The Long Wait

By the time Dr. Graham had heard enough about Ellen’s side of the story, he decided to take extraordinary action. He told Joe that he had been unable to convince himself of a finding that he could, in fact, defend in court. There is a profound responsibility that comes with stating without a doubt that Steven Boehm died at the hands of his mother, and without real findings, he couldn’t do it in good conscience. Dr. Graham saw only one route left: consult an expert group of his peers. He would, in a sense, put his own investigation on trial. With no physical evidence pointing to death, but many indications about what didn’t happen, he would eliminate all other causes but one: homicide. He had convinced himself that these children had been killed, but he also wanted to be absolutely certain that he hadn’t overlooked something, that a jury of his own peers would agree with his finding.

Dr. Graham would accomplish this peer review by sending his evidence to seven other medical experts across the country. Each one of them, he told Joe, was a specialist in death by asphyxia. He would send documentation to everyone, and begin by sending the slides to at least one of the doctors. When he heard from them, he would let Joe know.

The specialists were: Dr. Ross Zumwalt, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Dr. James Luke, former medical examiner in Washington, D.C. and a consultant to the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit; Dr. Brian Blackburn, San Diego, California; Dr. Steve Cole, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Dr. William Sturner, Rhode Island; Dr. John Pless, Indianapolis, Indiana; and Dr. Jay Dix, Columbia, Missouri.

It would take time for all these men to review Dr. Graham’s work, but it was the only way to go.

February turned into March and then into April and May. The investigation was suspended, and Ellen began to feel the pressure fade. She had told Deanne that she was sure that the police were going to arrest her, but after so many months, who could blame Ellen for thinking she had gotten away with it?

She continued to call Dr. Graham, demanding a signed death certificate so she could collect on the insurance. Deanne also observed that after a while, during the spring and into the summer of 1990, as Ellen’s confidence started to come back, it appeared she was enjoying the chase.

Once, as Deanne was talking to Ellen on the phone when they were both at work, Ellen suddenly said out of the blue: “Do you know there are a hundred and one ways to kill a child without it being detected?”

The hair stood up on the back of Deanne’s head. “What!”

“There’s a hundred and one ways to kill a child without it being detected.”

“Who told you that?”

“I read it in a book at the library,” Ellen said.

Deanne had already begun to shake, and she got off the phone as fast as she could.

She was still shaking when she tried to dial Sergeant Burgoon’s number, and she didn’t even get it right on the first attempt.

One more time, Joe provided rocklike support.

“Okay, we’ll take it from here,” was all he had to say.

In August, Deanne called to inform him that Ellen had moved from her apartment on South Broadway. Her new address was in South County, at 1120 Corumba Walk in the Brazillia Apartments. Ellen was living it up, and from phone conversations Deanne knew Ellen was spending more on clothes, too. Deanne told Joe that Ellen had told her that she and Stacy had just returned from a trip to Florida.

The next time Deanne heard from Joe was on July 9, 1991. Despite all his untiring encouragement, so much time had elapsed—now more than a year and a half—that Deanne was losing hope, and replacing it with a nervous concern that she might have to leave St. Louis herself if the investigation just petered out, as it appeared to be doing. So she really wasn’t prepared for what he had to say.

“It’s a go.”

“What do you mean ‘It’s a go?’”

“We’ve got seven doctors now who agree that it’s a homicide.”

Dr. Graham had excluded every possibility of death except one, mechanical asphyxia, which in this case, because there were no marks left on the body, could have been accomplished either by lying on top of the victim or by putting something over the face, such as a pillow.

Shirley Loepker, the assistant circuit attorney, was informed of the unanimous finding. She planned to interview the seven specialists, after which she would prepare to present the case to the August term grand jury. Dr. Graham and Sergeant Burgoon would testify. On September 12, 1991, suppressed indictments were issued charging Ellen Boehm with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her boys, and one count of first-degree assault in the hair-dryer incident involving her daughter.

It was serendipitous for Joe that September 12th was a Thursday, which meant that he had one full day to prepare for Ellen’s arrest, which could be carried out as recommended by the FBI’s Agent Wright—on a Friday after she got off work. It just happened to be Friday the thirteenth.