Wed Feb 10 16:47:24 PST 1999

Have you heard anything else on the man named "Quoc?" I know someone gave you this man's name, did you find any leads on it? Anything that you can post on the message board?

Response:Yes, but the only thing we can post on this board is the fact that Quoc Nguyen seems to have some kind of strong control over certain members of APD. If any of you has information about this man and his relationship to the Albuquerque Police Department, please, contact us either on this board or by personal e-mail. (We guarantee that your names will be kept confidential.)

Response:Cliff Bond was the OSI Agent who investigated the stabbing. Sergeant Fernando Villa Franca, SRA Alcazar, and FSGT Vesely, are listed as the medical technicians who treated Dung at the scene. According to the APD report, at 4:25 a.m. on July 21, Air Force Communications contacted Homicide Det. Steve Gallegos, (the detective in charge of Kait's case), to tell him that Dung Nguyen had attempted suicide by stabbing himself in Khanh Pham's dorm room on Kirtland AFB. Gallegos went to the base, where OSI Agent Cliff Bond took him to view the room. Gallegos observed two bunk beds in the corner of the room, with blood stains on the mattress of the bottom bunk. Bloodstained sheets were rolled up and lying on the floor next to the bed, and there was a 4 inch folding knife next to the bed. Gallegos took the knife and bloody sheets into evidence. Among the questions we have: WHY WOULD THE OSI CONTACT THE APD HOMICIDE DEPARTMENT IF THEY THOUGHT THIS WAS A SUICIDE ATTEMPT? WHY WOULD THE APD HOMICIDE DEPT. CHECK THE KNIFE AND SHEETS INTO "EVIDENCE" IF THEY BELIEVED NO CRIME HAD BEEN COMMITTED? According to Gallegos's report, on July 25, Agent Bond came to the main police station to deliver photographs taken of the dorm room on the night of the stabbing. Bond told Gallegos that Khanh Pham had spoken to an Air Force attorney who had told him he didn't have to talk to APD, and if he did, he had a right to have his attorney present. Khanh Pham decided not to talk to APD, and so was never interviewed. WHY WOULD KHANH PHAM NEED AN AIR FORCE ATTORNEY IF HE WAS NOT A SUSPECT IN THE STABBING? WHY WAS KHANH PHAM SO THREATENED BY THE THOUGHT OF TALKING TO APD ABOUT HIS FRIEND'S "SUICIDE ATTEMPT," THAT HE WOULD REFUSE TO DO SO EVEN WITH HIS ATTORNEY PRESENT?

It is standard for all barracks to have a 24 hour duty. This duty receives all calls and complaints from people living in the barracks and then are annotated into a log book. The Staff Duty, which is the higher ranking duty that oversees the immediate duty for the barracks, makes routine stops at the duty post and reads the logbook. Usually, unless the trouble in the barracks is extremely out of control and the Staff Duty has to be brought into it, the barracks duty will handle it. Unfortunately, the duty changes either daily or weekly, depending on the Command, manpower and working schedules, but every base keeps records of rosters for who had the duty on what day, so that's a place to look. As far as the night of the incident though, that still would (or should), have gone to the higher ups. Whoever was the equivalent of what we refer to as the Company Gunnery Sergeant and was in charge of the barracks, would have a great deal of information. Of course, the person who had the duty that night and would have been the first on the scene would have the most information and most vivid account of what occured. Try to gain access to the duty rosters for that month.

Cpl Eckerfield

Response:On April 18, 1997, we wrote to the Privacy Act Officer, Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque, with a Federal Freedom of Information Act Request to review the OSI report of Dung Nguyen's alleged suicide attempt in Khanh Pham's dorm room. We were informed that all information about this incident has been purged from Kirtland files. Would these be different records? (I'm sorry to sound so dumb, but we know nothing about military procedures.)

Police identified a witness who saw Kait being followed from her apartment by a VW bug. When did the witness see this?

Response:He said it was between 5:30 and 6 p.m. on the night of the shooting. This fits perfectly with what we know about the time Kait left her apartment, since she arrived at our house at 6 p.m. (We're certain about that because "60 Minutes" was just starting.) Her apartment was about a 7 minute drive from our house, and she had stopped en route to return a video.

Ms. Duncan,

I am the Marine serving in Saudi Arabia who wrote you a few months ago. I don't know how much info you've gotten on military life in dorm rooms, I've seen that several people in the military have been writing you. But a First Sergeant would have very little knowledge about what goes on in the barracks unless it is brought to his attention. Though you are correct about other people not being able to live or reside, or even spend the night in a barracks room, it happens all the time. It's who you know and how good you are about covering it up. I'm not sure about how it works in the Air Force, but in the Marine Corps, it is ususlly the Company Gunnery Sergeant and Platoon Sergeant that have direct contact with barracks life. Find out who was in charge of the barracks at that time during the assault. They perhaps would not have been the first on the scene, but they definitely would have been the first called to handle the situation.

Cpl Eckerfield

Response:Thank you. We're continually learning new things from the posts here and from the e-mail we receive from people in the military, especially those who were stationed at Kirtland. Does anyone know who was in charge of that barracks in 1989?

According to one of Khanh Pham's dormmates, there were many complaints from residents of that dorm about the fact that Khanh's room had become "a Vietnamese crash pad." Who would have received those complaints?

(From Someone Who Knows!)

I am a USAF member and I've been helping Lois and the Arquette family for a couple of years now. I have gone before OSI and asked about the list of names including Khanh Pham. First of all Khanh Pham got out of the Air Force on 2/16/98, he is living in the San Jose area. This man worked the Joint Task Force in Viet Nam to recover POW/MIA's. That gives you a clue there as to why Bolling AFB, OSI HQ wouldn't give any answers about this man. How in the hell Khanh Pham ran under a SSN that belonged to so many others beats me. I do believe that somewhere along the line there has been a lot of fraud using his SSN and military I-D cards (my own personal thoughts). For all you good readers that think the military checks out every little bit of information you are dead wrong. To get a military I-D card one just needs the SSN, as all Vietnamese look alike who is going to question this when a man walks in and rattles off his SSN number saying he lost his I-D card...the camera flashes and all info is added from a computer and within 5 minutes a person walks out the door with a card that allows them access to ANY military base in the world. Does that scare you? It should. What should scare the American public even more is the fact that Pham's dorm room was allowed to be used as a flop house for his Vietnamese buddies running a Interstate Insurance Scam. Pham's dorm room was located at Kirtland Air Force Base...NUKES! Monzanto Mountain! Get it? Sandia Labs! Get it! A military installation with nuclear weapons, aircraft with NO tail markings...CIA? Aircraft with no markings at all! How did Pham's buddies get on this base? Did Pham bring them on? Here's a really big question, why didn't Pham go out with 15 years retirement? He already had in 12 years. Has the postings from Kait's board given the USAF a clue as to Pham's status? Why is this little weasel living the good life here in the states? When Pham entered the military his home of record shows that he came from Virginia...no big surprise there. I would say that Pham came from the Arlington area or better known as Little Viet Nam. The list of names that I asked OSI about popped up in their computer....that means something. That something is the hard cold fact that their names are on the list for investigation...of what? Could it be National Security? I don't know for this wasn't answered for me, just confirmed that these names are on the list. There is nothing that one does on a base or fort that doesn't fall under a SSN, we don't have names just a number, the almighty SSN...the last 4 of the SSN. Did you all know that? Just who is helping these people such as Pham keep their status here in the states after knowing that this group has been involved in Interstate Fraud? I'm mad as hell knowing that I pay insurance every six months with a letter enclosed telling me that my rates have gone up because of so much insurance fraud. It's not just me that is paying out the nose for insurance fraud! It's each and everyone of you that signs those checks, licks the envelopes placing your check in the mailbox so you are covered in the event of a REAL accident. This group of people have made tons of money ripping off OUR insurance compaines...and as the old saying goes...S**t rolls down hill so therefore we the good people are picking up the tab for these crimes.

I read the post from a young woman claiming to have known Kait and had married a crew chief there at Kirtland. She dropped names such as Holland, a Colonel. He was a lush! Not until AFMC command took over Kirtland Air Force base did the place start to straighten up. For the young lady who claims she knew Kait please come forward with more names. You dropped a mighty big hint with Colonel Holland's name and the New Mexico Air National Guard club there on base that wasn't that far from the Roadrunner (aka Laser Lounge). That base there in Albuquerque is the life's blood of that city. The politicans that jockey to keep that base there are many for without it the city would just be another tourist trap selling Indian jewlery. Get the big clue there? Will any government agency help the Arquettes when the city's life blood would have to answer? Get a clue. I really hopes this helps clear up a few questions as to why the Arquettes aren't getting any help from the government there. Kirtland is under a good command now...I just wish that was true back in 1989.

Who owns the auto body shop and has he (or she) ever made any statements about this case?

Response:The body shop, A&A Unlimited, (at the time of Kait's death it was called Rocky Mountain Radiator), at 824 Arno NE, is/was owned by Frank Arellano, his wife Shirley, and son Michael. As far as we know, Arellano has never been questioned about Kait's case. However, he did tell one of his employees that he knew her.

Dear Mr and Mrs Arquette,

I have so much to say,its hard to know where to begin. I was a classmate of Kaits and graduated with her. My heart aches for you in so many ways. I did'nt know her well,but,her death really "hit home" with me. I only had one class with Kait, Psychology-during our senior year. We had a few mutual friends, Pamela Falk and Colleen White. I'm wondering if you have contacted any of her classmates? Kait was a popular girl and surely she must have had at least one friend that she confided in.

I lived at KAFB during this time period, and I remember wondering why there were so many APD cars near the roadrunner lounge and that part of the base, I know that many of these officers were in the Air National Guard. I also know a DJ who worked both at the club and in the Air Force, he was a crew cheif. His name is JB Brown, (short for James,) he is a black gentleman in his forties who is no longer in the AF, he attends the UNM business school. While attending UNM I saw him on campus on an everyday basis, he parks behind Zimmerman Library in handicapped parking, he is chubby and wears glasses. I attended UNM until 1997. I also know of a few higher-up Air Force officers, though I will have to write back to give you their names,I will have to sit down and really think for a few days in order to recollect and remember,as it was so long ago. I can only remember a few names: Colonel James Holland and Colonel Pyatt, I will write back when I remember. My husband, who I married in July of 1989 was in the Air Force and worked as a C-130 crew cheif. I will ask him tomorrow for any names that he can recall.

I am more sorry than I can ever tell you. I remember the night that Kait's shooting was reported on the news as if it were yesterday and I remember the shock and terror I felt. It hit so close to home. What a waste of precious life. I just recently lost someone very close to me, I know your pain and I empathize in a most passionate way. I have come to the conclusion that these things hppen for a reason and choose to take a religious stance when it comes to death.

You will one day be reunited with beautiful Kait. Though I will never will understand what, if any, good can come out of loosing a loved one. I guess I am just trying to tell you that I know your pain and how hard it is to cope with the death of a loved one. For a long time after Kait's death I was terrified to even just get into my car at night. Albuquerque is an extremely dangerous and crime-ridden place. I have relocated and will never consider living there again, which is sad, because that's where my family resides.

I read your book the week it hit book stores. I read it all in one night and I'll tell you, it sent shivers down my spine and gave me chills. I was and am so very shocked by the behavior of APD, what Blasphemy!!! I also wanted to tell you that she was a beautiful person, and it was obvious to all that she was above average intelligence. God Bless You,

A Classmate of Kait's

PS: I will write more very soon with the names I promised.

Response:What a lovely tribute to Kait from one of her classmates! Thank you so much for writing. One of the names you mention is of particular interest to us, and I'd like to ask a question, but not on this message board. Please, contact us by private e-mail. Again -- thank you.

Why was Paul Apodoca not questioned immediately? Shouldn't he be considered a witness?

Response:Good question.

Possibly significant -- when our private investigator visited Paul Apodaca in prison, to question him about his presence at the scene of the shooting, (APD didn't know how to locate him, but our P.I. found him), Apodaca explained that he was there to buy drugs from Lee Padilla, the brother of APD undercover narcotics cop, Chris Padilla.

Since there is such neglegence in the case, you may be able to file a sort of complaint to higher authorities. At that point, all records could be confiscated and properly viewed. The FBI may want to get involved since there are clear indication of obstruction of justice & evidence tampering. Being in the military and a MP, there is a cover up on the part of the Air Force to keep things quiet. The 1st Sgt, if he wasn't involved, would never have let the "flopping" happen. This may go to the Company or Battalion level. Also, there would probably be pressure from the higher ups on the AF part to silence the local authorities. There is no doubt of a cover up, but it's more than just the police. This would have to extend to at least the former company commander.

Response:We will pursue this. You sound very knowledgable, and if you are willing to further advise us as we proceed with this process, please, send us a private e-mail. As with everyone who is courageous enough to become personally involved in helping us, we guarantee that your identity will be kept confidential.

Meanwhile, if there is anyone out there who can identify the "higher ups" at Kirtland AFB during the time period that bracketed 1989, please, either post that information on this board or send it to us by e-mail.

To answer the person who posted a question about why the Vietnmese are protected by APD. In a previous post I said a man named Quoc, who owns an Albq. jewelry business and is a friend of Kait Arquette's boyfriend, works as a confidential informant (snitch) for for APD. Quoc calls the shots as far as who in the Vietnamese community gets arrested.

I am not a member of APD myself, but I know people that are. That's where this info came from.

After reading the post from the Marine doing time in Saudi I have to come forward and place a few "wondering comments".

During the time frame when Kaitlyn was murdered her boyfriend's (Dung)closest friend, Khang Pham was stationed at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico and lived in the Airmen's dorms. Khanh Pham's dorm room was little more than a flop house for his V/N buddies, they shacked up in his room at the taxpayers expense. Now for all of us who have served in the military we know that anyone other than the person assigned to the dorm room isn't allowed to live, reside or use the facilities meant for housing of unmarried enlisted troops. Where was the first shirt? (first sergeant?) At that time the first shirt was Ed Disel, he would have had knowledge of all activity going on in the dorms, that's something that can't be kept secret. When Dung tried to kill himself in Pham's dorm room why wasn't there an investigation into the civilan V/N using the dorm room for a flop house? The first shirt is now retired but if anybody out there knew Disel could they shed some light on why a first shirt allowed one of his troops to be involved with drugs, interstate insurance fraud and fraud waste and abuse of housing units for enlisted troops? Saying that the first shirt wouldn't have any knowledge of this is utter BS, enough complaints were filed about Pham and all his V/N buddies using the dorm for a residence. How about it readers, for all you folks who have served what do you think?

It's mentioned below that pres. pro tem of the NM state senate, Manny Aragon, is related thru Mayor Martin Chavez to APD chief Joe Polizar. Maybe coincidental, but Manny Aragon also happens to have a brother, Chuck Aragon, who is serving 20 yrs. for financing an international drug operation. I believe Chuck Aragon was arrested in 1989, right after the Arquette murder.

Dear Arquette family,

I have been following the postings here for a few months now. I sent you the post on Sept. 24, 1998, that you responded with telling me about the former Albuquerque Chief of Police, Joseph Polisar, being recently ousted out by the new Mayor of Albuquerque, and is now Chief of Police of GARDEN GROVE!! Anyway, that didn't surprise me, given all that's been going on there and is still going on. But I am sending this post in response to a post I just finished reading that was very interesting. The one dated Nov. 25, 1998, who's sender so amazingly put together the pieces of this chaotic puzzle, as you put it in your response. This sender (I'm guessing her name is Sheri from the e-mail address) has, I agree full heartedly, put together the pieces of the puzzle so well that it is actually MAKING SENSE!

However, I have something to add to her speculations. She mentions in her post that she can't quite figure out where the hispanics come into all this, well I have a hunch. There had to be someone to put the blame on to take the heat off the crooked Vietnamese and crooked cops, right? Well, my guess is that they were either paid by monetary compensation, or blackmailed to be kept out of jail for other criminal activities they had done in the past, to say that they were involved in Kait's killing. They may even have been arrested as part of the PLAN FOR THE WHOLE COVER-UP!! And being that they may have been blackmailed, they had to go along with the whole plan. They knew they would not have to stay in jail. I know this sounds kind of crazy, but then so does this whole chaotic diabolical murder case of your daughter. Keep up the good work in bringing this whole thing to JUSTICE!! I feel in my heart you are getting real close.

from someone who cares,
VSL

Response: I think you may have placed the final brick in the wall.

If your post stems from more than pure supposition, please, contact us directly. I give you my word that your identity will never be revealed, and we guarantee the same to anyone else who is reading this board and has information that might help us. We promise that no one who joins "Kait's Army," will ever be identified without permission.

This is in response to "Chris's" post about former DA Bob Schwartz, who made conflicting statements about Kait's case to the family and to the media. That guy is a piece of work. According to an article in the Albq. Journal, when Schwartz got ousted from his position in Dec. 1996, the new DA, Jeff Romero, found 200 drug cases, which should have been sent to a grand jury, rat holed in a private office. Most of those cases had by then passed the time limit for prosecution, and some had not even been logged into the office. You know what Schwartz told the press about this obvious cover-up? "Finding 200 cases? That's like an entire file cabinet of cases! You just don't find a file cabinet of cases growing mold. I don't know what he's talking about. I have no idea what those cases are. I'm not even going to guess." (Sounds just as amazed as Clinton about the stain on the blue dress.)

Response: For a former DA who stepped down over two years ago, Bob Schwartz still seems to have a tremendous amount of control over APD. Homicide Detective Guerra recently told the mother of Josh Vihel, 16, who died at a party this past January, that APD can't investigate the people who own the house where Josh died, because Schwartz has forbidden it.

This case has intrigued me since I first heard of it, and now after hearing all of the evidence presented here, I think I can make a few speculations.

First of all, I'd like to start with the background... Peter Klunck--a small time drug dealer who did off-the-books work on cars at the body shop. Probably picked up his drugs there to redistribute on the streets, and in his time there probably heard about Griffin's robberies and the Vietnamese connection. One possibility is that he was approached because of his car-work skills. He refuses, and Griffin kills him because he was going to go public and bust Griffin. That takes care of Peter Klunck. Now, Dung knows the shop crooks and helps them out at times, and takes Kait to the shop's parties (they're living together, so why wouldn't he take her to these parties?) and she starts to learn about the criminal activities going on through there.

Let me backtrack here for a second--The drugs were coming in through the Air Force base, as we know from the unidentified tipster who was raped by the cop. My thought is that the drugs come in on transports, thus avoiding customs and other law enforcement, get dropped in KAFB where they're then doled out to the Vietnamese cooks and hookers working in the NCO clubs and enlisted clubs. The women there give them over to the Vietnamese men in town who run everything through the body shop. Whoever Khanh's sergeant was is obviously involved in all of this. Why else would he tell the other men in Khanh's platoon to forget about Dung's "suicide?" Another speculation is that the sergeant is not only involved in the drugs, but quite possibly in other criminal activities, such as getting illegal aliens bogus SSN's and getting them into the military to help protect them once they're in the country. This would explain why Khanh has the same SSN as so many other immigrants. I would suggest the Khanh's sergeant be questioned about all of this. It might help shed some light on all of this.

When Kait figures out what's going on with the Vietnamese crime ring she decides to go to the police, which is a big mistake. Dung, who wants to protect his friends lets them know that Kait's going to the police so they decide to kill her. I can't figure out where the hispanics figure into it, so I'm not going to include them into my speculation here... Since Dung's friends were involved in insurance scams, they obviously knew how to wreck cars. The long trail of broken glass indicates that she was initially hit far from where she eventually ended up. Chances are, whoever was doing it, shot her in the head and used their own car to herd her car into the telephone pole where she wrecked. After the actual wreck, one of the men got out and shot her in the head again to make sure she was dead, which would explain the two different angles of entry of the bullet wounds. Paul was obviously one of the two men in the car, a VW that was repainted by Dung's friends in front of his own apartment in order to help disguise it. Paul leaves the gun in the VW and whoever the passenger was sped off to drop it in the dumpster behind the auto shop, and then calmly drove off to avoid suspicion. The first cop, who "just happened to be in the neighborhood" immediately after the murder went over to see what had happened and sees Paul, who obviously has protection from someone in very high places. A second cop shows up, and Paul's name is taken for no reason other than to show that they saw him. Paul leaves and the rest of the investigation team shows up. They take their pictures, candy coat the reports and call it good, since they were obviously in on the murder. The bad pictures that were shown to the family were taken simply for PR reasons, while the good pictures (that the family accidentally saw one of on the video) were for their own use. Around midnight, Dung knows that it's been done so he starts to attempt to cover himself by calling people and saying that Kait's been killed. In the meantime he has also had a friend of his fake the note from Kait to supplement his own story. Three hours later the cops wake him up and "inform" him that Kait's dead. Dung starts to feel guilty and tells Kait's mom that he knows who killed Kait and can't decide whether or not to tell. Word of this gets out and Dung "commits suicide" in Khanh's room at KAFB. More likely, Dung was stabbed in Khanh's room to shut him up.

Now I've got some questions that, if answered, could fill in some of the huge gaps in this case:
-Why would the FBI refuse to verify the APD reports?
-Why were Kait's belongings in the Violent Crimes vault if it was decided to be a "random
drive-by?" -Who is Lee Padilla's brother, and where is Lee Padilla now?
-Who is protecting Paul and why?
Thanks for listening. I know I've rambled, but I hope it helps. If you want to ask me any questions I can be reached at [email protected] Thanks again. Good luck.

Response: You've put the pieces of this chaotic puzzle together so amazingly well that I've copied your post and sent it to our private investigator. You've actually got it MAKING SENSE!!!

Is there anymore info on Dung and Sharon mysterious "accidents?" (The dog Bite and alleged suicide) Werent they both ironically on the same day or no?

Response: Those weren't the only two mysterious "accidents" that happened to people linked to Kait's murder. Ray Padilla, (who has admitted to being Dung's drug supplier)had his wrists cut (an alleged suicide attempt) after telling police that An Quoc Le's friends were big time cocaine dealers. The two women who were with Padilla at the time also had wrists cut and arms slashed, (alleged suicide attempts, because they wanted to keep Padilla company). Dennis "Marty" Martinez (who called 911 to confess that he and his friends were hired by the Vietnamese to kill Kait) was found lying in his doorway with his wrists cut, (an alleged suicide attempt). And the Hispanic suspect, Miguel Garcia, was shot in the stomach after his release from jail, (another alleged suicide attempt). All of these people survived, but all appear to have been intimidated enough by their "suicide attempts" not to talk about the case any further.

I suggest you take a look at a man named Quoc, has a jewelry business in SE Albq., is a CI for APD and a friend of your daughter's boyfriend.

Arquette Family Response: Please, send us his full name, the name of his business, and any other information you may have, especially about his relationship with APD. Don't post those here, mail them to us at the PO Box given on the web page. Thank you.

I have nieces, five of them, ready to experience and live while residing in the cloud of crime that lingers in Albuquerque. I fear for them, not wanting them to go through the pain my friends and I did after losing Nathan Romero. I want to join your fight for freedom- the freedom to walk outside and drive in a car and the freedom to speak of the injustices that let the guilty walk and their victims left to live in the invisible bars of our sorrow. What can I do? I have already planned to talk to the assailants in Nathan's case, just for my own personal closure; to see if they are really human and hurt just as I do, but these efforts do nothing for my nieces. I want to make a better Albuquerque for them, but how? I'll help you. I'll speak to classrooms, I'll picket for freedom, I'll stay awake until it stops. It is only people like us, who have lived in this reality of pain who can turn it around and make it right. I want to make it right.

Arquette Family Response:The best way for people to help us is to do everything in their power to publicize this internet page. There must be people out there, especially in Albuquerque, who have vital information that they don't realize is important. When they read the questions we've posted on Kait's web page, they may suddenly snap to the fact that they hold a meaningful piece of the puzzle. Like Kait's hairdresser, who didn't realize it was important that Kait's boyfriend phoned her before midnight to tell her, "They shot Kait!" until she found out that police didn't inform the boyfriend of the shooting until 3 a.m.

About Nathan Romero -- I hope all of you will go to the update section titled "Is Vietnamese Crime Protected In Albuquerque?" and read about Nathan's mother's personal investigation of her son's homicide and how she literally FORCED the police to arrest his killers. And while you're at it, read the "Ninja Bandit" section about the Klunck family's valiant struggle to expose the truth behind the death of their son, Peter. (Both those cases appear to link to Kait's.)

The mysterious deaths of young people in Albuquerque keep multiplying. The most recent parent to contact us is the mother of Josh Vihel, 16, who died under suspicious circumstances at a party in Albuquerque on January 10, 1998. People were seen carrying Josh's limp body out of the party house, and his death was not reported for 24 hours. The APD homicide detective in charge of the case has told Josh's mother that former District Attorney, Bob Schwartz, has forbidden police to investigate the people who gave the party. If anybody out there knows anything about this situation, please, contact us, and we will put you in touch with Josh's parents, who are desperate to understand what happened to their boy. The police won't even tell them where the party was held.

I can not add any specifics to your daughters case, but I do know that government involvement in drugs goes back at least to 1964 in Viet Nam. I was sent to Viet Nam in September 1964. As a low rank sailor, I was assigned to the Arned Forces Post Office during the Christmas rush of 1964. My job was to pick-up and deliver mail to the airport. Each trip to the airport my truck was full of medal boxes - all the same size and weight and each box had a lock on it. I put the boxes on Air Americia aircraft heading to the United States. There were hundreds of boxes. I asked the Sargent in charge of the Post Office what were in the boxes and he told me that I must be stupid not to know. He informed me that in the boxes were pods of opium that were being sold to pay for CIA operations in Southeast Asia. I told an Army Warrant Officer, who I worked for. and within hours of informing I was in a coma in the Naval Hospital in Siagon. No one ever investigated my claims.

This is for the person who has read this website and is keeping up on Kait's website! Yes I am THE BARTENDER! Instead of calling my house and making comments AND this morning's early morning phone call with your STUPID LAUGH I highly suggest that you be a MAN and say what you really mean!!! You are a low life and only have the courage to come out of the woodwork by using a calling card! I dare you!

THE BARTENDER

My husband used to be a member of a Chicago based gang call Black Gangster Disciples or the BGD's and he was also a drug and gun dealer along with his brother. His father was also a major narcotics dealer in our area. But thankfully they are all seving God and do not do that anymore. But anyway back to what I was saying. My husband and I were talking about your daughter's case just a little while ago when he called me on his lunch break and I filled him in on some of the key issues of the case. Our feeling is to some how dig a little deeper into Khanh Pham. When I decribed the diagram of the enterance of the bullet wounds, with out giving a full list of people involved the first thing he said was, "That is an assasination technique." He said it is what the military calls "an eye for an eye." And only a skilled marksmen or a military trained gun man would be able to shoot with such acuracy. Our gut feeling is that Khanh Pham is the killer and since the Air Force was involved with the drug ring and so was he; that's why he is being so well protected. He feels it was definatley an inside job and that Kati knew too much and that is why she lost her life. It happens in the neighborhood we live in all the time. In fact both of us just witnessed two separate drug deals in front of our home last week. If any one knew I think we would be dead to. Sorry I can only give you my login name. But with my in laws enemy's still out there its not safe to give any real names. I hope this ends for you soon so you and Kati can finally rest in peace. We will be praying for you continually. (Millie)

Arquette Family Response:The person who posted this message has been in personal touch with us via e-mail. Her husband's reaction to the gunshot wounds is identical to that of a private accident and crime scene reconstruction service, (often used by APD), that we hired to do an analysis of the crime scene, based upon APD reports, medical reports, APD photos and TV footage, etc. Their conclusion was that this was NOT A RANDOM SHOOTING, IT WAS A DELIBERATE HIT.

I am an acquaintance of homicide Detective Damon Fay, who worked on your daughter's case. In late July or early August, 1989, Detective Fay specifically told me that the location of one of the bullets in your daughter's car indicated that the shooting was not random, that the shot had to be aimed at a target. I also recall that this bullet was found later, not during the initial investigation.

Arquette Family Response:Detective Fay's statement is VERY interesting to us, since people in the neighborhood at the time of the shooting told police they heard FOUR shots. However, according to police reports, only three shots were ever accounted for -- two in Kait's head and one in the door frame of the car.

If anybody else out there has information about this very important "extra bullet," please, either post it here or send us a private e-mail.

Please accept my condolences on the tragic loss of your daughter. I admire your tenacity in pursuing the case for nine years. I do, however, have some questions for you. In one of your replies to a posted comment, you state that, to the best of your knowledge, Kait knew Sharon Smith for a couple of months. However, Ms. Smith drew a detailed map to her residence for Kait to use. My questions: do you recall the first time Kait mentioned Ms. Smith and what their connection was? Did Kait meet her through work, school, etc. ? Have you hired a private detective to track this woman down? If she truly knows anything substantial about your daughter's killing, she could be the weak link you are looking for. Also, exactly what type of gun killed your daughter? Are most of the police who "investigated" the murder still on the force? Since there were allegations of drugrunning involved in this case, could the DEA or some other agency be brought into the case? Please continue to investigate the police corruption angle. This seems to be more than just gross incompetence on the part of ADP. Please continue to fight this appalling case of injustice.

Sincerely, Terry Wilde

Arquette Family Response:Sharon Smith had a snow cone cart in Fair Plaza Shopping Center, right outside Pier One Imports, where Kait worked as clothing manager. They met during one of Kait's work breaks. Although they reportedly had attended movies together and gone to an alternative night club called Beyond Ordinary, (owned by Sharon's relatives), Kait had not been to Sharon's home until the night of the shooting.

We do know where Sharon is, but have promised not to reveal her location, as she says she is afraid for her life, and we suspect she has reason to be. Sharon missed Kait's funeral, because she was in the emergency room with a badly injured arm. She maintains she was bitten by her dog, but the scar does not look like a dog bite, and she will not allow us to inspect the ER report. That was the same date on which Kait's boyfriend got a knife in his stomach (an alleged suicide attempt). Although both deny this, we suspect that both he and Sharon may have been knifed as a threat to keep them from talking.

In regard to the police officers: We have recently been told by a member of APD that when the media exposed the invalidity of the investigation of the Hispanics, Violent Crimes Lt. Patrick Dunworth, who orchestrated that investigation, was told "you're out of here" and bumped off his command. This fits with previous information that Homicide Det. Steve Gallegos, the detective in charge of Kait's case who answered to Dunworth, left the homicide department, and Det. Ronald Merriman, the first officer at the scene (whose statements dramatically conflict with the crime scene evidence and with the statements of Rescue), was demoted to "officer" and then bumped off the Force. All this would seem to indicate that something serious was going on behind the scenes at APD in regard to the handling of this case. Yet, the official APD statement continues to be that the murder was a random drive-by shooting by drunken Hispanics.

I have been a private detective/intelligence agent/etc from 1966 until I semi-retired in 1993. I spent 2 tours in Viet-Nam and was married in Viet-Nam. The note that was said to be written by Kait was written by a Vietnamese: The "H" of "Hon" and all of the "s"s are definitely written by a Viet. From all of my years looking at documents and letters I would recognize English written by a Vietnamese in my sleep. No one seems to have noticed this fact? Incredible!!!

The Vietnamese gangs work their auto theft/insurance scams from CA across the southwest into Texas and into Florida down mostly to Orlando (but some are down to Miami now. There are Viet gangs doing the hits for other nationalities as well as themselves. I do not wish to speculate too much, but I think your best approach would be the auto accident frauds. You need a contact in the auto fraud department of an insurance company.

The Vietnamese are very violent and will not hesitate to kill you if you get too close. If you get threats, you will know that you are on the right track.

Arquette Family Response:Investigators for the National Insurance Crime Bureau and the Fraud Division of the California State Insurance Agencies have been among our strongest supporters, as has the John Cooke Insurance Fraud Report, a national trade paper for fraud investigators. The JCFR ran several full page articles about Kait's case, illustrated by photos of her grave.

Arquette Family-

I am very sorry about your daughter. I just got done reading your book "Who Killed My Daughter?" It was a great book and a very tragic story. I just wanted you to know how very strong I think you are. All of you. Even if your case is never solved at least you know that you've tried your hardest to succeed in solving the case. Sincerly, Rachel, Missouri

Arquette Family Response:As a professional writer, I was in a position to expose Kait's story to the public. Most families in our position don't have that option. Since Kait's death, we have been contacted by numerous parents in Albuqueque who are convinced that their young adult children were murdered because they were preparing to expose criminal activities that are protected by certain members of APD and/or of the Bernallilo County Sheriff's Dept. These parents contend that their children's murders were shrugged off by law enforcement as suicides, random shootings, or (as in the case of Peter Klunck) as shootings in "self defense" by dirty cops. One Albuquerque mother tells us that her son, who was shot to death (in "self defense") this past January is the third of her children to be murdered. Cases against APD are routinely settled out of court with no admission of wrong doing. The City of Albuquerque pays an average of $2 million to $2.5 million a year in claims against APD, and sets aside $4 million for that purpose.

The black bartender at the Roadrunner has a name. His name is Rodney and he lived right outside the Gibson gate. Rodney along with several other black and oriental workers at the base clubs were openly involved in drug dealing. Rodney was also a thief but for some reason the club managers over looked what Rodney was doing. He appeared to be their "favorite son". Rodney worked both the Roadrunner aka Laser on the flight line and the main NCO club. Rodney also had an extensive arrest record which should have kept him from working at Kirtland Air Force Base.

MESSAGE FROM THE ARQUETTE FAMILY TO THE PERSON WHO SENT US A PRIVATE E-MAIL ON SEPT.17: Your information is very interesting to us, as it supports some other information which we were uncertain about. We'd be grateful for anything more that you can tell us.
We understand your reluctance to identify yourself, but hope you can figure out some way for us to be able to establish a two-way communication.

To the person who wrote the post about the drug trade at the club on Kirtland AFB, the APD Lt. Pat who was a friend of the DJ Ray Duran was named Dunsworth. He was in charge of the Arquette investigation and in charge of the scene at Pete Klunk shooting. The woman named Annie with a big mole on her face sounds like the snitch who called in a fake burglary charge to set Pete up to be killed by the ROP Team. She also sometimes went by the name Evelyn.

Arquette Family Response: THIS INFORMATION IS EXTREMELY INTERESTING, and we have followed up on it. We have verified with Peter Klunck's family, who have a copy of Peter's case file, that the woman who reported that alleged burglary was "Annie Dalton," a former girlfriend of Peter's who had a big mole on her face. Another report in that file identifies Lt. Patrick Dunsworth as the member of APD who attended Peter Klunck's autopsy and was responsible for APD's untruthful statement to the media that Peter was shot in the CHEST, when in fact, APD officers Matt Griffin, Paul Heatley and Robert Valterra, all shot Peter in the BACK.

In your Update, "Who's Pulling Strings For Paul Apodaca?", you say that when Apodaca was arrested for shooting a transvestite, he was carrying I.D. that showed him to be "Lee Padilla," the brother of an APD police officer. Is that brother LEIUTENANT CHRIS PADILLA of the Violent Crimes Unit, mentioned a couple posts down in that post about Dennis Martinez?

Arquette Family Response: If anybody knows the answer to that question, please, contact us. Paul Apodaca's alleged reason for being at the scene of Kait's shooting was that he was in the neighborhood visiting his friend Lee Padilla. If this friend is,in fact, the brother of the leiutenant in charge of the investigation of Kait's case, it raises some interesting questions. But "Padilla" is not an uncommon name in New Mexico, so there may be more than one "Padilla" in the APD Violent Crimes.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ABOUT JUVE ESCOBEDO --(From the Arquette Family): We somehow missed responding to a post below which asks where the Hispanic suspects are today. Miguel Garcia and Dennis (Marty) Martinez are in Albuquerque, but JUVE ESCOBEDO aka JOSE HERNANDEZ has mysteriously vanished. If anybody out there has information about Juve, please, contact us. It's rumored that he's still in Albuquerque, keeping a low profile, and may be involved in disassembling cars.

To the Arquette Family,

After a very long restless night I have read your answer back to my posting. I'm going to feel much better by using the US Mail...god knows that "drive-by shootings" can happen to anybody on the streets of Albuquerque, especially if one knows who is to be randomly selected. I accept and trust you after reading that you would keep your word on keeping all names silent that help you with information about this city. In fact I feel safer knowing that you have something from me in writing. Thank you.

Arquette Family Response: We look forward to receiving this.

To The Arquette Family,

The DJ that played music at the Roadrunner aka Laser Lounge at Kirtland Air Force Base had/has a name. During the time frame that your daughter was murdered the DJ that moonlighted name was Ray Duran. He went by Ray J. Ray spun records on Friday nights from around 4 PM to closing, he was in there on Thursdays too. A lot of women had the hots for him (what a joke if they had only known the truth) Ray always let the fact that he was an Albuquerque cop be known, well he said he was a detective instead of a roadman. When Ray spun records there were always plenty of "his kind" that somehow got on base....a homicide detective named Pat who didn't dress like a "cowboy" but in dockers, loafers...more like a Yankee if you know what I mean. Ray drank Coors (Colorado Kool-aid) and smoked Salems if I'm not mistaken (on the cigarettes) that stood him out from his other buddies who smoked Marlboros. There was always a female that came into the club when Ray played music, her name was (she called herself) Annie. Word was this woman was a NARC. She was tall and had long hair with a huge mole on her face. If she was "narcing" she was getting into a (or trying) to get into a lot of airmens BDU's From the neck down she looked pretty good, her skirts were cut clean up to her a-- and she tried showing every asset she had. That face was her downfall! Whoa! Scared me and I ain't afraid of nothing! The guys at the club used to say they would throw a flag over her face and say they were "doing her for OLD GLORY"...the flag. If she was a NARC she wasn;t doing her job because the flow of drugs that came through there would have lit up the Duke City! There was a black bartender that worked at the main NCO club and the Roadrunner/Laser...he was totally messed up! Drugs and booze and I might add theft. There was no way to keep what was going on in there a secret...a blind cop would have known about the illegal activities going on at the little club right off the flightline. Ray drove a white van as described in your book, "Who Killed My Daughter." He wasn't faithful to his wife (the one of the month, year...whatever) Ray was always trying to get into a female's pants. I hope this helps some, if it does just give me a sign or post something and if your interested I might have more for you.

I'm very sorry about your daughter, may Kait soar with eagles and have wings as colorful as a beautiful parrot from the south seas. May you and your family find the truth and finally have closure. Albuquerque is a fast town with plenty of secrets.....

Arquette Family Response: We are very interested in your information. Rather than posting more here, please, contact us by U.S. mail at the P.O. box listed on Kait's web page.

Excuse me but...this happened in New Mexico...Land of Enchantment and secrets. Dung should have his ass hauled before a grand jury! Khanh Pham and An Q. Le should have already been before a grand jury hearing! Sorry but when America knows whats going on with these aliens our government should act.

Doesn't the fact that Khanh Pham who left the United States Air Force on 12 Feb 98 had a security clearence of top secret level or higher? After all, Khanh Pham was with the JTF/POW/MIA based out of Camp Smith, Hawaii. You ask what is JTF/FA POW?MIA? That's the JOINT TASK FORCE/FULL ACCOUNTING FOR MISSING PRISONERS OF WAR AND MISSING IN ACTION. Is this why the USAF won't release information to the Arquettes? Why won't Bolling AFB allow information that may be critical to solving a murder to be released?

Did anybody talk to internal affairs.since matt griffin was arrested they must have done some investigation. also i think peter klunck and this case are linked.what was the name of the first cop at the scene?

dla

Arquette Family Response: (1) Internal Affairs Investigations appear to be used only as camoufage. Former Chief Justice William Riordan, who conducted the Internal Affairs investigation for the police department in the Peter Klunck shooting, stated in his official report to Police Chief Sam Baca, "I believe there is a question about whether Mr. Klunck was armed at the time he was shot and, even if he was, whether it was necessary to shoot him." Chief Baca then announced to the media that the police Internal Affairs investigation concluded the Klunck shooting was JUSTIFIED. (2) The first officer at the scene of Kait's shooting was Violent Crimes Detective Ronald Merriman. He is no longer with the department.

The post from the person who referred to Convicted murder Matt Griffin as "Matt" and the teen killed being referred to as Pete instead of Peter tells me that APD is speaking out loud and clear! It is evident that a APD officer who is very close to this case feels that killing a "punk" is okay. This also appears that a secret society within APD feels that killing who they believe is useless to society is doing society a favor. Could Clint Eastwood been that far off with the movie Magnum Force?

Kait may have not been "an angel" but doesn that mean her death isn't important enough to secure the scene, go over the scene, car and secure the first people on the scene hounding them for answers to her death? APD gives shoplifting more attention than what this case got. Either APD has to admit that they are the dumbest department going or that a cover up indeed happened.

D{:}

I can't believe this trying to link this case to Griffin. I know APD wouldn't cover anything up. And this goes on everytime something like this happens if it can't be solved or not solved to their satisfaction. I'm sorry for Kaits death and the families loss I know that would be hard. But realize, she may have not be the total angel everyone says they are when they become victims.
Klunck for example how the hec would Griffin be able to get involved in a chase that was called out and be able to shoot. People don't realize polce have to make split second decisions to shoot. I agree Griffin wasn't the perfect Officer but I don't think this was related in any way and if Griffin wasn't there Klunck would of been shot anyway. And there the angel comes into play the picture on this website of Klunck in his Military uniform. Well why didn't they put his mug shot picture instead thats the person he was when he died. Again sorry for the family's loss on Pete too but face it kids aren't the perfect angels their parents believe they are.
Matt stole his own car by the way and no one helped him he did kill the witness when he was stealing one car because the witness knew him and all the sports cars he used were iroc camaro's which he also owned.
Apd has a fine homicide department and excellent detectives and not every murder can be solved and this may just be one of them. But it doesn't mean that there was a cover up. What about the news articles about APD being cleared of all wrong doing in each of these incidents by teh higher courts.
This web page is one sided I'm sorry but i think both sides should be expressed here to give everyone a fair shot at their decision.