This is a picture of a 1992 Ford Crown Victoria automobile outfitted as a police car. It is not Chapel’s unit, but other than the Gwinnett County Police Department’s decal markings it is much the same car.

On April 27^th, 1993, 3 days after Michael Chapel was arrested, four firefighters at the Northside Firehouse or Fire 14 as it is known, either volunteered or were asked by their captain to write statements regarding their knowledge of the presence of the three police officers in the firehouse on the night of the murder.

Three of these firefighters stated unequivocally that Chapel and the others were present in the firehouse from about 8:30 to about 10:00 PM that night. They were all watching a broadcast movie on TV that had weather bulletins in a crawl at the bottom of the screen showing the progress of the storm outside. A third firefighter stated much the same, but he related the presence of the police officers to the end of the movie they were watching. According to the first three firefighters, they were all watching the same, broadcast movie.

These statements stunned the police investigators handling the Chapel case. They knew that on leaving the firehouse, Chapel was assigned a call on Arden drive on the other side of town. He had arrived there at 10:08 PM. When could he have lurked in the muffler shop driveway for 45 minutes, stopped the victim on PIB, ordered her into the driveway, murdered her and stole her purse? It would all have to happen in the 8 minutes that were not accounted for.

Two days after the firefighters made their statements, on the 29^th of April, 1993, significantly the night before Chapel’s preliminary hearing was scheduled, GCPD Sergeant, Now Major, Steve Cline ordered two crime scene technicians to go to the parking lot where Chapel’s police unit had been standing unsecured and unsupervised since his arrest, and check the front seat for blood using the chemical luminol.