The New Haven police have repeatedly maintained that Suzanne Jovin most likely knew her killer. They, however, have never explained why.
We could speculate that perhaps the NHPD knew the vast majority of murders are committed by people known to the victim. We could speculate that perhaps they thought a knife was an "intimate" weapon and that the number of stab wounds indicated a crime of passion. We could speculate that in the period immediately following the crime -- before evidence was analyzed and witnesses interviewed -- that the NHPD was right to play it by the book so to speak. However, the speculation stops there.
Fairly or not, in life we are often judged by how well we perform under pressure or in a crisis. Can we get that big base hit in the playoffs? Can we close that really big business deal? Can we turn things up a notch when we know all eyes are upon us?
Chief Wearing of the NHPD failed his test miserably. He can talk all he wants to about how well he did when no one was really paying attention. The fact is, when the spotlight was on him, he wilted-- badly. He botched the Cusick investigation, he tried his best to discredit hero cop Keith Wortz, and he did everything he could to cover-up how badly he screwed up the Jovin investigation.
As we've seen, the timeline and available evidence squarely points toward a random act of violence, perhaps as a result of a robbery gone bad. Anyone who thinks such a scenario is far-fetched need only look at the Zantop murders. Two kids used knives to viciously stab and slit the throats of two people they apparently didn't know and were, according to prosecutors, trying to rob. Not very common, yes, far-fetched, no.
Like the Jovin investigation, the police in the Zantop case first focused on people whom the couple knew. They even questioned a Dartmouth student and confiscated some of his clothing and a kitchen knife. The difference is they carried out their investigation professionally, being as candid as they could at press conferences-- not leaking someone's name to the press while at the same time keeping the public in the dark about the investigation itself.
Worse, the NHPD has emotionally abused the Jovin family by apparently alleging they had their man and it was only a matter of time before they could prove it. Not to mention the devastation they wreaked on an innocent person in Yale professor James Van de Velde.
There are plenty of good cops in New Haven. These cops could have chosen "safer" communities but instead have chosen to serve in a city with one of the higher crime rates in Connecticut. One can't help but admire that. It's those at the top, like Wearing, who need to go-- the sooner the better.
- Jeff |
