The Murder of John Helble
For this case, I watched an episode of Forensic Files. It’s season 8 episode 8, titled ‘Hair of the Dog.’
A man is killed in his home, and an unlikely witness helps solves the crime.
Background
John Helble was born on November 12, 1970. At the time of his death, he was 28-years-old, and lived in a trailer with his 3-year-old Husky named Keisha.
John was described as a bit of recluse. He did often spend time with his close friends, but he also enjoyed taking apart guns, and making alterations on them. He had quite the collection of guns around his home.
John Helble, with his dog Keisha
A Welfare Check
In February 1999, Margaret Helble, John’s mother, contacted the local police department in North Liberty, Iowa. Margaret had been trying to get a hold of her son for about two months, but there was never any answer.
The police arrived at John’s trailer, but there was no answer. John’s van was found in the driveway. The police decided to enter when they smelled an odor that was described as the “odor of death.”
John was found dead, slumped on the couch. It appeared as if he had fallen asleep while watching TV. He had been shot twice in the back of the head with a .22 caliber pistol. It was clear that he had been shot several weeks earlier, as his body was in advanced decomposition.
There were no signs of forced entry, and all doors had been locked. A small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia was found. John’s gun collection, and beloved dog Keisha, were both missing.
The Search for Keisha
The police learned from a newspaper ad that a dog matching Keisha’s description had been found wandering around, miles away from John’s trailer.
John’s parents were able to identify Keisha. Keisha was clean, despite it being cold and muddy out. The police believed that whoever had killed John had transported Keisha to the area, and left her there.
During John’s autopsy, the medical examiner couldn’t determine exactly when John was killed. However, John had several missed voicemails, leading the police to believed John was killed on, or around January 22 or 23, 1999.
The Possible Suspects
John’s family and friends were questioned. The police were able to narrow down the suspects to three people, all who were friends of John’s.
The first suspect was a man named Mike Harding. John and Mike apparently had a narcotics business together. A witness had seen Mike’s truck at John’s trailer, around the time of the murder.
John was questioned, but was ruled out. He had an alibi, and he had passed a polygraph test.
The next two suspects were Andrew Rich, and his girlfriend Sharon Schneider. Andrew had been last seen with John on January 18. Andrew told the police that he had been at John’s trailer, but was alive, when he and Sharon left to return to their home in Greybull, Wyoming.
Andrew and Sharon’s home was searched. Inside the home, they found weed, meth, and .22 caliber bullets. The bullets were sent to an FBI lab for a neutron-activation test. The led was shaved, and the metal was melted down. The atoms were counted, and it revealed that the bullets were not a match.
Inside Andrew’s car, the police found smudge marks on the windows, that were consistent with smudge marks from an animal pressing their nose against the glass. A nose print was taken from Keisha, but the test couldn’t prove anything.
A Man’s Best Friend
The police didn’t have anymore leads, and the case was going cold. The police turned their attention back to Keisha. They also believed that Andrew Rich was involved, but they just didn’t have any proof.
The police learned from Sharon, and other acquaintances of Andrew’s, that his goal in life was to be a mafia hitman. He always portrayed himself as the tough guy. Sharon said Andrew abused and manipulated her.
Sharon’s background was also searched. The police learned that she had been purchasing guns, and giving them to Andrew, and even to John.
Sharon decided to be honest with the police, who knew she had been hiding something. Sharon admitted that she dropped Andrew off at John’s about three days before the murder. She then drove to her daughter’s house, about an hour away.
A few days later, Andrew drove to meet her. He arrived in John’s van. The couple then transported John’s guns from his van into their car. They drove John’s van back to his house, and went home to Wyoming.
Sharon said Andrew then left for Texas at about 4am. He was there for about three weeks.
The Evidence
The police questioned two men that were acquaintances of Andrew’s, who he had been staying with in Texas.
The first man told the police that Andrew had sold him a gold cup semi-automatic pistol to pay off a drug debt. The gun was a prized possession of John’s, that he had fixed up. The man no longer had the gun in his home.
The second man told the police that was sold a box of ammunition. Inside the box, the police found several short black and white hairs.
Joy Halverson, an animal DNA expert, said that a mitochondrial DNA test wouldn’t be as unique as a blood or DNA sample, she could still compare the samples. A PCR, or polymerase chain reaction test was done on the hairs. The hair from the ammunition box was compared to a sample taken from Keisha’s hair. A haplotype was found, meaning it was rare, and only occurred in 1 in 300 dogs.
The man that was given the gold cup pistol admitted to police that he still had the gun box. Inside, was a list of the alterations and prices that John had made. A handwriting comparison was done, and it proved that John’s handwriting samples were similar.
Andrew Rich was arrested and charged with John’s murder.
The Conviction
The day before his trial, Andrew admitted that he killed John for his gun collection. He claimed that John was one of his best friends, but has never showed any remorse.
Andrew pleaded guilty to first degree robbery and voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to 25 years for the robbery, and 10 years for voluntary manslaughter.
In exchange for her testimony, Sharon was charged with drug possession. She was sentenced to 6 months in a halfway house and 2 1/2 years of probation.
Andrew ‘Andy’ Rich
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s crazy to think that Keisha helped solved this case. However, John loved her, and she ultimately helped her best friend.
Andrew is a massive piece of shit, and deserves to rot a lot longer than 35 years. Sharon was brave in coming forward, even though she must have been terrified. Sure she’s made mistakes, but I don’t think she’s a bad person. She helped solve this case just as much as Keisha did.
Sources
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/125153701/john-t-helble
https://medium.com/the-criminalist/mans-dog-helps-to-catch-his-killer-adcd045e7ab4
https://www.woofersandco.com/blogs/unleashed/the-dog-who-helped-catch-a-killer
https://katchingkillers.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-killing-of-john-helble-north.html?view=flipcard
