Holtsclaw, Dallaire share info about Bohannon case

CHATTING: Greene County Prosecutor Jarrod Holtsclaw (left) and Det. George Dallaire of the Greene County Sheriff's Department shared some thoughts and more information Thursday about the shooting death of 14-month-old Travis Bohannon in an exclusive interview with Greene County Daily World Staff Writer Anna Rochelle. Within the last week, both Ronald Bohannon and Tanya McIntyre were sentenced in the case. (Greene County Daily World/Anna Rochelle) [Order this photo]

Within the last week, both Ronald Bohannon and Tanya McIntyre were sentenced in cases related to the shooting death of 14-month-old Travis Bohannon last August at their home in Midland.

After the hearings, Greene County Prosecutor Jarrod Holtsclaw and Detective George Dallaire shared some thoughts and more information about the incident and the investigation.

The first encounter Holtsclaw had with Bohannon was around 10 p.m. on that fatal Sunday evening.

Holtsclaw was standing on the scene with a couple of officers when a man came strolling up and asked him who he was. Holtsclaw identified himself as the prosecutor.

Holtsclaw said the man made a point to tell him to make sure they found out who was responsible for killing his little boy.

Holtsclaw then learned the man's name was Ronald Bohannon and it was less than six hours since the child had died. Later he learned Bohannon was the one responsible.

From the time they placed a call to 911 through ensuing days, Bohannon and McIntyre told stories that led the investigation on "wild goose chases."

"What he did, and what she did, made a tragic situation much worse," said Holtsclaw. "They both knew what happened.

"What I will always remember about this case is that they had so many chances to tell the truth, but they were both more concerned with keeping Ronnie out of trouble than getting help for Travis or assisting us.

"They took the time to get rid of the weapon and come up with a story trying to blame an innocent man, before they called 911. I don't know much about him (the innocent man) but I know he had absolutely nothing to do with this."

Holtsclaw said the adults wouldn't tell the truth -- it was the four-year-old boy who led them in the right direction and Dallaire agreed.

"The evidence clearly told us one thing, but they told us another and did everything conceivable to lead us in the wrong direction and have us running in circles," said Dallaire. "They were in self-preservation mode. The four-year-old confirmed what the evidence was telling us."

As an example of one of the many spur-of-the-moment fabrications that Bohannon and McIntyre concocted, Dallaire told what happened when he asked GCSD Det. Chris McDonald to test Bohannon's hands for gun powder residue.

Dallaire said when McDonald approached Bohannon, he apparently realized his problem and quickly said he had shot a shotgun earlier in the day. But that's not all he said.

Dallaire said Bohannon launched into a long-winded story providing detail after detail -- he just happened to have taken his son out to learn how to shoot, he said the boy sat near his feet, he was in military-style prone position, where they'd shot, what time, etc. He added that police would find a casing on the ground in a certain spot.

Dallaire said they didn't find the casing. The son said it never happened. And the shotgun, which was found in the house, was dusty and had not been fired in a long time.

Bohannon had also told them he was threatened earlier in the day by 'the innocent man' at a convenience store in Jasonville. That never happened either. In fact, the two didn't even see each other that day.

Holtsclaw said it took a lot of manpower, Dallaire said thousands of hours of manpower, to crack this case.

Help came from every department in the county, including the Greene County Sheriff's Department, the Indiana State Police, Linton, Jasonville, Worthington and Bloomfield Police Departments plus Conservation Officers from DNR, personnel from the Wright Township Fire Department, the Greene County Ambulance Service, and Don Fish and other caseworkers from the Department of Child Services.

"People were out there from the very beginning, worked round-the-clock through the entire evening and on into the next day. When everyone finally needed to go home and rest, others came in to relieve them and keep working," said Holtsclaw.

"It was a good example of how law enforcement officers in Greene County come together and work together to solve some of these bigger cases."

Holtsclaw said Dallaire was the lead investigator in both cases and kept them on track, but Dallaire gave all the credit to the teamwork of Greene County officers.

"We had a 14-month-old victim. We had to speak for him," said Dallaire. "Everyone set individual ego aside and worked together on this one. When we work together, our end product is good."

Both Holtsclaw and Dallaire wanted to especially thank Kevin Hobson, the detective in charge at the ISP Bloomington Post, and Troy Jerrell, Linton Police Chief, because they didn't hesitate to send extra manpower/detectives for several days.

"For a rural county it makes our jobs easier when we all act as one large department," said Holtsclaw. "It was very helpful in this case, especially when we were being lied to."

Talking about the lies, Holtsclaw used the word "despicable."

"As a father, I feel what they did is inexcusable, and something they're going to have to answer to down the road," said Holtsclaw. "I don't know how either one of them sleeps at night."