Overkill: Avenging the Death of Deputy Grant Whitaker

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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)

At about 3:15 am, about the same time a raid is being conducted on an apartment in Okemos, Michigan State Police Special Sergeant Allan Avery, an accident investigator, arrives at the scene of the crash on Dexter Trail. He finds that the only tire tracks are Whitaker's. By measuring the tracks, he estimates that he was travelling between 109 and 115 mph. The patrol car has an Event Data Recorder, or "black box," and it says the speed was 117 mph. The speedometer shows 84 mph when the car hit the tree. Sergeant Avery testifies later that it is one of the most horrific crashes he's dealt with in 10 years; the way the debris was strewn along the path of travel, it reminded him of a plane crash. (V3-31)

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)