Delayed Justice

This past week I had business in Charlotte, the scene of the 2002 murder of Roberto Higüey Alejandro Caraballo, 37, also dubbed “Jack in the Box,” by investigator Detective Bob Donker (retired) for the manner in which he was found…his corpse burned beyond recognition and identification in a footlocker that had been carried (not dragged) into a wood near a blueberry field south of Grand Haven. I looked for the address of what Eaton County investigators have identified as the scene of his murder, 334 Horatio. Investigators found evidence that indicates that he was assaulted in the basement here.

Arrested March 18th for the July 29, 1986 murder of Wilda Wilkinson, Michael Curry was released April 26, according to Channel 8, WOODTV8.

Reporter Leon Hendrix says that the VanBuren County prosecuting attorney will be giving more details next week.

The day after the press conference, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request with Eaton County seeking information about the arrest warrants. I wanted to know more of the story. It was denied in large part and only the arrest complaints were granted. That was something. What I SHOULD HAVE asked for was a copy of the swear-to hearing that outlined much of the crime directly from the court. I’ve been schooled, thank you very much. And here it is. This is what I was after:

Note the start and end times: 5-5:16 p.m. It sure looks like this hearing was intended to be out of the public view. The court closes its doors at 5 p.m. Is there a compelling reason for all this to be in secret? That’s up to the prosecutor and judge to explain. There was only one person giving testimony, Detective James Maltby, and he worked for the county, so he could have been ordered to appear just about any time.

Doing the people’s business in secret is not doing the people’s business.

Lansing State Journal reporter Kara Berg has really done her job. Here is the beginning of the story of what happened.

Here is the victim, the son of teachers, a father, and allegedly murdered by his wife, stepdaughter, and her friend.

The idea that Roberto Caraballo was still alive when a plastic bag was put over his head to suffocate him…. When I made the film investigators gave that as one possibility. The other was the there was so much blood that it had to be caught. Much more to come.

Christopher Wayne McMillan will be in Eaton County Circuit Court April 19 (scheduled for 8:30 a.m.) for a status conference. This may be routine, but one never knows. According to his attorney, John Deming, he is unlikely to be there to allocute.

Mr. McMilland is accused of murdering (homicide–open murder), conspiring to murder, and mutilating the body of Roberto Higüey Alejandro Caraballo on or about May 7, 2002. His bail was set at $1 million and he is now in the custody of the Eaton County Jail. He is changed with co-defendants Beverly McCallum and her daughter Dineane Ducharme. Ms. DuCharme is being extradited from a jail in Texas. Ms. McCallum is in the wind, perhaps in Pakistan, according to Sheriff Tom Reich in his presser of April 4.

Mr. McMillan comes to circuit court after waiving his right to a preliminary hearing in district court.

The arrest warrants for the three were issued November 7 of last year. How long has he been in custody? The officer at the booking desk in the county jail indicates that he has been there since November 8, the day after the warrants were issued. So, about five months, a long time. And it wasn’t until a reporter for the Lansing State Journal, Kara Berg, came across the case, that the matter was brought to light, perhaps as a result of her noting that on March 26 the court scheduled the status conference in a murder case, previously unremarked.

There is a notice on his arrest complaint that his DNA is on file from a previous case. I am sure all that will be forthcoming.

So, this Friday is Good Friday.