Wednesday

EARLY MORNING HOURS

• 8:00 am Brenda Krch arrived at the Kovacich residence at 244 Forest Court driving the carpool to take Kristi and John to St. Joseph’s School.

• Paul reported that Janet came upstairs to awaken him shortly after the children left. Janet began a discussion about transferring the children to Forest Lake Christian School, near Lake Of The Pines. She described being unhappy with the large class size at St. Joseph’s. Paul was surprised because they had moved from Lake of the Pines to Forest Court because Janet hated driving on the dangerous two lane highway, especially in the winter; and, she  had just paid tuition for the full year at St. Joseph’s on Tuesday. Paul felt that the idea really came from Janet’s mother since Jean did not want her grandchildren raised as Catholics, and she was with Janet on Tuesday evening. 

Forest Lake Christian School - 1980s

• Paul described Janet as emotional over several issues. Jean had complained to Janet about her father Leo, who had resumed drinking, smoking, and cheating on Jean after a period of better behavior. Paul told Janet that since Leo had terminal cancer, it wasn’t worth trying to change him. Janet was also upset about the results of her breast surgery, and Paul was unsympathetic since he didn't think she needed it in the first place. 

• Janet also told Paul that Jean was trying to get her to consult with a divorce attorney, and that Jean offered to buy out Paul’s share of the house so Janet could keep it in a divorce. Paul pointed out that she would still need to get a job, and pay the mortgage, which made Janet cry, and she said that she was unhappy about everything in her life. Paul later told investigators that he felt that Jean made Janet feel inadequate and insecure about herself, and that had long been a source of friction between Paul and Jean, with Janet stuck in the middle.

• Paul mostly ignored the upset, believing that it was the pain medication, and pressure from Jean that had Janet so emotional. Paul later told APD that he did not find talk of separation or divorce upsetting or new. They had been to “Marriage Encounter,” and had been functionally separated for 18 months by Paul’s work assignment at the Lake Tahoe substation. He described Janet as “weepy,” not angry. He dismissed her mood as a moment that would pass, and went downstairs to feed Adolph. 

Janet's after-surgery RX medications

• After feeding Adolph, Paul went out to set a sprinkler and water the yard since it had been neglected during the fair, and Janet’s recovery. When Paul went back upstairs, Janet told him that she had an appointment at Forest Lake to see about a transfer. Paul said that he offered to drive her, but she stated that he would be grumpy, and put off the school interviewer, so she had arranged her own ride. Paul assumed that Jean was driving her, and he left Janet in the master bathroom dressed for the day, and finishing her hair and makeup. Sometime around 10:15 am, Paul left the house in their Bronco—planning to buy a case of motor oil on sale at Payless.

PHONE CALLS TO FOREST LAKE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

• At 9:00 am, Janet phoned Marian Entz, administrator at Forest Lake, to inquire about transferring Kristi and John. Entz confirmed that there was available space, and she told Janet that the kids would need to come to the school for testing and interviews for grade placement. 

• Between 9:00 am and 10:00 am, Janet phoned two friends (Brenda Krch and Dia Ambrose) to inquire about a ride from the Kovacich residence to Forest Lake. Neither were available to drive her, but Ambrose said that she expected to hear back from Janet later that day about the school visit. Although both Krch and Ambrose later recalled being asked, there were no phone records of local calls, so the timing could never be confirmed. 

• At 9:20 am, Janet phoned her plastic surgeon Dr. Burke’s office in Sacramento, presumably for permission to drive. Janet had seen Dr. Burke just before dinner the night before, and had another appointment that Friday morning, so there was no known medical reason for the call. 

• Janet was cleared to drive--it had been six days since her surgery, as Dr. Burke explained to the grand jury on August 28, 2006:

•When asked in 2006, Dr. Burke had no specific memory of speaking to Janet on September 8th, but he said that he would not have made a note in her file unless there was a change in her treatment plan, or medication.

• At 10:00 am, Janet phoned Entz again, and confirmed that she and the children would be at the school for interviews and testing. The agreed appointment time was at 11:10 am.

• When Janet informed Paul that she had the appointment at Forest Lake, and a ride, Paul did not understand that Janet had made plans to take the children out of school, and to Forest Lake for testing and interviews. Paul believed it was just an appointment for Janet to discuss the transfer process, and to tour the classrooms for student/teacher ratio.  

• Janet needed to travel to St. Joe’s, take the kids out of class, and then drive to FLCS—she would need 35-40 minutes. With an 11:10 am appointment time, that meant a departure from the house near 10:30 am.

PAUL’S LOCATIONS 10:15 AM-NOON & AFTERNOON HOURS

• At approximately 10:15 am, Paul said that he left the Forest Court residence and went to K-Mart and Payless at the Rock Creek Plaza. He needed engine oil and thought that he had seen an ad in that morning’s copy of the Auburn Journal for Valvoline and STP. He believed the items were on sale at Payless. 

• While at the shopping plaza, Paul described looking at photo frames for certificates at K-Mart, and said he then walked to the nearby Payless. It turned out that Payless didn’t have the oil on sale either, and Paul said that he did not make any purchases—partially because he realized that he left the checkbook at home, and wasn't sure of the balance on the credit cards because Janet had been shopping for new clothes.

• At approximately 11:15 am, Paul drove over to the Placer County complex at DeWitt Center. He stopped in at the accounting office for the Sheriff's Department, and turned in the timesheets for the K-9 unit to Beverly Brunkhorst (aka “B.B.”). 

• Paul then walked over to the “old courthouse gym,”  and used the upstairs weight room. After the gym, Paul walked to the office to check his work mailbox. He said hello to PCSO Deputy Rickert, and some visiting officers from the Sacramento Sheriff ’s Department. 

• The time of the conversation with Rickert was agreed to be at approximately 12:00 pm.

• Paul returned to Forest Court for lunch, arriving home around 12:15 pm. He said that he was surprised to find the home unoccupied, because he thought Janet was just planning a short visit to Forest Lake. 

• He assumed that Janet and her mother were getting lunch, and doing some shopping because Janet was starting classes at Sierra College the following Monday, and needed new clothes after her breast surgery. 

• Paul caught up on household and yard chores after weeks of overtime work. During his later interview with Auburn PD, Paul said that he didn’t notice anything out of place when he returned home—with a few exceptions: 

- The deadbolt on the front door was engaged; 

- The door between the house and the garage was unlocked; and, 

- The door at the rear of the garage to the backyard was also unlocked, which was normally locked (both the handle and the deadbolt). 

• Although it was unusual, it didn’t raise any immediate alarm bells.

•At approximately 3:00 pm Brenda Krch, the carpool driver, returned Kristi and John home. Paul asked Krch if she had seen Janet and she said “no.” She reported Paul replying:  “Right, she’s probably with her mother.”

• Following that conversation, Paul called Marian Entz and asked if Janet was still at Forest Lake School. Entz told him that Janet had never arrived. 

•Paul then called next door to Mrs. Myres, who said that she had not seen nor heard from Janet since their phone conversation the prior evening. She said that she hadn’t noticed any cars on the street, or in the Kovacich driveway that morning. The Myres could not see into the fenced front or back yards of the Kovacich home, into the windows, or view the front door, so Mrs. Myres’ information was limited to the driveway area. 

EVENING HOURS:  PHONE CALLS & NO SIGHTINGS

• At 5:01 pm, Paul phoned the Gregoire residence, located in Granite Bay. Paul spoke with Janet’s father, Leo. He told Paul that Jean was not at home, and that he had not seen Janet. Leo indicated that the women were likely having dinner, and then shopping. He suggested that Paul call Jean’s workplace, San Juan High School in Citrus Heights, were Jean was employed as Vice Principal and Dean of Girls. Paul called the office, but there was no answer since it was after hours. 

• At 6:03 pm, Paul phoned his parents, Beluah and Paul Sr., at their residence at Lake of The Pines. They told Paul that they had not spoken to Janet since that morning. Janet was very close with Paul's parents, who remembered that she had called and had a normal, routine conversation with them at 8:41 am.

• At 7:00 pm, Marian Entz called the Kovacich home to follow up on Janet’s whereabouts. She said that Paul told her that Janet was likely out shopping with her mother.

• At 8:17 pm, Paul again called the Gregoire residence and spoke with Leo for the second time. Jean was still not at the residence, and both men concluded that Jean and Janet were together.

• Given the unusual situation of Janet not being home, Paul and the children slept on the couch in the living room overnight, watching for Jean’s car.