Bloodlines
After dermatologist David Cornbleet was murdered in his Michigan Avenue office, his son, Jonathan, devoted himself to finding the killer. Now a shy and troubled young man—a former patient of Dr. Cornbleet's—has confessed. But that man's anguished father is arguing that a drug prescribed by the slain doctor may have contributed to the killing.
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Jonathan Cornbleet (right) revered his father (left) as a best friend. At the doctor's graveside, the son declared, "I will not rest until I find the person who did this."
The son had not missed a Father's Day in as long as he could remember and, despite all that had happened, he was not going to start now, no matter how forlorn he felt, no matter how discouraged. Through the canopy of catalpa trees, a bright sun cast mottled shadows on the marble and granite monuments. The stillness of the late June afternoon sat heavy as a tomb on the flower-strewn grounds.
Eight months earlier, in October 2006, Jon Cornbleet had come to this same spot, numb, bewildered, and heartbroken. He had listened to the tributes to his father, Dr. David Cornbleet, clung to his mother and sister, and wept as he watched the casket disappear into the chilled black earth. After the ceremony he lagged behind the other mourners, waiting until he was alone. Then, standing in his dark suit, he spoke to the man he called his best friend. "I love you, Dad," he said. "And I will not rest until I find the person who did this."
He clung to those words, found strength in them, all through a long winter of false leads, of staring at videotape until his eyes burned, of hanging information-seeking fliers in the cold until his hands were chapped and red.
But for all his efforts, he had failed. The killer was still out there, out of reach.
Now, in late June, filled with self-disgust, the son looked down at the grave. Bending slightly, he dropped the flowers he had brought. Then, after a pause, he turned to leave. He would not be back, he told himself. Not until he had him. Not until he, the son, had found his father some justice.
* * *
Far away, a different father, a different son. In their story, the father is the bereaved.
His son isn't dead—not in the way David Cornbleet is. But in many ways, Dr. Thomas Peterson feels his boy is just as lost to him, buried not in a grassy field of monuments and stone, but in a catacomb of jail cells on a French Caribbean island, where he awaits charges of murder.
In much the same way that Jon Cornbleet had visited his father's grave, Peterson had hoped to visit his son, 29-year-old Hans Peterson. As of press time he still had not, but was planning a trip to see him in mid-November.
The father now sits across from me in the lobby of a modest hotel in Portland, Oregon, sipping coffee and explaining why he feels as determined as Jon Cornbleet to find justice for a family member he has loved and lost.
* * *
Photograph: Courtesy of Jonathan Cornbleet
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Reader Comments:
My heart really goes out to Jon Cornbleet. He is a real hero and something should be done to grant him the justice he so badly has worked so hard for. He is somebody I greatly admire and respect. I think that Jon Cornbleet is the next John Walsh.
I really hate France for making this nightmare continue for him.
This is an excellent article. I am very impressed with the class and respect that Jon Cornbleet always shows.
Jon Cornbleet is a real life hero and somebody we should all aspire to be. I sit here and can not believe not only how strong a person he is, but how wonderful a son he is to his father. Jon's pursuit of justice is so admirable.
This is such a sad tragedy. Hans Peterson is a scum and shame on France for not extraditing this guy.
Why is France not extraditing him? He visited France a dozen or so times and thus he is protected under their laws? No wonder EVERYBODY hates the French. I think that what they are doing is criminal and I hold France personally responsible for aiding and abedding a confessed murderer.
I am very touched by the dedication and determination of Dr. Cornbleet's son. I think that all of us inside wish that we had the heart and courage that he does.
I have been following this sad tragedy since it happened. I think that John's persistency and determination is so honorable and such an ode to his love of his father. He shows a lot of class toward the Peterson family which is admirable.
Shame on France. I thought that the new President wanted to be different yet it is the same old song and dance with France. I will never visit or support those jerks.
who ever came up with the website/myspace idea was a genius
Excellent article. I never thought about the impact on the Peterson family. I now feel a great deal of sympathy for them (excepting Hans) as well.
Hans Peterson should be extradited and face his crime. You cannot tell me that in 4 years, he did not have one single lucid moment where he could have expressed and sought help for his feelings of anger. There are many medications that will help a psychotic individual function in society without murdering others.
Excellent article. I am saddened by the tragedy of Dr Cornbleet. He was the greatest doctor that I was ever fortunate to know. I miss his wisdom and humor tremendously.
Kudos have to be given to the son of Dr Cornbleet who has become a real life hero.
I can assure you that I or nobody that I know will ever support the French again. I think that they are obstructing justice and should be ashamed of themselves for not extraditing an American citizen.
It would appear that no one is addressing the issue that Hans only took this drug twice, from his own fathers' admission. Unless I missed it somewhere!? How about having someone, who is qualified to do so, evaluate the effects it can have on a person: same height, weight and gender, as Hans, having only taken the drug twice as well as compared to those mentioned in the article that the drug had a psychotic effect on (in terms of how long, etc., they took it). Let's get some conclusive evidence that it was the drug FIRST. In addition, someone else said it, he had more than enough time, Hans and his father, to seek help (or intervene on behalf of his son) before this happened. This is an unforgiveable crime, and he should pay. And ditto, SHAME ON FRANCE for even becoming involved: whether he was there once or a dozen times, in my opinion, it does not matter - he didn't live there!
Just a horrible crime and plan by Tom Peterson to distract attention from a first degree murder to two pills of vitamin a. Not to say that I wouldn’t do the same if this was my son, but it is clear that the Peterson family feels so much shame that they will do anything to transfer the blame. They are loosing a son in all of this, so it is OK to feel sympathy for them, but if one really reads between the lines of this story, Tom Ps previous comments, and even Hans’ posting on the Asberg blog, it is clear that Hans was an unguided child from the start. It seems that Top P may never really have known Hans, and only now is getting involved in his life by starting a crusade against accutatne. Perhaps this is noble cause or just a way for him to make up for lost time. Either way if wants to build support for his cause he should do everything in his power to get his son back to the US, including hitting the media in the same format and volume that the Cornbleets did.
I think it is time for France to update their law of 1927.