was going to go over to Alan’s sister’s residence in Grand Junction. Then she said that she didn’t want Alan’s kids to find out about their father by some news report.
Perhaps to lighten the mood, the woman said to Miriam, “Well, I hope I color coordinated the clothes okay.”
Miriam chuckled and replied, “The clothes, well, they’re good enough to get me out of here.” Then she joked, “They’re not orange, are they?” This might have been in reference to orange jumpsuits that jail inmates wore.
The woman laughed and said, “No.”
Miriam was given a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and red clogs. Then she exited the room to exchange her clothing, and the long interview was over.
C HAPTER 9
“T HEIR A CTIONS W ITH E ACH O THER W ERE V ERY S TRANGE .”
Dr. Robert Kurtzman, a forensic pathologist who worked at Community Hospital in Grand Junction, arrived at the Helmick residence around 3:00 P.M. , June 10, 2008. Several law enforcement investigators were there, and the scene was under the control of MCSO investigator Jim Hebenstreit.
Dr. Kurtzman had graduated from medical school at the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery. He later interned at Cranston General Hospital in Rhode Island. Since then, Kurtzman had become a medical examiner (ME), first in Wayne County, Indiana, and later in Grand Junction, Colorado.
As Kurtzman later said, causes of death could be broken down into several categories: “A heart attack, for instance, is typically regarded as a natural disease process, and so ‘natural’ would be the cause of death. If somebody walked down the street and they fell and sustained a head injury and died, that would be an accident. If somebody takes a gun and shoots somebody, that’s a homicide. And if the person uses the gun on themselves, that’s a suicide.
“As far as forensic pathology goes, it’s the analysis of injury patterns. We’re looking at the mechanism by which an injury is produced. It’s helpful for me to see where the individual is located to see characteristics of flooring, the bloodstains, things of that sort.”
When Dr. Kurtzman came on the scene, there were already bags on Alan Helmick’s hands to ensure that any transfer evidence or evidence under his fingernails stayed in place. It very quickly became obvious to Dr. Kurtzman that Alan Helmick had sustained a gunshot wound to the back of the head. There didn’t seem to be any transfer blood patterns around Alan. Kurtzman believed that as soon as Alan was shot, he ended up in the position where he now lay. No one had shot him elsewhere and then dragged his body to that position.
Multiple law enforcement individuals took many photographs, and finally Alan Helmick’s body was loaded into a body bag and removed from the residence. Several investigators stayed behind, going over the whole house and taking literally hundreds of photos of everything they thought might be significant.
On June 11, around 3:15 P.M. , Dr. Kurtzman began his autopsy of Alan Helmick. Blood that had accumulated at the back of Alan’s head was washed away and a portion of the hair was shaved. When that was done, Kurtzman noted a “defect” six and a half inches from the top of the head and an inch and a half from midline. That defect was where a bullet had entered into the back of Alan’s head.
From lack of stippling and soot on the skin, Dr. Kurtzman determined that the shooter was at least two feet away from Alan, but not at a great distance. The actual bullet was recovered from the right side of the front of Alan’s brain. Such a wound would have caused Alan’s death within seconds or up to about a minute. He would have been instantly incapacitated.
Kurtzman also determined the trajectory of the bullet’s path would most likely have made Alan fall to where his body had been found. Kurtzman added that a bump on the back of Alan’s head was consistent with being struck by a bullet and falling onto
Perhaps to lighten the mood, the woman said to Miriam, “Well, I hope I color coordinated the clothes okay.”
Miriam chuckled and replied, “The clothes, well, they’re good enough to get me out of here.” Then she joked, “They’re not orange, are they?” This might have been in reference to orange jumpsuits that jail inmates wore.
The woman laughed and said, “No.”
Miriam was given a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and red clogs. Then she exited the room to exchange her clothing, and the long interview was over.
C HAPTER 9
“T HEIR A CTIONS W ITH E ACH O THER W ERE V ERY S TRANGE .”
Dr. Robert Kurtzman, a forensic pathologist who worked at Community Hospital in Grand Junction, arrived at the Helmick residence around 3:00 P.M. , June 10, 2008. Several law enforcement investigators were there, and the scene was under the control of MCSO investigator Jim Hebenstreit.
Dr. Kurtzman had graduated from medical school at the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery. He later interned at Cranston General Hospital in Rhode Island. Since then, Kurtzman had become a medical examiner (ME), first in Wayne County, Indiana, and later in Grand Junction, Colorado.
As Kurtzman later said, causes of death could be broken down into several categories: “A heart attack, for instance, is typically regarded as a natural disease process, and so ‘natural’ would be the cause of death. If somebody walked down the street and they fell and sustained a head injury and died, that would be an accident. If somebody takes a gun and shoots somebody, that’s a homicide. And if the person uses the gun on themselves, that’s a suicide.
“As far as forensic pathology goes, it’s the analysis of injury patterns. We’re looking at the mechanism by which an injury is produced. It’s helpful for me to see where the individual is located to see characteristics of flooring, the bloodstains, things of that sort.”
When Dr. Kurtzman came on the scene, there were already bags on Alan Helmick’s hands to ensure that any transfer evidence or evidence under his fingernails stayed in place. It very quickly became obvious to Dr. Kurtzman that Alan Helmick had sustained a gunshot wound to the back of the head. There didn’t seem to be any transfer blood patterns around Alan. Kurtzman believed that as soon as Alan was shot, he ended up in the position where he now lay. No one had shot him elsewhere and then dragged his body to that position.
Multiple law enforcement individuals took many photographs, and finally Alan Helmick’s body was loaded into a body bag and removed from the residence. Several investigators stayed behind, going over the whole house and taking literally hundreds of photos of everything they thought might be significant.
On June 11, around 3:15 P.M. , Dr. Kurtzman began his autopsy of Alan Helmick. Blood that had accumulated at the back of Alan’s head was washed away and a portion of the hair was shaved. When that was done, Kurtzman noted a “defect” six and a half inches from the top of the head and an inch and a half from midline. That defect was where a bullet had entered into the back of Alan’s head.
From lack of stippling and soot on the skin, Dr. Kurtzman determined that the shooter was at least two feet away from Alan, but not at a great distance. The actual bullet was recovered from the right side of the front of Alan’s brain. Such a wound would have caused Alan’s death within seconds or up to about a minute. He would have been instantly incapacitated.
Kurtzman also determined the trajectory of the bullet’s path would most likely have made Alan fall to where his body had been found. Kurtzman added that a bump on the back of Alan’s head was consistent with being struck by a bullet and falling onto
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