A Second Follow-up on a Comment to the Blog on the Dale Tarapacki Case

This post follows up on more of the information included in an anonymous comment sent in to this blog on April 10, 2018, for the post “The Importance of the Phone Records” (October 25, 2016).  The previous post (April 30, 2018) discussed the issue of fishing poles that the anonymous commenter says were observed in the back seat area of Tarapacki’s truck.  This post takes up a reference by the anonymous commenter to Tarapacki breaking up with an unnamed girlfriend the night before his truck fire.

I again quote the comment verbatim:

“I talked to dale "pharmy" just before he went fishing that morning. Dale and his friend "joe" had returned sun on from a camping trip over the weekend in the Cuba Hinsdale area camping stuff fishing poles and 2 22 rifles were in the rear seat area p.s look into who he broke up with the nite before the "accident" I'm scared 2.”

The police report refers to information solicited from a female involved with Tarapacki around the time of his death, but is unclear about any apparent breakup.  The police report indicates that on the day of the truck fire (4/11/04, a mistake for 4/11/05) Detective Welling interviewed Christy Bowles, mother of Brook [sic] Bowles, who stated that Brook had left by bus at 11 a.m. that day to travel to Cleveland for a job at a magazine company.  The police report goes on as follows: “Mrs. Bowles believes that Brook had broken up with Dale Tarapacki two weeks earlier.”

The next day (4/11/05) Detective Welling reports his phone conversation with Brook Bowles.  Making no reference to any breakup, Miss Bowles informed the detective that “she had been with Dale at his home until 4:00 a.m. on the morning of the 11th.”  The report then summarizes Miss Bowles’ views about Tarapacki’s mental state that night, as follows: “Dale seemed depressed and Brook believed that the depression came from her leaving the area.”

Detective Welling presumably sought Miss Bowles’ opinion on the basis of an immediately prior entry in the police report stating that during the search of Tarapacki’s house the day of the fire, “Sheriff John found a note apparently hand written by Dale Tarapacki which made mention that Tarapacki would be in a mind state of hurting himself.”  According to the report, Miss Bowles added the following: “Although something else seemed to be bother[ing] Dale but Brook did not know what that was.”  The record on Miss Bowles’ final comments indicates a more positive outlook on Tarapacki’s part and an apparent continuation of their relationship: “Brook had no idea that Dale would hurt himself and as she left, Dale told her that he would see her soon.”

The police report thus sheds no light on the anonymous commenter’s statement that Tarapacki had broken up with someone the night before his truck fire.  A troubling issue with this section of the police report, moreover, concerns the very ambiguous statement “Sheriff John found a note apparently hand written by Dale Tarapacki which made mention that Tarapacki would be in a mind state of hurting himself” (emphases mine).

What precisely does that mean?  What was actually written in this note?  Was the handwriting ever tested and demonstrated to be Tarapacki's?  The assumption by the police reportedly was that Tarapacki committed suicide (see posts of October 15, 2016, and October 31, 2017).  But the evidence militates against that view (see esp. posts of March 19 and July 23, 2016), and his death was ruled an “accident.”