The day we arrested Kenneth Hulbert, I noticed a small boy lingering near a vending machine in the station lobby. He looked about five or six—too young to be alone, and like a kid who’d learned to live hungry. His clothes were worn, his hair unkempt, and there was something in his eyes that stuck with me. He wasn’t just hungry. He looked lost.
I walked over and asked if he wanted something. He nodded and pointed to a snack inside the machine. I bought it for him and asked his name.
“David,” he said.
That’s when it hit me—this was David, the stepson of our suspect, Kenneth Hulbert. I remember thinking, This kid deserves better than the life he’s stuck in.
The next day, a message landed on my desk. A man from Louisiana had called in a panic, desperate for information about his missing son. His name was David Lee Sr. He hadn’t seen the boy in over a year, ever since his ex-wife took off without a word. He had no idea where she had gone.
Over the following weeks, I got to know David Sr. He was a good man, and it didn’t take long before we were discussing what it would take to get his son out of the hellhole he was living in.
Through some legwork, I tracked down David Jr.’s location. He and his mother, Mollie Selfies Hulbert, were living in an apartment in Anaheim. I also learned that the boy walked the same route to school every day. That was the opportunity we needed.
David Sr. and his father—young David’s grandfather—flew out from Louisiana with a plan. They would wait for him along his school route and make contact. It was a risk. If David Jr. hesitated, if he got scared, if Mollie found out, we might lose our chance.
The next few hours were the longest of my life. I sat at my desk, waiting for the call.
Finally, the phone rang.
“Lee,” David Sr. said, his voice thick with emotion. “I’ve got him. We’re at LAX, about to board the plane.”
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. It was the best news I’d heard in a long time.
Lee DeVore True Crime 