1,236 Days!

Please forgive the lateness of this blog which is two days late in my attempt to create a new one every other day. (Still traveling!)
For today, let us think about two words: anticipation and expectation. Anticipation of an arrest in the Stacey Burns murder case ran high in the days immediately following her senseless and needless death. In reality, the small town of Wolfeboro could only produce a limited number of suspects and surely New Hampshire State Police detectives would quickly sort out the possibilities and arrest the psychotic coward who killed her. Early on, it was not only anticipated; it was expected. Most people were not only looking forward to justice being served; they knew it would happen and soon.
Today, if my math is correct, is the 1,236th day since Stacey was killed; therefore, it is also the 1,236th day since most people began to anticipate a quick arrest in the case. Not only did they anticipate it, they fully and unequivocally expected it to happen. If I had interviewed the same people for Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns within the first week of the crime as I have in the last two years, I could guarantee that the universal expectation would have been an "imminent" arrest. Imagine a 1,236 day chart tracking the level of anticipation and expectation of family and friends of Stacey Burns as they waited for justice for Stacey. During that time, there is no doubt that there have been peaks and valleys in the chart but there certainly would be a huge gap (my opinion) in expectations between May 10, 2009 and September 27, 2012. That is a sad and truly unfortunate truth for everyone concerned.
New England Patriot fans anticipated another trip to the Super Bowl before the season began but the events of the last two games may have lowered expectations a trifle. There is no comparison between sports and what happened to Stacey Burns but the analogy seems to fit. Reality has a way of tempering anticipation and fracturing expectations.
1,236 days and counting . . .
duker

Waiting

Waiting is really fun when we are anticipating the arrival of Christmas morning or a visit from long time friends or an upcoming major sporting event. It is not fun when we are waiting for those proverbial gears of justice to grind forward "finely but painfully slow." Such is the case with the death of Stacey Burns. Three years ago, the anticipation of a possible arrest of her murderer was running high but anticipation of that level can only be sustained for a brief period of time. Now, the reality that there may never be an arrest (although the investigation is still "open/unsolved") saps the energy out of the anticipation. One reason for this blog has been mentioned previously but is worth repeating; it is hoped that it may help sustain the interest and the anticipation of a possible conclusion. I'm guessing that the rumor I heard in the beginning of June that "an arrest is imminent" is what most rumors are: baseless. That is all the more reason to keep going and keep asking questions through this blog.
So, as I asked in the last blog, is it true that according to an alleged statement by Scott Gilbert Ed Burns is not a suspect and is not being investigated? It that is true, why can't a public statement be made to that effect?
duker

Revisit

I will be traveling for a while so the next blogs will not be as regular although I will try to keep them  on the every other day schedule.
First, a follower yesterday asked if there were reasons given why some folks choose not to participate in the Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns book. If you have not read my response to that question, you might want to look at the comments on the "Two questions" blog.
As mentioned yesterday, I believe it is time to briefly revisit my purpose for beginning this blog back in early June. Actually, the blog has two purposes, not one. The primary reason is that the Stacey Burns case deserves to be kept in the forefront of people's minds. I did not know the victim but I do know many people who have been profoundly affected by this senseless and cowardly crime. I have found through personal experience how resilient human beings are in the face of unspeakable tragedy. That is a good thing. The bad thing about that resiliency is that it can lead to a strong desire to put unpleasant events into the rear view mirror of life, a mirror we can choose not to examine too closely. In June, I felt that the Stacey Burns case was being placed in the rear view mirrors of some people, authorities in particular, and that perhaps the blog could keep the attention on the case that it deserved. The secondary reason for the blog is that I wanted to explain why I undertook the book project. I believe both reasons are valid for continuing to write this blog and I will continue to do so unless those reasons lose their validity.
There has been no response yet to my question in the last blog regarding an alleged statement from Detective Scott Gilbert about the status of Ed Burns in this case. I'm sure that people are lining up to respond to that question!
duker

Just two questions!

Before getting to the subject of this blog, I have one question. Did Detective Scott Gilbert really say that Ed Burns is not a suspect, therefore is not under investigation, in the murder of Stacey Burns?
Just asking . . .If that is true, it surely seems to me that the general public might like that official information. Anyway, I digress . . .
On Saturday, I hinted at the identities of five out of the eleven people on my list who could be quite helpful in discovering the truth in the Stacey Burns murder case if they would but answer just two questions for me. I waited an extra day before this blog on the off chance that one of these people might contact me. Here is a huge surprise-not one has as of this moment.
Of the six remaining on the list, one has spoken to me at considerable length on multiple occasions and my two questions for him may only be asked after I hear from the others. Four more are family members who could provide both background material and specific information regarding the Saturday night  before Stacey was murdered. The last person I'd love to have the opportunity to ask just two questions is the gentleman who has provided the "airtight" alibi for Ed Burns. (I've already spoken with the "alibi" person for Jim Vittum so it seems only fair that I ask the same questions to the counterpart for Ed Burns.)
On another subject, it is beginning to look as though this blog is beginning to lose some momentum. In the next edition, we will revisit the original purpose of a blog about the Stacey Burns murder and the book I am writing (have pretty much written but with serious need for "fleshing out") about that horrendous crime.
Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns is in limbo without more people coming forth with additional (and new for me) information.
duker 
   

Who's on "the List?"

Since the last blog, the list of people I'd like to ask just two questions has grown from ten to eleven.
Here are the promised hints as to who may be some of the people on the list. I suppose I could come right out and mention their names but that would be too easy. If you recognize any of these possibilities, perhaps you could put in a good word for me with them and they would contact me, ready to answer their two questions.
Three of the eleven are in law enforcement. Each has been involved with the Stacey Burns in different ways but each could easily make many questions on the part of the general public disappear if they would answer my two questions. (They would have to give permission for me to use their answers, of course.)
Two of the eleven are gentlemen with whom, according to Stacey's friends, she was involved during the months preceding her death. Their answers to my questions could either prove or disprove a couple of theories about Stacey's private life, theories which have been mentioned in public before, including on the famous (or infamous) 20/20 television show.
Tune in on Monday for hints about the other six people on my list.
By the way, there can be no doubt that the investigators of this case must have asked all pertinent questions of everyone involved so there would be no reason for anyone to be reticent about answering just a couple of questions from a "true crime neophyte." Would there?
Duker

Cold case detectives + Two Questions

As the blog of 9/11/12 mentioned, I'd be interested in hearing a brief description of how cold case detectives go about their business. We certainly have seen enough in television shows and read enough in crime stories but it might be good to hear it from the real world. How do detectives who have been handed the "murder book" from an unsolved case proceed to develop new leads, new information, even new suspects? Of course, we all know that the Stacey Burns case is not considered a cold case by the New Hampshire State Police, even though Scott Gilbert of the cold case division is now the lead detective trying to solve it. Perhaps someone out there could guide us through a day in the life of a detective who has the Stacey Burns file on his/her desk. Naturally, this  detective no doubt has at least a few other files on his desk as it has now been forty months and a few days since Stacey was murdered in her own home!
Now, in the last blog, I mentioned that I would love to have the chance to ask certain people two questions. Clearly, it would be wonderful to be able to ask more but rather than be greedy, I'd settle for just two. My list of those "certain" people is really not that long and it even includes a couple who have already given me interviews. Right now, the list consists of ten people. That means this could be a game of "Twenty Questions," two for each one.
Can you guess who might be on my list? More importantly, if you think you know someone who may be on the list, could you convince them to answer my two questions?
Hints for who may or may not be included on this list will appear in the next blog, two days from now.
Duker

Credibility (Continued)

The last blog asked a question about who may have the most credibility in the Stacey Burns case and listed many possibilities. Today, let us think about the question from the opposite perspective. Look at the list from the last blog and think about which person or group are you least likely to believe is telling the truth? This little exercise should be relatively easy but can be productive as well.
In my usual naive and unrealistic state of mind, I often think it would be a fascinating study to get everyone connected to the Stacey Burns murder (police investigators, lawyers, family and friends, writers and even the "suspects") in a single room at the same time to tell their stories in front of each other? Then, I get to ask each person just two questions which they must answer, again with everyone present. Obviously, that will never happen but it is still interesting to contemplate. It would certainly help all of us to figure out who has the most and the least credibility.
The next blog asks the simple question: What exactly do cold case detectives do in their attempt to bring forth new information?

What is the truth?

I have no idea what the truth is as far as it relates to the murder of Stacey Burns. I absolutely know what I want to believe is the truth. I absolutely know that what people have told me is the truth. I absolutely know that all that I have been told cannot be the truth. So, the cliched "bottom line" is this: Which source has the highest credibility?
Is it the police who have told me that they "know who did it?"
Is it Stacey's friends who have told me that they "know who did it?"
Is it Ed Burns who has the "air-tight alibi" but whose track record for the truth is suspect at best and doubtful at least and whose motive might place him at the top of someone's list?
Is it Jim Vittum, who told the police right from the start that "you've got to look at me" and, per his request, they have been and, in the police view, rightfully so?
Is it some of the blog writers such as appear on Wolfeboro Topix with their versions of the truth?
Is it the NH State Police Cold Case Division who are now working on the case after three years and are dedicated to finding the murderer as folders of new cases multiply on their desks?
Is it Stacey's heartbroken family who simply want the killer caught and her death avenged in some way?
Is it the erstwhile writer who thought this project would be easy compared to writing fiction? Fact are facts, right? How hard could it be to write a true story?
More on credibility on the next blog- In the meantime, if you are interested in this case, ask yourself where you might find the highest level of credibility.
Duker
 

My Challenge

While thinking about my progress with Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns, I'm sensing that it may now be inching its way toward being "ongoing" in much the same way as the police describe their investigation of the murder of Stacey Burns. My writing time now is spent on background material, fleshing out parts of the narrative already in existence while the final two chapters ( Arrest and Trial/Conviction) await what I hope will be a conclusion soon.
My challenge now is to have the book in its best form possible so that when the inevitable arrest does occur, the book will be only two chapters from completion. With this challenge to me comes an equally important challenge to those people out there who have chosen not to participate in this book yet who have valuable information that deserves to be included. I will admit that there are holes, including some substantial ones, in what I have written so far. For example, I know what a special person Stacey was to her family but that information has come to me through her friends. I know what her marriage to Ed Burns appears to have been like, but that information comes to me through her friends, not from a "primary" source. I know how devastating it is to lose an adult child from first hand experience and my daughters know how devastating it is to lose an adult sibling but this project isn't about our loss; it is about the loss of Stacey Burns and the enormous hole she left behind in the lives of so many people. I cannot begin to speculate how other people feel and that is a weakness in this book as I try to tell Stacey's story. The depth of loss is palpable in those who have spoken to me and I've tried to convey that depth in the book.
"Write a book you can be proud of," Robert Newton Peck once told me. With the Stacey Burns book, I could only say to him that I'm doing the best I can.
Duker

Eddie Being Eddie?

I have received the dispatch logs of the October 26, 2009 "incident"  and for what it is worth to those reading this blog, here are my conclusions based on what I am seeing. Again, if you have a different version, I'm sure everyone would love to hear it and this is a good forum for it.
Conclusion # 1- Ed Burns' mother had been in the house that morning but left after informing a neighbor (unnamed) that she was going back to Winchester because she was tired of Ed's drinking. She was not there for the response after the initial call came into the Wolfeboro Police Department. (It apparently was not a 911 call)
Conclusion # 2- As a first priority, the police made certain that all five of the Burns children were accounted for before they decided what action to take at the house. Four of the children were in school and the fifth had been picked up by a friend of Stacey's.
Conclusion # 3- From my "true crime neophyte" perspective, it seems from the log that the response was organized and systematic, including closing roads and taking other precautions for the safety of the general public.
Conclusion # 4- In the many interviews I have conducted while working on Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns, a fairly clear picture of Ed Burns has emerged. Because he and others have chosen not to tell me their side of some of the stories I've heard, I can only conclude that the behavior of Ed Burns on October 26, 2009 was not unusual for him and that his behavior that day precipitated the entire episode.
There is more information in the dispatch log which will almost certainly show up as background in the book as long as I am sure that it is in the public domain.
My thanks to the Wolfeboro PD for supplying the dispatch log to me.
Duker