Such A Thing

By Georgia Lee Kuehne

A neglected city park is the scene of three brutal murders that claimed the lives of an alcoholic mother and her two young adult daughters. Jimmy and Al Hill are the grandparents with whom the young women have lived since their early teens.

The lead detective assigned to the case has been intimately involved in the life of the murdered mother. Both he and a subordinate detective were students of Jimmy Hill in their fourth-grade Sunday school classes. They both feel an added urgency to solve the case.

The lives of the deceased are revealed through their own words, those of their grandparents, the remembrances of past and current loves, and the detectives working the case.

The funeral, the investigation, and the ultimate revelation regarding the murders are recounted by those most affected by these untimely deaths. The lives of everyone involved with the Hill family murders are forever changed by the unexpected response of the grieving grandparents. The good that comes from such a thing can only be attributed to God's goodness and the Holy Spirit's promptings being acted upon.

The faith of the Hills shines throughout their relationships with family, friends, and fellow church members. Their minister plays an essential role in the aftermath of this tragedy.

Love, hate, adoption, and rejection are all explored in this compelling story of human nature and godly faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685175580

Book preview

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Such A Thing

Georgia Lee Kuehne

ISBN 978-1-68517-557-3 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68517-558-0 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Georgia Lee Kuehne

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Discovery

Denial

Family Ties

Timeline

Aftercare

Suspects

At Rest

Loose Ends

Suspicions

Comings and Goings

Lake Report

Friends

Mixed Reviews

Up Close and Personal

Musings

Closing In

Preparations

Confirmation

Unsettling

Electronic Forensics

Sidetracked

Going Deep

Barbecue

Miller Park

Wrapping Up

Revelation

Aurora Sentinel Charles Wilson Cruz Sentenced to Life without Parole

Grace

Healing

About the Author

Dedicated to my Book Club.

Thank you for kind words of encouragement and years of laughter.

Around our table: Amy, Arlene, Barbara, Beth, Gloria, Kathy, Lorie, Lynette, Mary Kay and Sandra.

In our hearts: Chris…lover of books, lover of people and loved by all.

Discovery

The bodies appeared to have little in common, or so it seemed to the first responders. They simply noted that the women were between fifteen and fifty. The cause of death seemed obvious—blunt force, but the force wasn't directed to the heads, as you might expect. It was inflicted over the rest of their bodies. The legs and shoulders held broken bones and bruised flesh. Ribs were crushed, but the arms and hands had been tied behind their backs, sparing them injury but leaving the victims without the ability to protect themselves. Their purses were neatly positioned near the bodies. Cell phones were still inside along with credit cards and small amounts of cash.

At first, there was no sign of a weapon anywhere near the scene, but investigators went over the four-acre park again and found a small sliver of wood with part of a brand burned into it. It might mean something. The medical examiner easily found the connections between the three. They had the same curved middle toes, the date V XV MCMXCV neatly tattooed on the inside of their left wrists, and they shared the older woman's DNA. She was the mother. The girls had different fathers.

The mother was a tiny thing, dressed in tight jeans and a low-cut sleeveless blouse. Her long hair was a chestnut color and really quite striking, the kind of hair that looked natural but was just expensive. Alcohol had ravaged her liver and cigarettes her lungs. If the killer had been patient, her habits would have taken her before the year ended.

The second woman was in her midtwenties. She was obviously the strongest, and you could tell she put up the biggest fight. She wore scrubs and sensible shoes, one of which was fifty feet farther into the thicket from where she was found. It would be easy to tie her to one of the many clinics in town or maybe the rehab center about four miles from the drive-by woods. Her hair held a dark purple hue that failed to shine even in direct sunlight. The autopsy showed healthy organs and not a hint of a harmful lifestyle.

The youngest was just a girl. Her long blond hair was straight, clean, and pulled away from her face, held there with a scrunchie emblazoned with dogs and cats. The scratches and scars on her arms were not new and suggested she might work or volunteer at the local animal shelter. The look on her face gave no hint of surprise or pain. It seemed she was the type of kid who took what came, who didn't ask questions or give reasons. She was the hardest to look at…so I turned away.

Matthew Blake was the detective who accompanied me to the coroner's office. He caught my arm as the realization hit that these broken bodies were the daughter and granddaughters my husband and I had loved, raised, and prayed for, for forty-two years. How could it come to this? Who would kill innocent children? That's how I saw them anyway. They were always my kids, no matter how old or how far astray they might go. Love's in no hurry to abandon, and now there was no one left to love or worry over or wonder how it would all end. Now I needed to know how and why it all ended. How did I get here, and where do I go now? What will I find there?

There was no shortage of suggestions on what I should do. Go away with my husband, Jimmy, far from the prying questions of the reporters and detectives and the sorrow-filled eyes of old friends and acquaintances. Try to think of anyone who might do such a thing. Write down every little detail and try to connect it to their deaths. Pray, pray, pray. Ask for healing, forgiveness, resolution, and justice. Be patient. Be sure to eat well and stay hydrated. Get a dog.

It seemed that everyone had an idea of who would want to be rid of Mary. She was my daughter, and she had been saddled with good looks, high energy, fearlessness, and an ability to create chaos wherever she wanted—and whenever it suited her. Alcohol fed her decisions from the time she was a young teenager and led her to the point of having her first child at seventeen and her third husband by twenty-seven. Oh, she tried to be a good wife and mother, but the call of someone different or richer (though they never were) kept her in a state of anxiety that always gave in to the new love and led back to the familiar heartbreak. Happiness wasn't fun or exciting enough for her. Tension brought her to life, and drinking made her angry and aggressive.

Yes, Mary was chaos. Betsy was Mary's first daughter. Delightful baby, sweet child, good student, and driven adult. Betsy considered Mary's first husband, Chuck, her father, even though he never adopted her. Betsy wanted it all, and she was willing to work hard for it. She didn't make enemies, and she would be faithful to one person from high school till the day she died. In May, she would have graduated with a BSN degree. She loved people, and nursing was a perfect fit for her temperament. Her boyfriend, Mark, was working on a project in Oakland when Betsy died, and he made the two-hundred-mile trip home in three hours when he heard the news. Mark will do anything to find the killer or killers. He worries me.

Abby was Mary's daughter by Chuck. The marriage didn't last long, but the relationship never ended. It doesn't when you share a child and neither of you totally walks away. Chuck tried to love Mary for a long time, but his strength and patience finally gave out, and in the end, Abby and Betsy were all he shared with her. Chuck, like Mark, is heartbroken and determined to bring justice to the killer or killers. Both Betsy and Abby spent their teen years with Jimmy and me. High school and college years for Betsy, high school for Abby.

Denial

Al (Mary's mom and Jimmy's wife)

This wasn't the kind of news you phoned in. I had to go home to Jimmy and be there to hold and console him. He would have been with me at the coroner's, but the call that came in just as we were leaving had to be answered, and it would be a lengthy one. Besides, Matthew didn't make it sound all that serious—just asked if we could meet him at the county offices. Our first thought was that Mary was in some kind of trouble. Jimmy knew I could handle whatever it was.

He felt that nothing ever rattled me. In a way, it irritated him. Some things are more than a person should be able to handle or, in my case, shrug off. I wondered myself if I sometimes lacked real feelings or just accepted what I couldn't change.

Yes, God is in control, but do we have to take it lying down? he would ask.

After I told him, Jimmy stood, walked to the window, and stared at nothing for a minute or two.

Jimmy (Mary's father and the girls' grandfather)

How could Al so casually tell me the girls are dead? They didn't die in an accident. They were murdered. They didn't die with loved ones around them in hospital beds. They were murdered. They didn't die hoping they wouldn't die. They were murdered. They didn't die… They didn't die… If I say it often enough, it might be true. But, as Al said, they did die. They were murdered.

Al

It had been years since