In 1987, two teenage boys, Don Henry and and Kevin Ives were found shot and tied to railroad tracks, then run over by a train in Saline, Arkansas. There was 19grams of weed on Kevin. A week before the tragedy, an officer tried to stop a man in military fatigues who was walking on the road, two miles from where the boys were killed. When the officer turned on his lights, the man ran. On the day that the boys were murdered, a man fitting the same description, was seen about 5 blocks from a railroad crossing close to the scene of the crime. Don Henry mentioned to one of his friends before he was killed that he had been shot at one time while he was on the rail road tracks by a man in a white pickup. Don said that there was guy there who said that if he caught anyone in that area, he would possibly kill them.
Cover-up
Medical examiner, Dr. Fahmy Malak, ruled it as an accident caused by the two getting so high they fell asleep on the tracks. However, paramedic, Shirley Raper, noted that their blood was dark in color, indicating a lack of oxygen, suggesting they had died before being hit by the train. At the investigative hearing, she also stated that while she was trying to drive the ambulance back, she came across a pickup truck occupied by three people.
Dr. Malak had helped then governor, Bill Clinton's mother avoided legal scrutiny in a patients death as she was defending herself in a medical malpractice. Bill Clinton refused to fire him even though he had been criticized for ruling a shooting as a suicide, when the investigators and the coroner ruled it as an accidental death. A grand jury overruled Dr. Malak in the case, so Bill Clinton paid two out of state pathologists $20K, through his discretionary fund, to review his work, giving him high marks and recommending him for a raise. Clinton then sent a proposal to the legislature to raise Dr. Malak's salary by 41.5%.
Later, the boys bodies were exhumed. A second examination showed that Don Henry had been stabbed in the back, and Kevin Ives skull had been crushed, so their deaths were ruled as coincides. A grand jury was gathered to decide on further investigation.
Keith Coney - In 1988, Keith Coney, told his friend and family that he had seen two policemen kill the boys, had his throat slashed, crashing his motorcycle upon trying to flee from his assailant. No autopsy was performed on his body.
Keith McKaskle - That same year, Keith McKaskle, an informant in the boy's deaths, was stabbed 113 times on in 1988 after being asked to take aerial photos of the crime scene. Arkansasgravestones.com: ''Keith McKaskle, who was allegedly at the tracks that night, turned over information he had about the boy's murders to Richard Garrett. Believing he had talked to the wrong people, McKaskle had made his own funeral arrangements, told family and friends goodbye and within days, he was murdered...''. In, 1989 Ronald Shane Smith was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the murder of McKaskle. A prison inmate said he had been approached and offered $4,000 to kill Keith McKaskle himself.
Greg Collins - Greg Collins, who had evidence on the case and was called to the grand jury was, was murdered by a shotgun blast to the face.
Boonie Beardon - Boonie Beardon, who was going to testify at the grand jury, disappeared, with an anonymous caller saying he had been killed.
Jeff Rhodes - Jeff Rhodes, who told his family members that he knew information on the boys' deaths, was found in a dump with a shotgun blast to the head with his remains on fire.
James Milam - In 1989, James Milam, a possible witness, was found decapitated in his home. Dr. Fahmy Malak bizarrely ruled the death as "natural causes" brought on by a stomach ulcer. He claimed Milam's small dog bit off and ate the head. When Milam's head was later found inside a trash bin several blocks away, Malak simply claimed the dog had walked over there and regurgitated it.
Jordan Kettleson - In 1990, Jordan Kettleson, who had information on the boys as well as the death of MaKasky, was found with a shotgun blast to the head.
Mike Samples - In 1995, Mike Samples, who participated in retrieving drugs from airplanes in the area, was found murdered.
At the grand jury hearing in 1988, inmate, Troy Warner testified. He had a previous federal court trial including allegations that drugs involved in his deals had come from the Benton police department. Another witness at the hearing, drug informant, David Zimmerman, had information which confirmed this information.
Prosecutor Jean Duffey lead a task force which interviewed locals, finding that there were rumors of drops citizens had filed reports of low flying planes in the middle of the night, six months before the boys' deaths.
In 1994, the FBI interviewed a witness who had seen Dan Harmon on the tracks with the boys, the night of their death. Dan Harmon was also the attorney for the boys parents
Around this time, Barry Seal was moving weapons to the Contras and bringing coke back to Mena airport in Arkansas. IRS investigator, Bill Duncan and Arkansas State Police investigator Russell Welch reported that Seal had cut a runway, deep in the Arkansas Woods near the airfield; automatic weapons fire was reported in the area; people of Latin American appearance were spotted in the area and people in camouflage were moving through the streams with automatic weapons; on top of that aircraft drops began to occur frequently along with twin engine airplane traffic that never existed in the mean area before. Duncan Welche's careers were destroyed and their investigation went nowhere. A later report confirmed that the CIA had conducted a two week long joint-training operation with another federal agency at Mena airport, and that their personnel had limited contact with Barry Seal. Former CIA operative, Terry Red and former Arkansas state police trooper, L.D. Brown who had worked security for Bill Clinton, claimed that they knew of CIA involvement at Mena airport: Brown being taken on a trial run where he witnessed the CIA trading weapons to the Contras for cocaine. In 1985, Barry Seal claimed at a drug trial in Nevada that he worked for the CIA and the DEA.
Salene county is about two hours from Mena airport.
The Killers
Undercover detective, Kirk Lane was an undercover detective for the narcotics division of the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office; previously he's worked at the Benton Police department. Jake Campbell was a Lieutenant at the Pulaski County Sheriff's department who worked with Kirk on occasion. Sometimes their investigations crossed over into Saline County.
Witness Ronnie Godwin reported that in 1988, a year after the incident, he'd seen two police officers outside of a grocery store pushing a teenage boy against a phone booth, with another boy lying on the ground. The men put the boys in the back of the car and drove away, only to return minutes later without the boys. His descriptions matched Kirk Lande and Jay Campbell. Another witness, Sandy Duncan, said she had seen the same boys at the grocery store store around the same time.
In 1990, witness Mike Crook, gave a statement relaying a second hand account matching Ronnie Godwin's, with the addition of the boys being beaten, specifically by Kirk Lane and another large man he didn't know.
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By: Colin Browen
Raped by: Otto Heckel
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