Lynch at Large

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Arrest of Lonoke chief adds questions to Ives-Henry case

As many may remember, a number of years ago there was much publicity about the video “Obstruction of Justice,” which was about the murders of Kevin Ives and Don Henry [in Saline County]. There was an ensuing lawsuit filed by former Pulaski County deputies Jay Campbell and Kirk Lane against the makers of the video. Campbell and Lane claimed defamation by a statement in the video which said that witnesses had implicated them (and others) in the murders and coverup.

Campbell and Lane prevailed at trial, but the verdict was overturned by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which stated in part: “All and all, statements and rumors corroborating the Lane-Campbell scenario, or implicating them as suspects emanate, in varying degrees of detail, from multiple sources.” The court also stated that Campbell and Lane did not satisfy their burden of proving falsity by even the lowest threshold of a preponderance of the evidence.

After the recent arrest of [former Lonoke Police Chief] Jay Campbell on various felony charges in Lonoke County, Garrick Feldman, publisher of a newspaper [that circulates] in Lonoke, contacted Saline County Prosecutor Robert Herzfeld and asked him if he was inclined to re-open [the Ives and Henry] murder case. Hertzfeld was quoted in The Leader as saying: “I would like nothing better than to solve the ‘boys on the tracks' case. Unfortunately, without a major break, such as a confession or murder weapon, I don't see how that would be possible at this point.” He also stated: “Several grand juries have looked into the deaths and have come up empty.”

Mr. Herzfeld's comments rival [former state Medical Examiner] Fahmy Malak's accidental death ruling in obsurdity. I want the public to understand that despite the fact that Jay Campbell's and Kirk Lane's names appear all over the place in the case file of [the Ives and Henry deaths], they have NEVER, EVER been questioned - not by Saline County officials, not by state officials officials and not by federal officials.

If I had been implicated in a murder, as they have, I would have been hauled down, interrogated, polygraphed and probably asked to provide DNA - and rightly so.

Three years ago when Hertzfeld first took office, my husband and I met with him and begged him to look at the case - especially the information involving Jay Campbell. We gave him information on how to contact various witnesses, etc. Mr. Herzfeld chose a date for one month later and put it on his calendar to call us to give us an update. We have never heard back from him and not one witness has been contacted to this day.

Mr. Herzfield should understand: 1. You can't solve a murder if you never investigate; 2. You don't wait for murderers to come jump in your lap. 3. An unsolved murder case should NEVER be closed.

Also, [Herzfeld Chief of Staff] Ken Casady and [former Deputy Prosecutor] Jack McQuary, both of whom are running for Saline County prosecutor, sat in on our meeting with Herzfeld. Can we, as taxpayers, expect the same interest in solving murders from either of them should they be elected, or will they make hot checks their big focus?

Linda Ives, Benton

# posted by Pat Lynch : 1:41 PM