Read Crime Wave: Reportage and Fiction From the Underside of L.A. Page 5

  Inmate Polete waived his right to have a lawyer present. He said he knew the murder they meant. He took a polygraph test in '73 and passed it. The test guy asked him some questions about this woman's murder.

  Stoner said he did not pass the test. The result was "inconclusive."

  Inmate Polete explained. He said the cops asked questions about the other cases before he took the test. The cops asked him about the murder. He got scared and confused. He said, "Yes, I did it," out of fear and frustration.

  Koury and Meyers had not stated that he made a flat-out admission. They said he got right to the brink and retreated.

  'My dad's got heart trouble. This would really kill him."

  Inmate Polete insisted that he did pass the test. Stoner told him that he did not.

  Detective Walker asked Inmate Polete to describe his life in 1973. Inmate Polete said he worked in his dad's print shop. They lived behind the shop. Him, his dad, his mom, and his kid brother.

  He went to Sierra Vista High School. He played the cymbals and the sousaphone in the school band. He went to the Pentecostal Church at Five Points in El Monte and dated the minister's daughter. He worked at C&R Printing part-time.

  Bill Stoner's second impression of Inmate Polete:

  "He was getting agitated, because he knew we weren't going to just go away. He came off more and more juvenile emotionally. He had a 17-year-Old personality and attitude stuck in the body of a 42-year-old man."

  Inmate Polete said his DNA was on file with the state. It would prove he did not kill that woman. He was very emphatic.

  Inmate Polete said he only did two crimes total. He was trying to reach out. He thought no one cared about him.

  Stoner asked him which two crimes he meant. Inmate Polete said the Bakersfield thing and that thing with the woman who stabbed him. The women did not understand. He just wanted to be held and loved.

  Stoner contradicted him. Stoner told him that he sodomized a teenage girl on 3/8/73. The assault occurred in Baldwin Park. The victim identified him.

  Inmate Polete denied the assault. He said someone else copped out to that case.

  No one else copped out to that case.

  Stoner read from a Baldwin Park PD report. It was dated 3/20/73. A Baldwin Park PD detective stated:

  Robert Leroy Polete admitted the kidnap/rape of 3/8/73. Robert Leroy Polete admitted two other attempted abductions. The dates: 2/16/72 and 3/13/73. He wasn't tried for the crimes.

  Stoner asked Inmate Polete to explain the report. Inmate Polete said he did not commit those crimes. He could not explain the report.

  Stoner read from a Temple City Sheriff's report. It was dated 4/25/73. A Sheriff's detective stated:

  Robert Leroy Polete said he blacked out while watching girls at the shopping center on Durfee and Peck. He woke up back at C&R Printing, one and a half blocks east. He was sweaty. He could not recall what he had done. A woman identified Robert Leroy Polete. She told detectives he assaulted her in front of Durfee Drugs. The event occurred at 1:30 P.M., 4/23/73.

  Stoner asked Inmate Polete to explain the report. Inmate Polete said the facts were wrong. He never told anybody he blacked out that day. He was never at Durfee Drugs.

  Stoner read from a Sheriff's Homicide report. It was dated 4/25/73. Deputy Hal Meyers stated:

  Robert Leroy Polete said that he suffers from blackouts. He cannot recall any of the assaults that he was accused of. He snapped out of blackouts twice and found himself hurting women. He said he may have done things that he cannot recall.

  Stoner asked Inmate Polete to explain the report. Inmate Polete said he never committed crimes during blackouts. The only crime he committed as a kid was that thing with the woman who stabbed him. The only crime he committed as a grown-up was that Bakersfield thing.

  And:

  He felt guilty about the Bakersfield thing and turned himself in at the air base.

  And:

  He knew why he blacked out. It was anger at his father. His father used to beat him with his fists and a belt.

  And:

  He was never alone when he went into blackouts.

  And:

  If he did cop out to some crimes, it was just to anger his parents.

  Stoner did not say, "You never turned yourself in.,, He did not ask Inmate Polete how he knew what he did in blackouts. He did not challenge his "I was never alone" statement. He was letting his lies accumulate. He'd contradict them at the right moment.

  Stoner asked Inmate Polete how he got along with girls and women. Inmate Polete said he got along with them fine. Stoner mentioned an old file note. It stated: Polete told a cop that fourteen girls beat him up in the seventh grade. His girl troubles started then.

  Inmate Polete said he never had girl troubles. Fourteen boys beat him up--not fourteen girls.

  And:

  He knew why that thing happened with that woman who stabbed him. It was because his mother was contemplating suicide. He was mad at her because she wanted to leave him. He just wanted to be loved and held.

  And:

  He knew why that thing in Bakersfield happened. He was mad at his father. He was having marital problems on top of his thing with his dad. He wanted to prove he could still perform sexually.

  Bill Stoner's third impression of Inmate Polete:

  "He had a defensive and poorly reasoned answer for everything. I couldn't tell if he believed his lies or not. I got some details on his parole hearings before the interview. Polete never took responsibility for his Bakersfield rape and continued to state that the victim came on to him. He wasn't smart enough to feign simple remorse in order to get out of prison."

  Stoner switched gears. He mentioned Betty Jean's children. They grew up with no mother.

  Inmate Polete started sobbing. Stoner thought they might be getting close. Walker asked Inmate Polete if he'd like to give it up.

  Inmate Polete stood up. He wiped his eyes and balled his fists. He looked flat-out scary.

  He yelled at Stoner and Walker. He said he didn't kill anybody. He said the interview was over as of now.

  The interview was terminated at 12:30 P.M.

  Bill called me. He described the interview in significant detail. I asked him if he thought Polete killed her. He said yes. I asked him if Gary Walker agreed. He said yes.

  I asked Bill what he planned to do next. He said he wanted to talk to some people and brace Polete with more information.

  12/1/97:

  Bill Stoner calls the Beaverton, Oregon, PD. He talks to Lieutenant Jim Byrd. Lieutenant Byrd worked Baldwin Park PD in 1973.

  He remembers Robby Polete. He calls him a "choirboy rapist." He tells Stoner that Polete admitted the entire series of assaults that he was initially accused of. Polete supplied details to substantiate his admissions. Polete said he was admitting the crimes because he did them. He tried to shift the blame to his victims. He said they all came on to him.

  Stoner brings up the 3/8/73 case. Polete contends that someone else copped out.

  Lieutenant Byrd says no. Another man was arrested that night--but the victim exonerated him immediately.

  Stoner asks why Polete was never charged with the 3/8 crimes: Kidnap/Sodomy/Oral Copulation.

  Lieutenant Byrd says the victim moved out of state. Her parents didn't want her to testify and relive her ordeal in court.

  And:

  Lieutenant Byrd attended a hearing on Polete's attempt-rape case. He observed Polete and his father outside the courtroom.

  The father was dispensing advice. He told Robby to say that the woman who stabbed him came on to him first.

  12/2/97:

  Bill Stoner calls Roger Kaiser--Baldwin Park PD, retired. Kaiser remembers Robby Polete and his father.

  Polete Senior was the treasurer of the Baldwin Park Little League. League officials accused him of embezzling league funds. The case was settled out of court. Polete Senior made restitution.

  12/4/97:

  Bill Stoner calls the music direct
or for the Baldwin Park school district. The man supervised the Sierra Vista High School band in 1973.

  He remembers Robby Polete. Robby was scatterbrained, undependable, and a lot of talk that never turned into action. Robby and his brother were very afraid of their father.

  12/8/97:

  Gary Walker calls the former pastor of the Pentecostal Church of God in El Monte. The man does not recall Robby Polete. He doubts that his daughter dated him.

  Walker talks to the pastor's wife. She recalls Robby Polete and his brother.

  They went to her husband's church. Sometimes the boys would walk. Sometimes she and her husband would give them a ride. The pastor and his wife had two girls at Sierra Vista High School then. They didn't socialize with Robby or his brother outside of school or church. She knew that Robby was arrested back in '73. It surprised her. He didn't seem to be a violent boy.

  Stoner ran checks on Polete's ex-wife, parents, and brother.

  The father was dead. The mother and brother were living in Oregon. He couldn't locate Polete's ex-wife--Vonnie Polete. He found a Bakersfield file note that surprised him.

  Robert Polete and Vonnie Polete were undoubtedly divorced. Polete had remarried.

  8/12/87:

  A woman named Lori M. Polete writes to the Kern County courthouse. She identifies herself as Robert L. Polete's wife. She requests a copy of his 1977 court records.

  She was living in Oregon then.

  Bill held off on the mother and brother. He put the wives aside.

  He wanted to brace Robby first.

  Thursday, 12/11/97:

  THE CALIFORNIA MEN'S COLONY AT SAN Luis OBIsPo. SERGEANT BILL STONER REPRESENTING SHERIFF'S HOMICIDE. DETECTIVE GARY WALKER REPRESENTING EL MONTE PD. THE SUSPECT: INMATE ROBERT LEROY POLETE JR. PRISON #B84688.

  The interview was held in a parole-hearing office. Stoner and Walker sat at the long end of a T-shaped table. Inmate Polete sat at the T end.

  Bill Stoner's first impression of Inmate Polete:

  "He was scared now. But I could tell he was curious. He wanted to know what we had."

  Stoner went in calm and slow. He told Polete that they checked out his exoneration claims. They talked to two Baldwin Park detectives. Both men said his claims were untrue. The 3/8 victim moved out of state and declined to testify, No one else was arrested or charged with those crimes. Polete admitted his guilt in '73. Both detectives said so. The 3/14 attempt rape was the most prosecutable case. The 12/16, 3/13, and 4/23 cases were not as viable. Prosecutors liked to present concise cases. He got lucky that way.

  Inmate Polete said the 3/14 case was bogus. The so-called victim was bogus. He said she had a thing with one of the cops.

  Stoner mentioned Inmate Polete's alleged blackouts. Stoner said he had obtained Polete's juvenile records and wanted to discuss some discrepancies.

  Inmate Polete blew up. He balled his fists and yelled at Stoner and Walker. He said the interview was over. They had no right to look at his juvie file.

  And:

  He had an alibi for the night of the murder. He was at a churchfellowship thing. The whole congregation would back up his claim.

  The Pentecostal Church of God was across the street from Crawford's Market. Betty Jean Scales vanished en route to Crawford's.

  Inmate Polete was very upset. Stoner did not ask the obvious questions:

  How do you recall your actions on a given night twenty-four years and eleven months ago? What made that night so auspicious or so horrible or so traumatic that you will remember every detail for the rest of your life?

  Inmate Polete walked out of the room. The interview was terminated at 1:00 P.M.

  6

  Bill said it hit him hard. It hit Gary Walker simultaneously.

  The church and Crawford's Market. Polete's market-snatch MO. Subsequent assaults at the Food King and Lucky Market. The alibi that played like an admission.

  Bill said it hit him hard. He told me a story to dramatize the impact.

  He worked a case years back. A body dump in Torrance. A white male victim.

  They ID'd him. His roommate was a carpet layer.

  They took him to lunch. The man was not a suspect.

  They took him to his apartment. They wanted to talk some more. They needed his take on the victim.

  They walked in the door. Bill saw a brand-new carpet on the living-room floor.

  And:

  He knew that the man killed the victim right there. He knew that he'd find washed-out blood spots under the carpeting.

  He found them. He confronted the man. The man confessed.

  That was a fresh case. This was an old case. Instinctive knowledge never equals provability. Circumstantial confirmation buttresses instinctive knowledge and increases its evidentiary value.

  12/15/97:

  Bill Stoner calls the church pastor's daughter. She says she never dated Robby Polete. She never saw him with other girls. She saw him at school. She saw him at church youth groups.

  12/16/97:

  Bill Stoner calls the former youth-group leader. She does not recall Robby Polete. Youth-group meetings were held at the church on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays. They ran from 7:30 P.M. to 9:30 P.M.

  1/29/73 was a Monday. Betty Jean Scales was last seen at 8:30 P.M.

  Bill checked out C&R Printing. The 1973 owner still owned the shop.

  He remembered Robby Polete. Polete's dad owned a shop in Baldwin Park. Robby worked at C&R sporadically. He did his dad's loan-out jobs.

  Bill went through old work sheets and time cards. He had to see if Robby worked on 1/29/73.

  The work sheets and time cards only went back to 1979. The man tossed his older records to save shelf space.

  The dead-end metaphysic.

  Bill found Lori Polete. He interviewed her. He interviewed Robby's mother and brother.

  The brother didn't have much to say. He and Robby ran with different crowds. The mother said Robby couldn't have killed BettyJean. She said she had ESP. She would have known if Robby killed some woman. She almost killed herself a long time ago. She saw a preacher on a TV show. He convinced her not to do it.

  Lori started out as Robby's pen pal. She thought Robby would be paroled soon. She wised up after a while. She figured out that Robby never wised up to himself. He never took responsibility for his own actions. He couldn't survive out of prison.

  The dead-end metaphysic has an evidentiary upside. Complex procedures take time. Positive results can strike out of nowhere.

  The sheriff's crime lab found a stain on Betty Jean's Levi's. The technician said it might be a semen stain. The identification procedure is still in progress.

  The dead-end metaphysic has a psychic upside.

  Frightened people lose their fear over time. Guilty people divulge information injudiciously. Compliant people wise up to the people who exploit them. Tired people fold and betray their secrets.

  People relinquish. Intransigent detectives wait and stay poised to listen. They hover. They eavesdrop. They prowl moral fault lines. They assume their victims' and their killers' perspectives and live their lives to stalk revelation.

  In the matter of BettyJean Scales, white female, DOD 1/29/73:

  Bill Stoner will continue. Sheriff's Homicide and the El Monte PD will extend their investigation. Stoner will remain fixed on Robert Leroy Polete. He will not succumb to bias. He will retain an objective eye for leads that might subvert his opinion that Polete killed Betty Jean Scales. He stands by ready to address the California State Parole Board in the fall of '98.

  He will portray Polete as a remorseless predator with good predatory years left and the will to perpetuate his rage. He will state his opinion that Polete should be kept in prison for the rest of his life. He will tell the Story of women savaged in anger and self-pity, He will pray for a receptive parole board. He will draw strength from his dead going in. Tracy Stewart. Karen Reilly. Bunny Krauch.

  Killed by men known and unknown.

  Add Betty Jea
n Scales and Geneva Hilliker Ellroy. Add me as Stoner's chronicler. Add my insurmountable debt and his professional commitment. Add the need to know and serve that drives us both. Factor in the core of sex that drives us toward these women.

  Bill Stoner will continue. I will continue to tell his story. Our collective dead demand it.

  March, April 1998

  MY MOTHER'S KILLER

  I thought the pictures would wound me.

  I thought they would grant my old nightmare form.

  I thought I could touch the literal horror and somehow commute my life sentence.

  I was mistaken. The woman refused to grant me a reprieve. Her grounds were simple: My death gave you a voice, and I need you to recognize me past your exploitation of it.

  Her headstone reads GENEVA HILLIKER ELLROY, 19 15--1958. A cross denotes her Calvinist youth in a Wisconsin hick town. The file is marked "JEAN (HILLIKER) ELLROY, i87PC (UNSOLVED), DOD 6/22/58."

  I begged out of the funeral. I was io years old and sensed that I could manipulate adults to my advantage. I told no one that my tears were at best cosmetic and at worst an expression of hysterical relief. I told no one that I hated my mother at the time of her murder.

  She died at 43. I'm 46 now. I flew out to Los Angeles to view the file because I resemble her more every day.

  The L.A. County Sheriff handled the case. I set up file logistics with Sergeant Bill Stoner and Sergeant Bill McComas of the Unsolved Unit. Their divisional mandate is to periodically review open files with an eye toward solving the crimes outright or assessing the original investigating officers' failure to do so.

  Both men were gracious. Both stressed that unsolved homicides tend to remain unsolved--thirty-six-year-old riddles deepen with the passage of time and blurring of consciousness. I told them I had no expectations of discovering a solution. I only wanted to touch the accumulated details and see where they took me.

  Stoner said the photographs were grisly. I told him I could handle it.