Death of an Altar Boy by E. J. Fleming

Author:E. J. Fleming
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McFarland
Published: 2018-04-15T16:00:00+00:00

11

Killer

One of the early investigators said they tried to “pin the murder on Lavigne, but we just couldn’t do it.” Trying so hard to “pin” it on Lavigne meant no one else was investigated in any real depth. Within days of the murder, Carl was told, “We know who it is,” and assured, “We’ll nail him.”1 But the Lavigne fixation meant alternative suspects were only lightly considered. Tunnel vision, beyond lost or mishandled evidence and lack of investigative curiosity, doomed every investigation. Investigators were so enthusiastic about Lavigne, they tightly grasped anything that seemed to even remotely link him to the murder. Facts were stretched and manipulated to fit preconceived assumptions and narrative. In doing so, any number of potential suspects were unidentified or ignored outright. More critical, no alternative scenarios were seriously explored. It is perhaps unsurprising Ryan did not, but it is completely mystifying Bennett seemingly never considered that Lavigne did not kill Danny, at least not by himself. This, even after it was confirmed Lavigne’s blood was not at the scene. It was someone’s, after all.

Without question, the most troublesome investigative obsession was that the wounds clustered on the right side of Danny’s head had to mean the killer was left-handed. It dovetailed nicely with the notion Lavigne was the killer because he was a southpaw, but the murder simply did not play out that way. The supposition is easily refuted. It verges on impossible that Danny was subdued by one person, attacking from the front. Remember, Danny was a big boy, “strong as an ox,” a not-so-gentle giant? He was not inherently aggressive, but a hair-trigger temper made him mercury-quick to fight over the slightest affronts. Carl and Bunny were called to school at least once a month because he was fighting. Most of those battles were against not one, but two or even three boys. He was never known to have lost a single schoolyard bout, unsurprising since he was a ferocious fighter, talented wrestler and hard-hitting boxer. Even the older, rough and tumble Circle—who engaged in vicious, often bloody, street fights—were afraid of him and would never “get him going [or] get Danny mad.”2

It is improbable Danny was face to face with a single attacker, overpowered and rendered immediately defenseless by a first punch—at least, one he saw coming. He retaliated violently over minor insults and surely would have responded wildly to any frontal assault. He was evidently able to counter that night. Signs of a struggle at the site of the initial confrontation evidenced a scuffle, brief as it may have been. Even after receiving one or more grievous blows, he still fought for his life. His heavy jacket was torn near the wrist, and a square of fabric surrounding a pocket was shredded. Since he was unconscious within minutes, it stands to reason the first blow or blows came from behind. Strikes delivered with a right hand.

It is possible Danny was with one person, but it is more reasonable that there were two.

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