Battle Creek Enquirer from Battle Creek, Michigan • Page 7

Sunday, June 14, 1992 Battle Creek Enquirer 7A GOOO lall L.ir ill Mother: Jailed man didn't kill daughter 7 goirrajce The case unfolds Dec. 31, 1981 1120 p.m.: Tracy Hosken and the body of Jacqueline Jo Johnson are discovered in a driveway at 124 N. Woodlawn Ave. Jan. 1, 1982 0 1 a.m.: Detectives pick up Edward Higley at his home at 382 W.

Goguac St. 4:25 am: Higley is arrested. Jan. 4, 1982 Higley is charged with murder and assault with intent to commit murder. Feb.

3, 1982 10:30 am: Higley's preliminary exam begins. March 22, 1982 2:30 pm: Preliminary examination continues with Curtis Fluker, a Michigan State Police lab specialist, on the stand. 4:34 pm: Higley is bound over for trial. June 22, 1982 9:55 am: Higley's trial begins. July 1, 1982 350 p.m.: Jury finds Higley guilty on both counts.

Aug. 16, 1992 4 pm: Higley is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Johnson and 60-1 00 years for the assault on Hosken. He proclaims his innocence. OQ nn 1 oooo ttfK oil ZJSr every AreaKusi- V-VI nr-Y lit a. m.

with his own injuries," he said. 'I have so much pain' The murder of Johnson and its aftermath have been an emotional strain on Rogers from the beginning. Along with the other witnesses, she was sequestered during the trial until her testimony was over. She took the stand near the end of the trial, only hearing the testimony of Hosken and Higley and the closing argument Now she feels that people are brushing her concerns aside. 'Tm back in counseling.

I have so much pain," she said. ''What makes me mad is they convicted this man knowing he's not guilty," she said. "Do you know what if like believing the person you loved murdered your child? Do you know how many days I blamed myself for bringing him into her life? They did not give a damn that they let two brutal murderers go free. They did not care about me or Tracy or Ed Higley." 1 1 1 ii i 11' Based on regtjtar prices ottered exempt Subject to credit approval, padding. by ding.

signified competitor to the awne or co minimum $300 financed amount after deposit, see store for additional details. Minimum installation charge of 20 Remnants not included in "le Labor otters. See store for 1c pad details. Doortxjsters" and vinyl items not MOTHER, From 6A grader at the time, who said he talked with Johnson on the night she was killed. Sheppard said he received a call froni Johnson just after the television' show Magnum P.I.

ended at 10 p.m. He and Johnson had talked about three minutes when he heard her say "Oh, my God" and "Hey, you guys get out of there," he recalled. He also remembered hearing a female voice in the background. Sheppard heard a door shut, then several minutes of silence before someone hung up the receiver. Pattison theorized in his closing statement that the attack on Johnson started at that time.

Rogers contends Higley couldn't possibly have attacked Johnson near 10 p.m. Even if Higley left immediately after their phone conversation, the 4.8-mile trip between the houses would have taken more than 10 minutes on that icy night. In establishing the 10 p.m. attack time Rogers also points to the testimony of Lynette Payne. Payne testified she saw a girl run by the window at 112 N.

Woodlawn Ave. followed by a male and female. That testimony about seeing a female coupled with Shep-pard's recollection of hearing a woman's voice in the background leads Rogers to believe a second person was involved. Rogers also is distressed that no physical evidence linked Higley to i mm the murder Uj scene. Heavy Diooa was splattered in the 4-foot-by-6-foot area where the girls were stabbed and beaten.

She believes (Edward police should hialav have been able to find the girl's blood on Higley's clothes or his blood at the murder scene. A bloody left hand print was found on side of the house, but who left it is never been determined. Higley's alibi Higley sticks by bis testimony that after he left the party he went ko the house on Avenue A and jgazed in the window, where he saw Sogers and several friends playing cards at the dining room table. He said he cut himself on his way home after his car slid off the road near Springfield Elementary School. He recalled getting out of his car to remove a glass bottle from the road, slipping and cutting his hand on the bottle.

I Higley also argues that a knife ound in his basement doesn't match descriptions of the wounds. Medical examiner Bader Cassin testified that the knife could have been the murder weapon, but he talso said Johnson's deepest wounds were 7 or 8 inches deep and a half-inch wide. The recovered knife had a blade gust more than 6 inches long, with a that was nearly 1 inch wide at tits thickest point. 'This means the knife that was fused had to be 8 inches long," Hig-jjey; said. "That was not the jweapon." Trial of emotions jjhe former prosecutor and lead Edetective said the case was memorable.

Pattison said one incident during rthe' trial would be hard for anyone (to forget. While he was questioning Hosken, he asked her to walk across the courtroom and point out some locations on the map. Hosken had dropped to her knees sobbing, unable to pass in front of Higley. Aim CA 5 and that sticks out as the most memorable trial moment in my carreer," Pattison said. M.

TV UlbU TVU UTU JJ JUJ.JT Ul I Belote and Pattison said the jpoiftts brought up by Higley and Rogers can't outweigh the evidence. Belote remembers vividly the morning he interviewed Higley at 5the police station and looked into Jthe suspect's eyes. He saw splat-jterings of blood on the lenses of 'Higley's glasses. Higley said the splatters on his glasses originally were smudges that beaded up in the freezing rain. iHe said he pushed his glasses up with his bleeding left hand.

But Battle Creek Detective Mi-tchael Van Stratton, a lab specialist and blood expert, said his knowledge 10 years liter about blood -splatters tells him it couldn't have happened that wayv "Today we know that the stains the glasses were consistent with impact stains, and not consistent It -J ewuaK imk ncrnuwvw 1 rjw ur mn rwii ur inio rmjr-iiBiitu wiimuui WHII fcN WJNSfcNT More For Your Money Or Your Money Back-Guaranteed! sq. yds le Pad and labor on installed carpet ONLY included in le Pad and Labor offer PfXX orders mat requires OF CAHPETLAND USA. CREEK 1 1900 i vni HOURS: 'fT reTlrfHTrai rvirm U--IXJlU BATTLE 616963 STORE 10 A.M.-9 P.M. Sat 10 A.M.-7 P.M. Sun.

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