permission to go inside. Popcheff and Strode allowed him to go into the house to get a gray suit, white shirt, and pink-striped tie to use for Gierse’s funeral. They also allowed Ted to take Gierse’s Masonic apron from a dresser drawer so that it could be used during the Masonic ceremony at the funeral.
While there, the detectives took another look around the house, just to be absolutely certain they hadn’tmissed anything. Despite the very thorough search they had conducted on the day the murders had been discovered, the detectives knew that sometimes, once the bodies and other evidence had been removed, other items could stand out that hadn’t seemed obvious the day of the initial investigation. Or, based on interviews with witnesses and persons of interest they’d since conducted, an item that hadn’t appeared significant before could suddenly become key evidence. In this case, however, the detectives didn’t find anything new.
The two detectives then drove to Jim Barker’s house on North Rural Street to take another look around for any evidence they might have missed. But again, they didn’t find anything of value. Barker’s parents showed up while Popcheff and Strode were there, and after talking with them for a bit, the detectives called the coroner’s office and had the house and its contents released to Barker’s parents. The detectives had already searched the house twice, and since the murders had been committed somewhere else, they couldn’t see any reason to keep the house sealed.
On the way back to police headquarters, Popcheff and Strode stopped off at the home of James and Louise Cole and requested they come back down for some more questioning. The detectives particularly wanted to confront Mr. Cole with the information about his threats to cut the throat of anyone he caught messing with his wife and see how he responded.
When the detectives arrived at police headquarters,however, they first talked briefly with Barbara Munden, one of Bob Hinson’s former girlfriends who had just been located. She said that she had started dating Hinson about two years earlier, and that she had gotten a divorce six months after that. She and Hinson had broken up two weeks before the murders because she said she had found a new boyfriend, who had since moved in with her. However, Munden also added that her new boyfriend had come home recently to find Hinson in her house. This added at least one more possible suspect—the new boyfriend—to the detectives’ growing list; or maybe two, if the ex-husband had found out about the woman’s affair with Hinson while they were still married.
Following this, Popcheff and Strode then began an in-depth interview with Louise Cole. She said that the last time she saw Gierse and Hinson had been at around 5:30 P.M. on Tuesday, November 30, 1971. She was leaving for home and they told her that they had some important microfilming to do and would be working late, probably until about 7:30 or 8:00 P.M. or even later. She then told the detectives that, like two of the murdered men, she had also previously worked for Records Security Corporation. She had gotten that job through Hinson, whom she had met at the Sherman Bar in Indianapolis. When Gierse and Hinson decided to leave Records Security Corporation and start their own business, they persuaded her to come and work for them at B&B Microfilming.
Mrs. Cole also told the detectives about an incident between Gierse and Ted Uland, the owner of RecordsSecurity Corporation. She said that Gierse had a drawer in his house in which he kept all of his canceled checks, and that recently he had opened the drawer and found them missing. She said that Gierse told her he believed Uland, who had a key to the North LaSalle Street house, had come in and stolen the checks. Gierse was upset but didn’t tell her why he thought Uland would want to do this.
In regards to her husband, Louise Cole told the detectives that on the night of the
While there, the detectives took another look around the house, just to be absolutely certain they hadn’tmissed anything. Despite the very thorough search they had conducted on the day the murders had been discovered, the detectives knew that sometimes, once the bodies and other evidence had been removed, other items could stand out that hadn’t seemed obvious the day of the initial investigation. Or, based on interviews with witnesses and persons of interest they’d since conducted, an item that hadn’t appeared significant before could suddenly become key evidence. In this case, however, the detectives didn’t find anything new.
The two detectives then drove to Jim Barker’s house on North Rural Street to take another look around for any evidence they might have missed. But again, they didn’t find anything of value. Barker’s parents showed up while Popcheff and Strode were there, and after talking with them for a bit, the detectives called the coroner’s office and had the house and its contents released to Barker’s parents. The detectives had already searched the house twice, and since the murders had been committed somewhere else, they couldn’t see any reason to keep the house sealed.
On the way back to police headquarters, Popcheff and Strode stopped off at the home of James and Louise Cole and requested they come back down for some more questioning. The detectives particularly wanted to confront Mr. Cole with the information about his threats to cut the throat of anyone he caught messing with his wife and see how he responded.
When the detectives arrived at police headquarters,however, they first talked briefly with Barbara Munden, one of Bob Hinson’s former girlfriends who had just been located. She said that she had started dating Hinson about two years earlier, and that she had gotten a divorce six months after that. She and Hinson had broken up two weeks before the murders because she said she had found a new boyfriend, who had since moved in with her. However, Munden also added that her new boyfriend had come home recently to find Hinson in her house. This added at least one more possible suspect—the new boyfriend—to the detectives’ growing list; or maybe two, if the ex-husband had found out about the woman’s affair with Hinson while they were still married.
Following this, Popcheff and Strode then began an in-depth interview with Louise Cole. She said that the last time she saw Gierse and Hinson had been at around 5:30 P.M. on Tuesday, November 30, 1971. She was leaving for home and they told her that they had some important microfilming to do and would be working late, probably until about 7:30 or 8:00 P.M. or even later. She then told the detectives that, like two of the murdered men, she had also previously worked for Records Security Corporation. She had gotten that job through Hinson, whom she had met at the Sherman Bar in Indianapolis. When Gierse and Hinson decided to leave Records Security Corporation and start their own business, they persuaded her to come and work for them at B&B Microfilming.
Mrs. Cole also told the detectives about an incident between Gierse and Ted Uland, the owner of RecordsSecurity Corporation. She said that Gierse had a drawer in his house in which he kept all of his canceled checks, and that recently he had opened the drawer and found them missing. She said that Gierse told her he believed Uland, who had a key to the North LaSalle Street house, had come in and stolen the checks. Gierse was upset but didn’t tell her why he thought Uland would want to do this.
In regards to her husband, Louise Cole told the detectives that on the night of the
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