Many questions unanswered in Saxonburg killing
Finding fugitive’s body is just one step toward solving complex 1980 case
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The unearthing of the skeletal remains Thursday and the identification of those remains Friday answered one key question about the nagging mystery around the daytime slaying of the Saxonburg police chief some 37 years ago: Where is the fugitive Donald Eugene Webb — the man who was wanted for the killing of Chief Greg Adams?
Dozens of questions remain unanswered. Among them: Did he confess to his wife, Lillian Webb, who may have sheltered him in life and hidden him death? His body was found beneath the ground in the backyard of her North Dartmouth, Mass., home. Where was Webb before his death in 1999, as his wife apparently confided to authorities, based on their statement Friday that he “passed away in 1999?” Why did he kill the 31year-old chief who left behind a wife, Mary Ann, and two young sons at the time? Was Webb stopped just for a traffic violation and fearful that a background check would have revealed he already was a fugitive for earlier crimes? Did anyone help him in the slaying and, if so, where is that person? How did Webb die? Why was he in the tiny town of Saxonburg, so far away from his home in New England, on that day? Was he there to case a jewelry heist, as authorities speculated at the time?
A team of federal, state and municipal officials converged on Ms. Webb’s home Thursday and began digging in the spot she indicated as the grave of her husband, who was 49 at the time of the killing and would have been about 68 at the time of his death, according to the attorney for the chief’s family, Thomas W. King III of Butler. Mr. King said Ms. Webb, who is in her 80s, had been granted immunity from prosecution and the chief’s family had agreed to withdraw a lawsuit against her that had been filed in June for wrongful death. That lawsuit was filed after Mary Ann Adams Jones of Butler County had been informed by the FBI that a search of Ms. Webb’s house had yielded an unusual find: a hidden room off a closet. A room that locked from the inside and contained a walking cane. Webb was believed to have been shot by Chief Adams during the scuffle that led to the chief’s death from two gunshot wounds.
By about 4 p.m. Thursday, the remains were found. By Friday noon, the Massachusetts medical examiner’s office had conclusively identified the remains — using dental records — as those of Webb.
Authorities say the investigation is “ongoing.”
The property where the body was found is owned by Ms. Webb as well as her son, Stanley Webb, who did not return a phone call for this story. As of Friday, no charges have been filed against Stanley Webb. Mr. King said no decision has been made about proceeding with a wrongful death lawsuit against Stanley Webb, who was the stepson of Donald Webb but was not biologically related to him.
“We’reinterested in the discovery [evidence] that results [from the ongoing police investigation,]” Mr. King said. He said no agreements were struck with Stanley Webb about not moving forward in civil court. The original civil lawsuitagainst Stanley Webb, Ms. Webb and Donald Eugene Webb was filed in Butler County and has been sealed by Butler County Common PleasJudge Michael Yeager.
For now, the tiny borough of Saxonburg must be content with solving just a section of the puzzle of Chief Adams death on Dec. 4, 1980.
Chris Fair, 53, grew up in Saxonburg and remembers whenChief Adams was slain.
“We’ve been waiting for [the chief’s] murder to be solved forever. Every time you drive by the memorial, you think of it,” she said Friday morning, referencing a stone memorial to the chief outside the borough building, as she stocked the pastry case of the Saxon Country Market in Clinton, just outside Saxonburg where she still resides.
Before the sun rose Friday, the town already was buzzing with the news of the unearthing of the skeletal remains.
At Kelley’s Family Restaurant, a group of early risers were sipping coffee and reflecting on the developments of the day. Billy Wetzel, of nearby Cabot, commented: “I really feel bad for the family. This has been a long time coming.”
Tom Knechtel grew up in Pittsburgh and has lived in Saxonburg only the past seven years, but said the story of the chief’s unsolved killing is one he has heard repeatedly.
“There’d be an anniversary and people would talk about how long it’d been. Then there’s the monument,” he said.
Jim Bacon, 59, of Jefferson said he knew Chief Adams as a fellow volunteer firefighter in Saxonburg. “I think back to those days. I was a kid then but he always seemed like a fair, steady guy. I think this [development in the case] will be closure for the community and especially for his family.”
Not so, says Chief Adams’ wife, Mrs. Jones.
Mrs. Jones said Friday she was seething with anger.
She’s mad at the woman who she believed sheltered the fugitive in life and hid him in death.
Her breathing was heavy as she tried to control her voice. She said she isn’t thinking so much about Webb as she is about Ms. Webb.
“Why would she do that? Why would she hide him? Why would she bury him in the backyard? All I feel is anger,” Mrs. Jones said, her voice thick with emotion.
“I can’t believe she is so hateful. She didn’t turn him in. He dies and he’s buried in the backyard. It’s unbelievable,” she said.
The discovery of Webb’s body is a Pyrrhic victory for Mrs. Jones, who said one of her sons is angry and unsure about whether withdrawing the lawsuit was the right course of action.
“He’s a father now and he has a little boy and he’s realized how much he missed out on because his father was murdered. It’s hard for him to accept this,” Mrs. Jones said.
She conceded there was a part that hoped against hope that Webb, who would be 86 now, still was alive so he could face the justice system.
“My husband, our family, we didn’t get any justice. My husband died and he never got to see his kids grow up or meet his grandchildren. There is no justice,” Mrs. Jones said.
The only emotion tempering her anger is gratitude to authorities for “sticking with it. I’m truly grateful that they worked hard for years trying to resolve this.”
She said if she were given a chance today she would not speak to Ms. Webb.
“I don’t want to talk to her. If I were in the same room, I know I would be arrested for assault. I would not be able to contain myself from punching her in the face,” she said.