AN AMERICA-wide manhunt is underway for a man, considered armed and dangerous, who is wanted over the death of three woman.
The badly decomposing bodies of the three women were found at the farmhouse owned by 60-year-old Gerald Michael “Mike” Bullinger in Caldwell, Idaho.
Bullinger has been charged with failing to report the deaths and Canyon County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Marv Dashiell said Bullinger is considered a person of interest in the murders.
He was last seen in the city of Ogden, Utah, 10 days ago.
“We would consider him armed and dangerous at this time,” Dashiell said. “If someone does come into contact with him or observe him, we request that they contact local law enforcement immediately.”
Bullinger, who used to be a pilot for Classic Aviation Services in Utah, had just purchased the farmhouse last month with his wife, 57-year-old Cheryl Baker. The couple was in the process of moving to Idaho from Utah when one of Bullinger’s relatives called police to ask for a welfare check, saying the family hadn’t been heard from for a few days.
The sheriff’s deputy responding tnoticed signs that something was amiss at the home and so began looking around the tiny farmhouse and wooded lot, Dashiell said.
SHOCKING DISCOVERY
A shed on the property held three badly decomposed bodies, each laying side-by-side and hidden under some sort of covering. Several dead birds and dogs — likely family pets — were also found on the property, and other living animals including a snake, rat and some rabbits were removed during the subsequent investigation. At first, investigators couldn’t determine the gender of the bodies or what killed them, but autopsies completed on Tuesday (Idaho time) revealed that the three women had each been shot once. The women ranged in age from mid-teens to late 50s, and their ages and statures matched the description of people thought to have been living at the home. Dashiell said investigators are working with family members to try to positively identify the bodies using DNA or other forensics.
Each woman died from a single gunshot wound. They had been dead for one to two weeks before their remains were found, Dashiell said.
FAMILY IN DISBELIEF
Police are actively seeking Bullinger, Dashiell said, and believe he may be driving a white 2007 Ford Focus with Utah license plates numbered 129UMP. He is about 185.4cm tall and weighs an estimated 109 kilograms, with grey hair and brown eyes.
Baker’s brother, Byron Baker, told the Idaho Statesman that the couple was still in the process of moving from Utah to their new home in Caldwell when family members became concerned because they hadn’t heard from them. Byron Baker said he thought the couple lived alone, and was unsure who anyone else at the home might be. He said it had been about 10 days since he had heard from his sister.
“I just don’t know what to believe,” he told the Idaho Statesman on Tuesday. “There are four people involved here. Three bodies and someone who covered the bodies.”
He also described a strange text his sister had sent to a close friend in Utah around June 11, which read: “Take care of my dogs. I don’t know if I’m coming back.”
Cheryl Baker had just retired from her job as an art teacher at Greenwood Charter School in Harrisville, Utah, and Bullinger was a pilot with Classic Aviations Service in Utah before taking on contract work in Idaho.
Neighbours of the Caldwell farmhouse reported hearing a gunshot or other noises about 10 days ago, but gunshots aren’t uncommon in the rural area, where many avid hunters and target shooters live.
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