There was a lot going on in Lake County, Michigan when Peter Piper escaped, including racial tension, an officer involved shooting, and an alleged assassination attempt against Sheriff Robert Blevins. This episode details these matters, including Detective Pratt’s findings on the alleged assasination attempt – from a previously CONFIDENTIAL report regarding the incident.
This season I will cover the many crimes of an offender named Peter Piper. In this episode, I introduce you to “Mary” and the crime that landed then eighteen-year-old Peter Piper in jail in the first place.
I interview Scott Allen Johnson, Licensed Psychologist, about this case, hoping to get some insight into the type of perpetrator that would commit this crime. He is a forensic consultant and adjunct instructor at Florida Gulf Coast University.
To check out some of Mr. Johnson’s articles, click on the publications link on his website.
I speak with another customer who had been in the store the day of Janette’s murder. We discuss what she saw, as well as current gossip surrounding the investigation. Also, Sheriff Crawford of the Osceola County Sheriff’s Department tells me what he remembers about dispatch recordings around the time of the murder.
Janette’s mother, Marion Fisher, and her role in the community as city clerk are discussed, as well as what was going on in the community within the timeline of the murder.
– Confusion about the composite sketch is discussed, as well as conspiracy ideas around this case.
– Also, an interesting story I was told by the son of a first responding officer.
– Trixie Shepard was a psychic that was involved in this case, and visited the scene. I will tell you about my interviews with her, and you’ll hear a bit of our conversation.
This episode goes over what went on in the Buckboard Bar – next door to Gambles – just after Janette was discovered, as well as what occurred in the bar a month before the murder, involving a city police officer.
I also talk more with Ray Haight, the dispatcher, about how the scene was handled, and law enforcement tensions during that timeframe.
“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce, or a tragedy, or perhaps both.” Ray v Turner, supra, p 304, fn 10 (Wright, J., concurring)
In this episode is an interview with one of the EMTs who responded to Gambles that day, as well as my city council appearance to get previously unreleased police reports from Reed City Police department.
Next week, Episode 4 – Buckboard Bar Assault, Prop B, & Tensions in Law Enforcement, will build upon what you learn in this episode so that you have a basic understanding of the related issues before we get to the suspects and persons of interest in the following episode. All of this backstory is important to your understanding of Janette’s case, and why it may be where it is today, which is what my podcast specifically focuses on –understanding why each individual case goes cold.
