Clandestine Meetings Part VII
This is based on a true story. Names and some situations have been changed in order to protect the innocent from the guilty, as the guilty walk the streets.
The investigation into Jeanie Thomas’ death lasted until October 1977. The police chief retired with it a cold case, refusing to close it. He retired due to health problems right before Christmas 1977. His interim replacement appointed by the County closed the case by bringing in the Las Vegas, NV coroner and having it ruled a suicide.
David Lightwhite was the push to keep the case open. He and his brothers investigated on their own. David and Jeanie had been out together December 25th. They had joined friends at a local bar, The Club. Jeanie had left him in the parking lot at 2:15am with the intent of going home. David lived blocks away from the club in the house behind his mother, who was gravely ill. He had the morning shift of caring for her so he went directly home.
With her husband working Christmas to have New Year’s off, he was eliminated as a suspect immediately. He was in traveling from Los Angeles to Sacramento.
Suspects with no alibi were Koral, Ed, Bill, Samson, and Barbie.
In August 1977, after eight months of investigations, Barbie was arrested by the F.B.I. for land fraud in the Music Mountain land deals. Had it not been for Jeanie’s diary, she would have gotten away with the fraud for years. However, after an investigation by the state into the land deals and her use of phone and mail between state lines to commit the felonies, she now had completely divest her own investments to pay back investors and declare bankruptcy. She served 13 months at a woman’s camp.
Koral moved back to the area in order to be near her mother in January 1981. Twelve hours after unloading the moving truck, the house went up in flames. David Lightwhite and his brothers we under investigation for arson. They were never indicted. Their mother, on her deathbed, confessed to setting the fire even though she was homebound.
Ed, Samson, and Bill all experienced personality changes. Ed started staying home more but also drinking and using marijuana more. He received his 3rd DUI in 1981, it took Jo Blue 3 months to make it go away. She put him in a treatment center for six weeks but he came out still heavily drinking and using drugs.
Samson married his girlfriend and took his behavior out of town. He was arrested for rape in December 1978 in Phoenix, Arizona but the charges didn’t stick.
Bill became a home body. He began drinking heavily and using cocaine in order to work.