Don Winner of Panama-Guide.com Just Keeps Digging.
Here is the latest from investigative reporter Don Winner. "I've known since Saturday, 7 August, that serial killers William Dathan Holbert and Laura Michelle Reese were linked to an unsolved murder in Costa Rica from 2007. I also know that the killers' next intended victims, Allan and Stacie Duckworth were exceptionally lucky to be able to escape with their lives." It turns out as the Duckworths were grabbing their most important possessions and packing as quickly as they could in order to escape with their lives, Stacie Duckworth did a very brave thing. Since they were convinced that their lives were in jeopardy, she grabbed a handful of paperwork that Holbert had collected - documents that could conceivably be the Duckworths' protection. Things such as documents, copies of passports, business cards, handwritten notes scribbled on pieces of paper - things that she thought that maybe were documents belonging to people that Holbert had killed.
Unfortunately, it looks like she was right. When Don Winner contacted Stacie Duckworth last week, right off the bat she retold him the story of how she and her ex-husband Allan fled from Holbert and Reese on 11 June 2007. She described how she had snatched documents that Holbert had in the house where they were staying. And, she wanted Winner to check into some of the names on those documents, to find out if these people are still alive. One of the documents she had was a business card from a (disbarred) lawyer from Wisconsin - Jeffrey A. Kline. Winner found when he did a quick Google search on his name with "lawyer" and "Wisconsin" the details of the legal proceedings to disbar him. In that document it describes how investigators discovered how he had transferred $107,040 to a bank in Costa Rica. Stacie repeated that when the Duckworths first met William Dathan Holbert and Laura Michelle Reese in Costa Rica in the spring of 2007, one of the very first things Bill told them was "I just sold a property for $107,000 dollars."
The documents that Stacie Duckworth had in her possession included a document from the Wisconsin Bar Association, which showed Kline as a member (complete with Member Number) and a phone listing for a "Lawyer's Assistance Helpline" from the State Bar of Wisconsin, dated in 1998. There was also a card issued by the Lasalle Bank in Kline's name, with an account number. The fact that William Dathan Holbert and Laura Michelle Reese were in possession of these documents, in Costa Rica, obviously ties them to Kline.
Winner adds, " I am now 100% convinced that the body that was recovered from the property in 2007 belonged to Jeffery A. Kline. The only thing remaining to be done is to find and notify his next of kin, obtain dental records or DNA, find where the Office of Judicial Investigation (OIJ) buried his previously unidentified body in November 2007, and confirm what I already know. Holbert and Reese killed Kline in order to steal his $107,000 dollars."
Note that in an article that appeared in the Nacion newspaper in Costa Rica on 8 November 2007, OIJ investigators described the body of the victim as a man who was "1,8 metros de estatura". Note that 1.8 meters is 5' 11" - almost a perfect match for Jeffery A. Kline. They also said the body belonged to a person who had a "contextura gruesa" which is a very polite way to say "fat dude." And with Jeffery A. Kline weighing in at 310 pounds, that checks as well. Add the fact that he's on someone's Most Wanted List - and that he's sitting on $107,000 dollars in cash - and all of a sudden he turns into a perfect victim for William Dathan Holbert. In fact, there's nothing missing. Kline had money, he was an English speaking "gringo" overseas, he was a US citizen, he was running from something in the US, there was apparently no missing person report filed, the body that was found in November 2007 fits the description perfectly, his identification Bar Association card and bank card were found in William Holbert's house.
Winner concludes, "Because of all of this evidence I have no doubt whatsoever. None. The dead guy is Jeffery A. Kline. Now, the 'authorities' will play catch-up to confirm what I already know. By the time they get that done, I'll already be moving on to the next victim."
Want To Know About Panama Prisons?
The chief prosecutor for this case, Deputy Attorney General Angel Calderon of the Public Ministry, told Don Winner (for Panama-Guide.com) that William "Wild Bill" Dathan Holbert would be transferred from the temporary holding cells at the Department of Judicial Investigation to a more permanent facility - one of Panama's notorious prisons. When Don asked another official to confirm this, she said "Yes, I was told yesterday he was going to be transferred." He asked her if Holbert was going to be put into Pavilion 6 in La Joya where most of the other English speaking foreigners are locked up, and she said "No, he's going to Block 7." That's very bad news for Holbert...
The Panamanians keep the worst and most dangerous prisoners in a part of the prison complex known as "Block 7". Block 7 is maximum security, on 24 hour lock down. That means William Dathan Holbert is by himself in his cell. He gets no visitors, and he is not taken from his cell. He does not get any time outside, even for exercise. It's what you would call being in "the hole" in a U.S. prison. No social interaction with anyone, no fresh air, no exercise, very small room, nothing in there with him except a thin mattress, and a metal toilet. No books, no TV, no entertainment of any kind, no personal belongings (maybe a toothbrush), uniform shirt, one pair of shorts, flip flops on his feet, food delivered by the guards. That's it. Being on 24 hour lock down in Block 7 of La Joyita is about as bad as the Panamanian prison system can legally make it on a prisoner. Without a doubt, it's "punishment." And they are going to keep him there for the full 50 years?
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