Christmas Mysteries 2: The Hit and Run

So, I would consider this one as a misuse of power if indeed, the mayor was the culprit but then it still seems that after years, the truth still isn't out and someone doesn't want it to come to the light.

Someone went through the trouble of hiding evidence and investigation reports. The death may be an accident or it could have been deliberately carried out. I mean for such crazy cover-up.... something is definitely aloof.

The Hit-And-Run Of Kevin Showalter

Christmas Eve is one of the few times of the year where everything is supposed to be peaceful. Back in 1973, for one family it was a night of unspeakable tragedy. A 20-year-old Mitchell College student Kevin B. Showalter and his girlfriend were driving through New London, Connecticut when their vehicle got a flat tire. Kevin pulled over and was in the midst of changing the tire on a well-lit section of Pequot Avenue on the New London shoreline when he was struck by a passing vehicle and killed at 11:12 p.m. His girlfriend at the time, was only 6 feet away on a stone wall and claimed she saw nothing.

Kevin’s mother soon sensed that something was wrong when she went to retrieve her son’s personal effects from the scene but was told they had been lost and that his death would probably never be solved. Her subsequent investigation would uncover allegations of shoddy police work and a potential cover-up. There were immediate reports of a potential suspect but there was reluctance to prosecute as rumors of a police and judicial coverup were abound.

Harvey Mallove, a former mayor of New London, was considered a potential suspect because he had driven through the area at the time of Kevin’s death, but provided testimony which contradicted eyewitness accounts of the accident. A one-man grand jury, Judge Joseph Dannehy of Willimantic, determined that Mallove was the most likely culprit, but there was not enough evidence to file criminal charges.

The popular former Mayor was never prosecuted and probably never will because he died several years ago. Mallove maintained his innocence, and in 1979 a man named Paul Hansen came forward to confess that he was the hit-and-run culprit. By that point, the statute of limitations had expired, so no charges could be filed against Hansen. Another grand jury was convened, but they determined that there was no evidence to support Hansen’s claim, so the inquiry was closed.

The case remained cold until 2005 when Hansen committed suicide. He left behind a note once again claiming responsibility for Kevin’s death, however, this claim was never proven to be true. Police decided to reopen the case, but when the local media requested transcripts from the earlier investigations, they were denied. In fact, the 3,000-page transcript from the original grand jury investigation on Mallove had mysteriously gone missing. Decades after his death, it seems some people are afraid of the truth getting out and to this day, Kevin Showalter’s death is still officially unsolved.

And the life of a very young man was ended abruptly. But the girlfriend though... How could you not have seen a thing??! I see bribery in this!! The case had probably been shelved and forgotten somewhere and might not ever see the light of Justice.