Questions
Published by John Willems in Crime, True Crime,Lincoln County · Saturday 02 Aug 2025 · 2 minutes
Tags: This, is, a, space, dedicated, to, questions, and, answers., If, you, contact, me, with, a, reasonable, question, about, these, events, I, will, provide, an
Tags: This, is, a, space, dedicated, to, questions, and, answers., If, you, contact, me, with, a, reasonable, question, about, these, events, I, will, provide, an
This is a space dedicated to questions and answers. If you contact me with a reasonable question about these events,I will provide an
answer in this space.
A common question that arises is, "Why Michael Ren’s hands were not tested for gunshot residue"?
The answer may be controversial, especially today, but it is important to consider the time and place of these events. At that point in time, Montana lacked a state crime lab, a state medical examiner, and a state criminal investigative agency.
I had suggested that we go through the process of ‘bagging’ Ren’s hands to preserve potential residue for testing. My recollection is that McMeekin decided against it. Why? In hindsight, it’s easy to say this was the wrong call, and it was certainly an issue raised by the jury.
Let me explain the decision as best as I recall. There was never any question about who murdered Ren—Rector clearly admitted to it. Two law enforcement officers, from agencies other than Ren’s, witnessed the shooting. Other evidence supported the conclusion that Ren had never fired his handgun, and it appeared he had barely exited his vehicle, let alone had the chance to draw his weapon from its holster.
A key piece of evidence was Ren’s revolver, which, when taken into evidence, was still fully loaded with unfired ammunition—a fact I recall verifying myself.
I do not remember seeing the lab report, but I understood that the revolver had been sent to a federal lab for analysis. Given the deteriorating relationship with the FBI at the time, it was likely sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. I understand from the news articles that remain available, McMeekin testified to those facts and results.
So, while his hands were not tested for residue, other evidence strongly supported the conclusion that Ren had not fired his weapon that day.