You suspect a dear friend may be a murderer. Do you VOLUNTEER that info to the cops?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Yes, it’s a hypothetical situation with a long storytelling scenario and ethical dilemma. If you don’t like these but are still reading, I can only assume you’re some sort of masochist.

Let’s say you have a bosom friend named Jesse, who’s smart, clever, loyal, funny, and generous–a good egg all around, but still flawed enough not to be nauseating. Though he presents a happy face in public, Jesse is sometimes moody or withdrawn around people he trusts, such as you. On a inebriated evening a decade ago, he told you he was molested from the ages 9 to 12 by a public school science teacher who coached Little League. “Guy’s name was Niels Rutherford,” Jesse said drunkenly. “Never told anybody else about it. Sometimes I’m afraid I’ll explode with rage if I think about it too much.”

That’s the past. Today you happen to be visiting Jesse’s home town, on the other side of the country from where y’all live. While there you see a human-interest piece on the local news. A local woman is pleading for information on her husband’s murder a year ago. The dead man’s name is Niels Rutherford; he was a retired science teacher who coached Little League, some twenty years Jesse’s senior. Despite Mrs. Rutherford’s pleas, the police are no longer investigating the case. They know Rutherford was shot to death by a 9-millimeter handgun, but there was no other useful evidence, no witnesses, and according to the widow no one with a motive. The Rutherfords’ two daughters are with the widow during the news interview; their only son refused to talk to reporters.

This news report brings several things to mind. At the time Rutherford was murdered (you remember because it was your birthday and Jesse missed the party), Jesse had occasion to visit this city. Though easily able to afford a plane ticket, Jesse drove instead (thus, you realize now, avoiding airport security checks). In the weeks prior to that trip, you twice noticed him studying websites about criminal forensics, both times using a public library computer rather than his personal laptop or anyone’s home internet connection. A few days before the trip, Jesse’s house was apparently burglarized; the most expensive item missing was his 9-millimeter Glock. He was quick to report this theft to the police but declined to file an insurance claim (as if not wanting to be reimbursed for the “lost” items). He never told you exactly what he did on this trip, and immediately after returning home, he had the car in he drove professionally detailed, then sold it.

All this makes you suspect Jesse may be Rutherford’s killer. Do you volunteer what you know to the cops? Lacking that, do you at least Jesse if you’re right to be suspicious? Continue the friendship? Why do you choose as you do?

You can wait for the poll if you want to, but since I’m not including one that’s kinda silly.

2

Nope.

3

Which question are you answering? There’s four in the OP.

4

Seconded…nope, don’t volunteer info for the cops in your scenario. First off, it’s circumstantial and hearsay, so wouldn’t mean anything anyway. Secondly, if my good friend was in fact molested, and this was the guy who did it, well…got to hate that. Pay back is a bitch. And really, I don’t KNOW anything.

Now, if my good friend asked me to help him dig the grave, that might be different…though it might not be, too. But in this situation? The cops can find their own leads…that’s why the make the big bucks. :wink:

5

What’s the second question?

6

Here are the four questions from the OP.

  1. Knowing what you know, do you volunteer to the police that your friend may be the murderer?
    b) Regardless of your answer to (1), do you ask Jesse if he committed the crime?
    Ɣ) Regardless of your answer to (b), do you continue the friendship?
    iv) Why do you choose as you do?
7

It’s a tough call. Because this is supposed to be a ‘dear friend’ I’d be hesitant to call the police. But a lot of details would matter. Most significant would be judging the danger to the public this guy presents. If I thought there were other people that enraged him I’d be concerned. I’d also have to feel confident that his claims of molestation were real and not a delusion. But all in all before I’d ever call the police I’d try to talk to him about it somehow. Indirectly at first, but something to try and get a better picture of the situation. And that might not clear anything up. This would weigh on me, but if the assumptions in the OP hold up I’d be disinclined to call the police. And I’d have a difficult time maintaining a friendship with him.

8

I would not volunteer the info for a few reasons:

  1. The criminal justice system doesn’t convict based on truth, it convicts based on evidence. All I have is a series of hunches.
  2. Jesse might not be guilty. It might be a series of random coincidences.
  3. If my suspicions are right and he is guilty, then he didn’t commit a perfect crime. Therefore, any investigators worth their salt should have been able to crack the case. I don’t feel obligated to go out of my way and make their job any easier.
  4. I’d have to tell the police Jesse told me he got molested, and when I keep a secret like that it stays kept forever.
  5. I’ve been abused, and I understand why he did it. Moreover, in my estimation, Jesse is unlikely to re-offend. Putting him in jail would not unkill his abuser.

I may not be able to continue maintaining the friendship, though.

9

The person most endangered would be you, if you’re really the only person who could connect him to the crime. I think it’d be hard to live with that for very long if there were even a remote possibility he were guilty.

10

As long as I believe that Jesse is in his right mind and isn’t going to be shooting anyone else, nope, I’m not going to volunteer anything. I’m also not going to ask Jesse any questions. It’s better for both Jesse and me if I know as little as possible. If we’re possibly covering up a murder here, let’s try to hang on to plausible deniability as long as possible. Though with all the evidence you laid out, there’s not much doubt.

I can’t predict how I’d feel being around Jesse after figuring out what he did, so I really don’t know what would happen with the friendship. I’d certainly avoid him for a while until I could figure out how I felt about it.

This would be a much more difficult question if Jesse had told me that there was a ring of abusers and I suspect he’s killed at least one and is hunting down the rest. I’d probably feel obligated to speak up then, but it would not be an easy choice.

11

In this case, I would not volunteer any information to the police. As XT said, I really don’t know anything.

I would not say anything to Jesse, I would never want him to think I was holding anything over his head.

I would continue being his friend, always remembering that he MAY be someone with whom you do NOT want to fuck. I have some friends like that now, we have no problems between us.

If anyone knows what Niels did to Jesse, it would be Jesse. Unless I know Jesse is crazy and delusional, and he would not be my friend if he was, I’d consider this a done deal. Maybe not Justice with a capital J, but not something I’m going to lose a lot of sleep over, either. I would feel sorry for Niels’ family, but that would be the extent of it, I think.

12
  1. Knowing what you know, do you volunteer to the police that your friend may be the murderer?

No.

b) Regardless of your answer to (1), do you ask Jesse if he committed the crime?

Not immediately, but I could see myself asking if we were in a situation similar to the one in which he told me he was molested.

Ɣ) Regardless of your answer to (b), do you continue the friendship?

Yes.

iv) Why do you choose as you do?

I’m not saying my choices are the right or ethical ones. I’m being totally honest, I know myself pretty well, and I know that I would base a decision like this on my gut feeling. I would have mixed emotions, but the strongest would be these:

  1. Loyalty 2. Hatred for the person who molested him and almost definitely other children 3. Satisfaction that other children in the town are no longer in danger of being molested by this man
    These would be opposed to, but probably not overpowered by:
  2. Guilt, because I believe this man should have been put to justice via the proper channels, not vigilantism. 2. Sympathy for the man’s family
13

I’d be part of the public that I considered. It’s why I’d go out on a limb and try to get more information. It’s all in the same category. If I felt a need to protect a friend I’d do so aware that I’m putting myself in some danger to start with. He may already know I’m a person who could link him to a murder, so that’s already out there. However, if I thought there was a danger to my family I’d make things progress quickly.

14

Criminal defense attorneys that rat out potential clients to law enforcement tend to go hungry or wake up dead. Sometimes both. So I ain’t saying a word. Jesse knows what I do for a living, and if he needs me, he’ll call.

15

The problem is that “getting more information” involves suggesting to Jesse that you’re onto him (if he’s a murderer). Not a good thing.

16

I believe I’ll just mind my own business and continue my friendship with Jesse. The death of a molester does not fill me with sorrow. Sometimes bad things just happen to bad people. The police can solve the case, or not, without me.

17

If he’s a good enough friend to not call the police in the first place, then it would be worth the chance. That all depends on a lot of details. If I thought he was a total psycho already I wouldn’t take the risk, but then he wouldn’t be that close of a friend either.

18

Under the circumstances of the OP, I would continue my friendship with Jesse and never mention it again.

19

TriPolar, am I correct in thinking that you’d choose differently if Jesse were not a close friend – if he’d made that drunken admission to someone else at a New Year’s Eve party, say,and you just happened to overhear it rather than being a deliberate confidant?

Issues of friendship aside, I think Marley23 is correct in saying that it’s a pointless risk to ask Jesse about the matter, even indirectly. Neither you nor he is likely to benefit. If Jesse is innocent of the crime, he’ll say that and almost certianly be pissed, endangering the friendship. If Jesse is guilty of the crime but not willing to kill again, he’ll deny any involvement and dial back the friendship (emotionally if not superficially). If he’s guilty and willing to kill again, well, you’ve just put yourself in danger. You’re not going to be investigating the crime yourself (even if you’re a cop, the OP says you don’t live in the city where the crime occurred). Seems to me that the only reasonable choices are to go to the cops with your suspicions and let them handle it, or keep your mouth shut.

GQ-type query:

Oak, assuming that Jesse has never retained you as his counsel, what obligation do you have to answer the police’s questions if they come a knocking (as opposed to your instigating it)? Also, how much of the hunches & deductions from the OP would be admissable at trial, if any?

20

If he wasn’t much of a friend I’d have some inclination to go to the police. The circumstances would matter. But I would be concerned about a danger to the public.

As far as talking to him, I’d have to. My choices would be going to the police or talking to him because this would weigh heavily on me. I understand that talking to him may just end up with me calling the police, but I’d have to do it. If he’s done it I’d hope he’d turn himself in. I’ve only got a few friends dear enough that this presents a quandry, and I wouldn’t be able to forget about it or just turn them in without some intermediate action. Others could reasonably take a different approach.