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Police say community must help solve four slayings

North Greenwood residents meet to discuss the crimes, two this year.

By JONATHAN ABEL
Published April 27, 2007

CLEARWATER - Someone knows more than they're telling about four unsolved murders in North Greenwood. Police say these murders don't need to be whodunits if only the community would cooperate.

At a neighborhood meeting Wednesday, police Chief Sid Klein put the responsibility for solving the murders, including two since Valentine's Day, squarely on residents. He challenged them to come forward with what they know.

"Why is it that nobody has come forward - that people will not talk to the police?" Klein asked.

His opinion: a pervasive cultural aversion to "snitching," which he said is preventing detectives from closing the cases.

The audience of 50 residents, made up largely of clergy and church members, agreed.

Jonathan Wade, an activist and social worker who organized the meeting, said it was time for change. He said he would call police if someone were dealing drugs in front of his house.

"That's not snitching," he said. "That's called being a man."

Discussion at the meeting extended beyond the unsolved murders to include demands for more recreation, more jobs and more hope. But the unsolved murders remained the focus.

Last summer, residents held a similar meeting to discuss the unsolved murders of Melanie Warren, a 15-year-old who was gunned down in 1992, and Clarence Bolden, 37, who was shot in 2002.

Warren's case received five new leads, which were all exhausted. Bolden's netted one tip, but it had already been investigated.

Since then, two more unsolved murders have popped up in North Greenwood - the first of which was the murder of Julian Kaigler, 25. He was shot on Valentine's Day at the Palmetto Park Apartments. He was sitting in front of the apartment complex about 2:30 a.m. when two men came up to him, according to Detective Laura Spelman.

In the past, when Kaigler had been robbed, he never reported it and he never fought back. This time, when one of the men showed a gun, Kaigler started fighting with him. This resistance might have surprised the attacker and caused the shooting, Spelman said.

There were two other possible motives: Kaigler might have been competing with someone for a woman or he may have angered someone by selling a bad drug product.

Because the shooting happened outside in a densely populated complex, Spelman said, someone must have seen something.

The other unsolved murder victim was Corey Brown, 33. Just after noon March 2, a concerned friend came to his house and found him dead. It took police four or five hours to process the crime scene and determine that Brown had been shot.

But hours before the death was even discovered by authorities, a school resource officer overheard children talking about it, suggesting the murder was already known in the community. Police say that's another indication that the community is holding back information that could help solve the crime.

Spelman said that Brown's car was dumped in an out-of-the-way parking lot at Mariner's Pointe apartment complex in St. Petersburg, so the killer is likely familiar with the complex.

One hypothesis put forward by police is that Brown, who was gay, was killed in the fallout from a bad relationship. They said there was no sign of forced entry so Brown likely knew his killer.

After the descriptions of the murders, there was a give-and-take between the Police Department and the neighborhood activists.

Audience members suggested beefing up neighborhood watches, assigning adults to walk the streets with the police, giving jobs to aimless kids or even raising the reward for tips.

Klein, the police chief, reminded the group that he'd been to similar North Greenwood meetings in years past and the enthusiasm had always died out after a few weeks. A follow-up meeting has been arranged for next month.

"I hope we move from just talking the talk to having a clear strategy for how we can help our community be better," said the Rev. William Sherman of Mt. Carmel Baptist Church.

"You may not be able to totally solve everything," the Rev. Walter Campbell of Bayview Baptist Church said. "But you can make a difference."

Jonathan Abel can be reached at jabel@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4157.

Fast Facts:

Unsolved slayings in North Greenwood

If you have any information on the killings, call the Clearwater Police Department at (727) 562-4242 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 873-TIPS.

Victim: Melanie Warren, 15

Shot May 24, 1992, while sitting on a friend's porch, 1012 Jones St.

Victim: Clarence Bolden, 37

Shot Feb. 7, 2002 while playing cards with friends at 1722 Fulton Ave.

Victim: Julian Kaigler, 25

Shot Feb. 14 after a brief struggle outside of his apartment, 1001 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.

Victim: Corey Brown, 36

Shot in his home, 710 Maple St. His body was discovered March 2.

[Last modified April 26, 2007, 23:32:24]