by BobA. Troutt
*****
The Fall of Autumn
The Triple Creek Murder
The Fulton Fuller High School class of 1947 was having their thirty year reunion at Triple Creek Park in Hanestown, North Carolina about ten miles south of Raleigh in Gilmore County. It was autumn and the park was beautiful with the trees all dressed in fall colors. The sky was a crystal clear blue as it awaited the approaching of winter and the sun was aglow; it was a perfect time and place for their class reunion. That Saturday morning, they had a casual get-together in the park. As they ate donuts and drank coffee, the old friends and buddies reminisced about the good old days. That evening, all the classmates along with their husbands and wives had an informal dinner in the park’s recreation room. They all gathered for a group picture before they enjoyed the catered meal. Old songs of their high school days played in the background while some of them socialized and others danced. As the evening winded down, they recognized the classmates who had changed the most and those who hadn’t. They also had a moment of silence for all the classmates who had passed away. The reunion was a success; everyone had a great time and enjoyed seeing each other again. Once again, after their reunion ended, they all went their separate ways. Most of them probably wouldn’t see each other again until the next reunion.
Early Sunday morning, the Hanestown police received a phone call from Jerry Gammons. He informed them his wife, Holly, hadn’t come home from her class reunion. He told them she had left the house Saturday morning to attend her class reunion at Triple Creek Park. He let them know he didn’t go with her because he was scheduled to work. He was worried because he hadn’t seen or heard from her since Saturday morning. Plus, she had always contacted him if she was going to be late or wasn’t going to come home. Jerry was afraid she’d had a wreck and was in the hospital. But, he had already called the hospital and she was not there. The police told him Holly would have to be missing for 48 hours before they could investigate. Jerry gave them the description of her car and told them he was going to bring them a picture of her. When he got to the police station, Detective Bruce was there. Jerry hadn’t been there a good two minutes when Detective Bruce got a call from an officer on patrol. He had found a car parked not far from Triple Creek Park. Detective Bruce asked the officer for a description of the car; it was definitely Holly’s car. Detective Bruce and Jerry immediately left and headed to the park. When they arrived, the officer informed them there was no sign of Holly. The officer and Detective Bruce searched the inside of the car but didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. Detective Bruce asked Jerry if he had a key to start the car; he wanted to see if it would crank. When Jerry got into the car and turned the key, it cranked right up. Next, they checked the trunk and expected to find the worse but it was empty. Detective Bruce called the station and had an APB put out on Holly and also requested for other officers to be sent to the park so a search could be started. As they waited for the other officers, Detective Bruce asked Jerry if there was any way that she might have left with someone else.
Jerry replied, “No, I don’t believe so. If she did or something was wrong, she would have called me.”
“Does she have any family around here that she might have stayed with?” asked Detective Bruce.
“She is from here but her parents passed a few years ago and her brother, Jacob, lives out of town,” Jerry replied.
“Do you know where?” Detective Bruce asked.
“No, I don’t,” Jerry stated.
“Don’t take this the wrong way but I have to ask you this. Would she have left with another man?”
“No, she wouldn’t.”
“Were you all having marital problems?”
“No, our relationship was fine,” Jerry answered with a frustrated tone.
“Were you at home all day Saturday?” asked the detective.
“I was except for when I went to work.”
“Did anyone see you there?” questioned Detective Bruce.
“No,” replied Jerry. “I was by myself. Just what are you insinuating?” he asked. “I love my wife and there is no boyfriend or girlfriend; I can assure you that.”
“Calm down, Jerry. We have to investigate all possibilities.”
“I understand, detective, but it seems like you are considering me a suspect.”
“Anytime a wife or husband disappears or gets killed, the spouse is always a person of interest,” explained Detective Bruce.
About that time, the other officers arrived on the scene. Detective Bruce filled them in and instructed them to do a thorough search of the park. Once they left to search the park, he continued questioning Jerry.
“Jerry, do you know who was in charge of the reunion so I can talk with them and get a list of names of all the attendees at the reunion? One of them may have seen or heard something that will help us locate your wife.”
Jerry thought for a minute but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember the name. It was right on the tip of his tongue.
“Betsy…Barbara or Bentley,” he mumbled. “It was Betsy Bentley. Yes, that’s her name and I believe she still lives around her. However, I’m not sure.”
“I’ll check in to it,” replied Detective Bruce.
“If you don’t mind, detective, I would like to help with the search.”
“Go ahead, Jerry. I’m going to question a few of the people at the park to see if anyone saw or heard anything.”
They searched for about two hours but there was no sign of Holly or anything out of the ordinary. Detective Bruce questioned several people in the park but he didn’t find out anything either. He called off the search until the next day and told Jerry to go home and get some rest.
The next day, Detective Bruce located Betsy Bentley; she still lived in Hanestown. Detective Bruce asked Betsy if Holly attended the class reunion. She told him that she was there at the morning get-together but she didn’t remember seeing her at the evening festivities. However, she did remember that Holly’s car was still there that evening when she left. Betsy gave Detective Bruce the list of classmates who attended the reunion and he thanked her for the information.
“Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” Detective Bruce asked.
“No, not at all,” Betsy replied.
“Was Holly’s brother, Jacob, there?” he asked.
“Her stepbrother, yes, I think so,” she answered. “As a matter of fact, I know he was there because I talked to him. It was the first reunion he ever attended.”
“Do you know how I can get in touch with him?”
“Sure,” she replied. “He lives in Raleigh; his number should be on the list.”
“Well, I really appreciate your help,” Detective Bruce said.
“No problem,” Betsy replied. “I hope and pray you find her safe and sound.”
Detective Bruce left for the station so he could start contacting the classmates on the list. After a couple of hours, he and several other officers had gotten in touch with most of the classmates. Unfortunately, they really didn’t find out much information from any of them. Some of the classmates told them the last time they saw Holly she was walking toward the bathroom. None of them thought much about it when she didn’t return; they thought she had left especially since she didn’t attend the dinner that evening; no one they talked to remembered seeing her there. Since they were not getting any leads from the classmates, Detective Bruce and several of the officers went back to search the park again while the other officers continued trying to contact the classmates they were unable to reach. Detective Bruce instructed them to get in touch with Holly’s stepbrother, Jacob, since he attended the morning get-together; he thought she might have left with him or at least he was hoping she did. When Detective Bruce and the officers reached the park, Jerry was there.
“Jerry, what are you doing here?” questioned Detective Bruce.
“I couldn’t sleep last night and I want to help s
earch for Holly,” he replied. “I can’t sit at home and do nothing.”
“I understand how you feel,” replied Detective Bruce. “All I ask is that you stay with me and do not wander away be yourself.”
“That’s no problem, detective. I don’t want to hinder the search in any way,” replied Jerry.
“Okay, men, we’ll search the bathroom first.”
They searched the bathroom but found nothing. So, they spread out and searched the grounds of the park. It wasn’t long before they found what appeared to be blood on some leaves that led them to Holly’s body buried in a shallow grave; her throat had been cut. Jerry, Holly’s husband, broke down and the officers had to carry him back to his car. Meanwhile, back at the station, one of the officers had finally gotten in touch with Jacob. He told the officer the last time he saw her was the morning of the get-together. He explained to him that he didn’t attend the dinner that evening because he had to go back to Raleigh. About that time, another officer came in and told the officer that Detective Bruce had called in to say they had found Holly’s body and she had been murdered. The officer then told Jacob the bad news.
“Can you tell me what happened?” Jacob asked.
“No, I don’t have any specifics right now,” answered the officer. “Her body was just found. Do you think you can come in for questioning?” asked the officer.
“Yeah, sure,” Jacob replied. “I’ll be there in a couple of hours.”
Detective Bruce and the officers continued to search the area for clues and the murder weapon but they weren’t having much luck. The officer at the station radioed Detective Bruce to let him know Jacob was on his way to the station for questioning. Detective Bruce informed him that he was wrapping up things at the park and would be back at the station in a couple of hours. The officer told him that was good because Jacob should arrive at the station at about the same time. Holly was pronounced dead at the scene and her body was sent to the medical examiner for an autopsy. After searching the area thoroughly, Detective Bruce and the officers went back to the station. They hadn’t been there long before Jacob arrived. An officer escorted Jacob to Detective Bruce’s office. They each introduced themselves and shook hands. Detective Bruce told Jacob he appreciated him coming in and he only had a few questions for him.
“Did Holly have any enemies who would want to harm her in any way?” he asked Jacob.
Jacob replied, “None that I know of. After high school we went our separate ways. We didn’t keep in touch that much, especially after our parents died so I really don’t know.”
“Will you be staying around Hanestown for a while?” asked Detective Bruce.
“Yeah,” he replied. “I’ll be here until her funeral and then I’ll head back to Raleigh.”
“Was this your first time ever attending a class reunion?” questioned Detective Bruce.
“Yeah, yeah, it was,” he replied. “I thought I would come and see some of my old classmates. You know, I’m getting older and I might not be able to make it to another one.”
“Did you and Holly have any problems?” inquired Detective Bruce.
“No, not really,” he said. “Just the usual brother and sister spates growing up. I’m sure you know how that is. But, like I said, we lost touch after high school. Do you have any brothers or sisters, Detective Bruce?”
“No, I don’t. I’m an only child,” he said. “But, I understand where you are coming from.”
“Can I go now?” Jacob asked.
“Sure,” replied Detective Bruce. “However, let me get your phone number in case I need to ask you some more questions.”
“No problem, detective. Don’t hesitate to contact me,” he said as he wrote down his number. “Have a good day.”
“You too, Jacob. I’ll keep in touch,” replied Detective Bruce.
A couple of days later, the day of Holly’s funeral, Detective Bruce had not come up with any leads. A few of Holly’s closest friends returned to Hanestown for her funeral. Detective Bruce attended the funeral because he wanted to see if he could get some information from her friends and classmates that would lead him to her killer. After the burial ceremony, he was able to talk with Betsy Bentley again. He asked her if she could tell him a little bit about how Holly was in school.
“She liked to pick on other classmates,” Betsy explained, “and she was constantly picking on Jacob about something; they were always in to it.”
“Can you think of anything that might have happened to cause anyone to harm her?” questioned Detective Bruce.
“No, not really,” she replied. “Well, there was a girl by the name of Ruth Ann Jenkins that committed suicide our senior year of high school. I felt sorry for her because Holly treated her really bad. I never understood why Holly treated her like she did. Ruth Ann’s death brought tragedy to our class. It was so sad and a loss to all of Ruth Ann’s family and friends; she was a shining light to everyone. She moved to Hanestown in the ninth grade. I always believed Holly was jealous of her because everyone paid more attention to Ruth Ann than they did Holly. Ruth Ann was an easygoing and carefree girl. Ruth Ann came from a poor but good family. They weren’t as fortunate as some. She was an only child and it devastated her family when she killed herself. No one ever understood why she did it.”
“Is there anything else you can think of?” inquired Detective Bruce.
“Well, I don’t know for sure but I believe Jacob had a crush on Ruth Ann in high school. Jacob was shy so he really never tried to pursue her; he definitely didn’t want anyone to know, especially Holly because she would have picked at him and Ruth Ann more than she did. After Ruth Ann’s death, Jacob changed a lot.”
“What do you mean?” asked the detective.
“He was just different and he stayed to himself. He stopped hanging out with his friends. All he wanted to do was stay at home. All he did was go to school and back home. He distanced himself from everyone, even his family.”
As they were talking, Tommy, one of the classmates who attended the class reunion walked up and asked Detective Bruce if he could speak with him.
“Go ahead, detective. I need to get back home anyway,” stated Betsy.
“If you think of anything else, Betsy, please give me a call,” replied Detective Bruce.
“Sir, I know you’re investigating Holly’s murder. I don’t know if this will be any help to you but I was in the men’s bathroom at the park when Jacob came in. He seemed disoriented and kind of out of it. I spoke to him but he didn’t say anything so I went back to the get-together.
“Did Jacob come back to the get-together?” asked Detective Bruce.
“No, he didn’t,” he answered. “I didn’t see him again after that.”
“Did you see Holly anywhere around the bathroom?” questioned Detective Bruce.
“No, I didn’t,” he said.
“Tommy, thank you for your help,” stated Detective Bruce. “I appreciate you coming forward and if you can think of anything else, here’s my card. Just give me a call.”
About that time, as Jacob was getting into his car to leave, Detective Bruce hollered for him.
“Hey, Jacob, hold up a minute! Are you headed back to Raleigh?” he asked.
“Yes, sir, I need to get back,” he replied. “I have to go back to work.”
“I was wondering if you could come back down to the station,” stated Detective Bruce. “There are a few more questions I need to ask you.”
“Well, I guess,” he said. “It won’t take long, will it?”
“No, it shouldn’t take but a few minutes,” replied Detective Bruce.
“Can’t you ask me here?” questioned Jacob.
“Well, I really need to do it down at the station,” said Detective Bruce. “You don’t mind do you?”
“No, I don’t guess,” Jacob replied. “I’ll follow you there.”
“Okay, thanks,” said the detective. “I reall
y appreciate it and I promise it won’t take long.”
It was only a short drive to the station. Once they arrived, Detective Bruce took him to the interrogation room and immediately started questioning Jacob.
“What can you tell me about a Ruth Ann Jenkins?” asked Detective Bruce.
“She was one of my classmates. Why?” Jacob replied.
“She committed suicide your senior year, didn’t she,” stated the detective.
“Yeah, she did,” he agreed. “What does that have to do with me?”
“From what I understand, your sister, Holly bullied her at school,” stated the detective.
“Yeah, Holly was always picking on somebody,” he replied. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Did she pick on you?” he asked.
“Yeah, she did,” he replied. “Holly picked on a lot of people.”
“She picked on you and Ruth Ann more than anyone, didn’t she,” said Detective Bruce.
“Well, sort of,” he answered. “What are you trying to say, detective? Do you think I killed Holly because she picked on me? That’s absolutely crazy!” he yelled. “Is this all you wanted to talk to me about? Holly was mean to a lot of people in school; she always had a chip on her shoulder about something.”
“But, she picked on Ruth Ann more than anyone else,” said the detective, “including you.”
“I’ve got to go,” Jacob said with frustration as he stood up to leave.
“Sit back down, Jacob!” shouted Detective Bruce. “I’m not finished, yet.”
“You can’t hold me here,” he replied. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Well, if you haven’t done anything wrong, you won’t mind answering a few more questions. Now, sit down!” ordered the detective
Jacob sat down and dropped his head in his hands. Detective Bruce noticed that he seemed a little more nervous and agitated than when he first came in. His hands were trembling and his legs were shaking.
“I promise you I don’t know nothing,” he said. “Can I go?”
“Not yet. I’ll let you know when you can leave,” replied the detective.
“I want to call my lawyer before I answer any more questions,” Jacob stated.
“I have no problem with you contacting your lawyer,” Detective Bruce said. “You can use the phone here in the interrogation room.”
Detective Bruce left the interrogation room and told one of the officers to keep an eye on him. As he was headed to his office, he heard someone calling his name. It was Mark Williams; Mark was a private eye who used to work as a policeman. He and Detective Bruce had been friends for a long time. Mark had been checking Jacob’s background for Detective Bruce. Mark had just gotten back from Raleigh and he had some interesting information for him.
“You got a minute to talk, Bruce?” asked Mark.
“Sure, come on into my office so we can talk in private,” replied Detective Bruce. “Hold on just a second. Officer, when he finishes his phone call, keep him in there and don’t let him leave.”
“Yes, sir,” replied the officer.
“Come on in, Mark, and have a seat. Now, tell me what you found out,” said Detective Bruce.
“Jacob and Holly were half-brother and sister. Jacob is currently under psychiatric care and he sees a therapist regularly,” Mark said. “When Jacob and Holly were growing up, their parents were aware of the problems between them but they never did anything about it. Holly always had the upper hand on Jacob. She was the one who always started the fights but Jacob was the only one ever punished. The therapist told me the hostility Jacob grew up with changed him and caused him to have a lot of anger and hatred in his heart. Holly hated Jacob’s dad and she took her anger out on Jacob. Their mother always took Holly’s side and made it hard on Jacob. Holly’s dad was killed in a car wreck and she never got over it. She was crazy about her daddy; she couldn’t accept his death. She was a hurt and disturbed girl with a lot of problems. Her mother met Jacob’s dad a few years after Holly’s dad was killed. Jacob believed that Holly’s meanness caused Ruth Ann to commit suicide. Jacob fell in love with Ruth Ann the first year she came to Hanestown but he was so shy when it came to girls. He never let anyone know how he felt about Ruth Ann. But, somehow Holly found out and she teased him all the time about being in love with Ruth Ann. Jacob never let Ruth Ann know his true feelings about her. Holly did everything she could to make it hard on both of them because she hated them both. Jacob tried his best to protect Ruth Ann from Holly. But, Holly’s anger and hatred was more than either of them could bear. So, that is what they think was the cause of Ruth Ann’s suicide and the reason Jacob is the way he is today,” explained Mark.
“And, after all those years,” stated Detective Bruce, “Jacob came back for revenge.”
“Seems like it,” said Mark. “Ruth Ann’s death was ruled a suicide because she cut her wrists and bled to death. There was no investigation. Holly’s bullying of Ruth Ann was never taken in to consideration. However, from the way I understand it, Jacob knew different. As the years passed, Jacob never married because he still loved Ruth Ann, his first and only love. His doctors tried to work with him through the years but his sickness was so deep they couldn’t reach him. He was prescribed medication but half the time he didn’t take it and would have to be admitted back into the hospital so he wouldn’t harm himself or anyone else.”
Detective Bruce pitched his glasses onto his desk, leaned back in his chair and said, “That’s all well and good but we still don’t have any hard evidence against him. All we have is his medical report. We don’t have any witnesses or a murder weapon. However, what I think we do have is a thirty-year-old motive. I have one of my officers watching Jacob in the interrogation room. I want you to come with me so I can ask him some more questions.”
“No problem, Bruce, whatever you need me to do,” replied Mark.
When they got to the interrogation room, a local lawyer was there with him. The lawyer told Jacob not to answer any more questions. He also told Detective Bruce he had no solid evidence against Jacob and he couldn’t detain him any longer. Detective Bruce paused for a few minutes, looked at Mark and then at Jacob and his lawyer.
“You can go for now,” stated Detective Bruce. “But, I’ll be watching your every move.”
“Have a good day, detective,” stated the lawyer as he and Jacob left the room.
“I know he killed his sister, Mark,” said Detective Brue. “But, I don’t have enough strong evidence to prove it.”
“I believe you’ll eventually get a break in the case and it will probably come sooner than you expect,” Mark replied.
“I hope you’re right because all I have right now is speculation.”
“Well, I got to go,” stated Mark. “If you need me, you know how to get in touch with me.”
“Thanks a lot, Mark,” said Detective Bruce. “It was good to see you again.”
A week later, Detective Bruce got a break in the case. A jogger had found a knife when he was jogging. Fortunately, the jogger knew someone had been murdered in the area so he didn’t pick up the knife. He contacted the police and told them his location and what he had found. When the officer arrived, the jogger was waiting to show him the exact location of the knife. After the officer got the jogger’s name and contact information, he had the jogger to show him the knife. Sure enough, it appeared to be covered with dried blood. The officer put the knife in an evidence bag, thanked the jogger and headed back to the station; he radioed Detective Bruce to let him know he had something he would be interested in. When the officer arrived at the station, Detective Bruce was waiting for him; he was so elated when the officer held up the evidence bag with the knife in it. He immediately sent it to the lab to be dusted for fingerprints and to have the dried blood tested. A few days later, he received the results. The fingerprints on the knife belonged to Jacob and the blood was Holly’s; it was defin
itely the murder weapon. With the autopsy report that stated Holly died as a result of her throat being cut, Jacob’s fingerprints and Holly’s blood on the knife along with Jacob’s medical report, Detective Bruce knew he had what he needed to charge Jacob with first degree murder.
Detective Bruce put out an APB on Jacob and contacted the authorities in Raleigh. The Raleigh police went to Jacob’s apartment but he was not there and he wasn’t at work either. They checked at a few places he normally visited but no one had seen him in several days; he seemed to have disappeared. A couple of days later, Detective Bruce got a call from the Raleigh Police Department; Jacob had been found. They wanted him to meet them at the old depot train station warehouse in Raleigh. Within a couple of hours, Detective Bruce was in Raleigh. As soon as he pulled up at the warehouse and saw it roped off with crime scene tape, he had a gut feeling that Jacob was dead. Sure enough, when he stepped inside the warehouse, he saw a body covered with a sheet. He went over and pulled the sheet back; it was Jacob. He had committed suicide. The officer in charge handed him a suicide note that was found next to the body and a box of old love letters he had written to Ruth Ann but had never given to her. He opened the suicide note and read it to himself.
The suicide note read, I saw Holly going to the bathroom located over the hill from the morning get-together. I slipped away from my classmates and grabbed her as she was coming out of the bathroom. She put up a little bit of a struggle but I was able to overpower her and drag her in to the woods where I cut her throat. I dug a shallow grave near the creek, put her in it and covered her with the dirt and leaves. I threw the knife as far away as I could from where I buried her. I didn’t go back to the get-together; I went home. When I got home, I took a shower and laid on my bed. That’s when I realized I shouldn’t have thrown the knife away. I got up and drove back to Hanestown to see if I could find the knife but I couldn’t so I drove right back to Raleigh. When I killed Holly, I had been off my medication for about three or four weeks.
After reading Jacob’s suicidal confession, Detective Bruce went back to Hanestown and closed the case.
