INFORME Director of Development Recognized for Outstanding Service

By Kim Duplisea, InforME

Todd Tolhurst, the Director of Development for InforME, will be recognized Thursday, August 2, 2007 by the Department of Public Safety for his contribution to the investigation of the 2006 “Easter Murders”.

The murders occurred on Sunday, April 16, 2006, when two men were shot in Maine by Stephen Marshall of Nova Scotia. The Maine State Police quickly investigated these homicides and found a link between the two victims; both were listed on Maine’s Sex Offender Registry. It was believed that the online registry was used by Mr. Marshall to research the victims. Armed with this crucial piece of evidence, the Maine State Police contacted Ruth Lunn, the Director of the State Bureau of Identification, the agency that oversees the online Sex Offender Registry.

The Sex Offender Registry online search was created through a partnership between the State Bureau of Identification (Maine State Police) and InforME in 2003. In order for a person searching the registry to view additional information, such as the address for a particular offender, the person viewing the records must provide his or her name and address. Knowing that InforME has transaction details for the online service, Ms. Lunn contacted Todd Tolhurst to see if he could find the name of a user who searched for information on both murder victims.

Todd worked with Ms. Lunn and the Computer Crimes Task Force throughout the day, exchanging information and assisting with requests. Todd searched for a common name as well as a common Internet Protocol (IP) address. He found an IP address used to search the records of both victims. He then traced that IP address to Nova Scotia and provided the information to Ms. Lunn within an hour of the request. This all occurred on Easter Sunday, a day when state offices and InforME were closed for normal business, making Todd’s responsiveness particularly helpful.

The contribution Todd made to the investigation proved to be valuable. With this piece of supporting evidence, the police were sure they had found the killer. Unfortunately, the police were never able to charge Mr. Marshall as he took his life shortly after the murders.

Todd Tolhurst has been the Director of Development for InforME for the past eight years. During his tenure, he has developed Web applications such as the Rapid Renewal online vehicle registration service, and has overseen the development of the Maine.gov portal and its associated online services.