{"id":5282,"date":"2019-01-24T13:43:53","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T13:43:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/?p=5282"},"modified":"2019-01-24T13:43:53","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T13:43:53","slug":"investor-murders-emerging-theory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/","title":{"rendered":"How Murder Happens: A Theory Emerges"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most vexing questions concerning the Investor<\/em> murders is among its\u00a0most fundamental: how did someone\u00a0manage to kill all those people with only a single-shot .22 rifle? As the trooper investigation unfolded in Craig, one early theory began to emerge. This theory was recently reiterated by Dave Kiffer, who at the time was a young journalist working for the Ketchikan Daily News<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I spoke with Dave at the Ketchikan Public Library<\/a> on Thursday, November 15, 2018 (at a reading co-sponsored by his wife,\u00a0Charlotte Glover,\u00a0who owns Parnassas Books<\/a>). Dave wrote about the Investor<\/em> murders during\u00a0the first two years of the case, then left Alaska for a brief detour to graduate school on the east coast. He had an advantage: he was a\u00a0local reporter and a lifelong resident with local contacts. He still lives in Ketchikan and is an active participant in civic affairs, having served on the City Council and as Borough Mayor<\/a>. In other words, Dave’s got cred.<\/p>\n

\"theory\"In Dave’s telling, the earliest theory to emerge was that the\u00a0Investor<\/em> killer picked off the crew one-by-one as they returned to the vessel after a night of carousing.<\/p>\n

It is an attractive theory that\u00a0explains how one person — alone — was able to face\u00a0down at least five young, in-shape victims. In an alternate reality, there was more than one person involved — on the notion that subduing five crewmembers was impossible. Here’s the rub: on two successive days, including the day of the fire, multiple witnesses saw the Investor<\/em> skiff coming into Craig.<\/p>\n

Only one person was on that skiff.<\/p>\n

Here are some insights from Dave Kiffer’s 2006 article<\/a> in SitNews<\/em>, “A Look Back At Alaska’s Worst Unsolved Mass Murder.<\/strong>” Thanks, Dave!<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“The <\/em>Investor had pulled into Craig on Sunday, Sept. 5th after unloading more than 77,000 pounds of pink salmon to a Holbeck Seafoods tender… [She] tied up next to the seiner <\/em>Decade at the North Cove Dock in Craig. The <\/em>Decade was in turn tied to the seiner <\/em>Defiant. Witnesses say that [crewmembers] Moon and Keown went ashore shortly thereafter… [Crewmembers] Stewart and Heyman apparently also left the boat together, although no one in Craig remembers seeing them in town that night…<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“Meanwhile, the four Coulthurst family members celebrated Mark’s 28th birthday at Ruth Ann’s. Skippers from both the <\/em>Decade and <\/em>Defiance [sic]\u00a0were also at the restaurant and noticed nothing unusual…<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

“The Coulthursts left the restaurant around 9:30 pm. A crewman on the <\/em>Decade says that sometime around 10:30 pm, four-year-old John Coulthurst stuck his head inside the pilot house of the <\/em>Decade to say “hi” to a crewman he’d played with earlier in the day…<\/em><\/p>\n

“Investigators surmise that the crew members were killed one or two at a time as they returned to the ship Sunday, but with so much of the physical evidence destroyed by the fire it is not possible to be sure.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\"Craig\"<\/p>\n

Order “What Happened In Craig<\/strong>,” HERE<\/strong><\/a> and HERE<\/strong><\/a>. True crime from Epicenter Press about Alaska’s Worst Unsolved Mass Murder<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the most vexing questions concerning the Investor murders is among its\u00a0most fundamental: how did someone\u00a0manage to kill all…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,8,13,14,16,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alaskas-worst-unsolved-mass-murder","category-craig-alaska","category-mark-coulthurst","category-mass-murder","category-the-investor","category-what-happened-in-craig"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Murder Happens: A Theory Emerges - Leland E. Hale<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"One theory says it took multiple people to kill the Investor crew. Another says they were picked off one-by-one as they returned to the boat.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Murder Happens: A Theory Emerges - Leland E. Hale\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One theory says it took multiple people to kill the Investor crew. Another says they were picked off one-by-one as they returned to the boat.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Leland E. Hale\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-24T13:43:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/lelandhale.com\/images\/DaveKiffer.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/\",\"name\":\"How Murder Happens: A Theory Emerges - Leland E. Hale\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/lelandhale.com\/images\/DaveKiffer.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-24T13:43:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-01-24T13:43:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/bc09f10fd9511b3815b0bee6dee86abb\"},\"description\":\"One theory says it took multiple people to kill the Investor crew. Another says they were picked off one-by-one as they returned to the boat.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/lelandhale.com\/images\/DaveKiffer.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/lelandhale.com\/images\/DaveKiffer.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Murder Happens: A Theory Emerges\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Leland E. Hale\",\"description\":\"The Official Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/bc09f10fd9511b3815b0bee6dee86abb\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57b01d7412ace23bc6601f6f1254db39?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57b01d7412ace23bc6601f6f1254db39?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Murder Happens: A Theory Emerges - Leland E. Hale","description":"One theory says it took multiple people to kill the Investor crew. Another says they were picked off one-by-one as they returned to the boat.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Murder Happens: A Theory Emerges - Leland E. Hale","og_description":"One theory says it took multiple people to kill the Investor crew. Another says they were picked off one-by-one as they returned to the boat.","og_url":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/","og_site_name":"Leland E. Hale","article_published_time":"2019-01-24T13:43:53+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/lelandhale.com\/images\/DaveKiffer.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/","url":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/","name":"How Murder Happens: A Theory Emerges - Leland E. Hale","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/lelandhale.com\/images\/DaveKiffer.jpg","datePublished":"2019-01-24T13:43:53+00:00","dateModified":"2019-01-24T13:43:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/bc09f10fd9511b3815b0bee6dee86abb"},"description":"One theory says it took multiple people to kill the Investor crew. Another says they were picked off one-by-one as they returned to the boat.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/lelandhale.com\/images\/DaveKiffer.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/lelandhale.com\/images\/DaveKiffer.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/investor-murders-emerging-theory\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Murder Happens: A Theory Emerges"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/","name":"Leland E. Hale","description":"The Official Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/bc09f10fd9511b3815b0bee6dee86abb","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57b01d7412ace23bc6601f6f1254db39?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57b01d7412ace23bc6601f6f1254db39?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5282"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5282\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lelandhale.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}