LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Since that morning on December 17, 2018, Mary Spalding, 72, has never really felt safe and has had no sense of closure.
She was getting ready for work and went down to her basement to get socks from the washer/dryer when someone, hiding in the shadows, attacked her from behind.
Spalding said all she can remember was being hit over the head with something metal, like a bat.
Eventually coming to, battered and bruised, she called her sister and her sister then called 911.
There was no sign of forced entry.
Det. Deidre Mengedoht took charge of the investigation and Spalding said she felt confident Mengedoht was going to catch whoever was responsible.
But exactly a week later, on Christmas Eve, Spalding's champion for justice was killed when an MSD truck slammed into Mengedoht's parked police cruiser during a traffic stop.
Following the tragedy, the case was transferred to another detective and then later to yet another detective.
During that time, Spalding complained of continued poor communication in her case and the fact that not a single person of interest or suspect was questioned.
So she filed a complaint with Louisville's Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
It was one of the first complaints received after that office's creation, and Inspector General Edward Harness determined there was enough there to carry out a full investigation of LMPD's investigation.
On May 22, Harness presented their report to the Civilian Review and Accountability Board.
The 23-page report found "Significant Discrepancies and Issues" with the statement that, "Ms. Spalding's case is a grave example of an institutional failure within LMPD."
Can't read the report? Click here instead.
"There were many, many problems with the investigation in the case," Harness said.
Problems started with Mengedoht's death.
According to the OIG report, there were assumptions within LMPD that the file she was building was lost in the fiery crash.
However, three years later, the file was actually found on Mengedoht's desk.
Spalding has always suspected her ex-fiancé.
She said they had recently broken up and when she refused to get back together with him, and that angered him.
Just days after their last conversation, Spalding was attacked.
Mengedoht pursued the ex-fiancé, going to his home the very day of the attack and then returned several times thereafter hoping, unsuccessfully, to speak with him.
In the OIG report, both detectives who took over the case made minimal effort to contact the ex-fiancé, and never brought him in for questioning.
That despite Spalding reporting that he had keys to her home, he knew her morning routine, and he had kept a small bat in his car.
Within a half hour of the 911 call, a neighbor's home security cameras recorded a man in the alley behind Spalding's house carrying a white kitchen garbage bag.
A white kitchen garbage bag and Spalding's kitchen rug were missing after the attack.
The man was also wearing coveralls, which was the type of clothing Spalding reported her ex-fiancé had worn.
"I think there probably was reasonable suspicion to detain the individual and question him, aside from trying to get some sort of a voluntary statement," Harness explained. "I don't think there's a question that reasonable suspicion existed in this case."
The report was also critical of evidence collection.
A Gatorade bottle the ex-fiancé was seen drinking from was sent off to Kentucky State Police for DNA testing.
Turns out it was not tested and the detective in charge at the time failed to follow-up with the state lab.
Meanwhile, testing of blood found outside Spalding's home was flawed according to the Office of the Inspector General.
A crime scene tech was supposed to allow a swab sample to "rehydrate" within a specific timeframe of 5 to 20 minutes; however, the sample was given less than two minutes.
The subsequent testing phase required 10 minutes before reading results, but the tech read results after 31 seconds.
Harness pointed out deficiencies in Spalding's case were instrumental in his office's recommended investigative improvements at LMPD.
"The recommendations that we have for her case are direct result of this investigation," he said.
Recommendations include improving case management, such as better handling and storing of evidence, as well as more effective case file tracking with consistent supervisory reviews.
Harness said detective caseloads need to be dramatically scaled back, while becoming a detective should be a promotion instead of it currently being a lateral move from patrol at LMPD.
Harness' office is planning a broad review of the department's detective bureaus. Whether LMPD acts on the OIG's recommendations remains to be seen.
FOCUS requested an interview with LMPD, but instead, the department sent this statement:
“LMPD consistently seeks to improve in all areas, including investigations, to provide service and protection to the citizens of Louisville. Part of the mission is to ensure that our investigations and how we conduct them are in alignment with best practices within the law enforcement profession. We recognize that Ms. Spalding survived an unspeakable act of violence, and we remain committed to seeking justice for her. If new leads or information develop, they will be aggressively investigated with the hope of providing some closure to Ms. Spalding.”
FOCUS also requested an interview with the mayor's office. The administration's statement is below:
"The Office of Inspector General was created by city leaders in 2020 to increase transparency and oversight of LMPD. We support their work and are pleased to see the IG and his team are investigating complaints and issuing recommendations. We are confident the police department will carefully review the findings and respond accordingly."
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