ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author would like to thank those who assisted in the writing and publication of this book. He wishes to express his admiration to those victimized by William Lee Neal who had the courage and strength to help tell this story so that Rebecca Holberton, Candace Walters, and Angela Fite are not forgotten, nor the memory of them sullied by the many lies and manipulations of their killerthanks particularly to Betty Von Tersch, Tara Brewer, Holly Walters, Karen Wilson, and Jennifer Tate. We would do well to remember, too, that Angela Fite was a victim of violence before she met Neal; domestic violence remains a largely hidden but deadly serious epidemic in the United States. The author also expresses his gratitude to the Jefferson County District Attorneys OfficeDavid Thomas, Mark Pautler, Pam Russell, Charles Tingle, and Chris Bachmeyer, as well as Defense Attorney Randy Canneyfor their candor in so far as the code of professional conduct would allow them while Neal awaits the results of his appeals process. As always I am grateful to my agent, Michael Hamilburg, and his consigliere, Joanie Kern, for their faith and hard work, and to my gem of an editor at Kensington, Karen Haas. To my family, my love and thanks for being the antidote to the poisons of monsters like Wild Bill Cody. For anyone who might wish to create some good from this tragedy, please contribute to: The Memorial Fund for the Benefit of the Children of Angela Fite, Wells Fargo Bank, Southwest Plaza, 8500 W. Bowles Avenue, Littleton, CO 80123.
Epilogue
September 26, 2001
In retrospect, that stone was more like a bombshell and those ripples more like tidal waves. People have not been merely touched by the heinous murders that Mr. Neal committed. Peoples lives have been shattered; their futures have been destroyed.
Charles Tingle
As Chief Deputy District Attorney Charles Tingle knew it would, the ripple effect of William Lee Wild Bill Cody Neals bombshell has continued to wash over the lives of those whom he came into contact with. He has a way of making even his victims survivors feel guilty; some of them will have to live with that heartache, as well as their loss.
In the months before Angelas murder, Wayne Fite had pushed his daughter away because she would not get out of an abusive relationship with Matt Rankin. What she found was worse, though only by degrees. Rankin, who had testified that he had never loved anyone as much as Angie, will also have to look at himself and ask why Angie had to look for love and safety in the arms of another man.
In 2000 Angelas sister, Tara, gained custody of Kyle and Kayla after Rankin was accused of neglect and of domestic abuse of his girlfriend at the time. They are both a joy and a reminder of her loss.
All of their lives will never be the same.... There is no getting over it for the families of murder victims. Betty Von Tersch insists that Tara call her every day or Im over there knocking on her door.
It never stops hurting, she says. Once she went to the hospital complaining of chest pains, but the physicians could find nothing wrong. She didnt know how to tell them that the pains were symptoms of a broken heart.
The families werent the only ones affected. Deputy District Attorney Chris Bachmeyer, who for some time afterward was haunted by dreams of women dying, recalled being left emotionally flat by the trial. There was no joy. Maybe a sense of satisfaction that the families got justice, but I cant say I was happy. Thats not the right word.
Her colleague, Tingle, said, I hope it gave the families some closure. But its not over for them. This will drag on for years. As for myself, my biggest emotion was that I was glad it was over. It seemed like for that year, I was walking around day and night with a big dark cloud hanging over my head. I hope it goes away.
The prosecutors and investigators still wonder if there are other bodies buried in Neals past.
Randy Canney remains troubled that the judges werent painted a fuller picture of Codys life. Had he been allowed to take a more active role, he would have brought in people who have good things to say about him.... Its not like for the past three or four years hes been an absolute con. He can be a nice guy. He was a good businessman. Hes a very engaging man.
Why, when he was forty-two years old, did he suddenly do this horrible thing? While he may not have been the most law-abiding citizen, he had no criminal record. In looking for answers, you have to hope that theres some good in everybody, an explanation for the bad. I dont believe in abject evil. I think theres a reason.
Canney said he didnt know if that fuller picture would have changed the judges minds, but they should have heard it.
In the meantime, Neal was appointed two appellate lawyers from the Colorado Public Defenders Office. He vacillated between keeping them and firing themthat much had not changed about his personality.
In December 1999, one of Neals appellate lawyers, Jeff Pagliuca, filed a complaint with the Colorado Supreme Courts attorney-regulation committee, accusing Jefferson County Chief Deputy District Attorney Mark Pautler of unethical conduct that included dishonesty, fraud, deceit, and misrepresentation. The complaint stated that Neal told sheriffs investigator Cheryl Zimmerman that he wanted a lawyer to represent him or he would not surrender without one. The courts attorney-regulation committee found reasonable cause to go ahead with a formal complaint, and a trial date before a panel of disciplinary judges was set with a potential consequence of disbarment.
Neals advisory counsel, Randy Canney, noted that the alledged misconduct could be used by Neals appellate lawyers to overturn the sentence. It is certainly going to be grounds that the postconviction lawyers are going to try to utilize, he said. However, he told this writer that given the circumstances, he couldnt fault Pautler. I would have probably done the same thing.
Pautler told the media that he didnt believe that the complaint, even if the court ruled against him personally, could be used to overturn Neals conviction. It didnt have to do with any evidentiary matters, he said.
William Tuthill, an assistant county attorney appointed to represent Pautler, defended his client. Mr. Pautler spoke to Neal as a public defender to assist in persuading Neal to surrender, he said. The law enforcement objective was to prevent further bloodshed, and to apprehend Neal without further threat to the public, the officers, or to Neal.
In January 2001, a judge with the disciplinary committee ruled that Pautler had committed misconduct by engaging in intentional deception, a violation of the ethical rules for attorneys. A hearing was set for March before three judges with the Colorado Supreme Courts disciplinary judicial panel to determine what, if any, action would be taken against Pautler.
At the hearing, deputy attorney-regulation counsel Nancy Cohen argued that Pautlers deception strained already frayed working relationships between the Jefferson County District Attorneys and Public Defenders Offices.
(This argument made little sense: If Neal had been upset with the ruse, he should have turned even more to his defense lawers. In actuality, of the myriad of issues that Neal talked about in his letters and conversations with Tingle and Bachmeyer, none had anything to do with Pautler misrepresenting himself as a public defender, or this being the cause of the rift between him and the public defenders office. In fact, Neal repeatedly told just about anybody who would listen that he fired the public defenders because he wanted to plead guilty and they wanted to prevent him from doing so.)
