Iowa Businessman Puts Out Contract on Family, Others
Maggie
By LEE ROOD
Register Staff Writer
10/31/1999
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Their names and faces have been etched for decades in the collective
consciousness of Iowa's capital.
Edwin Hunter, the patriarch, looking the consummate businessman and community
leader in a tailored, dark-colored suit.
Carolyn Cook Hunter, the mother of four, posing for a society snapshot in a
flowing gown at the fireside.
In later years, Des Moines came to recognize son Jeff, the hotelier, peeking
from under a fedora. Multitalented Dan, more earthy in his suspenders and
corduroys, strumming a banjo and singing "Walkin' Beans."
None of the images match one Tuesday of 50-year-old Peter Hunter, head hung and
hands shackled, as he walked into a Polk County courtroom, accused of trying to
have his mother and brothers killed.
In an uncomfortable moment, Jeff Hunter threw an arm around his big brother,
mustered a " 'how-ya-doin'," and then stood at his side for what seemed a very
long time.
Nothing made sense.
The smiles of both men belied Peter's troubles. The former business executive
and father of three faces an extraordinary list of 16 felonies for what
authorities say was a clandestine deal with an unnamed associate to do away
with the entire Hunter clan: Jeff, Dan, another brother, Ed, and mother
Carolyn.
That could amount to a lifetime behind bars, if all convictions hold up.
If the public was shocked by the spectacle, the family was even more stunned.
"Here is a man who had every opportunity, who was deeply loved by his parents,
his brothers and his wife. . . . What changed him?" asked Dan Hunter, a
playwright, humorist and musician who left the state not long ago to run the
Boston Playwrights Theatre.
Said Jeff Hunter: "I wish I could tell you what happened. I'm at a loss
myself."
Dan and Jeff Hunter knew Peter had been out of sorts for some time. Dan Hunter
thought his brother had even developed a potential for violence.
"It's long been my view that my brother Peter - who is a very bright, very
talented man, who was at one time a caring brother, respectful son and a good
father - has been in a spiral for some time."
Jim Dixon, a family friend and accountant who authorities say was also targeted
in the scheme, said Peter Hunter's slide seems to have coincided with three
pivotal moments in his life: the sale of the family potato chip company in
1988, father Ed Hunter's death in 1992 and Peter's contentious divorce, made
final in 1997.
"Chippiest Chips"
The family abandoned Hiland Potato Chip Co., once known throughout the state
for its "chippiest chips around" jingle, after major national companies began
to compete in what had been a regional business, Dixon said. Peter was
president of the company, which was owned by Ed Hunter and his brother. "The
family tried to expand by buying two other chip companies, but those turned out
to be losers, so they sold the whole thing," Dixon said.
The family had barely broken even by the time the company was sold, he said.
Ed Hunter and eldest son Peter were close, Dixon said. "Every time I went to a
meeting with Ed, it seemed Pete was there, and he was always calm. . . . To my
mind, he never caused much trouble when his father was alive."
One Crime on Record
The closeness may explain Peter Hunter's only crime on record with Des Moines
police: an assault for pouring a cup of hot coffee down a nurse's back while
his father lay in the hospital, just weeks before his death, Dixon said.
"He's in pain," Dixon said of Peter Hunter today. "I don't think there's
anything more painful than depression. I mean, no hope, everything's going
wrong, everybody's against you."
Not long after his father died, Peter Hunter and his wife of 25 years, Jan,
began what turned out to be a difficult and emotional divorce. Documents in the
couple's voluminous court records show that Peter fought Jan on settlement
issues, and that he lost a lawyer in the process, in part for failing to heed
his counsel's advice. At one point, Peter Hunter walked out of the divorce
proceedings, the records show.
"Severe Problems"
In defending Peter, lawyers cited "severe medical problems" and said he
suffered from anxiety and major depression, the records show.
While major depression is one of the three most severe mental illnesses, the
label is not much help in understanding Peter Hunter.
Dr. Michael Flaum, director of the Iowa Consortium for Mental Health in Iowa
City, said at its worst, the illness can cause people to become psychotic,
delusional and paranoid.
"Sometimes when people are depressed, it's hard to know when they've crossed
that line," he said.
Family members say Peter Hunter can be a remote, angry man. Tenants at Windsor
Terrace Apartments, the sprawling complex at 3333 Grand Ave. that Peter Hunter
manages, said he can be cordial and helpful as well.
"To be honest, other than the fact that he wasn't always the friendliest guy,
he was a good landlord," said Reggie Augusthy, a student at nearby Des Moines
University - Osteopathic Medical Center. "It was shocking to hear about because
I never would have thought anything of the sort."
County Attorney John Sarcone has declined to provide additional details about
the charges against Hunter, who is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 7. Police
have given scant details about the person or people Hunter allegedly approached
to kill family and maim their associates in what would have been a six-figure
deal.
Court Best Arena
Sarcone and Jeff Hunter say they believe the court is the best place for the
remaining mysteries to be solved. Likewise, Jan Hunter, who has obtained a
no-contact order to keep Peter Hunter away from her and the children, has said
it would be inappropriate for her to discuss his history while the case is
being decided.
Dan Hunter said his mother, who lives in Florida, has been hard hit by the
allegations against her son. Each family member, he said, has "been trying to
balance the compassion that we feel for Peter and also the horror."
Hunter said he hopes Iowans continue to remember the contributions his father
and Jeff Hunter have made to Des Moines, as well as his own attempts "to make
people feel a little better." He also underscored that no families are immune
from mental illness, a spectrum of maladies that he said people still seem to
view differently than other sicknesses.
Dan Hunter said the family knows of no one point at which Peter Hunter turned
against them.
One tragedy of mental illness, he said, "is that it's like a death in the
family that never ends. The person that you knew and loved seems to have
disappeared."
Maggie
"A lot of people mistake a short memory for a clear conscience."--Doug Larson