YOUR FAMILY'S DEDICATION TO FINDING YOUR FATHER'S KILLER HAS BEEN INCREDIBLE. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO LAUNCH YOUR OWN INVESTIGATION?
We knew right off the bat that this was going to be a very tough investigation. My father did not have any enemies and we were all mystified as to what could have happened. I knew from the start that it had to be patient related. That was the only explanation that made any kind of sense to me. I decided that we would not do any of the investigation work, but to help the police in any manner that we could.
We would work with the media and try to get the case as much exposure as possible. We did a lot of non-conventional means to help in the investigation such as enhancing the surveillance video through a private investigation firm that we found, to utilizing Myspace/Youtube and also conventional methods such as walking around town posting flyers about the case and working with the local news channels.
TELL ME ABOUT ENHANCING THE SURVEILLANCE VIDEO FROM YOUR FATHER'S OFFICE BUILDING. DID YOU RECEIVE ANY TIPS AT FIRST?
If you look at the initial video, there is a portion where [the alleged murderer] actually looks up at the camera, but the image is so blurry that it is hard to identify him. I wanted to see if we could get that image cleaned up. If you look at the initial footage, it was extremely blurry and enhancing the video actually helped provide some more details. At the time, we were still pursuing the Home Depot lead and the enhancement of the video actually helped that person clear his name as he recognized himself on a flyer from the enhanced video that I had posted.
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA OF USING MYSPACE TO POST INFORMATION ON THE INVESTIGATION?
It was actually the idea of my future brother-in-law. He has a background in marketing. Our thinking was that the best information was going to come from this person's peers. We thought that the traditional media such as the local news stations, newspapers etc might not be the best means to communicate with his peers. We then utilized Myspace as a way to connect with that younger audience. We also thought that it would be a great way to spread detailed information on the case. We would spend hours and hours inviting friends to the site with the hopes
they would look at the site when we invite them as well as send it to their friends etc.
TELL ME ABOUT THE EMAIL YOU RECEIVED ABOUT SIX MONTHS AFTER YOUR FATHER'S MURDER THAT GAVE YOU THE BIGGEST LEAD.
The subject line was: Jonathan Do Not Delete
I opened it up and it told me that this is a Marine on leave from Iraq and that he may have information pertaining to my father's murder. It was very well written and it gave me details as to who he was such as his background etc. I could tell right away that the email was authentic as I have always had the highest level of respect to the marines. I knew that a Marine was not going to send to me a fake email and the email was too detailed to be anything, but legitimate. He also
provided his contact information.
DNA EVENTUALLY LINKED FORMER PATIENT HANS PETERSON TO THE CRIME SCENE. BUT, BY THAT TIME, HE HAD ALREADY FLED TO ST. MARTIN. SINCE HIS MOTHER IS FRENCH, HE IS CONSIDERED TO HAVE DUAL CITIZENSHIP. HE REPORTEDLY CONFESSED TO THE CRIME AND IS BEING HELD IN A CARIBBEAN JAIL. BUT, HE IS NOT BEING EXTRADITED?
He is not being extradited because under French law he is considered to be a French national. He lived in the United States his entire life being born in Oregon and went to American universities and his parents have lived here for 30+ years, but because his mother is French, he is considered a French national in their eyes. He gamed the system and was banking on the fact of getting a lesser sentence in France. When he got wind that he was going to be brought back to the United States for the crime, he turned himself over to the French authorities and blatantly
said I amd doing this to avoid US justice. He was also smiling and laughing as they put the handcuffs on him as he got away with avoiding US justice. We think this is totally unfair to the victims the Cornbleets. We are the ones who suffered loss in every sense and to be dragged out to a foreign country for the trial etc is going to be extremely difficult on the family. This is all being done because Hans feels that the French justice system is weak.
YOU HAVE RECEIVED SUPPORT FROM SENATORS DICK DURBIN AND BARACK OBAMA.WHAT IS YOUR FAMILY'S NEXT STEP?
We need to keep the pressure on France to do the right thing. This is clearly an American citizen trying to use the system to his advantage to avoid US prosecution. We are relying on our politicians and the State Department to ensure that justice is served. I have said that I do not care where he is prosecuted, but under French law he would be parole eligible in 22 years. That is simply not enough for the heinous crime he committed. We need to meet in the middle to ensure that he never gets out of prison.
HOW DO YOU KEEP FOCUSED AND POSITIVE AS TIME PROGRESSES?
It is often very hard to stay positive. It is an extremely grim subject. I lost my closest friend and my father. My father will not get to see my sister get married, my father will never get to see the grandchildren that he wanted to meet so badly and my mother is now forced to go through life without her companion. Our family has been put through what nobody in the world should have to face at the hands of a selfish Hans Peterson. Now, in addition to having our father murdered and all of what goes with that, we are caught in the middle of an extradition battle with France. I think that is extremely unfair to the victims who are the Cornbleets and not Hans Peterson. We deserve to get justice.
AND FINALLY, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR FATHER. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE HIM?
As a father, he only knew how to give. He was always involved in my life. He took an interest in everything that I did and tried to help in every way that he could. When my personal relationship was rocky, he sought a family friend to come help us out. When I was struggling as a student early on in life, he always believed in me and would tell me so. He only knew how to give and not receive. His happiness was about pleasing others. He got more joy out of going to the store and buying every one of us gifts rather than himself.
I spent a great deal of my life in his office. I worked for him almost every single Saturday for the past 10 years and also dating back at least 5-10 more was helping out on school breaks. I watched how much his patients loved him. He always thought of his patients as extended family members, talking about them all of the time and caring about them as people and not just customers. He had legions of patients who he worked with for 10+, 20+ and even the entire 28 years. I was always so proud of how he ran his practice, as he was very ethical, honest, and always put his patients first. He did whatever he could for them often giving away medicine and helping patients in different financial situations out. He cared more about their well being than even his own.
He is and always will be my best friend. He is who I have always looked up to in life. All of my best qualities were instilled on me by him. I am and always will be proud to be his son. I take great pride in knowing what a wonderful influence he was and always will be to me.
For further information, please visit, “www.DrCornbleet.com”
