It's been five days since a Whitehall Township resident was found stabbed to death in his apartment, yet the WPD still hasn't figured out if it was a murder...Hey, guys, check out the clues below, maybe they'll help since you obviously were absent the day they taught criminology in Criminology class...

What are the police waiting for? Everyday, the murderer can get even further away from the jurisdiction than he probably already is!

Do they really want him/her to get to the E.U. or someplace else that won't extradite because the murderer might face the death penalty if he gets sent back to the U.S.?

WHY WASN'T ANYTHING DONE THE FIRST OR SECOND OR THIRD TIME THIS GUY WAS CAUGHT SHOPLIFTING??? OR AT LEAST WHEN HE THREATENED THE VICTIM'S LIFE???

HERE'S A BULLETIN FOR YOU GUYS: COPS ARE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES HAVE BEEN THREATENED, NOT WAIT UNTIL THEY'RE DEAD THEN MAKE OUT REPORTS!!!!

On Thursday, 12 February 2004, nine days after reporting to police that his life was threatened by a repeat shoplifter, a Wal-Mart greeter was found dead with multiple stab wounds. The Whitehall Township Police Chief, Theo "Kojak" Kohuth, formerly the talking head for the Pennsylvania State Police who had more "face time" on local news than Rob Vaughn, is quoted in the Morning Call as saying, "We're doing all the things a good police department does..." except, of course, protect people from being killed after they have filed a police report of threats on their life???

This death hasn't been "officially" classified as a homicide, so one must assume there could be another explanation for all that blood and all those stab wounds on a dead body, like maybe he repeatedly fell on a knife then got up, disposed of the knife, and walked back to his apartment to die... uhhh..here's how it works, guys:

• If there's no knife or other stabbing instrument in the area, IT'S MURDER!
• If there is a knife or other stabbing instrument in the area, then, if the victim's fingerprints aren't on the weapon, IT'S MURDER!
• If there is a stabbing weapon in the area with the victim's and another person's fingerprints on it, and if those non-victim fingerprints don't belong to a family or household member, IT'S MURDER!
• If there is a stabbing weapon in the area and it has the victim's and a family or household member's fingerprints on it, it still could be murder, just probably not by a stranger. This is the only variation that needs more investigation, but this information should still be made public so that people know there isn't a homicidal generalist out there.

This ain't rocket science so what's the problem?

Chief "Kojak" Kohuth is further quoted as saying, "Everyone needs to take a deep breath and let us do our job." We assume he is referring to people who are still able to breathe and not those who have lost that ability due to the inability of a "good" police department to protect someone who has had his life threatened by a repetitive shoplifter who was reported to both the police and the store.

On the sides of Whitehall Township Police Department cruisers, it says, "To serve and protect." Since it seems the WPD is unable to actually live up to at least half that claim, maybe that should be changed to, "We file the best darn post-mortem police reports in the state!"

Our advice to everyone living in Whitehall Township who values his life: GET A GUN!!! (a legally-registered gun, of course, and take courses to make sure you can use it correctly!!!) It's obvious the police are unable to protect even people whose lives have been threatened and who have reported this to the police.

As of Sunday, 15 February 2004, Whitehall Township Police still haven't figured out that this death is a murder...hmmm...let's see...an innocent party files a police report that his life has been threatened by a repeat shoplifter and nine days later he is found dead with multiple stab wounds...YOU DECIDE!!!!

Not only can't the WPD figure out this death is a homicide, they won't even release any information about the person who was reported as having made the threats on the victim's life!!!

So there could be a MURDERER out there running free and the WPD doesn't think it important to give that information to the public???? Maybe the Whitehall Township Police Department should be renamed "Kohuth's Keystone Kops"...

These questions need to be answered:

• Why was a repeat shoplifter not charged with a crime or, if he was, why do the police apparently not know where he is?
• Why was a filed police report of threats against the life of an innocent man that were made by a repeat criminal not acted upon by the police in any meaningful way? (If these threats had been made against a police officer instead of a Wal-Mart employee, the guy would be in jail right now; instead, he's free and the threatened party is DEAD!)
• Why are the police keeping all information secret? Even if the victim's killer was not the shoplifter, the public has the right to know and the police have the DUTY to keep the public informed, for the good of other innocent people who may become victims.
• Why isn't Wal-Mart offering a reward to help capture the criminal who may have killed an employee whose death was possibly the result of his actions defending the store and its property?
• If Wal-Mart refused to press charges against a repeat shoplifter, allowing him to remain free, WHY was action not taken against him???

Well, Chief, you talked the talk, now it's time to walk the walk! Get out of the "CYA" mode and let the people know what's going on and why nothing has been done about this repeat shoplifter who made terroristic threats against the life of the person who caught him. If you can't, then you should QUIT or the commissioners should find the guts to FIRE you!