or humiliating people. Witnesses also said that the men liked to bully and try to intimidate people. This information, the detectives knew, only added the possibility of many more suspects. Someone who’d been deeply embarrassed or humiliated in public might have felt motivated to kill, even in as vicious a manner as had been done on North LaSalle Street.
The report also mentioned yet another couple of wrinkles in the case. The detectives interviewed a man named Bob McAbe, a business associate of Bob Gierse’s who worked for the 3M Corporation. McAbe told the detectives that he and Gierse would help each other with business leads, and that Gierse had tried to persuade him to quit 3M and come work for him. On the morning of November 30, 1971, McAbe said, he had spoken with Gierse on the telephone and Gierse had asked him if he had ever worked with classified material. McAbe said he had. “Isn’t that [a] hell of a way to do business,” Gierse had responded. The detectives had also heard from other sources that the men were working with secret material, yet the records of B&B Microfilming didn’t show any contracts with organizations that might want classified material microfilmed. Had Gierse just been trying to make it seem as if they did?
The detectives had wanted to conduct a follow-up interview with Diane Horton, Gierse’s girlfriend, but hadn’t been able to reach her by telephone. Consequently, the detectives sent a police car out to check the security of herresidence since, like many of those involved in the case, she had earlier reported receiving threatening telephone calls. The officer didn’t find anything amiss there, and the detectives were finally able to contact Diane and have her come into the Homicide Office. They also had Louise Cole and April Lynn Smoot return for more questioning.
They learned from these interviews that Gierse and Hinson had gone to the Big Wheel Restaurant in Bloomington, Indiana, in late September to meet with Ted Uland, just two days after Hinson had left the company. The two men were accompanied to the meeting by Gierse’s on-and-off girlfriend, Ilene Combest. Reportedly, after a few minutes, when Hinson had said that he wouldn’t change his mind about leaving Records Security Corporation, Uland had excused him, and Hinson went out and sat in the car with Combest. Gierse and Uland then talked for almost two hours. The detectives made a note to follow up with Ilene Combest and see if they could find out what Gierse and Uland had talked about.
Later in their report, the detectives mentioned speaking with a Mrs. King, who also lived on North LaSalle Street. In addition to corroborating that streams of young women would come and go at all hours from Gierse and Hinson’s house, Mrs. King also stated that on the night of November 30, 1971, she had seen an unfamiliar light-colored car parked in front of their place. She had never seen the car in the neighborhood before. She told the detectives that she saw the car there at between 9:30 and 10:00 P.M.
In addition to Mrs. King and the neighbor interviewed on December 7, the detectives then found a third person in the neighborhood who had witnessed the same car parked there. He also said he’d never seen the car in the area before and had walked by it, noticing that the license plate had a 26A prefix (meaning that it came from Gibson County in southern Indiana). While this should have raised red flags for the detectives investigating the murders, it didn’t. This license plate is mentioned in the progress report but nowhere else in the homicide case file. For some unknown reason, the detectives didn’t appear to follow up on this information about the unusual license plate or attempt to find the owner of this car, or if they did, they didn’t generate any paperwork about their efforts.
The detectives would, however, eventually talk to a fourth witness about this mystery car. “About two weeks after the murders we hear from a
The report also mentioned yet another couple of wrinkles in the case. The detectives interviewed a man named Bob McAbe, a business associate of Bob Gierse’s who worked for the 3M Corporation. McAbe told the detectives that he and Gierse would help each other with business leads, and that Gierse had tried to persuade him to quit 3M and come work for him. On the morning of November 30, 1971, McAbe said, he had spoken with Gierse on the telephone and Gierse had asked him if he had ever worked with classified material. McAbe said he had. “Isn’t that [a] hell of a way to do business,” Gierse had responded. The detectives had also heard from other sources that the men were working with secret material, yet the records of B&B Microfilming didn’t show any contracts with organizations that might want classified material microfilmed. Had Gierse just been trying to make it seem as if they did?
The detectives had wanted to conduct a follow-up interview with Diane Horton, Gierse’s girlfriend, but hadn’t been able to reach her by telephone. Consequently, the detectives sent a police car out to check the security of herresidence since, like many of those involved in the case, she had earlier reported receiving threatening telephone calls. The officer didn’t find anything amiss there, and the detectives were finally able to contact Diane and have her come into the Homicide Office. They also had Louise Cole and April Lynn Smoot return for more questioning.
They learned from these interviews that Gierse and Hinson had gone to the Big Wheel Restaurant in Bloomington, Indiana, in late September to meet with Ted Uland, just two days after Hinson had left the company. The two men were accompanied to the meeting by Gierse’s on-and-off girlfriend, Ilene Combest. Reportedly, after a few minutes, when Hinson had said that he wouldn’t change his mind about leaving Records Security Corporation, Uland had excused him, and Hinson went out and sat in the car with Combest. Gierse and Uland then talked for almost two hours. The detectives made a note to follow up with Ilene Combest and see if they could find out what Gierse and Uland had talked about.
Later in their report, the detectives mentioned speaking with a Mrs. King, who also lived on North LaSalle Street. In addition to corroborating that streams of young women would come and go at all hours from Gierse and Hinson’s house, Mrs. King also stated that on the night of November 30, 1971, she had seen an unfamiliar light-colored car parked in front of their place. She had never seen the car in the neighborhood before. She told the detectives that she saw the car there at between 9:30 and 10:00 P.M.
In addition to Mrs. King and the neighbor interviewed on December 7, the detectives then found a third person in the neighborhood who had witnessed the same car parked there. He also said he’d never seen the car in the area before and had walked by it, noticing that the license plate had a 26A prefix (meaning that it came from Gibson County in southern Indiana). While this should have raised red flags for the detectives investigating the murders, it didn’t. This license plate is mentioned in the progress report but nowhere else in the homicide case file. For some unknown reason, the detectives didn’t appear to follow up on this information about the unusual license plate or attempt to find the owner of this car, or if they did, they didn’t generate any paperwork about their efforts.
The detectives would, however, eventually talk to a fourth witness about this mystery car. “About two weeks after the murders we hear from a
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