Prosecutors in NH refuse to indict former state trooper who may have murdered his son & staged car accident,in 1982
Joe1orbit
Hello,
Way back in 1982, the bodies of a 40 year old woman and her 18 year old son
were found inside of a burning care. Both of them were dead. Police initially
assumed the deaths MIGHT have been accidental, but soon enough some
circumstancial evidence was developed by investigators which indicated that
both Janet Dow and her 18 year old son were dead before this acar accident took
place, and that the accident was staged by Janet's husband, a former state
trooper who was employed as a cop at the time of the incident.
Interestingly enough, NO autopsy was done on either body, and the deaths were
ruled to have been accidental based solely upon information given by Richard to
police. Even the burned out car was quickly destroyed, without any detailed
forensic tests being done on it.
It was not until 1993, 11 years later, that police reopened the case and
began seriously considering the possibility that foul play may have been
involved. This was due to Richard's girlfriend going to the police and telling
them that Richard had confided to her that he had killed his 18 year old son
with an AX, AFTER the 18 year old had murdered his own mother! She says that
Richard then staged the accident, to make it look like the two of them had
crashed their car, and it had burst into flames, with the flames killing them
both.
Pretty ingenious on Richard's part, but he definately was STUPID to confide
ANYTHING to his gal-pal, even 11 years after the incident.
Prosecutors, despite having some good evidence, as well as a witness like
this girlfriend, who is willing to testify in court that Richard told her of
his involvement in the killing of his son, have so far declined to prosecute or
indict Richard. In fact, they have once again CLOSED the case, and handed down
no type of indictment at all. Cool! Richard has enjoyed 15-16 years of total
freedom, since the incident occured in 1982, and now, despite his MAJOR error
in judgement, regarding the comments he made to his gal pal in 1993, he still
will NOT be indicted! I sure hope Richard appreciates his good luck, and has
made a SOLEMN VOW to NEVER again open up his big mouth and talk about the
incident to ANYONE, EVER again! Loose lips sink ships, Richard! PLEASE,
demonstrate the intelligence that I KNOW you possess, as evidenced by your
successful coverup of this murder for the past 15 years!
Believe it or not, an elected politician in New Hampshire is calling for a
"special committee to be established to look into whether there was a coverup
by police, to protect Richard." I think it is outrageous for a local politician
to try and besmirch Richard and go on a witch hunt against him. Prosecutors
CHOSE NOT to indict Richard, based upon the evidence at hand. This politician,
Renny Cushing, has no business pandering to his constituents and trying to go
OVER the heads of State prosecutors in a witch hunt.
Richard is free. He has never been charged with any crime in connection with
this 1982 incident, and now that State prosecutors have dropped their
investigation, there should be absolutely no legal basis for a POLITICIAN to
reopen any aspect of the case.
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of yesterday's Associated Press news wire:
New Hampshire lawmakers seek answers in 1982 deaths
January 27, 1998
By David Tirrell-Wysocki, Associated Press
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Fifteen years ago, the wife and son of a former state
trooper were found dead in a burning car.
Despite what police thought at first, it was no accident.
Ultimately, investigators concluded that the victims were either dead or
incapacitated before the wreck and that the crash was staged.
But the state closed its second investigation into the case last fall, saying
there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute. Now lawmakers are pressing for a
special committee to look into whether there was a cover-up to protect the
former trooper, Richard Dow, or his one-time commander.
"There is no statute of limitations on a yearning for justice,'' said state
Rep. Renny Cushing, sponsor of a bill to launch the committee investigation.
"People still grieve.''
The charred bodies of Janet Dow, 40, and her son, Steven, 18, were found in
Thornton, a small town about 40 miles north of Concord, on a frigid morning in
December 1982.
State police concluded the deaths were accidental, relying mostly on
information from Dow, who was working as a part-time officer in Thornton. Dow
said he was home when his wife and adopted son drove off that morning.
There were no autopsies, the state fire marshal wasn't called and the car,
released to Dow soon after the deaths, was quickly destroyed. Officers didn't
note or follow up conflicts between the evidence and Dow's account.
Based on what Dow said, police concluded that the victims burned to death when
their car careened off the road near their home and exploded into flames,
supposedly from a bucket of gasoline Steven had in the car because it held a
carburetor he was taking to have repaired.
The troopers also concluded that the victims could not escape because both were
hit by bricks that, again according to Dow, had been placed in the car to add
weight and improve traction.
The case remained closed until 1993, when Dow's girlfriend, Karen Saffian, said
Dow had told her he killed his son with an ax after the teen-ager murdered his
mother. Dow staged the accident, Ms. Saffian said.
Ms. Saffian believes that Dow killed them both and that police might have
looked the other way. The original 1982 investigation was conducted by the
state police troop where Dow had worked, and Ms. Saffian said she believes the
commander, Richard Tuck, steered investigators away from Dow, fearing Dow would
divulge that Tuck fixed tickets.
Tuck called the suggestion "a complete lie.''
Police have said Dow, 53, lives in another New England state but will not say
which one. He has an unlisted telephone number and has not returned messages
left with his father.
Ms. Saffian said she believes the second investigation was ended to avoid
embarrassing the state police. State police and prosecutors concede mistakes
were made in 1982 but assert officers saw no signs of a crime.
Based on photos of the original crash and two re-enactments, the second
investigation found that rather than speeding off the road, the car essentially
was tipped into the ditch, then set on fire.
Ronald Pennington, a former police officer in Woonsocket, R.I., who helped
solve a murder there that involved a police cover-up, said prosecutors have
more than enough evidence to file charges based on the second investigation,
which was led by state police Sgt. Benjamin Mozrall.
"When you look at that first investigation, it was just awful,'' Pennington
said. "But when you see what an exemplary job (Mozrall) did, why hasn't
something happened here? What's the problem?''
Mozrall, who retired last fall, referred questions to Assistant Attorney
General Mark Zuckerman, who said there is not enough evidence to prosecute.
"Even though reasonable folks could agree there may be probable cause to charge
somebody, there certainly is not sufficient proof to obtain a conviction beyond
a reasonable doubt, and it would not be proper for me to go forward as a
prosecutor on evidence I know to be deficient,'' he said last fall.
Cushing acknowledged his bill is unlikely to lead to criminal charges but said
he wants to find the truth anyway. Ms. Saffian and Pennington are among the
witnesses expected to testify Wednesday in a hearing on the bill.
"I would like to see, ultimately, the committee come to conclusions about
whether or not Dow did kill his wife — review the evidence, so at least the
public knows,'' the lawmaker said.
