Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Neal Rubin
Actress's help could bring killer to justice
At heart, in the best way, this is something Pauley Perrette did for herself. Something to remind her how fortunate she is, how valuable a helping hand can be and how quickly contentment can give way to calamity.
Something to solve the murder of a beautiful child.
Perrette, 38, is a Southern-bred actress. She plays forensic scientist Abby Sciuto on the CBS drama "NCIS."
Raven Jeffries was a 7-year-old riding her bicycle on her block in southwest Detroit.
Thirteen months ago, Raven disappeared. A maintenance worker found her body 10 days later in a field near a radio tower in Romulus. Whoever kidnapped and killed her had doused her with an accelerant and set her afire.
There have been no arrests, no significant breaks. But thanks to Perrette, there's now a reward -- $10,000 for the tip that solves the case.
With Perrette in a lead role, Raven's slaying will be featured at 9 p.m. Saturday when "America's Most Wanted" makes its season debut on Fox. The show also will focus on Shannon Paulk, who was 11 when she was murdered six years ago in Prattville, Ala.
A $10,000 check from Perrette pushed the reward in Paulk's case to $30,000.
The donations represent a fortunate confluence of where Perrette has lived, who she loves -- and most of all, who she is.
Perrette's birthday falls on March 27. Every year around that time, she sets some money aside and prays about what to do with it. "I look for whatever God puts in my path that week," she says from her home in Hollywood. "Then whatever amount I've come up with, I give away."
Her friend and unofficial brother, Sean Sweeney, says that's been her gift to herself since she was tending bar in New York, back when a few nights' worth of tips was as much as she could scrape together.
Sweeney, an actor with diplomas from Cass Tech and Wayne State, makes a living doing commercials and small roles while hoping and auditioning for bigger ones. He essentially moved from New York to California with Perrette and lives across the street from the house she bought with "NCIS" paychecks and furnished at thrift stores.
"She has as strong a work ethic as anyone I've ever known," Sweeney says, as well as "a moral ethic, not at all in a goody-two-shoes way. She takes a strong stand between right and wrong, and unlike most of us, she puts her money where her mouth is."
Perrette's boyfriend, camera operator Michael Bosman, also hails from Detroit; he went to Renaissance High School and then Grand Valley State. Having toyed with the notion of a master's in criminal justice, Perrette describes herself as a huge fan of "American's Most Wanted," and she and Bosman were watching in March when the show profiled Raven and Shannon.
The connection was jarring. She has family near Prattville and connections to Detroit.
"These could have been anybody's families," she says. "I couldn't stop thinking about it."
Donating reward money was a first for her, and so was talking about her donation. "I do this extremely privately," Perrette says. But it's publicity that will help solve the cases.
Romulus police Det. Joshua Monte has worked Raven's case since the body was discovered. He took Perrette and the "America's Most Wanted" cameras to the crime scenes and to meet Raven's family. "She was truly emotionally involved in it," he says. "She was misting up."
Police continue to investigate incidents that might be related to the killing. Three weeks ago, an attempted abduction in Lincoln Park caught Monte's eye. Lincoln Park didn't have enough evidence to charge the suspect, but "we looked at him," Monte says. The dots didn't connect to Raven.
The new reward, he says, might prompt someone to step forward. More than that, it might permit someone to step forward. Maybe you can't call the police -- the number is (734) 941-8400 -- if circumstances will leave you within reach of the people you're identifying. With $10,000, you can restart a life somewhere safe.
"With the time that's gone by, relationships change," Monte says. "Girlfriends become ex-girl-friends, friends become enemies."
A dozen calls came in when the last show aired. None of them provided anything new, but there's new potential in every ring.
In L.A., Perrette is spending this week filming the 100th episode of "NCIS." Away from the camera, her thoughts are on Detroit.
"It's a beautiful city," she says, "old and weathered and gorgeous."
She's been to Hart Plaza, the Michigan Central Depot and some of the other standard spots for tourists. There's a grace to the buildings that are holding on, she says, and to the people holding on to them. "It's like the city has a tear in its eye."
She went to McDonald Street, where Raven lived. It's not wealthy, Perrette notes, but it's busy.
"There are people everywhere," she says. "It's inconceivable that no one saw anything."
A girl was taken. She was killed. "All I want is justice for Raven," Perrette says, and it's only a phone call away.
Reach Neal Rubin at (313) 222-1874 or
nrubin@detnews.com.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070905/OPINION03/709050405/1005/LIFESTYLE