Читать книгу Dead And Buried: A True Story Of Serial Rape And Murder - Corey Mitchell - Страница 13

SIX

Captain Bart Topham breathed a sigh of relief when he got more information on the body found in Hungry Valley. It turned out to be an eighteen-year-old runaway from Simi Valleynamed Melinda Marie Brown. Captain Topham cranked up the Rachel Newhouse search team anew and ignored the persistent rumors that swirled around his head like a devilishSanta Ana wind spinning out of control.

Captain Topham and the FBI continued to interview as many San Luis Obispo residents as possible. They spoke with the night manager of Tortilla Flats who estimated that there were probably fifty people in the restaurant on the night of Rachel’s disappearance. He explained to the police that minors,patrons under the age of twenty-one, were allowed into the restaurant on the dance floor side, while those over twenty-one, able to drink alcohol, were allowed on the bar side of the Flats.

The police also viewed more surveillance videotape from Sandy’s Deli and Liquor, located next door to the Flats. As was par for the course, they could not see anything on the tapes. Randy Pound, manager of Spike’s Place, a bar near the Flats that Rachel frequented, told reporters that when interviewed, he claimed that Rachel did not come in on November 12.

Police continued to search the neighborhoods, creeks, and back alleys of San Luis Obispo. They also reinterviewed severalof Rachel’s friends and school acquaintances, but still with no luck.

The Newhouses’hopes began to diminish with each passingday. They desperately wanted to know the results of the blood test. Officers used sample blood from other family members to attempt to make a determination if the Jennifer Street blood was hers. Police took hair from one of Rachel’s hairbrushes. Still, they would have to wait. Rachel’s aunt Stephanie Morreale had a horrible feeling in her gut. Her instinctswere that the blood would belong to her niece and that someone had snatched her out of thin air like a nimble magicianwith evil intentions.

“Rachel was the kind of girl who called home four or five times a week,” she stated with concern. Her niece was not the type to go missing for four weeks without a single word as to her whereabouts.

On Tuesday, December 15, the investigation received some positive news. Governor Pete Wilson kicked in an additional $50,000 in reward money for information that may lead to the discovery of Rachel Newhouse.

In a press release the governor implored, “Rachel is a good student, a loving daughter and a caring friend to many. She has a bright and promising future, and I pray that she is returnedsafely to her family and friends.”

The additional contribution by the governor upped the rewardtotal to more than $110,000. Surprisingly, Chief Gardiner made the request for the additional money.

“Anything we can do to increase the incentive to come forwardwill help,” he added.

On Wednesday Chief Gardiner held a press conference with Jim Edmonds and Peter Morreale. They discussed the reward money, but their real purpose was to keep Rachel’s case in the public eye. They did not want people to become disinterested and not attempt to help locate Rachel Newhouse.Several news outlets and one special guest attended the press conference. A television crew from the hit series America’s Most Wanted was there. They were planning a specialthat would air that Saturday. They wanted to spread the story of Rachel Newhouse to a national audience. The crew was also anxiously awaiting the test results of the blood found on the Jennifer Street Bridge.

News on the blood finally came through on Wednesday, December 16. Captain Topham, however, did not release the information to the public until Friday. The captain informed the press corps that the Department of Justice laboratory in Fresno, California, did not give a specific indication as to whom the blood belonged. They did state, however, that the blood might belong to Rachel Newhouse. The odds that it was hers were quite astronomical—8 million to 1.

It had to be Rachel’s blood.

Captain Topham acknowledged that the results probably meant that Rachel was almost home on November 12, just blocks away. He reiterated also that it did not mean she was dead. He stated that there was not enough blood at the scene to indicate that she may have bled to death on or near the bridge. He stated that more evidence was located at the scene and it belonged to Rachel. He did not mention any other informationthat may have indicated an attacker was present on the bridge with Rachel.

Nevertheless, everyone in the room knew: someone had violentlyattacked Rachel Newhouse less than half a mile away from her quaint, quiet San Luis Obispo home.

Their sanctuary was no more.