Overkill: Avenging the Death of Deputy Grant Whitaker |
Sunday morning December 15, 2016
At 2:10 a.m. Sunday morning, Sandie Hale is awakened by the ringing of Tony Hildabridle's phone. It is John Kelsey. He asks for Tony. He says he's just run from the police. Sandie thinks he's telling her that just to get her to awaken Tony. She tells John she'll have Tony call him back, and she goes back to sleep. (V4-150)
Brian Hildabridle gets a call at 2:18. It is John, and he sounds scared. He says he doesn't know what to do; he thought he might have been involved in a police chase on the back roads of Stockbridge. Brian goes back to bed, but talks by phone to John the next morning (Sunday) at about 10:20. Brian has read about the crash on Facebook. He tells John he hopes it was not him. John is freaking out, saying he doesn't know what to do. (V5-94)
Brian sees John the next day, December 8, at Jerry Strunk's house in Pinckney. Jerry is a metal scrapper and has a junk yard of sorts, with vehicles all over the property. At the trial, Brian testifies that John swapped out a vehicle, but says it was a tan Chevy Blazer rather than a white SUV. (V5-98)
The car is reassembled in the roadway.
The reason Whitaker lost control seems to be a series of dips in the road. The loading and unloading of the car's suspension going over those dips likely affected the steering. (V3-33) There is no sign of the vehicle being pursued.
The next day, the State Police set up a command center and a tip line with a $10,000 reward offered through Crimestoppers. Tips start coming in and are assigned to police investigators. Although the only crime known to have been committed is speeding and eluding police, 50-60 State Police officers with various specialties participate in the investigation at one time or another. (V7-58) John Coryell Kelsey II, a 34-year old Stockbridge resident, becomes the prime suspect. Several people in the area knew Kelsey to drive a big white SUV before the accident, but say they have not seen it since. Secretary of State records reveal that a 2003 white GMC Yukon Denali XL is registered to Kelsey's father.
Police can't seem to catch John Kelsey at his home at 4109 Morton Rd, so they pay a visit to Frank Kelsey and Marsha McGarry, John's parents. Two of John's sisters arrive later. All of them deny knowing the whereabouts of the 2003 Yukon Denali XL. (V6-174)
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