Lewis County Sheriff’s Office detective Bruce Kimsey speaks to the jury about murder suspect Ricky A. Riffe.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – It was the fifth or sixth trip detective Bruce Kimsey had made to Alaska as he reinvestigated the December 1985 slaying of the elderly Ethel couple.
Over the previous seven years, Kimsey had scoured thousands and thousands of pages contained in the roughly 20 binders on the murder case at the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
He’d reinterviewed witnesses, managed to make sure every piece of evidence was tested for DNA and he was ready to learn what the only living prime suspect would talk about.
Kimsey had learned former Mossyrock area brothers Ricky and John Gregory Riffe moved to Alaska sometime in the late 1980s.
Just days before, Kimsey learned John Gregory had died. The detective was ready to arrest Ricky.
It was July 8, 2012 and Kimsey, along with a team that included a deputy to cover his back, a prosecutor and a private investigator, had arrived in Alaska two days earlier. They flew to Bristol Bay and checked into Antler’s Inn, the only motel in the town of King Salmon.
As they ordered a late lunch, they realized their waitress was the longtime live-in girlfriend of their suspect so they decided to make their visit then, wanting to catch him home alone.
“I don’t remember a road sign or a mailbox that said 15 Wolverine Drive,” Kimsey testified.
He described driving a Dodge Caravan on a gravel road toward the neighboring town, where Alaska State Trooper William Gifford knocked on the door of Riffe’s two-story-type home.
“I hear a male say, ‘Who the f*** is it?” Kimsey said.
Gifford identified himself through the door.
“Rick comes down, opens the door and says ‘come inside, I don’t want to let the mosquitoes in’.”
Detective Kimsey took the witness stand yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court as the fourth week of the murder trial opened.
Riffe, 55, is charged with burglary, kidnapping, robbery and murder of Ed and Minnie Maurin, whose bodies were found on Dec. 24, 1985 dumped on a logging road near Adna, with shotgun wounds in their backs five days after they went missing from their home.
Kimsey said he told the suspect they were there to follow up on the murder of Ed and Minnie Maurin.
“He said, who?” Kimsey testified.
Kimsey reminded him it was the same case he’d been interviewed by police about in 1992.
“He said, ‘oh, okay’,” Kimsey said.
Kimsey was inside the home with Gifford and private investigator Chris Peterson. They made small talk, Riffe mentioning he had COPD as he was breathing though an oxygen hose, according to Kimsey. And smoking at the same time, he said.
Riffe’s responses were short, as he was confronted with what various witnesses had offered connecting him to the crimes, according to Kimsey.
The detective said he told him that Jason Shriver had seen him and his brother inside the Maurin’s car with the elderly couple.
And he just responded with “I don’t know what you want me to say’,” according to Kimsey.
Nearly all of Rife’s answers to various questions included I don’t recall, I don’t know, a shoulder shrug or I don’t have anything to add to that, Kimsey testified.
Right in the middle of the relatively serious interview, the phone rang, and to Kimsey’s surprise, Riffe got up and went to answer it, Kimsey recounted.
The detective mimicked a gruff voice on his end of the call offering one and two word responses; it became apparent the suspect must be talking to his girlfriend, he said.
“He got off the phone and said, ‘I just ordered chicken wings’,” Kimsey testified.
Kimsey said Riffe remained well-controlled and matter-of-fact. He described his demeanor as kind of “flat line.”
“Every time I would ask him a question, he would drag on his cigarette and answer me while exhaling,” he said.
But, Kimsey testified, at the same time, he could detect a vein on his neck throbbing.
“My impression, he’s screaming on the inside,” Kimsey said.
Kimsey was asked what he observed as Gifford told him he was under arrest and what for.
“All he said is I’m gonna need my medication and my cigarettes,” Kimsey said. “His shoulders went down; it looked like it relaxed him, to me.”
Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead asked about the trip to the Bristol Bay Jail Jail
“He appeared to be calm,” Kimsey testified. “He, it appeared, like, the fight was over.”
Ricky A. Riffe, far right, and his defense attorney listen to Kimsey’s testimony in Lewis County Superior Court.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
That’s interesting, justcuz. I remember news reports about that incident, but never made the local connection. Still, this doesn’t really have anything to do with this trial since Halstead is not the person facing charges…it may well speak to his personal character (or lack thereof), but not his competence to prosecute this case.
Wow, if “Amazed” is the wife… pretty good doings since Amazed has been posting on all sorts of news items for quite a while. Maybe “mema” is trying to deflect something….
ya know I think the wife is the one posting the amazed but you know honey when you find out that your husband has skellitons in the closet yall wont pay all the$$$$ that your paying your husband is so guilty
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Man-arrested-at-Qwest-resigns-1223249.php
Thought Lewis county should know.
ya know yall put up your opinions but unless yall know the riffe brothers personally yall cant give your honest opinion I was in the riffe family for 4yrs and My kids were abused and so was I Rick& Greg were very mean guys so yall need to know them personaly before yall post your statments
I was a witness and there is no way that greg did this murder w/o rick rick set it up and they both did it together.. Rick was the leader and greg was the follower plz pray that Rick goes to hell…..
Touche, Larry Butler Fan. It just seems odd, that’s all. It doesn’t add anything to the article. Nothing at all. I suppose that’s why they don’t have lawyers writing these stories. However, I suppose for some reason or another, it was critical to the affect of Bruce Kimsey’s testimony.
People’s addresses are a matter of the public record.
Another thing that seems a little negligent, and if not negligent, reckless, is the author of this article, Ms. Decker, publishing the address of the murder defendant.
Lie Detectors, you are absolutely correct. Lie detectors are b.s. That is why they are not admissible in a court of law.
Didnt the private investigator testify that when they knocked on Riffes door in alaska that Riffe yelled “who the &^%$$ is it?” and then yelled “what the *$%$# do you want?”? Detective Kimsey testifies Riffe yelled “who the *#@$ is it” and then says Riffe said “come in I dont want mesquito’s getting in”. I know its not much but the story seems to be changing or atleast not matching and even wittness testimony seems a little rehersed. No DNA evidence, no believable wittness(just drug dealers & an old friend whose wife had an affair with the defendant) and no statement of guilt from Riffe. If the prosocution plans to prove Riffe commited murder they sure are taking thier time to show damning evidence against him. I haven’t seen or heard anything that would make me vote guilty if I was on the jury.
Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer passed a polygraph, after killing dozens of women. He then went on to kill many more, after the King County coppers wrote him off the suspect list based on the passed polygraphs. Polygraphs are BS.
Amazed, I think you summed it up very succinctly. Also, there is good authority that Rick Riffe took a lie detector test in the early 1990’s. And passed. However, those results are not admissible in the court of law according to the Federal Rules of Evidence. Similarly, if there wasn’t enough evidence to charge the Riffe brothers until now, and the only new evidence that has arisen first, all fingerprints and DNA evidence has come back negative, and second, the son of the victim offered a 10,000 reward to any person knowing any information? Interesting. No hard evidence, and a motive for witnesses. Like you said, I would like to see justice served- but this a waste of Lewis County tax dollars and an incredible waste of court and attorney fees. I do not know if the Riffe brothers are guilty or not- but from a legal standpoint, beyond a reasonable doubt is the highest burden to prove. Similar to the strict scrutiny burden in constitutional law. It is questionable if the prosecution’s case-in-chief has even met a preponderance of evidence or clear and convincing hurdle. Time will tell. Hopefully justice is served.
Guilty? Absoultly.
Guilty beyond any reasonable doubt? Doubtful.
Lie detectors….Let’s see then!!!
Circumstantial or speculation both fit. I’ve researched some of the News sources in Alaska. Ricky Riffe waived his extradition rights. And declined an Alaska public defender. When he was arrested in Alaska by Alaska state troopers, they charged him with being a Fugitive from justice~what justified those charges? To my knowledge a warrant wasn’t issued until the time they went up to make the arrest & arrested him. Am I incorrect on this? He was also being held on 5 million bail up there. Why was the jury allowed to hear testimony from Kimsey based on “opinion” of what his body language supposedly said. For example:“He appeared calm,” Kimsey testified. “He, it appeared to me, like the fight was over.” I would allow, he appeared calm. That is a visual perception as opposed to the appearance of “out of control”. But for him to be able to follow up with telepathically translating what he thinks Riffe’s thoughts are…how was that allowed? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to defend the brothers in this ordeal. Though, so far I’m concerned with the fact that all the “evidence is circumstantial”. Not 1 piece of evidence (to me) absolutely with out a doubt proves those 2 brothers committed this crime. Several witnesses can place ‘someone’ (only 1 person with them) in the Maurins car. But only 1 person can say he saw both brothers in the Maurin’s car. I want this case solved as much as the next person. but I thought also Riffe’s attorney stated months ago that there were 2 Other suspects. Have we just not gotten that far in the trial. Personally, if the brothers were involved in this. Most likely it was Greg (John) given the suspicious circumstances of his wife’s death in Alaska (suicide vs. murder). Supposedly Rick has an alibi for this time frame of the Maurin’s murders. He could have easily made it difficult to be extradited…drug the time out. He apparently has confidence they don’t have enough evidence to convict him.
Circumstantial is the word I was thinking of. But speculation seems to fit also
I’m not a lawyer, but isn’t a lot of what he said “speculation”?