Forever Young: The Story of Rebecca Pelkey, Part One
Please Note: The research for this episode includes the original transcript of a suspect interrogation, which figures prominently in the telling. To be faithful to the transcript, we chose to include explicit language in this story.
Also, the sentiments expressed—particularly about the victim, Becky—by the detectives and the suspect in the interrogation are their views alone, and not of Murder, She Told.
Where’s Becky Pelkey?
The smell of heated circuitry hung in the air. A clamor of 80’s synth sounds droned on, becoming background noise. Groans of disappointment from the players and cheers of excitement from the spectators marked time in this windowless place. Thin, dark-colored, wild-patterned carpet covered every square inch. Gum was discarded, trampled, and became assimilated into it. Spilled soda would vanish in the dark abyss of the rug. Blacklights made the neon patterns on it glow. The ting-ting-ting of the change dispenser ejecting quarters was a siren call—to break just one more paper bill into its metal components. Greasy-fingered pizza-eating teenagers smashed buttons, manipulated joysticks, and fired guns. Even young kids would schlep footstools to their favorite games so that they could join their older siblings.
Erica, who had just turned 13, and her friend Melanie, around the same age, were there, hanging out at the Bangor arcade, wasting time, waiting for their friend to arrive. They had already done a few laps, seeing who they recognized, and hoping to find Becky. She was supposed to be there by 5:30PM, but she was already ten minutes late. They loved being around her. She was headstrong and always seemed so much older—though she was just 14 years old. They were looking forward to being with her. She always had a place to go, a thing to do. They would walk around Bangor for hours together.
While they waited, they played a couple of games: Pacman, Tetris, Galaga. It was a school night and kids were out in force playing a new arcade game that had just arrived: Street Fighter. As time passed, they grew irritated but also worried. Not only was Becky no-showing, so was her friend, Ron, who had also promised to meet them. They had gotten a ride with Ron the previous evening. He had dropped them off at their homes, and Becky was the last one in the car with him.
They had no way to reach her. They lamented the fact that none of them had a pager—Becky included. She hadn’t shown up to school that day, but that wasn’t too surprising—she had a spotty attendance record. Maybe she was still with Ron...
Erica and Melanie took off.
Becky’s tragic death
It was a Thursday, and Becky didn’t show up to school on Friday, Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Nearly a week passed without hearing from their friend. She was a free-spirit, but this was weird. They were panicky. And then, on Thursday, November 10th, 1988, the Bangor Daily News ran a story that caught their attention.
“Police are investigating the death of a woman whose body was found in Hermon... a white female, between 15 and 25, about 5 foot 5 inches tall, 115 pounds, with short brown hair and light-brown tips. Last known to be wearing a black T-shirt, denim jacket and jeans.”
The height, the hair with the light tips, the clothes. They all matched. They called the police and asked if it was their friend. They prayed that it wasn’t.
That night, the remains were identified as belonging to Rebecca Sue Pelkey, and the Bangor Daily News ran a story the next morning announcing the news to the world. Their friend was murdered.
Who was Rebecca Pelkey?
Becky was the oldest of her family, born Dec 10, 1973. She had a younger brother who was 11, and she had two younger half-siblings, a brother and a sister, who were 8 and 3 respectively. She lived with her mom, Heather, who was a single mother. Her biological father had moved away to Arizona, so her mom alone was responsible for raising the four children.
Heather and the kids moved frequently, often struggling to make rent and sometimes moving in with family for stints while they were without housing. Her mom had a fraternal twin brother, Kirk, who always looked out for her and was an important father-figure for her kids.
Becky was a seventh-grade student at Bangor’s “Fifth Street Middle School,” and was frequently truant. According to the principal of the school her attendance record was, quote, “spastic.” Academically, she struggled. The Bangor Police Department later told the press that she had been reported as a runaway in the past. Though she was just 14 years old, Becky was known to drink alcohol and to shoplift. She followed her mother’s example, who would often shoplift in front of the kids.
Despite her struggles, Becky was well-loved. Her younger cousin, Kristina, one of Kirk’s children, remembered her as “everybody’s favorite” and a “leader.” She was the oldest of the kids, and, as Kristina said, “the boss of us all.”
And she was beautiful. She looked distinctively Native American with a strong chin and a winning smile. Her family is part of the Aroostook Band of Mi'kmaqs, a tribe that is native to Maine.
Kristina remembered Becky’s mom as the fun aunt. They would go to local hotels in Bangor for the day, pretend to be guests, and play in the pool. But Heather was a big drinker, and there was often fear that she was going to take things a little bit too far, drinking to excess.
Similarly, Becky was the fun cousin. She loved Michael Jackson, and had a red leather jacket with a bunch of a zippers that she never wanted to take off. Kristina’s dad remembered her as energetic, happy, and easy-going. One of her close friends said she had a zest for life, and said that even though she was a lost soul, she had a way of making everyone else feel like everything was going to be okay. Even in her youth, she was smart, intuitive, and instinctually maternal. She looked out for her younger siblings, taking on her role as the big sister. In fact, Kirk remembered her babysitting them frequently—so much so that she got sick of it. Heather leaned on her a lot.
But more than anything, everyone said that Becky wanted to be older. She was, “21 before she was 14.” She had older friends. She was interested in older guys. She looked older than 14. Becky was mature for her age. She was on her own a lot when she wasn’t in school, and she spent a lot of time in Bangor with her friends, making her own way.
Which might explain why she gave her little cousin, Kristina, who was just 7 years old, a funny, albeit, older T-shirt:
Kristina: “Becky gave me a turquoise half-shirt that said ‘MAN EATER’ in a very.... 80’s font. My mother quickly put the shirt away in a hope chest, and I was not allowed to wear it. I was only 7 or 8. It would be inappropriate, but I thought that was the coolest thing, and she took it right off to give it to me.”
Some Maine ‘fir-tippers’ make a shocking discovery
On the morning of Wednesday, November 9th, a week after Becky had disappeared, two men were out in the woods in rural Maine, 8 miles northwest of Bangor, in a town called Hermon. It was drizzly and overcast, in the low 40’s. It had been raining off and on for much of the last week. They were fir tipping, which has a long tradition in Maine. From early November to mid-December every year, thousands of workers scour the Maine forests looking for balsam fir trees. They then snap off the outermost small branches of new growth and deliver the fir tips to wreath makers across the state, who then transform them into fragrant wreaths for the Christmas season.
The men were on a rudimentary logging road 200 feet off the main road. The nearest house was a half mile away. They were going about their work when they came across what they believed initially was a mannequin. After passing it 3 or 4 times, they noticed the jean jacket that it was wearing. Upon closer inspection, they realized that it was the body of a young woman. They thought it looked like she had been there for at least a few days. Becky was nude from the waist down. There was a pair of jeans crumpled on her body, and she had a rope around her neck. In a weird small-town coincidence, one of the men that found her was a friend of Becky’s biological father and knew Becky’s mom, though at this point they had no idea whose body they had discovered.
Police ask public for help to ID
When they got back to a phone, they called the Maine State Police. At 11:20AM, dispatch logged the call and sent troopers out to investigate. They started processing the crime scene and canvassed the area. They checked missing persons cases in the system and called nearby jurisdictions to see if they were looking for a young woman. The state’s mobile crime lab was brought to the scene. A hearse from Brookings-Smith Funeral Home removed the body and took it to Augusta for an autopsy. In addition to the state police, Bangor PD and the Penobscot Sheriff’s Office assisted. No missing person report was found. Becky may not have been reported missing. We checked with the state police and the Bangor PD, and neither had a missing person report in their archives. It’s also possible they refused to take the report from the family, given Becky’s previous instances of running away. They looked to the public for help with the identification of the remains, giving a reporter from the Bangor Daily News the scoop, which was published the next morning.
In response to the story, police got about a dozen phone calls which led to Becky’s identification.
Police move quickly to talk to people of interest
Armed with her identity, they learned that Wednesday, November 2nd, was the last day that Becky was seen alive. She was with her friends, Erica and Melanie, and her new friend, Ronald Boobar, and his buddy Scott Dembowski. She never showed at the arcade on Thursday, and she hadn’t been seen by anyone since Wednesday night.
The day that she was identified, police spoke individually with Erica, Melanie, and Scott. They waited to talk to Ron last.
On Thursday night, the day after Becky’s body was discovered, Maine State Police Detectives Zamboni and Stewart sat on Union Street, outside of Ron’s home. From what they had learned, Ron lived there with his wife (who was pregnant) and two roommates in their two-bedroom apartment. It was 11:45PM, there were no lights on, and there was no sign of activity. They watched for a while, staking it out, and figured that nobody was home. Detective Stewart called the landline and it rang. Expecting it to ring with no answer, he was surprised when a sleepy man answered the phone. So the detective improvised. “Is Sarah there?” he asked. The man said no, and the detective said, “Sorry, wrong number,” and hung up the phone. Ron was there—at home in his apartment.
They decided it was time to act, so they got out of their cruiser and knocked on his door.
The Maine State Police meet Ronald Boobar
A 24-year-old, blue-eyed, sandy-haired man, tall and lanky—about 6 FT—answered the door. It was Ronald Wayne Boobar. The cops asked if he would come with them to answer some questions about a missing girl.
Ron agreed and went with them to the Bangor Police Department.
It was quiet at the station, just after midnight, and they got settled into a snug interview room. Ron was seated on the long side of a small rectangular table. The detectives sat on either side of him at the two ends. They set up a cassette recording device on the table, and hit record. Detective Stewart began.
How do you know Becky?
The detectives told him immediately that they were interested in what he knew about Becky Pelkey. Ron told them he’d met her 3 or 4 times. Though they didn’t say it outright, it struck the detectives as odd. Ron was 24 years old. Becky was 14. What was he doing with this young girl? He said that they met through a mutual friend who was not much older than Becky.
RON: I used to spend a lot of time in the arcade and playing games and stuff, and that’s how I met Laura Lee... Just horsing around, sitting out front there one night winding down after work... Listening to my radio and they come over...
The last time Ron saw Becky
Zamboni and Stewart got right into it. They wanted to know everything Ron could remember about the last time that he saw Becky. Ron explained that he and a buddy of his who he worked with, Scott Dembowski, were at a bar in Bangor having a few beers, shooting pool. They left together, and when they got outside, they saw Becky and two friends turn the corner.
RON: So I hollered to Becky and she come over...
RON: And we just, we took, she wanted me to go cruisin’, so says, well come on. And I figured we could just take, you know, I had taken Scott back to Capehart anyways, so.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: So who was in the car?
RON: Me and Scott, Becky and them two other girls.
Ron had never met the two girls that Becky was with, but Ron, Scott, and the three girls all left downtown Bangor in his gray 1984 station wagon. The back of the car was filled with Ron’s work tools and clothes. Becky was sitting in the front while Scott was in the back with the other two girls. Ron dropped Scott off first, and then it was just Ron and three teenage girls.
RON: And then we left there, and went to, out on Hammond Street, to the liquor store and I picked up a pint or something of vodka... Some orange juice then went riding around for a while.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: You don’t remember where you got the orange juice at?
RON: Umm, whatchamacallit’s market, there, on Hammond Street. Way out, on the left?
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Fairmount?
RON: Fairmount Market, I think it is.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Ok, so then you got some vodka and orange juice. Ok, so.
RON: She wanted to go back downtown and they all wanted to go back downtown riding around so we went down through town again.
Ron later contradicts himself in the interview, saying that Scott was with him when he went into the liquor store.
Police reveal when Becky was last seen
Though it has only been 36 hours since Becky’s body was discovered, the cops already knew that Becky hadn’t been seen since the night she saw Ron.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: We have a problem and that is that the information we have was that the night that you and the girls went around, ok, that particular night was the last night that we can find Becky. We don’t have anybody talking to Becky, or seeing Becky, or hearing from Becky since that time. So, you may very well be the last person that saw her.
RON: Yeah.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Ok? That’s pretty significant, I mean you were the last person that saw...
RON: Yeah.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: ... saw her then, it’s very, very important that what you remember about that night, and what she said and what you said, and where you went and what you did.
Becky wants to drive Ron’s station wagon
Zamboni plied Ron for more information. He used the knowledge that he had from other interviews to “jog” his memory.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Did you let her drive the car?
RON: I was gonna, but then I got thinking about it and it’s my wife’s car. And if there’s any trouble then I’d be in trouble.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Umm humm.
RON: So I didn’t. She didn’t like that and then that’s when we got riding around. She kept bugging me about driving and I said no—kept saying no—and then she says well drop me off downtown...
DETECTIVE STEWART: At any point during the conversation that night did you agree to let her drive it and then maybe change your mind later?
RON: Yeah.
DETECTIVE STEWART: When did you first agree to let her drive it, you remember?
RON: Well, when the girls were with me. She kept at me, and I said I’ll let you drive later, you know.
DETECTIVE STEWART: Did you say in any particular location you’d let her drive?
RON: Oh, I said we’d go out on towards Levant.
DETECTIVE STEWART: Umm humm, why?
RON: Cause it’s in the country. You know and there’s no cars on the road. But then like I said, I just, after we dropped that last girl off, I think it, yeah, it was out in Capehart. We dropped the last girl off and she wanted, she said well, let’s go downtown, then it was let me drive down here and I said no, and I took and I, I told her, well forget it.
DETECTIVE STEWART: When you agreed at first to let her drive, and then, you know, later changed your mind, but when you first agreed, did you sort of tell the other girls that you didn’t want them in the car when Becky was driving because of, you know, safety concerns or whatever?
RON: Yeah. You know... she screws the car up then it would have been my ass. You know, I probably was feeling pretty, you know, I was feeling a little mellow, I weren’t intoxicated, but I mean, I was feeling the alcohol.
DETECTIVE STEWART: Did you tell the other girls though that you know, you didn’t want anybody else in the car when Becky was driving?
RON: Yeah.
DETECTIVE STEWART: Because she was gonna drive?
RON: Yeah.
DETECTIVE STEWART: And that was because you didn’t want anybody....
RON: Well, I didn’t want anybody else to get hurt if there was an accident.
DETECTIVE STEWART: If there was an accident. Okay.
Other plans for Becky?
Zamboni thought that Ron might have had other intentions with Becky...
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: I know that you were with her at night... you been riding around with her, at night, alone in the car, and to me—statistically speaking—there’s a high probability there’d be some fooling around going on.
RON: I can understand you saying that.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Yeah.
RON: But that was the first time Becky’s ever been alone with me. And, you know, it may sound... you know, I love my wife. Ok? And I wouldn’t fuck around with her... on her.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Ok.
RON: Alright?
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Umm humm.
RON: And that’s just... that’s the way it is.
No show at the arcade
They moved on from the night of Becky’s disappearance and started asking about the next day, when Ron and Becky were supposed to meet back up at the arcade.
DETECTIVE STEWART: When the girls were in the car at any point, did you sort of make arrangements or a date to see them again? The next day or sometime after?
RON: Yeah. Well, we were supposed to. Ahh, I was gonna meet them, I guess, at 5:30 the next day.
DETECTIVE STEWART: Where were you going to meet them?
RON: In front of the arcade. And umm, I think the next day I got tied up at work or something, I just didn’t...
DETECTIVE STEWART: Didn’t make it?
RON: I didn’t make it. I don’t know if it was because I got home early or I ended up going right home or what.
Pressure is building
The detectives began to apply some pressure. They implied that they had physical evidence that could be linked to Ron.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Well, we got a missing person. And we know she was with you.
RON: Right.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: And you were the last person to see her basically.
RON: Right.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: So, so we want to be able to feel confident that nothing bad happened to her as far as your relationship with her goes.
RON: Right.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: And we can do that through things such as your car and double checking your hair. You obviously, if you haven’t done anything wrong, there’s no problem.
RON: Oh, I, no I, there’s no problem, ok, I mean, I’m willing to cooperate a hundred percent, alright? I mean there’s no problem, it’s just, if you got a missing person, what’s my hair got to do with it? I mean, but that’s alright, you want a sample of my hair, you can have it. Like I say, I want to do anything to help you guys out.
Ron cooperates completely
Ron backed up that promise with action. The detectives presented him with a series of forms that authorized them to take samples from him. Ron signed the forms and gave them hair samples from his head, his sideburns, and his pubic region as well as a saliva sample. He turned over two pair of shoes and his trusty blue folding knife, and he allowed them to take photos of him.
Police reveal Becky’s death
After a ten-minute break to get some coffee, Zamboni leveled with Ron. He explained why he needs Ron’s hair.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: The reason is we have located Becky.
RON: What’s this all about?
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Well, she’s dead.
RON: How’d it happen?
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Well, we don’t really like to talk about that. Ahh, it wasn’t an accident, put it that way. Ok? Umm, now, like I said before, the reason that we wanted to talk to you is because...
RON: Because I was the last person to see her.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Yeah, sure. So obviously, you know, you’re someone we have to...
RON: Yeah.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: ...be kind of careful with and make sure we don’t leave anything undone. So basically, I, what I’ve got to make you understand, Ron, is that you’ve got to be truthful with us. If you haven’t done anything wrong, you obviously don’t have anything to worry about.
RON: Right.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: If you have done something wrong, you might as well tell us. Because, you know, it’s just a matter of time, we’ll be able to prove it anyway. Ahh...
RON: What a waste.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: It’s unfortunate. Very unfortunate... I guess I’d like to ask you point blank, you know, man to man, you know, you were the last one with her. Are you the one that’s responsible for what happened to her?
RON: No.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: You sure about that?
RON: Yeah.
Detective Zamboni wanted to gauge Ron’s reaction—Becky hadn’t been identified publicly as the victim whose body was recovered in Hamden, and if Ron was friends with her, this would be some sad news. Ron seemed to be distressed—said it was a tragedy her life was cut short—got mixed up with the wrong people.
Death penalty?
They were gauging his reaction, but Ron never wavered in his innocence. Ron was putting himself on the side of justice... on finding the son of a bitch this did this terrible thing.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: What’s your opinion on what should happen to somebody that kills a girl like...
RON: It’s funny you mentioned that, because we was talking about that at the job site today.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Really?
RON: They ought to be shot.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Why?
RON: I have no use for people like that... 14-year-old girl that didn’t have a change to complete her destiny, whatever.
It was 3:30AM. Everybody was struggling to keep their eyes open. They took a break to clear their heads and recharge their batteries. After a few gulps of coffee they returned to their seats.
Damage to Ron’s car
Earlier in the interview, Ron had clarified that the station wagon was in his wife’s name and that he’d only been using the vehicle for about 7 or 8 months. It was a 1984 model—just four years old—but it had some recent damage. Ron said that he was doing some construction work on a camp about an hour north of Bangor on Long Pond, and that the roads leading to the camp were pretty gnarly. He would usually borrow a 4-wheel-drive pickup to commute to the job site, but this past Monday, five days after Becky was last seen, he drove the station wagon instead. The roads were muddy and as he was struggling through with his rear-wheel drive vehicle, he managed to scrape the bottom of it, putting a hole in the oil pan.
DETECTIVE STEWART: Did you tell your wife about that? It’s her car, did you mention it to her? That there was some damage?
RON: Yeah.
DETECTIVE STEWART: When’d you tell her about that?
RON: When?
DETECTIVE STEWART: Yeah.
RON: I don’t know.
DETECTIVE STEWART: Right after it happened?
RON: No.
DETECTIVE STEWART: No?
RON: No.
DETECTIVE STEWART: When do you think you told her?
RON: I can’t I can’t remember when I told her.
In addition to this recent damage, he also said that there was rubber missing from the front driver’s side bumper from hitting a tree a couple of weeks ago, and a dent in the back door from where “his father had dropped” a sheet of plywood siding on it. He said he had taken the car in to be repaired a couple of times, most recently on Monday because of the oil pan damage.
Physical evidence from the crime scene
Zamboni connected the dots for Ron, and he turned up the heat.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: I’m gonna do something for you that I don’t normally do, ok? Cause I think you’re a special case, alright?
RON: Yeah.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: I’m gonna brief you on what happened.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: This is a diagram of the scene of the murder. Ok? This is the Clark Road. That what they call it. It’s a dirt road.
RON: Umm humm.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Now, across the front of this tote road is an old branch.
RON: Umm humm.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Somebody just laid the across to discourage people from going in there. Now the interesting thing about this tote road is there’s cables across each end of the Clark Road and they’re hooked by a nail. Now, in order to get through these cables, you have, all you have to do is lift the cable off the tree. Alright? There’s no padlock. Now, a normal person who is not familiar with the area, would see that cable and stop, they would assume they couldn’t get onto the road.
RON: Right.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Right? But a person who’s been out there before would know that the cable was... so we’re looking at a person who’s been there before. We’re looking for somebody that’s been on that road before and knows where this is.
RON: Right.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: When you go up this little tote road, there’s a couple rocks, one here and there’s one here, and there one here. Now the vehicle that came in here went over these rocks.
RON: Umm humm.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Alright? Evidently scraped the oil pan and the underneath of the car. And that’s good for us because we can take samples of the rock and we can compare it.
RON: Right, to the vehicle.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: To, you know, to the car and we can look at how the look at striations and the scratched line up and we can the material content.....of the, of the rock.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Cause rocks are somewhat unique you know.
RON: Ummm.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Depending on what part of the country they’re from. So we came here, and the tracks came up here and they go up like this for a ways. And they kinda like back down here. So what we’re assuming is the guy drove up and backed in or perhaps he drove in this way and backed up this way. But I think, the way I looked at it, he must have driven up here, hit these two rocks on the way and backed down here. Well, when he backed down here, he hit these little pine trees down here, fir trees.
RON: Umm humm.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: And he damaged the car. Now when he damaged the car, he left bark and green fibers from the trees and the bushes in the car. Ok? Caught in the bumper and caught in the stripping on the side, and also some paint was damaged.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Now all we have to do is find the car. Cause once we find the car, you know, we can put all this stuff together.
Zamboni was watching Ron carefully, trying to read him, but Ron was unflappable.
While the interrogation was underway...
Ron had told the detectives where his car was located—at his other job, working for Certified Auto Parts in Lincoln, ME, close to where he was working on the camp. While Detective Stewart was out of the room, he had made some calls. Another trooper for the Maine State Police, during the interrogation, had made his way up to Lincoln and was looking at the car. He relayed his findings over the radio to the two detectives.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Ok, he observed body damage to the left front, ok? And the side back to the wheel well.
RON: The what? Side back to the wheel well?
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Yeah.
RON: What are we talking, the same side?
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: On the front.
RON: The left front’s driver’s side, if you’re looking at it. Alright.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: This is exactly the same kind of damage we’re looking for, hit these trees over here.
RON: I don’t know what to say, I weren’t there.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: The point is, Ronnie, that if it, the fibers and the bark on this tree is on the car, that hit it. Ok? It’s there, it can be matched in the laboratory.
DETECTIVE STEWART: As well as the material from the rock, that’s on the car right now. And the material from the car that’s on the rock.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Scratches underneath the car, the damage to the oil pan, ok? It can be matched in a laboratory.
RON: Well I realize that... I understand what you’re saying...
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: What I’m saying is... Your car is apparently the car that was on this road. You have an explanation?
RON: No. I don’t how the hell...
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: We, we’re assuming you’re driving, unless you know somebody else that’s been using your car.
RON: No, my car couldn’t have been on that road.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Yeah, it is. We also got tire impressions.
RON: There’s no way.
DETECTIVE STEWART: Your size tires and the width of your vehicle match what was found at the scene for measurements right here. See? It’s more than one thing, Ronnie...
RON: Oh, I realize that. But I’m telling you that I was not and as far, my car has not been out on that road.
Swinging for the fences
It was going on 4 hours of discussion in the middle of the night, and Zamboni and Stewart realized that they were running out of time. They decided to lay out a scenario, see if Ron would crack.
DETECTIVE STEWART: You know what we think happened? We think you were all out for a ride just like you told us, dropped the other girls off. You and Becky were alone together. She’s indicated a desire to drive your car. You told her you’d take her out to Levant to do that because there’s not much traffic, and there’s no cops around, right? So you head out Union and going a towards Hermon, on the Billings Road. Take a side road, maybe you don’t know what the name of it. Take a side road out there, get in this tote road... Becky’s a good-looking little girl...
RON: No way.
DETECTIVE STEWART: You’re a normal male.
RON: No way.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Ronnie, I don’t think you intended to go up there and kill her.
RON: I didn’t kill her, period! No way. No fucking way! I, I’m not, no. I didn’t fucking do it. I didn’t go out on the fucking Clark Road, I didn’t go on no fucking tote road, no way, there’s no fucking way!
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: Ronnie, when somebody does something like this, the state, the government, they want to, they want to do what’s right.
RON: And I want to do what’s right. I want to help you guys find who killed Becky, but I ain’t the one that fucking did it. I’ve got everything I want. I don’t want anything more.
DETECTIVE STEWART: You were drinking that night, Ronnie...
RON: So what?
DETECTIVE STEWART: That kinda loosens inhibitions.
RON: No.
DETECTIVE STEWART: Kind of a different person when you’re drinking.
RON: No, no. No fucking way, I’m not capable of fucking murder. I’m not, no way.
DETECTIVE STEWART: Under normal circumstances, I agree with you.
RON: On any circumstances. It’s just, there’s no fucking way I, no way.
DETECTIVE STEWART: Umm humm.
RON: No.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: What happened when all, when all that stuff matches up at the lab? You still gonna deny it?
RON: I weren’t out there. I was not out there. I don’t give a shit if you guys bring me a stack of papers this high saying that I was out there, I was not out to that place. I was not intoxicated. I was not out on the fucking, that tote road. We can sit here for the rest of the day and throughout tonight. There’s no fucking way I was out on that tote road. All I was trying to do was being friends with these girls. And fucking one of them show up dead and now I’m the one that fucking did it?
RON: Now, I understand you guys alright? I understand your point, I mean, me being the... This sucks, this fucking sucks.
RON: I don’t what happened after 9:15, or 9:30, I don’t know what happened after I dropped Becky off. All I know is Becky was alive and talking and healthy when I dropped her off in front of the arcade.
Throwing in the towel
It had been 4 hours. The interrogation was winding down. They didn’t get what they were after—a confession.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: We’ll say, Ronnie, that you’ve been very cooperative. I will say that you act like a person who’s innocent. You don’t seem to be afraid of providing us with statements... or evidence... and that’s all in your favor. But I’m saying from my position, this stuff comes back from the lab and it doesn’t belong to you? I’m going to drop dead. I mean, the statistics here, it’s phenomenal. You’re the last one seen with the girl, the victim, your car’s got all the right damage in all the right places, firecrackers, hairs and fibers, same color. If you were sitting here, you would think the same thing we’re thinking. I mean, it’s as plain as plain can be. Now, what we’re giving you here is the opportunity to clean your conscience.
RON: I got a clean conscience. Man, I’m telling you guys I weren’t out there. My fucking conscience is clear. I didn’t fucking harm that girl at all. I dropped her off at fucking Main Street and that was the end of the fucking night.
DETECTIVE ZAMBONI: So we’re not really bad guys Ronnie. And we’re not, we’re not trying to make you admit to something you didn’t do. And we are not going to arrest you, yet. Because we want you to be honest with yourself. We want you to go home. We want you to go do some soul-searching.
They took Ron back home to his wife, to their 2-bedroom apartment, just as the sun was getting ready to rise.
The detectives had a long day ahead, but Ron could finally rest.
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Rebecca “Becky” Pelkey (left), her mom Heather Pelkey (right)
Rebecca “Becky” Pelkey (left), grandparents Philip and Vera Small (center/right)
Heather Pelkey (left), Rebecca “Becky” Pelkey (right)
Rebecca “Becky” Pelkey (left), Heather Pelkey (right)
Heather Pelkey (left), Rebecca “Becky” Pelkey (right)
Rebecca “Becky” Pelkey (center)
Rebecca “Becky” Pelkey
Red flag indicates approximate location of the crime scene (technically in Hermon, ME) relative to Bangor/Brewer, ME
Location of burial of Rebecca “Becky” Pelkey
Sources For This Episode
Newspaper articles
Various articles from Biddeford Journal Tribune, Sun-Journal, Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel, and primarily the Bangor Daily News, here.
Written by various authors including John Ripley, Nancy Garland, Ned Porter, Robert George, and primarily Margaret Warner.
Photos
Photos from Google Maps, various newspaper articles, and the Pelkey/Small family.
Interviews
Special thanks to Kristina Small.
Official documents
1988-11-11 - Interrogation transcript, Ronald Boobar, Det. Zamboni, Det. Stewart
1988-12-05 - Grand jury indictment, Ronald Boobar
1988-12-05 - Arrest warrant, Ronald Boobar
1988-12-12 - Bail hearing transcript
1988-12-21 - Bail order
1989-01-11 - Motion for funds for private investigator
1989-07-03 - Jail grievance
1990-01-12 - Motion for funds for expert witness
1990-02-02 - Memo in opposition to motion to suppress
1990-02-16 - Memo in support of motion to suppress
1990-02-20 - Decision on motion to suppress
1990-03-13 - Memo in opposition to defense motion to exclude witnesses
1990-03-13 - Memo in support of defense motion to exclude witnesses
1990-06-14 - Memo in support of defense motion to exclude vehicle demonstration
1990, Nov - Dec - Various letters in support of Ronald Boobar for sentencing consideration
Defense Exhibits 1-5
Trial witness lists for both prosecution and defense
Exhibit lists for both prosecution and defense
Docket record for both Penobscot County and Somerset County
Email responses from both Bangor PD and Maine State PD regarding missing person record request
Credits
Vocal performance, audio editing, and research by Kristen Seavey
Written by, research, and photo editing by Byron Willis
Vocal performance by Bob Motta (Det. Zamboni), Jacob Smith (Det. Stewart), and Wesley Tunison (Ronald Boobar).
Murder, She Told is created by Kristen Seavey