Quincy E. Danes's Notes
I met with Richard twice during his incarceration. The first time was the summer of 1972. At that time, I had just begun a new job with the FBI's Department of Behavioral Science, and my job was to interview several inmates and catalog their mental states. He was one of the people I met with during this process.
I am innocent. The only relationship I ever had with Vivian didn't extend far beyond casual greetings. I did think that she may dislike me, considering that whenever I greeted her with a bow of my head she would look back at me with a grim expression. But, I did not resent her, nor did I have feelings for her. I never met Brenda before in my entire life. The circled letters, the newspapers with the bloodstains...it's all very cryptic to me. Is this the evidence? You see, I was in training to become a professional magician. I would often volunteer to do tricks at nursing homes and daycare centers. Since I am a shy person, I was very embarrassed to show my face in front of others, so I painted myself up like a clown. That was what I used the cosmetic case for. The piano wires are also implements I often used in my magic act, and the cards were part of a trick where I would cut them or burn them and still guess the numbers on the cards. That register of names wasn't a list of victims, either! Those were
the names on my newspaper delivery route, and the numbers I had written next to their names were the order I delivered their papers to be most efficient, since I had received complaints about late deliveries. Those names I had crossed out were the people who, either by death or by changing residence, no longer had need of me to deliver their papers. For some reason or another, all the victims had ended up being in my delivery area. That's why I had crossed off the names of the victims from the list, nothing more. I told the police the same thing over and over again, but they just berated me, saying "Oh, so you're a magician, are you, you're really good at tricking people then, aren't you.", not listening to a single word. The investigation itself was disgraceful. They abused me, and there were no meals given to me. They injected me with truth serum, and didn't allow me to sleep. I was just thinking of some way to escape the physical and emotional pain, and so I did what the police told me to do and
confessed. I was at my limit.
It is not unusual for the guilty to plead innocence. However, the man sitting right in front of me was so different from the brutal criminal profile circulating around the mass media. Surely, the evidence amassed against him, the things that associated him with the crimes, were not absolute proof of his guilt. Of course, I couldn't just take him at his word. There was just too much, too many coincidences to say that everything was just that—coincidental.
However, the truth is that his story awakened my intuition and curiosity. Of course, until today, when I retired from the FBI to begin work as a humble detective, did I ever think that the mystery of the Black Maria from about 40 years ago would go beyond the realms of my imagination...
I then conducted several interviews with those connected with the case as a result of my careful perusal of the report left behind by the late Inspector Mike (deceased following the resolution of the Black Maria Incident; he left an enigma with his wife, who was caring for him, by telling her "Black Maria...inside-out...it was fake...")
Those close to Richard described him as a kind person. Mr. Harry Powell, the man who had defended Richard, was under medical care for his deteriorating health—so I was only able to interview him via telephone.
Richard was truly a kind-hearted young man. I only saw his magic show once, at one of the institutions where he volunteered. He was incredibly skilled, and terribly popular with the elderly and young children alike. You are familiar with Inspector Hank, right? That's right, "Mr. JUSTICE". He was the one that forced Richard's confession. Hank's 'justice' was all for himself in the end, wasn't it? During the preliminary investigation, it was our intention to plead innocent. But, if we actually were to go to trial, the jury, already affected by what was circulating around in the mass media at the time, would very likely pursue the death penalty in his case. In the end, we were able to avoid going to trial by pleading guilty and accepting imprisonment and an evaluation by a court psychiatrist, as well as the subsequent medical treatment. However, to avoid trial, they would only offer us a life sentence in the plea deal. But, I believe, even now, that he is innocent.
I digress, but though Harry was initially blasted by the media immediately following the incident for defending the perpetrator of such a heinous crime, they bought in to his stylish looks and silver-screen demeanor—so there was a time where he was backed by the media, via popular news commentators who acted as if he were playing a lawyer in a popular TV drama.
I would suppose that people who are around my age have as many memories of him as I do?
I met with Richard's mother. When I went to visit her, she was in the hospital for a lung infection.
He really loved animals. When he was a kid, and his pet dog died, he cried for days and days. There's been talk in the media about him holding a dog covered in blood, but I think that was just someone looking over for a split second before he buried it. After all, whenever he found dogs or cats that had been hit by cars, he would say that he felt sorry for them and give them a proper burial. Richard truly is a kind-hearted child. When he was young, I divorced his father, and he lived for a time in a fatherless family...so that might have made him lonely. He didn't want his friends who came to play with him to ever go home, and he was spending his time learning magic tricks. After my remarriage, we were able to do all kinds of things together as a family. He didn't have any problems with his stepfather. We were a happy family. I've never had a single regret that he was born. I believe Richard. I can't go see him with my body like this, but my love will always be near him.
When she was telling me about Richard, tears were shining on her cheeks.
During the second interview (in 1976), I had asked him, "If you're innocent, why didn't you go to trial?" He responded, "It was worthless; they'd already decided on the death penalty. Right now, even if I were to die, the world won't change...but by living, the future will change for sure. If I'm still alive, then I'm sure that someday I'll be able to prove my own innocence."
However, six years after that interview, in 1982, he committed suicide while still in prison.
I wonder what finally drove Richard, someone with such a strong will to live, to commit such an act? After his death, the line "Do I still have what it takes to love you?" was found scribbled in the pages of his Bible. Though I tried to inquire into the identity of the "you" in the line, since he has already died, I cannot answer that question.
Moving on.
On March 7, 1970, 16 years after the Black Maria Incident, the Alexanders, a couple who lived in the LA suburbs, were attacked by a group of hoodlums.
That day, Mr. Alexander had left his home at around 7 am, to return shortly after. The reason for his quick return was due to an argument he had with his wife, who he was worried about considering that they had plans to go out as a couple later that day. As soon as he stepped in his entryway, an unknown male assailant rushed out from inside his home, dealt him a body blow, and fled the scene. He quickly rushed after the man, but he collapsed due to a sharp pain in his body. When he felt the affected area, he found a deep wound, and a knife covered in blood fell before his feet.
Enduring the pain, he rushed over to his dear wife, who he was relieved to find without any deep wounds, sleeping in bed. However, she just kept sleeping. It is uncertain if her state is a result of the psychological trauma she suffered, but for an unknown reason, she had fallen into the state of a human vegetable. Mr. Alexander had not seen the man's face in the split second that he had encountered him, but the image of the assailant's retreating figure was burned in his memory. He testified that the man was approximately 185 cm tall, with close-cropped blond hair, and Caucasian.
The thing that weighs on the mind about this case is that there was a message written on the wall in black lipstick: "I can't control myself."
However, the Black Maria Incident had been closed ten years before, and with the current case being settled quickly, it did not catch the attention of the mass media, outside of one outlet that reported the story.
In the end, the perpetrator was never caught.
The devoted husband's nursing and pleas of "Wake up someday...show me your smile one more time" were to no avail, and 14 years later, in 1984, Mrs. Alexander died.
When I attended her memorial service, I exchanged words briefly with her husband.
This burning pain in my left side is a constant reminder that I abandoned her. If only she would have woken up one more time, I would have told her, "I love you, even now, I still love you." he said, breaking down crying right in front of me.
Time passed, and in 2000, DNA evidence techniques rapidly improved, to the point where they were regularly being implemented in the investigation of crime scenes. Much of the evidence in the Black Maria case had been lost, but luckily for me I had an acquaintance in the police department, and through him I was able to request the DNA evidence lifted from the knife used in the Alexander case (though I did have to pay him off a little).
The unexpected finding in this evidence was the DNA of Vivian, the victim in the Black Maria Incident. I admired the progress science had made, to be able to detect DNA from a case that had taken place half a century before.
If they had perfected these methods at the time of the Black Maria Incident, it was likely that a few of the puzzles left behind could have been solved...
Naturally, the DNA didn't answer the question of "When did this knife come in contact with Vivian?"
There was no way to prove that this knife was the same one used during the Black Maria murder. Also, one more doubt had arisen in my mind—that the man who had attacked the Alexanders was the real perpetrator behind the Black Maria Incident.
In recent years, the topic of the "Black Maria" has come up often amongst mystery enthusiasts. Several theories have come out of this, from those who believe that the crime was justified due to Vivian's lifestyle as a prostitute to such occult theories as that the perpetrator was possessed by the dark powers of the 'black sun', as there was a total solar eclipse visible over the United States on June 30, 1954 when the incident occurred as well as on March 7, 1970. No matter what their reasons, I was heartened to see the people taken in by the mystery increasing.
At the present point in my investigation, I am thinking that there is a possibility that Police Inspector Hank was too hasty in his arrest of Richard. There was a point in his career after the case was solved where he was accused of doing anything, fair or not, to resolve cases. Moreover, there were rumors of his giving a provision of information to the mass media in exchange for money, which causes me doubts about him, considering that his illustrious history as "Mr. JUSTICE" could be nothing more than fabrication. Desperate for personal accomplishment in the face of his quarrels with the FBI, it cannot be said that there is zero possibility that he would have forced a confession, fabricated evidence, and through his cooperation with the media, impressed the idea of Richard's cruel nature upon the public. It is certainly not unthinkable that the evidence used against Richard, mainly the bloodstained newspapers bearing Brenda's blood, was actually made by Hank from Vivian's personal effects. (It also
appears that there were questions raised about Richard's arrest and the subsequent search, causing an inquiry into Hank's methods by Special Investigator Mike. However, the power that Hank held after the resolution of the incident was immense, and the department backed him, not wanting the incident to be dragged on any farther. As a result, Mike was relieved of his post, and returned to work at the FBI. It is said that at the time of his departure, giving a sidelong glance to Hank, Mike murmured, "Why did God give humans the power to judge others?") Though there are a few black marks on his record, not limited to his treatment of Richard's case, it is not pitch black.
I would suppose that he is innocent, just on the principle that uncertainty does not constitute the ability to level punishment on someone.
The big question, when it comes to "Mr. JUSTICE", is this: Can any man judge any other, with whatever justice he sees fit?
However, I regret to say that even the truths I myself have uncovered would not be enough to prove Richard's innocence.
Being innocent and being falsely accused are two entirely different things, after all.
Why did Vivian have to be murdered? What hidden meanings did the perpetrator leave behind at the crime scene? Was the message on the wall the last desperate prayer of an intellectual, fighting against the murderous monster that was overtaking him? Was Richard the murderer, or was he falsely accused? Was that blond haired man the real criminal? Or, was he just an outsider? Or, was it the work of that black sun?
I am still searching for answers, until the day that all of my doubts brought on by the countless theories about the case can be put to rest. It's not a case that can be closed with something like a simple Q.E.D.
Now, 60 years after the incident began, the real truth behind the Black Maria Incident is still lurking in the dark.
Private Detective Quincy E. Danes
August, 2009
About Quincy E. Danes:
Born in Montana, USA, on July 9, 1945.
64 years old (as of August 2009).
Originally employed with the FBI's Department of Behavioral Science as a profiler, he contributed to the solving of many heinous crimes. After his retirement from the FBI in 1996, Quincy opened his own private investigation office where he works as a detective in addition to being widely involved as a consultant to several law enforcement agencies as a specialist in criminal psychology.
He began his research regarding the Black Maria Incident as a result of his deep interest in the mentality of the culprit. Though he himself was only 8 years old when the incident occurred, he began to think of the incident as a case of "why did the murderer feel the victim had to die?", and, wondering what kind of mind someone would have to have to commit such a criminal act, spread his wings as a great detective even as a young child.
He himself entered the labyrinth of the "Black Maria" with his first interview with Richard in 1972, and made it his life's work to uncover the truth behind the Black Maria Incident.
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