A Secret In Every Hole

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it They had been married for 37 years, having wed in the early 1960s when she was about 18 and he about 25. this part of the story is covered for now Her father was a violent alcoholic, and when she was 11 she beat him unconscious with a pistol from his nightstand to stop him beating her mother. She married young partly to get out of that house. She worked at times as a butcher's assistant, and both she and Jean were keen hunters and fishermen. They lived on the Athens Road, at routes 43 and 151, in Hartland, Somerset County, Maine.

Neighbours described the Gogans as private people who kept to themselves, though Jean was the more sociable of the two and would walk up the road to talk to a neighbour's husband and son. The marriage was not peaceful. Police had been called to the house four times in the previous couple of years, three times by the sheriff's department and once by the state police. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Another neighbour heard Jean threaten, in the front yard, to kill his wife, the family dog and himself and to burn the house down. Several people said the abuse had grown worse as Jean's health declined, and that it escalated sharply in 1999.

this part of the story is covered for now A short time later he forced her into the truck and drove her to a remote area of Mayfield Township, about 20 miles away, taking two loaded guns. He ordered her out of the truck. She believed he meant to shoot her there and refused, telling him that if he was going to shoot her he would have to do it in the truck. He drove home.

details of the account remain covered until revealed Jean fell asleep. She took a .22-calibre pistol and shot him in the left ear. The first bullet did not kill him; he sat up and reached for a loaded .38 beside the bed. She fired twice more into the right side of his head and he died. She then dismembered the body into 17 pieces, using the skills she had learnt as a butcher's assistant. She put the parts into black plastic bags and then into military duffel bags, drove them into the woods of Mayfield Township and hand-dug 17 holes, spacing the pieces out and covering each hole with leaves so that the ground looked undisturbed.

On 3 October her sister Carleen Pellettier stopped by the house unannounced. The sisters had seen each other only about four times in 30 years. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Carleen persuaded her to report him missing, and that Sunday evening, at about five o'clock, they went to the police station. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed Asked whether it was true, she said only: 'It's true.'

The search that followed used a mobile crime scene laboratory, a helicopter and dogs. Jean's pickup was still at the house, and there was no sign that he had taken luggage or clothing. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it That same day a detective began searching the property believing he had a warrant, only to discover that no warrant had been signed. A second warrant was prepared on 5 October and a warrant was finally obtained on 7 October; a judge later ruled that the warrantless search had been lawful because the same evidence would have been found once the warrant arrived.

On 6 October police said publicly that Jean had 'met his demise'. this part of the story is covered for now Thirteen parts were found on the first night, the hands the next day, and the thighs were never recovered. Nearly a dozen firearms were taken from the house, but the .22 used in the killing and the butchering tools were never found. On 11 October a medical examiner's report confirmed that Jean had died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head.

details of the account remain covered until revealed On 9 November her lawyer opposed a state request for a court-ordered psychiatric examination, arguing that it would violate her right against self-incrimination. On 19 November, at a bail hearing, the judge set a $190,000 surety bond, allowed her brother's property to stand as security, ordered her to live with her brother and barred her from contact with 24 people, mostly Jean's relatives. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

The case was moved from Somerset County to York County because of local publicity. In August 2000 the judge upheld the search. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now

details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it She later lived in Maine under her maiden name, Pelletier, and the episode says she has not been in trouble since.