Suspect had books on killers

Friday, April 23, 2004 | 9:35 a.m.

One of the teen murder defendants charged with the slaying of Silverado High School senior Jared Whaley had a collection of "serial killer" books in his private storage, Boulder City Detective Jerry Stone said during a preliminary hearing Thursday.

Police found the books "Inside the Criminal Mind," "Thin Dark Line," "The Chamber" and "Hannibal" -- along with copies of the show "The Sopranos" -- and at least two knives inside Matthew Baker's storage unit when they searched it in March, Stone said.

"Inside the Criminal Mind" is a clinical psychologist's study of hardened criminals. The others are thrillers that delve into the psychology of the criminal mind through fiction. "The Chamber," a John Grisham novel, is about an elderly Ku Klux Klan member on death row for killing two men in the bombing of a Jewish lawyer's office. "The Sopranos" is an HBO series about a mob family.

Co-defendant Shane Johnson, 17, told police that Baker, 18, shot Whaley in the head and in the stomach on the night of Oct. 14 because Whaley had messed with their drug deals, according to an arrest report. Baker purportedly had an affinity for mob stories and wanted to form his own mafia-like group with the codefendants, the arrest report alleges.

Johnson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on April 15 for his involvement in Whaley's death and testified last Friday against Baker and fellow co-defendants Stephen Stringfield, 19, and Shane and Cody Myers, both 18.

Another co-defendant, Gerald Wilks, 20, also testified that Baker had conspired for several weeks to kill Whaley before the Oct. 14 murder. Like Johnson, Wilks entered a plea agreement with prosecutors to testify against his co-defendants.

Although he was not involved in Whaley's slaying, Wilks pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder for his involvement in the other attempts on Whaley's life, including putting eye drops in Whaley's drink to poison him.

On cross-examination Thursday, Stone, also a crime scene analyst for Boulder City Police, said the only physical evidence matching any of the defendants to the scene of the crime was duct tape found in Myers' home.

Whaley's body was found Oct. 26 in a shallow grave in a dry lake off U.S. 95, just south of U.S. 93.

Clark County Medical Examiner Ron Knoblock testified Thursday that the body was so badly decomposed that it was only identifiable through dental records.

Eleven more detectives, forensic experts and lay witnesses are left to testify in the preliminary hearing, which resumes April 29, Deputy District Attorney Stacy Collins said.