that all too often falls under the category of another woman. but there was more to it than that much more. a homicide investigation was at stake. one that, just days earlier, had led detective mark plumberg from whidbey island, washington all the way to punta gorda, florida. he was hot on the trail of a potential suspect. and then, came the hurricane. i didn t think he was going to stick around for us to come back. so the hurricane comes and goes, and your suspect is, quite literally, in the wind. he s gone. josh mankiewicz: for detective plumberg, the twisted trail that led him from whidbey island, washington to south florida began six months earlier just after christmas 2003. a geo tracker, a small suv, had been spotted in a secluded driveway in a remote section
of the caller nor the killer. he was still afraid to give us any more information. so i m doing everything i can to gain his trust, just keep talking to him. josh mankiewicz: the informant agreed to call again the next day. and this time, he was more forthcoming. he started telling me that i needed to look for a girlfriend of the shooter that was from las vegas. he kept saying the shooter is where i am. josh mankiewicz: the caller told beech that he was a retired air force serviceman and played in a band with the shooter. the shooter, he said, was his best friend. i asked him, again, to call the next day. and he said, i have to work, but i can call on thursday. and i said, ok, well, i ll be here waiting. and he almost whispered, the shooter is jim huden. josh mankiewicz: jim huden, in the age of google, that was all the break mark plumberg needed. by the end of the day, the detectives knew that jim huden lived in south florida and played in a band.
josh mankiewicz: given those facts, it seemed odd that the murder weapon wasn t simply dropped into puget sound. but keith ogden told the court that in early january, just days after the murder, jim huden had asked him to keep the gun in a safe place. please take the stand. josh mankiewicz: the last witness for the prosecution was detective mark plumberg. he told the court that while he was questioning huden at his home back in 2004, huden asked a rather odd question of him. he said, is peggy angry enough at me that she would implicate me in this? greg banks: had you told mr. huden that peggy thomas had implicated him? i did not. i had not implicated peggy thomas and i had not suggested that she had any knowledge or part in the crime. josh mankiewicz: in closing, the prosecution played the videotaped statements huden later made to island county detectives down at the punta gorda police station. i m a son-of-a-bitch, but i m no killer.
a ballistics expert testified that the bullet taken from russel douglas head came from jim huden s gun. this bullet was fired from this .380 auto. given those facts, it seemed odd that the murder weapon wasn t simply dropped into pujet sound, but keith ogden toll the court that in early january, just days after the murder jim huden had asked him to keep the gun in a safe place. please take the stand. the last witness for the prosecution was detective mark plumberg. he told the court that while he was questioning huden at his home back in 2004 huden asked a rather odd question of him. he said is peggy angry enough at me that she would implicate me in this? had you told mr. huden that peggy thomas had implicated him? i did not. i had not implicated peggy thomas, and i had not suggested that she had any knowledge or part in the crime. in closing, the prosecution played the videotaped statements huden later made to island county detectives down at the
i was actually out canvassing and interviewing again, and i got a phone call that said we had a tip on the russel douglas homicide. plumberg s partner on the investigation mike beach took the call. he just said hey, i m calling to see if you have unsolved homicides from december 2003, and i said yes, sir, we actually have two in december of 2003. which one are you referring to? he says the guy who got shot in the head. beach said are says he didn t know if the caller was the killer or someone related to the killer, but he knew he didn t want to lose it.