If You have any information that could assist our investigation and help us in our efforts to gain justice, Please e-mail us at :- plea4justice@aol.com You may also write to us at : P.O. Box 361, Indian Rocks Beach, Florida 33785 Any information will be treated in the strictest confidence. ( please read page 3: Plea for Witnesses. This page also contains an online petition, anyone who is disturbed by the facts of this case is encouraged to sign. Page 3 also contains an e-mail you can send to the Governor of Florida, urging him to take action to rectify this injustice). |
THE FOLLOWING IS AN ACCOUNT OF THE EVIDENCE THE POLICE HAD IN THEIR POSSESSION ON THE NIGHT OF KEVIN'S DEATH. THIS EVIDENCE, AND THE ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE THAT CAME TO LIGHT, WAS NOT ONLY IGNORED, BUT DELIBERATELY WITHHELD FROM THEIR INVESTIGATION REPORT. THEY HAVE, FROM THE BEGINNING, TRIED TO PORTRAY KEVIN'S DEATH AS A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT. THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE PROVES THAT THEY WERE NOT ONLY AWARE, ON THE NIGHT, THAT KEVIN WAS MURDERED, BUT THAT THEY DELIBERATELY FALSIFIED THE SCENE IN AN ATTEMPT TO MAKE HIS DEATH APPEAR TO BE AN ACCIDENT. |
February 13th 1998, The night of Kevin's death The following evidence that the police had at the scene should have caused Kevin's death to be immediately investigated as a suspicious death by trained homicide detectives. Tampa Police officers arrived at the scene in response to a series of 911 calls reporting several persons fighting in the middle of highway. They advised Corporal Jetton of this when he arrived at the scene. All persons had fled the scene, an obvious indication of guilt. The physical evidence showed Kevin was 18ft into highway when struck by a U.P.S. Tractor Trailer Unit. This evidence, and the evidence of eyewitnesses, proved that Kevin did not take one step back into the highway, as Michael Lipp would claim, and that no hit and run vehicle struck Kevin knocking him into the path of the U.P.S vehicle. The driver of that vehicle stated that, on approaching the scene, the road ahead was clear but he saw several individuals at the side of the highway. He looked in his rear view mirror attempting to pull out into the middle lane away from the individuals at the side of the road. When he looked back he saw Kevin down in the highway in front of him. He also observed a vehicle some distance ahead swerving and almost colliding with the concrete center barrier, this vehicle was not in the same lane however, and the driver stated it did not strike Kevin. He also described seeing at least 3 vehicles parked at the side of the highway. The police have refused for nearly three years to ask this driver how many people he saw at the side of the highway or what they were doing that caused him to attempt to move over. An Eyewitness, Brian Bolduc, who stopped at the scene, confirmed the U.P.S. driver's account of events stating that he also saw a vehicle swerve some distance ahead in the center lane but he saw no vehicle strike Kevin prior to the U.P.S. vehicle. A friend of Bolduc's, Peter Carr, also arrived at the scene. He had passed by less than a minute before Kevin was struck, he returned to the scene when Bolduc called him on his cell phone and stated someone had been killed in the highway. On driving past, he had seen Kevin standing by the center barrier wall, four full lanes in to the highway and fifty feet from where Lipp stated Kevin took one step back. He also described seeing an undisclosed number of persons at the scene including two females. The time that Carr passed by observing this has been established from phone records as being at 3-41 AM. This is four minutes after two 911 calls were received describing Kevin as being down in the middle of the highway. The information Mr Carr gave Corporal Jetton at the scene is never mentioned in the Investigation Report, his name does not appear in the report. He was never asked how many people he had seen or what they were doing. Michael Lipp was returned to the scene from Tabitha Brown's home where he had fled. He stated that he and Kevin were heading home after a night out at a club in Ybor City when words were exchanged with the occupants of another vehicle as they were approaching the Interstate. 3 miles further on the other vehicle, containing three persons, struck the rear of his vehicle and he pulled over to the side of the highway. There followed a brief fight on the grass to the side of the highway between Kevin and two of the unknown individuals. He stated that the fight was over, he and Kevin were standing with their backs to the highway, when Kevin took one step back into acceleration lane and was struck by a hit and run vehicle which spun him into the path of the U.P.S. Truck. He stated that Kevin was not harmed during the brief fight but one of the other individuals suffered a broken nose. He said there were no other persons present other than these three individuals, himself and Kevin. No explanation has ever been given as to why Tampa Police did not investigate this case or why it was handed to Florida Highway Patrol. The FHP investigator, Corporal Jetton, states in his report that he concluded at the scene that this was an alcohol related traffic accident. He states that Kevin stood at the side of the highway and, having seen an approaching vehicle, he stepped in front of it. This vehicle struck him, spinning him out from the acceleration lane into the path of the oncoming tractor-trailer. How could he make this determination at the scene given the evidence in his possession? The only evidence of a hit and run vehicle was Michael Lipp's statement, which was clearly contradicted by the evidence of the scene and the statements of the U.P.S. driver, the 911 callers and witnesses Bolduc and Carr. Kevin was a wonderful person who was loved by everyone who knew him. He didn't mess with drugs or involve himself with gangs. He was just a hardworking student who delivered pizza in the evenings to earn extra money. He had never been in trouble with the police, he just lived happily at home with his family. Why did the police turn their backs on his death and refuse to investigate the evidence that came forward? Events of the three weeks following Kevin's death Two days after Kevin's death an eyewitness, David Stone, called Corporal Jetton and stated he had driven past and saw Kevin in the highway. He said Kevin was standing in the middle lane of the highway and that he had swerved to avoid hitting him. He described Kevin as appearing dazed and white as a sheet. He also saw six to eight persons at the side of the road laughing and jeering at Kevin, two of them were females. No statement was taken from this witness until seven weeks later and only after we had become aware of his existence and demanded he be interviewed. His account was confirmed by his father who was in the vehicle with him. Corporal Jetton dismissed them as unreliable witnesses on the grounds that their statements did not match the account of Michael Lipp who had said there were only three other persons at the scene and no females. Why would he do this when two other independant eyewitnesses had also described seeing females at the scene and Lipp was known to be lying. The investigation report states that Lipp's account at the scene was not consistent with the known evidence so why dismiss independent witnesses because their account was not consistenet with Lipp? F.H.P. refused to do composite sketches from Lipp's description of the persons involved in the fight. We were forced to have them done by police friends at Largo Police Dept. in their spare time. It was these sketches that later brought forth the witnesses that identified the other persons involved. F.H.P refused to contact local hospitals, despite our requests, following Lipp's statement that one of the individuals involved in the fight with Kevin received a broken nose in the fight. This individual did in fact get treatment at the hospital that night, telling the hospital that his nose was broken in a fight at Ybor City over a girl. The hospital accordingly notified Tampa Police, they arrived at the hospital one-hour after the individual had left; they did not follow up on the hospital report or question the individual at his home address. F.H.P. refused our request to visit the nightclubs at Ybor City where Kevin and Lipp had been earlier that night. We had asked that they investigate for any signs of a prior conflict that might have occurred there. Later statements from the individuals involved in Kevin's death say that there was a fight outside the club that was broken up by Tampa police, one of the individuals says that a statement was taken from him by police regarding that fight. F.H.P. say they are unable to confirm this incident with Tampa Police. Three weeks after Kevin's death, Lipp was re-interviewed by Corporal Jetton. He gave the same story as at the scene and again he was not questioned about any of the evidence that proved his account was false. Six weeks after Kevin's death We went to the scene where Kevin died with some of his friends in order to erect a cross. Lipp accompanied us. His story changed from the one he had previously given and when challenged with the differences he ran away and left. At the scene we found a knife in the grass area where the initial fight took place. We informed F.H.P. but were told it could not be collected for a week. Why had the police not searched the scene for weapons even though they knew that a fight had taken place. We were told that none of the eyewitnesses who had called F.H.P. had been interviewed. None of the persons who were at the club with Lipp and Kevin had been interviewed. Witness David Stone and his Father had still not been interviewed. The girl whose house Lipp fled to had not been interviewed in spite of being at the club that night. Any police officer will confirm the importance of interviewing witnesses immediately while events are fresh in their minds. Why did they refuse respond to our requests to interview these witnesses until after we were forced to complain to the the Governor of Florida, Lawton Chiles. Michael Lipp was interviewed again on March 24th. He gave the same account, that Kevin took one step back into the acceleration lane and was struck by a hit and run vehicle that spun Kevin out in front of the U.P.S. Truck. Again he is never questioned about the eyewitness and physical evidence that proves his account is false. Second week of April 1998 The witnesses were eventually interviewed. Mrs Linda Brown stated Lipp arrived at her home shortly after Tabitha arrived home, he appeared calm and apologized for waking her. He went with Tabitha to her bedroom at the rear of the house, from there Tabitha called her asking her to help because Lipp was saying Kevin was dead. She went to the bedroom where Lipp was then crying and hysterical, he told Mrs Brown there had been a fight and that they had thrown Kevin into the road into the oncoming traffic. Mrs Brown phoned the Police. Tabitha Brown stated she was at the club and left at 3-00 am when it closed, she spoke briefly to Lipp and Kevin outside the club and arrived home at 3-30 am, shortly before Lipp arrived. Her description of Lipp's arrival was inconsistent with her Mother, Mrs Brown. Tabitha stated that on opening the door to Lipp, he fell through the door crying hysterically, she stated he never went to her bedroom. She did confirm Lipp saying that Kevin was hit and pushed into the oncoming traffic. David Stone confirmed his telephone account that he saw Kevin in the middle of the highway appearing dazed and concussed. He further stated that there were approximately seven persons at the side of the highway, including two females, who were laughing and jeering at Kevin in the highway. William Stone, David Stone's Father, confirmed he was with David Stone and saw Kevin in the middle of the highway. He also described seeing seven persons at the side of the highway shouting and appearing to be "out of it". Mark Allen, a passing truck driver, stated he was warned on his C/B radio to move over as there was fighting in the highway ahead. On passing he described seeing a conflict, partly in the acceleration lane, partly in the highway. He observed pushing or shoving taking place. He also observed a taxi stopped on the acceleration lane and described someone appearing as if they were trying to drag the driver out of the cab. John Mabe, a passing postal worker, described seeing two persons fighting. He also saw other persons at the scene nearby and four vehicles parked at the side of the highway. To many questions were not asked of these eyewitnesses, including where people were standing on the highway, what were they doing, how many vehicles were there and where were they parked. The combined duration of six eyewitness interviews, including the U.P.S driver, amounted to 35 minutes. F.H.P. have refused for two years to re-interview these witnesses to gain this additional information. These questions are so basic and fundemental to any investigation, why would an experienced investigator consistently refuse to ask them? April 20th 1998 A new witness came forward to F.H.P. This witness was a taxi driver who had been driving on I-275 that night on his way to pick up a fare. He had swerved to avoid Kevin, stating that Kevin was standing in the middle lane of the highway and that the vehicle in front of him had also narrowly missed hitting Kevin. He said that he proceeded to his destination and returned heading eastbound some ten minutes later. He stated that he saw Kevin still standing in the middle of the highway and described him as "obviously unaware of his surroundings, he appeared totally disorientated, in my mind he was totally disorientated". He added that directly in his field of vision he could see a group of individuals. It appeared to him as if three individuals were holding another person from behind, with a fifth person grabbing him from the front. He stated that it appeared to him as if they were trying to throw this person out into the highway. April 24th 1998 Michael Lipp was interviewed by Lt. Dawson and Corporal Jetton. In this interview Lipp stated that the knife, found at the scene by us, was his knife. He said he took it out when Kevin was attacked because he did not know if the assailants had any weapons, he threw it away after Kevin was killed. Michael Lipp maintained that neither Kevin or anyone else was ever out in the highway and denied any conflict at the side of the highway as the taxi driver had described. This interview was never included in the Investigation Report, it was not transcribed until February 2000, after the State Attorney had closed the case. At a meeting in early May with Chief Lee, Major Leggett, Lt. Dawson Corporal Jetton and several other F.H.P Officers, we were told that Kevin had just stepped back into the highway in front of the oncoming vehicle because he was drunk. Kevin's alcohol level was .10, the equivalent of 2 to 3 beers and no other substances were present in his blood. How could experienced and senior officers express an opinion so totally inconsistent with the evidence? We requested that Michael Lipp be asked to take a polygraph test. May 14th 1998 Michael Lipp was interviewed again by Lt. Dawson and Corporal Jetton. This interview is referred to in the Investigation report and was a formal recorded interview. No records of this interview are included in the Investigation Report and F.H.P have failed to provide any transcripts of this interview to either the State Attorney or us. May 18th 1998 Lt. Dawson interviewed Marla Intellisano. She accompanied Tabitha Brown to the club and Tabitha had stated that she returned home in Marla's car, when the club closed. Lt.Dawson claims that this interview was not recorded and no notes were taken. When subpoenaed in January 2000, Marla claims she left the club at Ybor City an hour before it closed and that her and Tabitha were already home by the time the club closed at 3-00 AM. This directly contradicts Tabitha Brown's prior statement that she and Marla left the club when it closed and did not arrive home until 3-30 AM, shortly before Lipp arrived. Strangely, Marla confirms Tabitha's account that they both spoke to Lipp and Kevin outside the club at closing time. This would be extremely difficult if she was already home in bed, yet she is never asked to explain this contradiction. It is surprising that Lt. Dawson would not want a record of this contradicting account, or that this is never mentioned in the Investigation Report. Early June 1998 We were advised that Michael Lipp had taken and failed a polygraph test. We were told that his deception referred to where everyone was standing and that the test did not cover whether Kevin was thrown into the oncoming traffic. In May 2000 we obtained those questions under the Public Information Laws. The Polygraph Test dealt specifically with one question: Was Kevin forced into the highway into the oncoming traffic? The results showed a 96% probability of deception when he replied No. Considering Lipp's statement to the Browns, that Kevin was thrown into the highway in front of oncoming traffic, FHP's decision to lie to us and withhold the details of the test from their report is unconscionable. Immediately upon failing the polygraph test Michael Lipp was questioned by Corporal Jetton and Lt. Dawson. The Report confirms this interview but gives no details about it's content. No statements from this interview have ever been provided to the State Attorney or to us. Corporal Jetton claims that he did not record this interview and that no notes were taken. I cannot comprehend any circumstances where Police would not record a statement following a polygraph test which indicated that Kevin had died as a direct result of being forced into the highway in front of oncoming traffic. To the present date there exist no records of Lipp ever being questioned about that deception, in fact F.H.P. claim there are no records for any of the interviews that have been conducted with Lipp since he failed that Polygraph test. Why would they record Lipp's interviews before he failed the polygraph test yet not record any of the interviews conducted after he failed it? July 1998 We were informed that two witnesses had approached Tampa Police with information about Kevin's death. We were told that the witnesses were living with one of the persons involved in the fight and had identified him and two of the other individuals involved. These persons had fled the State immediately following Kevin's death. We did not find out until July 1999, when the Investigation report was released, that the informants had given the following information: Their roommate, Anthony Lloyd, had told them that there had been a fight back at the club in Ybor City over a girl, which was broken up by Police. Anthony Lloyd and his friends had then pursued Lipp and Kevin down the highway and had pulled across in front of Lipp's car forcing him to stop. Lloyd told the informants that he had beaten Kevin to death and that Kevin fell back into the highway and was hit by the truck. They stated that in the following two days, Lloyd hid from the Police. After two days he fled to California and the informant's accompanied him there, it was there that he confessed to the male informant that he had murdered Kevin, stating that it was his final punches that knocked Kevin back in front of the truck. He later confessed the same story to the female informant. Corporal Jetton terminated the interviews. The informants identification of the individuals involved, addresses and places of employment, were found to be correct. In spite of this Corporal Jetton dismisses their information in his report as not being consistent with the account of Michael Lipp. They have never been spoken to since. Yet again the police dismissed credible witnesses who had volountarily come forward, their only justification being the word of a proven liar, Michael Lipp. The statements of these informants were never transcribed and were withheld from the Investigation Report. When the State Attorney closed the case in January 2000, she was completely unaware of the existence of the informants. We have an internal memo from the State Attorney, dated after the case was closed, where she is inquiring of the Police "who are these informants Mr McGinley talks about in his letter". July 17th 1998 The driver of the other vehicle identified by the informants as Christopher Grubb, is located and interviewed by Corporal Jetton and Lt. Dawson. His statement is clearly not consistent with Michael Lipp's account. He states Kevin just walked out into the highway and stood there trying to flag down traffic to call the police while Anthony Lloyd stood at the edge of the highway yelling threats at him. This is clearly different to Michael Lipp's account that Kevin stood with his back to the highway and took one step back in front of the oncoming vehicle. Grubb's account of why they stopped, the details of the fight and the reason Kevin was in the highway, are all in total contradiction of Lipp's statements. In his report, however, Corporal Jetton states that both he and Lt. Dawson agreed that Grubb's statement matched that of Michael Lipp with the exception of who yelled at who first. Grubb was never questioned about any of the evidence of the eyewitnesses or the inconsistencies in his statement. The information of the informants is never raised even though Grubb states there was a fight outside the club that was broken up by Police. Grubb denied, as did Lipp, that anyone else was ever out in the highway, he also described just a brief fight where Kevin was completely untouched. Yet again the police failed to challenge this statement with the evidence of the 911 calls proving this was false. As with Michael Lipp, Grubb is asked to draw diagrams showing the location of vehicles and persons. These diagrams are not included in the report with his statement and we are told that these have also been lost. September 1998 We discover that a total of seven 911 calls were received by the Police the night Kevin was killed. They clearly prove that Kevin was out in the middle of the highway for fifteen minutes before he was killed. They also show that people were out in the middle of the highway, fighting Kevin, on more than one occasion and that Kevin was seen laying in the highway, apparently unconscious, several minutes before he was struck by the truck. Incredibly Corporal Jetton never mentions this series of calls in the Investigation Report. The following is a summary of eyewitnesses and 911 calls referring to the time Kevin was out in the highway :- Time Unknown Witness John Mabe sees two people fighting on the grass area away from the highway. He sees other persons close by and four vehicles. Time Unknown - Passing truck driver, Mark Allen, observes a conflict, partly on the highway, partly in the acceleration lane. He observes pushing or shoving taking place. 3-26AM - 911 Call is received. The caller states the following: " There is a couple of juveniles on I-275 and Howard Armenia exit. They are stopped right in the middle of the highway fighting" He asks for assistance stating "somebody is gonna get really hurt there". He again confirms "they are right in the middle of the highway". Time Unknown - Passing taxi driver, Steve Carlton, sees Kevin standing in the middle of the highway when he passes heading westbound to pick up a fare. 3-31AM - 911 Call is received. The caller states " there is some guy before the Howard Armenia exit on the interstate standing in the middle of the road, there like was a big fight". "Yeah on the middle of the Interstate, they are pulled over. There is one guy standing out in the middle of the road, in the middle of the Interstate". 3-32AM - 911 Call is received. The caller states " Yeah I'm on 275 towards the Himes exit and there is some guy standing in the middle of 275. He is just standing there. He is wearing white jeans and no shirt on. There is two cars parked next to him and he is in the middle lane of 275". Time Unknown. Witnesses David and William Stone pass by, they see Kevin in the middle of the highway. Davis Stone describes him as appearing white as a sheet, dazed and concussed, not moving. They describe seven people at the side of the highway, some on the shoulder, some out in the acceleration lane, they are laughing and yelling at Kevin. 3-34AM - 911 Call is received. The caller states, "On 275 just south of Howard there appears to be a fight in the middle of the Interstate". "Yeah there are about four white guys, one with his shirt off, and it looks like they're backing down each other". Time Unknown. Taxi driver, Steve Carlton, returns heading eastbound. He sees Kevin still standing in the middle of the highway and describes him as "obviously unaware of his surroundings, he appeared totally disorientated, in my mind he was totally disorientated". He states that directly in his field of vision he could see a group of individuals. It appeared to him as if three individuals were holding another person from behind, with a fifth person grabbing him from the front. He stated that it appeared to him as if they were trying to throw this person out into the highway. 3-35AM - 911 Call is received. The caller states, "Yes I need to report a man standing in the middle of 275". "It looks like there is about three cars pulled over on the side and there was some people standing there yelling at him but there is four lanes and he is like in the second lane". 3-37AM - 911 Call is received. The caller states, "There was a person hit by an auto on 275 north of Dale Mabry". There is no mention of a 50ft tractor-trailer unit. 3-38AM - 911 Call is received. The caller states, " there is a pedestrian down in the middle of 275". 3-41AM - Eyewitness Peter Carr. He passes by a minute before Kevin is killed. He sees Kevin on his feet standing by the concrete barrier that divides the two sides of the highway. He describes a group of people, including two females, at the side of the highway. 3-42AM - U.P.S. Driver, Gardy Gardana and Motorist, Brien Bolduc, approach. They both saw a car in front swerve violently, neither witness saw this vehicle strike Kevin, nor did they see Kevin standing in the highway as they approached. They both saw vehicles and people at the side of the highway, Mr Gardana describes at least three vehicles. After the vehicle swerved, Mr Gardana saw Kevin laying in the middle lane of the highway, he describes him as attempting to get up, then falling down in front of his vehicle. Neither witness saw the people or vehicles at the scene leaving, both stated the Police arrived immediately. The Police state that they are unable to give the time the first officers arrived at the scene. It is known that they were not dispatched until the third 911 call was received at 3-32AM, no explanation has been given for this. The times of 3-41 and 3-42am, for Carr, Gardana and Bolduc, have been confirmed by Cell phone records of calls made from the scene. October1998 In October two friends of Kevin told us that Michael Lipp had bragged to them that Corporal Jetton phoned him and told him the case was being closed. He stated to them that he was told by Corporal Jetton, "the driver of the van had been found and interviewed, his story corroborated that of Lipp, in two weeks the case would be closed and Lipp would be off the hook". I phoned Lt. Mauriell, Jetton's supervising Officer, and was told this was not true, they were waiting permission from Captain Snow, head of investigations, to Polygraph the van driver, Christopher Grubb. I phoned Captain Snow at the F.H.P Headquarters in Tallahassee, he told me this was not correct, he said he would contact Lt. Harold, head of homicide investigations who is Jetton's commanding Officer, to find out what the current status of the investigation was. He called me back and said that Lt. Harold had confirmed to him the investigation was complete and Corporal Jetton was closing the case. I phoned Lt. Mauriello, telling him of this conversation with Capt. Snow, and asked why Corp. Jetton had given this information to Michael Lipp. He spoke to Corp. Jetton who denied that the conversation with Lipp had taken place. No explanation was given as to how Lipp could have otherwise known this information. I complained vehemently to F.H.P, stating that two of the van occupants had not yet been interviewed and that Michael Lipp had just failed a polygraph test and had yet to be questioned about his deception. I demanded that Corporal Jetton be removed from the investigation and the case be handed to trained murder homicide investigators from another agency, that F.H.P.'s function was to investigate traffic accidents and that there were clear indications that Kevin was a possible murder victim. F.H.P refused to hand the case over or remove Corp. Jetton as lead investigator, they said they would, however, seek the assistance of Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement. November 1998. We received a call from Agent Randy Dey of F.D.L.E. who informed us he had been assigned to assist Corporal Jetton in this investigation. He told us he would be re-interviewing all witnesses and by January he would be in a position to tell us what happened to Kevin. January 4th1999 Tabitha and Mrs Linda Brown were re-interviewed at the F.D.L.E. office by Agent Dey and Corp. Jetton. We are told that this interview was not recorded and no notes were kept. In a sworn statement, taken by a private investigator in July 1999, Tabitha and Mrs Brown made the following statements: they said Agent Dey commenced those interviews by informing them both that the interviews were just a formality. He stated to them that he already knew Kevin's death was just an accident, that the van occupants had been located and spoken to, that everyone had been drinking and it was just one of those things. The reason for him interviewing Tabitha and Mrs. Brown was because the parents could not accept what had happened. They also stated that these interviews had been tape-recorded. Tabitha also stated that she terminated her interview by refusing to answer any further questions without an attorney present. Agent Dey and Corporal Jetton deny any of this occurred, maintaining the interviews were not recorded. No explanation has been offered as to how Mrs Brown and Tabitha could have known Corporal Jetton had already concluded that this was just an accident, or how they could have known about the van occupants being located. Mrs Brown is a respected schoolteacher whose statements have remained consistent throughout this investigation, even when they contradict the statements of her Daughter. In this interview with the private investigator, Tabitha admitted that she had spent the afternoon with Lipp on that day, that she had arranged to meet Lipp at the club and agreed to drive him home in his car, saying her friend Marla had to leave the club early. She stated that she changed these arrangements at the club and left early with Marla. She again, however, states that her and Marla spoke to Lipp and Kevin outside the club as they were leaving in Marla's car. January 20th 1999 Christopher Grubb, the driver of the other vehicle, was re-interviewed by Agent Dey and Corporal Jetton at the F.D.L.E. offices. We are informed that this interview was not recorded and no notes were taken. February 15th 1999 A second occupant of the other vehicle, Timothy Shonig, was located and interviewed by Agent Dey and Corporal Jetton at the F.D.L.E. offices. The entire interview is conducted by Corporal Jetton and lasted just 15 minutes, Agent Dey did not ask one question of Shonig. Shoenig's account was not consistent with either Grubb or Lipp's accounts. His description of how the vehicles stopped was not the same, nor was his account of the fight. He stated that Lipp never left the side of his car, this contradicts both Lipp and Grubb. He also stated that Kevin was not attempting to flag down traffic, nor did he yell at Kevin to leave the highway, as Grubb had described. He stated that Kevin just wandered across all four lanes of the highway to the concrete barrier, but he does not know why. He also admitted there was a fight back at the club, but says he was not involved, Grubb had said Shoenig was involved. He denied, as did Lipp and Grubb, that anyone other than Kevin was ever out in the highway, he also stated, as did Grubb and Lipp, that the fight was very brief and that Kevin was barely touched. He was never questioned about how long Kevin was in the highway, the fighting in the highway or any of the inconsistencies between his statement and the accounts of Grubb and Lipp. He was never confronted with the testimony of the informants or the evidence of the eyewitnesses and 911 callers. February 19th 1999 Agent Dey and Corporal Jetton traveled to Orlando to interview Michael Lipp. Agent Dey and Lt. Mauriello confirmed that this interview was conducted at the request of Michael Lipp, who had called and stated that he wanted to confess to something. We are told that this interview was not recorded and no written statement was taken. We are told that Lipp confessed in this interview that he had lied in his previous sworn statements when he said the reason he stopped was the other vehicle had struck the rear of his car. Lying under oath and giving false information are both Felony offences in Florida, why was no statement taken from Lipp regarding this admission? Michael Lipp fled the scene of Kevin's death, he had a suspended driver's license and no insurance, he has admitted to lying to Police by stating Kevin was driving the car. He has admitted to lying to Police in sworn statements that the other vehicle struck the rear of his car, he has admitted to possessing a weapon at the scene, he has obviously lied and is withholding information about the circumstances of Kevin's death. Yet he has never been arrested and has never been charged with a single offence related to anything that transpired that night. March 2nd 1999 Michael Lipp took a second Polygraph Test at the F.D.L.E. Center in Orlando; Agent Wayne Porter conducted this test. Agent Porter has stated that he is comfortable from the test results that Michael Lipp is being truthful in his account that Kevin stood alongside him, with their backs to the road, that Kevin then stepped backwards into the path of an oncoming vehicle. The pre-polygraph interview and statement of Michael Lipp from this test is not included in the Investigation Report and has never been produced, despite repeated requests. Neither has the polygraph test report been produced. The only documentation of this test included in the Investigation Report is a narrative by Agent Dey. The questions asked in the polygraph test do not establish if Kevin was thrown into the highway or if he was forced into the highway. They do not establish if Kevin was attacked while in the highway or if fighting took place in the highway. They do not establish how many people were at the scene or if anyone deliberately caused Kevin's death, neither do they establish if Michael Lipp has deliberately given false information to the Police or withheld information from the Police. In the narrative it states that in the pretest interview, the statement obtained from Michael Lipp was consistent with the most recent interview with Agent Dey. Agent Dey states that he has never taken a written or recorded statement from Michael Lipp. How could Agent Porter compare the statements for any inconsistencies prior to administering the polygraph test? March 22nd 1999 Corporal Jetton submitted his Investigation Report and his findings to the State Attorney's Office, along with the conclusions submitted by Agent Randy Dey of F.D.L.E. Agent Dey's conclusion is as follows: "There is no evidence to show that this case is anything other than a traffic accident involving a hit-and-run vehicle, which left the scene". During the entire six months of his investigation Agent Dey chose not to interview one single independent eyewitness including the U.P.S. driver. He chose not to interview a witness by the name of Jaime Elder whose name was given to him at the start of his investigation. Ms Elder reportedly drove past and saw five persons fighting in the highway,She has still not been interviewed to date. Corporal Jetton, on page 12 of the Investigation Report, states that Kevin was attempting to flag down vehicles trying to get someone to call 911 (he concludes this even though he states the fight was over at this point and Kevin and Lipp had returned to Lipp's car). He then states that as vehicles approached, Kevin would step into traffic lanes attempting to stop them, that Kevin saw the approaching hit-and-run vehicle and stepped in front of it. In the Investigative summary Corporal Jetton concludes: "Based on the facts known in my investigation, it is my conclusion that P-1 (Kevin) contributed to his own death by the fact that he and his friend Michael Lipp had improperly stopped on the Interstate and become involved in a physical altercation with two other individuals. He was legally under the influence of alcohol and was a pedestrian on an Interstate Highway trying to flag down traffic and stepped into the path of an oncoming vehicle". Given the evidence that Corporal Jetton and Agent day had in their possession at the time the Investigation Report was submitted, they had to be aware that they were giving the State Attorney a misleading, incomplete and false account of the circumstances of Kevin's death. The evidence that Corporal Jetton had in his possession yet chose to withhold from his report, clearly shows that his account of Kevin stepping in front of an oncoming vehicle, then being spun by that vehicle's rearview mirror into the path of the U.P.S. truck, did not occur. He claims that the broken parts of a rear view mirror confirm that a hit-and-run vehicle spun Kevin outwards into the path of the U.P.S. truck. He fails to state that no glass from this shattered mirror was found at the scene. He fails to state that the broken mirror pieces were actually found 230ft from where this impact supposedly took place. He also fails to state that his on scene notes show both of Kevin's shoes, a key and magnetic key holder and a band from Kevin's wrist were also found over 200ft from the location where he states this took place. Even more disturbing is his failure to state that his on scene notes clearly state that skin tissue was found on the highway, in the same area as all of these items, over 200ft from the point where he states the hit-and-run vehicle and the U.P.S. truck struck Kevin and 120ft from Kevin's final resting place. On page 63 of the report Corporal Jetton dismisses eyewitness David Stone as "an unreliable witness". His grounds for this conclusion is Christopher Grubb's statement that there were only five persons at the scene and no females. He withholds the fact that witness Peter Carr also observed two females at the scene, corroborating Davis Stone's statement. He also fails to include the part of eyewitness Steve Carlton statement where he described Kevin as appearing totally disorientated and obviously unaware of his surroundings. This corroborates David Stone's description of Kevin appearing dazed and concussed. The band from Kevin's wrist that David Stone described and which is confirmed in Corporal Jetton's on scene notes, is missing; we are told it was discarded at the scene. This would have been an obvious source of possible forensic evidence, either blood evidence or paint transfer from the supposed hit-and-run vehicle. On page 64 of the report Corporal Jetton states, "the fact that Kevin was trying to flag down traffic explains why all the people who passed by saw Kevin in the roadway and no one was around him". This is clearly a false statement, Witness Mark Allen saw a conflict taking place in the roadway and two 911 callers clearly report fighting in the middle of the highway on at least two distinctly separate occasions. What is also clear is that not one passing witness, nor Michael Lipp or Timothy Shoenig, ever describe Kevin trying to flag down traffic. It is difficult to comprehend that Corporal Jetton could have accidentally failed to include any reference to the series of seven 911 calls which were received that night. These calls clearly show that Kevin was out in the middle of an extremely busy highway for fifteen minutes. They also show that fighting took place in the highway on at least two occasions and that this fighting involved as many as four individuals. Following this fighting being observed, two separate callers report Kevin lying in the highway, this is several minutes before Kevin is struck by the truck. Equally difficult to comprehend is Corporal Jetton's decision to withhold the information of witness Peter Carr. Apart from corroborating witness David Stone's account, Mr Carr's sighting of Kevin standing by the central barrier, 50ft into the highway, moments before he is struck and killed, is critical evidence. This evidence corroborates the evidence of the U.P.S. driver that his vehicle struck and killed Kevin at 3-42am, several minutes after the 911 calls at 3-37 and 3-38am put Kevin down in the highway. Considering Mr Carr provided this evidence at the scene on the night Kevin was killed, how can it be omitted from the report? Equally disturbing is how the statements of the two informants, stating that Anthony Lloyd confessed to murdering Kevin, could not be transcribed for eighteen months and not included in the Investigation Report. It cannot be a coincidence that all of the evidence that shows Corporal Jetton's conclusions are completely false and without foundation has been deliberately withheld from this report. Serious questions also exist as to why neither Lipp, Grubb nor Shoenig have ever been confronted with this evidence. F.D.L.E. state that an interview with Anthony Lloyd would be desirable, however, they would be interviewing him only as a witness to a traffic accident. For twelve months we were told that Anthony Lloyd had no criminal record, either in Florida or New York. We have established from court records that Anthony Lloyd was on probation in New York City at the time of Kevin's death, also that he had been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in New Jersey for armed robbery. F.H.P. say they are unable to establish whether his probation was transferred to Florida, or what grounds were given for him moving to Florida. The informants stated that he did phone his probation/parole officer while living in Florida. Since Kevin's death, Lloyd was arrested and charged with serious drug offences in New York and is currently a fugitive from justice. It is hard to believe that we could obtain this information as private citizens yet the police were not aware of it. April 1999 We were told the case was being closed, we demanded that it be given to trained murder homicide investigator's from another agency. July 1999 The Investigation report was released to us. This was the first time we were aware that the Informants who had come forward in June 1998, had stated that Lloyd had confessed to murdering Kevin. September 1999 We appealed to Governor Bush to intervene and order a new investigation. We sent all our evidence to Tampa Police Dept. requesting that they investigate. F.H.P. submitted a copy of the Investigation Report to them. November 2nd 1999 We were informed by Governor Bush's Office that there would be a meeting attended by all Agencies and that we would be invited to attend. We were told that F.H.P were waiting to hear from Chief Holder of Tampa Police as to the date. He was waiting for a report from Sgt. Diaz of murder homicide who was reviewing the report and our evidence. November 23rd 1999 The meeting was held with representatives of F.H.P., F.D.L.E., Tampa Police, State Attorney's Office and Medical Examiners Office. At the meeting, Deputy Chief Siling of Tampa Police offered to assign her top murder homicide detective full time to the investigation. Chief Lee of Florida Highway Patrol refused to hand over jurisdiction of the case to them. We stated that this was not acceptable to us, that there was clear evidence to show the possibility that Kevin was murdered and that Florida Highway Patrol's jurisdiction was restricted to investigating traffic accidents. January 4th 2000 Deputy Chief Siling rang me and stated that her detective had reviewed the F.H.P. Report and concluded there was no evidence to indicate this was anything other than a traffic accident. I stated that they had already reviewed the report prior to offering to assign their detective to investigate. I asked her to explain the evidence of the 911 calls reporting fighting in the highway, she replied that there were no such calls and terminated the conversation. This conversation occurred after the Inspector General, John Davis, had written to Tampa Police Legal Department, Mr. Davis has authority over all Florida Highways including F.H.P. We had contacted him asserting that F.H.P. were obstructing our right to justice by refusing an investigation into Kevin's death by trained murder homicide detectives. January 11th 2000 The State Attorney phoned our Attorney and advised him the case had been closed. January 15th 2000 The State Attorney phoned our Attorney again and asked him to disregard his previous call, he had not known that Lt. Mauriello of F.H.P. was still investigating the case. January 25th 2000 Governor Bush's Office assigned Attorney Marty McDonnell to review our complaints. He spoke to Chief Lee and was told that this case remained an ongoing criminal investigation. February 4th 2000 Marty McDonnell of Governor Bush's Office called, he had just been informed by the State Attorney that they had now closed the case. He was puzzled why they would do this when F.H.P. were stating that it was an active ongoing investigation. We were also puzzled as Lt. Mauriello had just obtained a subpoena from the State Attorney to question Marla Intellisano and the subpoena had not yet been served. Why would the State Attorney be in such a rush to close this case that they would not even wait for their own subpoena to be served? How could they determine there was no evidence to bring charges, when FHP were still claiming to be actively investigating the case and Anthony Lloyd had still not been questioned? February 25th 2000 We appealed to our Member of Parliament in England, Melanie Johnson M.P. to assist us. She met with a British Forensic Investigator who had reviewed all the evidence in this case. She wrote to Governor Bush requesting that, based on the information given to her, there should be a re-investigation into the circumstances of Kevin's death. Furthermore, there should be a full investigation into the way the case had been conducted by the Police Departments and individual Officers involved. She recommended that experienced Officers from Police Departments not previously involved in this case should conduct both investigations. Governor Bush has never responded to those letters. March 7th 2000 We attended a meeting with Chief Lee and Major Legett at their request. They informed us that Corporal Jetton would remain the lead investigator. They failed to answer any of the questions we raised about Corporal Jetton's handling of the investigation or the amount of evidence he had withheld from the report. We asked them to advise the State Attorney of this evidence and request that the case be re-opened. We also requested that the Investigation report concluding that Kevin's death was an accident should be amended or withdrawn. They refused to alter the conclusions of the investigation report submitted to the State Attorney or request them to reopen the case. March 16th 2000 Marty McDonnell of Governor Bush's Office advised us that he had completed his review of our evidence and the F.H.P. Investigation Report. He informed us that he had spoken to the Commissioner of F.D.L.E. and the Commissioner had assigned his Director of Investigations, Agent Jamie McLaughlin, to review the case. He stated Agent McLaughlin would be in touch with us. April 9th 2000 British Investigator, Terry Merston, arrived from England, he had offered to review the circumstance of Kevin's death. He has extensive experience in accident scene investigation, murder investigations and forensic investigation. He spent ten days reviewing all evidence, including Kevin's clothing, all photographic evidence from the scene, forensic reports and recordings of witness statements and 911 calls. On examining the scene it was immediately apparent to Mr Merston that something was seriously wrong with the way Corporal Jetton's report portrayed it. We provided him with a copy of the original accident report that had been filed by Trooper Glover, the FHP Basic Crash Invesigator at the scene. This original report showed Kevin being killed on the north side of the junction with the Armenia avenue on-ramp, not on the south side as Michael Lipp had stated and as Corporal Jetton's investigation report showed it occurring. We had been told by FHP that the original accident report was a mistake and that Corporal Jetton's report was correct. On reviewing the photographs of the scene Mr Merston was shocked at what he found. The photographs of the scene clearly supported Trooper Glover's orignal report as being correct, whereas Corporal Jetton's investigation report was a total misrepresentation of the evidence. The skidmarks in the photographs were consistent with Trooper Glover's report showing Kevin being struck on the north side of the intersection with the on-ramp, not on the south side where Corporal Jetton showed them. There were no skid marks of a hit and run vehicle as Corporal Jetton had shown in his report. In fact photographs obtained from T/V news coverage on the night, clearly show the swerving skidmarks that Corporal Jetton shows being at the place Kevin was struck, were in fact three hundred feet further up the road. This confirmed the witness accounts that this vehicle was a considerable distance past Kevin when it swerved and could not have struck him, as Lipp Grubb, Shonig and Corporal Jetton had claimed. Furthermore, Corporal Jetton's report falsely shows the items of evidence, such as Kevin's shoes and his wristband, over 150 feet south of where the photographs prove they were found. Corporal Jetton had, in effect, completely moved the entire crime scene in an effort to make it appear consistent with a hit and run accident. This was just some of the evidence Mr Merston encountered that had been misrepresenteded by Corporal Jetton. In Mr Merston's opinion, it appeared that Corporal Jetton had deliberately falsified the evidence of the scene in an effort to make Michael Lipp's account appear believable, whereas Trooper Glover's report and the photographic evidence proved that it was completely false. Considering that Corporal Jetton personally measured, photographed and documented all the evidence at the scene, he was obviously aware that he was submitting a totally false and misleading report to the State Attorney. What is equally disturbing is that his superior officers, having Trooper Glover's accurate report in their posession and having the photographic evidence to substantiate it, must have equally been aware of this fact. In a letter to us dated June 26th 2000, Colonel Hall, Director of Florida Highway Patrol, stated that "following a reconstruction of the events, the physical evidence and a careful review of witness statements, both Tampa Police and F.D.L.E concurred with Corporal Jetton's findings". As Mr Merston points out, the only way that you can do a reconstruction is by studying the photographic evidence along with the measurements and notes from the scene. Therefore, either the Director of Florida Highway Patrol is lying and Tampa Police and F.D.L.E are totally incompetent, or all three agencies were aware that Corporal Jetton had submitted a false investigation report and was covering up a murder. In June Mr Merston again travelled over from England. He was met here by a top american investigator, William Dear, a member of the american police officers hall of fame. Mr Merston was extremely concerned at the police refusal to question witnesses about the actions of the persons at the scene and their location. Having the knowledge that the scene had been falsified confirmed his impression that this refusal appeared deliberate. He felt it extremely important to verify with the eyewitnesses the location that they had observed Kevin and the individuals at the scene as well as confirming with the U.P.S. driver the exact point that his vehicle had struck Kevin. Mr Merston and Mr Dear called on the U.P.S. driver to establish this information. They were horrified to be told that the driver had been ordered by Corporal Jetton not to talk to them. As Lt. Mauriello, the FHP supervising officer, had promised Mr Merston full co-operation, he contacted him and asked for an explanation as to why Corporal Jetton was obstructing his investigation. Lt. mauriello promised to establish this information from the driver and to call Mr Merston back. He never called back and despite repeated calls has avoided all Mr Merston's and our efforts to establish this vital information. Mr Merston and Mr Dear spoke to the eyewitness David Stone who had swerved to avoid Kevin in the highway. He confirmed the location a being on the north side of the intersection as the photographic evidence and Trooper Glover's report had indicated. He again confirmed seeing at least seven persons at the scene, including two females, split into three seperate groups. He said two of the persons were directly facing Kevin at the edge of the highway with their fists clenched. He said he passed within two feet of Kevin and could see bruising on his body and that he appeared to him to be scared and hurt. He added that the traffic was quite heavy and in his opinion Kevin would have to have been in fear of his life from the individuals, to be remaining in the middle of the highway amongst the oncoming traffic. Mr Merston and Mr Dear then attempted to locate the witness Mark Allen, the passing truck driver, in an effort to establish the exact location that he had observed the people at the scene. Mr Allen was the witness whose statement to FHP had described seeing pushing and shoving taking place and a taxi cab driver, who had been forced to stop, appearing to be threatened. Mr Merston was very disturbed by FHP's refusal to obain a simple list of taxi drivers who had been working in the early hours of that morning, to establish what evidence this obviously important witness could provide. FHP had stated that they could not provide an address for Mr Allen, stating his whereabouts was unknown. Mr Merston and Mr Dear managed to locate a phone number for Mr Allen and left a message asking him to call them.Mr Allen did call Mr Merston a few days later and the information he provided was staggering. It transpired that Mr Allen had actually witnessed Kevin's murder and had provided FHP with a full account of the details on four separate occasions, the first time via a cell phone call from the scene immediately upon witnessing it. The first part of Mr Allen's statement was consistent with the statement that appeared in the FHP investigation report. He stated that he was warned over his C.B. radio to move over as there was fighting in the highway ahead. He stated that he moved across from the slow lane to the fast lane and slowed down, however, the vehicle behind him, the U.P.S. tractor unit, continued in the slow lane and obviously had not heard the warning.Mr Allen described seeing two persons involved in an altercation, one was the aggressor and was shoving the other towards the traffic in the highway. At that point he described a taxi having to stop in the acceleration lane because his path was blocked by the fighting. He stated that the aggressor beat on the taxi window appearing to threaten the driver and telling him to get out of the way. The following part of his account, however, does not appear in the investigation report. He stated that as the taxi drove off the aggressor continued his attack on Kevin throwing punches to his face and body. He said Kevin was backing away covering his face with his hands to protect himself from the blows. Mr Allen then saw the aggressor hit Kevin to the chest with both hands pushing him in front of the oncoming U.P.S. vehicle, he added that the aggressor had to be aware of the oncoming vehicle and stated that in his opinion he deliberately pushed Kevin to his death. Mr Allen was asked the exact place that he witnessed the attack and he described the exact location that Trooper Glover's report had shown it. Mr Allen also described seeing a female in one of the vehicles at the scene. Mr Allen was asked what occurred after his call to * FHP. He stated that he was unable to stop as he was hauling liquid nitrogen, a hazardous material and he was forbidden by law to stop on a highway. He proceeded to his destination in Tampa, he was so distressed at what he had witnessed that he called a family friend at four in the morning, waking him up to tell him what he had seen. While returning to his depot in Orlando he again called * FHP telling them again what he had witnessed. On arriving at his depot he was told by the depot manager that a Corporal Jetton had phoned the depot asking for him. He told his depot manager what he had witnessed and immediately called the number Corporal jetton had left. He told Corporal Jetton exactly what he had witnessed and was asked to call in to their headquarters on his return trip to Tampa. While at the depot he told the depot clerk what he had witnessed. On arriving at the FHP headquarters he was informed Corporal Jetton had gone home. He called Corporal Jetton, again giving him the details, and arranged to meet with him and give a written statement. Corporal Jetton arranged to meet him at a Denny's restaurant and Mr Allen gave him a full statement at that meeting. Both Mr Allen and his wife are certain that he gave that statement within two to three days of Kevin's death. The statement in the investigation report, however, is dated nine weeks after Kevin's death and contains no mention of Kevin being pushed in front of the U.P.S. vehicle. Mr Allen has provided Mr Merston with his drivers logs for the day the FHP report shows the statement was taken, it shows that Mr Allen could not have been at that location at the time Corporal Jetton states in the interview. For over two and a half years we have raised our concerns over the handling of this investigation at the highest levels possible. As early as eight weeks after Kevin's death, we were forced to complain to FHP internal affairs and the Governor of Florida that something was seriously wrong with the manner in which this investigation was being handled. During that time we have sent over three hundred pages of correspondence and made several hundred phone calls to the following heads of the agencies involved:- Colonel Charles Hall, Florida Highway Patrol Chief Jim Lee, Florida Highway Patrol Director James Sewell, Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement Inspector Richard Lober, Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement Chief Bennie Holder, Tampa City Police Deputy Chief Jane Siling, Tampa City Police Harry Lee Coe, Hillsborough State Attorney John Davis, Florida Inspector General Governor Jeb Bush We have repeatedly presented all of these people with the evidence that showed Kevin was a victim of an unlawful killing, furthermore, that Corporal Jetton and Agent Dey had knowingly submitted investigation reports that were false, misleading and withheld vital evidence that indicated Kevin had been murdered. In spite of all our efforts, these agencies have refused to investigate our allegations of criminal wrongdoing by the investigating officers and continue to insist that no evidence exists to even indicate that Kevin's death was anything other than a hit and run traffic accident. |
If You have any information that could assist our investigation and help us in our efforts to gain justice, Please e-mail us at :- plea4justice@aol.com You may also write to us at : P.O. Box 361, Indian Rocks Beach, Florida 33785 Any information will be treated in the strictest confidence. ( please read page 3: Plea for Witnesses. This page also contains an online petition, anyone who is disturbed by the facts of this case is encouraged to sign. Page 3 also contains an e-mail you can send to the Governor of Florida, urging him to take action to rectify this injustice). |
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THE COVER-UP CONTINUES |
If you wish To Contact Us, Please write to plea4justice@aol.com. Petition Online has disabled the display of e-mail addresses so we are unable to respond to messages left on the petition |
