Some detectives refer to working homicide as being at the top of their game, and if you make it to homicide, you are one of the elite. Imagine walking into a crime scene with limited information, where there is nothing but a dead body, and the “victim” can’t tell you what happened. In absence of the victim’s testimony, it is the homicide detective’s job to investigate the physical and forensic evidence, and witness statements, to solve the ultimate puzzle, both past and present, and put the case to rest.

Detective Pete Willover is an icon and veteran detective with the Sacramento Police Department. He retired in 2005, but didn’t stay away. He now works as a reserve detective in the department’s cold case unit solving sexual assaults. During his 42-year career, Willover has worked on and solved hundreds of homicide and sexual assault cases. He has been recognized across the country and featured on many crime programs.

I caught up with Detective Willover in his office. We discussed a 1977 homicide/sexual assault case involving a 15-year-old girl that had been reported missing. Penny Parker was reported missing after she didn’t make it home from her Sacramento Bee newspaper delivery job. Her body was discovered about 15 miles from where she was last seen in an underdeveloped area in Del Paso Heights. She had been stabbed and strangled, and there was evidence she had been sexually assaulted. “It was a pretty high profile case,” Willover said. Through months of investigation, he spoke with various suspects. One man stood out in particular. He was called in for a polygraph test, which he passed. With no concrete suspects, the case was filed.

“It wasn’t until the advent of DNA testing that we were able to find a match” Willover said. We looked at the same suspect from the 70s that took the polygraph test. He had since moved to Arkansas. I contacted his family here in Sacramento and obtained a DNA sample from one of his kids. It was a 90% match. We went to Arkansas and contacted the same suspect and obtained his DNA which led to a match. I then got an arrest warrant. When the Arkansas police were in the commission of arresting him, he killed himself.”

Willover was very passionate when he spoke about the Penny Parker case. I asked him if let himself get emotionally involved in his cases. He said, “On several occasions, especially when you handle the case from the beginning, you tend to become attached. I even put a photo of the victim on the front page of the case to give it a personal touch. Working a case is demanding and time consuming. I can’t put it down and walk away for the weekend. In the past, I was working without voicemail and computers. Now I email and leave voice messages for myself all the time when I get an idea to check something out. Even with all the demands, the rewards far outweigh the disadvantages.”

Now that there are more realistic television shows about crime such as “True Crime,” “CSI,” and “Cold Case,” Willover informed me that he has received calls from victims’ adult children who want him to look into cases from the 80s involving their family members. He said that he has been looking into a few cases for DNA evidence. Now, cases that were once suspended in mid-air are being solved.

Eric Schneider has been a detective in homicide for the past four years. I spoke with him about a currently unsolved homicide he has been working involving victim Belen Pacheco. She was a 47-year-old Hispanic woman who was a hard working janitor at the building located at 555 Capitol. She also took care of her elderly mother on her time off. Schneider stated that this homicide, even though unsolved, is one of the most memorable cases. He said, “Pacheco was a truly innocent victim. Most often times when you investigate a homicide, you find that the victim was involved with risky lifestyle behaviors such as drugs, gangs, prostitution which lead to their demise. In this case, she was last seen by security leaving her job to go home. This was in June 2006. Her body was discovered approximately 6 weeks later, badly decomposed. My then partner, Natalie Medeiros, and I were able to use some resources that were new to us. We consulted the expertise of forensic anthropologists from the University of Santa Cruz’ Anthropology Department. They were able to study Pacheco’s bones for any clues. We also solicited the assistance of Dr. Kimsey, a U.C. Davis Forensic Entomologist, who studies insects relating to decomposition of a human body. Even with all that, we still continue looking for leads. There just isn’t any physical evidence to follow. It is very frustrating because you want to find some closure.”

When asked what he thought the most difficult part of being a homicide detective was, Schneider said, “The biggest factor for me is the long hours. I remember a time when I was on-call, I laid down at 10:00 p.m. thinking I was going to get some decent sleep. My telephone rang 15 minutes later and I was up for the next two days. It happens. I find the most positive part of my job was working with my partner Natalie. She’s my best friend on the department, and working with your best friend, and doing a job you like to do is great.”

I noticed an unusually large, Costco-sized box of Wheat Thins on Schneider’s desk. I asked him if he really liked Wheat Thins. He told me, “It’s an office joke. I had a full box of Wheat Thins on my desk. A couple of other homicide detectives who were working through the night got a little hungry. They saw my box of crackers and decided to help themselves, which wouldn’t have been a big deal other than the fact that they put the box back on my desk with one cracker left. When I came in the next day, I sat down at my desk with my sandwich and reached for my box of Wheat Thins. I was really looking forward to having some crackers with my sandwich. When I saw that there was only one left, I went sideways. My ranting was heard by all in other detective divisions as well. Needless to say, my box of crackers was replaced and now we laugh about it.”

It’s the little things that can matter when you’re dealing with serious subjects like homicides around the clock!

There is much more to working a homicide case than just finding out who did it. It is the small detailed information that can make or break a case. For instance, not only do the reports need to be precise and concise, but each lead needs to be exhausted whether it points to a dead end or not. It is up to these detectives to separate fact from fiction. Working with the district attorneys to complete the chain in the justice system is another factor.

I spoke with Detective Jason Kirtlan of the Sacramento Police Department’s Homicide Division. Kirtlan has been in homicide for 1 ½ years. His most recent case was the Rodrigo Rodriguez, Jr. case where he was shot outside a Martin Luther King Boulevard barber shop. Detective Kirtlan made an arrest and believes that Rodrigo Rodriguez, Jr. was a case of mistaken identity. It appears that the suspect intended to shoot an individual that resembled Rodriguez.

I asked Kirtlan what he thought about working in the homicide unit. He said, “Each case is unique. Each case takes you on a different avenue. Each person involved knows someone who knows information about the case, who knows someone else, and so on, and so on. Here’s another surprise. Sometimes, people lie to detectives. It is really rewarding when you are able to break the news to the family that you have arrested a suspect for the killing of their loved one.”

When I asked Kirtlan what he thought was one of the hardest parts of the job, he said, “Maintaining a balance between my family and the job is difficult. Being able to do the right thing at work and being the father I want to be is tough.”

When speaking to these and other detectives, it was apparent that each detective brings something unique to the unit to complement the division. Each detective has a story to tell, and each is always trying to solve the ultimate puzzle.