September 5, 2023 • 26 mins
Revealing testimonies, perplexing forensic evidence, and a captivating insight into the life of the accused, Kenneth Botham Jr., form the chilling narrative of this episode. As the validity of the evidence presented is questioned, the question is - is this a pursuit of justice or just of vindication? Remember to follow on Instagram, subscribe to our podcast, and leave a review for the Murder Is Bad podcast!
Giblin, Mary Louise. “Prosecution’s final witness testifies.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Col. December 8, 1976.
Giblin, Mary Louise. “Botham takes stand in his own defense.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Col. December 9, 1976.
Frederick, Don. “Botham counsel asks death penalty ban.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Col. August 26, 1976.
Frederick, Don and Hathaway, Paul. “Woman’s body found in river near county line.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Col. September 27, 1975.
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):
Hello, this is Julia, and murder is bad.
When we last left the BothamMiracle Murders case, the
(00:23):
husband of one of the victims,kenneth Botham Jr, had been
arrested for the murders of hiswife, patricia Botham, their
neighbor Linda Miracle and hertwo children, troy and Chad
Miracle.
His defense team from thePublic Defender's Office had
filed a million motions andrequests for mistrials, all of
which had been denied.
(00:44):
And now we're right in themiddle of the prosecution
presenting their evidenceagainst him.
For more details, feel free togo and listen to the other
episodes in the series titledPat and the Miracles.
A case that started in thesummer of 1975 has made its way
to the winter of 1976.
The first Rocky has just beenreleased, as well as the
(01:08):
original Freaky Friday withJodie Foster and also Shaggy DA,
where a man wanting to become adistrict attorney finds himself
turning into a sheepdog.
Look it up, disney got weird.
This is also the time of RodStewart, boston and Stevie
Wonder.
And, speaking of Wonder, wonderWoman starring Linda Carter
(01:28):
debuted on ABC.
Back in the courtroom in GrandJunction, colorado, the
prosecution continues to presentevidence and witnesses to
bolster their case for fourcounts of first degree murder.
Ure neighbor, michael Larson,gets on the stand and tells the
jury about hearing two screamshe heard around 1.30 am on
(01:49):
August 23rd.
He also saw a light on in thefront bedroom of the Botham's
home.
He said the second scream quotesounded more like a lady's
voice.
Another neighbor, cora Heiner,testified about what she had
seen and heard on the night ofAugust 22nd into August 23rd the
Botham, st Bernard barking andtwo sharp pops that sound like
(02:11):
gunshots coming from across thestreet.
She adds that she saw a men'shead bending down looking at the
floor in the Miracle home.
One then backed up a car to theporch and carried out a heavy
bundle.
She said the man had glasses.
The defense cross-examines Coraabout cataract and glaucoma
surgeries that occurredimmediately after the incident.
(02:33):
She was asked to identifyBotham, her neighbor, and
pointed to Captain Joe Hicks.
Instead the defense moves todisqualify Cora as an eyewitness
and when that is denied theymove for a mistrial, which is
also denied.
Commander Mike Smith returns tothe stand to talk about
Botham's.22 caliberwestern-style pistol.
(02:56):
When officers were searchingthe Botham's house in Ure A
Avenue, they noticed ventsindicating some type of crawl
space.
Botham said that the onlyentrance had been sealed off,
showing a spot in the back ofthe house that had boards nailed
over it.
The owners of the house, johnand Steve Brant, testified.
John said that Botham knewabout the crawl space and how to
(03:17):
get in there.
John had told them about itwhen the family moved in because
there had been problems withthe furnace and wanted Botham to
be able to oil it.
I am so inept.
How does the furnace work andwhy do you need to oil it?
That's all I have to say.
So Steve testified about how hehad found the.22 caliber pistol
(03:39):
in the crawl space after doingwork down there a couple of
times.
Some insulation had come loosefrom a joist in the house and
once it fell out, tumbled thepistol.
Investigator Milo Vig thentestified to the events that had
taken place in the earlymorning hours of June 15th.
This is when Linda Miracle hadbeen attacked by an unidentified
(04:02):
man.
Botham told Investigator Vigthat he had heard two screams
about 10 minutes apart, turnedon his porch light and saw Linda
in her doorway fainting.
He gave her mouth to mouthbefore calling the rescue squad.
I kept reading this, and that'sjust a fun name.
Linda was said to have beenstrangled in that incident,
(04:29):
which led to an objection and adefense motion for a mistrial
denied.
Of course.
Investigator Vig continued histestimony the next day.
He told the jury how Bothamsaid he had wire in his shed but
couldn't find it.
Botham had told InvestigatorVig that Pat had tied up some
sunflowers in the back and usedthe wire cutters and she had
(04:50):
left the rest of the wire andthe cutters by the shed.
But officers had not found anyextra wire and had found the
wire cutters in Botham's landcruiser.
Nextdoor neighbor Floyd Larsontestified that he walked his dog
past Botham's backyard twice aday and had never seen the
sunflowers tied up.
(05:12):
He even noticed after a heavyrain that the sunflowers had
slumped over.
So the way this house is set upI don't know if you have
neighborhoods like this whereyou're at, but there's like an
alleyway behind the house andthat abuts the backs of other
houses from the street over.
So that's where he walked hisdog.
(05:33):
So the house across that alleybehind the Botham's home
belonged to Joan Ritter, whoalso told the jury that she
gardened outside and would talkwith Pat occasionally.
Joan had told Pat she needed tostake her sunflowers, but three
weeks later Pat was gonewithout ever having tied them up
.
On the last day of theprosecution's arguments,
(05:53):
forensic serologist Marion cameand testified.
Serology is the study of bloodserum, particularly in regard to
immune responses to pathogensor introduced substances.
Basically, pat, linda and Troyall had A-type blood and A-type
blood was found on a mat inBotham's land cruiser, chad.
(06:14):
Ken Botham and some of Botham'simmediate family had O-type
blood.
But the only other blood typethe serologist found was C-type
on some rags Botham had.
So I'd never heard of C-typeblood.
So I looked into it but I'mstill confused.
Maybe you can help me.
So in 1901, we start typingblood A, b and C.
(06:36):
Later on, sometime after 1930,we switched to calling C-type
blood to O-type blood.
So what the heck is Marion cameand talking about?
I have no answers for you, butColorado Bureau of
Investigations or Kibbe agentCordell Brown then testified
that three out of the eight endsof the wires binding the bodies
(06:56):
were confirmed to be cut withthe wire cutters from Botham's
car.
Those cutters had one taperededge and one flat.
It also had some identifyingstriations and a chip that
showed up as an imprint on thecut wires.
Also, any reason for me to saythe word striation?
I'm there for it.
The wire ends also had someoxidation, implying they may
(07:20):
have been cut sometime beforebeing used, leading one to
believe maybe sunflowers weretied up with it weeks ago and
that's the wire that was used.
That's what defense tries tolead you to.
There was also material foundin the wire cutters that had the
same origins and chemicalcomposition as material found on
the wires around the bodies.
(07:42):
Kibbe agent Gerald Tash thentold the jury about a
conversation he had with KenBotham.
Here's part of the trim scriptDid you shoot the boys?
What is the reason?
Why can't you tell me?
If I told you, what wouldhappen to my boys?
Your boys will be well takencare of, but I would have to go
(08:05):
to jail.
You do not confess your sins toany man, only to God.
When Kibbe agent Tash asked himhow he knew what the victims
had been tied with, ken saidquote I knew it was wire affixed
to the bodies because I heardit on the news in the pelvic
area Very specific, very sus.
(08:27):
All right, agent Tesh said.
Botham said he had neverseriously considered killing his
wife but has speculated how itwould be if she might leave.
I don't know if you've seenthose like really bad police,
like confession tapes wherethey're just like oh no, okay,
but just guess.
If you had to guess what thekiller would do, what do you
(08:49):
think the killer did?
If you were the killer, whatwould you do?
And they eventually get someoneto say something like this.
So when Agent Tesh asked Bothamto speculate how he would kill
Pat, botham said by pushing herover a cliff with the camera
equipment sitting around.
Agent Tesh also said thatBotham seemed overly concerned
(09:11):
about the police's interest inthe wire cutters, whatever that
means.
He said he probably used themin the spring at the office and
said they were old and probablyshould have been thrown away and
were only used in an emergencyand vaguely remembered using
them to cut copper.
Botham also told Agent Teshthat they might find his blood,
(09:32):
his family's blood and orLynch's blood from an incident a
year ago.
Quote I cleaned it up.
Wow, rich text.
Before the prosecution rested, aman named Steve Norris
testified he had spent thesummer of 75 in Ure One night a
night he can't remember asAugust 23rd or August 30th, or
(09:54):
maybe it was the weekend beforehe met a man who matched
Botham's description outside thelong branch bar.
He also remembers seeing a blueand white Toyota around that
weekend.
The man asked if he knew of adark room where he could get
pictures developed and Stevesaid no, quote.
He stood there looking at me.
(10:16):
I got uncomfortable and startedto leave.
I noticed him turn around andgo away.
Cool.
When the defense opens the nextday, the first witness they call
is Ken Botham Jr, the manhimself.
Now I usually hear that it's abad idea to testify during your
home trial, but let's see how itgoes for Botham.
(10:36):
He starts by saying he talkedto a man on the night of August
22nd in Ure between 11 pm andmidnight.
But Botham said he didn'trecognize Steve Norris as that
man he goes on to talk about.
When he left for Ure His voicecracked when he said that his
wife, pat, had asked to go withhim at the last minute.
Quote I told her I didn't havetime.
(10:58):
I was running very late and Ididn't have time for her to get
ready.
That day Botham had gone to workand came home for dinner as
usual.
Then he left for hisphotography trip, making a stop
by White Arms Machine Shop for aphoto assignment.
He said the weather is bad, sohe went to Ure instead of
(11:18):
continuing on.
He walked into Ure that nightsometimes.
He said he jogged and met a manbetween the Long Branch Bar and
the photo shop.
He was squatting and staringinto the photo place.
That was closed, he said I feltmy actions were probably
suspicious.
When he talked to the man hegot directed to Joyce Jorgensen,
(11:40):
the editor of the Ure planedealer.
When he got back to his room itwas nearer to midnight than 11.
In the morning Botham went toYankee Boy Basin and then to
Imogen.
The weather wasn't great forpictures so he only stayed until
1 pm before he left for home.
Pulling up to his house he sawhis toddler playing outside with
(12:02):
a diaper and his five-year-oldasked him where Mommy was.
Botham said I'm sure she'saround somewhere.
His kid said she hadn't beenaround all day, so he had taken
care of his brother and wantedto know if he had done a good
job.
Heartbreaking Botham checkedthe house and then checked the
miracles home across the streetbefore calling the police.
(12:23):
Botham then told the jury abouthis marriage to Pat.
They had marital difficultiesever since they moved to
Colorado from California in 1971.
He said they had quote losttheir physical and emotional
intimacy.
We continually became moredistant.
I made more money.
The job took more time, I guessI felt I could make it up to
(12:43):
her.
Later, botham started to seeother women, naturally, and in
1974, the couple separated.
Pat went to live with herparents in North Carolina.
She had known about the otherwomen before she left, and
Botham sent her a letter aboutdivorcing after talking to his
lawyer.
Instead of divorcing, though,Pat returned to Colorado shortly
(13:05):
after, and then Pat had anabortion, and Botham thought,
hey, I'm going to start seeingwomen again.
He started with Marie Griffin.
Quote.
Marie was one of the few womenin my life I ever felt totally
comfortable with.
Whatever I did, she seemed toenjoy.
I loved her very much.
(13:25):
When Marie Griffin now MarieGriffin Hernandez testified, she
confirmed having modeled forBotham for almost a year before
starting up an affair with him.
She has since married a formerdeputy sheriff and moved to
Carson City, nevada.
In the spring of 1975, bothamwas asked to be the leader of
(13:46):
the church choir at FaithBaptist Church.
According to him, patquestioned the church work he
was doing in relation to what hewas doing with women outside
their marriage.
He stopped philandering when heaccepted the position in March.
In total, botham testified forsix hours.
At one point he was asked didyou kill those people?
(14:08):
He answered I did not.
Then did you ever tell anybodyyou killed them?
He replied I never have, norhave I implied it.
I'd certainly have gone themental route a long time ago.
If I had what.
Is it Not guilty by reason ofinsanity?
I'd not take a chance on thegas chamber.
I'm telling the court and thejury I did not do those things.
(14:34):
But then he goes on to say thathe has only lied in three areas
of the case.
Not a great way to start but goahead.
He had lied about his wifehaving had a recent abortion
Quote.
I felt it was no one's business.
I didn't feel it could changethe story Reasonable, I think he
lied about his.22 caliberpistol because he was under the
(14:56):
impression that it wasa stolengun.
He had purchased it for $30from a man at Stevens Sports
Goods and on cross he wasconfronted on this point because
he had also bought a juniorColt.22 from the same man.
But it came back clean when thepolice had taken his guns the
year before.
He didn't have an answer forthat, only to say he thought the
(15:19):
police only took the guns as aploy to shape him up.
Botham was then asked aboutLinda Miracle, he said I felt
her inane, but not boisterous orforward or anything of that
nature.
She spoke in short, choppysentences and giggles.
She smoked incessantly.
She often smelled of alcohol.
(15:39):
It bothered me.
I could tell if she'd used ourtelephone that day from the
smell of cigarettes and so on.
Very judgmental.
When testifying about the wirefound wrapped around the bodies,
botham said I think there's anawfully good chance it's my wire
.
He said it had been cut to tiethe sunflowers but had been
(16:00):
removed and placed on thelattice fence.
He hadn't seen it since then.
Botham had been the VP,testified along with several
other co-workers that the policehad told them about the bodies
being wrapped in wire and thathad become a topic of discussion
.
One of the men who discoveredthe bodies had also told his
(16:21):
wife about the wire.
All these testimonies were justto show that there were other
ways for Botham to have knownabout the wire besides being the
one who put it there.
He then explains the type Oblood in his car, with his
frequent nosebleeds and a cut onhis knuckles from a broken
hinge in the back.
As for an explanation for thetype A blood, he said I have no
(16:44):
concrete explanation.
I'm the foggiest dear.
By the end of Botham's testimonyit is clear that the
prosecution is saying themurders happened in the early
morning hours of August 23rd andthe defense is saying that they
happened before midnight onAugust 22nd.
Investigator Bob Silva of theBobs testified about when he and
(17:07):
former deputy sheriff TrumanHaley were called to the
hospital after Linda Miracle wasattacked in her home by an
unknown assailant.
Investigator Silva said hetalked to her for less than a
minute but Truman Haley talkedto her between 5 and 10 minutes
alone.
The next day Truman Haleytestifies he admits having an
(17:27):
affair with Linda.
He says it ended in March andhe also volunteers he had of the
sectomy 13 years ago, maybe toremove doubt he had ever gotten
Linda pregnant.
He just kind of says it.
He also denies knowing aboutLinda's abortion days before her
murder.
He went on to detail hiswhereabouts on the night of
August 22nd.
(17:48):
He testified that he was withhis family until 5pm and checked
in to the Fruta PoliceDepartment around midnight.
He drove with his partner,chuck McFall Excellent police
name, by the way.
He drove with Chuck McFall frommidnight to 4am.
He was alone between 4 and5.30am Until another officer
(18:14):
took over and Truman Haleyclocked out at 6am.
Truman Haley also admits goinginto Linda's house in June and
taking her diary.
He said he kept it 3-4 weeks,thought about giving it back but
instead burned it and threw itin a river near Fruta.
Quote thrown in the river likethe bodies, questioned defense
(18:37):
attorney Lee Forman.
Truman Haley responded I haveno way to know how they were
thrown in the river.
Did you kill Linda and the kids?
I'd never hurt her children oranybody else.
After Truman Haley testified,the jury was dismissed for lunch
but it seems that reporterswere still in the courtroom
because it was reported that DAFarina talked to Judge Ella
(19:01):
about how Truman Haley had takentwo polygraph tests and had
been exonerated.
It was just a fun little tattatbetween judge and prosecution.
After the break, paulino Delltestifies to seeing Botham
unloading his photographyequipment and Botham's car
around 8.30am at Polly's Motel.
Harold R King saw Bothamtalking to the proprietor around
(19:28):
9.30am as well.
For the record, it takes aroundtwo hours to get from your A to
Grand Junction.
The next day the defense getsArapaho County Coroner Dr John
Wood to testify.
He said that based on thestomach contents, linda, chad
and Troy died between one andtwo hours after eating, and Pat
(19:48):
died two to three hours aftereating.
Now Dr Wood did not examine thebodies but looked at the
forensic pathologist, dr ThomasCanfield's raw data.
He also testified to havingfound B&Ps in meat and Pat's
stomach and apparently she hadbeen making and eating cookies
at 9pm.
Hashtag relatable For closingarguments.
(20:12):
The DA spends his time pointingout inconsistencies throughout
testimony and interviews, aswell as the difference in the
time the prosecution thinks themurders happened and the time
the defense thinks the murdershappened.
Attorney Foreman points outthat Pat had been reading when
she was attacked, putting hermurder much earlier than what
(20:32):
the prosecution has posited.
He also told the jury howLinda's bed hadn't been slept in
.
There's also talk about howBotham would have to unload his
camera equipment in order to fitthe four bodies in his truck
and how suspicious that wouldseem in the middle of the night.
Defense Attorney Foremanfinished by saying that Botham
(20:53):
would have done a better jobmaking an alibi than that.
He finished by saying Peopledon't kill to terminate a
relationship.
The jury left to deliberate buthad to stop when it got too late
.
They reconvened the nextmorning when they re-entered the
court.
Botham stood still, his parentswere still and the Miracle
(21:17):
family were still, as KennethBotham Jr was found guilty of
one count of first degree murderand three counts of second
degree murder.
Trigger warning.
Sometime that night Bothamattempted suicide and was
admitted to St Mary's Hospital.
Deputy DA Clay Hanlon visitedhim and later told the press
(21:41):
that Botham was in shock andquivering like a leaf, but he
was in good condition.
I don't know how those twothings coincide, but that's what
he said.
Botham had lost four to fiveunits of blood.
Humans usually have like 12units of blood.
While Botham is in the hospital,hearings about his sanity and
(22:03):
sentencing take place.
Denver Veterans Administrationpsychiatrist Dr Frederick Miller
said Botham's capacity toappreciate and control his
behavior at that time wassignificantly impaired because
of inner duress.
He went on to say that Bothamis obsessive, compulsive, who
(22:23):
tends to isolate emotion and tonot show warmth, and that in his
professional opinion Botham isand has been very troubled and
sick Quote.
I believe he was furiously hurtand humiliated and felt he had
been wronged by her.
He borders on psychoticdepression and may indeed have
(22:44):
been psychotic.
A crazy thing to me is how insome trials a defendant works
really hard to prove theirinnocence but if they're found
guilty, the defense team has toturn around and say that the
reasons for the crime are notaggravating, as if the defendant
had done it.
Just a weird thing I've noticedA professor of psychiatry from
(23:05):
Colorado University MedicalCenter, or KUMPK, dr John
McDonald, said Botham had anobsessive personality and yet
certain traits that usuallyoccur in sociopaths.
To show Botham's obsession withorderliness, thoroughness and
concern over small details, hissuicide note was admitted as
(23:27):
evidence.
It had a notation to themortician about his vital organs
, gave the telephone numbers ofpeople to call, enlisted his
social security and selectiveservice numbers and showed
concern for making a mess in hiscell.
Dr McDonald said Botham coversa lie with another lie with
(23:48):
another lie and tries to lookbetter in everyone's eyes and
makes all manner of boastfulclaims.
I am never quite sure when heis telling the truth and when he
is not telling the truth.
Botham's mother, elspeth Botham, testified that her son was a
bookworm who had very limitedsocial activities as a youth and
(24:11):
not really any close friends.
She told an anecdote about whenshe was giving birth to her
daughter eight years prior.
Her son disappeared and endedup giving blood because he was
afraid his mother was too old togive birth and might bleed to
death.
On December 15th 1976, kenBotham Jr was sentenced to death
(24:33):
.
Elspeth said I don't know howthey reached the verdict.
They did to begin with.
His father, ken Botham Sr, saidit's over and done now, and
Linda's mother, dolly Baldwin,said we're satisfied.
I don't know what else to say.
Reverend Holler told reporters acouple weeks later I have yet
(24:56):
to have anyone satisfy mycuriosity that they could prove
beyond a shadow of a doubt thatKenny did it.
I thought they would have someace, they could pull out of the
hole, but they never did.
To me it wasn't a trial ofjustice, it was a trial of
vindication.
And while that seems like theend of things, it's really not.
(25:19):
But this is where we'll leaveit for today.
Thank you for listening.
If you would like to seepictures related to this case,
head over to the Instagram atMurder Is Bad podcast.
And if you're feeling moregenerous, why don't you go over
to wherever you're listening,subscribe so you don't miss out,
(25:42):
and also leave a little review,maybe a little five stars.
All right, take care of eachother and remember murder is bad
.
Hello, this is Julia, and murder is bad.
When we last left the BothamMiracle Murders case, the
(00:23):
husband of one of the victims,kenneth Botham Jr, had been
arrested for the murders of hiswife, patricia Botham, their
neighbor Linda Miracle and hertwo children, troy and Chad
Miracle.
His defense team from thePublic Defender's Office had
filed a million motions andrequests for mistrials, all of
which had been denied.
(00:44):
And now we're right in themiddle of the prosecution
presenting their evidenceagainst him.
For more details, feel free togo and listen to the other
episodes in the series titledPat and the Miracles.
A case that started in thesummer of 1975 has made its way
to the winter of 1976.
The first Rocky has just beenreleased, as well as the
(01:08):
original Freaky Friday withJodie Foster and also Shaggy DA,
where a man wanting to become adistrict attorney finds himself
turning into a sheepdog.
Look it up, disney got weird.
This is also the time of RodStewart, boston and Stevie
Wonder.
And, speaking of Wonder, wonderWoman starring Linda Carter
(01:28):
debuted on ABC.
Back in the courtroom in GrandJunction, colorado, the
prosecution continues to presentevidence and witnesses to
bolster their case for fourcounts of first degree murder.
Ure neighbor, michael Larson,gets on the stand and tells the
jury about hearing two screamshe heard around 1.30 am on
(01:49):
August 23rd.
He also saw a light on in thefront bedroom of the Botham's
home.
He said the second scream quotesounded more like a lady's
voice.
Another neighbor, cora Heiner,testified about what she had
seen and heard on the night ofAugust 22nd into August 23rd the
Botham, st Bernard barking andtwo sharp pops that sound like
(02:11):
gunshots coming from across thestreet.
She adds that she saw a men'shead bending down looking at the
floor in the Miracle home.
One then backed up a car to theporch and carried out a heavy
bundle.
She said the man had glasses.
The defense cross-examines Coraabout cataract and glaucoma
surgeries that occurredimmediately after the incident.
(02:33):
She was asked to identifyBotham, her neighbor, and
pointed to Captain Joe Hicks.
Instead the defense moves todisqualify Cora as an eyewitness
and when that is denied theymove for a mistrial, which is
also denied.
Commander Mike Smith returns tothe stand to talk about
Botham's.22 caliberwestern-style pistol.
(02:56):
When officers were searchingthe Botham's house in Ure A
Avenue, they noticed ventsindicating some type of crawl
space.
Botham said that the onlyentrance had been sealed off,
showing a spot in the back ofthe house that had boards nailed
over it.
The owners of the house, johnand Steve Brant, testified.
John said that Botham knewabout the crawl space and how to
(03:17):
get in there.
John had told them about itwhen the family moved in because
there had been problems withthe furnace and wanted Botham to
be able to oil it.
I am so inept.
How does the furnace work andwhy do you need to oil it?
That's all I have to say.
So Steve testified about how hehad found the.22 caliber pistol
(03:39):
in the crawl space after doingwork down there a couple of
times.
Some insulation had come loosefrom a joist in the house and
once it fell out, tumbled thepistol.
Investigator Milo Vig thentestified to the events that had
taken place in the earlymorning hours of June 15th.
This is when Linda Miracle hadbeen attacked by an unidentified
(04:02):
man.
Botham told Investigator Vigthat he had heard two screams
about 10 minutes apart, turnedon his porch light and saw Linda
in her doorway fainting.
He gave her mouth to mouthbefore calling the rescue squad.
I kept reading this, and that'sjust a fun name.
Linda was said to have beenstrangled in that incident,
(04:29):
which led to an objection and adefense motion for a mistrial
denied.
Of course.
Investigator Vig continued histestimony the next day.
He told the jury how Bothamsaid he had wire in his shed but
couldn't find it.
Botham had told InvestigatorVig that Pat had tied up some
sunflowers in the back and usedthe wire cutters and she had
(04:50):
left the rest of the wire andthe cutters by the shed.
But officers had not found anyextra wire and had found the
wire cutters in Botham's landcruiser.
Nextdoor neighbor Floyd Larsontestified that he walked his dog
past Botham's backyard twice aday and had never seen the
sunflowers tied up.
(05:12):
He even noticed after a heavyrain that the sunflowers had
slumped over.
So the way this house is set upI don't know if you have
neighborhoods like this whereyou're at, but there's like an
alleyway behind the house andthat abuts the backs of other
houses from the street over.
So that's where he walked hisdog.
(05:33):
So the house across that alleybehind the Botham's home
belonged to Joan Ritter, whoalso told the jury that she
gardened outside and would talkwith Pat occasionally.
Joan had told Pat she needed tostake her sunflowers, but three
weeks later Pat was gonewithout ever having tied them up
.
On the last day of theprosecution's arguments,
(05:53):
forensic serologist Marion cameand testified.
Serology is the study of bloodserum, particularly in regard to
immune responses to pathogensor introduced substances.
Basically, pat, linda and Troyall had A-type blood and A-type
blood was found on a mat inBotham's land cruiser, chad.
(06:14):
Ken Botham and some of Botham'simmediate family had O-type
blood.
But the only other blood typethe serologist found was C-type
on some rags Botham had.
So I'd never heard of C-typeblood.
So I looked into it but I'mstill confused.
Maybe you can help me.
So in 1901, we start typingblood A, b and C.
(06:36):
Later on, sometime after 1930,we switched to calling C-type
blood to O-type blood.
So what the heck is Marion cameand talking about?
I have no answers for you, butColorado Bureau of
Investigations or Kibbe agentCordell Brown then testified
that three out of the eight endsof the wires binding the bodies
(06:56):
were confirmed to be cut withthe wire cutters from Botham's
car.
Those cutters had one taperededge and one flat.
It also had some identifyingstriations and a chip that
showed up as an imprint on thecut wires.
Also, any reason for me to saythe word striation?
I'm there for it.
The wire ends also had someoxidation, implying they may
(07:20):
have been cut sometime beforebeing used, leading one to
believe maybe sunflowers weretied up with it weeks ago and
that's the wire that was used.
That's what defense tries tolead you to.
There was also material foundin the wire cutters that had the
same origins and chemicalcomposition as material found on
the wires around the bodies.
(07:42):
Kibbe agent Gerald Tash thentold the jury about a
conversation he had with KenBotham.
Here's part of the trim scriptDid you shoot the boys?
What is the reason?
Why can't you tell me?
If I told you, what wouldhappen to my boys?
Your boys will be well takencare of, but I would have to go
(08:05):
to jail.
You do not confess your sins toany man, only to God.
When Kibbe agent Tash asked himhow he knew what the victims
had been tied with, ken saidquote I knew it was wire affixed
to the bodies because I heardit on the news in the pelvic
area Very specific, very sus.
(08:27):
All right, agent Tesh said.
Botham said he had neverseriously considered killing his
wife but has speculated how itwould be if she might leave.
I don't know if you've seenthose like really bad police,
like confession tapes wherethey're just like oh no, okay,
but just guess.
If you had to guess what thekiller would do, what do you
(08:49):
think the killer did?
If you were the killer, whatwould you do?
And they eventually get someoneto say something like this.
So when Agent Tesh asked Bothamto speculate how he would kill
Pat, botham said by pushing herover a cliff with the camera
equipment sitting around.
Agent Tesh also said thatBotham seemed overly concerned
(09:11):
about the police's interest inthe wire cutters, whatever that
means.
He said he probably used themin the spring at the office and
said they were old and probablyshould have been thrown away and
were only used in an emergencyand vaguely remembered using
them to cut copper.
Botham also told Agent Teshthat they might find his blood,
(09:32):
his family's blood and orLynch's blood from an incident a
year ago.
Quote I cleaned it up.
Wow, rich text.
Before the prosecution rested, aman named Steve Norris
testified he had spent thesummer of 75 in Ure One night a
night he can't remember asAugust 23rd or August 30th, or
(09:54):
maybe it was the weekend beforehe met a man who matched
Botham's description outside thelong branch bar.
He also remembers seeing a blueand white Toyota around that
weekend.
The man asked if he knew of adark room where he could get
pictures developed and Stevesaid no, quote.
He stood there looking at me.
(10:16):
I got uncomfortable and startedto leave.
I noticed him turn around andgo away.
Cool.
When the defense opens the nextday, the first witness they call
is Ken Botham Jr, the manhimself.
Now I usually hear that it's abad idea to testify during your
home trial, but let's see how itgoes for Botham.
(10:36):
He starts by saying he talkedto a man on the night of August
22nd in Ure between 11 pm andmidnight.
But Botham said he didn'trecognize Steve Norris as that
man he goes on to talk about.
When he left for Ure His voicecracked when he said that his
wife, pat, had asked to go withhim at the last minute.
Quote I told her I didn't havetime.
(10:58):
I was running very late and Ididn't have time for her to get
ready.
That day Botham had gone to workand came home for dinner as
usual.
Then he left for hisphotography trip, making a stop
by White Arms Machine Shop for aphoto assignment.
He said the weather is bad, sohe went to Ure instead of
(11:18):
continuing on.
He walked into Ure that nightsometimes.
He said he jogged and met a manbetween the Long Branch Bar and
the photo shop.
He was squatting and staringinto the photo place.
That was closed, he said I feltmy actions were probably
suspicious.
When he talked to the man hegot directed to Joyce Jorgensen,
(11:40):
the editor of the Ure planedealer.
When he got back to his room itwas nearer to midnight than 11.
In the morning Botham went toYankee Boy Basin and then to
Imogen.
The weather wasn't great forpictures so he only stayed until
1 pm before he left for home.
Pulling up to his house he sawhis toddler playing outside with
(12:02):
a diaper and his five-year-oldasked him where Mommy was.
Botham said I'm sure she'saround somewhere.
His kid said she hadn't beenaround all day, so he had taken
care of his brother and wantedto know if he had done a good
job.
Heartbreaking Botham checkedthe house and then checked the
miracles home across the streetbefore calling the police.
(12:23):
Botham then told the jury abouthis marriage to Pat.
They had marital difficultiesever since they moved to
Colorado from California in 1971.
He said they had quote losttheir physical and emotional
intimacy.
We continually became moredistant.
I made more money.
The job took more time, I guessI felt I could make it up to
(12:43):
her.
Later, botham started to seeother women, naturally, and in
1974, the couple separated.
Pat went to live with herparents in North Carolina.
She had known about the otherwomen before she left, and
Botham sent her a letter aboutdivorcing after talking to his
lawyer.
Instead of divorcing, though,Pat returned to Colorado shortly
(13:05):
after, and then Pat had anabortion, and Botham thought,
hey, I'm going to start seeingwomen again.
He started with Marie Griffin.
Quote.
Marie was one of the few womenin my life I ever felt totally
comfortable with.
Whatever I did, she seemed toenjoy.
I loved her very much.
(13:25):
When Marie Griffin now MarieGriffin Hernandez testified, she
confirmed having modeled forBotham for almost a year before
starting up an affair with him.
She has since married a formerdeputy sheriff and moved to
Carson City, nevada.
In the spring of 1975, bothamwas asked to be the leader of
(13:46):
the church choir at FaithBaptist Church.
According to him, patquestioned the church work he
was doing in relation to what hewas doing with women outside
their marriage.
He stopped philandering when heaccepted the position in March.
In total, botham testified forsix hours.
At one point he was asked didyou kill those people?
(14:08):
He answered I did not.
Then did you ever tell anybodyyou killed them?
He replied I never have, norhave I implied it.
I'd certainly have gone themental route a long time ago.
If I had what.
Is it Not guilty by reason ofinsanity?
I'd not take a chance on thegas chamber.
I'm telling the court and thejury I did not do those things.
(14:34):
But then he goes on to say thathe has only lied in three areas
of the case.
Not a great way to start but goahead.
He had lied about his wifehaving had a recent abortion
Quote.
I felt it was no one's business.
I didn't feel it could changethe story Reasonable, I think he
lied about his.22 caliberpistol because he was under the
(14:56):
impression that it wasa stolengun.
He had purchased it for $30from a man at Stevens Sports
Goods and on cross he wasconfronted on this point because
he had also bought a juniorColt.22 from the same man.
But it came back clean when thepolice had taken his guns the
year before.
He didn't have an answer forthat, only to say he thought the
(15:19):
police only took the guns as aploy to shape him up.
Botham was then asked aboutLinda Miracle, he said I felt
her inane, but not boisterous orforward or anything of that
nature.
She spoke in short, choppysentences and giggles.
She smoked incessantly.
She often smelled of alcohol.
(15:39):
It bothered me.
I could tell if she'd used ourtelephone that day from the
smell of cigarettes and so on.
Very judgmental.
When testifying about the wirefound wrapped around the bodies,
botham said I think there's anawfully good chance it's my wire
.
He said it had been cut to tiethe sunflowers but had been
(16:00):
removed and placed on thelattice fence.
He hadn't seen it since then.
Botham had been the VP,testified along with several
other co-workers that the policehad told them about the bodies
being wrapped in wire and thathad become a topic of discussion
.
One of the men who discoveredthe bodies had also told his
(16:21):
wife about the wire.
All these testimonies were justto show that there were other
ways for Botham to have knownabout the wire besides being the
one who put it there.
He then explains the type Oblood in his car, with his
frequent nosebleeds and a cut onhis knuckles from a broken
hinge in the back.
As for an explanation for thetype A blood, he said I have no
(16:44):
concrete explanation.
I'm the foggiest dear.
By the end of Botham's testimonyit is clear that the
prosecution is saying themurders happened in the early
morning hours of August 23rd andthe defense is saying that they
happened before midnight onAugust 22nd.
Investigator Bob Silva of theBobs testified about when he and
(17:07):
former deputy sheriff TrumanHaley were called to the
hospital after Linda Miracle wasattacked in her home by an
unknown assailant.
Investigator Silva said hetalked to her for less than a
minute but Truman Haley talkedto her between 5 and 10 minutes
alone.
The next day Truman Haleytestifies he admits having an
(17:27):
affair with Linda.
He says it ended in March andhe also volunteers he had of the
sectomy 13 years ago, maybe toremove doubt he had ever gotten
Linda pregnant.
He just kind of says it.
He also denies knowing aboutLinda's abortion days before her
murder.
He went on to detail hiswhereabouts on the night of
August 22nd.
(17:48):
He testified that he was withhis family until 5pm and checked
in to the Fruta PoliceDepartment around midnight.
He drove with his partner,chuck McFall Excellent police
name, by the way.
He drove with Chuck McFall frommidnight to 4am.
He was alone between 4 and5.30am Until another officer
(18:14):
took over and Truman Haleyclocked out at 6am.
Truman Haley also admits goinginto Linda's house in June and
taking her diary.
He said he kept it 3-4 weeks,thought about giving it back but
instead burned it and threw itin a river near Fruta.
Quote thrown in the river likethe bodies, questioned defense
(18:37):
attorney Lee Forman.
Truman Haley responded I haveno way to know how they were
thrown in the river.
Did you kill Linda and the kids?
I'd never hurt her children oranybody else.
After Truman Haley testified,the jury was dismissed for lunch
but it seems that reporterswere still in the courtroom
because it was reported that DAFarina talked to Judge Ella
(19:01):
about how Truman Haley had takentwo polygraph tests and had
been exonerated.
It was just a fun little tattatbetween judge and prosecution.
After the break, paulino Delltestifies to seeing Botham
unloading his photographyequipment and Botham's car
around 8.30am at Polly's Motel.
Harold R King saw Bothamtalking to the proprietor around
(19:28):
9.30am as well.
For the record, it takes aroundtwo hours to get from your A to
Grand Junction.
The next day the defense getsArapaho County Coroner Dr John
Wood to testify.
He said that based on thestomach contents, linda, chad
and Troy died between one andtwo hours after eating, and Pat
(19:48):
died two to three hours aftereating.
Now Dr Wood did not examine thebodies but looked at the
forensic pathologist, dr ThomasCanfield's raw data.
He also testified to havingfound B&Ps in meat and Pat's
stomach and apparently she hadbeen making and eating cookies
at 9pm.
Hashtag relatable For closingarguments.
(20:12):
The DA spends his time pointingout inconsistencies throughout
testimony and interviews, aswell as the difference in the
time the prosecution thinks themurders happened and the time
the defense thinks the murdershappened.
Attorney Foreman points outthat Pat had been reading when
she was attacked, putting hermurder much earlier than what
(20:32):
the prosecution has posited.
He also told the jury howLinda's bed hadn't been slept in
.
There's also talk about howBotham would have to unload his
camera equipment in order to fitthe four bodies in his truck
and how suspicious that wouldseem in the middle of the night.
Defense Attorney Foremanfinished by saying that Botham
(20:53):
would have done a better jobmaking an alibi than that.
He finished by saying Peopledon't kill to terminate a
relationship.
The jury left to deliberate buthad to stop when it got too late
.
They reconvened the nextmorning when they re-entered the
court.
Botham stood still, his parentswere still and the Miracle
(21:17):
family were still, as KennethBotham Jr was found guilty of
one count of first degree murderand three counts of second
degree murder.
Trigger warning.
Sometime that night Bothamattempted suicide and was
admitted to St Mary's Hospital.
Deputy DA Clay Hanlon visitedhim and later told the press
(21:41):
that Botham was in shock andquivering like a leaf, but he
was in good condition.
I don't know how those twothings coincide, but that's what
he said.
Botham had lost four to fiveunits of blood.
Humans usually have like 12units of blood.
While Botham is in the hospital,hearings about his sanity and
(22:03):
sentencing take place.
Denver Veterans Administrationpsychiatrist Dr Frederick Miller
said Botham's capacity toappreciate and control his
behavior at that time wassignificantly impaired because
of inner duress.
He went on to say that Bothamis obsessive, compulsive, who
(22:23):
tends to isolate emotion and tonot show warmth, and that in his
professional opinion Botham isand has been very troubled and
sick Quote.
I believe he was furiously hurtand humiliated and felt he had
been wronged by her.
He borders on psychoticdepression and may indeed have
(22:44):
been psychotic.
A crazy thing to me is how insome trials a defendant works
really hard to prove theirinnocence but if they're found
guilty, the defense team has toturn around and say that the
reasons for the crime are notaggravating, as if the defendant
had done it.
Just a weird thing I've noticedA professor of psychiatry from
(23:05):
Colorado University MedicalCenter, or KUMPK, dr John
McDonald, said Botham had anobsessive personality and yet
certain traits that usuallyoccur in sociopaths.
To show Botham's obsession withorderliness, thoroughness and
concern over small details, hissuicide note was admitted as
(23:27):
evidence.
It had a notation to themortician about his vital organs
, gave the telephone numbers ofpeople to call, enlisted his
social security and selectiveservice numbers and showed
concern for making a mess in hiscell.
Dr McDonald said Botham coversa lie with another lie with
(23:48):
another lie and tries to lookbetter in everyone's eyes and
makes all manner of boastfulclaims.
I am never quite sure when heis telling the truth and when he
is not telling the truth.
Botham's mother, elspeth Botham, testified that her son was a
bookworm who had very limitedsocial activities as a youth and
(24:11):
not really any close friends.
She told an anecdote about whenshe was giving birth to her
daughter eight years prior.
Her son disappeared and endedup giving blood because he was
afraid his mother was too old togive birth and might bleed to
death.
On December 15th 1976, kenBotham Jr was sentenced to death
(24:33):
.
Elspeth said I don't know howthey reached the verdict.
They did to begin with.
His father, ken Botham Sr, saidit's over and done now, and
Linda's mother, dolly Baldwin,said we're satisfied.
I don't know what else to say.
Reverend Holler told reporters acouple weeks later I have yet
(24:56):
to have anyone satisfy mycuriosity that they could prove
beyond a shadow of a doubt thatKenny did it.
I thought they would have someace, they could pull out of the
hole, but they never did.
To me it wasn't a trial ofjustice, it was a trial of
vindication.
And while that seems like theend of things, it's really not.
(25:19):
But this is where we'll leaveit for today.
Thank you for listening.
If you would like to seepictures related to this case,
head over to the Instagram atMurder Is Bad podcast.
And if you're feeling moregenerous, why don't you go over
to wherever you're listening,subscribe so you don't miss out,
(25:42):
and also leave a little review,maybe a little five stars.
All right, take care of eachother and remember murder is bad
.
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