Arch Sloan was first identified to the King family on July 17, 2012 when the Oakland County Prosecutor publicly requested information on his possible involvement in the murders. The Task Force had obtained mDNA evidence indicating the similarities between hairs found on Mark Stebbins, the first victim, Tim King and a hair found in the car of Sloan. However, the mDNA match was not to Sloan but apparently some passenger in his car. On August 29, 2012 Oakland County Deputy Sheriff, Gary Miller advised me that the request for information came from his office and did not originate in the Prosecutor’s office.
The King family has always encouraged the Sloan investigation and is disappointed that for over 6 years no one has identified the source of these hairs. The Task Force recently contacted me concerning the Sloan investigation and I do not intend to present any further statement at this time. However, sometime before I finish this Story I may file an amendment to Chapter 32.
Chapter 32: Arch Sloan Addendum
My son Chris and I met with the Michigan State Police and Wayne County Detective Cory Williams after this Chapter was published. For this reason I stated in the original Chapter I might publish this addition after the meeting. We had been advised that Sloan was offered freedom under some conditions which were not given to us. We were subsequently advised that Sloan had decided not to accept this offer.
Why would Sloan refuse freedom? First, he may not know anything which would be helpful to solving the murders. Second, he may have been afraid of punishment from any living person he could identify. Third, at age 80 plus he may have preferred three meals a day and a place to sleep. Four, his sense of loyalty to his friends and/or customers supersedes his concerns for the children. Can you think of any other reasons?
While the Oakland County Prosecutor has never told me why Christopher Busch was no longer a suspect in her March 1, 2010 phone call, my degree in bar room psychology has led me to conclude that the Sloan lead replaced Busch as the leading suspect primarily through the use of scientific evidence rather than circumstantial evidence. Remember, the scientific evidence, specifically the mDNA match between a hair in Sloan’s car which matched hairs on two of the victims, was accumulated by the revitalized Task Force after 2005 without any input from Oakland County. It also gave Oakland County an opportunity to hide any of its many possible mistakes or cover up on the Busch involvement.