Justice For Bobbi, Justice For Tainted Saintly City?
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posted by Bob at Wednesday, February 28, 2007
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Wednesday, February 28, 2007
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Ramsey County / Sheriff: Evidence suggests homicide
1981 case involving police employee has been political issue
BY MARA H. GOTTFRIED
Pioneer Press
Rediscovered autopsy photos and new gun tests bolster evidence against a St. Paul police civilian employee in his girlfriend's shooting death more than 25 years ago, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said Tuesday.
The sheriff's office reopened an investigation last year into the death of 35-year-old Barbara Winn, and prosecutors have been considering charges against Aaron Foster Sr., who was Winn's boyfriend when she died in 1981. Foster has not been charged.
"We felt the case was strong enough then and now we feel even more sure," Fletcher said of the new evidence investigators turned up during the past few months.
Foster, 55, a clerk in the St. Paul police impound lot, "was not guilty then and he's not guilty now," said Earl Gray, Foster's attorney.
Foster has said Winn killed herself.
The sheriff said a gun test concluded it would have been "nearly impossible" for Winn to have shot herself based on the bullet's path through her chest. He also said autopsy photos clearly showed Winn was beaten before she died.
Winn's family has been pressing for prosecutors to charge Foster.
"We're not going to stop," said Patty Bruce, who is married to Winn's brother. "We'll do whatever it takes to get someone to take action."
The case became a political issue during last year's race for Ramsey County sheriff. Fletcher won re-election over retired St. Paul Police Chief Bill Finney, who is a close friend of Foster's and hired him to work at the police department.
Winn's relatives raised concerns last year about Finney's presence at Winn's autopsy and police reports indicating Finney had witnessed Foster assault Winn in the past.
Finney has said he attended the autopsy only because, in his shock, he couldn't believe Winn was dead.
Finney has questioned the timing of Fletcher's office reopening the investigation.
"My opinion about the whole thing is it was all political and it worked for Bob," Finney said Tuesday. "I would like to see a decision made. How long is this thing going to hang out there? Either charge it, or leave it alone. There has to be closure."
Fletcher said reopening the case last spring wasn't politically motivated. Last summer, Fletcher said that when he learned about Finney's ties to Foster, he referred the case to the Anoka County sheriff's office for further investigation as needed.
Fletcher said Tuesday that his investigators began working on the case again at the end of November, when the election was over. The sheriff's office turned over new reports and photographs last week to the Anoka County attorney's office.
Foster wasn't charged in the case after police investigated in 1981 and 2002.
"I'm happy with Mr. Fletcher that he has nothing else to do but work on a case that's been closed twice," Gray said. "The sheriff's office must not be too busy."
But Fletcher said the case should be investigated.
"This case is a classic example of domestic violence escalating to the use of deadly force," Fletcher wrote in a letter sent Monday to the Anoka County attorney, whose office is reviewing the case to avoid a potential conflict of interest for Ramsey County prosecutors. Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner had backed Finney in the sheriff's race. "If our society is not prepared to charge a case where the suspect says that the victim shot herself and then told him to go hide the gun, how can we expect any case to be charged?"
Winn, who worked at a State Farm Insurance office in Roseville and was a mother of three, died in her Maplewood home early May 8, 1981.
The decision not to charge Foster in 1981 was made "without the benefit of 25 additional years of science and study regarding" gunshot residue, Fletcher's letter said.
Foster didn't have residue on his hands, but he may have wiped and washed them, according to a sheriff's office report of interviews with officers who responded to the shooting.
"Today's experts in the field of gunshot residue state that the absence of GSR is not reliable as a determiner and that a suspect should never be ruled out because of a negative test," Fletcher wrote.
Because the gun that killed Winn is missing, Ramsey County sheriff's Sgt. Bill Snyder acquired a similar one, Fletcher wrote, and "through experimentation, determined that it would have been nearly impossible for Barbara Winn to shoot herself." Fletcher said Winn would have had great difficulty pulling the trigger while holding the gun at the angle needed to create the wound she suffered.
The Ramsey County medical examiner's office found missing autopsy photos in January, Snyder said.
Foster told police in 1981 he didn't assault Winn the day she died. But bruises and marks on Winn's body visible in the photos "are consistent with domestic assault and inconsistent with her being able to shoot herself," Fletcher said.
Winn's two sons, ages 12 and 15 when their mother died, told police they heard their mother and Foster arguing before the gun went off, according to a Maplewood police report. The boys told police they saw Foster running from the room where Winn was found dead, a police report said.
Foster told police that when the gun went off, he was in another room downstairs from where Winn's body was found, a police report said. Foster said he disposed of the handgun involved in Winn's death, but said she had asked him to do so after shooting herself, according to a police report.
The Anoka County attorney's office said prosecutors would be reviewing the new sheriff's office reports.
Mara H. Gottfried can be reached at mgottfried@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5262.
Hi All,
Finally, Finney, Foster and the rest of Finney's posse will be exposed for what they really are.
This is not happy news. It is never happy news when someone is murdered, but those responsible will now have to pay. Finney and Foster will now feel what Barbara Win's family has been experiencing since 1981.
Finney has covered for his friends on numerous occasions, but the pictures tell a thousand words. Barbara Winn came to Finney for help, Foster's wife also came to Finney for help. What did Finney do, he refused to help these abused women, failed as a police officer to do his duty and protected his friend Aaron Foster. Finney even sold Foster a gun, issued Foster a permit to carry a handgun even in light of his abuse towards his girlfriends and wife.
It is truly a shame and a big stain on St. Paul that Finney was ever the police chief. You think the 1930s were bad in St. Paul, you have no idea what the Finney administration was responsible for.
My thoughts and prayers today are dedicated to the Winn family. May Barbara rest in peace knowing the animals who did this to her will be getting their due soon enough.
Congratulations to Bill Snyder for his tireless effort to investigate this murder.
Anonymous in St. Paul
Two things:
As police Chief (1990-2002), Bill Finney was a very good one. His recruits and commanders/captains (including Bob Fletcher), were some fo the most professional. All you have to do is look at the police department in minneapolis to have an idea of how out of hand it can be. As Cheif, he maintained a professional department to the public. Only cops can tell you how mean, corrupt or unfair he was on the inside- while maybe frustrating to some cops, the public liked the guy and felt safe with him as Cheif for the most part. He did win all of the precinct districts in Saint Paul when he ran for a reason. These are the people that know him best.
The Winn situation seems to be another side of the coin. When his own sons got into trouble, he sent their cases out of the Twin Cities area to be investigated. That doesn't seem like the same guy who would use his office to cover for a friend. If the evidence is correct its hard to argue that FOSTER is guilty but, that's a heck of a jump to Finney is guilty.
Anything else beyond that evidence is just wishful thinking by those who probably don't know Foster but, really dislike Finney.
Oh yeah, I guess Harrington is corrupt too since Foster still works for the Police Department.
What do you mean when you say he has presented the Police Department as "professional?" There's nothing professional in this town, it is only made to look that way to people on the outside looking in. The Police Department is in trouble all the itme with one thing or another. The fact that the Police refer things out to someone because of a conflict is a bunch of bullshit and everyone knows it. All these "politicals" are in bed together and they know when they farm out an investigation on one of their own, if there is a way they can hide it and cover it up they do it and someone owes someone else a favor down the road.
Dear Anonymous 9:21 AM;
In your post, Chief was misspelled several times.
As a person who knows Bill Finney, Bill Finney was not a good chief of police. Finney was extremely divisive, not open to any new ideas, and fostered a very negative atmosphere in the department and not a good leader. Harrington has turned around the police department. Harrington is a good man with lots of integrity. Something I can not say about Finney.
You stated, "Only cops can tell you how mean, corrupt or unfair he was on the inside- while maybe frustrating to some cops, the public liked the guy and felt safe with him as Cheif for the most part."
Many good, honest police officers have come forward and have given testimony about what they have seen going on at the department and in the community. Many politicians have a feel good appeal, but are doing hard time due to their behavior.
Concerning your comment about Chief Harrington and Foster, Harrington is required to follow the civil service rules for all employees. If Foster is arrested for murder and is convicted then there is a process put in place to deal with his employment. Foster does not have the run of the place like he did when his friend Finney was chief of police. Foster is now very far removed from police headquarters. He is out at the impound lot checking in cars. No more does he have a permit to carry, no more does he get to drive a squad car to work and have the city pay for the gas. No, all the perks Foster once had are gone.
Once the public understands the full scope of Finney's actions during his law enforcement career, they will then come to understand the true person Finney really is. Truth is a funny thing, it comes out no matter how long it takes.
4:36
Thanks for proving my point of only cops who are scorned by Finney have a bad view. The public is good with him and they proved it by supporting him over Fletcher in every single precinct in the city. Fletcher lost re-election in every precinct in St Paul. That's the Saint Paul public speaking.
What happens behind the scenes at SPPD is no different than any other department (PED, Public Works and Parks), the difference is the public persona. The public liked Bill Finney. Some cops were jealous of that because his popularity allowed him to push standards and do things that an ordinary chief couldn't do without backlash at least from the Mayor.
Bill Finney promoted and gave assignments to both Fletcher and Harrington. He also got rid of certain cops that had problems with dealing with the public they serve- and the Sheriffs Office sucked those cops up. All of these cops who you can name that you liked were either recruited, promoted or assigned by Bill Finney. 12 years as cheif, several years previous as a commander he has been in the SPPD leadership for while, a long while.
If you think the SPPD is corrupt, you're right of course. It appears that the corruption stopped internally. I don't read about brutality, bribes and false reports regularly like we do in Minneapolis. None of us, except the cops can tell us what's happening on the inside, and only a RAT would turn on his brothers. A dirty, 52 year old RAT.
Or, I guess you could tie a murder to him, though he didn't investigate it. He didn't pull the trigger He wasn't there. He didn't oversee any aspect of it. But, that won't stop a RAT from gnawing away.
Keep it up, RAT.
4:36; the best part of your post was the fact that no matter how long it takes the truth will come out... Remember that statement because there will be a lot of truth coming out soon about several St.Paul officials. (including the housing code inspectors and SPPD) Its just a matter of time....
Nancy
Harrington is not one bit different than Finney. Maybe different particulars, but still the same substance. He still has his cops out prosecuting landlords for the crimes of the tenants. Neither Harrington or Finney enoforced the law, they did and do enforce a "political agenda" that comes right straight from city hall. Sure sometimes they get a bad guy off the street, but most of the time they are looking to jam up some law abiding person with technical violations of the law rather than real criminal violations, and the saftey in the neighborhoods prove it. Ask your neighbors if they feel safer today than they did a few years or a few decades ago and see what they say.
I never ever believed the story about this woman's death. Even if you believe that this woman was stupid enough to kill herself with Foster's gun and ask him to get rid of it afterwards, how in the world could anyone believe that he would leave the scene of what would surley turn into looking to be a murder scene and then think he would get away with a lame excuse like the one he offered? On top of that, who in their right mind would think that the kids would not tell the POLICE that this guy was present when it happened? That story insulted my inteligence when it happened, and it still insults my inteligence today.
The reason you don't read about the corruption in St. Paul like you do in Minnapolis is because in Minneapolis they pay and in St. Paul they cover it up.
Look at the bribery case with the old Mayor's aid, the bar room brawl with Loretz, the "shake down" allegations of Nancy Osterman, not to mention photograhpic evidence of city contractors looting her house, the drinking problems in the Police station, the new alleagations of Sgt. Loretz against the FORCE unit, the lawsuits by the landlords to name a few. They just sweep it under the rugs and people either forget or just don't care. How could you expect anything but corruption in St. Paul? It's a culture for the pete sakes and has been for a long time.
The corruption in St. Paul and Ramsey county, now she will run for MN.Governor in 2010.
Who?
Susan Geartner.
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