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4 year old Marlena Danyele Childress

This story has held a place in my mom’s heart. The little girl I will be telling y’all about was only a year older than me, and this happened extremely close to our home. When it happened it shocked a small community, and for the mothers that had children close to that age they never forgot about it.

Marlena Danyele Childress was born on February 17, 1983 in Union City, Tennessee. Union City has a population of around 10,800 and has seen about 5 murders in the last 16 years. It's not a crime ridden city where you're scared to walk down the street or afraid to let your kids play outside. So it came as a heartbreaking shock when on April 16, 1987 a four year old little girl was snatched from her front yard, and never seen again.

Marlena was a caucasian, 4’0” tall, 38 pounds little girl with light brown hair, hazel eyes, and a big smile. Marlena allegedly, had been playing outside in her front yard while her mother Pam Bailey was in the house. Pam told police she had heard what sounded like a car pull away from her home abruptly. She stated that she went to check on Marlena and did not see her so she then called police. Police arrived, a large search was conducted, but Marlena nor any evidence was ever found.

Witness statements from that day detail how a car seen speeding away from the Childress home had McCracken County, Kentucky plates. Union City sits very close to the Tennessee / Kentucky state lines so it wouldn't be odd to see a vehicle with Kentucky plates around the area. What did strike people as odd though is that shortly after Marlena’s alleged abduction Pam Bailey moved to Kentucky. She settled down in Graves County, Kentucky which is directly South of McCracken County.

In several kidnapping cases the parents are interviewed, and talk about how they refuse to move, refuse to change their phone numbers, they refuse to change their schedules because they hold such hope of their child coming back, and they don’t want to make any changes that could make it hard for their child to reach out to them. They want to stay in the same home hoping their child can someway make their way home. They keep the same number hoping the young child can somehow remember it, and call them. They are so afraid of doing something to hinder their child's attempt to come home. So I find it strange that not only did Pam Bailey move. She moved out of state. She not only moved out of state. She moved extremely close to a place linked to the alleged abduction. Coincidence? Maybe. I find it highly unlikely, but maybe.

Pamela Bailey, Marlena’s mother, did have a history of mental health problems. I have seen reports that she had been hospitalized a couple of weeks before Marlena’s disappearance for stress and depression, but these are media reports and not from law enforcement. Therefore, I'm not completely sure how accurate that is. Law enforcement did report that due to stress from the abduction, Pam Bailey voluntarily committed herself to a mental institution for evaluation and treatment, right after Marlena’s disappearance.

Pam Bailey did hire her own Private Investigator to look into her daughter's disappearance. Roughly three weeks after the disappearance she confessed to the Private Investigator that she had “hit Marlena unintentionally, and killed her.” She then claimed to have, “dumped her body in the Obion River.” Charges were filed, but Pam Bailey recanted and the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence.

Then, a few weeks after that confession, she confessed to a P.I. that she had in fact killed Marlena. She said she had been disciplining Marlena, and that Marlena had just “died suddenly.” Pam stated that she then panicked and disposed of Marlena’s body (again) in the Obion River. The river was dredged at that point, but nothing was ever found.

Despite the lack of evidence, and the lack of a body Pam Bailey was charged with Marlena’s murder and the Judge ordered she be permanently confined to the mental hospital until the trial.

After returning to the hospital Pam’s story changed, and she recanted the confession yet again. She started claiming that the P.I. coerced her confession. She claimed the P.I. and the police had lied to her, shown her false evidence, evidence that would “prove her guilt.” She was told that they had enough to get the death penalty so it was in her best interest to confess and cooperate. She was told if she cooperated she would get a much lighter sentence. Pam told the hospital that she was also on psychiatric medications that impaired her judgement at the time of the confession.

The Private Investigator countered these claims by releasing the recordings of Pam Bailey's confession to the media. Ultimately, the charges were dropped yet again.

After doing some research I have found that a surprisingly large amount of people have falsely confessed to crimes they did not commit. According to reports from psychologists, people are extremely susceptible to confessing shortly after a traumatic event, when being pressured by law enforcement. Whether it be stress, maybe even some prior mental health issues, or just being out of their minds from grief it's not uncommon for people to confess when truly innocent. Its also noted that these people, usually the parents, are not in their right minds after losing their child, and to have law enforcement lie to them and tell them physical evidence exists that prove guilt, then be told they WILL get the death penalty if they don't cooperate? A great many of them confess. Many have said when interviewed later that they thought to themselves it would be better to falsely confess, and live than to fight the accusations, and get sent to death. Was this the case for Pam Bailey? If the story ended here I may have believed so.

SIGHTINGS:

One reported sighting occurred at a hair salon when two women, a young girl, and a boy came in. It was reported the young girl cried continuously, and repeatedly cried for her “mommy.” Witnesses stated the older woman told the girl, “Be a good girl, Marlena, and we’ll take you to the movies.” One of the hair stylists reported that it was a few days before she had then seen Marlena’s photo in a local paper, and immediately recognized her as the little girl from the salon. This stylists witness claim is backed up by other people in the salon that day.

Another sighting was a witness stating she had seen the girl in a beat-up car with peeling paint. The car was traced to Clinton, Ky., but no charges were filed against the owner.

Another sighting occurred in Anniston, Alabama in the Summer of 1987. A social worker was told by a child that she was “Marlena Childress.” The social worker had been investigating a family accused of neglect that harbored other people's children. They had a total of 10 children in the home. Two days after the child's claim the social worker looked at Marlena’s poster, recognized her as the girl, returned to the home with investigators, but the family had vanished. Investigators eventually tracked them down to Florida a few weeks later, but the girl claiming to be Marlena was no longer with them. The family was questioned and only stated that “the social worker must be mistaken.”

A third sighting was reported by a woman who had taken her son to a supermarket. Her son wandered off, and when found was talking to a young girl. The woman told police the girl was taken away by an “unidentified woman.” Both mother and son identified the little girl as Marlena.

The latest sighting was in Nevada, 1990. Details are not given, but a statement from law enforcement states that the sightings have not been confirmed, and reiterates Marlena is still missing.

Unsolved Mysteries:

Marlena’s case was first aired on Unsolved Mysteries on September 5, 1990. It was a 15-minute segment that detailed Marlena’s disappearance, and mentioned the $30,000 reward offered by LaWade Strickland, Marlena’s maternal grandfather. The segment generated over 200 tips.

Tips received ranged from people claiming Marlena was abducted by aliens and is being kept on another planet to tip calls that involved horrendous threats to the family.

One threat to the family was a caller saying, “You don't know what you're doing by keeping up with the search. A lot of things could happen to you, your wife, Pam and your children.” Mr. Strickland's car has been broken into, and his garage door opener stolen. He has received more than just the one threatening telephone call. These threats have not detoured him. He stated he’s “not giving up.”

When being interviewed, Investigators stated that the majority of the tips have been thrown out because they were either outrageous claims similar to the alien claims or they were investigated, and didn't pan out.

When asked about any possibility of the father being involved, Investigators stated "There's no proof her father (who is split from the child's mother) got mad and had somebody snatch her," she said. "We had reason to believe at one time it might have been possible. But she hasn't been seen at all with him."

Marlena’s grandfather put everything he had into finding Marlena. Putting up the reward. Turning into his own P.I. He never gave up. While investigating the lead regarding the hair salon incident he started to believe a local waitress had taken Marlena. He never explained why he thought this and never disclosed her name. However, he did take two witnesses from the salon to a restaurant and both witnesses identified the waitress he suspected as being the same woman with “Marlena” at the hair salon. Both of the witnesses / stylists also picked the waitresses son out as being the boy in the salon that day.

Investigators took the claims seriously. They interviewed the waitress, she denied everything and claimed to have no knowledge of Marlena’s whereabouts. She agreed to be polygraphed and passed. The witnesses from the salon still maintain the waitress was the one with Marlena at the salon. These witnesses even claim that after the waitress was interviewed and investigated she began to call and harass them repeatedly.

This particular sighting and the following investigation into it really intrigue me. I wish there was more information about it. I'd really love to know how Mr. Strickland had the witnesses identify the waitress. Did he bring them in, point her out, and ask if she was the one? Or did he take them in and ask them if anybody inside looked familiar? I'm curious to know why Mr. Strickland didn't have to police do a formal line-up with the salon witnesses? If they had done it and we were sure there was no bias or a limited pool of subjects I'd be more inclined to fully believe the witnesses claims. Also, how was her son identified? Were the witnesses given multiple choices of boys? Did the pool of suspects have similar features? I wish we had answers to these questions. Why was Mr. Strickland so sure this woman was the one to take Marlena? He never offered up a reason. Why is that? My final question...Why did this waitress begin to harass and call these witnesses after being investigated?

Pam Bailey’s Incarceration for trying to kill her other child:

In April of 2002 Pam Bailey told her 12-year old son Casey to be home from a friends house by 7:30. She told him she had a surprise waiting for him. Around 8pm they drove to Arnett Cemetery. She tied a blue handkerchief around his eyes, walked him to a grave marker labeled “son”, and stabbed him in the neck and shoulder with a knife. A hole for his body had already been previously dug. Amazingly, Casey was able to kick his mother and ran to the nearest house. Casey survived the incident, was released from the hospital the next day, and has remained in his father's care since.

Pam Bailey was charged and plead innocence. She was found guilty of attempted murder, served 10 years, and was released. She now lives in Marshall County, Kentucky.

On the 25th anniversary:

Lt. Andy Gibson has been the investigator working the case for several years. He says the departments still actively investigates the case, still receives tips, and still follows those leads. Kevin Childress, Marlena’s father, still wants answers. He says he's grateful people still remember her. He says, “It makes me feel great, that people still think about it. It’s still on people’s minds, we haven’t forgotten.” Lt. Gibson and Mr. Childress want people to know they are still looking for answers.

If you have any information that could help, contact the Union City Police Dept. (731) 885-1515, or Crime Stoppers at (731) 885-TIPS.

Final Thoughts:  

I believe Pam Bailey knows what happened to her daughter. In my opinion, it's a tragedy that justice wasn't served for Marlena. Some people thought she would finally receive punishment after attempting to kill Casey, but unfortunately she didn't. I feel ten years just wasn't enough time. While researching this case I came across some very interesting comments on forums. One of these forums was the Unsolved Mysteries (TV Show forum). A poster claiming to be Casey had made several comments defending Pam Bailey. The poster gave an email address and invited people to email him if they “wanted to know what really happened.” A few people reached out to him and confirmed it really was Casey. Though no reason was given I'd love it if he would come forward, and explain why he's defending the woman that tried to kill him?

It was also discovered that Casey had reached out to Unsolved Mysteries, and had asked that Marlenas episode never be re-ran on TV. Unsolved Mysteries approved his request even though there were a lot of requests for the episode to be shown again! Your sisters disappearance, and likely murder has never been solved, and you're hampering any publicity the case could receive? I don't understand why.

There's also talk on a lot of forums that Casey is responsible for having a lot of case information removed from The Charley Project, and other similar sites. Again...WHY??

Why is he defending a woman, even if she IS his mother, why defend her? I understand loving her doesn't stop, but I don't believe I could defend somebody that tried to kill me. Let alone while my sister is still missing. Then take it a step further by stirring up forum posts, demanding case info be taken down, and episodes not be replayed which could mean the one person with information never sees this stuff.

Maybe I'm the weird one. Maybe most of everybody else would fight by their mothers side. I just can't imagine doing that. I sure as hell can't imagine hindering my sisters investigation.

I'd love for this case to be solved. Maybe one day it will be.

If you have any information even if you feel it's just a small detail and insignificant, please call the Union City Police Dept. (731) 885-1515, or Crime Stoppers at (731) 885-TIPS. No matter how small you think the tip is. Call it in anyway!

Interview Pam Bailey did that people said "gave them the creeps."

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SOURCES:

http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Union-City-Tennessee.html

https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/tn/union-city/crime

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?37623-Marlena-Danyele-Childress-(4)-Union-City-TN-1987

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-04-24/news/0204240342_1_mayfield-stabbed-boy

http://charleyproject.org/case/marlena-danyele-childress

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/archive/index.php/t-218554.html

http://www.wbbjtv.com/2012/02/18/girl-missing-for-almost-25-years-police-still-searching/

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.facebook.com/marlena.childress&ved=2ahUKEwjls_qL2djYAhUyct8KHV-nCSIQjjgwBXoECA0QAQ&usg=AOvVaw1g0M3h6Z8LskyCET224zoZ

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/union-city-tn/T0OOG4KRQPV1UFC31

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?33844-TN-Marlena-Childress-4-Union-City-16-April-1987

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...5848%2C5679417

http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Marlena_Childress

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Keith Warren's injustice / Blatant cover-up! Part 1

In July of 1986 in Silver Springs, Maryland 19-year-old Keith Warren was a good kid. He had been working two jobs, and was one month away from starting college. His mother Mary was proud of her son. She had recently noticed he seemed to be involved with a new “rough crowd,” but didn't seem to be too worried.

(WARNING!! GRAPHIC PHOTOS INSIDE!)

On the night of July 29, 1986 Keith received a phone call from some friends so he left his home to go hang-out. In the days preceding this a number of individuals had been looking for Keith. Rodney Kendell, a good friend of Keith’s, found it odd that these people were looking for Keith. They were not from the area Keith lived, they were African-American, and the majority of Keith’s friends were white. The most alarming was that one individual looking for Keith, a Mark Finley, had gotten involved in a fight with Keith the last time they had seen each other. (I can’t find any comment, statements, or documentation stating who called that night or who he was going to “hang-out” with that night.) Rodney would later tell Keith’s mother that Mark was especially anxious, and concerned to find Keith.

Hours later when Keith hadn't returned home his mother Mary went to the police department, and tried to report him missing. She was told that unless he was an invalid or on medication she had to wait 48 hours.

While a mother is anxiously awaiting for her son to return, paramedics at a nearby Fire and Rescue Station receive a 911 call at 2pm on July 31, 1986 by a girl from 14655 Tynewick Drive, Silver Spring, Maryland, claiming a suicide had just been committed. This 911 call would be the start of an extremely long list of discrepancies, and flat out lies!

Paramedic Dallas Lipp was in charge, and arrived with rescue personnel. He asked to be directed to the location of the suicide. Claudia “Michelle” Lawson had placed the 911 call, and during that call stated, “Somebody had committed suicide, and were hanging in the basement.” Yet when rescue arrived they found Chip Wynn the homeowner, Claudia “Michelle” Lawson (Chip’s girlfriend), and a third unidentified individual seated at the kitchen table, and when confronted were told the body was “hanging in the woods behind the house.” This change in the story puzzled Dallas Lipp. In a later statement, Dallas Lipp said he had also expected the individuals to be distressed or upset with finding the suicide victim, but that they had a “matter-of-fact attitude” about it.

After getting the new location of where the body was Dallas Lipp asked the men to show him where the victim was. Both men declined, and told Michelle Lawson to take the paramedics to the scene. (I found this strange. This alone tells a lot about these mens character. This was 1986. Back then men still held doors for women, women took care of the home while the men worked hard to provide. I find it strange a man would refuse to escort paramedics to a hanging victim, but instead would “tell” their girlfriend to do it. I believe most men would want to protect their wives or girlfriends from having to deal with such a tragic thing. I hope that also holds true today.)

As Michelle walked Mr. Lipp and his personnel to the body she changed her original story. She told Mr. Lipp that she had been walking her dog in the woods and had came upon a body hanging from a tree. She then said she returned to the house, and had called 911.

After arriving and inspecting the hanging Mr. Lipp remarked, “This does not look like a suicide.” He noted that there was no log or any sort of object from which Keith could have jumped. While Paramedic Dallas Lipp and his personnel were inspecting the body/scene, Officer Luther Leverette from the Wheaton/Glenmont Police Station responded, and took charge. Officer Leverette did not cordon off the area, and within minutes of arriving, himself and Detective Beasley had ruled the death a suicide. Leverette would write in his report that Keith had “apparently jumped off a log.” (Remember that Mr. Lipps report stated the complete opposite. Years later Mr. Lipp would be interviewed regarding this case, and he would say that when arriving on the scene he knew it wasn't a suicide. He also says he had hoped that since Officer Leverette was also African-American that Keith's death would be properly investigated. Sadly that was not the case.)

Shortly after declaring it a suicide, and without any proper investigation Detective Beasley and Officer Leverette had the body removed from the tree, and delivered to Collins Funeral Home in Silver Spring with specific instructions to “embalm the body immediately.” This order was given before notifying the family, before the family had identified the body, and without the families permission.

Please note the following violations of police procedure:

1. The scene was not cordoned off to protect evidence.

2. There was no proper investigation to rule either homicide or suicide.

3. There was no autopsy ordered or toxicology tests ordered.

4. The body was hastily embalmed without proper identification or approval.

5. The body was sent to a funeral home of Officer Leverette's choosing.

Once Keith’s body was on its way to the funeral home Officer Leverette made the drive to Keith Warren's home. Keith's mother Mary worked nights at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and wasn't home at the time so Leverette knocked on the neighbors door. Barbara Nichols answered the door. Leverette showed Ms. Nichols a Polaroid picture of Keith's body hanging from the tree, and asked her to identify him. Ms. Nichols gave Officer Leverette Mary Couey’s work number, and even went so far as to offer the use of her home phone, but Leverette declined. Instead, he hung around the neighborhood, waiting in his car. Ms. Nichols then approached Leverette to explain that Ms. Mary worked late hours and would not be home anytime soon. Officer Leverette still refused to call Keith's mother.

Eventually, Leverette drove over to Glenmont Chrysler where Keith had worked for the last six months. (His next actions confuse me, and also anger me.) He walks up to the front desk, speaks with Ms. Leah Rosenthal, asks for Keith even though he knows he's deceased, then when Ms. Rosenthal informs him that she's not sure if Keith is working that day, he then explains that Keith committed suicide, but that “his mother didn't know yet.”

Around 5pm on July 31, 1986, Ms. Mary receives a phone call at work from a very upset / distraught Ms. Nichols. Ms. Nichols did not give Mary any details over the phone, but told Ms. Mary to call the police station and ask for Officer Leverette. Ms. Mary does so immediately, but is told that Leverette was on another call, and would be out for a couple hours.

At 7:15pm on July 31, 1986, Officer Leverette arrived at Walter Reed, and asks for Mary Couey. Please note Leverette’s unprofessional actions that day.

1. Ms. Mary, Keith's next of kin, was not notified of her son's death for over 5 hours even though three forms of identification were found on Keith's body.

2. Keith's body was sent immediately to Collins Funeral Home, and ordered for immediate embalming even though the family had not id’ed the body, or approved it.

3. Officer Leverette showed pictures of Keith's body hanging from the tree to Ms. Nichols the neighbor, and Ms. Rosenthal the desk clerk before the mother was notified.

4. The mother could have been notified hours earlier because Ms. Nichols provided Leverette the phone number, and offered her phone. Leverette refused.

When Ms. Mary Couey speaks with Officer Leverette in her office that night he asks if she knew of any possible reasons for why Keith would have committed suicide. Ms. Mary, just finding out her son was deceased, was in shock. She became so distraught she had to be sedated and counseled by a Chaplain. Despite this, Leverette insisted on interrogating her. She was distraught, medicated, had no family, support, or witnesses present to help her, but she desperately tried to cooperate with Officer Leverette. She listed any recent problems Keith had encountered.

Later, Officer Leverette would use this interrogation against her, and use her statements trying to prove that Keith committed suicide. Remember though, Leverette had already pronounced Keith's death a suicide, hours before this questioning. Years later, and with a clearer mind, Ms. Mary would insist that any problems Keith had were normal teenage problems, and nothing severe enough to be considered for a suicide.

So Officer Leverette drove around informing people of Keith’s “suicide, even showing pictures of the body, without notifying family first. When he did finally approach Keith's mother it was more of an interrogation instead of a sympathetic notice of death, and left her upset. After Leverette left Ms. Mary immediately called her brother Robert “Pete” Harris who lived in North Carolina. Pete left and drove up to Maryland arriving around midnight. Once in Silver Spring, Maryland he went to the Wheaton / Glenmont Police Station, and asked for directions to the morgue. That is when the family found out Keith's body was at Collins Funeral Home.

Pete Harris then drove to Collins Funeral Home to identify the body. It would take four different trips to accomplish this. This first time he arrived at the funeral home he was denied entrance, and was asked to come back at 9am. He then made a second trip to Collins Funeral Home, and arrived at 9am sharp. Again, he was denied entrance. He was told to come back with Keith's mother. He then went and picked up Ms. Mary, and with his wife Donna Harris also with them, made a third trip to the funeral home. At this time Ms. Mary was still heavily sedated. They arrive and are for the third time denied entrance. The excuse given was that Keith's body was still being prepared. They were told Keith's body was badly decomposed so they felt the clothing he was wearing should be destroyed. (If you look at the case notes, what little notes there are, you will see his body only had a few maggots in tbe mouth. There is no mention of “bad decomposition.” You can look at the evidence pictures, and see his body was in good condition.)

The funeral home staff then asked Ms. Mary to sign a contract, and to give them a check for $1000 even though she was still heavily sedated. When asked to do this the body had still not been identified. Ms. Mary wrote them a check. Pete then asked to see the rope and the noose, but was told the police had them.

Ms. Mary, Donna Harris, and Pete Harris leave the funeral home, and go to the Wheaton / Glenmont Police Station. There Officer Leverette hands Pete a brown grocery bag that contained the cut rope without the noose, a torn duffle bag, a ripped cassette tape, a cap, a blue ski jacket, and an empty wine cooler carton with no bottles inside. Then Officer Leverette gives Pete, Keith's brown work boots. The family asks for the noose, and they are told the police do not know where it is. (Seriously? WTF?)

Later on that day (August 1, 1986) Pete Harris returns to the funeral home with Keith's burial clothes. This is the fourth trip there. Again, he is told he cannot see the body even though they were written a $1000 check for a body that hadn't even been identified. Pete insisted, and was escorted to the back, but was only allowed to view Keith for a couple of seconds, and wasn't allowed to touch him. Pete did notice that there were no signs of decomposition as previously told by the funeral home.

Keiths sister, Sherri Warren, and her Aunt Deborah Turner arrived in Maryland. Deborah wanted to postpone the funeral and get an autopsy done on Keith. Deborah called the police station and spoke with Detective Beasley. He informed her that the case was closed, ruled a suicide, and that it was to late anyway because the body had been embalmed.

With nothing else they could do they reluctantly accepted the ruling of suicide though they still had suspicions. Those suspicions grew when a few weeks after the funeral Keith's friend Rodney took Ms. Mary to see the site of Keiths hanging, and found that the tree had been cut down. The police told them it was cut down for “evidence” but why cut down a tree for evidence when the case was ruled a suicide, and the case was closed? At this moment, Ms. Mary no longer trusted the police and those feelings would only grow stronger when on April 9, 1992 (Keith's birthday) Ms. Mary found a suspicious envelope on her front step.

After opening the package Ms. Mary was shocked to find pictures of Keith hanging from a tree. There were five pictures, and Ms. Mary was even more shocked when she saw that the clothes Keith was wearing at the time of his death were not his own. Attached was a note that read, “Don’t worry, Mark Finley will be next.” Mark Finley was one of the individuals looking for Keith shortly before his death.

The family confronted the police, but were stonewalled. They confirmed that the photos were the official photographs from the scene, but wouldn't say more. The family had a lot of questions. Why was Keith not wearing his own clothes? Whose clothes was he wearing? Whose shoes were he wearing? How did the police get his jacket and brown boots which are not shown in any of the photographs?

The family had had enough. Ms. Mary hired a private investigator, and had Keith's body exhumed for autopsy. That autopsy showed the presence of several deadly chemicals which if ingested or inhaled before death would have made it impossible for Keith to hang himself.

"Toxicological findings are incompatible with the autopsy findings and in fact do not support a hanging diagnosis," stated Dr. Mihalkis. Specifically the toxicology analysis revealed abnormally elevated amounts of trichloromethane, a solvent found in paints and lacquer. The pathologist, based on the high levels of this chemical in the victim's body, concluded that severe mental confusion would have resulted and impaired decision-making and routine actions. "I do not believe that he would have the ability to hang himself, and for that matter he would not have had the ability to make the decision about hanging himself." In this doctor's expert opinion, the death must be investigated as a homicide. Yet police still refused to reopen the case.

Shortly after Ms. Mary received the photos, and the family hired their own investigator, word had got around to Mark Finley about the note. Talk around town says that Mark Finley had made comments over the years hinting that he may have been involved with Keith's death. Now he was threatened, and he contacted Keiths mom saying, “Ms. Warren, I will be by to see you, I need to unload.”

Mark Finley never got the chance to unload. He was found dead one month later. According to police, he died when his bike struck a curve and was thrown off at 2am in the morning. It was ruled an accident.

When interviewed the EMS crew said that damage to Mark Finley's body did not fit the scene. They stated it looked like somebody had taken a bat to his face. Despite the interview comments, and the families speaking out about it the case still remains closed.

Over the years so much shady police work has come to light. Evidence that was ignored or covered up. The ones mentioned previously and these:

1. The detective (Beasley) used information from a third party, unrelated, unknown source to determine Keith Warrens death a suicide.

2. No one with a medical background examined Keith's body prior to being released to the funeral home chosen by the detective.

3. The family was not informed prior to embalming.

4. There were leaves on Keiths back. It made it appear that he had been laying on the ground and hoisted up. This evidence was ignored.

5. Evidence that was examined years later shows it practically impossible for keith to have hung himself due to the small tree used and there being two ropes used. (He was hanging by the neck from a small tree that was bent double with his weight. The cord was anchored around the base of a large tree. It extended some 25 feet to a small sapling. It encircled the sapling’s trunk and then arched up through a fork.)

6. The medical examiner at the time of Keith's death admitted that he did not examine the body and only took information over the phone. (SMH. Lazy.)

7. The tree that was cut down was destroyed.

8. The date of death on the police report does not match the death certificate.

9. Joe Alercia examined the crime scene photos. He said that the leaves are indicative of Keith laying on the ground and being hoisted up. Also, he said, “The perpetrators noticed that the tree was small and wouldn’t hold the body. Therefore they needed some security by tying it around the big tree.” (Reason for why two ropes were used and had been run from tree to tree.)

10. After seeing Keith's story on Unsolved Mysteries the first paramedic on scene that night came forward. He stated that he knew the scene was staged immediately after arriving, and had refused to touch the body until police arrived. He says police arrived and Leverette and Beasley released him from the scene. (So a paramedic could clearly tell it was staged but Officer Leverette and Detective Beasley couldn't?)

11. When Keith's case was finally investigated by the families P.I. it came to light that Chip Wynn, the man that owned the property Keith was found on, and whose girlfriend had called 911 and reported the body….was a close associate to Officer Leverette. Chip Wynn would later die of a drug overdose.

Sherri Warren used the above evidence in a request to reclassify and reopen the case in June 2014. I can't find information regarding whether that request was approved or not.

Final Thoughts:

Let me start off by saying that I'm a strong supporter of law enforcement. #BlueLivesMatter. I'm not a cop hater or wish them harm. They have a hard dangerous job, and don't get paid enough for what they do. I believe that these crooked shady cops are the exception, and not the rule. Seriously though...WTF!!! How in the world did this case get covered up like it did?

This was a mess! I truly believe the officers on the scene that night were a part of the cover up and staging. There were so many red flags and too much suspicious evidence right in your face to honestly believe it was a suicide! This case is the kind of case that shows WHY people should educate themselves on what to do if a loved one is murdered. I know people don't want to think that that could happen to somebody they know, but it can and we should know what steps we can legally take to make sure the police are held responsible for giving an in depth investigation so our loved one gets justice.

Keith's mother was unaware of most of the evidence in the case. She didn't realize the truth for several years. Most of us automatically want to believe law enforcement has our best interests at heart, and want to believe they are doing everything possible to get to the truth. Sadly, that's not always the case. Most of us are also taught not to question law enforcement, but we do have a right to if we feel enough isn't being done. We have to remember...the police are human beings to. Just like us. They aren't *special*. Yes, they have a special job, but they aren't so special that they should get away with covering up a murder. There has to be accountability.

I truly believe this kid was murdered. I don't believe he hung himself in such a crazy way by tying two ropes together and tying them to multiple trees. I want to know whose clothes and shoes he was wearing when he was hung? I want to know how police got HIS clothes? Why weren't his clothes in any of the crime scene photos? If they were at the scene there should've been photos of them. Why did the officer request him to embalmed immediately? More importantly, why did the funeral home actually follow through with that crazy demand? And who left Ms. Mary that package on her doorstep?

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Keith Warren's injustice / Blatant cover-up PART 2

I truly believe this kid was murdered. I don't believe he hung himself in such a crazy way by tying two ropes together and tying them to multiple trees. I want to know whose clothes and shoes he was wearing when he was hung? I want to know how police got HIS clothes? Why weren't his clothes in any of the crime scene photos? If they were at the scene there should've been photos of them. Why did the officer request him to embalmed immediately? More importantly, why did the funeral home actually follow through with that crazy demand? And who left Ms. Mary that package on her doorstep?

I've seen different theories regarding the package left. Several people believe it was the same person that killed Keith. I honestly don't believe that. I don't think the killer would give photos to Ms. Mary that would reveal the truth to her. Also, the tone of the note...I feel like it was somebody close to Keith, and knew there was a cover-up, knew who was involved, was sick of the injustice, and wanted to take the law into his own hands. It was also sent on Keith's birthday which to me suggests somebody close to him. Somebody that cared for him. That's how I interpreted it.

His family has worked hard to bring awareness to this case, and get Keith justice. They have a great website with all the evidence they've gathered, and photos. It is listed in the sources if you're interested in seeing more.

What do you think?

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Sources:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=196442

http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Keith_Warren

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/3egovh/who_killed_keith_warren/

http://www.thekeithwarrenjusticesite.com

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/a-sister-fights-for-justice-for-her-brother-25-years-after-hanging-126177263.html

https://unsolved.com/gallery/keith-warren/

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?129442-MD-Keith-Warren-19-Silver-Spring-30-July-1986

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Update: William "BJ" Ward

Wow….I have a lot of updates for you! My favorite YouTuber John Lordan did two interviews. One with his family and one with his girlfriend Victoria O’Leary (she goes by Tori). We now have more information but the story is even more confusing now!

I am going to lay out what was said so you can be informed, but know that nothing makes sense. BJ’s moves that day don't make sense, and why he was in the area he was in doesn't make sense. There is now an extremely suspicious character being introduced. Law enforcement  doesn't seem to be doing anything about it, and id really love to know WHY!

HERE WE GO…

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I’ll start by giving you a description of BJ’s personality. This is his family and girlfriends account of how they perceived him. Remember the tattoo BJ has? The date “7-3-14”? It’s a sobriety date. When I saw this previously and knew he didn't have kids I had a feeling it was a sobriety date.

His mother, Karen Shish, says that she believed BJ to be clean and off drugs from her time with him. His mood and behavior indicated to her he had not relapsed. Tori, his girlfriend, said that she didn't even know he had a problem with drugs. He hadn't told her when they got together and she only found out after coming across his court and parole papers. Tori says that when she confronted BJ about hiding it he told her he didn't want her judging him. (Tori asked him about this a long time before he went missing).

According to Tori and Karen, BJ was a private person. Tori says it was NOT uncommon for him to leave and not tell her where he was going. Tori says they had a great relationship, she was happy, believes him to have been happy, but like any couple they would have little spats. Tori says BJ was the type that when they fought he had to be left alone. She said she’d “give him his space”.

Tori says BJ was very outspoken and would “rub a lot of people the wrong way”. Because of this he apparently didn't have ANY friends where he and Tori lived. Tori even told a story about how they had to move from their previous residence due to a fight BJ was having with their neighbors. The fight started over smoke from the neighbors BBQ that came on to BJ’s property. His mother Karen backs this claim up. Karen lived over 2 hours away from BJ but says she would frequently have to make trips to his home to help him because he didn't have any friends that would. On one occasion she drove almost 5 hours round trip just to carry BJ to an auto parts store to pick up a part for his truck that had broke down. So it seems BJ didn't even have a close acquaintance that would be willing to help him.

BJ did suffer from anxiety and depression. This could be why he had a hard time making friends. Tori also says BJ has some OCD like tendencies. (I, myself, suffer from anxiety and depression. I have horrible social anxiety. People that suffer with this want friends, but can't bring themselves to put the effort in to make friends and keep them. This is not always the case, but definitely can be. Im sure there are people that maybe just don't want friends.) BJ did go to a pharmacy in the town he lived in the morning of his disappearance and picked up his anxiety medication. Tori and his family say he was good about taking it. He made a habit out of taking it every morning.

The morning BJ went missing started out weird. BJ messaged his mom Karen to call him immediately. Karen says that when she called BJ was upset and “freaked out” because he had just coughed up a tick. (Some people wondered if BJ had coughed up a small drop of blood or just a piece of food from his mouth, and had THOUGHT it was a tick, but Tori backs this up. She says after he coughed he showed it to her and they both inspected it, and it was in fact a tick.) There is not any detail about what his mom told him to do, but Tori says that she told BJ she would call around to clinics, and try to get him in with a doctor that same day. Tori says that BJ told her he “wasn’t sure if he’d be back in time that afternoon to see a doctor”. (After hearing this my first thought was: well...he couldn't have been too freaked out about it then.)

When this story first broke, and I researched it. I was under the impression BJ was on foot the day he disappeared. That is not the case. BJ left his home that morning in a Dodge Durango which was an older vehicle of his mothers that she gave him to use since he and Tori didn't have one.

Tori says she packed his camouflage bookbag that morning. Inside were binoculars, a packed lunch, a couple of snacks, a frozen bottle of water, and 2 cans of mountain dew. His family says he usually kept “survival / emergency supplies” in his bag, but Tori says this was a newly purchased bookbag and did not have this “survival / emergency” items. She says after she packed it, and he was ready to leave she asked him what were his plans for the day / where was he going? She says BJ replied with “I’ve got things to do. I’ll be back later.” (I find this odd, and honestly kind of rude. But again...Tori says it was common for BJ to take off for the day and not tell her where he was going or what he was doing.) It seems Tori was one of a few people that knew how to handle BJ, and was fine with letting him do his own thing and not question it. Tori says they did not fight the morning he disappeared, and his mother and sister say that BJ never talked badly about Tori. He never mentioned fights or gave them tbe impression it wasn't a good relationship.

We know that BJ did make it to the pharmacy that day. We really don’t know where a few hours after that were spent or what he was doing. We know at around 3pm he called Tori frantic, distressed, and begging for help. He told her, “I’ve lost the keys. I need help. Call my mom. Anybody.” Then the line cut off. Tori called immediately back and it went straight to voicemail like the phone was dead. Tori claims she had never heard BJ sound like he did on this phone call. She said she could hear the panic in his voice. The last recorded “ping” came from ½ mile straight behind “T’s” house.

At 3:33pm a man we are calling “T” called BJ’s mom. (John Lordan says that LE have not released this persons name and though Tori and the family know it he wouldn't use it. I agree, I don't want to hinder an investigation or cause trouble for somebody that may be innocent.)

Karen says she got the call from “T” and this man stated “I’m calling for William.” To that she replied, “Who?” Because BJ didn't go by William. She says that after “T” says this she hears a person in the background say “Tell her it's BJ”. Karen says she's positive the person in the background was BJ. “T” then informed her that BJ had showed up at his home because he had lost the keys to the Durango, and needed Karen to meet him at the Wal-Mart with the extra set she had. She agreed, and immediately left to go to the Wal-Mart.

“T” would later tell law enforcement that when BJ showed up at his home he was visibly frantic / distressed / panicked. So much so that “T” couldn't get him to talk to his own mother. “T” says BJ appeared to be in a rush to.

The property that BJ was last seen at had several homes / trailers / shacks on it. This was 25 miles from BJ’s home, and it was NOT a good area to be in.

A relative to “T”, we will call this person “J”, since his name hasn't been released either. “J” caught BJ on surveillance video. “J” gave this footage to LE and it shows BJ not wearing his shoes at that time, and he was missing his fitted black ball cap that he wore everyday. It also shows him running. They say it appears “he was running for his life”. (I cant get clarification on one thing though. Ive heard several times he was running like he was scared on this video, but does it show him running TO “T’s” or running scared FROM “T’s” house? I would love to know which it was.)

BJ wanted his mom to meet him at Wal-Mart. This Wal-Mart was 5 miles down hwy 408 from “T’s” house. His mom arrived at the Wal-Mart around 6pm. She drove the parking lot and didn't find BJ so then she went inside and “walked all over the store, but didn't find him”. At this point she decides to call “T” back to find out where his home was so she could trace the route BJ would have came. At this time she thinks he might have been delayed and just hadn't had time to make it to Wal-Mart yet. “T” gives her directions to his home, and she realizes it's just a straight stretch down 408. A 5 mile stretch, but still a straightforward route.

Karen drives the route, finds “T’s” house, but doesn't see BJ. The next morning she goes back out to look, and that's when she finds BJ’s truck. Its sitting close to a church, and on a hunting club property. The next decision she makes she will regret later because it hinders the investigation. She decides to get the truck moved to the Wal-Mart. They move it, and leave a note on it. She says that at that time she still thought he might shows up, and if he did it would be at the Wal-Mart so she wanted to make sure the vehicle was there.

Law enforcement would then go on to believe that BJ was choosing to disappear, and that Karen moved the truck to help him. It would take a few days to sort this out. (I'm concerned trace evidence was destroyed or contaminated by moving the truck.)

Karen says when she found the truck it was 1. Unlocked 2. His wallet was inside w/ money inside 3. He left a full pack of cigarettes inside (his sister Mandy says that if BJ did anything he'd have at least took the cigs) 4. His anxiety/depression medication he had filled that same morning was also inside. Also, the case to the binoculars were inside and one opened can of Mountain Dew.

When police finally got involved they found a building a short distance away from where he left his truck. The building had a broke window and other indications of a break in. Police believe BJ might have been the one to break into the building the day he went missing. The building was part of a hunting camp. Nothing appeared to be missing. Police believe he attempted to break in, got interrupted by somebody, took off running, lost his keys while fleeing, and maybe removed his shoes to run or removed to not leave prints. (This to me is a really good theory. But who interrupted him? I still dont think somebody would remove shoes while fleeing. I would think you'd need them to run.) Tori says law enforcement also told her they believed there was a motorcycle nearby that BJ tried to steal, but don't explain where this info came from or why they believe he tried to steal a motorcycle. I understand they may want to keep some information to themselves, and not release it, but surely you could tell family or even the public what evidence there is that BJ tried to steal the motorcycle.

When asked, the family says BJ used to hunt, but due to his parole he wasn't allowed a firearm. They say he did own a bow, but it was left at home. They also say his prior run-ins with LE, and his reason for parole were NOT due to theft or burglary charges.

Tori says that when she first arrived to the area BJ was last seen she was “not impressed”, and doesn't understand WHY he would be there. She also says when she first met “T” she immediately got a “creepy” feeling, and says he even tried to give her a “weird hug”. (I'm a FIRM believer in going with your “gut”. If your body and brain are telling you something is wrong...it usually is.)

Shortly after BJ went missing Tori found out she was pregnant. BJ did not know about this pregnancy. Tori had previously miscarried twice. In fact, the last miscarriage is what led to BJ quitting his job. Tori says BJ took off work a couple of days to cope with the last miscarriage, when he returned she says things changed. He was kind of demoted. He went from lead painter at the bodyshop which he loved to being made to do prep work. The other painter he had trained didn't do good jobs and she says BJ was the one that took the blame for it.

BJ quit his job in April because it was “making him miserable”. His mother was helping him and his girlfriend pay their bills. According to Tori he had been doing odd jobs, working on cars, painting, for a little money and had also been selling stuff on craigslist. Tori says that even though he had quit his job he was not stressed. She said his mood had improved a great deal after quitting.

Tori says that even though he had quit his job he would still leave the house for hours every day, and so she would pack him a lunch to take. He would put it in the bookbag with the binoculars. (Carrying the binoculars around is a hot topic within the ppl discussing the case. Why did he leave everyday for hours when he wasnt working and why take binoculars? I don't want to spread rumors but a lot of ppl wonder if he was breaking into peoples houses? I don't know if that's the case, but I think its worth looking into. I do find it odd that neither were working, yet he would leave everyday for “hours”, not tell anybody where he was going or what he was doing. If youre not working, and mom is covering expenses why would you spend money on gas and stuff to stay gone all day?)

The only thing I come up with when I think about why he left everyday and wouldnt divulge where he was going or what he was doing is that he relapsed. His mom says to her knowledge he had not relapsed. (She saw him quite a bit, but she still lived over 2 hours away. So is it possible he relapsed, and was good at hiding it? Possibly. Tori says she doesn't believe he relapsed. Tori was also meek in regards to BJ. She let him do as he pleased, never questioned him, and left him alone pretty much. So could he hide it from her? And if she did notice strange behavior or a change in mood would she even question him or would she be in denial? All are possible.)

Evidence that does have me leaning towards him being sober is the evidence on his phone. Police thoroughly reviewed his phone records. He made calls to his mother, sister, and Tori. Initially there was only one number that was unknown, but police tracked it to a telemarketing place. So if he was making calls to drug dealers he wasn't doing it on the only phone his family and girlfriend knew about, and was extremely great at hiding it. With very little money coming in from BJ’s odd jobs I find it highly unlikely he had a secret phone that he would have to pay for on his own, and keep hidden from everybody.

In the aftermath of BJ’s disappearance, and law enforcements crappy search job (more on that topic in a moment) a lot of rumors swirled, a lot of statements were said but nobody knows if the information is true, and a case of stalking developed.  

Tori had found out she was pregnant right after he went missing, and people started saying it wasn’t BJ’s. Tori actually seemed believable in her interview. She says she knows about this rumor, and she's prepared to have a DNA test done after birth if needed. I hate this happening to the family. They just lost somebody they loved and cared about, and people just want to spread rumors. These people probably didn't know that BJ wanted a child. They probably don't know that Tori and BJ suffered through two miscarriages prior to this pregnancy. I guess people are too ignorant to know that just because she found out about the pregnancy after the disappearance doesn't mean the baby was conceived after the disappearance.

Remember how BJ wasn't wearing any shoes when seen on surveillance? He had lost them between leaving his house that morning, and showing up on “T’s” doorstep. Well... BJ's sneakers appeared approximately 3 weeks later. On a trail about a half mile across the road from “T’s” house. It is important to note that this is the area he was last seen in, Steadman Road off Route 408 in Eastern Crawford County, PA. This is the same area that Search and Rescue volunteers, K 9's, and Police searched thoroughly. Even though they were ½ mile across from “T’s” house they were still on “T’s” property. This man apparently owns a lot of property. Remember...this large property also has several homes / buildings / shacks on it, and has several other people living on it. (What struck my curiosity about this is that when the searchers assigned to that area were asked, they adamantly stated that they were POSITIVE those shoes were not there when they searched that area. So somebody placed them there after the area was searched.)

Tori was concerned when LE told her about the shoes, and especially when she saw the pictures of the shoes. She stated that BJ was very OCD about his shoes. She said they were dirtier than he would have liked. (In my opinion they dont look that dirty, but she knows his shoes better than I do. Maybe they were dirtier than she had ever seen them.) She also stated that BJ was particular about how he tied his shoes. She says he liked them pulled and tied extremely tight. If you look at the picture I’ve uploaded you can see that when found, the shoes were still tied, but they were really loose. To me, they look like how you would tie them if you wanted to make them easy to carry. I believe they are tied too loose to be worn that way.

Another weird discrepancy is that a few people have come forward with the story they claim “T” told them. Every persons version of “T’s” account is different. They don't seem to be huge details or anything major, but small details. A couple people he supposedly told he gave water to BJ when he was at his house. One person said “T” told them he gave BJ a bottle of water, another person says “T” told them he filled up BJ’s own water bottle, and some people say that “T” told them he didn't give BJ anything to drink or eat. These are small details, but I’m curious as to why his story changes. During my research of cases like this I’ve heard it said several times…

The truth never changes.

One major detail that came out the Friday after BJ went missing, and LE seem to be ignoring is the fact that BJ’s voicemail was changed on that day. Tori and his family kept calling BJ’s phone, and it was always the same, straight to voicemail like it was dead or turned off, but on the Friday after he went missing Tori called and the voicemail was different.

Tori says that she was the one to set up his voicemail when he got the phone. She set up for the plain generic email. The kind where a robotic voice says, “You have reached 555-555-5555. Please leave a message.” That wasn't the message being heard though. It was a man's voice, not BJ’s voice, and it said “You have reached Bill Ward. Leave a message.” BJ’s legal name is William John Ward. He has never went by Bill or William, always BJ. (Who changed his voicemail? Why? Was somebody hoping family wouldn't recognize the different voice? Were they hoping it would throw the police off, and make them think BJ had ran off on his own? And why arent law enforcement looking into this more?)

Remember law enforcement says the last ping recorded on BJ’s phone came from ½ mile behind “T’s” house. Have they checked it since? To change your voicemail most phones require you to call a 1800 number. When this man called, and changed BJ’s message did the phone put out a signal then? Was it even checked?

I find the law enforcement in this town to be a joke. I understand this is a rural community so they may not have any experience investigating a disappearance with suspicious circumstances, but if that's the case they should swallow their pride, and ask for outside help. This is somebody's life we are talking about here. No matter his criminal background, past drug use, or unlikable personality he still deserves to be searched for. If he is no longer with us his body still deserves to be found, and his killer or killers brought to justice. It infuriates me when LE act like a person is not worth the effort because of their past.

What I find most shady is that the first two days after BJ went missing the search was called off by local LE. When the family called on the third day to ask about a search they were told that there was a chopper up looking and that troopers were in that area doing a foot search. The family drove out to join the search, but when they arrived they found no troopers/LE searching, and they think they may have heard a chopper, but they never saw it. Why is that? LE still claims they were searching and claim a chopper was used. The family however, says they never saw any people looking, never saw a chopper. The family says that initially they drove around in that area looking for LE thinking that maybe they were confused on where the search was started. After finding nothing they went and parked at the church down the road from “T’s”. The Family says they sat there for hours, and never saw any LE.

The family has found a company with cadaver dogs willing to search for BJ free of charge, but this search company has to be asked from LE, and for some reason the family is having a hard time getting LE to cooperate. (After learning about the hell the family went through to get a search finally done I now wonder if the area where BJ’s shoes were found was really searched? Local LE swears a search was done, but if there was one the family never witnessed it. After a few days of LE putting it off, and getting the runaround, the family finally put their own search party together. From what i understand, it consisted of about a dozen individuals).

During the families search a truck was seen parked close to where BJ’s truck was left, and whoever was inside would watch Tori and the family. This person would not get out and help with the search. It would only show up near the area they were searching, and sit. Tori says that when they would leave that area to go to town to eat or do something that needed done the truck would follow, and show up close to wherever they were in town. (I would've done confronted the truck, and beat on the windows until whoever was inside got out, and explained themselves!)

My favorite youtuber John Lordan also discovered during his research and interview that some family of “T” and “J” were following Tori on facebook! When John told her she was uncomfortable and shocked to know that the people that are highly suspicious in BJ’s disappearance were watching her facebook page! (Were they hoping to learn information regarding the investigation?)

Overall, I believe LE has botched this investigation. I believe they don't care about the case, and for some unknown reason are writing it off in the hopes that the family will just go away. Their comments to Tori sell me on this belief. Tori says LE has repeatedly told her “they are fairly certain BJ is no longer in the area.” My thought? I think they jumped to the wrong conclusion from the beginning. They believed BJ ran off. I think they actually know differently now, but they have botched the case, and are probably more concerned in saving their ass than admitting fault, and trying to fix it. They never give a reason why they think this. They give no evidence to support the theory he took off, and is living it up somewhere else.

Tori also mentioned in the interview with John that her own mother and sister thought they saw BJ at a cigarette store. Like John, I know a lot of “sightings” come up after someone goes missing and unfortunately they usually end up being somebody else that just favors the missing person, but this fact does interest me some. Tori's mom and sister are very familiar with BJ. The public knows him from a picture on a poster / flyer, but her mom and sister actually know him. So for them to believe they saw him does interest me.

Tori and BJ’s family say that law enforcement is not investigating “T” or the properties around “T’s”. Are they and we just don't know about it? I hope so. If they aren't id like to know WHY they are not investigating “T” as a suspect? Or the land and properties? I don't see how I can find “T” and “J” and the property suspicious yet the police do not!

Final Thoughts:

I do NOT want to upset the family, and I know my OPINION will most likely not be the popular one, but…

I think the police department had shady dealings during this investigation, but I also believe BJ had his own shady dealings going on. I doubt we will ever know for sure, why he was in the area he was in. Tori stated she had never been there, and couldn't imagine why BJ would go there. BJ was extremely private. Id almost rather call it secretive instead of private. I think his attitude and response to “What are your plans today?” more along the lines of secretive and hiding something, rather than just being private.

People like myself and BJ who deal with anxiety and depression are masters at disguising our feelings. Tori says he was the happiest he had been in a long time after quitting his job. She says he was not stressed. I'm not sure i believe that. I think he was more stressed than he let on. A huge part of me believes he hadn't started using drugs again, but there's another huge part of me that believes maybe he was out there scoping places out with binoculars and stealing stuff.

One reason I think this is one comment his mom Karen, and girlfriend Tori made. They said Karen was covering most bills, but BJ was making money also by doing odd jobs, and selling his stuff through craigslist. I find it hard to believe a man that had crippling anxiety and depression, also had ocd, and had NO friends, I find it difficult to believe a man like that could / would network to find odd jobs to do. I also find it difficult to believe that a man that had no vehicle until his mother gave him one, couldn't pay his bills and was having his mother do that, I find it unbelievable that he HAD possessions to sell on craigslist. He may have owned stuff...belongings, but I doubt he owned anything that would fetch any kind of decent money. Whatever he owned probably wouldn't have earned him more than a few bucks.

I have a feeling he was stealing, and then selling those items on craigslist.

All of that then makes me wonder: Did he get caught either scoping out a place or get caught actually breaking in? Did he steal from somebody shortly before he went missing and they somehow figured out who it was? Did they see a post with their stolen belongings on Craigslist and decide to confront BJ on their own? Or….did BJ come across the wrong person at the wrong time, and his “tell you what I think” attitude rub that person the wrong way? Or...did BJ just snap and decide to take off on his own? I almost can't even consider this last thought. BJ seems to be a mommas boy. He seems to depend on her a lot. Even if he for some unknown reason decided to leave Tori high and dry, I find it difficult to believe he could just walk away from his mom like that.

This whole situation was a shit storm from the beginning. BJ went off, and didn't give his girlfriend or family any information about his plans for the day. Which left them grasping at straws when the unthinkable happened. Then the police came in with their preconceived notions of what kind of person he is, what he was capable of, and assumed he just ran off. They half assed this investigation from the very beginning, and they cant go back and fix their mistakes.

I believe our small town police forces’ need better training and education regarding missing person cases. They need to be trained to leave their assumptions at home, and treat the case as if they are expecting the worse. I believe missing person cases like this should be treated like homicide cases from the very beginning. They should gather ALL evidence, dust for prints, swab for DNA etc. Instead of assuming the person ran off and will be back they should gather the evidence. What if months later the person hasn't came home? It's too late to go back and get that evidence at that point. It could've been lost, disintegrated, or contaminated. Just doing this SIMPLE action will keep your department from looking like shady a-holes!

I pray BJ is found. I hope for a happy ending. Being realistic though….I just pray the family can get peace and closure. The not knowing is the worse, and knowing law enforcement isn't helping, and there's nothing you can do to MAKE them help and care….that's such a hopeless helpless feeling.

Come on law enforcement people….investigate these cases like you'd want them investigated IF IT WERE YOUR FAMILY!  

John’s Interview with Family

John’s Interview with Tori

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Sources:

https://youtu.be/TnF9g1wGNoo

https://youtu.be/py9fN2XVIoA

https://www.facebook.com/112683bjwardismissing/

http://www.titusvilleherald.com/news/article_e32d4728-65ef-11e7-8dba-db1027f86d0b.html?mode=jqm

http://www.lordanarts.com

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The Unidentified (3 cases)

One eyed Jack:

On August 20, 1979, the skeletal remains of a man were found in Fairbanks North Star, Tok, Alaska. He had been deceased for approximately 1 year when the remains were found. Reports state cause of death to be "undetermined" but digging around on websleuths pulled up information that there was evidence of strangulation and stabbing which I believe his killer later claimed as well. The victim apparently hitchhiked to Alaska in 1978 with another man and was then murdered by his companion. He was 6 feet tall, weighed about 185 pounds, and was less than 40 years old when he was killed. The man's left eye was missing. He wore a leather eye patch which was how he became known as "One eyed Jack". Other features include that he had long brown hair worn with a headband. He was also found with a marble in his pocket. Some speculate that he used it as a false eye. The likeness of One Eyed Jack was created by police sketch artist Carl Koppelman. The image is based on only the cranium as the lower jaw was not recovered.

A man named Jesse Burt Bishop was later convicted of Jack's murder. Jesse Burt Bishop confessed that he picked Jack up hitchhiking near Boise, Idaho. "Jack" told Jesse he was making his way to Oregon, but when Jesse told Jack he was heading to Alaska Jesse claims Jack agreed to ride along to Alaska.

Jesse Burt Bishop claims he saw "Jack's" drivers license, and that "Jack's" age was 32, and his name was either Jack or John. He said the license was an Oregon license. This drivers icense was never found.

Jesse Burt Bishop told authorities that "Jack" told him he had lost his eye while working a logging job, and that he also had a job washing cars in Colorado. "Jack" was also a smoker.

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(From my research, Jesse Burt Bishop, does seem believable in the details he could recall from the murder. However, I wonder how much of what "Jack" told Jesse was true? "Jack" must have lived a life on the go for him to be intending to go to Oregon, yet change his plans to Alaska because the driver that stopped was heading there. How could you have a job or keep a job moving around like that? I wonder if some of the details were exaggerated or made up just to create conversation while riding in a car with a stranger for hours?)

Jesse stated to authorities that as they entered Alaska "Jack" had begun to annoy him. He killed "Jack" and dumped him on the side of the highway. "Jack" stayed there until Jesse led authorities to the location a year later.

Jesse Burt Bishop was sentenced to life in prison, and died there in 2001. Any other details Jesse knew about "Jack" or remembered over the years died with him.

Lavender Doe:

On October 6, 2006 the body of a white, possibly hispanic, female was found lying face-down on a pile of burning brush off of Fritz Swanson Road in Kilgore, Texas. The girl believed to be between the ages of 17 and 25 was severely burnt. Clothing recovered consisted of a purple sweater and a pair of sized 7/8 "one tuff babe" brand of jeans. Some reports have her age as young as 13. She weighed approximately 100 to 120 pounds, was between 5 feet 3 inches and 5 feet 5 inches tall and was most likely from a middle-class household due to her teeth being in really good condition. (I hasve somewhat of a problem with investigators basing "class" off of condition of teeth. I see this a lot but find that alone to be unreliable. I, myself, come from low-income and I know a lot of low-income people that have teeth in great condition.) Her hair color was likely reddish or blonde with blonde or red highlights, but may have been entirely strawberry-blonde or light brown. One unique characteristic was that she still had two of her deciduous teeth (baby teeth).

A gas can was found near her body which led to her being classified as a homicide victim. Semen was also found so she may have been a victim of rape prior to death. Forty dollars was recovered from her pockets so we know robbery wasn't the motive.

When authorities questioned residents they stated there had been a lot of "suspicious people" in the area of the oil field /wooded area where the body was found and many residents called the location a "killing ground". This is not to be confused with " The Texas Killing Fields". The Texas killing fields where over 30 girls /women were found murdered and are believed to be victims of serial killers is located close to League City, Texas. Lavender doe was found in Kilgore, Texas which is 230+ miles away. Google estimates the drive time between the two places to be nearly 4 hours.

Could this be the work of one of those serial killers? It's possible, but no other victims have been found close to Lavender doe. The work of The Texas killing fields serial killers seem to prefer the area close to League City, Texas to be their dumping ground.

Lavender doe has had her face reconstructed a total of three times. The first time with clay, which many people found to be done poorly. The second time was a sketch by a forensic artist, and the last one was a digital composite image produced from a CT scan after Lavender Doe was exhumed on October 2, 2013.

Her dental records and DNA have been compared to a large number of missing persons in the database, but the results have produced no leads.

Investigators confirmed in 2006 that a man, Joseph Wayne Burnette, (age 36 years at that time) was the last person seen with Lavender Doe. He is a convicted sex offender, and is currently serving time for another crime. Joseph Burnette has denied any involvement in the murder.

If you have any information as to her identity please contact the Dallas City Med Examiners Office at (214)920-5900.

Dekalb County John Doe:

On February 26, 1999 the skeleton of a young boy approximate age 5 to 7 years was found behind a cemetary and church off of Clifton Springs Road in Decatur, Georgia. The boy was of African heritage, 3'10" to 4'2", and weighed between 45 to 60 pounds. He was clothed in a unique sweatshirt that was blue with a plaid design. (I really wish there was a picture of this sweatshirt. I've read several reports where people spoke about it being unique in design which could be what gets him identified, but I can't find asn actual picture of it. One article made it sound like somebody may have even made it by sowing two articles together. A more detailed account of this shirt states: long-sleeved-hooded pullover shirt, somewhat unique because it was made of two different materials -- the body of the shirt was a blue plaid material, while the sleeves and the hood were a dark blue thermal.) He was also wearing red colored jeans, and a new pair of Timberland brown suede boots size 11. The boots had been sold in the area in 1998.

(Timberland is a great brand of boots. They are also pricey. With him wearing a brand new pair I feel like somebody in his life did care for him. I'm guessing they also cared for somebody else more since he was never officially reported missing.)

Isotope testing on his bones indicated he was either from the surrounding area, or had lived in the Atlanta area or in Northern Florida.

Cause of death is unknown, but reports say he "appeared healthy" when he died. (I guess that means his body had no trauma and he was not emaciated due to starvation. I just don't understand howvthe ME could have determined that. When found it was determined he had died several months before discovery. Withbthat info, I find it hard to believe that his body was in good enough condition to saybthat he was "healthy at death." If somebody knows differently and can explain it to me please comment below.)

Anyone with information that can help identify the boy can contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at : 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or the DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office at 404-508-3500.

Final Thoughts:

It truly stuns me that people can go missing, and yet nobody misses them until a body is found. Even then they aren't truly "missed" because the only people searching for their identity is law enforcement.

Everybody is somebody's daughter, son, grand-daughter, grand-son, friend etc.

So how do these people disappear and end up dead, and come to find out NOBODY is looking for them! It just baffles me. It also makes me sad.

Everybody should have at least ONE person that cares enough for them that if they didn't hear from them they'd report it to the police. Just ONE at least!

For that to not be the case makes my heart hurt for these people.

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Why so many missing/murdered on Joliff Bridge Road?

I started looking into the Jared Hanna case and wow, did I find much more than I bargained for!

The mysteries behind Joliff Bridge Road start way back in July of 1984. On July 21, 1984 Daniel Beetle was found. At first police listed Daniel as the victim of a hit and run. He died the next day. 12 years later, at the insistence of his parents, the case was reopened. After several tips poured in, Marion County Sheriff’s department changed their view, and now it’s believed Daniel was hit in the back of the head with a metal bat.

(I really wish I could have found more on this. I don’t know if it is due to the shoddy police work or the case being so old, but there’s just not much information available about it. I believe it’s a mixture of both honestly.)

Then October 21, 1991 rolls around. Joshua Jerome Mahaffey a 15 year old got into a fight with his mother, and decided to climb out of his bedroom window to leave with a friend. He was later seen leaving a shopping center with his friend James Jim Starner, Terry Martin, and Martin’s girlfriend Deanna Johnson Sloat in a blue Ford Maverick.

Hours later Terry Martin and James Starner returned in the truck that was then mud-splattered, and Joshua has never been seen since. His mother reported him missing on November 12, 1991. (This shocked me at first, but after researching I believe the reason she waited was because while they had fought Joshua made remarks about running away to his dads who lived in Kentucky.)

A witness, Tonya Collins, who was a teen in 1991 claims Terry Martin beat and tortured Joshua and then buried him in The Devil’s Playground area of Centralia, IL. In 1996 she passed a polygraph, but later failed one in 2008.

Tonya Collins claims she witnessed the “satanic torture” of Joshua. She says that Terry beat him with a metal bat, stabbed him with a screwdriver, and claims he was eventually buried in The Devils Playground which is an area known for shady activity located off of Joliff Bridge Road.

Over the years she has been walked through that area, hypnotized, and polygraphed yet Joshua’s remains have never been found. She says that the night of October 21, 1991 she was drunk and also believes she was drugged with LSD. That’s her reason for the foggy memory and can’t recall the exact place he was buried.

Terry Martin and Joshua Mahaffey seemed to be good friends. They even robbed a store together. Joshua later testified against Terry in the trial. After Joshua went missing rumors swirled that Joshua was sleeping with Terry’s girlfriend Deanna. Terry and Deanna deny this. (I’m not surprised they denied this, but what i cant figure out is why Joshua thought it was safe to be with Terry when 1. He testified against him and 2. Was possibly sleeping with his girlfriend? WTF? Ill attribute this to being 15 and not knowing any better.)

Over the years Terry has racked up some serious charges. In 1993 he beat a man with a metal baseball bat, and left him for dead. Then in 2001 he was charged with rape of a 6 year old. After he was released for the rape he caught charges when he failed to register as a sex offender.

At one point Terry Martin was brought before a grand jury, but Deanna claimed to not even know Terry. She was charged with perjury, and Terry was let go with no formal charges, and no attempt at another trial was made.

This case fuels a lot of anger in the community. If it interests you theres a lot of articles about Joshua Mahaffey.

Next date is January 2, 1997 when William Bill Stutz went missing from the Joliff Bridge Road and College Road intersection. His body was found March 26, 1997 after it washed out of Crooked Creek, and into a field. A field that years later would be the scene of another crime. An autopsy was performed, and the result was inconclusive.

Theres very little information on Stutz. From what ive found police believed Stutz killed himself so there was very little “investigation”. This is another point of contention in the community around that area.

Now lets skip ahead to July 2, 2011. The day Jared Hana was last seen. Jared was a father of two whose ages were 3 and 6 at the time. His family says he was a great father, a hard worker, and would not take off without telling anybody.

The night before he went missing he frequented a couple of bars, he was later spotted at 11:45 am on July 2nd on a surveillance camera at a gas station in Jerseyville, IL. He was buying a soda and smiling. At 12:15 pm his phone pinged in East Alton. It didn’t ping again til 9:30 pm that night. It showed him to be close to Centralia, IL and he was calling the mother of his kids. (I can’t find any info regarding what that call was about. I’d love to know though.) After that call his phone never pinged again.

His 1990 GMC Sierra truck was found abandoned and out of gas parked on Joliff Bridge Road, an isolated area more than 70 miles from his home on July 5, 2011. Authorities believe after running out of gas 3 miles from Centralia Jared went looking for help. One witness claims they saw him walking down Joliff Bridge Road at 11:30 pm on July 2nd. Another witness says Jared knocked on their door at 8:30 am on July 3rd asking for water, and directions to a gas station.

His sister claims nobody knows why Jared was so far from home. His fishing gear was in his truck so the opinion is he was going fishing. (That late at night though?) He was supposed to be picking up his daughters that night also so I have trouble believing he was going fishing.

Late Summer 2011 Jared’s black duffle bag was found 5 miles from where his truck was found. It was also found under a tree stand in the field William Stutz body was found. After this find leads dried up, and the case has gone nowhere.

His family has continued to be outspoken concerning the case, and continue to search the area. If you have any information about Jared Hannas disappearance please call the number below.

Clinton County Sheriff’s Department at (618) 594-4555.

Clinton County Crimestoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to Jared.

Final thoughts:

Do i believe all of these cases are related to each other? No. Do i believe the same perpetrator was involved with all of these cases? No. I do find it crazy that so many people have went missing or been found dead in that rural area.

The area of Joliff Bridge Road, The Devils Playground, has a bad reputation. Public opinion in the community say police are shady and cover up crimes. People have voiced anger that police haven’t investigated these cases like they should be. I know public opinion is not “fact” but I find that when so many people state the same thing, there must be a little truth in it.

What do you think?

Feeling generous? Become a Patron.

Want to see an EVP session involving Jared Hannas case? Click Here.

Sources:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?143665-IL-Jared-Hanna-28-Jerseyville-2-July-2011/page4

https://m.facebook.com/MissingHomelessOrg/photos/pb.1565818313691679.-2207520000.1463950133./1705229369750572/?type=3#_=_

http://www.thetelegraph.com/archive/40498/news-local-article_469fa565-daec-5261-bc13-7f4191d5341b-html

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/centralia-il/T905V98B3502TJREC/missing-joshua-mahaffey-alleged-suspects

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?116081-IL-Joshua-Mahaffey-15-Centralia-12-Oct-1991

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/missing-in-america/illinois-father-jared-hanna-remains-missing-six-years-later-n778211

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Murdered: The Grimes Sisters

On December 28, 1956 15 year old Barbara and 13 year old Patricia went to see Love Me Tender and were never seen again...

...or were they??

The sisters left their Brighton Park, Chicago, Illinois home and went to the theater located about a mile and a half away. The girls went to see a double feature. A friend of the girls' that sat with her own sister behind them in the theater told police that the last time she saw the Grimes sisters' was around 9pm when she left the movie. She witnessed them standing in the popcorn line while her and her sister were walking out.

Barbara and Patricia were planning on watching both films so their mother wasn't expecting them home til around 11:45pm.

Numerous other people said that they saw the girls boarding a CTA bus on Archer Avenue heading east into the city after the screening. They allegedly got off the bus at Western Avenue, about halfway to their home, around 11:05 pm. (Why would they get off half-way home? These witnesses state the girls got off at 11:05pm. This only gave them 40 minutes to do whatever it is they were planning and make it back to their home.)

This next witness report leads me to believe that for some reason unknown, the sisters decided to exit the bus and walk the rest of the way home. I don't understand the reasoning since this was December in Chicago. It must have been cold. I couldn't imagine wanting to get off the bus and walk in the cold, even at 13-15 years old.

Yet the next witness report that adds to the timeline states that two teenage boys said that while they were driving through the neighborhood at approximately 11:30 pm, they saw the sisters heading east on 35th Street, "giggling and jumping out of doorways at each other" near Seely and Damen Avenues. At this point they would have been approximately two blocks from their home.

(I wonder if these two boys knew the girls? This was late at night and cold outside so it may have been hard to see out the windows? How did these two boys know these were the Grimes sisters? The only way I could take this as being a credible witness report would be if these two boys knew the sisters.)

There were more "sightings" of the sisters but I'm going to stop, skip ahead, just to put some things into perspective, and then we will come back to those.

On January 22, 1957 Barbara and Patricia were found lying nude behind a guardrail off of German Church Road. The girls looked like they had just been dumped from a vehicle. They weren't "staged" or "displayed" like some murderers often times do.

The time of death has been hotly debated. The coroner reports that the girls died within 5 hours of their last FOR SURE KNOWN MEAL. He says the sisters died late on December 28, 1956 or early morning of December 29, 1956. (While I agree stomach contents don't lie and I can't find a reason for stomach contents to stay in the stomach longer by some strange means. I do however find the Chief Investigators claims for his idea of time of death interesting. Also, if the chiefs timeline was accurate it could explain how there were so many sightings of the girls after the night of the 28th.)

Chief Investigator, Harry Glos, believes the girls were kept alive at least until January 7, 1957. His reasoning? He pointed to a thin layer of ice found on the bodies of the girls as indicating that they had been alive until at least January 7, since only after that date would there have been snowfall enough to react with their warm bodies and create the ice layer, let alone hide the bodies until their discovery.

(I do agree that it would take warm bodies to make the snow/sleet melt and then refreeze to ice, but couldn't the bodies have been warm from being in a car with the heat on? A dead body couldn't retain the heat, but heat in a car could cause the skin to be warm enough so that when they were dumped whatever their skin touched would cause melting. While I can't find ways for stomach contents to lie I can find ways for a bodies skin to be warmed. The only reason I would prefer this time of death is because of the multiple sightings of the girls into January. But evidence isn't about what I prefer. Its about what's really fact.)

There were no obvious wounds on either girls, and nothing to make the coroner think the girls were drugged, poisoned, or drunk at time of death. The bodies actually had few marks on them, and were described as being "clean". The faces had a few bruises along with some " rodent bites" but overall there was little trauma to the bodies.

Barbara did have a "few puncture wounds to her chest area" and I've seen reports where it was believed those marks were caused from an ice pick. (Since Barbara had the stab wounds but Patricia didn't I would guess that Barbara was who drew the killer to the girls.)

These stab wounds were not what killed her though. They were to shallow to be the cause of death. The coroner also reported that Barbara had evidence of sexual intercourse shortly before her death. He also noted that there were no signs of it being a forcible rape/molestation. (Another fact that makes me think Barbara was who the killer was after. Patricia just happened to be with her sister when all three people came together.)

Another cause odlf debate was the listed cause of death. The coroner determined that the "ultimate cause of death" was "secondary shock" due to exposure to the elements. Over the decades to follow this crime other causes would be debated. One that stands out to me as having some extremely credible reasonings is "strangulation". Those reasons will be given if you keep reading.

I am now going to jump back to "sightings" of the girls. Keep in mind that these sightings supposedly happened after the girls were done murdered, which again, the coroner reported it to be late on December 28, 1956 or early morning of December 29, 1957.

In the early morning hours of December 29, 1956 a security guard on the northwest side believed he was asked for directions by the Grimes girls near Lawrence and Central Park avenues.

In the afternoon hours of December 29, 1956 a classmate of Patricia, eating at Angelo's Restaurant at 3551 South Archer Avenue on the evening of December 29, reported her as walking past with two other unidentified young girls. (I have researched and know how very unreliable witness sightings are. I try to keep that in mind because when the witness actually knows the victim my first reaction is to automatically believe them.)

The night of December 29, 1956 a railroad conductor reported seeing them on a train near the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in north suburban Glenview.

On December 30 at 5:40 am, the owner of the D&L Restaurant at 1340 West Madison said he had seen both girls, with Patricia apparently too drunk or sick to walk without staggering, accompanied by suspect Bennie Bedwell. This location was over five-and-a-half miles from the Brighton Theater. A clerk at the Claremont Hotel, after viewing the bodies at a mortuary, likewise identified the sisters as having checked into the hotel on this date.

On January 1, 1957, the girls were reported aboard a CTA bus on Damen Avenue.

On January 3, three employees at Kresge department store thought they had seen the girls listening to Elvis Presley music at the record counter.

Sometime around January 10, 1957 (the exact date is unknown) a night clerk at the Unity Hotel on West 61st street refused two girls a room because of their age. He believed they were the Grimes sisters.

At the time these reports were coming in police weren't actively search for the sisters. They believed that Barbara and Patricia had ran away to Nashville in the hopes of meeting Elvis Presley. (I'm sure at the time this theory made sense to detectives but I can only think about this and roll my eyes. The girls only had $2.15 between them. To honestly think they would make it to Nashville is ludicrous in my opinion.)

 Because the sisters were thought to be runaways heading to Nashville, reports came in adding fuel to that fire. A woman reported having met them at a bus station there, and accompanied them to a state employment agency to search for work. A clerk at the same agency identified the sisters from photographs and recalled them using the "Grimes" name.

On January 14, 1957 the parents of Patricia Grimes' classmate Sandra Tollstan received two telephone calls around midnight. During the first call, nobody at the other end spoke. Picking up the second phone call 15 minutes later, Sandra's mother Ann heard a "frightened and depressed" voice asking "Is that you, Sandra? Is Sandra there?" Before Ann could bring her daughter to the phone, the caller had hung up. Ann stated she was convinced that the caller's voice belonged to Patricia Grimes.

January 14, 1957 was the end of the reported "sightings" or "calls". On January 22, 1957 the bodies were found.

Bennie Bedwell was the number one suspect in the murders. His coworkers at D&L restaurant even stated they saw him with the girls on the early morning of December 30, 1956. Chief Glos arrested and charged Bedwell with the murders on January 27, 1957. Bedwell upon arrest confessed to the murders. He concocted a story of drinking, sex, and murder. His story however didn't hold up to the actual evidence. Charges were dropped and Bedwell was released. This angered a lot of people, but Bennie Bedwell was a drifter that had limited education, and was illiterate. Its not a shock he falsely confessed when Chief Glos confronted him.

After Bedwells arrest and release Chief Glos was fired. He refused to believe the coroners report about the murders, and continued to go after suspects with only what he believed happened, and not the actual evidence. Even Barbara and Patricia's mother, Loretta Grimes, failed to believe Bedwells confession. After she heard the details Bedwell claimed happened she stated that his confession "was a lie".

January 22, 1957 the bodies are found. Shortly after Loretta Grimes receives a phone call from an anonymous man that described the undressing of the sisters, and detailed the murder. It's reported that he made comments only the murderer would know. Facts that still haven't been released to the public.

Possible link?

On September 22, 1956 Bonnie Leigh Scott left her home in Addison, Illinois at 6:30pm. She would never return.

She was spotted at a diner in Addison and a surplus store around 7:30pm. After those sightings Bonnie vanished.

Like the Grimes' sisters police believed Bonnie ran away. Though Barbara and Patricia had never ran from home, Bonnie had.

A man named Charles Melquist phoned Bonnie's home and told a tale to Jean Schwolow, Bonnie's aunt. Jean immediately called the Addison Police to report it. When detectives confronted Melquist he stated that he was like a "big brother" to Bonnie, and at 8:15pm on the night of her disappearance she had called him begging for help. He claims she said she had "misgivings" about the man she was with. Melquist says he told her "It was her own problem." After that the call disconnected.

He claims he received a second call at 11:00pm that night from an unknown man. The man claimed he and Bonnie got into an argument and he dropped her off at Mannheim Road and U.S. Route 66. He asked thatMelquist get her and bring her home. Melquist said that he went to the spot, but found no trace of Bonnie.

Cops continued to look for Bonnie but found no trace of her or this "mysterious man" until...

On November 15, 1958 some boy scouts made a gruesome discovery in a gulley off La Grange Road -- the nude, decapitated body of a young girl. The dump site was just a few miles from where the nude, frozen bodies of the Grimes sisters had been discovered less than two years before. 

Bonnie's cause of death was from multiple stabbings caused by a large knife. Her head had also been removed.

Detectives called back in witnesses, including Melquist. While Melquist was going over his statements at the station cops were going over his 1956 Chevy Silverado which turned out to be the murder scene. After failing a polygraph Melquist confessed and wrote a 7 page confession.

Melquist told police that he had killed her in the driveway of his Villa Park home. They had been on a date and stopped by his house. When they returned to the car, they were “goofing around” and “wrestling.” Melquist put a pillow over Bonnie’s face and “accidentally” smothered her with it. He had then taken off her clothing, stuffed it under the car seat, and set out to find a place where her body could be hidden where there was little chance it would be found. Driving south and east, he followed to LaGrange Road, about a mile south of 95th Street, where he dumped her body in a gulley where the Argonne forest preserve bordered the highway. He dumped her body over the guardrail, hoping it would be hidden by the brush.

Melquist said he couldn't stop thinking about it so he came back on the Friday after the murder “just to make sure she was there,” and then returned three weeks later with a knife and a pitchfork. He said that he planned to dig a grave. Instead, he cut off Bonnie’s head and kicked it a few feet away. Then, he had “an urge to cut” and mutilated the corpse. He said that he threw the knife and the clothing into the woods, but they were never found. 

In 1959 Melquist was found guilty and sentenced to 99 years. He would only serve 11 before being released.

What's the connection?

Girls roughly the same age.

Girls found nude. Clothes were never found.

Melquist confessed to smothering Bonnie and it's debated that that's how Barbara and Patricia died.

All were dumped in wooded areas on Chicago's southwest side.

Police also discovered that Melquist had the telephone numbers to Barbara and Patricia's neighbors.

Shortly after Bonnie's body was found Melquist called Loretta Grimes boasting about the murders and stating that "he would never get caught". At the time no one knew it was Melquist, that fact would come out later. Loretta had also received calls after her daughter's were found. She state's she knows this is the same man saying, "I will never forget that voice."

Final Thoughts:

While researching this I found some really great articles. There's not a whole lot of information on these cases because of the years they happened in, but what I could find was very detailed and thorough. If you check out the links in my sources there's one that I found extremely interesting. A man, researching the cases for a book, interviewed a woman that would've been 14 years old at the time of Barbara's and Patricia's murder. This woman claims she was with them and was kidnapped to. The details are interesting though I can't tell if it's genuine or not. Why would you not come forward to help catch the man that murdered your friends? I don't understand it.

My opinion is that Melquist was involved in the Grimes' case. How he came across the sisters that night is a guess though. Probably just wrong place, wrong time. So often that's the case.

Melquist died in 2010 so even if it's later proven he will never get to be punished. After he was released for Bonnie's murder he married and had two kids. I would like to think that he lived out his life always looking over his shoulder. We know that that would've been a miserable existence.

Sources:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_the_Grimes_sisters

http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-history-cop/2012/12/new-information-on-disappearance-of-grimes-sisters-chicagos-most-infamous-cold-case/

https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/bonnie-leigh-scott/

http://idnc.library.illinois.edu/cgi-bin/illinois?a=d&d=DIL19581118.2.6

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On December 12, 2014 a boy walked through the woods by Mason Road in Economy, PA. What he found would shock the town of 12,000 people and too this day, lead to more questions than answers.

Laid on top of the fallen leaves was a head that was missing its body. The head had gray curly hair, its eyes were closed, it looked to be freshly laid there since there was no decomposition.

After the shock from finding the head wore off the shock of the examination results came. The severed head had been embalmed. The incision to remove the head from the body was precise, definitely not the work of an amateur.

Jane Doe’s skin had been cut raggedly around the front of her neck, but the cut beneath the skin was smooth and exact. There were two slits on the back of the neck, and the woman’s cervical spine was gone. The cuts suggested the spine was explicitly removed – an indication that Jane Doe’s head was used in the body parts industry.

Vitali, who did the casting for Jane Doe's face, said “When we lifted the flap at the back of the neck, we could see that the whole purpose of that was to access the key joint that would preserve both the head and the vertebral column, thereby maximizing the profitability of both."

When the examiner got to the eyes, the eyes were missing and were replaced with eye caps – a mortician’s tool to keep the lids closed. But beneath those eye caps lay a surprise: a small red rubber ball in each of Jane Doe’s otherwise empty sockets. The rubber balls could be traced to a company in China that made them for children's toys, but the company said it would be impossible to trace a sale to a particular buyer. Morticians that were interviewed said this fact was odd because most morticians just fill the eye sockets with gauze in the event a person has lost an eye or donated eyes at death. Gauze is cheaper and they stated it works just as well.

Next came the teeth. They noted that the woman had had a lot of dental work done. Some teeth had as many as 7 fillings. They believe she came from a middle class background. She had a lot of dental work done, but not the best work. The examiner stated that while a person may need a "partial" or "bridge" work, she only had fillings. They also found a filling compound that wasn't available before 2004, so they concluded her death was after 2004.

Toxicology tests showed trace amounts of Lidocaine and Atropine in her body, suggesting that she suffered from a cardiac ailment.

Analysis of isotopes also indicated that she did not live in Beaver County in the months before her death. I have however, seen reports that say testing proved she was either from Pennsylvania, certain parts of Ohio or West Virginia. Authorities also believe she was older than 50 when she died.

All of this information left authorities stumped. Was she murdered? A victim of illegal body brokers? Grave robbing? Authorities couldn't tell if the embalming was "professional" or done by some psycho in a basement. They did know there were no reports of any grave robbing or mortuary break-ins.

This led them to believe Jane Doe was somehow involved in body brokerage. They didn't know if it was through legal brokerage or illegal. While researching this I found several stories about body parts falling out of trucks, parts just getting "lost" etc. Reuters has some really good articles about this fact. They are listed in the sources if you want to check them out.

Authorities were hesitant to attempt to buy from a body broker in fear of something going wrong. Reuters wasn't phased and wanted to give it a try.

A broker in Tennessee with no ties to the case, James Byrd, already had sold the news agency a cervical spine a few months earlier. Byrd informed Reuters reporter Brian Grow that he could also supply human heads – for about $300 each, plus shipping. In January, Grow purchased two heads and asked a medical researcher to compare the way those heads were severed with photos of how Jane Doe’s head was cut in the Pennsylvania case.

The manner in which the heads sold to Grow were severed supports the theory that a body broker somewhere once handled Jane Doe’s head, according to an anatomist Reuters consulted. Of particular note were the similarities in the internal cuts between the heads Reuters purchased and the head found in Pennsylvania, said Angela McArthur, who leads the anatomical bequest program at the University of Minnesota.

Similarities aside, McArthur also said she was troubled that neither of the heads Reuters purchased had an identification tag that marked the head itself. Although such tags are not required by law, McArthur considers them critical to track the donor’s identity. Without it, a head found by the side of a road – just like Jane Doe’s – might never be identified. Which is how parts have previously fallen off truck or been "lost."

I believe there needs to be stricter laws on how these "parts" are handled. Can we at least tag them so that if something happens, like a head somehow ending up in the woods, we might be able to I.D. it or trace it to a person identity? These ARE people, but I believe some companies have forgotten that fact.

I'm still not completely sold on this lady being from a brokerage. It's possible she was a victim of some psycho that wanted to try out some sick experimentation on her. Until we know the exact cause of death, or at least rule out murder, we should keep searching for her identity. Maybe if we can find out who she is....the rest of the mystery will finally be answered.

Sources:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-head-with-no-bodyand-no-answers

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/12/15/the-strange-sad-quest-to-match-a-severed-embalmed-head-with-its-body/?utm_term=.6ab58ec019ef

https://www.google.com/amp/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN1D21B4

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MYSTERIOUS MURDER(S): CHARLES C. MORGAN

Researching and writing this reminded me of why I absolutely love investigative blogging. This mystery started in March of 1977 and by the time we get to the end three people will be dead, a family left shattered and confused, and a reporter that followed the story of a lifetime will have a hit on his own life! In Tucson, AZ Charles C. Morgan went by the name “Chuckie” to his friends, family, and business associates. He owned an escrow company and lived the average normal life with his wife and four daughters.

Except…on March 22, 1977 Chuckie vanished after carrying two of his daughters to school. He finally stumbled back into his home in the middle of the night three nights later.

He claimed he couldn’t speak but wrote his wife (Ruth) a crazy unbelievable message claiming that somebody “painted his throat with a hallucinogenic drug.“ He wrote to her a message of torture, threats, and fear.

According to his wife, he was missing a shoe, had a plastic handcuff around one ankle, and had his hands tied together with a plastic zip tie. He asked her to move his car because he didn’t want “them” to know he had returned home. However, he would never tell her who “they” were. He also told his wife to not call the police and to not call for an ambulance.

Over the next two weeks Ruth nursed him back to health. She fed him with a dropper til he was able to talk again. He never spoke about the kidnapping except to drop hints that he was a “spy for the Treasury Department” and his life was in danger because of his statements against criminals.

After the kidnapping he became extremely paranoid. He only allowed himself to drive his daughters to and from school, and spoke with the school demanding nobody ever be allowed to pick them up.

Two months after the first disappearance Charles went missing yet again. During the days he was missing, before his body was found, his wife Ruth received an anonymous phone call. The woman on the line referred to herself as “Green Eyes”. “Green eyes” said nothing to Ruth except “Ecclesiastes 12:1-8,” the same citation her husband would later be found with - hiding in his underpants. Nobody has ever figured out the meaning of this depressing bible verse. It has never brought meaning to his murder, has never identified his killer, and only leaves more questions.

https://biblia.com/bible/niv/Eccles%2012.1-8

Remember your Creator

in the days of your youth,

before the days of trouble come

and the years approach when you will say,

“I find no pleasure in them”—

2 before the sun and the light

and the moon and the stars grow dark,

and the clouds return after the rain;

3 when the keepers of the house tremble,

and the strong men stoop,

when the grinders cease because they are few,

and those looking through the windows grow dim;

4 when the doors to the street are closed

and the sound of grinding fades;

when people rise up at the sound of birds,

but all their songs grow faint;

5 when people are afraid of heights

and of dangers in the streets;

when the almond tree blossoms

and the grasshopper drags itself along

and desire no longer is stirred.

Then people go to their eternal home

and mourners go about the streets.

6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,

and the golden bowl is broken;

before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,

and the wheel broken at the well,

7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,

and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

8 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.

“Everything is meaningless!”

This time he was found 11 days after his disappearance, outside of his new Mercury Cougar, in the middle of the Arizona desert, 40 miles west of Tuscon.  It was ruled a suicide even though the kill shot entered the back of his head. He had been shot with his own .357 magnum revolver. There were no fingerprints on the gun. Inside the car there was a cache of weapons and ammunition. His NEW mercury cougar had also been altered so that the doors could be locked and unlocked from the fender (remember…this was 1977! Also…if a reader knows WHY a person would do this kind of alteration please comment and let me know. I don’t understand what the point of locking and unlocking from your fender would be!?)

He was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time of death, was found with a pair of sunglasses that did not belong to him, had one of his own teeth in his pocket wrapped in a handkerchief, and had a $2 bill stuffed in his underwear, which was annotated with seven Spanish names and a Bible citation – Ecclesiastes 12:1-8. On the opposite side of the $2 Bill there was a drawing of a map. It was a map of Robles Junction and Sasabe, both are well known areas for smuggling and criminal activity.

https://biblia.com/bible/niv/Eccles%2012.1-8

After his first kidnapping Charles had told his father that if anything ever happened to him he had hidden a letter that would explain everything, and would name names. This letter was never found.

After his death, authorities discovered he had been hiding out in a west-area motel for the previous several days. An “acquaintance” told police he was trying to come up with enough cash to pay off a hit on his life. Another “acquaintance” who later admitted to being the mysterious caller “Green eyes” stated that the last time she had seen Charles alive he had had a briefcase filled with $60,000 in cash. “Green eyes” said that Charles had hoped to buy off the hit on his life. The informant gave enough personal details that the police were pretty confident she was telling the truth, at least as far as having known Morgan socially. Unfortunately, that was the last that anyone ever heard of Green Eyes, and the case went completely cold. Some people theorize that Morgan’s escrow company was a front for money laundering, and the whole thing went south. Or, maybe he really was a secret agent for the government. Or, there’s some third, even weirder explanation we haven’t guessed. I believe that would be reasonable since this case was so strange from the start, and had so many twists and turns that nobody could’ve seen coming.

Three weeks after his death two FBI agents showed up at his home demanding to search it. They tore the house apart. Its unknown what they were looking for or what things they had taken. A reporter, Don Devereux, that advocated for the family from the beginning contacted the FBI about the search and they deny ever sending agents to search the home. 

Ruth Morgan passed away in 2006. Ruth always maintained that her husband was murdered and that it was covered up by corrupt government officials and a corrupt police department. His four daughters also took on the fight for justice. They state that their father was murdered and would like to see justice brought to the person/persons responsible.

HUGE TWIST TO THE STORY: (This part gets a little confusing. While researching I had to re-read articles a few times to make sure I had the information correct and make sure I kept the case straight and accurate.) Here it goes… Don Devereux was a journalist that from the very beginning got sucked into the Charles C. Morgan case. He found it odd that Charles’ death was ruled a suicide when too kill himself, Charles would have had to have had stretch Armstrong arms! It was just crazy and implausible to think a man drove out into the desert, wore a bullet-proof vest, just to get out of his car stretch his arm behind his head/back, and shoot himself in the center of the back of his head, also leave NO fingerprints, and somehow hide the gloves he must’ve been wearing (since he left no prints) before he immediately dropped dead! Devereux investigated the case that police wanted no part of, he talked to people the cops wouldn’t make time for, and he spoke out and advocated for the Morgan family when no one else would. He kept the story in the media for decades.

During Devereux’s investigation he found evidence of Charles Morgan’s money laundering through his escrow company. Charles was also involved in gold and platinum transactions out of South Asia. Devereux also found that Charles kept duplicate records of all illegal transactions. Devereux theorized that whomever Charles was involved with found out about his shady record keeping, and wanted Charles taken out. (I haven’t found proof in my research but I’ve seen several reports that Charles did a lot of illegal business with some high ranking politicians and some extremely wealthy “business men,” and when I say “business men” I mean, wealthy mob bosses.)

On May 14, 1990 Doug Johnston left for his night shift job at a computer graphics company in Phoenix, AZ. An hour later he was found murdered in his company parking lot. Again…cops tried to rule it as a suicide. Doug had one shot to his head behind his left ear. Though the placement was better for a suicide ruling than Charles Morgan’s shot to the head, evidence was still on Doug’s side. There was no gun at the scene, no gun powder residue on his hands, and he was right-handed which made the shot to the left side of his head strange and awkward. In the end it was ruled a homicide. (At the time of Doug Johnston’s murder it was believed to be just a random, wrong place/wrong time murder, but within the next year events would play out to prove otherwise.)

In 1991 Don Devereux was contacted by Danny Casolaro, a writer from Washington D.C. regarding the evidence Devereux had about Charles’ money laundering. Devereux agreed to share all of the evidence he had uncovered. Before Devereux could mail it out, Dan Casolaro was found in a hotel bathroom. His wrists had been slashed. Yet again….a death was ruled suicide. Devereux knows it was murder, and Casolaro’s brother believes it was murder. Dan Casolaro’s brother stated that Danny was extremely squeamish around blood. He said IF his brother was going to commit suicide slashing his wrists would NOT have been the method used.

Six months after Casolaro’s death Devereux learned that there had been a hit placed on him. He learned that Doug Johnston’s murder in 1990 was a case of mistaken identity, and was meant for him.

Though names have not been released, a CIA officer, and an informant for Israeli Intelligence have confirmed the hit for Don Devereux’s life.

Charles Morgan, Doug Johnston, and Dan Casolaro’s murders have never been solved.

SOURCES:

http://tucson.com/news/local/crime/cold-case-strange-evidence-found-in-on-near-man-s/article_e84a1034-c078-5a43-81a1-e602f52eda02.html

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/4m3sq3/the_unbelievably_bizarre_case_of_charles_chuck/

http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Charles_Morgan

http://thesop.org/story/20140407/an-unsolved-mysteries-episode-charles-morgan-throws-you-down-a-spooky-rabbit-hole-with-zero-bottom.html

https://unsolved.com/gallery/chuck-morgan/

http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Doug_Johnston

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Missing: Bethany Markowski

Bethany Markowski December 19, 2017

Bethany Markowski went missing March 4, 2001 at 11 years old. Bethany is Caucasian, with brown hair and blue eyes. Bethany has freckles on her nose and cheeks. She also bites her fingernails when she gets nervous. She was last seen at Old Hickory Mall in Jackson, TN.

Bethany’s mom and dad were separated and it was her dad, Larry’s turn for visitation. They had been in Little Rock, AR and were supposed to meet her mother, Johnnie Jo, at the Waverly exit off of I-40. The drive from Little Rock, AR to Jackson, TN is 225.4 miles and is estimated to take 4 hours.

Map From Little Rock, AR to Jackson, TN

Larry’s story from the beginning never added up. He stated he was taking a nap in the truck, and had allowed her to go inside the mall to walk around. Bethany was never caught on security cameras entering the mall and was never seen on surveillance inside the mall. There’s no proof she was ever anywhere near the mall.

They arrived at the mall at 3:30pm, he claims that he napped for 1 hour. Then he claims to have went inside, when she failed to meet him he called police at 5:15pm. (I keep going back and forth with my opinions on this timeline. I’ll be generous with the time and say he spent 45 minutes searching the mall since he stated he napped for 1 hour. This case has stayed with me because this is very close to my home town. When I was younger, if we went to the mall, this is the mall we went to. So I know the layout and size extremely well. I believe that Old Hickory Mall could not be searched good within 45 minutes. Since he was not familiar with it I know he definitely didn’t search it good. I wonder if he ever really looked for her at all? If it was my child missing I’d be running around, screaming his/her name, begging strangers to help, and the first thing I’d do is notify security so they could place personnel at exits to look for the child. While doing that I’d be yelling for someone to call 911 and get them there. As a mother, that’s just my opinion on what I would have done. I know dad’s don’t always react the same as mothers, but from the limited resources I’ve read he didn’t search as thorough as I would have. This is where I kind of start playing devils advocate. I tried to think about being in a town I’m not from, a mall I’m not familiar with, and having my child missing? Maybe I wouldn’t have ran around searching like crazy. Maybe I would have called 911 immediately. With the few minutes accounted for in Bethanys dad’s search I can only assume that 1. He BS'ed the search. Or 2. He skipped searching himself and notified police immediately. While playing devils advocate I couldn’t come to a right and wrong conclusion. I still find his “story” of pulling over and taking a 1 hour nap while his 11 year old ran around a strange mall on her own, to be extremely suspicious.)

Four months after her disappearance 4 witnesses positively identified Bethany as being a girl that was trying to be enrolled in a school under a different name. There was another sighting shortly after the school incident where Bethany was seen eating at a restaurant with the same woman according to witnesses. (Who is this woman? She tried to enroll Bethany in school and took her out to eat? And Bethany never attempted to get help or run away? WTF? Also, when this woman attempted to enroll Bethany, she didn’t have any paperwork. When school officials asked this unidentified woman about the paperwork the woman stated, “Her dad has her papers.” Was this statement a huge coincidence or is Bethanys dad involved?)

A sketch of the woman is posted below this case summary. She is described as being approximately 42 to 44 years of age, 5'4 to 5'5 and 185 pounds. (This description was 16 years ago! Keep that in mind please!) Witnesses said that the woman had dark circles under her brown eyes and her blonde hair was clean but frizzy and damaged. She appeared to be unkempt, like she had not bathed, and her shoes were torn and incorrectly tied. The woman may have been suffering from a hangover. Authorities stated that the unidentified woman attempted to enroll Bethany in a Southeastern Tennessee school in April 2001, one month after Bethany was reported missing. The woman was later observed boarding a bus with Bethany. Investigators believe that they may have traveled to Moline, Illinois. (I wish we had more information on why they believe they travelled to Moline, Illinois and didn’t get off at an earlier stop. I know most bus terminals have surveillance video. Were Bethany and this woman caught on the footage? If so, why haven’t police released it?)

Moline, Illinois has a population estimated about 44,000. From what I could find it’s the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is part of the “quad cities” which has a combined population of almost 400,000. Researching Moline, I couldn’t find anything special about it. One ironic fact though I found was that Moline is the retail hub for the Illinois “quad cities”. Moline is home to South Park Mall and numerous other big-box shopping plazas. I found it ironic, a coincidence, whatever you want to call it - that Bethany went missing from a mall and was later learned to be travelling to an area that was home to numerous malls.

Bethany’s mom continues to search for her daughter, and though she remains quiet on Larry’s involvement, she is outspoken when asking for help finding her daughter or asking for tips. “He has not hepled to find Bethany. He has moved away and remarried” - “I just want my daughter back. I want her home. I want her safe. If him or anybody has information, it’s time. This has gone on too long. This is not a game.”

News 2 statement-..“Although police have not named a suspect in this case, authorities told News 2 Markowski’s story just didn’t add up.

Authorities said that they have not ruled out either of Bethany’s parents as suspects in her disappearance. Investigators have also said that it is possible Bethany was abducted by a stranger. Her case remains unsolved.

TBI - .’‘I feel confident this is not a runaway situation,” said Jack VanHooser Jr., assistant special agent in charge with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

If you have ANY information regarding Bethany Markowski please contact:

Jackson Police Department (Tennessee) - 1-731-425-8400

Tennessee Bureau Of Investigation 800-TBI-FIND

NCMEC 1-800-THE-LOST

Sources:

http://www.wrcbtv.com/special_reports/crimestopper.cfm?DID=4465

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2003/9/prweb80585.htm

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moline,_Illinois

http://www.jacksonsun.com/story/news/local/2017/11/13/searching-ghosts-podcast-beginning-search-bethany-markowski/858761001/

https://projectjason.org/forums/topic/261-missing-girl-bethany-markowski-tn-03042001/

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?12688-TN-Bethany-Markowski-11-Jackson-4-March-2001

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/markowski_bethany.html

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Missing: William "Bj" John Ward

William “BJ” John Ward December 17, 2017

Cases like this one really pull at my heartstrings. There’s so much in life a person can’t control. We can’t really control the personality we are born with. We can’t control the environment we are born in that conditions those traits. Sometimes you can have the best childhood, the best parents, you can receive everything you want and not want for nothing and our brains just say “Haha…You tried.”

William “BJ” John Ward was a 33 year old from Seneca, Pa. Seneca is a small town, population

Seneca, PA Wiki

On June 28, 2017 he went missing in the area of Steadman Rd. And Route 408 Steuben Proper.

He had called his girlfriend Victoria O'Leary, “He said ‘please help me. Call Mom. Call someone. I don’t care. I love you so much,’ and then the phone died. I didn’t even get to tell him I love him back,” O'Leary said.

After making that distressed phone call he supposedly wandered into a strangers home and used that persons phone to call his mom, and asked that she pick him up at the Wal-Mart parking lot.

Surveillance video shows he did stop at a neighbors home to call his mom for a ride. His own cell phone has been unused since the 28th of June (2017).

William “BJ” John Ward was last seen wearing a dark gray t-shirt, blue jeans, heavy wool socks, and NO SHOES. (This is what grabbed my attention when researching this case. So you’re saying he was going to walk almost 5 miles to Wal-Mart with NO SHOES? WTF?) He was also carrying a camouflaged backpack.

BJ also has two tattoos -

Blue Tattoo: L. / Left Wrist: “7.3.14”

Blue & Green Tribal Tattoo: R. Humerus / Upper Bicep

BJ does have a history of depression and anxiety. His family reports that he regularly took his meds and had last took them that morning.

This seems to be a man aware of his mental health issues, and he was willing to do what was needed to help the situation.

His mother knew something was wrong when he never showed at Wal-Mart. She drove back the way he would have came and she never saw him. That’s when he was reported missing.

The search for BJ consisted of a dozen personnel and a tracking dog. The state police, however canceled the search on July 5th 2017. They stated they had ran out of area to search. (Really? That just doesn’t seem right to me.)

After the search stopped there was really nothing more said about case from the police department. His family is still asking for help and information.

My Final Thoughts: Why was he wearing only socks and NO SHOES? And willing to walk 5 miles like that? Most reports state this occurred at night. Why couldn’t he charge his phone? Why did he choose to go to a neighbor that he didn’t know and use their phone instead of charging his own? We know he had depression and anxiety, but was he in the process of having a psychotic break? You can’t really control those things, and you act extremely irrational when it happens. Did he somehow get hurt and wasn’t able to get help? After leaving the neighbors did he attempt hitchhiking and run across foul play?

Cases like this nag at me. Nobody should be able to just *disappear* and not ever be seen again. According to police, nothing was found through the search, No belongings….nothing.

I hope this young man is found.

If you have ANY information regarding William “BJ” John Ward please contact Titusville Police at 814-676-6596.

Sources:

https://m.facebook.com/112683bjwardismissing/#_=_

https://youtu.be/atY5znU2Om4

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/show/41341

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?342034-PA-William-B-J-Ward-33-Titusville-28-June-2017

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Murdered: Jessica Johnson

Jessica Johnson December 15, 2017

On June 2, 2017 - 37 year old Jessica Johnson was found dead, tied with shoestrings, to a 38 inch tall mailbox by a mail carrier.

Warning: The images below are extremely graphic.

Crime Scene photo 1

Crime Scene Photo 2

Crime Scene Photo 3

Her mom last saw her on May 31, 2017. Jessica was leaving home to spend time with on again / off again boyfriend Garland Hart. Mom state’s the relationship was extremely toxic. She FaceTimed w/ Jessica on June 1st. Jessica stated she was going home but she never made it. When Jessica’s mother learned of her whereabouts it was through the county coroner. She says that he told her “Your daughter committed suicide.” (If this is true I find it to be extremely unprofessional. There’s no way the whole autopsy, exam, and toxicology had been done on that first day. This proves the coroner had preconceived ideas and bias on what the cause was before getting all the evidence in. WTF!?! )

Jessica did struggle w/ addiction. “Her drug of choice was Xanax,” said Linda Johnson. “She would have went to sleep and believe me, Jessica would have had herself fixed up. She would have looked like ‘Sleeping Beauty.’” (Jessica was found clothes a mess and no makeup on. Friends and family say she never left the house without being fixed up.)

The coroner quickly ruled it as suicide. On the final papers it says there was no autopsy performed but it’s later learned there was a “partial autopsy.” (How does a woman found hung from a mailbox not get a FULL autopsy? WTF!?!)

Final papers list cause of death as asphyxiation by ligature strangulation. Jessica had xanax and methamphetamines in her system at time of death. It was ruled a suicide.

The person that owns the house that she was found in front of stated he last saw Jessica on Thursday, but she had texted him after her and Hart got into a fight stating “she didn’t want to feel the pain anymore.“ The home owner also had surveillance cameras pointing at the area she was found, but cops NEVER collected the footage to be analyzed and by the time Crime Watch Daily covered the story and asked for the footage he stated it had been recorded over. (WTF!!?!! Why on earth did detectives NOT collect the tapes and footage and analyze it!?! Oh…I know! She was an addict :-/ It truly pisses me off how cops/law enforcement/detectives half-ass cases where the victim is an addict. It must be nice to be sin-free *eye roll*.)

Jessica’s 19 yr old son was also sent a disturbing text from Jessica’s phone at 3:29am the morning of her disappearance. Based on the time of death that text was sent right at time of death or most likely after her death. (A lot of people believe someone sent fake texts out claiming to be Jessica, telling family and friends she wanted to kill herself.)

Her phone did have a fingerprint scanner but she was cremated and authorities didn’t think to use them to get access inside the phone. (In my opinion, even if they had *thought* about it they probably wouldn’t have done it. Hell…they never collected surveillance footage, and Hart still has her phone according to her family, so I doubt even if they had collected it they would’ve even bothered going through it. WTF!?)

Family members are trying to go through Apple to get the phone info themselves but Apple requires a court order to release it and detectives are not helping the family to do so.

A family spokesperson has said that Hart has Jessica’s phone and has changed the passcode and will not give it to the family. (Can’t be verified but it’s been stated.)

A “friend” reported to police that Jessica had called them for a ride after getting into an altercation with Hart and locking herself in a bathroom, but when they arrived she then refused to leave with this “friend". (I want to know why. Why call a “friend" and when they arrive refuse to leave with them? I have trouble with this statement. In my experience it would be damn near impossible to find a “friend" to come pick me up at that time at night. If I DID find one that would come I sure wouldn’t refuse to leave with them once they got there. So did she really ask for a ride but then refuse? If so, WHY?)

Garland Hart does have an active warrant in TN for a domestic violence and bodily harm case. (So he does have a history of violence against women). Sept. 21, 2017.

Garland’s Warrant Info

Even though no one has been arrested for this crime and even though this crime just happened 6.5 months ago, detectives still returned all of Jessica’s property / evidence to the family! (Have I said they half-assed it? If so, hear it again….Detectives half-assed this investigation!) The family hired a Dr. Godwin to look over the evidence. The purse, shown in the crime scene picture at the mailbox, was given back to the family. Dr. Godwin noted that the purse was broke which would indicate some kind of struggle took place. Her shoes have what appears to be blood splatter on them. Out of all the evidence that Dr. Godwin analyzed (Can’t analyze *lost* evidence) he concluded that Jessica was murdered and that it happened at a different location. He believes she was then moved back to the house / mailbox for it to be staged as a suicide. What’s interesting is that even the homeowner where she was found believes she was murdered somewhere else and brought back and staged. He’s quick to clarify that he doesn’t believe his friend Garland Hart murdered her but he does believe she was murdered and then staged.

There are two MAJOR pieces of evidence that did not get returned but not because the cops are analyzing it. The shoestrings used are “missing" and the clothes Jessica was wearing are gone. Investigators claim the clothes were sent to the funeral home in a biohazard bag by mistake and that the funeral home incinerated them. (Really? I call…*cough*…Bullshit.) And the shoestrings have *disappeared*. (Incompetent?)

Final: The investigators gave back evidence because the coroner “thinks" it’s a suicide. Yet now this case is being reviewed at a state level. So, what if the state of Mississippi overturns this idiotic suicide ruling? What then? The detectives have royally screwed this case. Evidence is either lost (major incompetence) or returned (major incompetence). Evidence returned that was NEVER even processed can’t be processed at all now because when they returned it that compromised it.

This police department shouldn’t be allowed to investigate any case in my opinion. Also, if this was my daughter that the department failed, I would sue this agency for everything they had. It’s amazing that everyone believes she was murdered…her family, her friends, the homeowner of the drug party house she was found in front of, hell…even Garland Hart the prime suspect in the families eyes even has stated he doesn’t believe it was suicide. He stated that he didn’t believe Jessica would do that to her kids. He doesn’t think she would kill herself and hurt her 19 yr old and 8 yr old. Especially in the manner she was displayed which was very public. Which really struck me…I had actually made the opinion that Hart was guilty but then I read his statement. 1. Either he’s really stupid. Because most killers would want everyone to think it was a suicide to keep themselves out of prison. So why actually disagree with the coroner’s findings and say you too also believe it was murder? OR 2. Maybe he thinks since the coroner ruled suicide he’s safe to state he believes it’s murder? He knows 99% of the town thinks it’s murder. So for him to say suicide would be the unpopular opinion. Maybe he thinks it’s safe to speak out now since the coroner has ruled suicide? OR 3. Maybe he didn’t do it. Maybe somebody saw their opportunity to commit this crime and knew Hart would be the one everybody looked at?

Jessica was a beautiful girl and the house was a known drug-party house which had to attract some unsavory characters. I personally know not all addicts are bad people but I also know there are SOME bad addicts. Maybe that night / early morning at the house one of the bad ones crossed paths with Jessica. We will probably never know. At houses like that, people don’t talk. I’m positive there were people there that the cops were never aware of because people don’t like to talk when drugs are involved.

This cases pisses me off because, In my opinion, every victim deserves to be fought for. Every victim regardless of race, religion, wealth, or status…deserve justice. Yet so many times detectives half-ass investigations because the victims were addicts. Jessica was failed. Detectives and the coroner failed her because she was an addict and they placed their own ideals above evidence and fact.

In 2009, 23.5 million people aged 12 and up needed treatment for drugs and alcohol. The statistics say 1 in 10 people are addicts. Chances are you know somebody that struggles with this. Addiction doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care what color you are or how much money you make. It can affect anybody. Those affected deserve justice, the same as those that don’t struggle with it.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Horn Lake Police Department at (662) 393-6174.

Sources: https://youtu.be/QK1FTTOBGbI - LordanArts (John Lordan is one of my favorite YouTube’s! I highly recommend watching his video on Jessica Johnson. He raises some great points, and asks some great questions. He also goes into detail about what you need to be a coroner in Mississippi and it’s extremely shocking! Especially since these people make such major decisions that affect lots of people. Their decision is what either causes an investigation to start or stop. John does a great job giving you the facts and educating the viewer on small details, for example: Mississippi coroner requirements. He also truly cares about the people he covers in his videos. He regularly donates money to the families for either funeral costs or private investigators or even for kids left behind from murdered or missing people. He doesn’t judge these people. Like me, he believes everybody deserves justice.

http://shelbywarrants.org/w_warrant_result.php?w=&l=Hart&f=Garland&s=&st=

http://www.oxygen.com/blogs/cops-rule-woman-found-hanging-from-mailbox-a-suicide-but-her-moms-convinced-its-murder

https://crimewatchdaily.com/2017/10/18/suicide-or-murder-what-happened-to-jessica-johnson/

http://heavy.com/news/2017/07/jessica-johnson-dead-mississippi-murder-suicide-mom-age/

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/treatment-statistics

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[blogwhatthef-blog]

Murdered: Isabel Celis

April 20, 2012 – Isabel Celis was last seen going to bed that night around 11 pm. Her father, Sergio Celis, went to wake her up at 8am on the 21st and she was not in her bed. This was an extremely suspicious detail because Isabel had NEVER slept in her bed. She ALWAYS slept with her brothers in their room. (So you’re saying the 1st night she slept in her own bed was also the night she “disappeared”? WTF?!?) The night of April 20th 2012 Sergio slept on the couch and Becky in their bedroom. At 5am Sergio moved to the bedroom to sleep next to Becky.

April 21, 2012 – 6:30am, neighbor hears the Celis’ dogs barking and also says she heard 2 men talking what would’ve been the area between her bedroom window and Isabel’s window. Neighbor also made the statement that there was nothing to make her think the voices were fighting or struggling with someone.

7:00am, Becky Celis leaves for work at Tuscan Medical Center where she worked as a nurse. Later when being interviewed, both her and Sergio would claim they never heard the dogs bark OR men talking. (This is a VERY narrow window of time. A neighbor, inside their house, heard both those things yet neither Becky nor Sergio heard? Even if they didn’t hear people talking I find it hard to believe they didn’t hear their own dogs. Another…WTF?)

8:00am, Sergio finds her bed empty. According to her father, her brothers and himself searched “everywhere" for her. Her brother was the one that found her window open and screen laying on the ground. At that point Sergio called his wife Becky Celis, according to him the call was to inform her that Isabel was missing and that she needed to get home. Then the call to 911 was placed. (This is a strange fact to me. Yes, the mom needed to know but I feel the 911 call should have been placed first. This was a waste of precious minutes in my opinion. WTF?)

Sergio’s 911 call

Sergio Jr’s / Neighbors 911 call

Police Arrive - In the backyard, police discover a set of work boot footprints near an electrical box and on top of the gas meter box. The reports also listed that there was something written inside of Isabel’s closet, though it’s specifics aren’t listed, this was also photographed. Several items were taken into evidence which appeared to have blood stains on them. As well as their vehicles listed as a Blue Toyota Corolla, Maroon Lexus and Red Honda Acura.

According to Police reports, there were two items in the Acura which had dark red or brown stains on them. One of the items was listed as a green vinyl shower curtain. A forensics team began processing several locations with luminol including but not limited to the interior of the vehicles, the concrete floor to the garage, a vacuum cleaner accessory set as well as a pillow, a black gaming chair and a twin bed and area surrounding it. There appeared to be a luminol reaction on the footboard of the twin bed. There also was a reaction in one of the vehicles. The report states “I observed and marked a luminol reaction on the drivers seat of the Toyota Corolla.” Police later stated that they found “suspicious circumstances around a possible entry point.” Sometime after this, blood samples were taken from Becky and Sergio.

Surveillance Video - Surveillance video is analyzed. “We scoured through hours of footage from the early-morning hours of April 21, 2012.

Cars, coming and going at all hours. At 1:24 a.m., a large van passes through. At 2:36 a.m., a private security vehicle stops and hits the lights.

Then at 3:32a.m., a figure crosses the front parking lot. A little later, another figure of a man crosses the lot.

Then at around 8:45a.m., you can see Isabel’s family looking around her house about 150 feet down the street from the camera. You can see Becky racing home in her SUV.

But in the entire recording, we never see an image of a little girl.”

Surveillance Video from night of disappearance

April 26, 2012 – Sergio and Becky Celis make their FIRST public plea for Isabel. (It only took 5 days. WTF?) BUT…after the public plea they refused questions.

May 15, 2012 - Roughly one month after Isabel goes missing – Sergio is barred from the home by CPS, and cannot have contact with his 2 sons.

2012 - early 2014 - Trail goes cold.

Early 2014 – New detectives were assigned to the case. At this time, the Celis’ released a statement stating “That was my main hope when everything revamped that hopefully they’ll go in a more appropriate direction that they weren’t looking at from the beginning.” They also added that they were suspicious of a close relative that moved away shortly after Isabels disappearance and has refused to cooperate with a PI the family hired. (This is one of the most concerning comments made in my opinion. Why was this detail not brought up a lot sooner than 2014? They may have told their PI but why not tell the police? Ya know, the actual ones that can dig further? A LOT further than some PI? WTF?) 

Relative is later identified as Justin Mastromarino. Justin made pleas in the first days of the disappearance but within 2 weeks is lawyered up and is on the other side of the country where he also had his car shipped. He can not account for 6 hrs of time during the hours of the disappearance. A good friend of Justin’s claims they did drugs the night of 4-20 and that Justin was with him and accounted for. (My question is – why wont Justin speak out and confirm? I understand he wants to keep drug use hush-hush but detectives are more concerned with a missing girl than him celebrating 4-20. WTF?)

March 31, 2017 – Tuscan Police confirm that the remains found earlier that month are 6 year old Isabel Celis. Remains were found in rural Pima County. Police say the search and finding the remains wasn’t just “happenstance” but wouldn’t elaborate.

October 25, 2017 – Isabels cause of death is labeled “homicide by unspecified means” by the medical examiner. The statement is released 8 months after her remains were found. The remains consisted of skull and pelvis.

Autopsy Report - Heavily Redacted

Today – To this day nobody has been arrested for the abduction and murder of Isabel Celis. There is tons of allegations. One being Sergio was on drug’s and owed a dealer a lot of money. Allegations of sexual abuse from either Sergio, Sergio Jr or both. None of these have been proven or at least confirmed by detectives.

Peter Hyatt has worked on investigations all over the country and is a nationally recognized expert in deception detection. He has an amazing blog called Statement Analysis. He has went over Sergio’s 911 call and Dr. Phil interview word-by-word and concluded with deception and it being a sexual homicide. If you havent came to your own opinion on this case you probably will after reading his post.

Statement Analysis - 911 Call / Dr. Phil Interview

If you have ANY information PLEASE Contact 88-CRIME or Tucson Police at (520) 791-6813.

On that note….What do YOU think?

Sources:

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2017/04/03/isabel-celis-case-missing-tucson-girl-remains-found-scl/99986054/

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2017/10/25/autopsy-rules-death-once-missing-isabel-celis-homicide/799111001/

https://crimewatchdaily.com/2016/05/09/will-recently-discovered-video-help-find-missing-florida-girl-isabel-celis/

https://www.azpm.org/s/8696-family-pleads-for-return-of-missing-6-year-old/

https://www.trace-evidence.com/020-the-abduction-murder-of-isabel-celis/

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