Dead And Buried (14 page)
Authors: Corey Mitchell
THIRTY-ONE
Officer Tooley ran a quick check of the name Rex Krebs through the Department of Motor Vehicles. He matched a Rex Allan Krebs as the registered owner of a 1967 Volkswagen.The driver’s license information listed Krebs’s address as 817 Mentone Avenue in Oceano, California. He jumped into his squad car and drove over to the Mentone address.Unfortunately, 817 Mentone Avenue did not exist. Officer Tooley then drove to his boss’s home in Arroyo Grande, north of the 101 Freeway. When he pulled up, he spotted an off-white Volkswagen Bug parked in the street in front of the house. Officer Tooley stepped out of his vehicle and slowly walked to the front door. He knocked for several minutes. No one answered.
Later that night, on June 17, 1987, Officer Tooley, joined by Detective John Ferdolage, drove back to Mentone Avenue in Grover City. When they arrived, they spotted Krebs’s Volkswagenparked in front of a house on Mentone Avenue. The 817 address number had been incorrect.
The two officers parked their cruiser across the way from the quaint house. They stepped out of their vehicle and edged up the concrete sidewalk to the front door.
The time was 8:54
P.M.
P.M.
Officer Tooley knocked on the front door. John Hollister, Rex’s stepfather, answered it. Connie Hollister, Rex’s mother, stood behind Hollister. Rex Krebs followed behind, wearing a faded blue denim jacket and a blue-and-white snap-bill baseball cap with a
HELLWIG LOAD PRO
logo on the front. He also had a fresh cut on his right nostril.
HELLWIG LOAD PRO
logo on the front. He also had a fresh cut on his right nostril.
Officer Tooley cut straight to the chase. He informed Krebs that he suspected him to be involved in a burglary from two nights before in the neighborhood.
“I need for you to come in and submit some fingerprints,” Officer Tooley informed the suspect. “We’d also like to take your picture.”
“OK,” Krebs replied with a seeming lack of concern.
Connie piped up, “He’s just been released from parole.”
Officers Tooley and Ferdolage looked up at Krebs. The young man nodded his head and informed them that he did two years for grand-theft auto in Idaho. He claimed that he stole a car for a joyride and drove it eight blocks before the cops pulled him over and arrested him.
“Do you have any other arrests?” Officer Tooley wanted to know.
“None to speak of,” Krebs responded.
Officer Tooley told Rex Krebs to drive his car to the ArroyoGrande Police Department. The officers followed close behind. When they arrived at the police station, Officer Tooleywasted no time in reading Krebs his Miranda rights. Upon completion, Officer Tooley asked if he understood these rights.
“Uh-huh,” Krebs grunted. “I understand my rights, but I haven’t heard your questions yet.” Krebs paused for a momentbefore continuing. “I’ll answer your questions, but I will let you know if I feel endangered.”
Officer Tooley led off with the scratch on Krebs’s face. Krebs told the officer that he went to the Red Fox Bar in Grover City on the night of June 14, 1987, by himself. He drank two Miller beers in a bottle and two martinis. He stayed at the Red Fox Bar from about 9:00
P.M.
until 1:30
A.M.
When he finished for the night, Krebs grabbed his jacket and keys and headed out to the parking lot toward his Volkswagen Bug. As he approached his car, he spotted a man leaning against it.
P.M.
until 1:30
A.M.
When he finished for the night, Krebs grabbed his jacket and keys and headed out to the parking lot toward his Volkswagen Bug. As he approached his car, he spotted a man leaning against it.
“It looked like he was waiting for me.”
Krebs claimed that he did not recognize the man. He asked him if there was anything he could do for him. The man responded,“No,” so Krebs asked him to get off his car. The man responded by throwing a fist, according to Krebs, that landed square on the left side of his jaw. The two men then wrestled to the ground and the unknown assailant must have scratched Krebs’s face.
He did not say how the fight resolved itself.
Krebs took off in his car, but did not report the assault to the police.
“Were you in Arroyo Grande on June fourteenth?” asked Officer Tooley.
“Yeah, I stopped by Sharon Shelly’s apartment over on Ash and Elm around eight-thirty
P.M.
” Ash Street and South Elm Street are located two blocks away from Anishka Constantine’sresidence. “When I did not see her car,” Krebs continued, “I kept going.” He then mentioned that Sharon Shelly sang at Trader Nicks, the restaurant where Anishka worked.
P.M.
” Ash Street and South Elm Street are located two blocks away from Anishka Constantine’sresidence. “When I did not see her car,” Krebs continued, “I kept going.” He then mentioned that Sharon Shelly sang at Trader Nicks, the restaurant where Anishka worked.
“Do you ever go over to Trader Nicks?”
“Off and on. But I don’t eat there.”
“Rex, do you remember working on a garage door in the eleven hundred block of Fair Oaks Avenue about one-and-a-halfmonths ago? Just down from Elm Street Park in a cul-de-sac? A little blue-and-white remodel job?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Does this help you remember?” Officer Tooley asked as he showed Rex his Grover City Door and Supply business card.
“Oh yeah, yeah, now I remember. I worked over on Buzzy Bower’s house.”
“Do you remember speaking to the lady next door to Buzzy’s? Did you ask her if she needed some help with her garage door?”
“Yeah, I remember this woman came outside and asked me if I could help her out. I think her door was stuck or somethinglike that. I don’t remember everything that we said, but I did fix her garage door so it wouldn’t rub on the sides or catch on the bottom.”
“Did you go back to that house on June fifteenth?”
“No, no, not at all. I never did go back there.”
Just then, a phone rang. Officer Tooley picked it up and heard Detective Ferdolage on the other end. The detective informedOfficer Tooley that both Anishka and Adina Constantine positively identified Rex Krebs as the intruder and potential rapist from a photo lineup. Officer Tooley excusedhimself for a moment. He returned with the brown corduroy hat that the suspect left at the scene.
“Rex, have you ever seen this hat before?” Officer Tooley inquired.
“Yeah, that’s mine,” he replied incredulously. “Where’d you get that?”
“Where did you lose it?”
“It was in my car.”
“Do you know what size it is?”
“Nah, I just picked it up at Kmart and put it on.”
Suddenly Krebs snapped to and realized what he had done. He became visibly nervous and fidgeted in his chair. His answerswere shorter and less forthcoming.
“When did you last see the hat?”
“Can’t recall. Had it on the night of the Red Fox.”
Officer Tooley then reached into a paper bag and pulled something else out. It was the Buck hunting knife.
“Is this yours too?” Officer Tooley asked.
“Uh-huh,” Krebs dejectedly answered.
“Remember where you lost it?”
“Uh-huh. It was under my front seat of my car.”
Officer Tooley had nailed him. Krebs’s face turned redder than a Texas fire ant’s behind. He acted nervous and upset.
“I get the feeling I should quit answering your questions,” Krebs despondently replied.
“Fine, if that’s what you want to do,” replied Officer Tooley.“You can invoke your rights and I’ll stop asking you questions. If that’s what you want.”
“I don’t know. I feel endangered.”
“Do you want to quit answering my questions?”
“No. I don’t know.” Krebs fumbled his words.
“Rex, you have been positively identified in a photo lineup by the victim and her daughter.” Officer Tooley also mentionedthe fact that he had the cut on his nostril, that he wore a blue denim jacket, and that he himself had identified his own hat and knife—which were recovered from the crime scene—all of which proved to be enough evidence to place him under arrest for the burglary and attempted rape of Anishka Constantine.
“Rex, I think you are lying. I believe you were there on Fair Oaks Avenue that night.”
“I’ve told you the truth,” he insisted.
Rex Krebs did not persuade Officer Tooley. The detective arrested Krebs and booked him into the Arroyo Grande PoliceDepartment Jail. He asked Krebs for consent to search his vehicle and his home. Krebs agreed and handed his car keys to Officer Tooley.
At 11:30
P.M.
, on June 17, 1987, Officer Tooley walked outside the police station. Krebs’s Volkswagen Bug remained out front. The officer located a small slotted screwdriver with a yellow handle on top of the passenger seat. He also discovereda pair of wire cutters with green rubber handles and a pair of needle-nosed pliers with red rubber handles on the passenger seat. He grabbed and bagged them and booked them into evidence.
P.M.
, on June 17, 1987, Officer Tooley walked outside the police station. Krebs’s Volkswagen Bug remained out front. The officer located a small slotted screwdriver with a yellow handle on top of the passenger seat. He also discovereda pair of wire cutters with green rubber handles and a pair of needle-nosed pliers with red rubber handles on the passenger seat. He grabbed and bagged them and booked them into evidence.
The following morning at 11:00
A.M.
, Tooley received a phone call from Krebs’s stepfather, John Hollister. He informedthe officer that he and Connie were home and the officer could stop by and search the house.
A.M.
, Tooley received a phone call from Krebs’s stepfather, John Hollister. He informedthe officer that he and Connie were home and the officer could stop by and search the house.
Tooley arrived within five minutes. The Hollisters greeted him at the front door. The officer asked Hollister if he could search Krebs’s room. Hollister explained that his stepson lived rent free in the attached portion of the garage behind the house. Tooley informed him that Krebs had given written consent to conduct a search. Hollister had no problem allowing the officer to conduct the search.
He did not believe Rex Krebs could commit such a deviouscrime.
Officer Tooley mentioned to Hollister that a hat and knife had been found at the Constantine residence. Hollister explainedthat Krebs owned two brown corduroy baseball caps. He also informed the officer that Rex possessed an 8” fixed-bladeBuck hunting knife with a black handle and a black leather sheath. He also mentioned that Krebs used to carry around a black Mini Maglite flashlight on his key ring.
Officer Tooley walked toward the back of the house with the Hollisters. He began the search of Krebs’s room in their presence. He gathered up two pairs of boots in case there were footprints at the scene, a
MARSHALL SUPPLY
baseball cap, and a bundle of white cotton rope. Tooley mentioned the hat in his report and seemed to recall a similar cap worn by the suspect in the Shelly Crosby rape from three weeks earlier. He also remembered that the attacker had used a slightly differenttype of rope, almost like clothesline rope about ¼” in diameter. Tooley turned to John Hollister and asked if Rex Krebs had access to such a rope.
MARSHALL SUPPLY
baseball cap, and a bundle of white cotton rope. Tooley mentioned the hat in his report and seemed to recall a similar cap worn by the suspect in the Shelly Crosby rape from three weeks earlier. He also remembered that the attacker had used a slightly differenttype of rope, almost like clothesline rope about ¼” in diameter. Tooley turned to John Hollister and asked if Rex Krebs had access to such a rope.
“I keep around thirty feet of that kind of rope out back.”
“Do you mind if we go take a look?”
“Not at all,” Hollister replied.
The three walked to the backyard. The rope, however, could not be located. Dumbfounded, Hollister began to search for it. After a few minutes he found the rope in the garage by a windowon the east wall. It lay on top of a toolbox. Someone had re-coiled and secured it. Hollister did not recall doing either.
Tooley bagged a few more items, booked them into evidence,and headed back to the Arroyo Grande Police Department.
While Officer Tooley searched Krebs’s garage, Detective John Ferdolage paid a visit to Nipomo, California, just eleven miles south of Grover Beach. He met with Anishka Constantineat her boyfriend’s home. He carried with him a new photo lineup, which included a photograph of Rex Krebs. She scanned the six new photos for several minutes. Finally she pointed at the photo of Rex Krebs. She felt almost sure he attackedher; however, she feared she might send an innocent man to jail.
Detective Ferdolage then headed over to Adina Constantine’sfather’s, also in Nipomo, to have her look at the lineup. Adina looked at the photos and within ten seconds pointed at number five on the chart: Rex Krebs.
“That looks like him,” she said.
“What about photo number six?” Detective Ferdolage asked the little girl.
“No, his hair is too light.”
She looked at photo number five again and repeated, “That looks like him.”
Adina’s father asked if she was certain. The seven-year-old vigorously nodded her head. “Yes, Daddy, I’m certain that’s him.”
Detective Ferdolage contacted Officer Tooley on the telephoneand let him know the results of the lineups. Both parties made positive identifications of Rex Allan Krebs.
Detective Ferdolage headed over to the San Luis Obispo County Jail. On the way over, he remembered certain details of the Shelly Crosby rape from the month before. Something nagged at his brain about Krebs and the Constantine attack. His thoughts were interrupted by a phone call from Officer Tooley, who informed Detective Ferdolage that he located nylon rope in Krebs’s garage similar to the one used in the attack on Shelly Crosby.
Detective Ferdolage arrived at the jail and headed for the “fish bowl,” a small interview room with windows all the way around, to speak with Krebs. He introduced himself and took a seat directly across from the twenty-one-year-old ex-convict.He informed Krebs that he wanted to talk to him about the burglary and attempted rape of Anishka Constantine,as well as an earlier rape in Oceano.
“Do you recall the rights Detective Tooley read to you yesterday?”
“Yes,” Krebs replied.
Detective Ferdolage proceeded to repeat those rights to Krebs, just to avoid any legal entanglements down the line if the case went to court. When he finished, the detective told Krebs that two people had positively identified him.
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