Two lawyers with ties to a 16-year-old Kalkaska murder have issued a challenge to the candidates for Kalkaska County's prosecutor and sheriff seats, asking them, if elected, to commit themselves to finding the real killer of Kalkaska resident Geraldine Montgomery. Jamie Peterson was convicted of rape and murder in the case and is currently serving a life sentence in Oaks Correctional Facility in Manistee. Bob Carey, Peterson’s trial lawyer, and now-retired attorney Alfred Millstein, who litigated Peterson's failed appeal before the Michigan Court of Appeals and state Supreme Court, contend that Jamie Peterson is innocent because no DNA samples found during the investigation matched Peterson's. The pair have been pushing to have the DNA profiles collected in the case compared to the FBI’s nationwide CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) and NDIS (National DNA Index), which were not available at the time of the crime.
Last spring, The Ticker reported Carey's request to the Kalkaska County Board of Commissioners to order current Kalkaska County Prosecutor Kirk Metzger to submit the DNA sample to CODIS and NDIS. The board, lacking the authority to order him to do so, declined.
In an open letter to Kalkaska County's candidates, the pair ask, "Why do the local police and prosecution refuse to continue investigating this heinous crime, which is a stain on Kalkaska’s history? Recently the county commission addressed the issue, at which time the acting prosecutor pledged to look into the matter, yet nothing has been done. This is an opportune time for the local candidates to declare their intentions, if and when elected, to pursue justice and submit the DNA to CODIS and NDIS." (Robert Carey (l) and Jamie Lee Petersen are pictured above.)
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OUR ONLY HOPE FOR JUSTICE IS A NEW SHERIFF AND PROSECUTOR. OUR CURRENT PEOPLE WILL TELL YOU THESE CASES ARE CLOSED. GIVE THESE NEW PEOPLE A CHANCE. IF AFTER FOUR YEARS YOU CAN ALWAYS VOTE THE "GOOD OLD BOYS" BACK IN IF THE NEW PEOPLE LET YOU DOWN.