Chapter 26

Three weeks later...

Breaking news: Bizarre double murder, home invasion linked to cold case

Baltimore (AP) - What does the murder of a Marine and his wife, the home invasion of a young couple in Baltimore, and a federal agent have in common? The answer is a twenty-three-year-old unsolved double murder, one that is now allegedly solved with the arrests of New York businessman Lawrence Rivers, 41, and Baltimore handyman David Whesler, 40, by the FBI over the weekend. The whole story is as twisted and frightening as a nightmare and has led to loss of life, loss of security, and loss of happiness for a number of people.

The sordid tale begins with Rivers, Whesler and another young man, Ryan Duvall, all students of the John P. Kennedy Academy in Baltimore in 1987. They were known bullies. One of their many victims, Victor Barney, now a CPA in Connecticut, said that they would threaten him by torturing animals and saying that if he did not do what they wanted, up to and including theft from the school, they would do the same to him. They were caught by a teacher, Levi McGee and subsequently transferred to another school in an effort to cover up the incidents. Unfortunately, that cover-up only served as protection for three young men who were able to get away with murder for more than twenty years.

The FBI alleges that Rivers, Whesler and Duvall were upset about being caught and forced to leave a school where they ruled with an iron fist and they intended to get revenge. "They went to the McGee home at one thirty in the morning, cut the phone lines, and broke inside. Their intention was to play a vicious prank on the teacher they blamed for their changed status," FBI spokesman Lance Robinson told the press. "However, what happened there was a lot worse than a prank." It was much worse. It became murder.

The sequence of events as pieced together by investigators is that Levi and Nora McGee's young son, Timothy, heard the students downstairs and woke up his parents. Levi McGee went down to confront them, but little did he know how disastrous that course of action would prove to be. They overpowered their former teacher and forced him upstairs to the bedroom where his wife was waiting. Finding her there, the boys decided to incorporate her into their plot. The prank had originally been to tie up McGee, force him into Goth clothing, dye his hair, paint his nails and then put makeup on him. They had then planned to take photos of him and spread them around.

Where do these details come from? They come from a dead man. Duvall suffered from depression all through his senior year of high school and committed suicide in 1988, three days before graduation. His suicide note, never revealed by his family had told of the prank but not the victims of it and without referring to the horrible outcome of said prank, only that the act was something he could not get over. What was the reason for such remorse? Such grief?

"We never understood what he meant," said Melissa Duvall-Grayson. "After he was transferred, he just seemed to change. A lot. Nothing could get him out of it. He told me once that he didn't see how he could live his life with what he'd done. I knew he'd been a bully at school, but I never understood why he was suddenly feeling so much remorse."

Perhaps it was the one left behind. The murders seem to have been accidental. As near as can be determined without an eyewitness account, Nora McGee tried to escape from the young men and was shot first, in the face. Her husband then tried to attack them and was shot in the throat. Neither wound was instantly fatal. Both Levi and Nora McGee survived for about a minute after the bullets hit them. Duvall shot Nora McGee and then retreated to the first floor of the McGee home. Rivers shot his former teacher and then he and Whesler joined Duvall.

What none of these men knew was that there was a witness. Young Timothy McGee, ten years old at the time, was in the bathroom, trembling in fear, hiding in a laundry hamper while his parents were brutally murdered. For the next four days, his terror would keep him there until the smell of his parents' decomposing corpses alerted a neighbor. He was discovered by then-detective Uriah Jones, now retired and living in Baltimore.

"I'd never seen such a traumatized kid. Heck, I'd never seen an adult so traumatized. Tim was the epitome of a tortured soul. I'll admit that I was afraid he would be one of those kids who couldn't recover from the damage inflicted by the trauma. Thankfully, he proved me wrong."

But the road wasn't easy for Timothy McGee. He has been in therapy ever since that fateful night, although once he finished college, his therapy was only as a way of touching base. However, his trauma was so intense that he forgot everything that happened, a development that not only stymied the investigation but also led some to suspect that he himself had killed his parents accidentally and was simply try to cover up his crime.

In spite of the doubts of some, including the police, Timothy McGee, who was adopted by his father's twin brother Dan McGee, managed to grow up, if not normal, at least secure in the love of his new family. He showed himself to be quite smart and graduated from high school a full two years early, attending MIT and Johns Hopkins. What did such a promising young man do with his life? Did he become a doctor? Perhaps a famous scientist? No, Timothy McGee decided to become a federal agent. By accident? No.

"My father had been a teacher. He wanted me to become a well-educated gentleman," Timothy said with a self-conscious smile. "But I couldn't see myself being an academic, not with what had happened to my father. In a way, I knew that I needed to go into law enforcement to figure out what had happened on the night my parents were killed."

Now, we move from the past closer to the present. We have discovered the federal agent, but how did he become connected to the home invasion and the murder? That requires the introduction of one other player, the man who brought together people who, otherwise, would never have known of each other's existence.

That man is Henry "Hank" Peterson. He was a defense attorney in New Jersey until he was disbarred for revealing information about his client, alleged gang leader Marco De Silva. In 2000, he let it be known that De Silva had confessed to his guilt in the murder of a rival gang leader. De Silva was killed and for breaching lawyer-client privilege, Peterson was disbarred. He subsequently hid himself from the public eye, resurfacing in 2005 under the name of Ellis Shands, an author working on a true crime book. Somewhere in the course of his research, he came upon the McGee case.

"For some reason, the case of Levi and Nora McGee became his obsession," says medical examiner Dr. Donald Mallard. "All of the cases he had chosen seem to be with the intention of revealing what he saw as the truth, trying to prove that his actions as an attorney were justifiable no matter the outcome, simply because he had told the truth. We can theorize all we like as to the reasons that Timothy became his target, but we will never know. It is likely that he himself could not have explained why it was this particular case."

Friends of Peterson recall a man who had always been driven to his own particular perception of justice. Usually, that justice squared with the law, but when it didn't... "You couldn't ever stop Hank from doing what he thought was right," said attorney Darlene Ivie. "I guess we were just lucky that what he felt was right was usually what the law said was right. After the De Silva case, I never saw him again. I figured he'd become one of those hermits. I wish I'd been right about that."

Unfortunately, Peterson's obsession led him to a two-year secret investigation into everything he could find about the McGee case. Living in a small basement apartment in the suburbs of Baltimore, he tracked down every clue he could find. He came to the conclusion that Timothy McGee had indeed killed his own parents. That meant that he was living a good life that was based on a lie. Peterson took it on himself to make sure that lie was broken. His determination led him to murder.

Glenn and Irene Campbell knew nothing of Peterson, of the McGees, nor of the sordid role they would play in this story. Again, the reasons for Peterson's choice is unknown, but it is clear that he watched them for days before beginning the plan he had decided would reveal the truth of the McGee murders. He followed Glenn Campbell, a Lance Corporal in the USMC, home one evening and killed both him and his wife with a single gunshot to the heart. Then, he dyed their hair, painted their nails and arranged them in a way that he assumed would lead to a confession of guilt by Timothy McGee when agents were called in to investigate.

He was wrong. Timothy McGee, while upset when the realization came that this was somehow related to his parents' deaths, felt no need to confess to anything. Instead, he and the rest of the investigators focused on trying to understand what the intention of the killer was.

Failure to elicit a confession did not drive Peterson to give up. Instead, he began the second phase of his plan, which is where the last part of this complicated story comes in: the home invasion.

Aaron and Jillian Browning had no idea, when they bought their dream house, that they were buying the home of Levi and Nora McGee. They had no idea that a murder had been committed there. They also had no idea that it had been sold and resold ten times in the twenty-three years since the murders had taken place. All they knew was that they had the house they wanted.

"It was such a reasonable price," Jillian said. "We had an inspector check over every part of the house for any hidden damages. There was nothing. The house was beautiful. It had a lovely backyard and the interior had been renovated fairly recently. We loved it."

However, by living in the old McGee house, they created ready-made targets for Peterson. He came to their house, took Jillian hostage and attacked her husband when he got home from work.

"It happened so fast," Aaron said. "I didn't have time to think."

The next few hours were horrific for the couple. Peterson tied them, blindfolded and gagged them. Then, he left them alone in the house. When he returned, he had another man with him. That man was Timothy McGee. Peterson had attacked him and forced him to the house.

What happened next brought the past and the present into inextricable contact. Peterson demanded that Timothy McGee tell him that he had killed his parents. Timothy tried to convince him that he didn't remember what had happened, but Peterson refused to believe him. He began to shoot at the helpless couple on the floor, threatening to kill them if Timothy didn't confess. In his fear for the lives of the Brownings, Timothy attacked Peterson and managed to overpower him. However, that triumph was short-lived. Injured as he was, Timothy could not hold off Peterson for long. Another struggle ensued and during that struggle, Peterson was shot. The shock of the moment, combined with his injury and the horror of knowing that the lives of others hinged on something he couldn't remember led to a total breakdown.

"It was like I'd gone back in time and was reliving everything that had happened when my parents were killed," Timothy said, holding back tears. "I didn't actually see a lot, but everything I'd heard, the fear I felt, and the moments of watching my parents die...I was overwhelmed by it all and those memories took over. All I could think to do was hide from the danger. I'm ashamed to admit it but I couldn't think of anything but those memories. I left the Brownings tied up on the floor and I hid in the bathroom like my father had told me to do all those years ago."

Shameful? Perhaps, but having spoken with Timothy about what he saw, hearing his account of those four days confined with the bodies of his parents, I would challenge any person to keep themselves from reacting to those memories.

Peterson suffered a gunshot to his abdomen and lingered in a coma for approximately a week before dying of his injuries in Maryland General Hospital. Whatever his ultimate motivations, he has taken them to his grave.

What happens now? For the family of the Campbells, the only comfort is that they know who killed their son and daughter. It is a cold comfort but the best they can hope for in the circumstances. They chose not to be interviewed for this story. For the Brownings, they will not be selling the home in which the McGees were killed.

"It's our home," Aaron said. "The only way for a stigma to be broken is to refuse to pander to it."

Jillian agrees. "I loved this house from the first time I saw it. That hasn't changed. If it takes some time to feel comfortable and safe here again, I'm willing to take that time."

What of Timothy McGee? What of the coming trial of Lawrence Rivers and David Whesler? Two men being brought to justice more than two decades after the crime they allegedly committed took place.

They will be arraigned on Monday for two counts each of conspiracy, breaking and entering, accessory to murder and second degree murder. After so long, what will come of this?

"There will be a trial if they choose to plead not guilty," Robinson said. "That's how the process works. Whether they are found innocent or guilty is now in the hands of the justice system."

Does Timothy McGee agree? He lost his family at a young age, dealt with long-term psychological trauma and became the target of a man bent on delivering "justice" as he saw it. Is he satisfied to let the justice system work?

"Yes," Timothy said. "After all this time, I want to see justice done, but if it is determined that they are innocent, that what I remember is wrong, then I will live with that. I lived with not knowing anything for years. What I've remembered is horrible but I can live with that, too."

Will that be easy?

"No. It won't be easy if they are found guilty either. My life was nearly destroyed by the murder of my parents. Nothing that is done now can ever change that, but my life is not devoid of meaning. I have family. I have friends. I have a job I love. That's more than many people can say. If there are parts of my past that cause me pain, all I can do is try not to let them take over my life."

As the final parts of this twisted tale come to pass, it shows how interconnected this world has become, how interconnected we all are whether we know it or not.

One man has the power to wreak havoc on the lives of many. Another man has the power to save the lives of others. For Timothy McGee, the twists and turns of his life have led him to a final understanding of himself. Regaining his childhood memories has been painful. Would he give them up if he could?

"Two weeks ago, I would have said yes. I would have said that there was nothing good that could come out of knowing what I saw and heard and felt, but now, I feel as though knowing what happened during those four days has made parts of myself clearer. Dealing with it isn't easy, but perhaps it's best to know the worst that life holds. Then, nothing else can be quite as bad."

This story will continue to be updated as the trials of Lawrence Rivers and David Whesler begin. Keep reading for–

Tim closed the newspaper and set it aside, choosing to stare aimlessly at his computer screen instead. It was strange reading about himself in such black and white terms. It was like reading about a stranger. He sounded so sane and so...so normal. He didn't feel normal at all. He didn't feel like he'd managed to sound so intelligent. He remembered a lot more stammering during that interview.

"You're here early, Tim," Abby said as she got off the elevator. "You've beat us all today."

"Couldn't sleep. Another nightmare."

She looked at the paper on his desk. "Have you–? Oh, you've got it already."

Tim smiled. "Yeah, I have it. Just finished reading."

Abby walked over to him, almost tentatively. He was back at work but everyone knew that he was still seeing his therapist every day and everyone knew that he was still having some trouble.

"It was...pretty good...wasn't it?"

"I guess. They put in a lot more detail than I thought they would."

"At least it was accurate."

"Yeah...and it depicted me as a man who triumphed over adversity rather than someone who spent most of his life terrified about things he couldn't remember. Pretty good."

"Tim..."

"I'm alright, Abby," Tim said. "Not perfect, but...all right."

"You sure?"

"Positive. I'm just not as amazing as they say in this article. The DA already told me that I'll have to testify at the trial. So far, Rivers and Whesler aren't admitting to anything. We'll see what happens."

"It's going to be good, Tim. It is."

Tim smiled a little bitterly. "Abby, we can't know that...and what is good? To know that teenagers killed my parents? To know that they didn't? Maybe if I had remembered back then...maybe a lot of people would still be alive. Maybe..."

"Maybe, and maybe other people would be dead instead, Tim. You can't know what might have happened. You can't!"

"Yeah, I know." He sighed. "It's just that...every step I take seems to mean that there's just as many more steps to take. I wanted it to be over before...but it's still not."

"It is...sort of. I mean, now there's only the trial...and once you...you testify, you won't have anything else to do! You can just...just be you!"

"Sounds easy, doesn't it."

"Well, no, but it's true!"

Tim chuckled. "Thanks, Abbs. I'll keep trying."

"You'll make it! I know you will!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Anytime. You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Abby started to walk away, but then she turned back. "Tim?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever...you know...go and see your...parents' graves?"

"Yeah. On Memorial Day, I usually go. They're buried in Baltimore."

"Makes sense. Um...the next time you go...could I come with you?"

Tim's brow furrowed. "Why?"

"Because I want to...to see."

"Abby, you won't know my parents any better by seeing their graves. It's just their names and the dates."

"But they're a part of you! I want to know...and be a part of...of ...that part...of you."

Tim laughed again. "Abby, I can tell you about my parents."

"No, I want to know that, but...can I? Sometime?"

"Yeah. Sure. If you want, I'll...tell you the next time I go."

"Thanks, Tim." Abby pushed the elevator button.

"Abby?"

"Yes?" Abby turned around.

"I was...going to go to Baltimore...on the weekend. If you want to come."

Abby smiled. "I would love to."