Feldkamps & Bloom follow-up

The McHenry County Sheriff's Department seems to have washed its hands on the investigation of the deaths of Jack and Audrey Feldkamp and Doran Bloom. I say this, because the report of the investigation of the Sheriff's Department is now available under the Freedom of Information Act.

If the MCSD were still investigating, they would not release the report.

What is there still to investigate? Well, let's start with what happened that night. I was amazed at the declarations by Sheriff Keith Nygren so quickly after that night's events. He flew back to McHenry County and took the spotlight at a press conference. He declared, in event, "Case Closed." (He did not see fit to return to McHenry County after another murder just a week earlier - that of Kurt Milliman. But that's another story.)

One of my earliest questions was about the weapon used by Scott Feldkamp to shoot Doran Bloom. The first thing I wondered was, "How did Scott just happen to be so accurate with his shooting?" And another question was about whether Scott Feldkamp was in legal possession of a firearm in Illinois. In this state we have a requirement that any adult in possession of a firearm or ammunition must have a Firearm's Owner Identification (FOID) card. Did Scott Feldkamp have a FOID card? If not, why wasn't he charged? Were firearms allowed in the parents' home?

What do police and deputies understand about dealing with subjects who have a mental illness diagnosis? And, in an investigation in which they cannot interview the subject, such as this case, did the investigators and Sheriff Nygren jump to some conclusions?

Someone must speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Are there known circumstances or history that might cause any thorough investigator to ask some deeper questions than have apparently been asked? What if some of those investigators suspected there was more to the story and wanted to pursue their hunches or intuition, or facts? What if they came up with information that sharply contrasted statements by their boss, the sheriff?

Would Nygren allow the investigation to be re-opened? Would he risk embarrassment, or would he admit error if findings contradicted his original, very emphatic explanation of that evening in Marengo?