Former police officer charged with destroying evidence Missing evidence compromises 29-year-old cold murder case By april a. morris | staff
George Ralph Bobo, 53, a former Simpsonville police lieutenant, was arrested on March 26 by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Bobo and charged with common-law obstruction of justice and common-law misconduct in office. According to Thirteenth Circuit solicitor Walt Wilkins, Bobo is accused of knowingly destroying physical evidence gathered at the crime scene in the 1984 murder of 20-year-old Cassandra Johnson in Simpsonville. The case was still open and the destruction of the evidence “seriously compromised” the investigators’ ability to pursue the case and charge a suspect, Wilkins told reporters at a news conference. He said authorities learned about six weeks ago that evidence in the case had been destroyed around 2007, and SLED began an investigation. Warrants state that Bobo disposed of or discarded the evidence between March 27, 2000, and Jan. 17, 2012. Wilkins would not elaborate on the type of evidence destroyed, only that it was physical evidence. He added that authorities have sufficient evidence to know what Bobo’s motive was for destroying the evidence, but would not comment because it would compromise the investigation. Over the last two years, Wilkins said his office had been involved in investigating the cold case. Because of advances in evidence testing, investigators were able to gather additional information and had identified six suspects in the case, he said. Despite the age of the case, “we were not at
a dead end on this particular case; we were continuing to run leads, reinterview witnesses and gather evidence,” he said. “We have a piece of material evidence that we no longer have, that we can no longer test, and it ultimately taints a significant part of the case, therefore making it very difficult to pursue a potential suspect in this case,” Wilkins told reporters. “That evidence is gone and we don’t know what that evidence meant.” A warrant was issued by Simpsonville police for one of the suspects about a year ago, but was dismissed because of lack of evidence not related to Bobo’s alleged actions, Wilkins said. Investigators gathered a large amount of physical evidence when Johnson’s body was discovered off a dirt road in Simpsonville. It was tested at SLED and later returned to the Simpsonville police. Wilkins said safeguards are in place for handling evidence, but a case agent can “check out” or remove evidence, especially for transporting to the SLED lab. Wilkins said his office will not prosecute this case, and he does not know at this point which agency will pursue the Bobo case. The solicitor’s office assisted in the SLED investigation because it pertained to the Johnson investigation, he said. Authorities believe Bobo acted alone and no other evidence was tampered with, Wilkins said. Each charge carries a maximum of 10 years penalty and Bobo’s bond was set at $60,000 bond, he said. As for the likelihood of solving the Johnson murder case now, Wilkins said, “There is a significant chance that this family may not get closure because we can no longer go forward with this case at this time.” Wilkins said his office had met with the Johnson family before Bobo’s arrest. “My heart goes out to the family of Cassandra Johnson. Their ability to get ultimate justice is now severely compromised, and it’s tragic,” he said. Contact April A. Morris at amorris@communityjournals.com.
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MARCH 29, 2013 | the Journal 13