both of them. Now, how can he be in two places at once?”
The detectives’ conclusion, offered in their written report: “It should be noted that at no time on May 23 did Mrs. Lunsford actually see suspect William Macumber. She only heard someone’s voice in the background during a telephone conversation with the suspect’s father. Mrs. Lunsford’s statement cannot be corroborated.… It is the opinion of these officers that no further action should be taken in reference to Mrs. Lunsford’s statement.” Their closing words, in all caps: “PREVIOUSLY CLEARED BY ARREST.”
CHAPTER 4
Maricopa County Jail
AUGUST–OCTOBER 1974
In his cell at the Maricopa County Jail, Bill Macumber began to keep a journal, writing in tablets he bought at the jail commissary. As he told it, he first put pen to paper a week after his arrest, so he reconstructed the first few days and later revised other portions “to convey in better words what took place.”
1st Day, Wednesday August 28, 1974.
I have been arrested for murder. I have not killed anyone but no one here will believe me.… When I first entered the jail everything seemed unreal but now the reality of it all is setting in and I am afraid. I am also depressed beyond words but thus far my pride will not allow me to show any outward emotion. What about my three small boys? What will they be thinking and where are they?… Finally the last door shuts and I am in a cell. There are four bunks in the cell but I am the only occupant. I have not been given a mattress cover or a blanket but at this point I am just too tired to care.… Without question this has been the very worst day of my life.…
2nd Day, Thursday August 29, 1974.
12:15 a.m .: Thoughts concerning my children keep going through my mind. What is happening to them? Do they still love their father or has my wife Carol succeeded in making them believe their father is a murderer? I want to see my boys so bad and to tell them, to make them believe that everything will be alright.…
4:45 a.m .: I am now very afraid, terribly tired and very depressed.
8:45 a.m .: They have come to get me once again for questioning. I was told I would be able to see my boys but they are not here.… I am terribly disappointed and I tell the officers that I have nothing further to say to them. I am allowed to call my father and he has told me they are getting a lawyer for me. I know now I should have called Dad sooner but I honestly thought I could straighten this whole mess out without getting him or anyone else involved.… I am being held for murder and I won’t be going home to my children now and perhaps maybe never.… I miss Scott, Steve and Ronnie so much. Thankfully no one can see me cry right now.
4:45 p.m. : There is an attorney here to talk to me and there is so very much to talk about if it’s not already too late. I have never met this man before but I have to trust him.…
3rd Day, Friday August 30.
3:15 p.m. : There is trouble in the cellblock. The other prisoners have found out … that I was a volunteer member of the Sheriff’s Department. They are making no effort to hide their hatred.… For the first time real fear is beginning to set in. My stomach is in knots and the pain is almost unbearable.…
7:30 p.m. : I have asked that I be put in one of the solitary cells because of the present situation with the other prisoners.… It turns into a very long night filled with jeers, curses and threats.… A man in the next cell to the left of mine has just thrown a roll of burning toilet paper into my cell.
Macumber’s fourth day in jail, Saturday, August 31, was his birthday. He wrote, “I would never have believed I would be spending my 39th birthday in a place like this. Never in my life have I ever known fear as I know it right now.”
That evening, Bill’s father and brother, Harold and Robert, came to see him. Bob Macumber had first heard of his brother’s arrest on the radio. Then Carol
The detectives’ conclusion, offered in their written report: “It should be noted that at no time on May 23 did Mrs. Lunsford actually see suspect William Macumber. She only heard someone’s voice in the background during a telephone conversation with the suspect’s father. Mrs. Lunsford’s statement cannot be corroborated.… It is the opinion of these officers that no further action should be taken in reference to Mrs. Lunsford’s statement.” Their closing words, in all caps: “PREVIOUSLY CLEARED BY ARREST.”
CHAPTER 4
Maricopa County Jail
AUGUST–OCTOBER 1974
In his cell at the Maricopa County Jail, Bill Macumber began to keep a journal, writing in tablets he bought at the jail commissary. As he told it, he first put pen to paper a week after his arrest, so he reconstructed the first few days and later revised other portions “to convey in better words what took place.”
1st Day, Wednesday August 28, 1974.
I have been arrested for murder. I have not killed anyone but no one here will believe me.… When I first entered the jail everything seemed unreal but now the reality of it all is setting in and I am afraid. I am also depressed beyond words but thus far my pride will not allow me to show any outward emotion. What about my three small boys? What will they be thinking and where are they?… Finally the last door shuts and I am in a cell. There are four bunks in the cell but I am the only occupant. I have not been given a mattress cover or a blanket but at this point I am just too tired to care.… Without question this has been the very worst day of my life.…
2nd Day, Thursday August 29, 1974.
12:15 a.m .: Thoughts concerning my children keep going through my mind. What is happening to them? Do they still love their father or has my wife Carol succeeded in making them believe their father is a murderer? I want to see my boys so bad and to tell them, to make them believe that everything will be alright.…
4:45 a.m .: I am now very afraid, terribly tired and very depressed.
8:45 a.m .: They have come to get me once again for questioning. I was told I would be able to see my boys but they are not here.… I am terribly disappointed and I tell the officers that I have nothing further to say to them. I am allowed to call my father and he has told me they are getting a lawyer for me. I know now I should have called Dad sooner but I honestly thought I could straighten this whole mess out without getting him or anyone else involved.… I am being held for murder and I won’t be going home to my children now and perhaps maybe never.… I miss Scott, Steve and Ronnie so much. Thankfully no one can see me cry right now.
4:45 p.m. : There is an attorney here to talk to me and there is so very much to talk about if it’s not already too late. I have never met this man before but I have to trust him.…
3rd Day, Friday August 30.
3:15 p.m. : There is trouble in the cellblock. The other prisoners have found out … that I was a volunteer member of the Sheriff’s Department. They are making no effort to hide their hatred.… For the first time real fear is beginning to set in. My stomach is in knots and the pain is almost unbearable.…
7:30 p.m. : I have asked that I be put in one of the solitary cells because of the present situation with the other prisoners.… It turns into a very long night filled with jeers, curses and threats.… A man in the next cell to the left of mine has just thrown a roll of burning toilet paper into my cell.
Macumber’s fourth day in jail, Saturday, August 31, was his birthday. He wrote, “I would never have believed I would be spending my 39th birthday in a place like this. Never in my life have I ever known fear as I know it right now.”
That evening, Bill’s father and brother, Harold and Robert, came to see him. Bob Macumber had first heard of his brother’s arrest on the radio. Then Carol
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