Needle Work: Battery Acid, Heroin, and Double Murder(19)

Using a drill and saw, Dragovic cut through Billiter’s scalp and skull, eventually lifting off the skullcap. He noted “mild cortical swelling” but no fractures.

Cutting into her trunk, Dragovic probed the body cavity. He found blood in the bronchial tubes, caused by the blunt trauma to the face and the resultant bleeding. The liver, biliary tract, spleen, lymph nodes, pancreas, enitourinary system and gastrointestinal tract were all normal. The stomach contained about 200 milliliters of fluid with identifiable pieces of rice and brown beans.

Rice and beans. That had been Nancy Billiter’s last meal before she was murdered.

Back at the scene, Detective Shanlian had not been qualified to comment on “cause of death,” but Dragovic certainly was. Under DIAGNOSIS in his report, he wrote:

1. Asphyxia due to oxygen deprivation

2. Multiple blunt force injuries





3. Multiple acid injection burns


Under OPINION, Dragovic stated:

“This 45-year-old white female, Nancy Billiter, died of asphyxia due to oxygen deprivation brought about by aspiration of blood into the upper and lower airways resulting from blunt force trauma of the face/nose and blockage of the upper airways by gagging.

“The decedent was beaten, bound, gagged and tortured by multiple injections of caustic chemical (acid) into the soft tissues. There was no evidence of pre-existing disease. The decedent was under the influence of cocaine at the time of sustaining the above-described injuries. In consideration of the circumstances surrounding this death, the results of this postmortem examination and the toxicological analysis, the manner of death is homicide.”

Put another way, Nancy Billiter had been smothered to death but not before someone coldly beat and carefully tortured her. Beatings in homicide cases are common, but torture is unusual. That left police with questions: Who tortured her and why? Was it a sadistic killer or someone trying to elicit information, or maybe some combination of the two? Maybe it was a serial killer that didn’t feel anything but exacted pleasure by hurting women?

A quick check of law enforcement databases showed no similar modus operandi among active unsolved homicides believed to have been committed by serial killers. Then why was Nancy Billiter tortured before she died? It was up to the primary detective on the case to answer those questions.

Dragovic picked up the phone and called the detective bureau in West Bloomfield Township. He got on the line with Mike Messina. The cop and the coroner had a fruitful conversation.

An hour later, Chester Romatowski walked in the doors of the OCSD. Carol Giles was already waiting for him. He took her into the polygraph examining room. He explained how the polygraph worked. He read her the Miranda warning. Carol agreed to waive her rights and signed a statement to that effect. The waiver, though, could be superseded if the suspect verbally asked for an attorney. If that happened, the interview had to cease immediately. If it didn’t, anything she said after that could not be used in court against her.

Romatowski interviewed her and obtained the same version of the story she had told Shanlian the night before. Finally he hooked her up to the machine. With wires attached to her body, the other ends to the machine, Romatowski explained, “Not telling the whole truth will result in your not passing the polygraph.”

Suddenly, Carol looked worried. She hadn’t looked good when they started, but now she looked positively sick.

“Is there something wrong?” Romatowski asked.

Carol said nothing. It must have felt like the world was closing in on her.

“Are you withholding any information?”

Nothing.

“Do you want to speak to an attorney?”

“I want to speak to an attorney!” Carol blurted out.

It was as close to a constitutional crisis as the average cop ever gets. What do you do when the suspect says she wants a lawyer and you know if the lawyer comes in the suspect will clam up? You cannot deny the suspect that privilege. However, there’s nothing in the statute that says you cannot offer the suspect a choice.

Thinking fast, Romatowski answered, “You may speak to an attorney if you wish or you can speak to a detective.”

Carol paused to think. Romatowski seemed like a nice guy. So did the cops the night before. They were easy to talk to and she had some things she needed to get off her chest.

“I want to talk to the detective,” she said finally.

Messina had arrived and was outside the polygraph room. He was surprised when Chet came out with Carol so quickly. Romatowski introduced them.

“Mrs. Giles. Hi, I’m Sergeant Messina,” he said with a smile and an extended hand.

They shook hands awkwardly.

“Sergeant,” Romatowski explained, “we didn’t do the test.”

Uh-oh. Messina had learned long ago when you didn’t know what to say, say nothing.

“Carol didn’t think she’d pass it,” Romatowski continued. “She would like to talk to you.”

Messina felt relieved. He smiled easily.

“Why don’t we talk down here?” he offered, leading the way with an outstretched arm to the interview room in the investigators’ bureau down the hall. While Carol seated herself, Messina spoke with Romatowski briefly.

“Thanks, Chet,” he said and closed the door.

He sat down across from Carol and reviewed the case file that he had brought with him. He saw that Timmy Collier had been arrested and charged with Nancy Billiter’s murder. Carol’s story was something like, “Yeah, I was there when it happened; He was riled and on coke. He held a gun on me and made me help him in some ways.”