September 12, 2023 • 25 mins
Are you ready to step inside the courtroom of the captivating second trial of Kenneth Botham Jr? The case against Botham continues to build, as we navigate the twists and turns of the defense and prosecution's strategies. The focus sharpens on the significant role forensic details play. Listen as the trial of Kenneth Botham, Jr.'s and its legacy are explored.
Giblin, Mary Louise. “Botham sentenced to life term.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. February 16, 1982.
Moss, Michael. “Prosecution displays Botham’s stack of guns.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 15, 1982.
Moss, Michael. “CBI investigator testifies about Botham’s ‘admission’.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 16, 1982.
Moss, Michael, “Prosecution rests in Botham retrial.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 17, 1982.
Moss, Michael, “Botham’s defense trying to prove alibi for killings.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 18, 1982.
Moss, Michael, “Ex-cop backs Botham on .22 caliber request.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 19, 1982.
Moss, Michael, “Botham guilty again.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 22, 1982.
For images related to the cases, check out the Instagram.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hiya, this is Julia and Moida is bad Music.
Alright, folks, we are going towrap up the Botham Miracle
(00:25):
Murders today.
Exciting who knew it would befive parts?
I certainly didn't.
We've made it halfway throughthe second trial of Kenneth
Botham Jr in the murders of hiswife, pat Botham, and their
neighbors Linda Troy and ChadMiracle.
Botham was granted this newtrial, which is being held in
(00:49):
Golden, colorado, and theprosecution continues their case
against him.
But you know, before we getinto that, I gotta tell you what
was going on in 1982.
Hoyle, hank Aaron and FrankRobinson are elected to the Hall
of Fame Yay, baseball Peopleare listening to Olivia
(01:09):
Newton-John, whom I will alwayslove, love, love, and they were
watching Dallas and Falconcrest,and on Golden Pond it just come
out Jane Fonda, catherineHepburn, watch it Also.
This is when Kathleen Durst,robert Durst's wife, goes
missing and he will eventuallybe charged with her murder in
(01:31):
2021.
So Public Defender Lee Foremantold the Daily Sentinel that he
has yet to see anythingabsolutely incriminating.
Mesa County District AttorneyTerry Farina agreed with him but
said the prosecution was goingto string together a series of
coincidences that together nolonger are coincidences.
(01:53):
Quote our case is building.
If you build it, they will come, they being a bunch of dead
baseball players.
Did you know that?
The actual line is if you buildit, he will come.
I don't know who the he is, butthat's the line.
Look it up.
Back to the Circumstantial,non-coincidental coincidences
Georgia Hunter formerly GeorgiaLamar, and Linda Cistern Law
(02:16):
Patsy Miracle testified thatBotham had cleaned his car in
the days following the murder.
The Defenses reaction it's apoint now that everyone in the
neighborhood washed their carsthat weekend.
A more intense objection camewhen a former co-worker, john
Burt Hayes, testified.
He talked about Botham tellinghim about his car being broken
(02:37):
into and how his.22 caliberpistol was stolen, which
obviously ended up being a lie.
John then talked about anaffair Botham tried to cover up.
This is when the jury was askedto leave the courtroom in order
for the defense to air itsgrievances.
Defense Attorney Norman Muellersaid I've seen such a blatant
(03:00):
attack on the character of aperson.
This is clearly characterassassination and material for
mistrial.
Prosecutor Jerry Jorgensenrebutted with.
We are trying to show motive onthe part of the defendant that
he was insensitive and arrogant,that he wouldn't even buy his
own wife clothes and made herget by on $20 a week for
(03:22):
groceries, and Defense AttorneyForeman said come on, if that's
animosity.
You've said many worse thingsto your wife.
What does that have to do withthe basic question here?
Whether he killed the victimsor not, all right, you're both
pretty Okay.
Judge Winston Wolvington agreedwith the defense.
(03:42):
Those statements would only beallowed if the defense puts
forth evidence about thedefendant's character.
But that wasn't even thehighlight of the day.
Old friend Timothy Tyreetestified about going on
shooting practice trips withBotham near Three Sisters Hill.
He also talked about floatingthe Gunnison River and pulling
(04:03):
the rafts in at Bridgeport, nearwhere the bodies of Pat, linda,
troy and Chad were found.
The men talked about watercurlsthat could hold something down
for a long, long time.
On cross examination, attorneyForeman pointed out that most
boaters put their rafts in atBridgeport and that the
watercurls mentioned by Bothamweren't even found near
(04:26):
Bridgeport.
Timothy Tyree also said thatBotham was typically sarcastic,
sometimes bad-mouthing his wifePatricia and twice embarrassing
her in front of him by grabbingher and unzipping her pants.
That is not Embarrassing her,that's assaulting her, what he's
feral On cross.
(04:46):
Timothy answered no to whetherhe doubted that Bossam cared for
his wife and kids.
Oh then the prosecution built upto investigator Milo Vig
identifying all the guns theygot from Bossam's possession.
There were four.22 caliber gunsand a.38 caliber snub-nose
(05:10):
pistol.
Attorney Foreman made sure topoint out that none of the
weapons presented was the gunused to shoot the miracle kids.
Prosecution tried to argue thatBossam knew the weapon was a.22
caliber before that informationwas released because when asked
to turn over his weapons heonly turned over the.22 caliber
(05:31):
ones.
But on cross, investigator Vigcasted doubt whether or not the
detectives themselves had onlyrequested the.22 caliber weapons
.
After the testimonies hadconcluded, lee Foreman said why
did they bring in eight guns,none of which were connected to
the crime?
Was it to scare the jury?
(05:53):
Detective Mike Smith started thenext day by describing Bossam's
arrest on November 8th 1975.
He had been following Bossamalong US 50 when he was pulled
over and arrested.
Marie Griffin and Bossam'schildren were in the car as well
.
Detective Smith also detailedthe collection of physical
(06:13):
evidence from Bossam's vehicleoffice and his home.
The evidence included was hair,blood stains, wire cutters and
a wall calendar that had thejury written over August 22nd
and 23rd.
The defense tried to point outthe inconsistencies of the
investigation and implied thatthe evidence was not properly
(06:33):
logged and that not all materialsamples were sent to Colorado
Bureau of Investigations orKibbe for testing.
The second to testify was Kibbeagent Gerald Tesh.
He had interrogated Ken Bossamon October 31st in 1975.
Alert we found out the name ofBossam's St Bernard.
(06:55):
I know it's been weighing onyou.
So during the interrogationthey talk about the personality
of Bossam's dog, florence.
Adorable Dog days are over.
But when the pup talk was overthe pair dove into more serious
topics about the murders.
Agent Tesh asked who Bossamthought committed the murders
and Bossam fell silent.
(07:17):
Why can't you tell me?
Did you shoot them?
If I told you what would happento my boys, they'd be taken
care of but I'd have to go tojail.
Hell yes, you would, hell yes.
Here's another fun piece ofwriting by Michael Moss of the
Daily Sentinel.
(07:37):
Tesh, who has testified inhundreds of criminal cases,
spoke directly to the jury.
Pausing to casually blow dustoff his glasses or inspect his
fingernails, he smoothly told ofhis interrogation of Botham
October 31st 1975, for the CBI.
I pronounce it kibby, but toeach their own.
Botham also talked to Teshabout his trip to Ure and coming
(08:01):
back to the disappearance ofhis wife, he said he never
considered killing his wife.
But when pressed, botham saidhe would push her off a cliff.
And according to Agent Tesh,botham spoke nervously about the
wire cutters found in the car.
During cross, a visibly annoyeddefense attorney foreman
(08:22):
questioned why Agent Tesh didn'tinclude his report that Botham
fell silent when asked about themurders.
When he's now saying it was themost important part of the
interrogation, agent Teshreplied that he didn't know.
The defense also motioned for amistrial on the basis that Agent
Tesh continually used the wordadmission and confession in his
(08:45):
testimony.
That request was denied byJudge Wolvington but he did side
with the defense when it cameto ruling Botham's previous
trial testimony was inadmissible.
The final witness that day wasretired CBI agent and expert in
firearms and tool markings,claude Cook.
(09:06):
He told the jury that the wirecutters found in Botham's car
had cut the wire that waswrapped around the bodies of Pat
and the miracles.
He said.
It took 60 hours to examine thered-handled tool that was
smaller than a ballpoint pen.
Defense attorney foreman spentan hour challenging Claude
(09:26):
Cook's credentials and thecertainty with which he
identified the cutters.
On the last day of theprosecution's case, cbi agent
Cordell Brown also testifiedthat the wire cutters found in
the glove compartment ofBotham's Toyota Land Cruiser
were used to cut the wires foundaround the victims' bodies.
(09:47):
Lee Foreman had a big objectionto Agent Brown using the word
fingerprint to simplify themarkings left by the cutters,
but Judge Wolvington denied therequest for a mistrial.
Prosecutor.
Jorgensen then took the standto read the testimony of
serologist Marion Keeman fromBotham's first trial.
Marion Keeman had a sensepassed away and while trace
(10:11):
amounts of blood matching thetyping of some of the victims,
there was no way to link itexclusively to the victims.
Then the prosecution rested,feeling they had strong enough
circumstantial evidence togetherto prove Botham's guilt, while
the defense thinks that withouta smoking gun the rest of the
evidence is just garbage.
(10:32):
They started their defense bycalling two couples to the stand
Harold and Donna King andNorman and Pauline O'Dell
testified that they saw Bothamat Polly's Motel in Ure as late
as 9.45 pm, and Paulinetestified to having seen
Botham's car there on themorning of August 23rd.
(10:55):
Before the next day's testimony, the defense and prosecution
questioned what will be allowedfrom Botham's testimony in his
first trial if he takes thestand in the current trial.
The defense also asked foraccess to a pair of wire cutters
that had been found at theMiracle Home and accused
prosecutors of purposefullyhiding the cutters from them.
(11:16):
Da Terry Farina responded withI'm starting to take personally
some of these allegations aboutcover-up and said the cutters
have always been available tothe defense.
After that bit of housekeeping,the defense established that
the weather had been bad on thenight of August 22nd, which the
prosecution promptly rebuttedthat it wasn't bad all the way
(11:39):
from Ure to Grand Junction.
The owner of the Ure planedealer, joyce Juergensen, no
relation to prosecutorJuergensen, also testified about
an ad Botham took out in earlyNovember 1975, in which he was
looking for a man he claimed totalk to late on August 22nd in
Ure.
At the start of the next day,judge Wolvington ruled that
(12:01):
Botham's previous testimonywould be admissible if he took
the stand.
Kibbe's head of chemistry,richard Layman, then testified
that shreds found in the wirecutters did not match those
found on the wire wrapped aroundthe bodies, contradicting his
colleague Cordell Brown.
(12:23):
Battle of the Agents Two agentsenter, one agent leaves.
Also a chemist for Marathon OilCompany, perry Argebright.
He actually helped pioneer atesting technique like gas
chromatography, but he confirmedRichard's findings.
Then Kenneth DeWise from anelectronic shop in Grand
(12:47):
Junction told the jury thatInspector Vig let slip that the
bodies were bound with wire whenhe interviewed him, a fact that
prosecution said only thekiller could know.
Then Sheriff's Captain BobSilva also admitted to having
taken the wire around to variousshops to try and match it.
(13:07):
Upon looking back at hisreports he realized that he told
all the owners that the wirewas from the Bothamirical
Murders.
The defense then gotophthalmologist Dr Joel
Goldstein to testify thatKoraheiner, the neighbor,
couldn't see the large E on theeye test chart from 100 feet
(13:28):
away at the time of the murderswhen she said she saw a tall,
slender man carrying heavy loadsinto a square car in the middle
of the night.
Officer Tom Montgomery alsotook the stand to tell the jury
how Inspector Vig had instructedhim to only collect Botham's 22
(13:49):
caliber weapons, putting theprosecution's assertion that
Botham only presented 22 caliberweapons because he had known
what weapon was used on Troy andChad Miracle.
Reverend OJ Haller alsotestified to Botham's behavior
around the time of thedisappearance in murders.
They had met as usual themorning after Botham discovered
(14:12):
his wife's disappearance to talkover the music during the
church program.
They then met around November 3to go back to your ray.
Reverend Haller helped Bothamplace the ad, seeking out a man
who'd seen Botham late on August22.
Botham also talked to him aboutremarriage less than a week
(14:33):
after the bodies had beendiscovered.
Not a good look.
Reverend Haller told the jurythat emotions did not come easy
to Botham Quote he never openedup about anything and he never
broke down emotionally about Patand while the prosecution sees
that as part of a guiltnarrative, it was just cause for
(14:54):
concern for Reverend Haller.
He said it bothered me If hewas keeping those emotions in.
I worried about when he wasgoing to blow up.
Reverend Haller joined Botham'sfamily in the courtroom after
his testimony.
Haller met Crawford, thentestified to having seen Norm
(15:15):
Wilhelm's car, which I think waslike a green Porsche, at Linda
Miracle's house after 11.30pm onAugust 22.
Norm had told the court theprior week that he had left
Linda's by 11.30.
Defense investigator RogerBalody told the court that Norm
(15:35):
resisted efforts to interviewhim In his mind at the last
minute.
When investigator Balodyarrived at his house quote he
was visibly trembling, not likehe was mad, but rather like he
was emotionally upset.
Ever since Botham's first trialthe defense has been trying to
(15:57):
get one of Linda's sisters inlaw, patsy Murphy on the stand.
She had spent four hours withLinda on the day of her
disappearance.
According to her, linda wasplanning on breaking up with
Norm that night.
She also said that former MesaCounty Sheriff's Deputy Truman
Haley called Linda while she waswith her and said that Norm had
(16:19):
better be gone when he gotthere that night.
But none of this was deemedrelevant, so Patsy did not
testify.
However, linda's brother wasallowed to testify, każowicz
Sachin.
Norm told him he hadn't seenLinda since their Friday night
(16:43):
date and, in a twist, glen andNorm had become roommates after
his sister's murder and werestill friends at the time of
Glen's testimony.
For a small relief, a storybelow the fold, also by Michael
Moss, mentioned how JudgeWolvington's wife was healing an
injured leg by sitting in onthe bottom trial.
(17:06):
He said teasingly she'd chooseme out every night, to which she
replied not so Well, I'veagreed with all your decisions
so far.
Just a cute couple moment.
Back to the treachery.
The defense then called 24 yearveteran of the San Bernardino
Sheriff's Office andcriminologist Anthony Longetti.
(17:27):
He said he was not able tomatch the wire cutters to the
cut wires on the bodies.
I know what you're thinkingwhat about the striations?
He said there wasn't sufficientdetail.
Longetti had been cut down.
His credentials on cross,saying he hadn't done toolmark
analysis in 10 years and onlyspent 20 hours examining the
(17:50):
evidence over the New Year's Eveholiday the previous year.
Anthony Longetti stuck with hisfindings, though the next day
was the great stomach contentdebate In 2023,.
We pretty much know that stomachcontent analysis is not
reliable because of all thevariables, but during Boethem's
(18:11):
1982 trial, however, it was ahot topic and it's everything
we've heard before.
The original forensicpathologist, dr Thomas Canfield,
who originally said thatstomach contents were unreliable
, was forced to give anestimation of time of death
based on just that.
(18:32):
During his examination, wherethere was like a bunch of
officers, his preliminary guesswas one, one and a half, maybe
two hours.
They had eaten and then beenmurdered.
But on the stand he hasconsistently said that the
miracles had eaten four to fivehours before their deaths and,
(18:53):
according to Norm Wilhelm, whojoined the miracles for dinner
that night, he said dinnerdidn't end until 9.30.
This lines up perfectly withthe prosecution's timeline.
But what?
There's more more doctors, thatis, dr Ron Cornebloom and Dr
John Wood said two to four hoursafter eating was the timeline,
(19:18):
and when pressed for morespecifics, they both said closer
to two hours, putting thedeaths much earlier in the
evening, aligning with thedefense's timeline and giving
Boethem's alibi more credence inproving his innocence.
After all this undigestedinformation, the defense rested.
Ken Boethem did not testify inhis own defense.
(19:41):
Boethem's parents watched hiswhole trial.
They are… the Dill, theguardians for his sons that and
there, who were eight and elevenduring his second trial, as
well as for his 13 year oldsister Ruth.
His mother, ever the optimist,believed that the defense proved
their case enough for anacquittal.
(20:01):
His father, though, was worried.
Apparently, jurors weren'tallowed to take notes unless
allowed by the judge in Coloradoat the time.
I don't know this.
Still a thing you can't takenotes.
That seems wild.
And Judge Wolvington did notallow them to take notes because
he thought they would miss toomuch while writing.
(20:22):
Kenneth Botham senior said Ijust wonder how that jury will
remember everything withoutnotes.
Some of that testimony was socomplex.
They should really be allowednotes.
Not with you, ken.
Enclosing arguments DA TerryFarina stacked questions like
who owns a large squarebackvehicle, who is six feet tall,
(20:47):
lean, with dark hair, who had agirlfriend, entered the victims
homes without using force, whosechildren are still alive.
Quote that man there, pointingto Botham, can victim on all
four accounts.
Public defender Lee Foremanalso asked the jury a question
(21:08):
if Linda Miracle was murdered at1 or 1 30 am, what did she do
after her boyfriend norm left?
At 11 30 pm?
The oven and two burners werestill on and the table was
unclear.
She hadn't slept in her bed atall.
He also pointed outincongruities like confused
(21:28):
witnesses for the prosecution,incompetent police
investigations, a nearly blindeye witness and a defendant who
reacted like anyone would whohad been hounded by police.
Quote our case is over now.
You've heard the evidence.
You have to find this man notguilty because he's not, and you
have to do it quickly andquickly.
(21:52):
They did Return of verdict atleast.
After adjourning to the jurybox around 3 pm, they spent five
formal hours deliberating at 937 am the next day.
The jury found Kenneth BothamJr Guilty on one count of
first-degree murder and threecounts of second-degree murder.
(22:15):
In February 1982, a 34 year oldBotham was sentenced to three
consecutive terms of 20 to 30years and the most optimistic
view of Botham's parole, hecould be up for parole at the
earliest in 2012.
After his conviction, the trialsof Kenneth Botham Jr Were
(22:40):
literally mentioned in every bigcourt case out of Grand
Junction and also any time oneof these investigators or judges
Involved gave an interview.
For whatever reason, theyalways brought up this case,
whether for press coverage orchange of venue.
His trials were brought upthroughout 1983 and into the
(23:02):
2000s.
Another effect of these trialswas that Judge William Ella was
more inclined to transfer bigcases to other venues, which is
quite a different tune than hismultiple denials of a venue
change.
During Botham's first trial InSeptember 1984, botham's appeal
to the Colorado Supreme Courtwas denied.
(23:22):
Kenneth Botham's parents haveboth passed, as well as one of
his sons there who died in amotorcycle accident in 2008.
Ken Botham is now 75 years oldand will have a parole hearing
in July of 2025.
Before Thayer Botham's death, hecompiled a lot of information,
(23:44):
evidence, news stories,timelines etc.
On the Botham Miracle Murdersand he made this website.
You can still go look at it.
The homepage reads my name isThayer Botham.
I was only five when my motherdied and now I am attempting to
expose the truth as I know itand an effort to establish the
(24:06):
rightful, true and honesthistory that encompasses our
families and the other victimsfamilies lives.
I hold no illusions as to whommight be guilty.
Whoever really committed theseheinous crimes Obviously should
be held legally accountable,even if that turns out to be my
(24:26):
father, ken Botham.
That's a wrap on Pat and theMiracles.
Thanks for coming along on thisjourney.
If you are interested in Photosrelated to this case, you can
check them out over at theInstagram at murder is bad
podcast, and if you're Feelingso inclined and leave a
(24:52):
five-star review and maybe anice little note.
Wherever you're listening, justremember To take care of each
other and that murder is bad.
Hiya, this is Julia and Moida is bad Music.
Alright, folks, we are going towrap up the Botham Miracle
(00:25):
Murders today.
Exciting who knew it would befive parts?
I certainly didn't.
We've made it halfway throughthe second trial of Kenneth
Botham Jr in the murders of hiswife, pat Botham, and their
neighbors Linda Troy and ChadMiracle.
Botham was granted this newtrial, which is being held in
(00:49):
Golden, colorado, and theprosecution continues their case
against him.
But you know, before we getinto that, I gotta tell you what
was going on in 1982.
Hoyle, hank Aaron and FrankRobinson are elected to the Hall
of Fame Yay, baseball Peopleare listening to Olivia
(01:09):
Newton-John, whom I will alwayslove, love, love, and they were
watching Dallas and Falconcrest,and on Golden Pond it just come
out Jane Fonda, catherineHepburn, watch it Also.
This is when Kathleen Durst,robert Durst's wife, goes
missing and he will eventuallybe charged with her murder in
(01:31):
2021.
So Public Defender Lee Foremantold the Daily Sentinel that he
has yet to see anythingabsolutely incriminating.
Mesa County District AttorneyTerry Farina agreed with him but
said the prosecution was goingto string together a series of
coincidences that together nolonger are coincidences.
(01:53):
Quote our case is building.
If you build it, they will come, they being a bunch of dead
baseball players.
Did you know that?
The actual line is if you buildit, he will come.
I don't know who the he is, butthat's the line.
Look it up.
Back to the Circumstantial,non-coincidental coincidences
Georgia Hunter formerly GeorgiaLamar, and Linda Cistern Law
(02:16):
Patsy Miracle testified thatBotham had cleaned his car in
the days following the murder.
The Defenses reaction it's apoint now that everyone in the
neighborhood washed their carsthat weekend.
A more intense objection camewhen a former co-worker, john
Burt Hayes, testified.
He talked about Botham tellinghim about his car being broken
(02:37):
into and how his.22 caliberpistol was stolen, which
obviously ended up being a lie.
John then talked about anaffair Botham tried to cover up.
This is when the jury was askedto leave the courtroom in order
for the defense to air itsgrievances.
Defense Attorney Norman Muellersaid I've seen such a blatant
(03:00):
attack on the character of aperson.
This is clearly characterassassination and material for
mistrial.
Prosecutor Jerry Jorgensenrebutted with.
We are trying to show motive onthe part of the defendant that
he was insensitive and arrogant,that he wouldn't even buy his
own wife clothes and made herget by on $20 a week for
(03:22):
groceries, and Defense AttorneyForeman said come on, if that's
animosity.
You've said many worse thingsto your wife.
What does that have to do withthe basic question here?
Whether he killed the victimsor not, all right, you're both
pretty Okay.
Judge Winston Wolvington agreedwith the defense.
(03:42):
Those statements would only beallowed if the defense puts
forth evidence about thedefendant's character.
But that wasn't even thehighlight of the day.
Old friend Timothy Tyreetestified about going on
shooting practice trips withBotham near Three Sisters Hill.
He also talked about floatingthe Gunnison River and pulling
(04:03):
the rafts in at Bridgeport, nearwhere the bodies of Pat, linda,
troy and Chad were found.
The men talked about watercurlsthat could hold something down
for a long, long time.
On cross examination, attorneyForeman pointed out that most
boaters put their rafts in atBridgeport and that the
watercurls mentioned by Bothamweren't even found near
(04:26):
Bridgeport.
Timothy Tyree also said thatBotham was typically sarcastic,
sometimes bad-mouthing his wifePatricia and twice embarrassing
her in front of him by grabbingher and unzipping her pants.
That is not Embarrassing her,that's assaulting her, what he's
feral On cross.
(04:46):
Timothy answered no to whetherhe doubted that Bossam cared for
his wife and kids.
Oh then the prosecution built upto investigator Milo Vig
identifying all the guns theygot from Bossam's possession.
There were four.22 caliber gunsand a.38 caliber snub-nose
(05:10):
pistol.
Attorney Foreman made sure topoint out that none of the
weapons presented was the gunused to shoot the miracle kids.
Prosecution tried to argue thatBossam knew the weapon was a.22
caliber before that informationwas released because when asked
to turn over his weapons heonly turned over the.22 caliber
(05:31):
ones.
But on cross, investigator Vigcasted doubt whether or not the
detectives themselves had onlyrequested the.22 caliber weapons
.
After the testimonies hadconcluded, lee Foreman said why
did they bring in eight guns,none of which were connected to
the crime?
Was it to scare the jury?
(05:53):
Detective Mike Smith started thenext day by describing Bossam's
arrest on November 8th 1975.
He had been following Bossamalong US 50 when he was pulled
over and arrested.
Marie Griffin and Bossam'schildren were in the car as well
.
Detective Smith also detailedthe collection of physical
(06:13):
evidence from Bossam's vehicleoffice and his home.
The evidence included was hair,blood stains, wire cutters and
a wall calendar that had thejury written over August 22nd
and 23rd.
The defense tried to point outthe inconsistencies of the
investigation and implied thatthe evidence was not properly
(06:33):
logged and that not all materialsamples were sent to Colorado
Bureau of Investigations orKibbe for testing.
The second to testify was Kibbeagent Gerald Tesh.
He had interrogated Ken Bossamon October 31st in 1975.
Alert we found out the name ofBossam's St Bernard.
(06:55):
I know it's been weighing onyou.
So during the interrogationthey talk about the personality
of Bossam's dog, florence.
Adorable Dog days are over.
But when the pup talk was overthe pair dove into more serious
topics about the murders.
Agent Tesh asked who Bossamthought committed the murders
and Bossam fell silent.
(07:17):
Why can't you tell me?
Did you shoot them?
If I told you what would happento my boys, they'd be taken
care of but I'd have to go tojail.
Hell yes, you would, hell yes.
Here's another fun piece ofwriting by Michael Moss of the
Daily Sentinel.
(07:37):
Tesh, who has testified inhundreds of criminal cases,
spoke directly to the jury.
Pausing to casually blow dustoff his glasses or inspect his
fingernails, he smoothly told ofhis interrogation of Botham
October 31st 1975, for the CBI.
I pronounce it kibby, but toeach their own.
Botham also talked to Teshabout his trip to Ure and coming
(08:01):
back to the disappearance ofhis wife, he said he never
considered killing his wife.
But when pressed, botham saidhe would push her off a cliff.
And according to Agent Tesh,botham spoke nervously about the
wire cutters found in the car.
During cross, a visibly annoyeddefense attorney foreman
(08:22):
questioned why Agent Tesh didn'tinclude his report that Botham
fell silent when asked about themurders.
When he's now saying it was themost important part of the
interrogation, agent Teshreplied that he didn't know.
The defense also motioned for amistrial on the basis that Agent
Tesh continually used the wordadmission and confession in his
(08:45):
testimony.
That request was denied byJudge Wolvington but he did side
with the defense when it cameto ruling Botham's previous
trial testimony was inadmissible.
The final witness that day wasretired CBI agent and expert in
firearms and tool markings,claude Cook.
(09:06):
He told the jury that the wirecutters found in Botham's car
had cut the wire that waswrapped around the bodies of Pat
and the miracles.
He said.
It took 60 hours to examine thered-handled tool that was
smaller than a ballpoint pen.
Defense attorney foreman spentan hour challenging Claude
(09:26):
Cook's credentials and thecertainty with which he
identified the cutters.
On the last day of theprosecution's case, cbi agent
Cordell Brown also testifiedthat the wire cutters found in
the glove compartment ofBotham's Toyota Land Cruiser
were used to cut the wires foundaround the victims' bodies.
(09:47):
Lee Foreman had a big objectionto Agent Brown using the word
fingerprint to simplify themarkings left by the cutters,
but Judge Wolvington denied therequest for a mistrial.
Prosecutor.
Jorgensen then took the standto read the testimony of
serologist Marion Keeman fromBotham's first trial.
Marion Keeman had a sensepassed away and while trace
(10:11):
amounts of blood matching thetyping of some of the victims,
there was no way to link itexclusively to the victims.
Then the prosecution rested,feeling they had strong enough
circumstantial evidence togetherto prove Botham's guilt, while
the defense thinks that withouta smoking gun the rest of the
evidence is just garbage.
(10:32):
They started their defense bycalling two couples to the stand
Harold and Donna King andNorman and Pauline O'Dell
testified that they saw Bothamat Polly's Motel in Ure as late
as 9.45 pm, and Paulinetestified to having seen
Botham's car there on themorning of August 23rd.
(10:55):
Before the next day's testimony, the defense and prosecution
questioned what will be allowedfrom Botham's testimony in his
first trial if he takes thestand in the current trial.
The defense also asked foraccess to a pair of wire cutters
that had been found at theMiracle Home and accused
prosecutors of purposefullyhiding the cutters from them.
(11:16):
Da Terry Farina responded withI'm starting to take personally
some of these allegations aboutcover-up and said the cutters
have always been available tothe defense.
After that bit of housekeeping,the defense established that
the weather had been bad on thenight of August 22nd, which the
prosecution promptly rebuttedthat it wasn't bad all the way
(11:39):
from Ure to Grand Junction.
The owner of the Ure planedealer, joyce Juergensen, no
relation to prosecutorJuergensen, also testified about
an ad Botham took out in earlyNovember 1975, in which he was
looking for a man he claimed totalk to late on August 22nd in
Ure.
At the start of the next day,judge Wolvington ruled that
(12:01):
Botham's previous testimonywould be admissible if he took
the stand.
Kibbe's head of chemistry,richard Layman, then testified
that shreds found in the wirecutters did not match those
found on the wire wrapped aroundthe bodies, contradicting his
colleague Cordell Brown.
(12:23):
Battle of the Agents Two agentsenter, one agent leaves.
Also a chemist for Marathon OilCompany, perry Argebright.
He actually helped pioneer atesting technique like gas
chromatography, but he confirmedRichard's findings.
Then Kenneth DeWise from anelectronic shop in Grand
(12:47):
Junction told the jury thatInspector Vig let slip that the
bodies were bound with wire whenhe interviewed him, a fact that
prosecution said only thekiller could know.
Then Sheriff's Captain BobSilva also admitted to having
taken the wire around to variousshops to try and match it.
(13:07):
Upon looking back at hisreports he realized that he told
all the owners that the wirewas from the Bothamirical
Murders.
The defense then gotophthalmologist Dr Joel
Goldstein to testify thatKoraheiner, the neighbor,
couldn't see the large E on theeye test chart from 100 feet
(13:28):
away at the time of the murderswhen she said she saw a tall,
slender man carrying heavy loadsinto a square car in the middle
of the night.
Officer Tom Montgomery alsotook the stand to tell the jury
how Inspector Vig had instructedhim to only collect Botham's 22
(13:49):
caliber weapons, putting theprosecution's assertion that
Botham only presented 22 caliberweapons because he had known
what weapon was used on Troy andChad Miracle.
Reverend OJ Haller alsotestified to Botham's behavior
around the time of thedisappearance in murders.
They had met as usual themorning after Botham discovered
(14:12):
his wife's disappearance to talkover the music during the
church program.
They then met around November 3to go back to your ray.
Reverend Haller helped Bothamplace the ad, seeking out a man
who'd seen Botham late on August22.
Botham also talked to him aboutremarriage less than a week
(14:33):
after the bodies had beendiscovered.
Not a good look.
Reverend Haller told the jurythat emotions did not come easy
to Botham Quote he never openedup about anything and he never
broke down emotionally about Patand while the prosecution sees
that as part of a guiltnarrative, it was just cause for
(14:54):
concern for Reverend Haller.
He said it bothered me If hewas keeping those emotions in.
I worried about when he wasgoing to blow up.
Reverend Haller joined Botham'sfamily in the courtroom after
his testimony.
Haller met Crawford, thentestified to having seen Norm
(15:15):
Wilhelm's car, which I think waslike a green Porsche, at Linda
Miracle's house after 11.30pm onAugust 22.
Norm had told the court theprior week that he had left
Linda's by 11.30.
Defense investigator RogerBalody told the court that Norm
(15:35):
resisted efforts to interviewhim In his mind at the last
minute.
When investigator Balodyarrived at his house quote he
was visibly trembling, not likehe was mad, but rather like he
was emotionally upset.
Ever since Botham's first trialthe defense has been trying to
(15:57):
get one of Linda's sisters inlaw, patsy Murphy on the stand.
She had spent four hours withLinda on the day of her
disappearance.
According to her, linda wasplanning on breaking up with
Norm that night.
She also said that former MesaCounty Sheriff's Deputy Truman
Haley called Linda while she waswith her and said that Norm had
(16:19):
better be gone when he gotthere that night.
But none of this was deemedrelevant, so Patsy did not
testify.
However, linda's brother wasallowed to testify, każowicz
Sachin.
Norm told him he hadn't seenLinda since their Friday night
(16:43):
date and, in a twist, glen andNorm had become roommates after
his sister's murder and werestill friends at the time of
Glen's testimony.
For a small relief, a storybelow the fold, also by Michael
Moss, mentioned how JudgeWolvington's wife was healing an
injured leg by sitting in onthe bottom trial.
(17:06):
He said teasingly she'd chooseme out every night, to which she
replied not so Well, I'veagreed with all your decisions
so far.
Just a cute couple moment.
Back to the treachery.
The defense then called 24 yearveteran of the San Bernardino
Sheriff's Office andcriminologist Anthony Longetti.
(17:27):
He said he was not able tomatch the wire cutters to the
cut wires on the bodies.
I know what you're thinkingwhat about the striations?
He said there wasn't sufficientdetail.
Longetti had been cut down.
His credentials on cross,saying he hadn't done toolmark
analysis in 10 years and onlyspent 20 hours examining the
(17:50):
evidence over the New Year's Eveholiday the previous year.
Anthony Longetti stuck with hisfindings, though the next day
was the great stomach contentdebate In 2023,.
We pretty much know that stomachcontent analysis is not
reliable because of all thevariables, but during Boethem's
(18:11):
1982 trial, however, it was ahot topic and it's everything
we've heard before.
The original forensicpathologist, dr Thomas Canfield,
who originally said thatstomach contents were unreliable
, was forced to give anestimation of time of death
based on just that.
(18:32):
During his examination, wherethere was like a bunch of
officers, his preliminary guesswas one, one and a half, maybe
two hours.
They had eaten and then beenmurdered.
But on the stand he hasconsistently said that the
miracles had eaten four to fivehours before their deaths and,
(18:53):
according to Norm Wilhelm, whojoined the miracles for dinner
that night, he said dinnerdidn't end until 9.30.
This lines up perfectly withthe prosecution's timeline.
But what?
There's more more doctors, thatis, dr Ron Cornebloom and Dr
John Wood said two to four hoursafter eating was the timeline,
(19:18):
and when pressed for morespecifics, they both said closer
to two hours, putting thedeaths much earlier in the
evening, aligning with thedefense's timeline and giving
Boethem's alibi more credence inproving his innocence.
After all this undigestedinformation, the defense rested.
Ken Boethem did not testify inhis own defense.
(19:41):
Boethem's parents watched hiswhole trial.
They are… the Dill, theguardians for his sons that and
there, who were eight and elevenduring his second trial, as
well as for his 13 year oldsister Ruth.
His mother, ever the optimist,believed that the defense proved
their case enough for anacquittal.
(20:01):
His father, though, was worried.
Apparently, jurors weren'tallowed to take notes unless
allowed by the judge in Coloradoat the time.
I don't know this.
Still a thing you can't takenotes.
That seems wild.
And Judge Wolvington did notallow them to take notes because
he thought they would miss toomuch while writing.
(20:22):
Kenneth Botham senior said Ijust wonder how that jury will
remember everything withoutnotes.
Some of that testimony was socomplex.
They should really be allowednotes.
Not with you, ken.
Enclosing arguments DA TerryFarina stacked questions like
who owns a large squarebackvehicle, who is six feet tall,
(20:47):
lean, with dark hair, who had agirlfriend, entered the victims
homes without using force, whosechildren are still alive.
Quote that man there, pointingto Botham, can victim on all
four accounts.
Public defender Lee Foremanalso asked the jury a question
(21:08):
if Linda Miracle was murdered at1 or 1 30 am, what did she do
after her boyfriend norm left?
At 11 30 pm?
The oven and two burners werestill on and the table was
unclear.
She hadn't slept in her bed atall.
He also pointed outincongruities like confused
(21:28):
witnesses for the prosecution,incompetent police
investigations, a nearly blindeye witness and a defendant who
reacted like anyone would whohad been hounded by police.
Quote our case is over now.
You've heard the evidence.
You have to find this man notguilty because he's not, and you
have to do it quickly andquickly.
(21:52):
They did Return of verdict atleast.
After adjourning to the jurybox around 3 pm, they spent five
formal hours deliberating at 937 am the next day.
The jury found Kenneth BothamJr Guilty on one count of
first-degree murder and threecounts of second-degree murder.
(22:15):
In February 1982, a 34 year oldBotham was sentenced to three
consecutive terms of 20 to 30years and the most optimistic
view of Botham's parole, hecould be up for parole at the
earliest in 2012.
After his conviction, the trialsof Kenneth Botham Jr Were
(22:40):
literally mentioned in every bigcourt case out of Grand
Junction and also any time oneof these investigators or judges
Involved gave an interview.
For whatever reason, theyalways brought up this case,
whether for press coverage orchange of venue.
His trials were brought upthroughout 1983 and into the
(23:02):
2000s.
Another effect of these trialswas that Judge William Ella was
more inclined to transfer bigcases to other venues, which is
quite a different tune than hismultiple denials of a venue
change.
During Botham's first trial InSeptember 1984, botham's appeal
to the Colorado Supreme Courtwas denied.
(23:22):
Kenneth Botham's parents haveboth passed, as well as one of
his sons there who died in amotorcycle accident in 2008.
Ken Botham is now 75 years oldand will have a parole hearing
in July of 2025.
Before Thayer Botham's death, hecompiled a lot of information,
(23:44):
evidence, news stories,timelines etc.
On the Botham Miracle Murdersand he made this website.
You can still go look at it.
The homepage reads my name isThayer Botham.
I was only five when my motherdied and now I am attempting to
expose the truth as I know itand an effort to establish the
(24:06):
rightful, true and honesthistory that encompasses our
families and the other victimsfamilies lives.
I hold no illusions as to whommight be guilty.
Whoever really committed theseheinous crimes Obviously should
be held legally accountable,even if that turns out to be my
(24:26):
father, ken Botham.
That's a wrap on Pat and theMiracles.
Thanks for coming along on thisjourney.
If you are interested in Photosrelated to this case, you can
check them out over at theInstagram at murder is bad
podcast, and if you're Feelingso inclined and leave a
(24:52):
five-star review and maybe anice little note.
Wherever you're listening, justremember To take care of each
other and that murder is bad.
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