5/6/2023 0 Comments Killer role datelineA groundbreaking DNA technology began to electrify the law enforcement community. Jeff Slaten: After Detective Brad Grice retired, I'm like, I said, "Well, I'll probably take my last breath and not know who murdered my mom." I was already starting to come to terms with it.īut three years later, there was renewed hope. Jeff Slaten: Wha…who would do that to a kid? I was a 15-year-old kid hurting, and say that to me? I mean, that's- that's always hurt. And you're strong enough to put your hands around your mom's neck and kill her." Jeff Slaten: And then there's one time, one of the cops … he's, like … "You got big arms on you. … They was wantin' to put me under hypnosis. Jeff Slaten: I know they had me, put me on a lie detector test one time. A few weeks after their mom's funeral, the brothers returned to school and familiar activities.Īs a 15-year-old, Jeff had plenty of typical teen conflicts with his mom, which he readily admitted to detectives - including that heated argument on the last day of her life. The Slaten brothers moved in with their grandparents and had to face a new reality of life without their mom. Jeff Slaten (Jeff raises his hand): Was me. Jim Axelrod: In the early days, it sounds like who the police really were most thorough in checking out. Jeff Slaten: The Lakeland Police Department … they used to come down to take me out of school and they was always interrogating me all the time. Others were looked at - like the partygoers next door - but no one was charged. At the time of her death, Linda had a boyfriend. But investigators seemed satisfied that Slaten was home in Alabama on the night of the murder. Jeff Slaten: Yeah, I was only … 6-and-a-half, 7 years old.įrank Slaten's history of abuse made him a person of interest for Lakeland detectives. Jim Axelrod: But you were just a little guy yourself. … And I felt like I had saved her that, you know, that night. He had her by the throat with a gun to her head and I was comin' there tryin' to get him off of her. Jeff Slaten: Yeah, I remember one time I was in the bathroom. The more he drank, the more violent he became. The brothers say it's hard to know when their dad began to beat their mom. But investigators eventually seemed satisfied that Frank was home in Alabama on the night of the murder. As detectives searched for the killer, Linda's ex-husband, Frank Slaten, became a person of interest due to his history of abuse towards her. Judy Butler: He was a mean, no-count scoundrel. Jim Axelrod: What do you remember about the Slaten case?Īnd then Linda met and married Frank Slaten. Sergeant Pickett recovered a palm print from the bedroom windowsill - a piece of evidence that would later play a crucial role in the investigation. Edgar Pickett was a legendary fingerprint expert with the Lakeland Police Department and led the crime scene unit when Linda Slaten was murdered. When she went to go to her bedroom and … I said, "I love you, Mom. Jeff Slaten: She's washin' the dishes and stuff. By midnight, Jeff made up with his mom, he says, and still remembers their final moment together. Jeff Slaten: Grandma and grandpa brought me home by, I think it was around 9 - 9 or 9:30 or so. Jeff Slaten: I got mad, and I went out the door and got on my bicycle and road 11 or 12 miles to the northside of town … to go to my grandma and grandpa's house to get somethin' to eat.Īt 8:30 that night, Tim came home from football practice.Īround 9 p.m., Linda took Tim to a party next door to play cards. … I mean, I saw my mom's bloody body with a coat hanger around her neck (cries). Tim Slaten: And I saw the whole crime scene. Suddenly, it swung open, as an officer left the room. Still in his pajamas, Tim walked past his mother's closed bedroom door. I'm like, "why's he not saying my mom? And why's a cop waking me up?" Tim Slaten: He goes, "You need to wake up and go outside with your brother." He never mentioned my mom. In the apartment's second bedroom, another officer woke up Linda's younger son, Tim, then 12 years old. Jeff Slaten: And when I went out there, it looked like every cop in the state of Florida … news crews, and my Aunt Judy was out there crying, and she told me my mom been murdered (cries). … Put on some clothes and go outside." And he made sure I went out the front door." Jeff Slaten: I asked, "What is goin' on?" He said, "Police officers. The crackle of police radios inside the small two-bedroom apartment woke up Linda's 15-year-old son, Jeff, who was sleeping on a cot in the living room.
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