖
―Yes sir.‖
―And that means you were in charge of the investigation?‖
―Well, yes, but this was kind of a different deal.‖
―How do you mean?‖
―Deputy Chief Scarberry was there in Budville. I guess you‘d say he was in charge at the crime scene. I surely was not.‖
―But you processed the scene. Isn‘t that correct?‖
―Here we go again, your honor. I object.‖ Wilcoxson said.
―Yes,‖ Pratt said, ―here we go again. I think it‘s entirely appropriate for the defense to probe the depths of what Officer Spurlock knows about this case, and how the investigation was conducted.‖
―Objection is overruled. You may answer, officer.‖
―Yes. Me and Officer Valverde did most of the work.‖
―Did either of you examine the bodies?‖
―They were gone before I got there. I never saw them out at Budville a‘tall.‖
―Is that normally the way things are done?‖
―No. Normally the case agent will take photos, bag the victims‘ hands, orient the bodies to other evidence and then supervise the removal of the bodies. Like I said. This was a different kind of deal.‖
―Who ordered removal of the bodies?‖
―Chief Scarberry, I guess.‖
―So the bodies were never processed for evidence?‖ Pratt talked to Doc as if the two of them were engaged in earnest conversation.
―I took scrapings from behind the fingernails. Then they were autopsied.‖
―Anything in the scrapings?‖
―Dirt. That‘s all. We look for tissue and fibers or hairs. There wasn‘t none present with either victim.‖
―Ok. Now, did you attempt to locate fingerprints at the scene?‖ ―Agent Valverde and I did. We dusted every surface we could.‖ ―And did you find any fingerprints?‖
―About four dozen of them.‖
―And to whom did those prints belong?‖
―Bud and Flossie Rice, Nettie Buckley, Blanche Brown, Charlie Scarberry, Troy McGee, and a whole bunch more we never identified as belongin‘ to anyone in particular.‖
―So, of those you associated with known people, all of them had legitimate reason for being there?‖
―Yes sir.‖
―Did you send the rest to the FBI for comparisons.‖
―Yes sir.‖
―And none were identified as being those of Billy Ray White.‖
―That‘s right.‖
―As a matter of curiosity, Officer, you said you dusted for prints. Did you use any other method to develop fingerprints? Iodine fuming? Ninhydrin?‖
―No we didn‘t.‖
―Why not? The technology is now available....‖
―Because the State Police don‘t believe in it. I asked for the money to make my own iodine fuming rig a few years back and Charlie Scarberry told me I didn‘t amount to much as a criminal agent if I couldn‘t lift all the prints I needed with good old black powder. I didn‘t ask agin.‖
―I see. Now then. As case agent, you were certainly aware that a subject was previously arrested and charged with this crime. Is that correct?‖
―Yes. Larry Bunting was arrested on the evenin‘ of the 19th at a roadblock just east of Grants.‖
Wilcoxson started to stand, but seemed to think better of making the objection. He settled back into his chair, a pained look on his face.
―Upon what basis was he arrested?‖ Pratt asked.
―I understand that Mrs. Rice identified him.‖
―But you weren't there at the time.‖
―No.‖
―And what did you do subsequent to the arrest of Larry Bunting, officially speaking?‖
―He claimed an alibi. I was assigned by Captain Torrez to check it out, which I did yet that same week. Thanksgiving week.‖
―And what was the result of your investigation into Mr. Bunting's alibi?‖
―I located witnesses that said Bunting was in Albuquerque at the time the killings took place in Budville. On top of that, there wasn't any physical evidence at all that connected Bunting to the murders.‖
―How long was Mr. Bunting held in custody?‖
―I believe it was around seventeen or eighteen days.‖
―But he was cleared of all charges and released.‖
―Yes, over the objections of some high-ranking State Police officers, Don Wilcoxson dropped the charges.‖
―What high-ranking State Police officers?‖
―This whole line of cross examination is completely irrelevant,‖ Wilcoxson said, getting half way to his feet, ―but that last question takes the cake.‖
―Sustained. Get back on track, Mr. Pratt.‖
―Yes sir. You said, officer, that no physical evidence connected Larry Bunting to the crime scene. Is there physical evidence which connects Billy Ray White to the scene?‖
―Not that I know of. No.‖
―Now, officer Spurlock, according to one of your early reports, you found more than six hundred dollars in cash in Bud Rice's possessions after his death. Is that correct?‖
―Yes, it is.‖
―Do you, based on your long experience, have any idea at all why the robber would not have taken that money?‖
―No sir I don't.‖
―Do you, based on your long experience, have any idea why a man who had just killed two people, would leave two witnesses, Flossie Rice and Nettie Buckley, alive, when he clearly had the ability to kill them?‖
Wilcoxson stood. ―Calls for pure speculation, your honor. The witness can‘t know what was on the mind of another person.‖
―Officer Spurlock is an experienced policeman. Counsel is asking for comment based on that experience. I'll allow it. You may answer, officer.‖
―No sir I don‘t have no idea at all.‖
―Now, in your reports, you indicate that you personally drove Mrs. Rice from Budville to Albuquerque for the purpose of undergoing psychological counseling and hypnosis. Is that correct?‖
―Yes, it is. I'd need to check my notes, but I believe it was six or seven times. I took her to see Doctor McArthur and Sol Gold up in Albuquerque. Medical Arts Square just off Lomas Boulevard.‖
―What gave you the idea to take Mrs. Rice and Nettie Buckley to this kind of treatment in the first place?‖
―It wasn't no idea of mine. I thought the whole thing was purely sheep-dip.‖
―I don't understand, officer,‖ Pratt said, ―I though you were the one that....‖
―Objection, your honor. Not relevant,‖ Wilcoxson said.
―Your honor,‖ Pratt said before the judge could speak, ―it's relevant to the way this case has been handled by the prosecution from the very beginning. As I recall it, you and I both, your honor, were led to believe at the motions hearing that Officer Spurlock was solely responsible for the hypnosis. In fact, Mrs. Rice testified that it was officer Spurlock's idea. If he wasn't responsible for this unorthodox procedure, I certainly think it is relevant that we know who was.‖
―Your recollection and mine are the same. The objection is overruled.‖
―Whose idea was it, officer Spurlock?‖ Pratt asked.
―Captain Mat Torrez told me to tell Flossie Rice it was my idea, but he said Assistant District Attorney Don Wilcoxson ordered it.‖
―This is hearsay on hearsay, your honor, and I object to it.‖
―Your objection is noted,‖ Judge Ziram said with a hard edge to his voice. ―Bailiff, please remove the jury. Now,‖ he said after the jury left, ―Officer Spurlock, is it your testimony that Captain Torrez told you to represent to Mrs. Rice that she undergo hypnosis, at your suggestion, when in fact it was done at the order of Mr. Wilcoxson?‖
―Yes sir. That‘s what Captain Torrez told me.‖
―It's convenient to Mr. Spurlock, your honor,‖ Wilcoxson said, ―that Mat Torrez is dead and can't set the record straight.‖
―That cuts both ways,‖ the judge said. ―Now, Mr. Wilcoxson, I ask: did you order Mrs. Rice to undergo psychiatric treatment and hypnotic therapy?‖
A degree of self-assurance abandoned Wilcoxson. ―Captain Torrez and I discussed the possibility and usefulness of that kind of treatment, but I don't recall....‖
―We're at a stand-off here. Neither side can prove the point.‖ Judge Ziram took a drink of water. ―Mr. Wilcoxson, I don't like this one iota. I‘m aware of your reputation for hard charging, for taking short cuts with the judicial process. I overlooked your failure to provide the defense with a complete investigative file, and I won't belabor the point, but I will tell you that you are within a hair's breadth of a mistrial and a letter to the Bar Association.‖
―Your honor, I....‖
―You know where you stand, Mr. Wilcoxson. A hair‘s breadth. Bailiff, bring the jury back in.‖
The jury members shuffled into their seats.
―Ladies and gentlemen,‖ Judge Ziram said to the jury, ―I think I understand how annoying and frustrating it is for you to be removed from the courtroom from time to time. I'd like to take a minute to tell you why it happens. First, you should know that I am the only one who can ask you as a group to be removed and you should not attach any significance to it, no matter which attorney it may seem to relate to. Second, you should know that no information about this case is being kept from you. What is being discussed are procedural matters that have no direct bearing on the facts in this case. These matters have to do with what information may be properly presented to you. Your patience in dealing with the inconvenience is appreciated by the court.‖ He leaned back in his chair. ―You may proceed, Mr. Pratt.‖
―Officer Spurlock, were you present during these sessions between Dr. McArthur, Sol Gold and Flossie Rice?‖
―Yes, I was. My orders was to observe everything that went on and write reports on it.‖
―Did you observe Mrs. Rice being placed in hypnotic trance?‖
―I can't say I did. 'Course, I don't know hypnosis from hydrophobia. Seemed to me they just talked to each other, back and forth.‖
―Thank you, officer.‖ Pratt walked back to the defense table and picked up a yellow legal pad. ―Did you ever determine, officer, during the course of your investigation, the amount of any life insurance in force on either Bud Rice or Blanche Brown?‖
―Objection. Mr. Pratt has no basis for that question.‖
―It's a fairly standard question in homicide investigations, I believe, your honor. I just wondered if the question was asked.‖
―I wonder, too. Objection overruled.‖
―No, we didn't ask, far's I know.‖ Spurlock said.
―Why not?‖
The officer hesitated. ―Because if we‘d asked it, Chief Scarberry would of fired somebody.‖
―I don't understand,‖ Pratt said.
―Your honor, this seems a bit far afield.‖
―You've taken that far enough, Mr. Pratt. Move on.‖
―Just one more question, your honor. Officer Spurlock, under direct examination, you said you processed what was left of the physical evidence. What did you mean by ‗what was left?‘‖
―By the time I got there and went to work on crime scene, somewheres between fifteen and twenty people had already had access to it. No tellin‘ what was there to begin with.‖
―Such as?‖
Spurlock stared at Wilcoxson. ―Well, I believe at least seven shots were fired. Three hit Bud Rice, two hit Miss Brown, one hit the file cabinet and one made a hole in the wall. Alls we ever found were three slugs and five spent cartridges. That‘s all that was left.‖
―Are you suggesting that other officers picked up evidence for souvenirs?‖
―Objection,‖ Wilcoxson said, standing. ―Calls for speculation.‖
―I‘ll allow it.‖
―I‘m not suggestin‘ anything, Mr. Pratt. All I‘m sayin‘ is there should of been those fourteen items of evidence: seven cartridges and seven slugs. What was found amounted to five cartridges and three slugs. So far‘s I know, the other six items was never located. I don‘t know what happened to them.‖
―That's all I have, your honor.‖
―Redirect, Mr. Wilcoxson?‖
―Yes your honor. Officer Spurlock, you took Mrs. Rice's original statement, didn't you, on the morning after the crimes were committed?‖
―Yes. It was afternoon, though.‖
―During Mrs. Rice's visits to Dr. McArthur and Mr. Gold, did she say anything that contradicted anything she'd said in her original statement?‖
―No. It all seemed pretty much the same thing to me.‖
―Did she add anything?‖
―Not that I recall.‖
―Did she seem to omit anything, or leave anything out?‖
―I don't think so. It all sounded real familiar.‖
―Would it be your testimony that, of your own personal knowledge and experience, you could not say that Mrs. Flossie Rice was ever under a hypnotic trance?‖
―I surely couldn't swear that she was.‖
―Thank you, Officer Spurlock.‖
―You're welcome, Mister Wilcoxson.‖
―Thank you officer Spurlock,‖ Judge Ziram said. ―Court stands in recess for fifteen minutes.