Robbie

The truth still lies in the Deadhead community.  If there are still missing pieces of the puzzle, then there are people in the Deadhead community who have them.

Among those gathered at Jim Prew's van on the night of the murders was a young man named Robin Van Heest.  This is a name that's not mentioned in the podcast.  In the court documents I have, his name only appears once, in a footnote:

"At oral argument, Thomas also criticized Chaffee for failing to follow up with potential witnesses Robin van Heest, Chris Campbell, Jim Prew, Paul Harter, and John Chandler, whose names were contained in initial police investigation reports. Thomas has offered neither testimony nor declarations from these witnesses and thus has failed to make any showing concerning what impact the failure to interview them had. We need not consider them further." (In Re Ralph International Thomas on Habeas Corpus, p. 23, note 6)

The Berkeley Marina Murders gives the reader some indications as to why Thomas would have criticized Chaffee for failing to follow up with Van Heest. The book draws on discussions Mary's family had with the police the day after the murders, and it draws on notes the family, or friends of the family, made during the preliminary hearing and the trial. On the day after the murders, Dan Wolke told Mary's brother, Gerry, that, "'Robin Van Heest...had identified the body as Mary.  She had been with him at a party outside a van on Thursday night and left the party with a young man named Greg.  They had all been drinking and smoking pot.' After the police spoke to him, Robin was allowed to leave town as he appeared to be non-violent and not involved in the murder." (Berkeley Marina Murders, p. 27)  

The information Van Heest gave the police raises questions about Jim Prew's testimony as it's recorded in the court documents.  Prew describes the party as a small get together in which there was some drinking, but there's no mention of pot smoking.  Nor is there any mention of Dan and Robbie being among those gathered at his van.  Why is the information missing from the testimony as it's recorded in the later documents?  What's more, this information would corroborate some of the stories International gave to Wolke and Eihl, and it may shed light on why Mary and Greg called Thomas over to ask if he had some pot. 

I'm struck by how Van Heest, who may have been about the same age as Greg, helped the police begin their investigation.  "[Fred Eihl] spoke to Robin Van Heest and learned more about Mary and Greg from him.  He looked for the others who were at the party and eventually interviewed Paul Harter, Chris Campbell, Jim Prew and Cho (who stayed on the 'Dead On' bus)." (Berkeley Marina Murders, p. 137)  Imagine being around eighteen years-old, maybe living far away from home, living rough, and being called upon to identify the badly wounded body of a girl you'd been hanging out with just the night before.  Imagine how shaken and scared you'd be thinking you could have been the one murdered so violently.  Van Heest must've wanted to leave town, pronto. 

Although  he could give the police investigators the first names of the victims, Van Heest may not have been able to give their surnames.  The police found Mary's wallet and driver's license, so this along with Van Heest's identification of the body as Mary's allowed for a positive identification.  Assuming that he was still around on Saturday when the police found Greg's body, he could have identified the body as Greg's, but apparently this would not have been enough to positively identify the victim as Greg Kniffin. Greg's body was not identified by his father until Monday the 19th.  

How did the police come by Greg's surname?  One wonders if they received this information from Dan Adams. He was in Rainbow Village on the 18th, when he was interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle.  Rick DelVecchio reported that, "The Alameda County coroner's office said the second victim's family has not been notified, but an acquaintance at the village, Dan Reynolds, said he knew Greg from Wilton, Conn., where their families attended the same church. Reynolds said Greg was about 19 years old." (San Francisco Chronicle, August 19, 1985)  Perhaps DelVecchio passed this information to the coroner's office?

To me, Van Heest's participation in the investigation stands in stark contrast with Adams's apparent lack of participation during the days that followed.  Like Van Heest, Adams was among those gathered at Jim Prew's van on the night of the murders.  Remember that, on the morning of the 16th Adams overheard Bo say, "Sometimes a man's got to do what must be done." (Thomas v. Wong, p. 12)  Prior to the murders he witnessed "Bo and Gioia arguing near the communal sinks in Rainbow Village. Rec. 11(d) at 163-64. Gioia seemed upset and afraid, and Bo sounded "controlling." Id. at 164-65. The conversation lasted about half an hour. Id. at 166." (Thomas v. Wong, pp. 11-12)  Along with Greg's surname and his family's place of residence,  Adams could have shared all this information with the authorities.