Shot In The Dark
Williamsport, Pa., is a small, picturesque town known around the country for the Little League World Series and not much else.
canada goose uk outlet In a town that averages one or two homicides a year, it’s a pleasant place to be a cop. But there is one all consuming case that has puzzled investigators in this sleepy town. canada goose uk outlet
cheap Canada Goose Pennsylvania State Trooper William Holmes and Cpl. John McDermott and have spent four years trying to solve the riddle of who killed 47 year old Miriam Illes, a woman who didn’t seem to have an enemy in the world. Correspondent Susan Spencer reports. Miriam and her husband, heart surgeon Richard Illes, were once one of Williamsport’s most prominent couples. The Illes, who married in 1991, lived in a spectacular mansion on a hill. cheap Canada Goose
„We were embraced by the community very nicely. And I was compensated probably more than I was worth. But everything was wonderful here in Williamsport for us, ” recalls Illes, who was considered one of the best doctors in the area.
In the early ’90s, canada goose uk regent street Illes met Miriam Zambie while working as a resident at St. Louis Medical Center. Miriam was a surgical assistant. Within a few years after they married, they had a son, https://www.naslsoccerbowl.com Richie, and moved to Williamsport, where the Illes worked side by canada goose jacket uk side together. Miriam was active in her community as well, volunteering at the symphony and at church. She was a dynamic, exuberant personality who made friends wherever she went.
Despite the money and the status, Miriam’s friends say she was very down to earth. „They were one of the wealthiest people in Williamsport, if not the wealthiest, ” says Dottie Bailey. „Miriam drove a green van. Miriam went to the dollar store, ” adds Karen Young. „You wouldn’t think, ‘Wow, that’s a doctor’s wife. ”
canadian goose jacket Miriam decided to become a stay at home mom when Richie was 2. She quit her job and never looked back. „She was a wonderful mother, ” says Illes. „I couldn’t have hoped for anyone better than her to take care of my son. ” canadian goose jacket
But Miriam’s friends, who say they rarely saw the doctor, had the impression that he was becoming increasingly distant and demanding.
Canada Goose sale „Miriam was controlled by her husband, ” says Leslie Smith, who saw a marriage under serious strain. „He wanted his dinner at a certain time. He wanted his cheap canada goose uk house perfect. If she didn’t please him, she paid a price. ” Canada Goose sale
Friends say Illes’ emotional distance made Miriam miserable. And in the winter of 1998, she hired a divorce attorney, Steven Hurvitz, even though she seemed to not really want a divorce.
At the same time, friends say Miriam was growing suspicious. „She had canada goose shop austria the feeling that her husband was having an affair because she really highly suspected the way he was acting that something was going on, ” says Bailey.
Miriam and her lawyer soon discovered that Illes was involved with his assistant, Katherine Swoyer, whom Miriam had hired. Their canada goose outlet florida relationship became a scandal at Williamsport Hospital.
Illes, however, remembers those days fondly. „I had a pretty perfect life there for a little while. I had a girlfriend who I loved. And we had a great time, ” he says. „I had a beautiful son who was being taken care of by his mother, who was the best mother in the world. There’s no doubt about that, everyone will tell you that. And I had my freedom. ”
Miriam moved out with her 5 year old son, Richie. Her friends say she would have reconciled, but that Illes wasn’t interested in rebuilding the relationship.
„I wasn’t interested in the beginning, ” admits Illes. „But as time went on, the thoughts occurred in my mind. You don’t talk about them, of course, because your girlfriend that you’re having a relationship with certainly isn’t going to appreciate those thoughts. ”
canada goose uk black friday A reconciliation, however, would never happen. Because on the night of Jan. 15, 1999, Miriam was found murdered in her own home. canada goose uk black friday
Illes’ sisters, Romaine and Sue, had spoken to Miriam the night of the murder.
buy canada goose jacket cheap Romaine says Miriam was pleased that Illes’ girlfriend wasn’t going to cheap canada goose be around for a canada goose costco uk few days: „She’s away and perhaps he’s going to see this is not what he wants. He wants to be back with his family. ” buy canada goose jacket cheap
In their call, Miriam said Richie had just left with his father for a weekend visit with Illes’ sister who lived three hours south of Williamsport. But when Miriam failed to show up to teach Sunday school, worried neighbors checked the house, looked through the kitchen window and, horrified at what they saw, called police.
Canada Goose Parka „The residence was locked and we had to kick in the door. And Miriam was lying on the kitchen floor, ” recalls Holmes. „There was a cordless phone very close to her as she lay on the floor. ” Canada Goose Parka
buy canada goose jacket Miriam had cheap canada goose coats uk been shot once through the heart. Within hours of the discovery of his wife’s body, Illes arrived to drop off his son after their weekend out of town. buy canada goose jacket
„Two policemen came out, and they said, ‘Who are you,’ and I told them, ” recalls Illes. „They said, ‘She was killed.’ And I said, ‘Oh, my God,’ and I said, ‘How was she killed?’ And they said she was shot. ”
The police remember it slightly differently. „Certainly one of his first questions was ‘What Canada Goose Parka evidence was found,’ ” says Holmes. „It was interesting canada goose outlet mississauga to us at that point that he would ask that question. ”
canada goose uk shop But investigators were too busy to think much of it then, because they were awash in evidence. They found a cigarette butt behind the house, what appeared to be a homemade silencer for a rifle, and footprints in the snow from a size 14 basketball shoe. canada goose uk shop
The initial working theory was that a sniper, with weapon in hand, snuck along a drainage ditch to enter the property from the back. Stopping near the spot where the cigarette butt was found, approximately 70 feet from the house, the killer uk canada goose sale had one shot in the dark through the only window with open blinds. Then, the killer ran away, discarding the silencer along the way.
Canada Goose Online District Attorney Michael Dinges says that without that call, investigators never could have pinpointed the exact time of death: „It’s my belief that the killer didn’t know she was on the phone. And it was one of the fatal mistakes in this case, on the killer’s behalf. ” Canada Goose Online
But knowing when the shot was fired still didn’t tell police who fired it. „I was a suspect absolutely from day one, ” says Illes, even though he had a solid alibi for the weekend. „Why would I do it? I didn’t have a motive. ”
Investigators, however, saw an excellent motive and they think that money had a lot to do with it. The couple hadn’t yet begun to split up property, but already a judge had ordered Illes to pay Miriam $13,000 a month in child support.
