The following article highlights some of the principles applied to 911 calls, and fine work by a 911 operator. The Analysis is in bold type.
911 call from Grafton Township homicide released
Dembie
GRAFTON TWP. — Lorain County Jail Corrections Officer William Dembie Jr. called the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office around 1:30 a.m. Thursday and calmly confessed to Dispatcher Joy Sanchez that he had just killed his wife, Holly Dembie.
Listen to the 911 call:
In a recording of the call, released today by the sheriff’s office, William Dembie originally said there was a fight at the couple’s home at 14900 Cowley Road and when Sanchez asked him to clarify there had been a fight, he replied, “Uh, more like almost a beheading, yeah.”
Deputy County Coroner Eric Lockhart has said that the 33-year-old Holly Dembie wasn’t beheaded, but some of the multiple stab wounds on her body were in the neck area.
When Sanchez asked who he had killed, William Dembie replied, “My wife, my ex-wife,” before giving a little laugh.
William Dembie, 42, insisted that he wasn’t a threat to the deputies whom Sanchez had dispatched to the scene. He said he was in the kitchen and that Holly Dembie’s body was in the backyard, as was the Ka-Bar combat knife he used to kill her.
“I don’t have nothing. I’m not, I’m not dangerous. I just couldn’t deal with her shit anymore,” Dembie said.
Broken sentences show missing information. Note the disparaging of the victim.
Dembie also told Sanchez that he was alone at the house, except for his dog.
“Just take good care of my dog,” he said.
The couple’s 4-year-old son was at his mother-in-law’s, Dembie told Sanchez. He also said that while he’d had a few drinks, he wasn’t drunk.
Although Sanchez had asked Dembie to remain on the line, the call eventually went dead. Deputies have said Dembie met them at the house and confessed to killing his wife.
Dembie, who is being held in the Erie County Jail on a $5 million bond, has been charged with murder and domestic violence.
Read Saturday’s Chronicle for more on this story.
Note on the recording:
"hey, who's this? who is this?" begins with a greeting. Guilty callers often begin with a greeting of some form, rather than demand for help.
"I killed her." First person singular, past tense. No sensitivity indicators. People that kill speak in this plain manner, whereas false confessions will include sensitivity indicators and inappropriate verb tenses.
"I'm not armed, I have no weapons on me" was likely the missing information in the first broken sentence, as he repeats it again.
Note that the 911 operator kept her cool, and did a good job remaining calm on the phone. She would need to de-brief this trauma and showed her professional demeanor in keeping him on the line, speaking gently to him, and seeking external information including weapons and children. Her voice shows how upset she was, yet she overcame this and kept the flow of information for responding officers. Here is the link to listen:
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