New technology, old questions in Violette death

WILLARD — For the first time since the 1998 death of Willard teen Danny Violette, investigators are publicly acknowledging two developments that were never part of the original narrative. Namely, the never-before-released details are, according to the Huron County Sheriff's Office: • Violette said he planned to attend a party the night he was last seen, and • Biological evidence that could not be tested at the time but may now be examined using modern forensic methods. Both details appear in the case file, but neither was made public when Violette's body was found days later in a cornfield outside Willard nearly 30 years ago. The sheriff's office recently made the files containing those details available to view for a newspaper reporter. But now, they have become central to renewed attention on a case that has remained officially undetermined, with no suspect ever being identified, charged or arrested. The known party On the evening of Oct. 24, 1998, Violette told friends he had plans. According to police records reviewed by the newspaper, he said he was looking for people and intended to go to a party. One of the last people to see him that night was Charlie Stephens, who told investigators he ran into Violette around 6:30-7 p.m. at Missler's grocery store. Stephens said Violette declined an invitation to come over and instead said he was trying to find friends before heading to the party. Stephens told investigators Violette left walking east, toward the area where friends Matt Slone and Jud Dickerson lived. That encounter became the last confirmed sighting documented by investigators. It may not have been the last time Violette was seen alive. The unknown party Several days after Violette's body was discovered, investigators interviewed a witness who said she believed she saw Violette around 8 p.m. at a gathering at the home of Willie Weese. In her recorded interview, the witness said she saw Violette leaving the party with Bobby Patton. Because it was still early in the evening, she said she asked Patton's girlfriend whether Patton planned to return. According to the witness, the girlfriend said Patton was only taking Violette to Matt Slone's house. The witness said Patton later returned to the party, but not with Violette. He came back with Ben Montgomery. The party and witness accounts were documented internally during the original investigation but were not part of the information released publicly by investigators at the time. Patton had already been interviewed earlier the same day as the witness. In that interview, he denied being at the party. After she gave her statement, investigators interviewed Patton again. The interview log confirms the follow-up occurred, but the case file contains no narrative report or recording of it. The only documentation of that second interview is a handwritten note indicating Patton acknowledged being at the party but said he remained with Montgomery the entire time. That handwritten note does not contain the name of the investigating officer but it does contain a notation in the margin reading "East of Chicago 11-6-1998". According to an investigator's notes, Patton was employed at East of Chicago Pizza at the time of the interview. The note also indicates "drinking (dope there)," an apparent description of the party penned by investigators. In a separate interview conducted Nov. 6, 1998 Matt Slone told investigators Patton had come to his house earlier that evening and tried to persuade him to attend the party. Slone said he declined. There is no record indicating that investigators interviewed Patton's girlfriend, whom the juvenile female identified as a potential witness to Patton's departure from the party. Advances in testing Investigators say advances in forensic science have also changed how evidence from the case is viewed today. According to the Huron County Sheriff's Office, biological evidence collected during the autopsy could not be meaningfully tested in 1998 because of technological limits at the time. "The testing just wasn't available back then," one investigator said. "It is now." He also said advances in DNA analysis over the past 26 years have renewed interest in evidence preserved since the original investigation. He declined to discuss specifics but confirmed modern forensic tools have altered how portions of the case are being reviewed. Remains discovered Violette's body was discovered Nov. 4, 1998, in a harvested cornfield less than a mile from his home. An autopsy determined the cause of death was asphyxia, or lack of oxygen to the brain. The manner of death was ruled undetermined. What happened between Violette's last confirmed sighting at Missler's and his discovery remains one of the most difficult stretches of the case to account for, according to investigators. Records show investigators were never able to determine whether he attended the party, where he went afterward, or how he arrived at the field where he was found. By bringing details that were never publicly discussed into view, the Reflector's series aims to clarify the official record and highlight questions that remain, at a time when investigative tools and public awareness have both changed. Anyone with any information on the party at Willie Weese's home on Oct. 24, 1998 or the death of Danny Violette are encouraged to contact Detective James Gilliam of the Huron County Sheriff's Office at 419-668-6912. All tips can be made anonymously.