In light of articles covering the Timothy Masters murder conviction written in the Denver Post and the Fort Collins Weekly, along with Channel 9 News coverage, it is not only appropriate for my office to respond, but necessary.
Little has been written or expressed from the viewpoint of the prosecution. This is primarily because we felt it inappropriate to use the press to influence public opinion on a case undergoing postconviction litigation. Citizens must realize that it is the criminal justice system’s worst night mare that an innocent person is convicted of a crime they did not commit. We take our responsibility very seriously and very personally. Every precaution available is taken to ensure that the cases we prosecute are handled justly and fairly and only the guilty are convicted.
The attorneys for Mr. Masters filed motions with the court seeking to have virtually all the physical evidence from this 1987 murder case released to them so that a series of tests could be conducted on those items of evidence. In particular, the defense wanted to take all of the victim’s clothing and have it delivered to the Netherlands for DNA testing. Due to the advancements in DNA testing, in the twenty years since the murder of Peggy Hettrick, the defense claimed that the killer’s DNA could still be obtained from the victim’s clothing and that having the testing done in the Netherlands offered the best chance of locating the killer’s DNA. As a result, my office agreed to have the DNA testing done in the Netherlands if the defense would agree that the DNA test results would be made known to both the defense and the prosecution. The attorneys for Mr. Masters refused our offer. If the killer’s DNA matched that of their client, Timothy Masters, they did not want that fact to be known to anybody but themselves. Clearly this does not indicate a search for the truth.
As a result of Mr. Master’s attorney’s refusal to have the DNA results made public, my office requested the Colorado Bureau of Investigations to perform some DNA collection on the victim’s clothing prior to releasing that clothing to the defense. This collection would preserve 25% of any potential DNA for the People to use in either confirming that Timothy Masters was the killer of Peggy Hettrick or in identifying an alternate suspect. The defense was provided the remaining 75% of any DNA present. No DNA evidence was destroyed by the People. The only reason my office had the Colorado Bureau of Investigation perform some limited DNA collection was so that the truth would be known, versus hidden by the defense.
Detectives from the Fort Collins Police Department used every tool they could come up with that may indicate guilty knowledge. Even though polygraphs are not admissible in a trial they can be helpful in keeping police pointed in the right direction. Timothy Masters’ inability to pass a polygraph as to his involvement in the homicide caused the police some obvious concern. Even after his conviction and sentence, the defendant took another polygraph with the defense’s hand picked polygrapher. Mr. Masters failed every question relating to his involvement in the Hettrick killing.
On June 25, 2007, I wrote a letter to David Wymore, Timothy Masters’s attorney, asking that he join our efforts to find the truth and give us anything that may exonerate Timothy Masters. Alternative theories, although of interest, do not provide exoneration when a jury found that evidence of guilt was overwhelming.
Again, let me reiterate: we are interested in one thing – the truth. A jury has spoken to the issue of truth by finding guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. There was also a finding by the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court that the evidence was accurately and fairly presented. We must be very careful that accusations and innuendoes that sound dramatic in the media do not overshadow a very specific process of determining a just result.
If a clear mistake has been made in convicting Timothy Masters, I can assure you, I will be the first to act.
