Press Release From Trinity Sheriff's Dept. Adds Important Information

UPDATE: According to a new story in the Record Searchlight, “Trinity County Supervisor Roger Jaegel said Jim Gund was a former county road worker. Norma Gund is a bus driver for the local school district, Jaegel said.”

———-

The following press release sheds some crucial light on the events leading up to the Gunds’ being attacked.

The Trinity County Sheriff’s Office is releasing the following information in order to clarify some mis-representations that have been release by the media.

On March 13, 2011 a Trinity County Sheriff’s Deputy was dispatched to a 911 hang-up in a rural timbered location in Kettenpom. While en-route to Kettenpom the Sheriff’s Deputy obtained and called the cell phone number from which the 911 call had been placed to obtain more information from the caller.

The Deputy learned that the number belonged to a Kristine. The Deputy was unfamiliar with Kristine and the location where she was calling from. The Deputy knew the Gund’s as members of the Kettenpom community and knew they lived in the area.

The Deputy called the Gund house and talked with Norma Gund. He advised Mrs. Gund that he was responding to a 911 call received from a Kristine. The Deputy asked Mrs. Gund if she

knew a Kristine and where she might live. Mrs. Gund said she knew Kristine and how to get to her residence. The Deputy asked Mrs. Gund if she could see Kristine’s residence from a safe

distance. The Deputy was under the impression that Mrs. Gund could see Kristine’s residence from her house. The Deputy advised Mrs. Gund to not go to Kristine’s residence but to call if she saw any suspicious vehicles or persons of interest coming from Kristine’s residence. The Deputy gave Mrs. Gund their cell phone number to call if she saw anything. At no time was Mrs. Gund was instructed to go to Kristine’s residence. Nor would the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office ever send a citizen to perform a Deputy’s job.

IMPORTANT: According to the Willits News, “While the authorities have been reluctant to release further information, they have made it clear they believe Gouverneur committed the stabbings and are not looking for anyone else for the crimes.”

_______________

Map from here.

Earlier posts can be found here and here.

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17 Comments
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tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

Glad to see the clarification, Kym. I was surprised at the original report that the sheriffs had asked a civilian to go to the scene of 911 call when there was no information on how dangerous that scene may have been. Still, I’ve heard tell of similar practices in Humboldt, where supposedly a local volunteer fireman or other person known by the sheriffs may be called and asked to check out what’s going on in some emergency situation that was unfolding in a remote area where it was going to take sheriffs or other emergency responders hours to get there.

If the deputy’s account is accurate then it sounds like either there was a misunderstanding as to what he was asking them to do, or else the Gunds may have taken it upon themselves to go beyond what the deputy asked, in order to try to be of some help to their neighbors. I don’t blame them for that, I mean when the deputy is an hour or more away would you want to just sit on your hands when your neighbor might be injured or dying in their house? Of course not. In a city, that might work out O.K., because emergency responders are only a few minutes away, but out in this fairly remote area, I think it’s only natural for folks to try to do more.

However, this gruesome incident is a powerful reminder of how risky it can be to step right into the middle of an emergency situation, unaware of what’s going on. Cops have to do that all the time, but they are at least armed, and trained to be wary, trained about what to look for, etc. And, even with all their training, they can still sometimes get blindsided.

So, to me the bottom line is: Don’t stop trying to help each other, folks…but be careful out there.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

Glad to see the clarification, Kym. I was surprised at the original report that the sheriffs had asked a civilian to go to the scene of 911 call when there was no information on how dangerous that scene may have been. Still, I’ve heard tell of similar practices in Humboldt, where supposedly a local volunteer fireman or other person known by the sheriffs may be called and asked to check out what’s going on in some emergency situation that was unfolding in a remote area where it was going to take sheriffs or other emergency responders hours to get there.

If the deputy’s account is accurate then it sounds like either there was a misunderstanding as to what he was asking them to do, or else the Gunds may have taken it upon themselves to go beyond what the deputy asked, in order to try to be of some help to their neighbors. I don’t blame them for that, I mean when the deputy is an hour or more away would you want to just sit on your hands when your neighbor might be injured or dying in their house? Of course not. In a city, that might work out O.K., because emergency responders are only a few minutes away, but out in this fairly remote area, I think it’s only natural for folks to try to do more.

However, this gruesome incident is a powerful reminder of how risky it can be to step right into the middle of an emergency situation, unaware of what’s going on. Cops have to do that all the time, but they are at least armed, and trained to be wary, trained about what to look for, etc. And, even with all their training, they can still sometimes get blindsided.

So, to me the bottom line is: Don’t stop trying to help each other, folks…but be careful out there.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

And it should be noted that the Gund’s actions, however risky, may have indeed prevented the suspect from getting away scot-free.

Of course I wish the suspect could have been captured alive, for many reasons, including (1) the fact that suspects are supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a fair trial, which is now impossible, and the fact that even if he’s guilty (which seems quite likely given the evidence we’ve heard about so far), that doesn’t preclude the possibility that there could have been others involved in the murder, and we might have learned something about that through this suspect being questioned. And of course such questioning might shed some light on his motive, his relationship with the victims, etc.

Still, even though they weren’t able to get their in time to save their neighbors’ lives, it’s stil true (assuming that the suspect was responsible for the murders) that the Gunds may have saved someone else’s life somewhere down the line. People who escape and “get away with murder” are a very dangerous sort of person to have running loose…no matter what their reputation was before committing the murders.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

And it should be noted that the Gund’s actions, however risky, may have indeed prevented the suspect from getting away scot-free.

Of course I wish the suspect could have been captured alive, for many reasons, including (1) the fact that suspects are supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a fair trial, which is now impossible, and the fact that even if he’s guilty (which seems quite likely given the evidence we’ve heard about so far), that doesn’t preclude the possibility that there could have been others involved in the murder, and we might have learned something about that through this suspect being questioned. And of course such questioning might shed some light on his motive, his relationship with the victims, etc.

Still, even though they weren’t able to get their in time to save their neighbors’ lives, it’s stil true (assuming that the suspect was responsible for the murders) that the Gunds may have saved someone else’s life somewhere down the line. People who escape and “get away with murder” are a very dangerous sort of person to have running loose…no matter what their reputation was before committing the murders.

Staff
Member
13 years ago

tra,
I’m beginning to repeat myself but it is once again true–well said!

Staff
Member
13 years ago

tra,
I’m beginning to repeat myself but it is once again true–well said!

Staff
Member
13 years ago

This post has an update added to the top.

Staff
Member
13 years ago

This post has an update added to the top.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

I was very sorry to hear this…

A hospital spokeswoman said Norma Gund was downgraded to fair condition today, after having been listed in good condition the previous two days.

…in the Redding Searchlight story.

I hope things turn around and she makes a full recovery, as soon as possible and with as little additional suffering as possible.

Staff
Member
13 years ago
Reply to  tra

I”m so sorry for her and her family. May she get better.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

I was very sorry to hear this…

A hospital spokeswoman said Norma Gund was downgraded to fair condition today, after having been listed in good condition the previous two days.

…in the Redding Searchlight story.

I hope things turn around and she makes a full recovery, as soon as possible and with as little additional suffering as possible.

Staff
Member
13 years ago
Reply to  tra

I”m so sorry for her and her family. May she get better.

Staff
Member
13 years ago

Someone offered some photos of Kristine Constantino and I have made a memory page of her for those who would like to share memories and photos. You could upload the photos to photobucket and put the link in the comments or you can send them to me. [email protected]

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TREE
Guest
TREE
13 years ago

We did business with tomas from time to time seemed cool .But there was a dark side he told us things about how the county was . Well better to leave unsaid .County road worker ?public roads gated ?Trinity pines?Things like this make us question everything.

TREE
Guest
TREE
13 years ago

We did business with tomas from time to time seemed cool .But there was a dark side he told us things about how the county was . Well better to leave unsaid .County road worker ?public roads gated ?Trinity pines?Things like this make us question everything.