Wicked takes the witness stand : a tale of murder and twisted deceit in Northern Michigan
Publication Information
Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, [2015]
Physical Description
xiv, 424 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm
Summary
"On a bitterly cold afternoon in December 1986, a Michigan State trooper found the frozen body of Jerry Tobias in the bed of his pickup truck. The 31-year-old oil field worker and small-time drug dealer was curled up on his side on the truck's bare metal, pressed against the tailgate, clad only in jeans, a checkered shirt, and cowboy boots. Inside the cab of the truck was a fresh package of expensive steaks from a local butcher shop--the first lead in a case that would be quickly lost in a thicket of bungled forensics, shady prosecution, and a psychopathic star witness out for revenge. Award-winning author Mardi Link's third book of Michigan true crime, Wicked Takes the Witness Stand, unravels this mysterious and still unsolved case that sucked state police and local officials into a morass of perjury and cover-up and ultimately led to the separate conviction and imprisonment of five innocent men. This unbelievable story will leave the reader shocked and aching for justice."--
Contents
- Map of key locations
- Part 1: Crime:
- Found frozen
- Wild game
- Pretty good beating
- Task force
- Suspect
- Witness?
- In their panic
- Makes no sense at all
- People v Laurie Moore
- Thirsty man
- Pathologist and the pumpkin
- Case for the prosecution
- Case for the defense
- Missing blood test
- Closing arguments
- Jury deliberations
- Verdict
- I believed him
- That was Debbie
- Death threat letter
- Eyewitness account
- Terry Moore, meet Debbie Parmentier
- Others
- Attorney Ray MacNeil
- Sketchy, vague, and iffy
- Irony piled on irony
- Trials:
- Positive
- Welcome to Kinross
- Don Heistand
- That handwriting looks familiar
- You just can't imagine that girl
- Debbie's courtroom debut
- Doug Brinkman
- Driving with Debbie
- Sand Hill Manor
- People vs Terry Moore
- Competency question
- Debbie's past
- Terry's defense
- Here I am
- Expert maneuvering
- Closing arguments
- Jury deliberations
- Debbie has a plan
- Jury deliberations continue
- Another verdict
- Esther Moore
- People vs Douglas Brinkman
- Roger Becker's mistake
- Missing documents
- Moving Debbie again
- Debbie gets a gun
- People v Mark Canter
- Prosecution, the third time around
- Dr Newhouse stumbles
- Earful
- Mark Canter
- Sherry Lynn Payton
- Sherry turns herself in
- Whipped dog
- Another go at Payton
- It's all a lie
- MacNeil and Payton
- Terry Moore's prison sentence
- Mark Canter's defense
- Closing arguments-again
- Heistand and Brinkman sentenced
- Part 3: Unraveling:
- MacNeil gets a phone call
- Stuart Hubbell gets a phone call
- Meet Stu Hubbell
- Ballistics match
- Sherry Payton returns
- Attorney General's investigation
- Idea
- Investigation expanded
- Back to Hayes
- Mark Canter appeals
- Hayes elected
- Laurie Moore appeals
- Hubbell's resolve
- Hubbell marches forward
- Hayes is cleared; Otsego County pays
- Why hasn't Debbie been charged?
- Porter's power
- Mark Canter appeals
- Real defense team
- Canter's retrial hearing begins
- Debbie returns
- Banker's box
- Equal justice for lawyers
- Waiting
- Terry Moore's retrial hearing
- Davis out, and Porter in
- Debbie in the hot seat
- Combined retrial hearings
- Cut and paste
- Debbie goes to jail
- Throwing mud at the Michigan state Police
- Banker's box-again
- Gentleman's agreement
- Fate of Debbie's men
- MacNeil gets a phone call-again
- Waiting-again
- Back to court
- Epilogue
- Postscript
- Cast of characters
- Sources and resources
- Photos follow pages 128 and 360.