Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2002 12:03:10
Subject: Benjamin Walters
From: det_harold_barstow@chicagopolice.org
To: det_thomas_johnson@chicagopolice.org, det_richard_longfellow@chicagopolice.org

Tom, Dick,

If only motive were all we needed: Benjamin Walters certainly had it -- according to him Regine pinned various errors and mistakes on him and the Skipper before firing him and the Skipper (errors that were actually hers) and then left him in a bad reference type of situation. Then he emailed Skipper proposing revenge (which email Skipper said no to).

Benjamin said that he had planned to slash her tires, or to put sugar in the gas tank, or to leave a flaming bag of shit at her office door or the like, but that he had no intention of harming Regine and in fact had only fantasized about revenge but had not followed through. Which, whatever, sure he's gonna say that.

Problem is the Walters family is a big family and they happened to be having a family barbeque the night of the murder and Benjamin was there from noon until 9 PM, it checks out. So if Mr. Walters was involved in the murder he was involved from a distance. And he doesn't seem to be the contract killer type. For one, I don't think he could affordit.

Walters confessed to everything from 6 outstanding parking tickets to cheating on his taxes by claiming business deductions for videogames to smoking a joint at the office Christmas party last year. Either he was pretending to be a quivering jello blob or he is a quivering jello blob and I just don't think he's that good an actor.

And the search turned up jack shit, and all we got off his computer was his email to the Skip and evidence that he likes teen porn.

Has anything turned up on the security tapes?

The judge is starting to get irritated about the warrants not producing much.

Any clues at the wake/funeral?

Harry