Samantha Harer's Death: 75 Unanswered Questions

JOLIET, IL — It's been 10 days since the Channahon Police Department opted to close the death investigation of Will County 911 dispatcher, Samantha Harer, by ruling her gunshot death as a suicide. The Will County Coroner's Office of Patrick K. O'Neil, whose agency screwed up the 2004 death investigation of Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, has now classified the 23-year-old University of St. Francis graduate's fatality as a gun suicide.

"On February 13, 2018 Samantha Harer was transported from her residence by the Channahon Fire Department to the Presence St. Joseph Medical Center emergency room where she was pronounced deceased at 9:08 a.m," O'Neil's press release states. "An autopsy was performed on February 14, 2018 that revealed Ms. Harer died from a single contact-range gunshot wound to her head at the right temple. Ms. Harer’s manner of death remained under investigation pending the outcome of the police investigation, crime lab results, and a consultation with an expert in the specialized field of blood spatter pattern analysis."

Now that the case is officially closed, it remains unclear whether Samantha Harer's parents, Kevin and Heather Harer, will get answers to a number of questions they presented to the Channahon Police Department on Friday, Dec. 28. That was the date when police officials notified them that their daughter's death was not being ruled a homicide.

At the time of her suspicious gunshot death, Harer's boyfriend of the past year, Crest Hill Police Officer Felipe "Phil" Flores, happened to be at her apartment in Channahon. Flores told his fellow police officers from Will County, that his much-younger girlfriend was distraught, and she had shot herself, Patch previously reported.

At any rate, the parents' sitdown interview with Channahon Police did not go well at all. Those in attendance were:

• Kevin Stevenson, chief deputy Coroner for Will County,
• Sgt. Jeremy Zdzinicki, Will County Sheriff's Crime Scene Investigation Unit,
• Attorney James Murphy, Mahoney, Silverman & Cross, the Joliet-based law firm that represents the village of Channahon.
• Channahon's Chief of Police Shane Casey
• Channahon's Deputy Chief of Police Adam Bogart

Below are the 75 questions posed by the family of Samantha Harer.

According to family spokesman Paul Ciolino, "they refused to answer about 95 percent of them. The Harers are extremely disappointed with the efforts of this investigation and all options remain open," he told Patch in late December.

1. When did you quit investigating my daughter's case?
2. How many people were interviewed?
3. Who was interviewed? When? What did they say?
4. Did anyone conduct a suicide assessment? What questions were asked? Who was interviewed?
5. Did anyone interview her doctor?
6. Did you talk to anyone in her family?
7. Was there a suicide note?
8. Did anyone perform any forensic tests on her phone? Computer? iPad?
9. Was her electronics checked for DNA? Fingerprints?
10. Was her gun checked for DNA tests?

11. Samantha took psychological tests before she went to work at 911. Did anyone pull those tests

12. At what point did you decide this was a suicide? How long after the incident?

13. Who made this decision?

14. How many times was Phil interviewed?

15. Was it recorded? Video? Audio? Is there a transcript?

16. What was Phil doing at my daughter's apartment?

17. When did he get there? What time did he call 911?

18. How is it possible that he did not hear a gunshot?

19. Was Phil drug tested?

20. What were the results?

21. Were photos taken at the crime scene?

22. Where are they?

23. Were gunshot residue tests conducted on Phil?

24. What were the results?

25. Were gunshot residue tests conducted on Samantha?

26. What were the results?

27. When did Phil get to her apartment?

28. How long was he there?

29. Did he tell you Samantha was breaking up with him?

30. Did Phil take a polygraph test?

31. Was he asked to do so?

32. If so, what questions were asked?

33. Who conducted the test?

34. Did Phil have a lawyer with him when he was questioned?

35. How long was he interviewed for?

36. Where was he interviewed?

37. Who exactly interviewed him?

38. Did you interview the woman who accused Phil of rape?

39. Did you do any forensic tests on Phil's phone?

40. Did you do any forensic tests on Phil's computer?

41. Did Phil tell you he had the passwords to all of Samantha's electronic devices?

42. Did he tell you that he constantly stalked and eavesdropped on Samantha?

43. Did he tell you that Samantha had been trying to break up with him for weeks?

44. Where is the 911 tape?

45. Who called 911?

46. Were there any 911 tapes calling in a gunshot?

47. We'd like a copy of the 911 tape. Can you email it to us?

48. Did anyone pull Phil's psychological tests from his police department application process?

49. Did anyone pull Phil's military records?

50. Was he ever disciplined?

51. Did anyone investigate Samantha's activities prior to her death?

52. Who she was with?

53. Who she spoke to on her phone? Emailed? Texts?

54. Did anyone you talk to tell you my daughter was depressed?

55. Did anyone say that she was suicidal?

56. Did anyone you interviewed ever say she was suicidal or depressed at anytime in her life?

57. She actually worked at Channahon PD. Anyone over there tell you she was suicidal, depressed, flakey?

58. Did you have any evidence at all that our daughter actually committed suicide?

59. Were photos taken of my daughter's body?

60. Were there any injuries besides the gunshot wound?

61. Was there any bruising anywhere on her body?

62. Were her nails examined? Scraped? Photographed? Any evidence of a struggle?

63. What were the results of her toxicology tests?

64. Was she examined for sexual assault?

65. Was a rape kit done?

66. What were the extent of her injuries?

67. Where exactly was the entry wound?

68. Was there an exit wound?

69. Was a bullet recovered?

70. What reports were authored by your office?

71. Who was the doctor who did the autopsy?

72. Where was the autopsy performed?

73. Who was present?

74. When was her last meal?

75. What were her stomach contents?

Main image of Samantha Harer provided to Patch with permission to use