Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Letters To The Editor

I am the mother of Jeff Lewis who was murdered on May 17, 1992. The article in last week's Picayune by John Miller concerning the Joe Dansby article was so inaccurate, misleading and destructive, I feel I must respond. Please keep in mind, victims have no rights. I realize Mr. Miller was writing the article on information he derived from the affidavits faxed to him from Mr. Dansby's attorney, William McLean. However, it is apparent he did not review any court records to verify the accuracy of such claims. These court records are open to the public. The trial itself was open to the public. Anyone could have come and heard the facts and statements.

In the article Mr. Miller reports Wayne Mills made several statements in this affidavit as to the time he supposedly saw Harley Hillery. There are accurate court records and eyewitnesses who can dispute what Mr. Mills states. The items of clothing were found, but not where Mr. Mills said. They were found at another location at approximately the same time Mr. Mills discovered them. How can that be? The diary....could that be something and he has misplaced it but still has a Bible with no name and no markings? A metal key...that belongs to who and what? Candy bar wrappers and cigarette butts . . . neither Jeff nor Malissa smoked. If Mr. Mills did indeed find some items, I believe he found someone's trash and was coerced or someone put his own warped conclusion to it. The tall slender man with a truck and bobcat. . .what color was the truck? Maybe there was no truck, because he did not see one. And did anyone bother to inquire of witnesses as to where this tall slender man was at that time of day? I don't think so.

The affidavit from Larry Byers is just as warped. At the time Mr. Byers arrived the crime scene had already been investigated and not one eyewitness can remember Mr. Byers being there at the time he says. The article had already been discovered by the time he got out of church. Has Mr. McLean never bothered to investigate how the DNA sample taken from semen collected from Malissa's body in the autopsies matched Joe Dansby's? Or why 22 bullets taken from both bodies during autopsies match with a gun belonging to Joe Dansby? And why would someone throw a perfectly good gun in a gravel pit and deny owning it?

The public might be more interested to learn the expense this has (and continues) cost the taxpayers. I have a copy of a statement Mr. McLean has submitted for services rendered to be paid by the taxpayers. Some of these services are for phone conversations, 11 with Chuck Honey, 17 with Hope Star reporter (15 with Ken McLemore) three with Larry Byers and one with Eddie O'Rourk, some with various law enforcement officials and some not named. This and various other services will amount to over $9,000. Taxpayers, who do you think is going to pay and continue to pay for this?

It has been over eight years, maybe Mr. Mills and Mr. Byers need charges of withholding evidence. Mr. Mills says he feared for his life. The same people are still around today that were eight years ago, except for one person. So what has changed? I guess Mr. Byers needed Mr. McLean to spend 6.8 hours (of the taxpayers time and money) preparing an affidavit before he could come forward. Harley Hillery is willing to take a lie detector's test. . .are Wayne Mills and Larry Byers willing?

If either Mr. Byers or Mr. Mills were to come to Mr. Miller with a newsworthy story, I am sure he would investigate the facts before printing it. Mr. Miller knows, or should, that anyone can swear out an affidavit and because a lawyer faxes it to the local newspaper, does not make it fact. The Picayune should be above printing articles that do nothing but hurt and slander. The public could have been informed without the unnecessary maliciousness of Mr. Miller's story.

Glenda Lewis

Prescott