The Forgotten Tape That Sent a Killer to Prison After 33 Years

The Forgotten Tape That Sent a Killer to Prison After 33 Years

A single four-minute twenty-second microcassette sat untouched in a detective's box for thirty-three years while the wrong man lost everything; a fleece-lined brown glove, a porch light still on at 6:17 a.m., and a utility vehicle "on and off" in the alley were all recorded in the files. Who made the April ninth, 1983 call to the Water Authority that preceded a witness recantation and ultimately reopened the case?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of evidence pulled from old canvass notes, employment records, and the microcassette that changed the investigation's course. Listen for the detail that tied a parked vehicle, a recorded caller, and a recanted eyewitness together into a new line of inquiry.

Person: Paula Riley Date: November 14, 1982 Location: Kellum Avenue Case: Homicide by blunt-force trauma Recording length: 4 minutes 20 seconds

- A single right-handed brown fleece-lined leather glove was found on top of an unread newspaper at 6:17 a.m, on November 14, 1982. - Detective Raymond Purcell charged Terry Schiff in February 1983, then charges were dropped after two witnesses recanted in April 1983. - A microcassette labeled with a phone call to the Water Authority on April 9, 1983, sat in Purcell's files for thirty-three years. - Officer Jim Betz noted a utility vehicle parked in Kellum Alley "on and off for several days before the incident" in a November 15, 1982 canvass entry. - Detective Valerie Armstrong listened to the April 9, 1983 tape twice, noted the caller asking about Frank Obert, and marked one word in her notes: "who".

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