Alferd Packer Part II

Perhaps the most startling find was a “lost” journal that gave a detailed description of the murder scene that could have possibly freed Packer if it had been available during the trial. Other 1874 documents indicated that, although the bodies had been exposed to the elements, each of the dead men were identifiable by their clothes and physical features. A Civil War veteran who visited the crime scene stated that Shannon Bell had been shot twice and the other victims were killed with a hatchet. Upon careful study of Bell, he noticed a severe bullet wound to the pelvic area and that Bell’s wallet had a bullet hole through it. He also stated that only two shots were fired at the murder scene, both at Bell. This passage caught my attention because the rusted 1862 Colt pistol found many years later at the scene had two chambers empty and three loaded. The facts from the 1874 investigation of the murder scene seemed to mesh with the physical evidence, the 1862 Colt pistol. Packer stated numerous times during his trial that he shot the real killer Shannon Bell, but his testimony failed to convince the jury. What is even stranger is that visitors to the crime scene failed to report their findings on the witness stand, and in some cases lied about what they discovered. My case to prove Alferd Packer’s innocence came to a standstill in the spring of 1999. Even though I had physical evidence that matched Packer’s story, there was still no way to scientifically tie the gun to the murder scene. The pistol never was introduced as evidence because it was lost after Packer’s desperate fight with Bell and not recovered until 1950 by Mr. Ronzio during his archeological excavation. As with many historical investigations, my chance to prove my case came unexpectedly during a visit to the Lake City Museum in October of 2000. The Museum of Western Colorado and the Hinsdale County Historical Society had just finished a joint exhibit on Alferd Packer. I asked Grant Houston, the Hinsdale County Historian, about the exhumation of the Packer party victims by Dr. James Starrs and a forensic team in 1989. He explained the team proved the bodies had been cannibalized and had met violent deaths. Each of the skeletons had been marked A through E for scientific identification and then photographed. Skeleton A had a hole in the pelvic region and therefore must be Shannon Bell. Mr. Houston shocked me by mentioning that forensic samples had been taken from under the skeletons and were now in possession of the Hinsdale County Historical Society. I then asked if the Museum could borrow the samples from Skeleton A (Shannon Bell) for testing. Hopefully, there would still be gunshot residue in the samples to help prove Packer’s story that Shannon Bell had been shot at close range. After receiving permission from the Hinsdale County Historical Society, I took the samples to the Mesa State College Electron Microscopy Center in Grand Junction. A team of scientists led by Dr. Richard Dujay, the facility manager, began to examine the bits of wool fabric, old buttons, and soil for the traces of residue with the electron microscope. Dr. Dujay knew the task of finding gunshot residue would be difficult and stated, “It’s as if 127 years ago someone hit a baseball in the U.S. and now you’re asking to find it.” However, on February 10, 2001, we found the “baseball,” a 50-micron piece of lead. Dujay and other scientists discovered that the fragment was man-made because of its structure, size, and composition. He next used an X-Ray spectrograph to analyze the elemental makeup of the object. Dujay found that the object was consistent with lead used for bullets during the post Civil War era. The scientists next took a small sample from a bullet still in the gun and compared it with the lead fragment underneath Skeleton A. The X- Ray spectrograph showed an exact match! Finally I had proof that linked the gun to the murder scene. On February 12, 2001, Mesa State College hosted a national press conference to release the new evidence found by the Packer research team. The tremendous public interest in forensic science and its use in solving historical mysteries catapulted the Packer story into an international media event. The story appeared in The Times of London and other international and national media outlets. For two solid days I did interviews, that included the national public radio stations in Great Britain, Australia, Canada, and the United States. The Discovery Channel Canada also filmed a short documentary on the Packer Research project at the Museum of Western Colorado, Mesa state College, and at the murder site in Lake City. The media attention was a nice benefit to all those years of research, but my main focus was centered on the scientific examination of the remaining forensic samples. Shortly after the press conference, the research team confirmed the presence of a small, spherical piece of close-proximity gunshot residue embedded in a wool fragment of Shannon Bell’s clothing. This supported Packer’s account that he fired at close range after being attacked with a hatchet. On April 27, 2001, an additional bullet fragment was found in a forensic sample taken from under Shannon Bell’s body. This gave additional credence to the theory that the bullet shattered after hitting the bone in Bell’s hip region. After renewed public interest in the Packer case, Historic Littleton Inc., a non-profit historical organization, decided to have a retrial of Alferd Packer. On September 14, 2002, Alferd Packer was put on trial at the old Littleton Town Hall. The characters in the trial were faithfully brought back to life by costumed interpreters. The main difference in the trial was that Dr. Dujay and I were allowed to present historical and forensic evidence that cast doubt on Packer’s guilt. We presented the modern forensic evidence on nineteenth century placards with the proper melodramatic flair. The two hundred and sixty five people in the audience also served as the jury and after a three hour trial found Mr. Packer innocent. Even though it was only a mock trial, it felt liberating to finally see justice done. I remembered Packer’s prophetic last words before he was taken to prison, quoted so well in Paul Gannt’s book, The Case of Alfred Packer: The Man-Eater, “... In later years it will be cleared up for there has never been a case where a man has been sentenced unjustly that sooner or later it was not cleared up. I had one hope, and that was that sometime I would be able to hold up before the people of Colorado that I am not guilty of the murder of the four men. I killed Bell. I admit it, and have done so all along: on the stand, in public, and in jail...As I said, before, the whole mystery will be cleared up sometime.” ps: End of Alferd Packer's report. Finally. Pikachu, Stay tuned. Coming up not sure which next about the ancient China. But I don't know when. You have to give me some time. And ya, I will post the ultraman after i complete it, ok. So be patient.