or boyfriend who found out about the contest and decided to seek revenge. But since the list only contained the first names of the women involved, or in some cases what appeared to be a nickname, the detectives could see hundreds of hours of work ahead trying to find these individuals.
And as if this thunderbolt of information didn’t already add enough new suspects to the case, Ross added yet another to the detective’s ever-growing list. As kind of an afterthought, she related how Barker had told her about an incident he and Bob Gierse had been involved in a couple of weeks earlier: Around the middle of November, Barker and Gierse had gone to a bar on East Washington Street and, while there, had gotten into an argument with a man who had ended up holding a knife to Barker’s throat and telling him and Gierse to get out, which they did. Ross didn’t know what the disagreement had been about, but chances were one of them had flirted with the man’s wife or girlfriend. The detectives made a note to look further into this incident, too.
Another name that came from those initial interviews held on December 1 and 2 was Tim Ford. Detective Sergeants Popcheff and Strode found that Ford, who worked at a SupeRx Drug Store, had become acquainted with both Bob Gierse and Bob Hinson from riding motorcycleswith them. He also independently corroborated Ilene Combest’s belief that Hinson had been intimately involved with Louise Cole for some time. Ford said that he had attended Gierse’s birthday party at the North LaSalle Street house on November 18 of that year, and that Louise and James Cole had also been there. A friend at the party, he said, told him that James Cole had been drinking heavily and was extremely angry and upset, telling the friend that he believed one of the three men was sleeping with his wife. Cole then told the friend that he would cut anyone he caught messing with his wife.
Following this bit of information, Ford recounted for the two detectives an incident that had occurred earlier in the year at a Knights of Columbus hall, in which James Cole had cut off Bob Gierse’s tie with a knife. The detectives made a note to talk to Mr. Cole about these occurrences. He had suddenly moved up on the suspect list, especially when the detectives recalled the incident Bill Anderson, the reporter for the
Indianapolis Star
, had told them about in which two women in the crowd outside the North LaSalle Street house on the day of the murders discussed suspicions that Cole might be the murderer.
After talking to Ford, the detectives, again using information gained from other interviews, traveled to a home on West 26th Street in Indianapolis, where they spoke with a Mac and Laura Harbor, who also reportedly had information about the victims. This couple said that they, like Ford had said earlier, knew Gierse and Hinsonfrom riding motorcycles with them. They also knew the Coles, and they said James was always suspicious that someone was messing with his wife. Like Ford, the Harbors had been present at the incident in which Cole had sliced off Gierse’s tie.
Though not new, all this information confirmed the seriousness of James Cole as a key suspect. The Harbors said that they had also been at Gierse’s birthday party. At that party, Mac said, he had been talking with James, who had been drunk. He said that James told him he was positive one of the three men was messing with his wife, and that if he could find out which one of the sons of bitches it was, he would cut his throat. Had Cole, the detectives wondered, found out which one he thought was having the affair with his wife? Or had he perhaps just decided to kill all three of them to be certain he got the right one? Popcheff and Strode knew that Cole had some serious explaining to do.
The detectives then drove back to the house on North LaSalle Street, where they met with Bob Gierse’s brother Ted. Because the house had been sealed by the coroner, he needed their
And as if this thunderbolt of information didn’t already add enough new suspects to the case, Ross added yet another to the detective’s ever-growing list. As kind of an afterthought, she related how Barker had told her about an incident he and Bob Gierse had been involved in a couple of weeks earlier: Around the middle of November, Barker and Gierse had gone to a bar on East Washington Street and, while there, had gotten into an argument with a man who had ended up holding a knife to Barker’s throat and telling him and Gierse to get out, which they did. Ross didn’t know what the disagreement had been about, but chances were one of them had flirted with the man’s wife or girlfriend. The detectives made a note to look further into this incident, too.
Another name that came from those initial interviews held on December 1 and 2 was Tim Ford. Detective Sergeants Popcheff and Strode found that Ford, who worked at a SupeRx Drug Store, had become acquainted with both Bob Gierse and Bob Hinson from riding motorcycleswith them. He also independently corroborated Ilene Combest’s belief that Hinson had been intimately involved with Louise Cole for some time. Ford said that he had attended Gierse’s birthday party at the North LaSalle Street house on November 18 of that year, and that Louise and James Cole had also been there. A friend at the party, he said, told him that James Cole had been drinking heavily and was extremely angry and upset, telling the friend that he believed one of the three men was sleeping with his wife. Cole then told the friend that he would cut anyone he caught messing with his wife.
Following this bit of information, Ford recounted for the two detectives an incident that had occurred earlier in the year at a Knights of Columbus hall, in which James Cole had cut off Bob Gierse’s tie with a knife. The detectives made a note to talk to Mr. Cole about these occurrences. He had suddenly moved up on the suspect list, especially when the detectives recalled the incident Bill Anderson, the reporter for the
Indianapolis Star
, had told them about in which two women in the crowd outside the North LaSalle Street house on the day of the murders discussed suspicions that Cole might be the murderer.
After talking to Ford, the detectives, again using information gained from other interviews, traveled to a home on West 26th Street in Indianapolis, where they spoke with a Mac and Laura Harbor, who also reportedly had information about the victims. This couple said that they, like Ford had said earlier, knew Gierse and Hinsonfrom riding motorcycles with them. They also knew the Coles, and they said James was always suspicious that someone was messing with his wife. Like Ford, the Harbors had been present at the incident in which Cole had sliced off Gierse’s tie.
Though not new, all this information confirmed the seriousness of James Cole as a key suspect. The Harbors said that they had also been at Gierse’s birthday party. At that party, Mac said, he had been talking with James, who had been drunk. He said that James told him he was positive one of the three men was messing with his wife, and that if he could find out which one of the sons of bitches it was, he would cut his throat. Had Cole, the detectives wondered, found out which one he thought was having the affair with his wife? Or had he perhaps just decided to kill all three of them to be certain he got the right one? Popcheff and Strode knew that Cole had some serious explaining to do.
The detectives then drove back to the house on North LaSalle Street, where they met with Bob Gierse’s brother Ted. Because the house had been sealed by the coroner, he needed their
Similar Books
