Sword and Scale - August 12th, 2024 - We all have our secrets...

Episode Date: August 12, 2024

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bringing you new episodes right when you wake up. It's the same kind of content that you've come to love and expect from Sword and Scale, but in shorter format. We bring you three to five stories every single day. As a former producer of the main show, I feel like I've come to learn and know what you guys love most about the content. And we try and bring that to you every single day. If you enjoyed what you heard today, consider subscribing over at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform. Now, without further ado, let's dive into it.

A teenager from Iowa suspected in a murder back in June encounters the police in Southern California. New gruesome details are revealed from a murder in Kansas last month, and the investigation into the death of a 15-year year old Montana girl back in 1996 Leads to another deadly outcome all of this coming at you right now here on sword and scale daily During the early morning hours of June 1st, police in Marshalltown, Iowa responded to the Center Street station bar after receiving reports about shots being fired. When officers arrived, they found quite a chaotic scene.

Groups of people who were leaving the downtown bars when the shooting occurred remained on the scene to lend a hand where they could. As officers made their way through the crowd, they would locate the victim of the shooting, who was later identified as 41-year-old Ramon Nieves. Ramon was provided medical care at the scene and then taken to a local area hospital where, sadly, he passed away due to his injuries. As officers spoke with witnesses at the scene, they learned that, earlier in the evening, a younger man threw a cup on the ground and was just being completely disrespectful inside the bar, which caught the attention of some patrons, one of them being Ramon.

So Ramon and one of his friends decided to confront the young man about the cup and simply asked him to pick it up. No big deal. But the individual chose to shove Ramon and his friend in response to their request. The young man then brandished a firearm and began firing at Ramon. The suspect would later be identified as 18-year-old Victor Delgadillo. And the police had no idea where Victor was or where he was going. Days passed by, and investigators still had no leads or answers. Ramon's family, in particular his brother, tried to remain hopeful that his killer would be caught, but they also had the reservations about why he hadn't already. Ramon's brother

would state the following, quote, I know that law enforcement, they will get him and I got faith in them, but they could have done the job earlier. They could have caught this guy already. Investigators continue looking for Victor, but then they received information that he had left the area. Those days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months, until this past Friday, news broke out of Southern California. The Anaheim Police Department announced that their officers, working with the US Marshals Task Force, encountered Victor Delgadillo in an industrial area near North State College

Boulevard and the 91 Freeway. And when they came into contact with Victor, he pulled out a gun which led to an ensuing gunfight. It was reported that roughly 15 to 20 shots were fired in the exchange. One witness who was working near the scene when the gunfire broke out recalled the following quote, I was eating lunch when I heard what sounded like a string of firecrackers going off. When I turned I saw the officers basically firing at the suspect. We all kind of hurried to the door to see what was going on. I didn't hear the officers yell for the guy to put his hands up or stop. Afterward they did.

From there, we kind of saw the whole medical team come. At the end of it, two people had been shot. One was an innocent bystander who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and the other was Victor. Victor would be taken to a local area hospital where he died as a result of his injuries. At the time of this writing, the case remains under investigation. You know, it's kind of funny how often people think they can outsmart the police, in particular, homicide investigators.

I mean, it is their job after all to seek the truth. And in this story, a man tries his damnedest to throw the police off his trail, but the truth always prevails. On the evening of July 4th, a woman from Blue Rapids, Kansas called the police after finding a man's body in her front yard. The woman stated that she was inside of her home, and after she heard some fireworks go off, the noise had prompted her to go out front, and that's when she ultimately made the discovery.

Deputies with the Marshall County Sheriff's Office and officers with the Blue Rapids Police Department responded to the scene. However, when they arrived, the reported body was not there. Was this some kind of sick joke? The woman assured law enforcement that she had definitely seen the body, and this was backed up by blood evidence that was located around the property. Deputies and officers noted what appeared to be the remnants of a surveillance system on the woman's home, but she explained that it had been removed some time ago. So who was this mystery individual who was on this woman's lawn?

And furthermore, where did he go? Just two days after the initial call out to the woman's home, investigators ended up speaking with a couple who had some alarming information. The couple stated that their acquaintance, 31-year-old James Winkenwater, had admitted to the murder of another acquaintance, that being 36-year-old Cameron Choptease. The couple relayed that James admitted to shooting Cameron in the chest with a Black Powder.44 caliber handgun before leaving his body at a place that he referred to as quote-unquote, the farm.

Later that very same day, police were able to take James into custody for a violation of his bond. At the time of his detention, he was out on bond for aggravated assault. When investigators spoke with James, he stated that he had seen Cameron on the evening in question. He explained that he was at that woman's home that evening, and when he was there, Cameron started making threats toward him. And he was concerned because, well, at least according to James, Cameron had a nasty temper and a history of violence, something that he had witnessed firsthand. Investigators asked James about the allegations against him,

that being him allegedly admitting to killing Cameron. And James insisted that as much as he wanted to kill Cameron that evening, he didn't and he had not been involved. James stated that had he been involved, he wouldn't have told anyone, and would have simply disposed of the body in the river and skipped down. But James had a theory. Cameron might have been pulling a stunt. He insisted that the missing man had done stuff like that in the past.

The following day, investigators as well as FBI agents went to speak with the woman who reported Cameron's body on her lawn. And well, she had a much different story to tell this time around. She admitted that she lied to police when they first arrived at her home. She went on to state that she had a past with Cameron, one that was blanketed with violence by his hands. So on the evening of July 4th, when Cameron was trying to get into her house, she stated that James showed up and he was armed with a black-powder pistol.

The woman explained that after James showed up the house, she went to the bathroom and at that point, she heard yelling coming from outside of the house before hearing a popping noise. That's when she walked out and saw Cameron lying on the ground. This prompted her to go in and call 911, but when she came back outside, Cameron's body was missing. She also stated that James pointed the gun at her and stated, quote, I'm going to prison anyway. Nobody was here. The woman also told investigators that she had lied about the security cameras outside

of her home, explaining that she removed them and took them to another location. A video she recovered and handed over to investigators showed James arriving with a pistol before Cameron slumped to the ground. Investigators then obtained a search warrant for James' residence and his vehicle. Inside of his house, they found some firearms, including that black powder.44 caliber handgun. But other than that, nothing really caught their attention. The truck, however, boy oh boy did it have some key pieces of evidence front and center. In the bed of the pickup truck, investigators found a chainsaw with both its bar and chain missing and it appeared that the body of the chainsaw had spatters of blood. A review of cell data recovered from James' phone showed him going to a property that

his parents owned. And wouldn't you know it? It was a farm. Investigators traveled to the property, and there they found a metal 55-gallon barrel. A search of the inside of the barrel revealed what appeared to be dismembered human remains, as well as the chainsaws bar and chain. The remains would later be identified as Cameron Shoptes. James Winkenwater remains housed in the Marshall County Jail,

charged with first-degree murder. His bond has been set at $1 million. Let's face it, we all have secrets. Some we hide far better than others, and some secrets that just never rise to the surface. But as we all know, nothing stays hidden forever. It all comes out in the end. On the morning of September 21, 1996, then- 15-year-old Danielle Hutchins left her home in Belgrade, Montana with plans to drive down to the Cameron Bridge Fishing Access. Her family had plans to attend the Belgrade Fall Festival later that day, and as everyone was getting ready, she decided to get out of the house and get some fresh air at a familiar

spot. But hours later, Danielle hadn't returned home, which was very unusual for her. Sure, she was just a teenager, but Danielle was a teenager who stuck to her word. Danielle's mother Cheryl decided to drive down to the Cameron Bridge area and look for her daughter, and when she arrived, she discovered her daughter's truck, but no sign of Danielle. Just a few feet away from the truck, Cheryl would find Danielle's keys and water bottle lying on the ground of the trailhead. Immediately, panic set in and Cheryl began frantically looking for Danielle, but there was nothing

to indicate where she had gone. Cheryl called the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office and shortly thereafter, deputies as well as search and rescue volunteers arrived at the access area and began searching for Danielle. Hours passed by, and as the sun began to set, the search was called off for safety reasons. The next morning, though, Danielle's body was found under a willow tree in a marshy area of Cameron Bridge. She was found face down in shallow water, and it appeared that Danielle was dragged there in an attempt to hide her.

The autopsy revealed that Danielle's cause of death was drowning, though the manner of death was left undetermined. It was also learned that Danielle was sexually assaulted before her death. A sexual assault kit was performed and DNA would be recovered, though at the time, as we know, DNA testing was very limited compared to what it is today. Four hairs were also found on Danielle's body during the initial part of the investigation, which were catalogued into evidence. Though investigators did their due diligence on the case and interviewed multiple suspects, each were ultimately ruled out in the investigation. The days turned to weeks, the weeks turned to months, the months turned to years,

and the years turned to decades. It wouldn't be until 2019 when Danielle's murder investigation was reopened. Despite all the time that had passed, her murder haunted investigators. But that wouldn't stop this new pursuit in the name of justice. And Danielle's family, they were fully on board to find the monster who did this to their innocent teenager. In 2022, investigators sent the DNA that was recovered from the sexual assault kit, as well as those hairs that were found on Daniel's body, to a forensic lab in California. However, there were no matches in the CODIS DNA database. And then, the investigative team decided to try a different approach.

They sent evidence to the highly regarded Parabon Nanolabs in Virginia to see what they could pull. While it took some time, last month, researchers at Parabon Nano Labs in Virginia to see what they could pull. While it took some time, last month, researchers at Parabon were able to provide investigators with a name, that being Paul Hutchinson, a 57-year-old man from Dillon, Montana. As investigators started looking into Paul, they learned that he was a married father of two.

And at the time that the crime occurred, Paul was attending Montana State University, and guess what he was there studying? Fisheries, wildlife, biology. As we know, Danielle was killed at the Cameron Bridge Fishing Access. Investigators noted that Paul's record was exceptionally clean. No criminal history, no traffic citation history. Was this really the guy? Well, on the evening of July 23rd, investigators asked Paul to come speak with them.

During the interview, they noted that Paul was exhibiting signs of extreme distress and was very, very nervous. Investigators wrote in their report that he was profusely sweating, scratching at his face and chewing on his hands. And when they showed him photos of Daniel Hutchins, Paul was said to have slumped in his chair and showed signs of being extremely uncomfortable. At the end of the two hour interview,

investigators noted that his behavior was erratic. At around 417 a.m., just hours after Paul was interviewed by investigators, he called the Beaverhead County Sheriff's Office and stated that he needed assistance before hanging up the phone. When deputies arrived at the location he requested, they found him dead inside of his vehicle from a self-inflicted gunshot.

And this past Friday, just mere weeks after Paul's interview and subsequent suicide, the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office announced that DNA recovered from Paul was a 100% match to DNA recovered at the crime scene nearly three decades ago. The same day that this was announced, there was an update to Paul's obituary with a message from his wife. She wrote, quote, We are absolutely heartbroken to learn this news, and our hearts go out to the Hutchins family. It is good to know that they will at last be able to find the closure that they deserve. Our own family was already reeling from dealing with Paul's suicide. In 24 years of marriage, there was never any hint that something like this could be lurking in the background. Paul was an

exceptional husband and father. This latest news makes our grieving so much more complicated. We would appreciate being given the space to process and come to terms with this development as we mourn. The Gallatin County Sheriff's Office has stated that the investigation continues as they work to tie up the remaining loose ends. Thanks so much for joining us today for this episode of Sword and Scale Daily. If you like what you heard, consider subscribing over at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform. Something that we love here at this show is feedback and suggestions. We want to know how

we can make Sword and Scale Daily a part of your day. I'm your host Ryan Williams, and we'll see you soon.