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LEWISTON TRIBUNE
M O N D AY, M AY 1 9 , 2 0 1 4
KRISTINA NELSON / BRANDI MILLER / STEVEN PEARSALL
JUSTICE OUT OF REACH Investigators have zeroed in on a prime suspect in what’s become known as the Lewiston Civic Theatre murders, but lack enough evidence to bring charges By BRAD GARY and SANDRA L. LEE
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OF THE TRIBUNE
hen people talk about the three disappearances that occurred the night of Sept. 12, 1982, they are almost always dubbed the Lewiston Civic Theatre murders even though there is no proof anything happened in the century-old towering stone building. And it’s generally accepted that all three of the people who went missing are dead, although only two bodies were found on a hillside a year and a half later, and police have been quick to follow up on any hint that the third person might still be alive somewhere. Among law enforcement, it’s also generally accepted that they’re pretty sure they know the killer of Kristina Nelson, 21, Jacqueline (Brandi) Miller, 18, and Steven Pearsall, 35. And most believe the same suspect in that case likely was responsible for the disappearance of 12-year-old Christina White from the vicinity of the Asotin County Fair three years earlier, the night of April 28, 1979. Opinions are mixed on whether the same person might also be connected to the murder of Kristin David on June 26, 1981. Recently retired Lewiston Police Capt. Tom Greene said he’s tried to keep an open mind on all the cases. The prime suspect in the Civic Theatre and Asotin case, he said, “is a weird person, and his alibi stinks, but I haven’t locked in tunnel vision totally that it couldn’t be anyone else. That would go against being an objective investigator.” The problem with the suspect is that even though he doesn’t have a good alibi, neither is there any-
TRIBUNE/KYLE MILLS
The Lewiston Civic Theatre sits on the edge of Lewiston’s Normal Hill. Although there’s no evidence the actual crimes took place there, it has become associated with one of the city’s more famous unsolved murders. thing to prove he’s guilty,” Lewiston Police Capt. Roger Lanier added. The original investigator, the late Capt. Duane Ailor, pushed for charges to be filed but prosecutors refused because Pearsall’s absence left an opening for the defense to argue reasonable doubt, former detective Alan Johnson said in a 2009 interview. Pearsall hasn’t been heard from since that time, but there’s no proof he didn’t simply walk away from everything he knew and loved. His name and birth date came up on a computer search engine a few years ago and two detectives went to the location to check it out. There was no similarity between that person and the missing man.
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elatives of Miller and Nelson have helped keep the case alive, Greene and Lanier said. Family members have contacted law enforcement agencies in the East whenever the suspect moves.
Kristina Nelson
Brandi Miller
Those agencies in turn have contacted officers here who pull out the old files. A few times a year an agency will call if it has a case with similarities to the cold cases. A former police chief, Jack Baldwin, brought in a group of retired law enforcement people called “Officers Without Legal Standing.” They pointed out a few possible avenues that were examined without success.
Steven Pearsall
Even nontraditional leads are checked out, tips that come from psychics, from dreams, or repressed memories, Lanier said. Someone “saw” something in a sweat lodge a couple years ago and relatives of Miller and Nelson organized a search. It was later called off, but with the idea of rescheduling in the future. “There’s always a credibility issue when we get those nontraditional leads,” Lanier said. “We
do get the rare bit of information, rare as it is. You have to go back and read the investigation. As a department, it keeps the information in the forefront.” Everything has been transferred to digital format, easy for anyone to access. According to old police records, Miller and Nelson, stepsisters from Boise, left Nelson’s apartment that Sunday evening in 1982 to walk to a downtown grocery store. Both women and Pearsall had separate apartments within a few blocks of each other. Nelson had worked as a janitor at the theater, a job later held by Pearsall. Police believe the two young women stopped at the theater on their way downtown. Pearsall, a former U.S. Air Force corporal who was active in the theater, was dropped off there shortly before midnight by his girlfriend. He was going to do Continued on next page