by John Coston
Catherine told the detectives that prior to that, she had seen her grandson on the previous Friday, which was his birthday, when she gave him some toy cars.
The next thing she knew, Ellen showed up at her apartment and said that Steven had been taken to Cardinal Glennon. Catherine said she hurriedly changed clothes and took a cab to the hospital, where she met her daughter. The grandmother had no idea what had killed Steven, but she speculated that the immunizations he had received over the weekend may have had something to do with it. She also said she knew that Ellen and Stacy were scheduled for some tests at the hospital on December 21st.
The men thanked her for her time and left.
In the last few days of December, another medical loop was closed. Dr. Graham had obtained a copy of an EKG performed on David when he was admitted to Children’s Hospital. It suggested no abnormalities. When Steven was admitted to Children’s Hospital in April 1988, suffering a seizure, doctors there didn’t administer an EKG, but they did when he was admitted to Cardinal Glennon the day he died. Dr. Brumberg had found the results to be normal. There was no evidence of Prolonged QT Syndrome. On December 27th, Dr. Brumberg advised Sergeant Burgoon the results of tests conducted on Ellen and her daughter showed no evidence of abnormality.
Joe closed out the remaining days of the year preparing a report for his superiors. It was to be more than a fat stack of papers that would wind up on a desk for review. No, Lieutenant Colonel James Hackett, the deputy chief of the investigative bureau, and Captain Robert Bauman would want a full briefing in the fourth-floor conference room. The veteran detective knew that he lacked physical evidence, but the circumstances in this case certainly pointed ominously to foul play. He wanted to look into the hair dryer incident. He wanted to know so much more about this woman, Ellen Kay Booker Boehm. Had she killed her boys for the insurance money? How had she done it? Had anyone else been involved?
Just as he expected, Colonel Hackett wanted a full briefing. Word spread through the section that he was summoning detectives from other sections to attend the session, now scheduled for the morning of January 2nd. Right up to the day before he was to submit his report, Joe nagged himself with the details. What had he overlooked?
What was it about Ellen’s scattershot style in buying the insurance? Were there other policies? Why had she stopped at $97,000 for each child? Was there double indemnity on Stacy, who had had a near-fatal accident?
He enlisted the help of Thomas Wiber, a fellow homicide detective, and the two of them called as many insurance companies as they could find. They were canvassing to learn if Ellen had bought more than she had told them about.
When they dialed the number of the Gerber Insurance Company, they were connected to Barbara Gregg.
“Yes,” she said, “that application was made on August 29th, 1989, for $20,000 life insurance on Ellen B. and $3,000 on each of the children, Stacy B. and Steven B.”
When asked if the claim had been paid on Steven, Ms. Gregg explained that the policies were held in abeyance, due to a question about Steven’s health. She cited the incident of hypoglycemia in April 1988. But she added that both policies were, in fact, issued. The date was October 18th, 1989.
Ellen had applied for these policies by mail. When she got the letter of notification back for Steven, he was already dead and buried.
A Detective’s Questions
Detectives representing Homicide, Auto Theft, Sex Crime, and Child Abuse sections assembled in the fourth-floor conference room. The Boehm case was the first order of business for the day. Everyone had received copies of all the memos and notes in the case file. They were briefed on what had been done to date. One by one, these seasoned detectives would finish and slide back a little in their chairs, waiting for everyone to be done. When the time came, the question on everyone’s lips was the same: “What are we going to do about this?”
They all knew of other cases of women killing their own child. It was really not that rare. They were familiar even with cases in which the mother had killed several children, and they knew that a lot of the time, these kinds of cases fell through the cracks. Sometimes mothers avoided detection by moving from one community to another. In others, murders went undetected because of the lack of centralized record-keeping.
The men and women who discussed the known facts about Case No. 91146623 were also well aware of the sensational Paula Sims case, which was still in the headlines because her trial was set to begin in less than a week, on January 8th. The December pretrial proceedings had continued to capture page one headlines and top billing on the TV news.
Still, Joe Burgoon had a hunch that this case was different. Normally, when a mother kills her children, she suffers from some personality or mental disorder. Was that the case here, though? Or, Joe wondered, had Ellen killed her children as a way of making money?
That’s exactly what Colonel Hackett and Captain Bauman wanted to know. They ordered an in-depth investigation, and named five men and women to a cross-departmental task force. Detective Sergeant Burgoon would head the list. Detective Thomas Wiber from Homicide, who was already working the case, was named as well. Walter Waggoner, a detective from Auto Theft, Rochelle Jones, a detective from the Sex Crimes unit, and Detective Daryl Cordia from Child Abuse completed the roster.
The team spent part of the rest of the day mapping strategy. Hackett’s idea was to establish a priority team. It brought together a wide range of talent. Detective Cordia had extensive knowledge of family-based cases. Detective Waggoner was a very good digger from his auto theft cases. Detective Jones, though being from Sex Crimes, had worked extensively with Homicide on other cases. They carved up assignments and planned to hit the pavement in force the next day.
But Joe couldn’t wait. He spent what little part of the day that was left at the funeral home that had handled the arrangements for Steven, primarily to find out what insurance had been listed by Ellen. At Wacker-Helderle Funeral Home, he was told by Patricia Lauer that Ellen had buried David through the Gebken-Benz Funeral Home, and that she said she wasn’t satisfied with the service. Ellen had never paid the bill, either, which led Ms. Lauer to require Ellen to assign to them the insurance claim for Steven, to cover his funeral expenses.
Joe learned two other facts. One, Ellen had mentioned only one insurer to Ms. Lauer; and two, Ms. Lauer had been surprised that Ellen appeared to be so cold throughout the wake and the funeral. Ms. Lauer didn’t observe any emotion whatsoever, she told the sergeant.
The same day, he checked with Gebken-Benz and verified that the bill for David’s funeral was still outstanding, and that unless it was paid soon, collection action would be initiated.
January 3rd was a full day. Joe started his roster of assignments by making a phone call to the woman who had called Sergeant Duffy shortly after Steven’s death. As it turned out, Joe learned, the woman had made the call not just for herself, but also for Deanne Bond, and she suggested that the detective contact Deanne for more information. What Joe needed, more or less, was to determine if either of them could furnish more details, however insignificant.
Deanne was slightly surprised when he called, not because she never expected to hear from the police. In fact, she had already been advised that she might be brought in for further questioning, and she was willing to cooperate. No, what struck her was the apparent serendipity here. Ellen had also called her that morning.
“She told me she bought a new Lumina about two weeks before Christmas,” Deanne said.
Sergeant Burgoon asked Deanne if she knew what Ellen had paid for the car.
“Yeah, she said she paid $11,000.”
“Okay,” the detective kept it going. “Anything else?”
“I asked her how she had been able to get the payments down low enough, and she said she had saved some money and made a down payment.”
In other words, Ellen had avoided the question. She had also thrown in a remark about how she hadn’t traded in her old car because she planned to sel
l it herself.
“Uh-huh.”
“Then,” Deanne said, “she wanted to know if I knew anyone from Homicide, and I told her that I knew a detective working in that unit.” Deanne hadn’t really wanted to go into it with Ellen, because she certainly didn’t want Ellen to suspect anything. Deanne had been relieved when Ellen let it drop.
Later that same day, Ellen called back. This time she wanted to tell Deanne that the doctors didn’t know what caused the boys’ deaths, and that she was worried about Stacy. Deanne didn’t go out of her way to remind Ellen that she had called her only two weeks ago saying that the boys had died from some fatal heart rhythm, or ask why it was a different story today.
As for Stacy, Ellen had no way of knowing that Deanne was also quite concerned about the little girl, but not for any medical reason.
In the meantime, Detective Waggoner headed out to Weber Chevrolet to run down the facts about the new car purchase. Later, detectives Waggoner and Wiber would head to the South Side to find the maintenance supervisor at Riverbend Apartments, hoping to learn more about the reported hair dryer incident. Detectives Cordia and Jones made an appointment to talk with Erelene Turner at Family Services. Detective Wiber would also begin follow-ups with the insurance companies, starting with Shelter Insurance Company.
Deanne wasn’t the only one worried about Stacy at this point. Detective Cordia, from her experience in the Child Abuse Section, saw some risk, and she mentioned it. Everyone talked it over, and they decided to take the matter up to Colonel Hackett, but he had gone home. Captain Bauman was still in the office, so they sought his advice.
“You know,” Joe said, leaning into the doorway, “we’re concerned about the safety of the little girl.”
“Let’s bring her in,” the captain said. “Let’s let her know that we’re looking into this, you know. Kind of put her on notice.”
Captain Bauman knew Burgoon well. Years ago, back when they were both in uniform, they had been partners together. Bauman had gone along for the ride when Joe talked to Karen Grimes, the manager of the apartments. Both men knew that there was something wrong here. They just didn’t know what they had.
When Detective Wiber called the Shelter Insurance Company’s local agent, Sam Bevell, he was referred to Carl Carver in the company’s Columbia offices. Mr. Carver was glad to hear from Detective Wiber, because he was conducting his own investigation into the $30,000 claim. When asked what prompted him to withhold the benefit, Mr. Carver said it was nothing concrete, but rather he felt the lack of a cause of death, combined with the death of the younger sibling and the recent acquisition of the insurance, was reason enough to withhold payment.
Ellen knew that Shelter was balking. She already had received the proceeds from the small Aetna policy at work, and State Farm had paid off just as quickly with a check for $50,000. In fact, Ellen had anticipated that she would be getting rich quick, because she had written a letter to the clerk at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, where she had filed for bankruptcy in the fall of 1987. Ellen requested a payoff figure for her debt, because she said this payment would be made possible by an insurance claim on a child who had recently died. In the letter, Ellen indicated she would be getting a $50,000 settlement. Though she wanted to clear her debt, Ellen was showing signs of churlishness when she stated in the letter that she still owed $16,000 in medical and funeral expenses.
In fact, the outstanding balance of both funerals was $3,942.87 and between David and Steven, medical insurance had paid all but $525.
It was a cold January night. The streets outside were dusted with a fresh snowfall. Police headquarters, which stood fortresslike just off the epicenter of downtown, was a kind of cold place, too. Its entrance was the revolving door for the good guys who come and go all day long, and the bad guys they bring in. It was really no place for a child. Ellen walked through the front door just before seven with Stacy, and almost immediately Detective Jones escorted the little girl away from her mother. Ellen didn’t have much to say to her daughter, and seemed quiet but not very nervous. Stacy would ride the elevator to the fourth floor and into an interview room in the offices of the Sex Crimes unit.
Ellen was asked to join Detectives Cordia and Waggoner in Interview Room 1 of the Homicide Section. As it had been when Ellen met with Sergeant Burgoon, the detectives had questions for Ellen, but they also wanted to let her talk, to see what would voluntarily fall into their lap. Among the many things they wanted to ask about, including hearing Ellen’s own version of events on the nights of the two boys’ deaths, they planned to learn more about the hair dryer incident, and about Ellen’s thoughts on life insurance.
In an outline, Ellen gave the history of her marriage and subsequent divorce, and stated that her former husband, Paul Boehm, had never paid any of the $105 per week child support that was due. Ellen also said she had had no contact with him since their divorce in February of 1987, but had tried to locate him through the Red Cross. She also said that she did not date and had no boyfriends.
When the detectives asked her about activities on the day of Steven’s death, Ellen recited her version again, one that matched what the detectives knew from Todd Andrews and Karen Grimes and the doctors at the hospital. What the detectives didn’t yet know was that Ellen had called her office, in a state of panic, shortly after she had been at her mother’s apartment.
A more profitable subject was insurance. Ellen was first asked about insurance on David. She said that she had had two policies on him. One was a $5,000 policy through work and the other was a $10,000 policy from John Hancock. When she was asked if the policies had paid off when David died, she said both insurance companies had paid up. When the detectives wanted to know what she had done with the money, Ellen said only that she had spent it on different things. Detectives Cordia and Waggoner knew about the policy at work, and made a note about the John Hancock policy.
Then they prompted her about coverage for Steven, and Ellen stated that she had $50,000 coverage on both Steven and Stacy through State Farm. It had cost her $18 a month for Steven and $16 a month for Stacy.
“When did you apply for this?”
“I believe they were taken out in August.”
“Last August?”
“Yeah.”
“Why did you take out a $50,000 policy on a four-year-old child?” the detectives asked.
“I had only intended to take out $30,000, but the agent convinced me.”
“Convinced you, what?”
“He, Bill Reed, convinced me the $50,000 was a better buy.” Here was a flat lie that would later be checked.
Ellen said she also had a $30,000 policy on each child through the Shelter Insurance Company, which cost almost the same amount every month.
“Why did you take out another policy?”
Ellen looked around the room before she answered. “I don’t know,” she said. “It just came out of the blue.”
“And when did you buy the insurance from Shelter?”
“It was around August or September.”
“Of last year?”
“Yeah.”
Detectives Cordia and Waggoner had to prompt Ellen to continue, because she was not forthcoming with any more information about insurance. They knew about the $12,000 policies at United of Omaha, and Ellen verified the information. Again, the detectives asked why she had taken out so much life insurance, and all at the same time. Ellen really didn’t give an answer.
“I just decided to do it,” she said.
The detectives closed the topic and asked Ellen about the incident with the hair dryer. Ellen gave a brief description of Steven dropping the hair dryer into Stacy’s bath, because he wanted to dry the hair on his sister’s Barbie doll. They listened as she explained how she had taken the girl to Children’s Hospital, where she was treated and released.
“Getting back to Steven, Ellen,” they asked, “did you contact his doctor after he started to get sick?”
“No,” Ellen said, “I didn’t
think it was that bad. I never called him the whole weekend.”
The next question was the last one, but it indicated to Ellen that the inquiries from the police were far from over.
“Ellen, would you be willing to submit to a polygraph examination?”
Without hesitation, she nodded. “Yes,” she said. They told her they would be in touch with her ahead of time to let her know the time and place.
Meanwhile, Detective Jones was gentle with Stacy. She could see that the little girl was edgy about being here, and that Stacy sensed a need to defend her mother. “I love my mommy,” Stacy said. “She only spanks me when I do something wrong.”
Detective Jones tried to steer the interview toward more neutral ground. In a soothing tone she said that she just had a few questions. One of them was to ask Stacy about what had happened the night the hair dryer ended up in her bath.
“I had just read The Little Popcorn to Steven,” Stacy said, “and I tucked him in and he was asleep. I told my mommy that I was ready to take my bath, and she ran the water and I got in.”
“Then what happened?”
“I had some of my dolls with me, and I was washing my face and had my eyes closed. Then I heard something fall into the water.
“I splashed some water on my face and looked down and saw it. My mom’s hair dryer. I started to scream and stand up. But something kept pulling me down. Every time I tried to stand up.”
“Was it a person holding you down?”
“No, it wasn’t a person. But every time I tried to stand up, something kept pulling me down.”
Stacy described how she somehow managed to pick up the hair dryer, shut it off and throw it out of the tub. Then, she said, she got out of the tub by herself.
By this time her mother had come in and asked what the problem was. Stacy told Detective Jones that she explained what happened and that her mother told her to get dressed, because she was going to take her to the hospital. Her mother told her she was going to get Todd, the next-door neighbor, to take a look at her, but he wasn’t home.
