July 22, 2009
Max Dunlap dies; was guilty of killing 'Republic' reporter
by Glen Creno and Dennis Wagner - Jul. 22, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
A man convicted in the 1976 bombing death of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles died Tuesday in the medical unit of a Tucson prison.
Max Dunlap, 80, was convicted in 1993 of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The reporter's car exploded in the parking lot of a central Phoenix hotel. He died 11 days later.
The Arizona Department of Corrections said Dunlap was transferred in March from the Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis near Buckeye to a Tucson facility, where he was admitted to the medical unit. That is where the DOC said he died of natural causes around 11 a.m.
Bolles' daughter, Frances Bolles Haynes, told Republic columnist E.J. Montini on Tuesday that Dunlap's death doesn't bring closure in her father's death.
"There is no such thing as closure," she said. "There is only learning to live with something that is painful."
Dunlap was part of what authorities said was a tangled plan to kill Bolles.
They said Dunlap paid another man, John Harvey Adamson, to plant the bomb. Adamson said James Albert Robison triggered the bomb.
Adamson served 20 years and two months for the murder, ending in 1996. He died in 2002.
Dunlap and Robison were convicted of Bolles' murder in 1977. The convictions were overturned but both men had new trials in 1993. Robison was acquitted but later pleaded guilty to a charge of trying to hire someone to kill Adamson.
Retired Phoenix police Detective Jon Sellers, the lead investigator in the case, said he always believed that Dunlap knew more about who was involved in the case.
"I've always said we didn't get them all," Sellers said. "I think Max is the last living person who could give us first-hand information about the conspirators."
Sellers said he testified that he believed that liquor magnate Kemper Marley Sr. was behind the bombing. Sellers said he believed Bolles was attacked either on Marley's orders or as a favor to him.
Bolles had been writing about Marley's efforts to get a seat on the Arizona Racing Commission.
Marley died in 1990, at the age of 83. He was not charged in the case.
Dunlap's family released a statement Tuesday night.
"We are thankful our father is finally free and will continue our long quest to prove his innocence and clear his name," the statement said. "He was a wonderful husband and the greatest father."
Among Dunlap's most ardent defenders was writer Don Devereux, who joined about 30 other journalists in producing the "Arizona Project," focusing on crime and corruption in Arizona.
Devereux said he believes Max Dunlap was framed, and that Bolles was murdered by Adamson and another man on behalf of mob figures.
"I'm convinced he was the victim of a serious miscarriage of justice," Devereux said.
In February, Devereux distributed a 15-page copyrighted article that said Dunlap was innocent and had been framed by prominent Valley leaders.
George Weisz, once the attorney general's lead investigator in the Bolles case, said he has never doubted Dunlap's guilt. [ when you frame a man and put him wrongfully in prison for 20+ years are you really going to admit you screw up royal. cops never do. ]
"We followed the evidence and we looked at all the theories," Weisz said. "My prayers are with his family members, who have suffered a lot . . . as well as with Don Bolles' family."
Man convicted of killing Don Bolles dies in prison
Jul. 21, 2009 03:11 PM
The Arizona Republic
Max Dunlap, convicted of masterminding the car-bomb assassination of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles, died Tuesday at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Tucson, according to a Department of Corrections spokesperson.
Dunlap, 80, was convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in 1993. He was serving a life sentence. Dunlap was unresponsive Tuesday morning in the Rincon medical unit in Tucson. Staff performed CPR before Dunlap was declared dead of what appears to be natural causes.
Last May, Dunlap petitioned the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency for early release, cited his failing health. In his application, he mentioned that he suffered serious head injuries after being attacked by other prisoners and cannot walk. He also had diabetes and had been left incontinent from reactions to medication. But as the hearing began, the board's executive director, Duane Belcher, announced, "Although Mr. Dunlap has illnesses, he does not meet the standard of imminent danger of death" required to grant clemency on those grounds.
Dunlap's longtime advocate, a retired tax attorney named David Frazer, implored the board to postpone its decision until an independent doctor could examine Dunlap to show that his health was far worse than Arizona Department of Corrections medical staff believes.
Belcher assured him that the board could reopen hearings should Frazer bring him new evidence of Dunlap's condition.
Bolles, 47, died 11 days after a bomb was detonated beneath his car in the parking lot of a central Phoenix hotel.
Dunlap was convicted of first-degree murder for hiring two men to do the job at a misguided attempt to curry favor with liquor wholesaler and landowner named Kemper Marley. One of those two was acquitted at his second trial, casting doubt for many about whether Dunlap was truly guilty.
Man convicted in reporter's killing dies in prison
Jul. 21, 2009 02:28 PM
The Arizona Republic
Max Dunlap, convicted in the murder of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles, died Tuesday at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Tucson, according to a Department of Corrections spokesperson.
Dunlap, 80, was convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in 1993. He was serving a life sentence. Dunlap was unresponsive Tuesday morning in the Rincon medical unit in Tucson. Staff performed CPR before Dunlap was declared dead of what appears to be natural causes.
Bolles suffered injuries in 1976 after his car exploded in a Phoenix hotel parking lot. He died more than a week later.
Man convicted in reporter's killing dies in prison
Jul. 21, 2009 02:28 PM
The Arizona Republic
Max Dunlap, convicted in the murder of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles, died Tuesday at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Tucson, according to a Department of Corrections spokesperson.
Dunlap, 80, was convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in 1993. He was serving a life sentence. Dunlap was unresponsive Tuesday morning in the Rincon medical unit in Tucson. Staff performed CPR before Dunlap was declared dead of what appears to be natural causes.
Bolles suffered injuries in 1976 after his car exploded in a Phoenix hotel parking lot. He died more than a week later.