The Innocent Project

Chapter 5-1

Chapter 5

Bonnie Crawfoot

Bonnie Crawfoot was a woman in her late 60’s and was hard as leather from her hard life working on her fruit and vegetable 10 acre farm located just outside of the town of Wilson Creek, Washington

She sold her farm products to the local schools for the student lunch programs.

She used the fruits and berries from her farm to make delicious scones and pastries that she sold to the local coffee shops.

At 4:00 A.M. each morning she would do her baking and read the local daily newspaper at her kitchen table while her goods baked, before heading out to deliver her baked goods.

The large window in her living room gave her a great view of the street in front of her house and she felt secure enough in her neighborhood that she never closed the drapes.

Bonnie’s home was across the street from John Adams house.

About 6:30 A.M. she was sitting in her usual spot at the kitchen table reading her newspaper, when she heard a loud gunshot or fireworks.

She saw a male subject in the front yard of the house across the street and there was a flurry of activity near him.

She recognized John Adams in his workout clothing and light jacket shuffling on the sidewalk towards his front porch and observed him stumble inside the house, with the door shutting behind him.

She noted how light it was outside, almost like the turning of dawn, but it was actually a combination of light from the snow covering the ground and the approaching dawn.

Bonnie was on the alert, knowing something bad may have happened to John so she picked up her phone and telephoned his phone number.

There was no response and the phone ring changed to voicemail.

Bonnie put on her coat and boots and walked quickly across the road to John’s front porch and stood on the front steps.

She knocked on the wooden front door with no response from inside.

“Oh Lord,” she thought as she walked back across the street into her home and dialed 911.

“911, what’s your emergency?” said the Communications Officer on the end of the phone.

“I live at 173 N 3rd and I think I saw my neighbor directly across the street possibly get shot and stumble into his house, his name is John Adams.” she gasped out.

The Dispatcher asked, “Did you see anyone else or a car in the area?”

“When I heard a gunshot I saw a flurry of activity in the front yard and I think it could have been John’s son Devin and someone else but can’t give much of a description. I thought at first it was John and Devin shooting off fireworks in the front yard. I tried phoning John but there was no answer so I walked over to his house and knocked on the door and no one came to the door. I didn’t hear any voices from inside and I’m also worried about Devin, his son.” she finished

“Ma’am, we have units coming and the Officers will be there in just a few minutes. Keep an eye out and if you see anything else suspicious, call back,” said the 911 Operator.

Bonnie kept her heavy winter coat on and stepped out of her house and stood on the sidewalk across the street from John’s house.

As she made her way to the sidewalk in front of her house, a car approached and turned into her neighbor’s driveway.

“Oh, no,” she thought, “that’s John’s younger sister Olive who lives next door.”

She knew Olive had just arrived home after spending the night with her boyfriend.

It was a regular pattern.

“What’s going on?” Olive asked as Bonnie walked up to Olive as she was getting out of her car.

“I think something happened to your brother,” she said to Olive.

“I heard a gunshot and saw John stumble into the house,” she explained breathlessly.

“I called 911 a couple of minutes ago and the 911 Operator said the cops are on their way.”

They both turned to the sound of studded snow tires on the street approaching them.

They saw three clearly marked Wheatland Police cars with their lights off creeping down the street and they came to a stop on the east side of the street about two houses south of John’s residence.

Bonnie and Olive crossed the street and walked towards the three dark clad uniformed officers approaching down the sidewalk.

“That’s the house there,” Bonnie explained to the officers and pointed to John’s house.

She told the officers the details of what she had earlier heard and observed.

Sgt. Joe Harmon travelled close to the front of the neighboring houses as he approached John’s house.

He set up his position on the S/W corner of John’s house.

Cpl. Quinn Baker and Officer Jack Bellows approached at an angle across the lawn.

Cpl. Baker knocked on the front door and stepped to the left as an officer safety procedure while Officer Bellows peered in the window on the south side of the front door.

Officer Bellows whispered excitedly, “Quinn, we got a male subject lying face down on the floor in the kitchen.”

Both Officers had drawn their handguns.

“Let’s go in,” Bellows whispered and turned the front door knob and discovered the door was unlocked, making a forced entry unnecessary.

Baker was first to enter the residence and turned to the right making a sweep of the kitchen and living room area for a possible suspect still on scene.

He reached down and felt for a pulse on John’s neck as he continued keeping his handgun in his other hand.

Officer Bellows brushed past Corporal Baker and began a search of the interior of the residence.

Satisfied there was no one in the residence, Officer Bellows returned to the living room where Cpl. Baker was contacting the 911 Center calling for fire and medical response and provided the limited information that the male victim had a gunshot wound and was possibly DOA.

Bonnie and Olive had followed the officers and had stood outside on the front porch until they saw through the open doorway the man lying on the kitchen floor was Olive’s brother, John.

They stepped into the living room and Olive Adams began moaning softly and started to sink to the floor with her eyes rolling back. Officer Bellows stepped over and grasped Olive under the arm to keep her from falling as her eyes opened up.

“Devin,” screamed Bonnie because she thought it was Devin that she had observed outside the house with John at the time of the fatal shot.

Officer Bellows said, “There is no one else in the house, Devin is not here.”

“Both of you have to leave, this is a crime scene,” he said.

“Bonnie, can you take Olive to your house and we’ll come over and speak to both of you after we have the scene secure and the medical crew can examine Olive’s brother,” he continued.

“He is deceased, possibly from a gunshot wound,” Cpl. Baker said in a soft tone.

Bonnie held her arm around Olive’s waist to support her as they walked back across the street to Bonnie’s house.

“Oh Gawd, I have to tell my Family,” Olive sobbed as she sat at Bonnies kitchen table.

Bonnie handed Olive her phone and went into the living room to allow privacy so Olive could tell her family the horrible news.

Olive notified her shocked parents and after sobbing at both ends of the telephone line a plan was made to notify other friends and family members.

Olive knew John’s girlfriend Marianne Shutt should be notified as soon as possible before she heard of John’s murder on the news.

She telephoned Marianne Shutt’s phone number and after 6 or 7 rings a female answered the phone.

Olive was sobbing and Marianne’s mother Terri had answered and identified herself when she answered the phone.

Olive proceeded to tell her the horrific news and asked if she would tell Marianne of the death of John.

Marianne was sleeping heavily in the upstairs bedroom, but when she heard steps coming up the stairs, she rolled over on the bed and was facing the door when her mother stepped in.

Terri sat at the edge of the bed and gently rubbed Marianne’s shoulder.

“Honey,” she said in a soft voice, “I’ve got some bad news that’s going to hurt.”

Marianne was fully alert now and sat up in the bed.

Terri told her, “Something bad happened at John’s house this morning and he was shot and killed. The Police don’t know what happened or who killed John but they know it wasn’t suicide.”

“OMG,” said Marianne, breaking into deep, uncontrollable sobs and having difficulty catching her breath.

She sat on the bed sobbing and holding her face in her hands.

After about a half hour she stood up and looked at her mother, who had been sitting by her side comforting her.

“I’ve got to go there and find out what happened, I will go to Olive’s house where the rest of John’s family are gathered,” she said.

In the back of her mind she wondered if Dustin Silver might have something to do with the murder.

Driving from her home on the way to Wheatland, Marianne picked up her cellphone and dialed up Dustin.

“Hello,” Dustin cheerfully answered the phone.

“Where are you?” shouted Marianne.

“That’s a weird question, where are you?” he replied.

“Somebody just shot John and I want to know where you are this morning.”

“I’m in Oregon and headed up to pick up some car engines,” he replied.

“Are you accusing me of shooting John? Is he alive?” quipped Dustin.

“I’ve never ever threatened the guy and it was you that was always trying to make me jealous of John and you know it,” Dustin angrily told Marianne.

“I don’t know what I’m thinking, but if you are responsible, I will come to The Dalles and kill you, and yes, John is dead,” she spat out.

“I know that you have never threatened John, but I had to ask you so I would have peace of mind,” she said.

“You are crazy, Marianne,” Dustin shouted into the phone and hung up.

Nancy Williams had also received a call from Olive at her home and was in far worse emotional condition than Marianne.

Nancy was alone and she slid down the kitchen wall, dropping her phone without hanging up, and stumbled to her living room sofa where she lay on her side, sobbing uncontrollably.

She thought she was having a horrible nightmare and didn’t know when the nightmare would end.

There was a knock on her front door which stirred her.

As she made her way to the door the knocks became incessant.

She opened the door to find her neighbor Allison Brooks telling her there had been a murder on the street where her friend John lived.

Nancy told Allison that Olive had already phoned her and John Adams was dead.

Nancy broke into tears as Allison came into the house and they sat together and hugged as Nancy sobbed onto Allison’s shoulder.

Wheatland Officer Jack Bellows, Sgt. Joe Harmon and Cpl. Quinn Baker were the three Officers present when the local fire department EMT’s rolled up, followed shortly by the local ambulance service vehicle.

Baker opened the front door and waved to the fire EMTs and the Local Ambulance crew.

Oh s**t, he said to himself as the fire EMT team cut across the front lawn, contaminating the potential crime area where evidence might be located.

He yelled at the Ambulance crew to stay on the sidewalk and come directly to the front door and enter.

The EMT fire team walked across the living room to the kitchen.

EMT Scott Zanger reached down and felt for a pulse of John, who was lying facedown.

“Come on, Burel,” Scott Zanger said to his partner, “we have to place the patient on his back to attach an EKG for signs of life.”

At this time, the ambulance crew had arrived and entered the kitchen.

They had brought their portable defibrillator into the room and almost immediately began placing EKG pads on John’s chest and sides after he had been placed on his back.

The ambulance EMT attendant Tom Ford had attached the electrodes and made sure all the connections were secure.