Willis Henry ’Bill’ Gravell, a 49-year-old detective with the Oro Valley Police Department, was found dead on March 28, 1989, on the pavement beside his unmarked police car at Arizona Highway 77 and West Linda Vista Boulevard. He had sustained two close-range gunshot wounds to the chest from his own .38-caliber firearm. He had radioed for assistance while questioning a possible undocumented immigrant from Mexico; his final transmission was a panicked call for help and fellow officers arrived within minutes.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department investigated and ultimately advanced a suicide theory, suggesting Gravell, who was battling terminal cancer, had staged his death to appear as a homicide. The scene was compromised soon after the body was moved when tourists on horseback trampled the area. Gravell’s widow, Kathy Gravell, contested the conclusion and persisting challenges led to an administrative hearing. In a 1990 ruling the judge criticized the original investigation as bungled, found that promising leads pointing to homicide had been ignored, described the death as an inexplicable and perplexing act, and awarded survivor benefits.

Key unanswered questions remain about the circumstances of the shooting and why the investigation focused on suicide despite contemporaneous leads, including a 911 call from the day of the death reporting someone overheard say He just shot and killed a cop. Does anyone have information about Detective Gravell’s final call, the witness at the payphone, or other details from that night?