The Girl in the Leaves Read online

  Wilgus defined a “drip stain” as a bloodstain resulting from a falling drop that formed due to gravity. And an “impact pattern” was a bloodstain pattern resulting from an object striking liquid blood. A “perimeter stain” was an altered stain that consisted of the peripheral characteristics of the original stain. A “saturation stain” was a bloodstain resulting from the accumulation of liquid blood in an absorbent material.

  A “spatter stain” consisted of a bloodstain resulting from a blood drop dispersed through the air due to an external force applied to a source of liquid blood, as might result, for example, from someone being struck by a heavy object. A “swipe pattern” was a bloodstain pattern resulting from the transfer of blood from a blood-bearing surface onto another surface, with characteristics that indicated relative motion between the two surfaces. “Transfer patterns” were contact bloodstains created as a result of compression or lateral movement of a bloody surface against a second surface. And a “wipe pattern” was an altered bloodstain pattern resulting from an object moving through a preexisting wet bloodstain.

  The different types of bloodstain patterns had important meaning to someone as trained as Special Agent Wilgus. The patterns could tell him to a great degree what had happened in certain locations, and enabled him to reconstruct a chain of events.

  Agent Wilgus went to the vinyl foyer floor inside the front door and began to note different bloodstains there. He carefully looked at “several patterns of interest” on the vinyl floor area at the entrance. The first, and largest, of the stains was a transfer pattern found immediately in front of the door, and there were perimeter stains located at the southeast corner of the vinyl floor. He also picked up a wipe pattern after using Leuco Crystal Violet, or LCV.

  The transfer pattern was consistent with a bloodstained object having come into contact with the floor. The pattern was ten inches long and six inches wide. Also scattered on the vinyl floor were blood drops that appeared to be altered or diluted, more transparent than typical blood drops.

  Moving on to the carpeted area of the living room, just south of the front door, Wilgus noticed a large saturation stain of suspected blood and possibly motor oil. Surrounding this were drops of blood and motor oil on the perimeter. The saturation stain was large, covering a two-by-two-foot area. “The saturation stain was sufficiently large enough to suggest that the bleeding individual remained at that location for a period of time before being moved,” Wilgus noted.

  In addition to the blood and motor oil, Wilgus noticed that bleach appeared to have been used on some areas of the carpet. Cleaning bottles left nearby suggested that the attacker had attempted to clean up or hide the blood on the carpet but had eventually given up. The area of the carpeting with the saturation stain was cut out and collected as evidence.

  Wilgus also noted several spatter stains on the west wall of the living room. Their height ranged from forty-five inches to six feet above the floor, and stretched across the wall for about forty-eight inches.

  Leading from the large saturation stain on the living room carpet was a swipe pattern consistent with an object, such as a body, being dragged. This pattern led from the saturation stain, down the hallway, to the entrance of the bathroom.

  Moving on to Tina’s bedroom, Wilgus found another saturation stain of blood covered over by motor oil, on the carpet. Wilgus noted, “The saturation stain was large enough to suggest that the bleeding individual remained at the location for a period of time before being moved.” The wording was the same for this next supposed victim as it had been for a supposed victim in the front room. This carpeting was also cut out and collected as evidence.

  In this bedroom there was also a comforter with a blood saturation stain, again covered over by motor oil. It was found lying on the floor near the northeast corner of the bed. An apparent impact pattern was spattered on the dresser and closet doors of the bedroom. The pattern radiated from the south to the north, and originated somewhere near the nightstand between the dresser and bed.

  A swipe pattern consistent with a bloodstained object being dragged and motor oil being poured over the swipe stain led from the bedroom, down the hallway and into the bathroom.

  In the hallway the transfer pattern and swipe patterns were consistent with bloodstained fabric, most likely from a gloved hand, coming in contact with the wall. The pattern was about fifty-eight inches above the floor.

  In Sarah’s bedroom Wilgus found yet another large saturation stain. From the saturation stain a swipe pattern led through the bedroom, down the hallway, to the bathroom. This too was consistent with an object being dragged, perhaps a body. And on the west side of the swipe pattern, there were shoe prints consistent with tennis shoes, left in motor oil. These may well have been impressions left by an assailant.

  On the north wall of Sarah’s bedroom, an impact pattern covered one wall and curtain. The pattern radiated from west to east, and the impact occurred close to the wall, approximately twenty to forty inches above the floor. On Sarah’s bedroom door, someone had left blood transfer patterns on the exterior of the door.

  It was in the bathroom, however, where Wilgus discovered the most bloodstains in various forms. “The bathtub and shower walls of the main bathroom on the first floor of the home exhibited a large amount of blood,” he reported. “The stains consisted of transfer patterns and spatter stains. A significant amount of the blood appeared to be altered by water. Intermixed within the patterns were pieces of apparent body fat. On the top edges of the tub and the toilet, which was also blood covered, were apparent fabric prints in blood.”

  Given the scope of all these bloodstains and spatter, it would take Special Agent Wilgus and later BCI&I Special Agent Daniel Winterich, who joined him, a great deal of time to tabulate and categorize every stain.

  Moving on, Wilgus noted on the east wall of the stairwell to the basement, a spatter stain above the third step from the bottom of the stairs. This blood was not altered or diluted with anything.

  At the bottom of the basement stairs, however, on the vinyl floor, there were circular drops of blood that were altered or diluted. And near the Jeep in the garage were blood drops with “spines” that indicated that the blood drop had a lateral movement toward the west wall of the garage. Spines on blood drops generally notated some kind of movement by an individual.

  Other blood drops were found here and there on the garage floor. Some had been altered or diluted, and others had not. On the inside of the garage door was a blood transfer pattern where it appeared that someone’s gloved hand had made the transfer.

  * * *

  One of Wilgus’s most important findings was the shoe-print patterns that had been left, in blood, motor oil or a combination of both, throughout the house. One set of patterns was very distinctive: the prints were shaped like “lobster claws.” Wilgus noted, “The pattern was repetitive and consistent in size and shape. Believing they were from a lug of a shoe or boot, we identified some of the most well-defined patterns and cut them from the carpeting.” These prints were a key piece of evidence because they might have come from the assailant’s shoe or boot.

  The best of these patterns was found near the doorway of the northwest bedroom and in the hallway just outside that bedroom door. In addition to these shoe prints, there were also similar shoe prints left in blood near the toilet of the main bathroom. The pattern of the sole appeared to have solid circles connected by a line. These shoe prints were photographed, and the agents even collected the actual vinyl flooring near the toilet as evidence.

  Using magnetic fingerprint powder, Wilgus and Winterich discovered even more of this distinctive shoe pattern leading from the bathroom to the garage. From the master bedroom the agents collected and catalogued an acetate sheet with hair on it, as well as bloodstained bedding and comforters, and a shoe box. From Sarah’s room the agents lifted a shoe impression on the car
pet, unknown tissue found on a toy bear, and what looked to be an impression left by the perpetrator in some blood.

  A shoe print also thought to be from the perpetrator was found in the hallway, and cloth gloves were found in the living room. The agents surmised that the perpetrator may have used these gloves since there were indications of blood and other material on them.

  In another of the shoe impressions, the agents were able to discern the brand name “Airwalk.” It was from a size seven-and-a-half shoe. A further search of the house revealed that all the women’s shoes in the master bedroom closet were size eight. All the shoes in Sarah’s closet were size seven and a half. It was deduced that the shoe impression came from Sarah.

  One of the agents wrote in his report, “Due to the impressions being in the oil-like substance, it was believed that the wearer of the shoes was upright and walking through the crime scene, stepped in the oil and then walked onto the linoleum floor.” In other words, it looked as if the girl in the residence, Sarah Maynard, had not been killed there but had instead walked on the linoleum surface to the garage area. Just what happened to her after that, however, they did not know. But this was a very important bit of information—there was a possibility she was still alive.

  A second person’s shoe-impression design was also revealed as a result of the magnetic fingerprint powder being applied to the linoleum floor. This caused a problem. Had there been a second assailant in the house, or had that impression been left by one of the detectives who had been in the house earlier in the day? Or could it have even been from Valerie Haythorn, who’d first entered the house? This second “suspect” shoe impression was covered with craft paper to preserve it until all of the KCSO officers’ shoes, and Valerie Haythorn’s, could be examined and ruled out.

  In addition to the many, many bloodstains covering the bathroom, especially around the toilet and tub, the detectives found and seized a Nokia cell phone and case from the bathroom floor. There were also gloves found in the bathroom sink as well as a box of trash bags. This was a second set of gloves in addition to the pair already found. These gloves were cloth as well. Other items in the bathroom included Clorox bathroom cleaner, a bottle of Shout left in the bathroom sink, and Solutions cleaner, as well as four toothbrushes. Two more partial shoe impressions were lifted from the bathroom floor. Shoe impressions were also lifted near the front door and near the top of the stairs.

  The agents took swabs from all over the house in hopes of picking up fingerprints and other key evidence. These included swabs from the bathroom sink handles, the basement doorknob, two Samsung cell phones, the hallway wall, the spatter on Sarah’s bedroom wall, and the side of the bathtub.

  A break in the processing came for Agents Winterich and Wilgus at around 9:45 PM. They, along with Detective Sergeant Brown, went up the street on Magers Drive to check on a tip about Stephanie Sprang’s boyfriend Ronald Metcalf having recently dug a hole in their yard.

  From a neighbor’s yard, all three men saw a freshly dug area that was approximately twelve inches in diameter. Winterich noted, “Metcalf was interviewed about the hole and stated [that one of the children’s] pet rabbit had died and that he buried it in a cardboard box. He completed a written consent form, and Agent Wilgus and I dug up the box and confirmed that it was a rabbit. We cleared, returned back to the crime scene, and continued to assist with the crime scene investigation.”

  Stephanie’s Jeep Cherokee, which had been found in Tina’s garage, was also thoroughly searched and catalogued, including swabs from stains on the edge of the front seat, rear passenger seat, passenger-side rocker panel and doorknobs. It was the garage itself, however, that gave up some of the most important clues yet.

  The first was a bloody shoe impression in the garage that was determined to have most likely not come from the perpetrator. It was small in size and probably the shoe imprint of a child. The investigators wondered whether this shoe imprint had been left there by Kody or by Sarah; if so, one of them might still be alive.

  The second clue was a sudden flash of good police work. Detective David Light noted that, “In the garage, officers located a Walmart bag that contained several tarps and an opened bag of 55 gallon heavy duty trash bags.” The detectives surmised that the perpetrator might’ve brought those items himself to the crime scene. Judging by the amount of blood in the bathroom, especially in the bathtub, the detectives posited that the perpetrator might have carved up one or more bodies in the bathtub and then placed the body parts within the heavy trash bags. Then he might have driven away with the body-filled bags to some unknown location, while leaving the unused trash bags behind in the garage.

  THIRTEEN

  In the Dark

  All during November 10 and most of November 11, Larry Maynard had no idea that anything was amiss with his ex-wife, Tina, or their children, Sarah and Kody. He and his family lived south of Columbus, more than fifty miles away from all the activity in Knox County.

  Larry’s first indication that something was wrong was when he received a phone call from Tina’s boyfriend, Greg Borders. The phone call came in on a number he rarely gave out, one he had not given to Greg, so hearing Greg’s voice on the line threw Larry for a loop. Besides, Larry and Greg had not exactly gotten along over the years.

  Larry said later, “Greg asked me where Tina and the kids were. I wondered, ‘Why in the hell is he asking me? He’s the one who should know where they are.’ Then I asked him how he got this number. He said he found it on a Rolodex. He said a few more things and then hung up. I immediately became concerned, and wondered once again why he was the one who didn’t know where they were. After all, they were living in his house!”

  Larry turned on the local news and was stunned to see a report of four people missing in Knox County from the Apple Valley area. That was of course where Tina, Sarah and Kody lived; Larry didn’t know about Stephanie Sprang. As of that point, not one police officer had contacted him. Larry was totally in the dark as to what was happening except for the few details on the television news. But Larry Maynard’s sleepless nights were just beginning.

  There were sleepless nights for Tina’s brothers as well. Tracy Herrmann, who was married to Tina’s brother Jason, later said, “It began for us when Jason got a phone call that there was caution tape surrounding Tina’s house. I remember waiting until midnight and praying that whatever happened was just a misunderstanding. Jason came home and said he knew something was very wrong due to all of the law enforcement that were present.”

  The lack of information being dispensed by the police only added to Jason’s and Tracy’s anxiety. Just like Larry Maynard, they were very much in the dark about the situation concerning Tina, Sarah and Kody. And they didn’t yet know that Stephanie was missing too.

  * * *

  In Knox County, the lockdown on the Kenyon College campus was finally lifted at 7:00 AM on November 12. Anxiety remained high there, however, and Mark Ellis, spokesman for the college, related, “There is still concern and our thoughts are with the families.” The students on campus breathed a sigh of relief, but still they were on edge. Why had the missing person’s vehicle ended up so close to the college? Was a student on campus involved with whatever was going on? Or even a faculty member?

  An initial article in the Mount Vernon News about the missing people was very brief, noting simply that KCSO detectives had searched Tina Herrmann’s residence on King Beach Drive and found a “substantial amount” of blood there. The article also reported that the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) had offered their services to KCSO and that the request had been accepted.

  Sergeant Gary Lewis of OSHP told the reporter that OSHP’s role in the investigation would be one of support, explaining, “We have use of a FLIR, which is a heat thermal imaging instrument used from a helicopter. It is not uncommon for us to use this equipment in these situations.”

 
The FLIR, or forward-looking infrared radar, would be used from the helicopter to conduct a search from the air, and the information gathered would be coordinated with ground crews, as well as with KCSO. A trunking system would allow communications between all parties with no outside interference. In other words, no one would be able to hack into the conversations, as could happen with someone using a police scanner to scan normal police-radio traffic. This was important in case the perpetrator was trying to listen in on such calls.

  * * *

  November 12, Larry Maynard could no longer stand the suspense of not knowing what was happening, and he and his wife decided to travel the fifty-plus miles to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office in Mount Vernon. At this point Larry had very little information other than what Greg had said in their phone conversation and what he’d seen on the television news.

  After arriving at the sheriff’s station, Larry explained to the person at the front-desk window who he was and why he had come and was then led back to a conference room. He was accompanied by his wife, Tracy, and another couple, friends who’d come along to offer moral support. There, they met with a detective and began to answer some questions about Tina, Sarah and Kody. “All of it was very general, just getting background information,” Larry said later. “The detective did not have a lot to say about what the sheriff’s office was doing, other than it was a missing persons’ case. Then just before we were about ready to leave, the detective told me, ‘Larry, we need to talk to you alone.’

  “I was escorted back into what I’d call an investigation room. There was a large mirror on one wall, and I figured some other detective was behind that mirror, watching what was going on. Two detectives started asking me questions. The questions were like, when was the last time I’d seen Tina, Kody or Sarah. They asked how my relationship was with Tina. I said that we got along and were civil to each other. There were times when she’d call me if the kids were acting up and needed talking to. I’d say things to Kody or Sarah like, ‘You can’t act that way. You have to treat your mom with respect.’ Things like that.