Are you ready to step inside the courtroom of the captivating second trial of Kenneth Botham Jr? The case against Botham continues to build, as we navigate the twists and turns of the defense and prosecution's strategies. The focus sharpens on the significant role forensic details play. Listen as the trial of Kenneth Botham, Jr.'s and its legacy are explored.
Giblin, Mary Louise. “Botham sentenced to life term.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. February 16, 1982. Moss, Michael. “Prosecution displays Botham’s stack of guns.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 15, 1982. Moss, Michael. “CBI investigator testifies about Botham’s ‘admission’.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 16, 1982. Moss, Michael, “Prosecution rests in Botham retrial.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 17, 1982. Moss, Michael, “Botham’s defense trying to prove alibi for killings.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 18, 1982. Moss, Michael, “Ex-cop backs Botham on .22 caliber request.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 19, 1982. Moss, Michael, “Botham guilty again.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 22, 1982.
For images related to the cases, check out the Instagram.
Are you ready to step inside the courtroom of the captivating second trial of Kenneth Botham Jr? The case against Botham continues to build, as we navigate the twists and turns of the defense and prosecution's strategies. The focus sharpens on the significant role forensic details play. Listen as the trial of Kenneth Botham, Jr.'s and its legacy are explored.
Giblin, Mary Louise. “Botham sentenced to life term.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. February 16, 1982. Moss, Michael. “Prosecution displays Botham’s stack of guns.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 15, 1982. Moss, Michael. “CBI investigator testifies about Botham’s ‘admission’.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 16, 1982. Moss, Michael, “Prosecution rests in Botham retrial.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 17, 1982. Moss, Michael, “Botham’s defense trying to prove alibi for killings.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 18, 1982. Moss, Michael, “Ex-cop backs Botham on .22 caliber request.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 19, 1982. Moss, Michael, “Botham guilty again.” The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colo. January 22, 1982.
For images related to the cases, check out the Instagram.
Speaker 1:
Hiya, this is Julia and Moida is bad Music. Alright, folks, we are going to wrap up the Botham Miracle Murders today. Exciting who knew it would be five parts? I certainly didn't. We've made it halfway through the second trial of Kenneth Botham Jr in the murders of his wife, pat Botham, and their neighbors Linda Troy and Chad Miracle. Botham was granted this new trial, which is being held in Golden, colorado, and the prosecution continues their case against him. But you know, before we get into that, I gotta tell you what was going on in 1982. Hoyle, hank Aaron and Frank Robinson are elected to the Hall of Fame Yay, baseball People are listening to Olivia Newton-John, whom I will always love, love, love, and they were watching Dallas and Falconcrest, and on Golden Pond it just come out Jane Fonda, catherine Hepburn, watch it Also.
Speaker 1:
This is when Kathleen Durst, robert Durst's wife, goes missing and he will eventually be charged with her murder in 2021. So Public Defender Lee Foreman told the Daily Sentinel that he has yet to see anything absolutely incriminating. Mesa County District Attorney Terry Farina agreed with him but said the prosecution was going to string together a series of coincidences that together no longer are coincidences. Quote our case is building. If you build it, they will come, they being a bunch of dead baseball players. Did you know that? The actual line is if you build it, he will come. I don't know who the he is, but that's the line. Look it up. Back to the Circumstantial, non-coincidental coincidences Georgia Hunter formerly Georgia Lamar, and Linda Cistern Law Patsy Miracle testified that Botham had cleaned his car in the days following the murder.
Speaker 1:
The Defenses reaction it's a point now that everyone in the neighborhood washed their cars that weekend. A more intense objection came when a former co-worker, john Burt Hayes, testified. He talked about Botham telling him about his car being broken into and how his.22 caliber pistol was stolen, which obviously ended up being a lie. John then talked about an affair Botham tried to cover up. This is when the jury was asked to leave the courtroom in order for the defense to air its grievances.
Speaker 1:
Defense Attorney Norman Mueller said I've seen such a blatant attack on the character of a person. This is clearly character assassination and material for mistrial. Prosecutor Jerry Jorgensen rebutted with. We are trying to show motive on the part of the defendant that he was insensitive and arrogant, that he wouldn't even buy his own wife clothes and made her get by on $20 a week for groceries, and Defense Attorney Foreman said come on, if that's animosity. You've said many worse things to your wife. What does that have to do with the basic question here? Whether he killed the victims or not, all right, you're both pretty Okay. Judge Winston Wolvington agreed with the defense. Those statements would only be allowed if the defense puts forth evidence about the defendant's character.
Speaker 1:
But that wasn't even the highlight of the day. Old friend Timothy Tyree testified about going on shooting practice trips with Botham near Three Sisters Hill. He also talked about floating the Gunnison River and pulling the rafts in at Bridgeport, near where the bodies of Pat, linda, troy and Chad were found. The men talked about watercurls that could hold something down for a long, long time. On cross examination, attorney Foreman pointed out that most boaters put their rafts in at Bridgeport and that the watercurls mentioned by Botham weren't even found near Bridgeport. Timothy Tyree also said that Botham was typically sarcastic, sometimes bad-mouthing his wife Patricia and twice embarrassing her in front of him by grabbing her and unzipping her pants. That is not Embarrassing her, that's assaulting her, what he's feral On cross. Timothy answered no to whether he doubted that Bossam cared for his wife and kids.
Speaker 1:
Oh then the prosecution built up to investigator Milo Vig identifying all the guns they got from Bossam's possession. There were four.22 caliber guns and a.38 caliber snub-nose pistol. Attorney Foreman made sure to point out that none of the weapons presented was the gun used to shoot the miracle kids. Prosecution tried to argue that Bossam knew the weapon was a.22 caliber before that information was released because when asked to turn over his weapons he only turned over the.22 caliber ones. But on cross, investigator Vig casted doubt whether or not the detectives themselves had only requested the.22 caliber weapons. After the testimonies had concluded, lee Foreman said why did they bring in eight guns, none of which were connected to the crime? Was it to scare the jury?
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Detective Mike Smith started the next day by describing Bossam's arrest on November 8th 1975. He had been following Bossam along US 50 when he was pulled over and arrested. Marie Griffin and Bossam's children were in the car as well. Detective Smith also detailed the collection of physical evidence from Bossam's vehicle office and his home. The evidence included was hair, blood stains, wire cutters and a wall calendar that had the jury written over August 22nd and 23rd. The defense tried to point out the inconsistencies of the investigation and implied that the evidence was not properly logged and that not all material samples were sent to Colorado Bureau of Investigations or Kibbe for testing.
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The second to testify was Kibbe agent Gerald Tesh. He had interrogated Ken Bossam on October 31st in 1975. Alert we found out the name of Bossam's St Bernard. I know it's been weighing on you. So during the interrogation they talk about the personality of Bossam's dog, florence. Adorable Dog days are over. But when the pup talk was over the pair dove into more serious topics about the murders. Agent Tesh asked who Bossam thought committed the murders and Bossam fell silent. Why can't you tell me? Did you shoot them? If I told you what would happen to my boys, they'd be taken care of but I'd have to go to jail. Hell yes, you would, hell yes. Here's another fun piece of writing by Michael Moss of the Daily Sentinel.
Speaker 1:
Tesh, who has testified in hundreds of criminal cases, spoke directly to the jury. Pausing to casually blow dust off his glasses or inspect his fingernails, he smoothly told of his interrogation of Botham October 31st 1975, for the CBI. I pronounce it kibby, but to each their own. Botham also talked to Tesh about his trip to Ure and coming back to the disappearance of his wife, he said he never considered killing his wife. But when pressed, botham said he would push her off a cliff. And according to Agent Tesh, botham spoke nervously about the wire cutters found in the car. During cross, a visibly annoyed defense attorney foreman questioned why Agent Tesh didn't include his report that Botham fell silent when asked about the murders. When he's now saying it was the most important part of the interrogation, agent Tesh replied that he didn't know.
Speaker 1:
The defense also motioned for a mistrial on the basis that Agent Tesh continually used the word admission and confession in his testimony. That request was denied by Judge Wolvington but he did side with the defense when it came to ruling Botham's previous trial testimony was inadmissible. The final witness that day was retired CBI agent and expert in firearms and tool markings, claude Cook. He told the jury that the wire cutters found in Botham's car had cut the wire that was wrapped around the bodies of Pat and the miracles. He said. It took 60 hours to examine the red-handled tool that was smaller than a ballpoint pen. Defense attorney foreman spent an hour challenging Claude Cook's credentials and the certainty with which he identified the cutters.
Speaker 1:
On the last day of the prosecution's case, cbi agent Cordell Brown also testified that the wire cutters found in the glove compartment of Botham's Toyota Land Cruiser were used to cut the wires found around the victims' bodies. Lee Foreman had a big objection to Agent Brown using the word fingerprint to simplify the markings left by the cutters, but Judge Wolvington denied the request for a mistrial. Prosecutor. Jorgensen then took the stand to read the testimony of serologist Marion Keeman from Botham's first trial. Marion Keeman had a sense passed away and while trace amounts of blood matching the typing of some of the victims, there was no way to link it exclusively to the victims.
Speaker 1:
Then the prosecution rested, feeling they had strong enough circumstantial evidence together to prove Botham's guilt, while the defense thinks that without a smoking gun the rest of the evidence is just garbage. They started their defense by calling two couples to the stand Harold and Donna King and Norman and Pauline O'Dell testified that they saw Botham at Polly's Motel in Ure as late as 9.45 pm, and Pauline testified to having seen Botham's car there on the morning of August 23rd. Before the next day's testimony, the defense and prosecution questioned what will be allowed from Botham's testimony in his first trial if he takes the stand in the current trial. The defense also asked for access to a pair of wire cutters that had been found at the Miracle Home and accused prosecutors of purposefully hiding the cutters from them. Da Terry Farina responded with I'm starting to take personally some of these allegations about cover-up and said the cutters have always been available to the defense. After that bit of housekeeping, the defense established that the weather had been bad on the night of August 22nd, which the prosecution promptly rebutted that it wasn't bad all the way from Ure to Grand Junction. The owner of the Ure plane dealer, joyce Juergensen, no relation to prosecutor Juergensen, also testified about an ad Botham took out in early November 1975, in which he was looking for a man he claimed to talk to late on August 22nd in Ure. At the start of the next day, judge Wolvington ruled that Botham's previous testimony would be admissible if he took the stand. Kibbe's head of chemistry, richard Layman, then testified that shreds found in the wire cutters did not match those found on the wire wrapped around the bodies, contradicting his colleague Cordell Brown.
Speaker 1:
Battle of the Agents Two agents enter, one agent leaves. Also a chemist for Marathon Oil Company, perry Argebright. He actually helped pioneer a testing technique like gas chromatography, but he confirmed Richard's findings. Then Kenneth DeWise from an electronic shop in Grand Junction told the jury that Inspector Vig let slip that the bodies were bound with wire when he interviewed him, a fact that prosecution said only the killer could know. Then Sheriff's Captain Bob Silva also admitted to having taken the wire around to various shops to try and match it. Upon looking back at his reports he realized that he told all the owners that the wire was from the Bothamirical Murders. The defense then got ophthalmologist Dr Joel Goldstein to testify that Koraheiner, the neighbor, couldn't see the large E on the eye test chart from 100 feet away at the time of the murders when she said she saw a tall, slender man carrying heavy loads into a square car in the middle of the night. Officer Tom Montgomery also took the stand to tell the jury how Inspector Vig had instructed him to only collect Botham's 22 caliber weapons, putting the prosecution's assertion that Botham only presented 22 caliber weapons because he had known what weapon was used on Troy and Chad Miracle.
Speaker 1:
Reverend OJ Haller also testified to Botham's behavior around the time of the disappearance in murders. They had met as usual the morning after Botham discovered his wife's disappearance to talk over the music during the church program. They then met around November 3 to go back to your ray. Reverend Haller helped Botham place the ad, seeking out a man who'd seen Botham late on August 22. Botham also talked to him about remarriage less than a week after the bodies had been discovered. Not a good look. Reverend Haller told the jury that emotions did not come easy to Botham Quote he never opened up about anything and he never broke down emotionally about Pat and while the prosecution sees that as part of a guilt narrative, it was just cause for concern for Reverend Haller. He said it bothered me If he was keeping those emotions in. I worried about when he was going to blow up. Reverend Haller joined Botham's family in the courtroom after his testimony.
Speaker 1:
Haller met Crawford, then testified to having seen Norm Wilhelm's car, which I think was like a green Porsche, at Linda Miracle's house after 11.30pm on August 22. Norm had told the court the prior week that he had left Linda's by 11.30. Defense investigator Roger Balody told the court that Norm resisted efforts to interview him In his mind at the last minute. When investigator Balody arrived at his house quote he was visibly trembling, not like he was mad, but rather like he was emotionally upset.
Speaker 1:
Ever since Botham's first trial the defense has been trying to get one of Linda's sisters in law, patsy Murphy on the stand. She had spent four hours with Linda on the day of her disappearance. According to her, linda was planning on breaking up with Norm that night. She also said that former Mesa County Sheriff's Deputy Truman Haley called Linda while she was with her and said that Norm had better be gone when he got there that night. But none of this was deemed relevant, so Patsy did not testify. However, linda's brother was allowed to testify, każowicz Sachin. Norm told him he hadn't seen Linda since their Friday night date and, in a twist, glen and Norm had become roommates after his sister's murder and were still friends at the time of Glen's testimony. For a small relief, a story below the fold, also by Michael Moss, mentioned how Judge Wolvington's wife was healing an injured leg by sitting in on the bottom trial. He said teasingly she'd choose me out every night, to which she replied not so Well, I've agreed with all your decisions so far. Just a cute couple moment. Back to the treachery.
Speaker 1:
The defense then called 24 year veteran of the San Bernardino Sheriff's Office and criminologist Anthony Longetti. He said he was not able to match the wire cutters to the cut wires on the bodies. I know what you're thinking what about the striations? He said there wasn't sufficient detail. Longetti had been cut down. His credentials on cross, saying he hadn't done toolmark analysis in 10 years and only spent 20 hours examining the evidence over the New Year's Eve holiday the previous year. Anthony Longetti stuck with his findings, though the next day was the great stomach content debate In 2023,.
Speaker 1:
We pretty much know that stomach content analysis is not reliable because of all the variables, but during Boethem's 1982 trial, however, it was a hot topic and it's everything we've heard before. The original forensic pathologist, dr Thomas Canfield, who originally said that stomach contents were unreliable, was forced to give an estimation of time of death based on just that. During his examination, where there was like a bunch of officers, his preliminary guess was one, one and a half, maybe two hours. They had eaten and then been murdered. But on the stand he has consistently said that the miracles had eaten four to five hours before their deaths and, according to Norm Wilhelm, who joined the miracles for dinner that night, he said dinner didn't end until 9.30. This lines up perfectly with the prosecution's timeline. But what? There's more more doctors, that is, dr Ron Cornebloom and Dr John Wood said two to four hours after eating was the timeline, and when pressed for more specifics, they both said closer to two hours, putting the deaths much earlier in the evening, aligning with the defense's timeline and giving Boethem's alibi more credence in proving his innocence. After all this undigested information, the defense rested.
Speaker 1:
Ken Boethem did not testify in his own defense. Boethem's parents watched his whole trial. They are… the Dill, the guardians for his sons that and there, who were eight and eleven during his second trial, as well as for his 13 year old sister Ruth. His mother, ever the optimist, believed that the defense proved their case enough for an acquittal. His father, though, was worried.
Speaker 1:
Apparently, jurors weren't allowed to take notes unless allowed by the judge in Colorado at the time. I don't know this. Still a thing you can't take notes. That seems wild. And Judge Wolvington did not allow them to take notes because he thought they would miss too much while writing. Kenneth Botham senior said I just wonder how that jury will remember everything without notes. Some of that testimony was so complex. They should really be allowed notes. Not with you, ken.
Speaker 1:
Enclosing arguments DA Terry Farina stacked questions like who owns a large squareback vehicle, who is six feet tall, lean, with dark hair, who had a girlfriend, entered the victims homes without using force, whose children are still alive. Quote that man there, pointing to Botham, can victim on all four accounts. Public defender Lee Foreman also asked the jury a question if Linda Miracle was murdered at 1 or 1 30 am, what did she do after her boyfriend norm left? At 11 30 pm? The oven and two burners were still on and the table was unclear. She hadn't slept in her bed at all. He also pointed out incongruities like confused witnesses for the prosecution, incompetent police investigations, a nearly blind eye witness and a defendant who reacted like anyone would who had been hounded by police. Quote our case is over now. You've heard the evidence. You have to find this man not guilty because he's not, and you have to do it quickly and quickly. They did Return of verdict at least. After adjourning to the jury box around 3 pm, they spent five formal hours deliberating at 9 37 am the next day. The jury found Kenneth Botham Jr Guilty on one count of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder. In February 1982, a 34 year old Botham was sentenced to three consecutive terms of 20 to 30 years and the most optimistic view of Botham's parole, he could be up for parole at the earliest in 2012.
Speaker 1:
After his conviction, the trials of Kenneth Botham Jr Were literally mentioned in every big court case out of Grand Junction and also any time one of these investigators or judges Involved gave an interview. For whatever reason, they always brought up this case, whether for press coverage or change of venue. His trials were brought up throughout 1983 and into the 2000s. Another effect of these trials was that Judge William Ella was more inclined to transfer big cases to other venues, which is quite a different tune than his multiple denials of a venue change. During Botham's first trial In September 1984, botham's appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court was denied. Kenneth Botham's parents have both passed, as well as one of his sons there who died in a motorcycle accident in 2008. Ken Botham is now 75 years old and will have a parole hearing in July of 2025.
Speaker 1:
Before Thayer Botham's death, he compiled a lot of information, evidence, news stories, timelines etc. On the Botham Miracle Murders and he made this website. You can still go look at it. The homepage reads my name is Thayer Botham. I was only five when my mother died and now I am attempting to expose the truth as I know it and an effort to establish the rightful, true and honest history that encompasses our families and the other victims families lives. I hold no illusions as to whom might be guilty. Whoever really committed these heinous crimes Obviously should be held legally accountable, even if that turns out to be my father, ken Botham. That's a wrap on Pat and the Miracles. Thanks for coming along on this journey. If you are interested in Photos related to this case, you can check them out over at the Instagram at murder is bad podcast, and if you're Feeling so inclined and leave a five-star review and maybe a nice little note. Wherever you're listening, just remember To take care of each other and that murder is bad.