At large, in custody

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jul 30, 2008 by Ann Marie Bush

By Ann Marie Bush

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Three-year-old Jay'Veon Grace gets up every morning and reaches for the black and red Nike shoes that his father bought for him.

He slips them on and remembers his "daddy," 24-year-old Michael Holley, who was slain Feb. 23 outside Deep Pockets, 4310 S.W. 21st St.

Michael Holley's father, Henry Holley III, wakes up every morning wondering why his son is dead and why his grandchildren will grow up without a father. He said his son was shot eight times in the back.

"We want some closure," Henry Holley said Tuesday while sitting in his central Topeka home. "We can't close this chapter of our life with someone out there walking the streets bragging about shooting my son."

It has been five months of wondering and waiting for the Holley family. They are trying to be patient, but they want answers and an arrest.

Holley's death was the first homicide of 2008 in Topeka. Seven more followed. There have been arrests in three of the eight -- a fact that frustrates several of the families.

"It's tough because we know people have said something to the detectives, but they haven't done anything about it," said Dennis Wakes, the father of David Wakes, 25, who was shot and killed April 27.

Wakes said he oftentimes wonders if Topeka police detectives care about his son's death.

Deputy Police Chief Lt. Col. Walt Wywadis said detectives are doing everything they can to solve the homicides.

"They don't overlook anything," he said. "They turn all the stones over. They are dedicated to making those cases."

There are usually six detectives and one sergeant on the police homicide assault unit. Currently, there are five because there is an opening, Wywadis said.

"They just don't specifically work on homicides. I would love as a deputy chief to be able to say, 'You guys are just going to work homicides.' Everyone around here wears numerous hats," he said. "In a perfect world, we'd like to work them one at a time. We all know this isn't a perfect world. We work the manpower the most intensive when it (homicide) occurs. As we follow those leads and they dry up, sometimes we have to pull manpower from those investigations."

Besides staffing issues, detectives also face other obstacles, such as television shows like "CSI" and "Law and Order," which Wywadis said can make people think fingerprints and physical evidence can be processed in a few hours. Evidence, such as ballistic and forensic, has to be sent to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and can take a month or more to process.

Other television shows, such as the reality show "The First 48," can help lessen confusion. "The First 48" follows detectives and officers in the first 48 hours after a homicide. Generally, the first 48 hours are the most critical for following leads and interviewing witnesses, Wywadis said.

"I'm not saying it eliminates the chance (if a suspect isn't found in the first 48 hours), but it does lessen," he said. "Evidence can be lost, can be destroyed. Evidence can change hands."

Witnesses also forget details.

Detectives try to stay in contact with family members of homicide victims, but Wywadis said that isn't always possible and weekly contact is "unreasonable." He said he understands that family members want to be kept up-to-date, but detectives can't share everything.

"Families want to know," Wywadis said. "It's the closure thing. They want to know what happened and how it happened. We can't tell them at this point how it occurred and why it occurred. People talk about things. The next thing you know, the information becomes general knowledge. We have to keep some information close to our vests."

Henry Holley questioned whether his son's criminal background plays a part in how the case is being handled. Holley acknowledged his son had been convicted on drug charges, but he said "Michael was moving on past that."

He acknowledged that drugs and a gun were found in his son's car, but he didn't know if they were his son's or someone else's.

"Michael isn't here to defend himself," Holley said. "Michael was only 24. He had made some mistakes. But you don't throw them away for it."

He said family members have provided to police the name of who they think shot Michael, but nothing has happened.

Social status and background don't have a bearing on investigations, Wywadis said.

"Every case is treated equally," he said. "The guys that work these cases are very qualified. They give 110 percent. If they weren't in it to solve cases, the administration would move them."

Henry Holley stated in earlier stories that he thinks the death of his son and that of at least two others, including Wakes, who was Michael Holley's cousin, are connected. Oftentimes, when homicides occur just days or weeks apart, detectives will investigate whether they are connected, Wywadis said. He said investigations continue into all five of the homicides in which no arrests have been made. A few of the cases need "just one piece of evidence," while others are going to take more work, he said.