“If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.”
-- Herman Hesse 1877-1962: “Demian” (1919)
Randall Tessier
C.: Did you know Paul Girard from Gwinn H.S. (or Marquette)? He was a good friend of mine. His parents were also my neighbors. His murder, 22 years ago, has never been solved.
Dear C.: I'm 60. I attended Gwinn and lived on the base from 1966 - 69. I say this because he may have occupied a time period apart from my days in Gwinn. Given this thread, I have to ask if he was gay. Further, if he was, do you think his sexual orientation and something to do with his demise? I'm going to see if I can find out some background on this on google.
Best - Randy
20th anniversary of the Paul Girard killing
September 30, 2008 - By KIM HOYUM
MARQUETTE - During the early morning hours of a fall day 20 years ago, Paul Girard was stabbed to death on Presque Isle in Marquette. Today, his brutal murder remains unsolved.
After 20 years, there's not much in the way of physical evidence that could be found. Instead, police hope for one more person to tell what they know about the events of Sept. 30, 1988. The Marquette City Police Department gets tips and leads regularly about Girard's murder, but detectives are still waiting for the one that can break the case open.
"We interviewed dozens of people and have a suspect developed. We still receive calls about it; in fact, we got one last week," said Detective Capt. Gordon Warchock of the Marquette police. "We're still looking for that one piece of evidence to take it to the prosecutor's office. You never know when it could come, in a week or in a year."
What is known is that sometime in the early morning hours of Friday, Sept. 30, 1988, Girard was stabbed dozens of times near Charlie Kawbawgam's grave on Presque Isle, his body left for passersby to find when the sun rose. He was 34.
At 10:14 a.m., police were dispatched to the murder scene, after two people out for a morning walk around the island came upon Girard's body.
Sal Sarvello, retired chief of police, was then captain of detectives with the department and remembers it was a busy morning, with detectives already working on arrests in a drug theft case. A patrol officer and Detective Lt. Hank Steede were the first to arrive at Presque Isle, and Sarvello followed shortly afterward.
Current city police Chief Mike Angeli had been a detective for a year and a half then, and said the investigators are confident Girard was killed in the same place his body was found.
"We immediately started to retrace his tracks for the previous 24 hours," Angeli said.
Details began to emerge; Girard lived in south Marquette and worked at D&D Rental, close to home. He was originally from Gwinn.
He had been seen at a few local bars and restaurants the evening before, so detectives began to examine the hours just prior to the killing.
Police were looking for someone who knew Girard; the manner of his death was not typical of a murder committed by a stranger.
"The number of stab wounds were obviously overkill. Some were post-mortem, which indicates anger," Angeli explained.
Sarvello said the department requested suspect profiles from the FBI and regional profiling centers, which bore out investigators' conclusions about the killer.
"We don't believe it was a random act of violence," Warchock said. "We believe he knew his assailant and had met his assailant. The length of time of that acquaintance is hard to say, but we don't believe it was a stranger."
Angeli said detectives began to investigate Girard's personal life, and - then and now - believe the motive for the killing was at least in part animosity toward gays.
"I don't think it was any secret that he was gay," Angeli said. "We feel there was some type of relationship to his lifestyle, so in today's world, it's fair to say it could be classified as a hate crime."
It wasn't until the next April that the investigation began to focus on one main suspect, Sarvello said. A Michigan State Police detective heard about the suspect while working on an unrelated case, and tipped the city police.
Although the person suspected of the murder was interviewed at length, no evidence came of it.
"We've chased down lots of leads and other suspects have been suggested to us, with none of them panning out with any credibility," Angeli said.
The main suspect was never arrested or charged, with not enough evidence to support either. Warchock said the man has since moved out of the area.
Sarvello said one of the evidence problems inherent in the case was the location of the murder.
"It occurred in a city park, in the middle of the night, so there's less witnesses, less physical evidence," he said.
Angeli added the six-month gap between the murder and pinpointing the suspect also was plenty of time for physical evidence to disappear or become useless to investigators.
Sarvello noted Girard's case is one of only two unsolved murders in Marquette. The other case is that of Erin Taylor, a 24-year-old Marquette woman who was killed in August 2000.
"I would have given anything to have those two unsolved murders closed before I left, just for the sake of the families involved," he said.
Police aren't calling the case impossible, though.
Angeli and Sarvello said they believe others had direct knowledge of the Girard murder that night.
"We believe one person actually did the killing, but that he may have had contact with other people in the aftermath," Angeli said.
Sarvello said the case is still viable for that reason. "There's still a viable suspect and to this day, I believe it is that person and it just never came around to him," he said. "I believe there are at least one or two people in this area that still have knowledge of this murder. It hasn't been put away and forgotten. It's still here, right in front of us."
Angeli agreed the case is far from forgotten.
"Even though it's 20 years old, we think about it regularly," he said. "Maybe someone will want to tell us something now that they didn't want to tell us then."
Information about the murder can be directed to the Marquette City Police Department at 228-0400.
PAUL GIRARD
C.: He would have been in his late 50's, had reddish-blond hair, big guy, very nice-looking, friendly... too friendly. Grew up between Carlshend and Little Lake, on a farm at the corner of 545 S. and 456. Yes he was gay.
Angeli said, "I don't think it was any secret that he was gay." But, his parents didn't know until the day after his murder, when it was splashed in huge type all across the front page of the Mining Journal that "Marquette's Gay Community"... was alarmed by his slaying. Oddly, the reporter hadn't even bothered to interview anyone other than police. His dad died just weeks after Paul was killed, and his mother quietly sold the farm and moved away. We, in the neighborhood, thought he just couldn't take the shock of having his only son hacked to death, and the added shame of how the paper treated the murder, like some lurid tabloid, just trying to make a few extra bucks off the victim's sexual orientation.
Dear C.:
Paul was brutally murdered by Billy Fontaine and a guy, first name, Jamie. They were both prison guards at the time. Fontaine was an out of control follower when he was drunk, and the guy, Jamie, was, according to my source, a creepy sicko you didn't want to have anything to do with. A car, I think Fontaine's, was impounded and searched for evidence, but apparently there was not enough. His ex-girlfriend told other people he came home bloody that night. I don't know if the cops knew this. Shortly after this, both Fontaine and this guy, Jamie, were transferred to the Kincheloe prison facility.
Best - Randy
Hey. I heard something like this myself soon after the murder. I was working at NMU with a woman whose husband worked at the prison and heard from her that someone they knew was a suspect fairly early on. She too said he had a nasty temper and a drinking problem. A black blazer had been seen that night on Presque Isle by 2 girls, and he drove one. A few weeks after the murder she said he had taken a stress leave. We all expected an arrest to follow soon, but it never happened. Several years later, I did talk about it with Paul's brother-in-law, who was a Marquette County Sheriff deputy. He said the murderer was well known to and being watched by law enforcement, but there simply was not enough evidence to convict him.
I wonder if DNA tests have ever been done on the evidence. I would imagine so, but this does have me curious.
C.
Another thing that might have been relevant to the successful prosecution of his murder was Paul's reputation in Marquette. He had a propensity to get drunk and hit on straight men. There had been times this behavior resulted in a fight, and I heard from more than one person that they were pretty fed up with him filing assault complaints at the police station, when, often, it appeared he had been the person who started the altercation with some inappropriate touching. Paul was a big guy, and I imagine he could have held his own in a fight, but probably not against 2 prison guards with knives. I was pretty surprised to find out after his death that he was seen by many as kind of a troublemaker.
I didn't ever see him in public. My kids and I would visit him at his trailer, and hang out on weekends watching videos. He had a huge collection of Disney movies, and he loved having people to cook for. I guess we were kind of like his honorary family.
Dear C.: Ah yes! The old “he/she was asking for it” canard/saw.
Dear C:
ME: Dear Walker:
You know how lefties like me hate hate crimes.
I figure you know more than anyone else I could ask.
Here's a couple of names: Billy Fontaine and a guy named Jamie...something.
Best - Randy
Walker:
Off the record: You got Fontaine (prime suspect) right, I do not know about Jamie, but that name may have been developed after 2003. The last info I have, again pre 2003, he confessed to doing it but those people will not testify.
re: The case. So a confession is only credible when accompanied by testimony apart from the accused's? I heard he came home quite bloody (the girlfriend) and that his vehicle was impounded and inspected.
Yes, you need the person who heard the confession/admission to testify. If I remember right, the Dick's got that info long after the crime so things had a chance to get cleaned up.
Dear Walker: Yes, off the record. I heard the guy was a big dude, and could be a bit of a nuisance when drunk. This is according to a woman in Skandia that knew him (he went to Gwinn HS). The question is, could one guy have subdued and killed him alone.
Yes, he was at the time and still may be a prison guard.
S: February 9, 2011 at 2:18pm
Re: Randy Bothering You, Fishkiller.
No, I was on the fringe of the investigation, as being uniform. Again if my memory is correct, they both had been drinking and were last seen at Big Boy after the bars had closed, and left in their own vehicles. I feel no new evidence will show up, baring his missing wallet and ID, the department put alot of pressure on him but he did not crack, maybe a death bed confession sometime in the future?????
Two last questions, Walker. Was Mike Angelli the lead investigator? Is he an approachable guy to talk to on this?
Best - Randy
No, Sal Sarvello was lead. I would say Gordon Warchock, who is now the Det. Capt., would have the most up to date info that can be released.....
| A: |
Hi Randy, A. here. Billy was my neighbor growing up. I hung out with his sisters. Billy was a little younger and hung out with my sister Mary. Billy was fine in the neighborhood but when playing hockey he was crazy. If he got in a fight, he didn't know how to stop. He would just continue beating the guy until someone pulled him off. Similar to the way Girard died.
I'm curious as to your statement "why there was never a prosecution". I also hung out with many of the cops at this time and they all wanted to get Billy - badly. We would all talk about this for hours. I can't remember a guy named Jamie. The only Jamie I know around Billy’s age was played hockey with him but I don't think he ever hung out with him. Billy hung out with a tough crowd. The person you really want to talk to is one of the Tulip boys, I think his name was Tom. He talked one night to B. and I saying Jim confessed to him.
It was such an interesting case. Still is. I always thought it should be on one of those Cold Case file shows on TV. I remember not long after it happened his sister, who I worked with, decided to leave town. She was a real sweet girl and very emotional and one day just got up and moved to Green Bay. I always figured it was because she thought her brother would get caught and she didn't want to be in town when it happened.
Girard was a piece of work. Yes, he was gay, but also a predator. He was a predator of young boys - many young boys. He was a pretty scummy piece of work. There were many fathers, uncles, grand-fathers in town who would have liked to get their hands on Girard. I'm not so sure that he was murdered because he was gay, but because he was such a predator. Whatever the case, he did not deserve to die the way he did.
They almost got Billy when his wife was going to testify against him. She backed down. Then they moved I think to the prison near the Soo where they both worked.
Let me know what else you dig up.
A.
RANDY: Thank you. Regarding your "Cold Case" mention, this seems like a tragic, but sadly fascinating story. I mean it's really about a hate crime (I don't think they used the term then). D. also grew up by the Fontaines (the dad was Lucky?) and said they were a nice family. I'm jumping around here a bit, but a woman named C. got me thinking about this (she new Girard and his family in Skandia/Gwinn). I said "why there was never a prosecution" because there never was one, right? I also heard that Girard could be a nuisance, which may be true, but it's also true that a general homophobic sentiment, much as in the case when a women gets raped, can easily evolve into a "blame the victim" mentality - not that that's what happened. Maybe Fontaine thought he was avenging Girard's victims, who knows. I'm slowly gathering stuff on this, and I'll let you in on everything I have soon.
A.: I am not homophobic but I would definitely call Girard more than a nuisance and I'm not trying to say blame the victim. Girard was a scumbag. If (I say this loosely) Billy did this, so was he. If Billy did this because he was avenging Girard's victims, I would still consider it a hate crime, however, I still consider Girard a scumbag. He should have been put in prison long before his death.
The Fontaine’s were a nice family and yes, the dad was called Lucky. I think they had seven kids.
No there never was a prosecution. From what I remember hearing they could not get enough evidence or anyone to come forward. I remember being questioned by the cops a lot about this. Not in a professional setting but personal. They wanted to hang Billy. They were really working on getting his wife to come forward. I think maybe that is why Billy got them out of town.
Dear A.:
I'm not defending Girard. "More than a nuisance," yes, I also heard there were many complaints. Yeah, it's a hate crime. If I decide to keep at this, I'd like to find out more about the criminality of Girard's history (in reference to your saying Girard belonged in prison). The Tulip family, Tom? I wonder if Jimmy Tulip was a relative?? I'm glad you're interested. Something to do when it's freezing cold outside. Treatment's been surprisingly tolerable.
Best - Randall
Hi Randal, B. here......Yes, Jimmy Tulip is Tom Tulip’s brother. A. and I gave Tom a ride home from the bar right after the murder. He was very drunk and seemed in need to "spill his guts" to someone. Tommy said that he was with Fontaine the night of the murder. He said they were in Big Bay at someone’s camp drinking many beers. Tommy said that Girards name came up and lafave went into a rage about how someone needed to do him in. tommy kept saying "I know he did it". I belive that Fontaine was very capable of doing this crime. I saw the crime scene photos, and they were truly gruesome. The perp who did this crime was not your average guy. As Girard was crawling on his belly,he was stabbed so viciously that the knife went through him and dug up dirt as he crawled away. Billy was known for his uncontrollable temper. Those of us who worked with Billy at the prison knew was capable of this. He was quite normal at work.
Randall:
On the Girard thing, your story here is pretty chilling. Your description of what the crime scene photos suggest sounds horrifying. You suspect he did it alone? I would think this is the only way the case could stay unsolved (an accomplice would have cracked). Any idea what happened to Fontaine?
Walker has been helpful on this. I don't know where I'm going with this, but I am starting to get a critical mass of material. All who remember it seem eager to talk about it, why do you think that is?
Best - Randall
B.: Hey RANDALL: I believe people are interested because of how gruesome and unbelievable this was. When Fontaine worked for me at the prison he was efficient and quiet. I knew his reputation when he was younger and had no problem believing he could be the perp. His alibi for that night was that he was with his wife. She almost flipped on him, but he talked her out of it. They both left the area to work downstate. I know the Marq. detectives continued to work on her but she clammed up and that was that.The rest of us at the prison were hoping he would be found out,he was spooky.
Dear Chuck:
Did you know him? anything about his murder? or have any recollections of the time or memories of the conversations surrounding his murder?
Best - Randy
I met him a couple of times in the bars I guess but never liked him much. Apparently he had a habit of trolling for drunk college guys when the bars closed and just took the wrong one into the woods one night... not that it excuses anything, but I don't think anybody was overly surprised.
C.’ who I didn't know prior to FB, mentioned his name, fate, and that he was from Skandia. I googled the Mining Journal article, and became curious about how such a vicious hate crime could not only slip under the radar but never be solved, I should say prosecuted. I'm considering writing a book on the case. I've talked to Marquette folks, cops and prison guards (the perp was a prison guard) that I know, and have assembled a whole bunch of material. One thread that runs through most people's recollections of him are like yours (a scumbag, one person wrote). He was always on the make and unscrupulous in his pursuits. Perhaps this is why no one cared much when it happened. Talked to a guy that saw the post-mortem photos, and yea, Chuck, he did take "the wrong one into the woods."
Best - Randy
Sometimes people who are remembered as "...always on the make and unscrupulous in his pursuits" are pretty much just that?
sometimes
I'm thinking.......free associating...."studying people"....at first I sort of dismissed your "guess," but then I got to thinking it makes some sense. Why, because of certain facts of the case. To whit: the guy who did it was creepy, brutal, and obsessed (prison guard I talked to). Then I think, hey, the "sucking his dick" angle would explain the self-loathing required to do this. My question is this: Why do you assume the guy who killed him wanted his dick sucked? Couldn't he have been your garden variety homophobe out to rid the world of one more queer?
fuck man, it could have been his 6th grade girlfriend who held a grudge... I have no idea, and simply can't muster up enough sympathy to care.
Dear Chuck:
It's no big deal. As I said, I'm interested in this case, I like to write, and, like yourself, I like to keep busy. I will say this, the more I'm finding out from various sources, the more it intrigues me.
Best - Randy
Chuck: February 12, 2011 at 4:18am
Re: Paul Girard Case
that's cool, good luck in your queries. But frankly the guy wasn't in any of my social circles and about all I know about him was from serving him an occasional beer.
DISCUSS HYPER SEXUAL Stereotypes surrounding male homo/gay sexuality/ would promiscouos heterosexual female be discussed this way?
Dear Dave:
I'm getting the DVD back to you.
I'm interested in writing a book on the Paul Girard case. What can you & your bros. tell me about him, the family, school experience etc.
Best - Randy
There's a lot. I hung around with a bunch of guys in High School and Paul was a good friend of some of them. I knew him pretty well. If you remember the Carlson's who lived on Bluff St - Kurt, was one of Paul's best friends. I'll have to write it in another format (Word) and e-mail it to you. I think that case is still open in the Police Dept. Interesting. I'll get back to you in this one. Dave
Dear Detective Warchock:
My name is Randy Tessier. I now teach at UM in Ann arbor, but I grew
up in the Marquette/Gwinn area. As for my character, I know Walker, Richard Goad, Paul Kinville, Blake Riebolt etc. and I think
they will vouch for me. I saw a Mining Journal article from 2008 on
the Girard case, and became intrigued about what happened. As I
started asking around, I noticed people were interested in talking
about it. It struck some kind of nerve. I'm thinking about writing a
book on the case. So I've compiled some anecdotal evidence surrounding
what happened. The name BF was the thread that ran through these
stories. You probably have heard everything I have. My question is how
can I find out more about this.
Best - Randy Tessier
Randy, I don't believe I responded to your email and appologize for taking so long. The case is still classified as an open investigation. I would be willing to talk to you about the case I am not sure what I can answer. My phone number is 906-228-0400. Give me a call late in the week.
Detective Captain
Gordon J. Warchock
At this point I call Warchock, and once he knows I’m on the level, he tells me about Professor S. and a class in progress at Northern Michigan University.
Hi Randy,
It sounds like we do need to talk. I have a busy week, at least the first
half. I don't know how much Gordie told you, but as a matter of back ground
on me, I have been a police officer for 28 years, with the last 23 with the
Marquette Police Department. I began teach as an adjunct in 2007 and last
year I was offered and accepted a one year term appointment with NMU to
teach full time in their Criminal Justice Department. The Marquette Police
Department granted me a one year leave of absence to pursue my teaching
career. I love the world of academia and I gain much satisfaction knowing I
am giving back to my profession and hope I am able to give my students
something to take into the profession.
As a member of the Marquette Police Department (currently a Detective
Sergeant) there are certain unsolved case that stick in your mind. For me,
we have two unsolved murders, Paul Girard in 1988 and Erin Taylor in 2000.
Working with the University and MPD was able to develop a "Cold Case Class".
In falls under a Special Topic Class. I handpicked the best student (20)
and divided them up into 2 Cold Case Teams. Our goal is to solve these two
cases. We have access to police reports and evidence, because I am still a
member of the Police Department.
I would be happy to talk with you, again maybe toward the end of the week.
I know all of your character reference. I worked with Walker and Blake. Knew
Rich for many years and Have known Paul since I was about 10 years old. He
was my neighbor in Paw Paw and worked with my dad.
Look forward to talking.
Steve
Steven J. Snowaert
Instructor
Northern Michigan Univeristy
Marquette, Michigan 49855
106 Gries Hall
906-227-2630
ssnowaer@nmu.edu
Hi Randy...again.
I am giving your name to Tara Brin, who is my Teaching Assistant and is on
my "Cold Case" Team and is very familiar with this case. I have ask her to
contact you for me. Feel free to talk to her as if you are talking to me.
I will be contacting you, myself, but lately I have not had the time, and
information you may have may help us.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Thanks.
P.S. I saw Blake and he said you're OK!
Steve
Steven J. Snowaert
Instructor
Northern Michigan Univeristy
Marquette, Michigan 49855
Dear Professor Tessier,
My name is Tara and I am Professor Snowaert's Teaching Assistant. I
understand that you are interested in the Paul Girard Case and heard that
Northern is currently conducting a Cold Case Class involving this case. As
you also know, since the case is open, we are limited on the amount of
information that we can give you. However, if you could please share the
information that you have compiled with us, we can go from there and see
if we can go more in depth based on what you already know.
Thanks!
Sincerely,
Tara Brin
Dear Professor Tessier,
First of all thank you for sharing all of the information that you have
shared with us. To answer your questions: Yes this murder happened before
the Federal Hate Crime Designation; It is hard to say if the FBI would
have gotten involved, however Professor Snowaert and I believe that they
would have helped out with case. As for the lie detector test, Billy Fontaine did not take a lie detector test for the department, but he did
take a private lie detector test in which the results are unknown to us
for obvious reasons.
Some questions for you, if you are able to answer them: 1) Do you know or
can you share with us A and B real names? 2) Do you know the last name of
the Jamie that is referred to?
Thanks and hope to hear from you soon.
Tara
Dear Ms. Brin (Tara):
You’re welcome. A fun read for you, I'm sure.
I think one of your colleagues/classmates, Lindsay, friended me on facebook. Cool, now she can friend Zack Novak, Denard Robinson, and Carl Hagelin.
My point. Journalistic, and more importantly, the obligations of friendship, ...blah, blah, blah...
Here's the deal. Whatever may be on a FB thread is public domain anyway. I'm not removing any posts, so whatever.
The conversations with the prison guard, "scumbag," "Tommy Tulip," and Jamie references won't be there (they're not on FB, but you've got what I got).
I think the Jamie angle may be just an unrelated psycho thing. I'll try to find out more.
Lastly, you know many of the cops I know. THINK, ladies. Might they know a prison guard Randy Tessier knows?
WHERE IS FONTAINE?
Best - Randy
Dear Professor Tessier,
Yes you are correct it was a fun and interesting read. ANd I will
defiantly keep thinking. As to where Billy Fontaine, he is as far away from
Marquette as you can get without leaving the United States. He is in
Honolulu, Hawaii.
Please keep me posted if you dig up anything else as will I.
Thanks again!
Tara
Hi Randy,
Thank you for your help so far. I wanted to let you know that this is more
than an "interesting study" to me. Paul Girard was killed while I was
working as a patrolman with the Marquette Police. In a lot of ways I look
at myself and that night and "I didn't do my job." Yes, as a police officer
you cannot be everywhere, but still it bothers me. I am now a Det. Sgt and
when my leave of absence is up, I will be going back to the department and
it is my intent to official re-open these cases. Information that this
"class" obtains will assist me in solving these cases.
There are people up here that do care, and I am one.
We do appreciate your help. Thank You.
Keep in touch.
Steve
Dear Det. Snowaert( Steve):
I don't know if you looked at the entire message I sent Tara. The point of asking if this was going to be more than an academic exercise was to ask WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO move this forward. Who has to testify? The ex-wife? are those people being periodically questioned. As I said, if you look at the last e-mail, I'm wondering how the guy can be brought to justice.
Best - Randy
Great Questions Randy.
We need witnesses to come forth. More than one. I don't know what it would
take, but the more the better. Many people have not been talked to in years
and some....never at all. That is a main reason I started this. It is
truly been a "cold case". So, I am taking it all in right now and you have
been a help and I thank you for that. Anything you can provide will be
helpful and I will keep you in the loop as much as I can. If any of the
ones that are talking to you would be willing to talk to me (face to face)
that would be very helpful. That would allow us to evacuate what they are
saying. Someone knows something that would be very valuable to this
case....We just need to find that person.
Steve
Steven J. Snowaert
Instructor
Northern Michigan Univeristy
Marquette, Michigan 49855
