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Forum URL: http://www.webbsleuths.com/cgi-bin/dcf/dcboard.cgi
Forum Name: Ramsey evidence
Topic ID: 60
Message ID: 14
#14, RE: Mark Beckner's deposition
Posted by jameson on Apr-10-03 at 05:06 PM
In response to message #13

8 You didn't name him but I think you would

9 certainly say that absolutely applied to Steve

10 Thomas, didn't it?

11 A Yeah.

12 Q And I think he would have been one of the

13 others who had left, right?

14 A Yes.

15 Q And then back in that March 16th, 2000

16 article by Chris Anderson that we had shown you

17 earlier about the not currently active suspects. You

18 were quoted as saying, quote, The problem with it is

19 he, and he refers to Lou Smit, ignores the other

20 evidence in the case, end quote, said Beckner who

21 believes Smit may have grown too close to the

22 Ramseys. Quote, Some of the information he is using

23 is not accurate, end quote.

24 Do you do you remember that?

25 A No, but --

173

1 Q You don't disagree with making that

2 statement, do you?

3 A No.

4 Q Would I also be right that you would apply

5 that same statement to Steve Thomas in his public

6 disclosures about this case and discussions --

7 A Read the whole thing to me again.

8 Q "The problem with it is he ignores the

9 other evidence in the case, some of the information

10 he is using is not accurate."

11 A Yes.

12 Q That would apply to Steve Thomas in your

13 view?

14 A Yes.

15 Q True?

16 A True, in the sense that he does not have

17 all the information that has been developed since

18 that time.

19 Q Have you ever read his book?

20 A No, I haven't.

21 Q Was there ever during your time since

22 October of '97 at any time period where any members

23 of the Boulder Police Department were allowed to have

24 screen savers that identified anyone including Chris

25 Wolf as being the killer?

174

1 A No.

2 Q If you had known that would you have

3 stopped it immediately?

4 A Yes.

5 Q It would have been totally unprofessional

6 and inappropriate, wouldn't it, Chief?

7 A Yes.

8 Q Do you recall an incident when the mayor,

9 Boulder Mayor Greenlee, got fairly upset at least

10 with Steve Thomas, maybe others, about Chris Wolf?

11 This would have been in February of 1998?

12 A No, I don't recall that.

13 Q This is, and I'm going to read to you from

14 my notes from what I believe are quotes from Steve

15 Thomas' book. It said an incident involving you and

16 Thomas where it starts off, Mayor Bob Greenlee wants

17 to ask you a few questions my boss Beckner said and

18 retreated to a chair. Detective, Mayor Greenlee

19 began all business, what do you know about Jackie

20 Dilson? He gave me no chance to respond. I had to

21 suppress a grin. I knew all about Jackie Dilson who

22 was a regular visitor to police headquarters with her

23 theory that her boyfriend probably murdered JonBent.

24 Greenlee said that he had personally met with

25 Ms. Dilson. Did you know, detective, that her

175

1 boyfriend Chris Wolf had high tech boots?

2 I don't need to go on and on but do you

3 recall that incident taking place?

4 A Yeah, I recall the mayor coming over and

5 having some discussion about the case. I couldn't

6 recite it as specifically as you have, but I do

7 recall some conversation with Bob Greenlee.

8 Q The mayor had apparently gotten

9 information from Jackie Dilson and apparently was to

10 some level at least upset that there may be questions

11 about Wolf that had not been answered?

12 A I don't recall him being upset. I recall

13 him being inquisitive as to getting this information.

14 It was not unusual for politicians to call us and

15 say, hey, so and so told me this and pass it on or

16 want to know what we were doing.

17 Q Upset may be the wrong word. Thomas

18 described Greenlee's ruddy face as being tinged with

19 contempt and I stole a glance at Beckner who looked

20 away from him. Greenlee eventually ran out of breath

21 and let me speak.

22 A Well, I wouldn't characterize it that way,

23 but that's his interpretation I guess.

24 Q And Chris Wolf (sic) said we are

25 thoroughly investigating Chris Wolf?

176

1 MR. MILLER: You've got that wrong.

2 Q (BY MR. WOOD) Well, here is what it says

3 is we --

4 MR. MILLER: You said Chris Wolf.

5 MR. WOOD: Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. And Steve

6 Thomas.

7 Q (BY MR. WOOD) Do you remember making a

8 statement to Mayor Greenlee, We are thoroughly

9 investigating Chris Wolf?

10 A Not specifically.

11 Q Do you believe that the Boulder Police

12 Department has thoroughly and completely investigated

13 Chris Wolf?

14 A Up to a point, yes.

15 Q Tell me what you mean when you say up to a

16 point.

17 A To the point where there is agreement that

18 he is not a suspect right now or under suspicion.

19 Q And there was -- I didn't ask this

20 although you may have told me the answer which tells

21 me the answer to this, but was there any forensic

22 test with respect to Susannah Chase which removed

23 Wolf from any level of suspicion in that case?

24 A Well, we do have DNA and we do have Wolf's

25 DNA so there would have been a comparison of the DNA

177

1 in both. Once you have DNA in CBI it goes into a

2 database. So any case that comes in after that it's

3 automatically run against that database so you don't

4 have to go back and request every time that you want

5 every previous suspect you have had in a similar case

6 run against that DNA.

7 MR. WOOD: Okay. Let me get a couple

8 minutes with my lawyer here and then we'll see if

9 we're good to go.

10 VIDEO TECHNICIAN: We're off the record at

11 approximately 1:08 p.m.

12 (Recess taken from 1:08 p.m. to 1:11 p.m.)

13 VIDEO TECHNICIAN: We're on the record at

14 approximately 1:11 p.m.

15 Q (BY MR. WOOD) Chief Beckner, have you

16 ever learned or been made aware that simultaneously

17 with or perhaps even subsequent to the Boulder Police

18 Department's investigation of Chris Wolf in

19 connection with the JonBent Ramsey case that the

20 Boulder district attorney's office undertook an

21 investigation of Mr. Wolf as a suspect in connection

22 with the case?

23 A What time frame are you talking about?

24 Q I think it would be in 1998 and perhaps

25 even 1999. That's why I say subsequent,

178

1 contemporaneously in part and perhaps even subsequent

2 to the point in time where you felt like you had

3 reached the point that he was no longer under the

4 umbrella that the DA's office might have continued

5 efforts to investigate him?

6 A No, because we were working as a team at

7 that point and most of those -- all of those

8 decisions were discussed as a team in terms of, you

9 know, who we considered under suspicion, who needed

10 more investigation, you know, whether we were

11 satisfied with where we were at, those kind of

12 things.

13 Q The district attorney's office concurred,

14 did they not, its investigators and the involved

15 personnel from the district attorney's office

16 concurred that based on the information known that

17 Chris Wolf was in fact a viable individual to be

18 under the umbrella of suspicion, to be under

19 suspicion in connection with the case?

20 A What time frame are you talking about?

21 It's been five years.

22 Q When you all were working together with

23 them?

24 A Well, that covered a period of four years,

25 so what time frame are you talking about?

179

1 Q Just any time during that time period,

2 that the Boulder district attorney's investigators

3 concurred during that time period at some point

4 that --

5 A Okay, yes.

6 Q -- Chris Wolf was an individual who should

7 be considered as under suspicion in connection with

8 the murder of JonBent Ramsey?

9 A Yes.

10 Q Whether the Boulder district attorney's

11 office did any investigation beyond that done by your

12 office, maybe, maybe not, you don't know?

13 A Well, again it depends on your time frame.

14 If you're talking about prior to the second half of

15 '98, because the team was reorganized in the summer

16 of '98 --

17 Q Sure. When it went over to the grand

18 jury?

19 A Reorganization took place. Then it was a

20 different arrangement than what had been previously.

21 We worked much closer together once the team was

22 rearranged.

23 Prior to that, I think there was a

24 parallel investigation going on.

25 MR. WOOD: I'm going to have to ask you

180

1 all to give me a copy of this before I leave because

2 it's my only copy that I brought. Let's mark this as

3 Exhibit 7.

4 MR. MILLER: What is it?

5 (Exhibit 7 was marked.)

6 MR. WOOD: This is a letter and a packet

7 of materials sent from Newsweek journalist Dan Glick

8 to Alex Hunter in 1999.

9 MR. MILLER: Is it signed any place?

10 MR. WOOD: I think the letter on the

11 second page is signed. Let me take a look here.

12 Yeah, I don't have a signature copy.

13 MR. MILLER: And it's not on letterhead,

14 huh?

15 Q (BY MR. WOOD) That's my question is

16 whether or not you have either seen that packet of

17 materials or whether such a packet of materials from

18 Dan Glick was ever discussed with you by Alex Hunter

19 on or after February of 1999?

20 A Briefly looking at this, much of this is

21 familiar; I don't know if I have actually seen this

22 document before.

23 Q If that document itself had been shared

24 with you, would it be in the Boulder Police

25 Department files or any parts of it?

181

1 A It should be, yes, if it was given to us.