Armed with search warrants and mindful of the chilling shrieks left on Josie Brown?s voicemail, investigators canvassed John Gaumer?s apartment for clues in her disappearance.
Gaumer had twice already described for the detectives their Dec. 29 date ? the last time 27-year-old Brown was seen alive ? saying that he dropped her off at home in Hampden with a kiss. But as was described Thursday in Baltimore County Circuit Court, where Gaumer is charged in Brown?s murder and rape in a death penalty-eligible case, cell phone records contradicted him.
“She very much was a phone person, constantly making calls” during their date, Detective Timothy Gardner said. Each one registered with the nearestcell tower, Gardner said, tracking Brown?s movements that night from Mount Vernon toward Interstate 95, and not home to Hampden.
The new details about the investigation came during a defense motion to ban from trial Gaumer?s statements after Brown disappeared, including two taped confessions to her murder played in court.
Gardner said one person who knew Brown reported seeing her in Canton, not Mount Vernon, late on Dec. 29, in a car with two men. Further, Gardner said, a test administered by police showed “no deception” when the former UMBC senior said he didn?t know where Brown was.
Still, detectives had heard the cries and the sounds of hitting recorded that night on Brown?s voicemail. Prosecutors played the recording, saying it was made when Gaumer?s cell phone accidentally dialed Brown?s during the attack.
Hours after police searched his apartment on Feb. 7, another detective said in court, Gaumer led detectives to a ravine by the side of I-95. Officers found Brown?s beaten and mutilated body, he said, lying in a stream bed.
