The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 23

Friday, October 2, 1998 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER A23 Bomar guilty and murder of Aimee Willard 1 M' BOMAR from A1 pronounced the word guilty to the charge of first-degree murder. Al Bolivar, 26, of Virginia, who dated Aimee Willard for more than two years in college, leaned over in his seat as his body heaved for more than a minute. Aimee's divorced parents, Gail and Paul Willard, whose relationship is strained, embraced tightly as their tears flowed. Bomar stood impassively as the verdict was read, although his eyes appeared moist when he turned to shake the hand of his lawyer, Mark P. Much.

The emotional toll was not limited to Aimee Willard's friends and family. The voices of two jurors cracked when they were polled individually and uttered the ment in which she talked of her mixed emotions. "The verdict is in; a predator will be removed from our streets," she said. "And no new family will suffer the nightmare at the hands of Arthur Bomar." But, she added, she could not feel joy "because the conviction of Arthur Bomar does not return Aimee to us. That pain of loss is real and enduring." There were no known witnesses to the murder, forcing prosecutor Daniel J.

McDevitt to convince jurors that if they put all the pieces of circumstantial evidence together, they would have to acknowledge Bomar's guilt. That evidence Detectives, however, were 'already familiar with his name." A week earlier in Philadelphia, a man fitting Bomar's description had tried to get a young woman to pull her car over by bumping into the back of her vehicle. The woman refused to stop but took down the license-plate number of her pursuer; it belonged to Bomar. The information was passed on to Willard investigators, who were interested in any incidents of bumping on the theory that Willard's killer got her to stop in that manner. Because of the Nevada warrant, Bomar was kept in custody.

In September 1997, he pleaded guilty to a series of burglary and theft charges and was sentenced to three to seven years in Montgomery County prison. Detectives, meanwhile, continued to build a case against him in the Willard killing. They learned he did not lead a normal life. He was married to one woman, engaged to another, and had at least two steady girlfriends all at the same time. Described as charming and intelligent, he was fond of visiting nightclubs in Philadelphia and the suburbs, often leaving with a woman a decade or more younger.

When he was arrested in Lower Merion, several pair of women's panties were in the car he was driving. That car, police found, was not his. It belonged to Maria Cabuenos, a Philadelphia woman who disappeared in March 1997. Her skeletal remains were found in a wooded area of Bucks County last January, and since then Bomar has been the prime suspect in the homicide. Bomar is also suspected but has not been charged irf other incidents in which women reported their cars were bumped.

During the trial, jurors could not be told of his criminal record, which includes numerous assaults and attempted murder. They will learn about it, though, during the penalty phase, as McDevitt argues that Bomar should be put to death. Officials from Montgomery County and from Nevada will be brought to court to divulge details of Bomar's past. Bomar likely was going to spend the rest of his life in prison regardless of the Willard outcome. His parole violations normally would force him to finish his life sentence for the .1979 murder in Nevada.

That will, of course, be moot if the jury sentences him to die in For Ttie Inquirer DAVID SWANSON Gail Willard is flanked by her husband, Tom Price (left), and her ex-husband, Paul Willard, during a news conference. "The conviction of Arthur Bomar does not return Aimee to us," she told reporters. word guilty; one cried and dabbed at her tears with a tissue. Sitting a few rows behind Bomar, as she had throughout the eight-day trial, his mother, Carrie Ganges, was also wiping her eyes. Much walked to her Aimee Willard North Phila.

in Arthur Bomar a year and a seat, Dent over, and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry, ma'am," he said. He left quickly after the verdict and was unavailable for comment. Jurors deliberated for two hours late Wednesday afternoon after closing arguments and returned to court at 9:30 a.m. yesterday.

Around 11:15, they filed into the courtroom to ask Judge Frank T. Hazel to define the charge of possession of an instrument of crime. Their question indicated they had already moved past the more serious charges. Less than 15 minutes later, word came that the verdict was reached. Aimee Willard's family her parents, her aunt, her sister and brother stood and stared at Bomar as he entered the courtroom.

"Everyone please remain seated," a court officer said, but the Willards ignored him. Gail Willard later said she wanted Bomar to be reminded of Aimee the second he came in. Bomar did not look back. "The courtroom, packed with about 130 people who filled every available seat, was so quiet that the "click" made as Bomar's handcuffs were unlocked seemed uncommonly loud. Later, Gail Willard read a state- vestigators were still looking for Willard.

The investigation stalled when DNA taken from Kobak's blood did not match DNA from the semen. A college student and a tow-truck driver also came to the attention of detectives. And two law-enforcement officers one a state trooper, the other an Upper Providence policeman were investigated when they gave authorities information about the case that police say was false. Both resigned. Bomar was arrested on an unrelated charge attempted burglary on June 5, 1997, in Lower Merion.

When police put his name through the national crime computer, they learned he was wanted for parole violations in Nevada, where he had served an 11-year sentence for second-degree murder before moving to Pennsylvania in 1990. was about 1:40 Thursday morning when she got in her mother's Honda to drive home to Brookhaven in Delaware County. She planned to join her mother at the Jersey Shore later that day. About 2 a.m., a passing emergency crew came upon her car on the Exit 3 off-ramp of the southbound Blue Route. The lights and radio were on, the engine was running, and the driver's door was open.

A small pool of blood was on the ground in front of the car. Around 5 p.m. that day, her nude body was found in a vacant lot at 16th Street and Indiana Avenue in Philadelphia. Almost immediately after the killing, police began focusing attention on Andrew Kobak of Bryn Mawr. Police said he drew attention when he appeared on the off-ramp on the morning of June 20, 1996, while in Relief for former suspect's family included tire tracks near the crime scene that matched Bomar's 1993 Ford Escort, unusual markings on her body that could have come from the Escort's oil pan, Bomar's admission that he had been at the restaurant where was found in June 1996.

was charged half later. Willard was last seen alive, and Bomar's familiarity with North Philadelphia. The prosecutor also had three witnesses who testified that Bomar confessed to the killing, though McDevitt knew there could be credibility problems: Two were former jail mates of Bomar, the third a jilted lover. Much did what he could to poke holes wide enough to let reasonable doubt seep into the jurors' minds. He had no alibi for Bomar; he had no witnesses.

His tactic was to emphasize that much of the prosecution's case was based on guesswork, and to draw attention to other suspects. Much, though, could not overcome the prosecution's keystone: DNA evidence. One expert testified that there was a l-in-5-billion chance that the DNA found in semen left in Willard's body could have come from someone other than Bomar. It was not until DNA testing was completed that Bomar was charged with Willard's murder on Dec. 10, 1997, ending a frustrating, and often bizarre, investigation that produced a half-dozen suspects and led to the he is making a new life, his mother says.

Carol Kobak won't reveal where he is or what he is doing, except to say "he's working for the government the federal government and he gets nothing but high praise. We've all been very proud of what he's achieved." The circumstantial factors that made her son a suspect the aspersions cast on his character and lifestyle should never, ever again be rehashed in official documents or the media, Carol Kobak said. "I wish there was some kind of advocacy group so a name isn't released to the media until charges are made. They never had anything but suspicions. You could take anybody off the street and find circumstantial evidence." But, she said, what's done is done.

"I've spoken to all our children today. My husband and I have a sense of release that this is over, not just for ourselves. The whole Willard family showed such dignity over the past 27 months. I hope this gives them closure. But the pain is not going to go away so 16th Street and Indiana Avenue, where the body was found.

"There's a spirit that moves you like she's watching and saying, 'Thank said Phillips, whose organization, Helping Energize and Rebuild Ourselves helped build the park in Willard's memory and is planning a gospel concert there this year. Culler, who found Aimee's naked body near his boyhood "clubhouse," said he wanted a more human connection with her family. "I wanted to meet them," he said. "They stick together," he said of the Willards. "They're strong, too." Mike O'Neill, whose daughter, Erin, roomed with Aimee in college, said the Willards planned to help Culler, a junior at Simon Gratz High School, toward his goal of attending West Point.

He said that after the trial, Gail Willard would take a more public step: lobbying for a federal law to hold states accountable for court costs if they parole felons who then commit crimes in other states. Bomar moved to Pennsylvania in (absolutely By Marc Schogol INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Carol Kobak wants to talk, but at the same time, she doesn't. But she can't not. "There are a lot of things I've wanted to scream and holler, but I'm not going to do it now," said Kobak, whose son, An drew, was at first identified by law enforcement sources as a suspect in the Aimee Willard murder, but was later fully exonerated. Her son, her family, her home in Bryn Mawr everything in their lives had been vi Despite conviction, is needed closure, Andrew Kobak's mother.

nintnini the time for says 7 11 LI I 8 Li resignation of two police officers. The frightful circumstances of the crime made it one of the most-talked-about murders in recent years. She had been whisked off a highway in the middle of the night. Testimony and photos introduced at trial showed a woman who was beaten so terribly that her body was drained of blood. Willard's death touched strangers; her funeral was attended by 4,000 people, including members of her college lacrosse team who wore their uniforms and formed an honor guard with their lacrosse sticks as Willard's casket was carried down the church steps.

Willard, 22, a star college athlete about to enter her senior year at George Mason University, met friends on Wednesday, June 19, 1996, at Smokey Joe's, a popular college hangout on the Main Line. It quickly." Others were caught up as well. Former State Trooper Harold Ryan Hutchinson was convicted of lying after he said he had seen an Upper Providence police officer parked behind Aimee Willard's car on the night of the murder. His lawyer, Ari Moldovsky, said his client would make no public comment because his own conviction is being appealed. Declining to say yesterday what Hutchinson is doing these days, Moldovsky did say that his client's family and the Willards were acquaintances and that "he's glad the Willards finally have resolution." Former Upper Providence Police Officer David Buggy, whose account of finding Aimee Willard's empty car also was questioned, was unavailable for comment.

At the home of a young man investigated by police after he told friends he might have been one of the last people to see Aimee Willard alive, a woman answering the phone yesterday said: "No comment." Of the ordeal that her family and all the others endured, Carol Kobak said: "It's hard to even verbalize what it's like But it's over. I'm just glad that guy is off the street so he can't hurt anyone else." with hugs 1990 after being paroled in Nevada. Last year, Willard attended a state Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on parole issues, along with family members of Maria Cabuenos of Philadelphia and Sgt. Ippolito. "Lee" Gonzales of Franklin Township.

Gloucester Countv. Bomar is the prime suspect in the death last year of Cabuenos. Gonzales was killed by Robert "Mud-man" Simon in 1995, shortly after Pennsylvania authorities paroled him to New Jersey. Yesterday, Willard thanked those families, as well as the family of Delaware killing victim Anne Marie Fa-hey. "We know their pain, and yet they reached out to help us," she said.

Willard's divorced parents had hardly spoken during the trial, but after the verdict, they clutched each other and sobbed. "Aimee would have wanted it this way," said her father. "She's our daughter. She always has been. She always will be.

We both wanted the same thing our daughter back. And that's not going to happen." eye exam with eyeglass purchase 4 1 II' 5 HALSTOIsT eyewear 'X 'J km olated, sullied, muddied, ruined. And yesterday, on the day when another man, Arthur Bomar, was convicted of the crime, she still was far from over her own family's trial. "I'm relieved like everyone else, I guess. It's been tough," she said.

"I don't know if I can ever get closure. My husband says, close the 3 door. I can't, I can't." At least, she said, her son is free and away from it all. Andrew Kobak, 25, has moved to another part of the country, where Ull i 4S an complete pair ol eyeglasses i complete pair of eyeglasses 2nd pair Willard family reacts Styles include many of your favorite designers! Save on Contact Lenses! Disposable Contact Lenses starting at 21.95 (6 per box). Ask about receiving a complimentary WftU Great Start Kit.

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Call 215-733-0598. Mon-Sat. 10.VM-6 PM WILLARDS from Al school friends, and people who never knew her hugged prosecutors, investigators, court employees, each other. It was the climax of a 27-month ordeal that the Willards weathered by focusing on two goals. line was to harness their emotions toward positive ends befriending everyone from Culler to the families of other murder victims, helping a neighborhood group clean up the lot where the body was found, supporting national legislation they hope will prevent deaths like Aimee's, and creating a scholarship at George Mason University, where Aimee was a senior on the lacrosse team.

The other goal, Gail Willard said after the verdict yesterday, was to make sure that "when people remember this tragic event, it is Aimee Willard they will remember, and not her killer." Doris Phillips of North Philadelphia never knew Willard. But she thinks of her often now when she visits the park she helped build at 2. strawbridge's.