pour cups for everyone with the exception of one man who did not drink. This meant that the cup of beer that Eric drank from went directly from Willard’s hands to Eric’s lips. While the warrant didn’t spell it out, the obvious conclusion that anyone reading the warrant would draw was that Willard must have put the arsenic in Eric’s beer.
Based on this information, Morgan wanted to arrest Willard for attempted murder. It occurred to Morgan that if the police had enough probable cause to search Willard’s home, they had enough probable cause to arrest him. In fact, Morgan considered this the right thing to do. It would put Willard where they wanted and needed him—behind bars, in their custody, and hopefully willing to bargain for his freedom with the truth. But again, his wishes fell on deaf ears. Morgan says the assistant Wake County district attorney handling the case, Tom Ford, did not believe there was enough evidence to charge Willard and that a premature arrest could irrevocably damage the case.
“To say that I perceived Tom Ford as a developing problem in this case is a huge understatement. I mean Tom Ford was the problem in this case initially,” states Morgan.
Investigators in Wake County were used to working closely with prosecutors. With few exceptions, cops didn’t make arrests in serious cases without the approval of the district attorney. Prosecutors also had a different standard; probable cause wasn’t enough. Before an arrest in a high-profile case, they wanted to make sure there was enough to convict someone beyond a reasonable doubt in front of a jury. Morgan didn’t always like the process, but he understood how it worked and had come to accept it. Morgan was beginning to worry that a case might never be made against anyone in Eric Miller’s death.
Morgan believes that part of Ford’s reluctance stemmed from having difficulty dealing with the medical examiner, Dr. Thomas Clark, who seemed to be perpetually putting Ford off. Clark was in charge of Eric’s autopsy, and would be the key witness if the case ever went to trial. Dr. Clark would be the one to testify as to Eric’s cause of death. But at this point, Morgan says, neither investigators, nor Ford and his colleagues at the D.A.’s office, had been able to get straight answers from the medical examiner.
“He [Clark] played with them, he put them off. And Jeff [Fluck] and even more so Tom Ford could not believe he was actually treating them this way,” Morgan said. “I’ve dealt with Clark before and I knew how he was. The thing is he likes to play that game. He likes to make sure that you know he’s smarter than you are, which you know in my case, I was perfectly willing to admit.”
Morgan says Ford was not as willing to play Clark’s game, and as a result, a standoff that almost derailed the investigation occurred early on.
In Morgan’s mind everyone, but especially Tom Ford, was approaching the case from the perspective of the legal hurdles it would pose down the road.
“You can’t investigate homicides on that basis,” Morgan says indignantly. “The investigation of killing another human being has a rhythm of its own and . . . it can’t be neatly categorized.”
Morgan says that’s why veteran investigators are needed to peel through the layers of a homicide case as opposed to “slick-sleeved rookies” who don’t have the blood on their hands that comes from years of turning over dead bodies.
Morgan asked the question even though he knew what the answer would be. “Can’t we go ahead and lock this guy up, let the chips fall?”
Under North Carolina law, officers have the right to arrest anyone if they believe there is probable cause to do so, but this doesn’t mean they do it without the prosecutor’s permission. Morgan has looked back on this decision countless times and wondered what if? What if they had arrested Willard? Would things have turned out differently?
It’s a question that’s haunted
Based on this information, Morgan wanted to arrest Willard for attempted murder. It occurred to Morgan that if the police had enough probable cause to search Willard’s home, they had enough probable cause to arrest him. In fact, Morgan considered this the right thing to do. It would put Willard where they wanted and needed him—behind bars, in their custody, and hopefully willing to bargain for his freedom with the truth. But again, his wishes fell on deaf ears. Morgan says the assistant Wake County district attorney handling the case, Tom Ford, did not believe there was enough evidence to charge Willard and that a premature arrest could irrevocably damage the case.
“To say that I perceived Tom Ford as a developing problem in this case is a huge understatement. I mean Tom Ford was the problem in this case initially,” states Morgan.
Investigators in Wake County were used to working closely with prosecutors. With few exceptions, cops didn’t make arrests in serious cases without the approval of the district attorney. Prosecutors also had a different standard; probable cause wasn’t enough. Before an arrest in a high-profile case, they wanted to make sure there was enough to convict someone beyond a reasonable doubt in front of a jury. Morgan didn’t always like the process, but he understood how it worked and had come to accept it. Morgan was beginning to worry that a case might never be made against anyone in Eric Miller’s death.
Morgan believes that part of Ford’s reluctance stemmed from having difficulty dealing with the medical examiner, Dr. Thomas Clark, who seemed to be perpetually putting Ford off. Clark was in charge of Eric’s autopsy, and would be the key witness if the case ever went to trial. Dr. Clark would be the one to testify as to Eric’s cause of death. But at this point, Morgan says, neither investigators, nor Ford and his colleagues at the D.A.’s office, had been able to get straight answers from the medical examiner.
“He [Clark] played with them, he put them off. And Jeff [Fluck] and even more so Tom Ford could not believe he was actually treating them this way,” Morgan said. “I’ve dealt with Clark before and I knew how he was. The thing is he likes to play that game. He likes to make sure that you know he’s smarter than you are, which you know in my case, I was perfectly willing to admit.”
Morgan says Ford was not as willing to play Clark’s game, and as a result, a standoff that almost derailed the investigation occurred early on.
In Morgan’s mind everyone, but especially Tom Ford, was approaching the case from the perspective of the legal hurdles it would pose down the road.
“You can’t investigate homicides on that basis,” Morgan says indignantly. “The investigation of killing another human being has a rhythm of its own and . . . it can’t be neatly categorized.”
Morgan says that’s why veteran investigators are needed to peel through the layers of a homicide case as opposed to “slick-sleeved rookies” who don’t have the blood on their hands that comes from years of turning over dead bodies.
Morgan asked the question even though he knew what the answer would be. “Can’t we go ahead and lock this guy up, let the chips fall?”
Under North Carolina law, officers have the right to arrest anyone if they believe there is probable cause to do so, but this doesn’t mean they do it without the prosecutor’s permission. Morgan has looked back on this decision countless times and wondered what if? What if they had arrested Willard? Would things have turned out differently?
It’s a question that’s haunted
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