latenightsleuth

[latenightsleuth]

[latenightsleuth]

Glenda Frances Moorehead - STILL MISSING

Read more at: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1581dftx.html

Support the Doe Network.

[latenightsleuth]

The Jenner Beach Murders 2004

Lindsay Cutshall and Jason Allen Murders: How Were They Killed? Where is Shaun Gallon Now?

By Viswa Vanapalli at The Cinemaholic March 29, 2021

Investigation Discovery’s ‘People Magazine Investigates’ is a documentary series where People Magazine’s journalists team up with Investigation Discovery to have a second look at some of the most high-profile cases in the country. The episode ‘Jenner Beach Murders’ explores the random killings of a loving couple who were camping out on a beach in Jenner, California, in 2004. A case that stumped investigators at the time with an apparent lack of motive, it was only solved in 2017 after a confession. Curious to know more about the case? We’ve got you covered.

How Did Lindsay Cutshall and Jason Allen Die?

Lindsay Cutshall and Jason Allen had met each other in 2002 at the Appalachian Bible College in Beckley, West Virginia. Both devout Christians, the 22-year-old Lindsay hailed from Fresno, Ohio, while the 26-year-old Jason was from Zeeland, Michigan. They fell in love quickly, bonding over their Christian faith and their fondness for the outdoors. Within six weeks of knowing each other, they were engaged. In August 2004, the couple was working as counselors at Rock-N-Water, which was a Christian summer camp close to Coloma, California.

On August 13, they decided to take a spontaneous road trip to San Francisco, about a month before their planned wedding. It was during this trip that they would end up missing and eventually killed. When Lindsay’s mother was notified that the couple had not returned from their road trip, an extensive manhunt ensued. About five days after they left for their road trip, the couple was found by a helicopter pilot on a secluded part of Fish Head Beach, Jenner, California.

They were found still zipped up in their sleeping bags and were shot in the head once with a .45 caliber Marlin rifle, a rather uncommon gun. Police quickly ruled out robbery as a motive since Lindsay’s jewelry wasn’t missing and the car they traveled in was still there. There were no signs of a sexual assault either. Beyond that, the authorities were finding it difficult to zero in on a motive. The time of death was estimated to be either on the night of August 14 or the early morning of August 15.

The investigators speculated that the couple might have chosen to camp at the beach after realizing that there were no available rooms at the motel close by. As time passed, the police started to run out of credible leads. With no motive and unable to find the murder weapon, the trail ran cold. It was more than a decade later when the murders of Lindsay and Jason would be solved.

Who Killed Lindsay Cutshall and Jason Allen?

Shaun Gallon had long been someone the police had looked into regarding the couple’s killing. A self-proclaimed survivalist, he had multiple run-ins with the law. In fact, he was arrested just six days after the bodies were discovered, but on an unrelated weapons charge. Shaun’s father, David, had also told police that he had disposed of his son’s guns after Shaun had called him from prison to do so. In 2009, Shaun was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon for shooting a man with a homemade bow and arrow. Over the years, the police found nothing to tie him to the murders, nonetheless.

In 2017, Shaun was accused of killing his brother, Shamus, with a rifle and was arrested as a result of that. During his questioning, he confessed to the killings of Lindsay and Jason. He told the police where he had hidden the spent shell casings from the crime scene. He stated that after he noticed the two sleeping on the beach, he went to his car to bring his rifle, came back, and shot them both at close range. He had also confessed to the attempted murder of someone else that he knew. In 2019, 40-year-old Shaun was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Where is Shaun Gallon Now?

Shaun Gallon pleaded no contest to all the charges against him. As a result, the death penalty was not pursued. For his role in the murders of Lindsay, Jason, and Shamus and the attempted murder charge, he was instead sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. He also was sentenced to more than 94 years for other crimes. During his confession, he had told the police that he had killed Lindsay and Jason out of spite.

A news release from the Office of the District Attorney mentioned additional charges, “There were multiple special allegations and enhancements alleged against Gallon, including that he murdered multiple victims, that he committed great bodily injury on those victims, that he used a firearm to inflict great bodily injury on each of his murder victims, and that he had suffered a prior “strike” conviction in 2009 for assault with a deadly weapon. In his change of pleas, Gallon admitted all charges and enhancements.” According to prison records, Shaun is incarcerated at California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo, California.

Full article: https://thecinemaholic.com/lindsay-cutshall-and-jason-allen-murders-how-were-they-killed-where-is-shaun-gallon-now/

#Lindsay Cutshall and Jason Allen #lindsaycutshall #jasonallen #jennerbeachmurders #murder #couplewhoaremurdered #solved #truecrime #multiplevictims #latenightsleuth #thecinemaholic

[latenightsleuth]

Just created a memorial at FindAGrave.com for Summer Francis Smith.  RIP

[latenightsleuth]

What happened to Maura Murray?

At 21 years old, Maura Murray disappeared on February 9th 2004, and to this day her whereabouts remain unknown. At the time of her disappearance, Maura was a nursing student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA. 

On the afternoon of February 9th, Maura contacted her university supervisor and professors to inform them that she would be taking some time off due to a family emergency. However, her relatives were later unable to confirm this claim. Later that evening, a car accident was reported to the authorities by a member of the public, and the vehicle involved was traced back to Maura. The passing motorist who reported the collision asked Maura at the scene if she needed any help, but she declined and then vanished before the police arrived.

Based on these strange circumstances, and also the lack of evidence to suggest that somebody else was involved, it has since been determined that Maura Murray wanted to disappear voluntarily. It was found that Murray had packed a variety of items to suggest she was going on a trip: clothing, toiletries, textbooks, and contraceptive pills. Upon later inspection of her dorm room, the police discovered that Maura had packed up most of her belongings into boxes, further indicating that she did not intend to stay. Located amongst her possessions was an email printed out to Maura’s boyfriend, which highlighted that she was experiencing some relationship troubles. 

After driving away from her university campus, CCTV footage has also identified that Maura stopped to withdraw hundreds of dollars in cash from an ATM machine, and also purchase a wide range of alcoholic drinks from a convenience store. When her vehicle was found crashed, traces of the alcohol were found on the seats and it had been left behind with the rest of her belongings.

Although a voluntary disappearance has been suggested, it cannot be ruled out that something more sinister may have happened. Maura’s father saw her only the day before, and he reported that Maura seemed perfectly normal; she certainly had no known incentive to willingly leave her family, studies and life behind. Maura may have intended to disappear only temporarily, but it is now almost 15 years since and there has been no trace of her. 

It was dark and cold that February night, and a snowstorm was incoming- it can’t be entirely ruled out that she potentially became lost and fell victim to a serious crime, or an accidental death occurred as a result of dangerous weather conditions. Alternatively, Maura may still be hiding away and is opting to not be located.

[latenightsleuth]

This is a great tribute to the Cleveland Strangler’s victims and their families.

[latenightsleuth]

Christine Marie Eastin- STILL MISSING

Hayward, California 01/18/1971

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From THE CHARLEY PROJECT files:

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Details of Disappearance

Eastin borrowed her former boyfriend's blue 1969 Ford Maverick on the evening of January 18, 1972 in Hayward, California. She was going shopping with a friend and promised to wash the car before returning it later that night. A photo of the Maverick is posted with this case summary.

Eastin bought a pair of boots while shopping, dropped her friend off, and then continued to Charlie's Car Wash, a self-service wash on Mission Boulevard in Hayward, near her former boyfriend's workplace. She was supposed to pick her him up from work, but never arrived.

The Maverick was located at the wash during the early morning hours of January 19, the following day. Eastin had apparently completed washing the vehicle's exterior before she vanished. The car was locked and papers from the interior were lying on the pavement outside of the driver's door. The police officer who responded to the scene thought it appeared to be staged. There was no sign of Eastin and she has never been seen again.

Her ex-boyfriend was questioned in her case and couldn't provide any useful information; he was eventually eliminated as a suspect. Authorities initially believed Eastin had left Hayward of her own decision, but her family stated all of her personal belongings were still at her residence and it was uncharacteristic of her to leave without warning.

Eastin graduated from Sunset High School six months before her disappearance. She was active in theater in high school, wasn't involved with drugs and didn't associate with the wrong crowd. According to her loved ones, she was trying to get back together with her ex-boyfriend, but he did not want to start seeing her again. Her case was reclassified as an involuntary missing person's case.

In 2019, nearly fifty years after Eastin's disappearance, a witness came forward and said she'd seen Eastin being kidnapped and didn't report it at the time because she didn't realize what she was seeing. She said she saw two men at Charlie's Car Wash in a white van and caught a glimpse of the driver, but not the other man, who was putting Eastin in the back of the van. A sketch of the driver is posted with this case summary. The witness also stated the van had distinctive rectangular side mirrors known as "West Coast Mirrors."

Foul play is suspected in her disappearance.

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Investigating Agency

Hayward Police Department 510-293-7000

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Read full casefile: https://charleyproject.org/case/christine-marie-eastin

Support THE CHARLEY PROJECT!

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#christineMarieeastin #christineeastin #missing #missingperson #missingpersoncase #missingwomen #disappeared #vanished #kidnapping #witness #ididntknowwhatisaw #missingtomurder #unsolved #coldcase #truecrime #truecrimecommunity #truecrimeaddict #truecrimejunkie #truecrimestories #thecharleyproject #charleyproject #supportthecharleyproject #rememberthevictim #latenightsleuth

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[latenightsleuth]

This is me, Ione Carroll, the Late Night Sleuth. https://www.instagram.com/p/CGD5JBzgMpm/?igshid=13hs3cekxc6f5

[latenightsleuth]

While watching the 20/20 installment of the Denise Huskins kidnapping from back in 2015, I was reminded about the seemingly lack of effort and sloppy Police work of the Vallejo Police department back in the day in allowing the Golden State killer to continue his wrath. . Pictured is Lieutenant Kenny Park of the Vallejo California Police department, who gave a memorable press conference the day Denise Huskins was released by her kidnapper. He all but called the whole ordeal of hoax and the victims liars. . Also pictured are VICTIMS Aaron Quinn and Denise Huskins. The final picture is of convicted kidnapper, Matt Muller. . #gonegirl #denisehuskins #aaronquinn #kennypark #mattmuller #solvedkidnappings #rememberthevictim #vallejopolice #tunnelvision #policethepolice #truecrimestories #truecrimeaddict #truecrimejunkies #latenightsleuth https://www.instagram.com/latenightsleuth/p/CXVAvRcsWDU/?utm_medium=tumblr

[latenightsleuth]

Where are they? Who are they? . 100k active missing persons cases 609k total missing persons cases 40k unidentified bodies 11k unclaimed bodies . Sources: NamUs FBI . . #missging #themissing #missingpersons #disappeared #vanished #unidentified #unclaimed #truecrime #truecrimeaddict #truecrimejunkies #rememberthevictim #latenightsleuth

(at Chicago, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ9Qfa6s48C/?utm_medium=tumblr

[latenightsleuth]

(Image from: https://disappearedblog.com/disappeared-episode-list/)

The Loxahatchee Horror – Could It Happen to Your Aviary?

© Howard Voren. Click here to use this content.

If everyone in your household should suddenly disappear, would anyone notice? If they did notice, would they have the initiative or the authority to break into your house to rescue your birds from starvation? In the case of Moses Lall, the well-known bird importer, the answer was no–at least not in time to save the lives of most of the approximately 1,000 birds whose cages lined the open field behind his rented house. On June 15, l994, after the continued urging of several concerned parties, local authorities entered the property. The gruesome sight that they beheld was something that should appear only in ones’ worst nightmare.

What Happened

Moses Lall and his aunt, Lila Buerattan, both natives of Guyana, South America, had lived on a rented 5-acre ranch in Loxahatchee, Florida, since December of 1992. They had moved to the rural community with the idea of starting a large bird-breeding farm. They spoke with no one in the local avicultural community, nor did they interact with anyone at any of the surrounding ranches. They lived extremely private lives, and no one, except their veterinarian, was ever permitted to see their birds. In fact, they even refused to purchase a license that would have allowed them to legally breed and sell birds within the state of Florida. When approached by Florida Fish and Game officers the previous year and urged to purchase a permit and undergo the minimal inspection procedures, they declined. They claimed that the birds were not for sale or breeding, and were being maintained for their personal pleasure. Most of us locals who knew of them never saw them, and were aware of their existence only because we all used the same feed company. In fact, it was the feed company that began sounding the alarm that something was wrong.

On June 9th, the driver for Bird Haven Feed Company arrived to deliver the weekly supply of primate biscuits, sunflower seeds and dried corn to Lall’s farm. No one was there to let him in. Finding no one at the gate to receive the feed was highly unusual. Realizing that they never purchased reserve supplies, and not wanting the birds to go hungry, he piled the feed up in front of the gates. They tried to reach Lall by phone to make sure all was well, but no one answered. Feeling uncomfortable about the situation, they returned the next day. The feed was still piled up outside the gate and had been ruined by the rain. At this point, they called several local aviculturists, as well as Lall’s veterinarian. The questions put to all of them were the same: Do you know where Moses and Lila are? Do you now them well enough to jump the fence, walk through the pack of dogs and go around to the rear of the property to see if someone has been feeding the birds? They all gave the same negative answer.

Between the 11th and the 15th of June, several concerned parties, including the seed company and the veterinarian, began calling the authorities and demanding that action be taken. As birds were starving to death, the concerned parties were sent in a circular motion from one agency to the next. The Palm Beach County Sheriffs’ Department, upon hearing the story, said that animal abuse was the jurisdiction of the Palm Beach County Animal Control. When Animal Control heard the words macaws and parrots, they explained that jurisdiction over exotic birds had been taken way from them and given to Florida Fish and Game. Florida Fish and Game explained that since the facility was not permitted by them, they had no right to enter. They added that if, in fact, birds were starving, a misdemeanor had been committed and that was the jurisdiction of the Sheriffs’ Department.

On June 15th, the feed company contacted Bob and Liz Johnson, who rescue abused, mistreated and crippled birds through a branch of their nonprofit organization, Life Awareness Inc. At that point, Liz contacted me and Dr. Susan Clubb to get a full update on what avenues had been pursued. Upon discovering that pleas for action had been thwarted by “red tape,” she called the Sheriffs’ Office and made demands. After “much insistence,” they reluctantly agreed to send out someone to investigate. The deputy immediately called the Johnsons and reported that our worst fears had been realized. The Johnsons, Dr. Clubb, I and my daughter Stacie raced to the scene to offer assistance in the feeding and care of the birds. By that time, all three of the previously contacted agencies were present.

We were totally unprepared for the sight that we encountered. It was a horror beyond belief: row after row of cages with either dead or dying green-winged and blue-and-gold macaws. Literally every pair of macaws had at least one dead member. Several had succumbed to starvation and dehydration, with their heads in their empty food bowls–a final desperate move with the hope that food would arrive before their last breath was drawn. Although the collection was made up predominately of large macaws, there were also hundreds of smaller parrots and toucans. These included Amazons, hawk heads, African greys, Jardine’s, Pionus and mini macaws. Most of these had succumbed. There were several cages with 25 to 30 birds in them that had either one or no survivors. It was a miracle that any of the birds were alive.

The feed company had told us what the farm’s approximate weekly consumption was. By taking inventory of the feed that was left in the garage, we were able to determine that the birds had not been fed in at least 10 days.

Inside the house awaited another horror. Incubators, still operating, contained dead babies that had hatched but were never fed. Aquarium brooders that were lined up against the wall all had one or two dead baby blue-and-gold macaws. All had starved to death, sitting on clean bedding, while waiting for their next meal. An open bucket of handfeeding formula was on the kitchen counter with a bowl and spoon next to it. It appeared as if someone had changed the bedding in the brooders and was ready to mix up some formula when he or she was interrupted. With our assistance, Dr. Clubb was able to tube-feed those that were too weak to eat or drink. One died in Bob Johnson’s hands while it was waiting to be tube fed. Another 60 birds that were too far gone died the following day. In all, there were only 335 birds left alive from the flock of almost 1,000. The following morning, the birds were taken to the Palm Beach Animal Control facility. Food donations, as well as volunteer labor from all the local bird clubs and organizations, began pouring in. When Lall’s family from Guyana tried to claim the birds as family property, they were presented with a bill for $130,000. The majority of this bill was Animal Control’s standard charge of $10 per animal per day for the care of confiscated animals. Ten dollars per day multiplied by 335 birds adds up very quickly. As the Lalls fought to regain the birds at a more reasonable price, the bill rose to approximately $180,000. On August 22, a judge ordered that the birds be auctioned off individually to the general public in order to raise the most money. Exactly what happened to Moses and Lila is still officially a mystery. Those who knew them said that they truly loved their birds and would never have deserted them. Moses and Lila are now considered dead. The murder investigation cannot proceed any further until their bodies are found. There were also two other people staying at the farm that were originally considered missing. They were Daljeet “Harry” Gobin, a fellow Guyanese, and Felix Eyuom, a reptile dealer from Africa. Harry Gobin is being sought for questioning.

The purpose of this article is not to try to solve an unsolved crime. It is to make everyone aware that such things can and do happen. Although this situation may be unique due to its magnitude, it is not unheard of on a smaller scale. It is not uncommon to read about animals dying from lack of care due to the undiscovered death or incapacitation of those responsible for their care.

What You Can Do

To prevent such a calamity from happening again, each and every one of you should have a plan. This plan should ensure that, should anything happen to you, it will be discovered without delay and your animals will be cared for. This can be as simple as a regularly expected phone call to a friend, a relative or someone’s answering machine. A simple statement like “I’m okay” is all that is necessary. The receiver of the regular call must be ready to notify someone who has been given written authority by you to break into your house and aviaries to care for your birds if you cannot be located. It must also be specifically stated, in a notarized document, who will hold and care for your birds until your whereabouts are discovered, or until your estate is settled. Your birds must never be allowed to be considered legally abandoned.

Lall’s birds were considered abandoned. They suffered the ultimate fate of being sold to the highest bidder without regard to the bidder’s expertise. Two thousand people converged at the auction on September 10th. Most were there to buy a cheap bird for their kids. Most bought bronco wild breeder macaws with the intention of turning them into pets.

Luckily, due to some generous monetary donations, the Johnsons were able to purchase the birds that were blind or crippled. These were purchased to be retired to the parrot sanctuary that they maintain.

All the birds were sold in small temporary holding cages with no doors and with two tiny metal cups. The idea behind no doors was to keep the public from opening the cages at the auction site after the purchase. It was explained to the buyers that the birds should be transferred to suitable housing after they were removed. Unfortunately, two weeks later buyers were still showing up at local vets with their purchases still in the temporary cages with no doors and nothing but the two tiny cups for food and water. As time went on, a large percentage of the birds were diagnosed with papilloma infections.

All proceeds from the publication of this article will go to support the parrot sanctuary run by the Johnsons. Private donations are also appreciated. Their address is Life Awareness Bird Sanctuary, P.O. Box 641032, Miami, FL 33164.

[latenightsleuth]

7 Celebrities Who Disappeared and We Still Don’t Know Where They Are

Can you imagine how hard it is to pull off a good act of vanishing? VERY hard. Just ask Steven Leung, who tried to make it look like he’d died during 9/11. Spoiler, that didn’t work. And now can you imagine someone like Beyonce just disappearing into thin air? That seems impossible. Yet, sometimes it happens.

Nexter.org prepared you a list of 7 celebs still missing today.

Scott Smith

Source: Gene Ambo

Scott Smith was a founding member of the band Loverboy but on November 30, 2000, he mysteriously disappeared at sea.

Smith, his girlfriend, and their two friends went sailing after Loverboy’s concert in Vancouver, B.C. When they were nearing San Francisco, the weather got stormy with gigantic waves. One of them knocked Smith of the vessel and into the water.

“We turned back around but couldn’t find any of the debris or cushions or the man-overboard pole,” said his friend Bill Ellis. Coast Guards and private searches couldn’t find him. His body was never found.

Rico Harris

Source: KTLA

In 2000, Rico Harris played basketball for a very famous team the Harlem Globetrotters but because of his drinking addiction he couldn’t pursue this career and went on to work as a security guard. In 2014, he was fired from there for drunkenness. When he left his mom’s house in LA and went to Seattle and stay with his girlfriend, he vanished somewhere along State Route 16 near Sacramento.

His backpack and phone were found on the roadside, but he was nowhere to be seen. Days after his disappearance people were reporting sightings of a giant person walking alongside State Route 16. Human footprints were found in the sand but not Harris.

Fan Bingbing

Source: Getty Images

Fan Bingbing is a Chinese A-list celebrity, one of the few Chinese actresses to make it to the international market. But in 2018 her movie contracts leaked onto social media and it turned out that she’d been using fake contacts to avoid paying taxes. And on July 1, she disappeared.

People think that the authorities reeducating her this way and also show other stars the consequences they could be facing. Later in October, she released an apology on her social media and the Chinese authorities stated that she would be paying a fine. Nevertheless, she still has not been seen in public.

Bison Dele

Source: Getty Images

Bison Dele whose real name is Brian Williams was a basketball player who was famously odd. When he quit basketball he was seen firing off bazookas into the desert in Lebanon, and then wandering through Asia, living as some sort of rich hobo.

In 2002, when he was in Australia, he learned to sail, bought himself a boat named the Hakuna Matata and decided to sail from Tahiti to Hawaii. He, his girlfriend, Serena Karlan, the ship’s captain, Bertran Saldo, and Dele’s older brother, Miles Dabord were on board but they never made it to Hawaii. Everyone but Dabord vanished at sea.

Dabord was arrested in Phoenix two months later trying to buy gold with his brother’s money. When he was released on bail, he committed suicide via insulin overdose. Supposedly he was prone to violence and envied his brother’s success.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Oscar Zeta Acosta

Source: Raul Ruiz/AP

Chicano activist Oscar Zeta Acosta relentlessly consumed pills, hallucinogens, and drunk alcohol in huge quantities. In May 1974, he went to his family home in Mexico and just vanished. His friend Hunter S. Thompson spent years searching for him and later claimed that he was probably killed in a drug hit or a political assassination. However, Acosta’s body was never found.

Richey Edwards

Source: Getty

A rhythm guitarist and lyricist of Manic Street Preachers Richey Edwards was a mid-1990s British rock idol whom The Guardian called “a lightning rod of sorts for adolescent angst.” He was handsome, moody, and has a talent for writing lyrics about depression.

In February 1995 he disappeared from his hotel room and his car was found abandoned near the Severn Bridge. In 2008 he was legally declared dead but his body was never found.

Jim Sullivan

Source: wotrradio

In March 1975, Jim Sullivan was heading to Nashville but he never made it there. His car was found abandoned in the desert outside Santa Rosa, New Mexico and his clothes, wallet, and guitar were all found in a nearby motel. One of his friends said that if Sullivan was planning to vanish, he would’ve never left his guitar behind.

Did you know about any of these before?

Read full article at: https://nexter.org/7-celebrities-who-disappeared-and-we-still-dont-know-where-they-are

[latenightsleuth]

Anyone who owned a television in the '80s will recognize the name Steven Stayner.

Kidnapped in 1972 at the age of 7, the California boy became a national hero when — seven years later — he not only escaped his longtime abuser but freed 5-year-old Timmy White who was being held captive alongside him.

Steven's brave act thrusted him into the national spotlight. He and Timmy attended press conferences, testified at their abductor's trials and inspired a hit 1989 TV movie called I Know My First Name Is Steven.

But while Steven was relishing in his newfound fame and working to overcome the trauma inflicted upon him during his formative years, his older brother, Cary Stayner, stood in the background quietly turning sour.

"A lot of attention went to Steven — we all got a little jealous," says one of the Stayner sisters in Hulu's upcoming docuseries Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story. "My older brother, Cary, he was off."

Ten years after Steven died in a motorcycle accident at the age of 24, something inside of Cary snapped.

Between February and July of 1999 he brutally murdered three tourists and a naturalist in Yosemite National Park: Carole Sund, 42; Juli Sund, 15; Silvina Pelosso, 16; and Joie Ruth Armstrong, 26. Two of the women's bodies were found burned in the trunk of their charred vehicle, one had her throat cut and the final victim had been decapitated.

[latenightsleuth]

VICTIM   RECAP

CRIME 360

Crime 360 was a short lived A&E tv reality series detailing actual crime investigations from the detective’s perspective, focusing on forensics. Very respectful to the victims and their families.

Season 1

.S1E1 Welcome to Homicide,  Victim:  Dean Davis Jr. 06-02-2006

S1E2 Fatal Feud,  Victim:   Vaughn Cecil McDuffie 10-22-2007

S1E3 Deadly Secrets,  Victim:   Brandon Griffin 11-08-2007

S1E4 Final Call,  Victim:   Samuel Mckinsey Big Sam Coleman Jr. 06-06-2007

S1E5 Trial By Fire,  Victim:   Michael Brown Jr. 08-10-2007

S1E6 Killing Field,  Victim:   Hugh Fat Daddy Hickson 07-05-2007

S1E7 Blood on the Tracks,  Victim:   Gabriel Gordo Feliciano 09-22-2007

S1E8 Deadly Alibis,  Victim:   Junita Nita Renea Burnley 11-03-2007

S1E9 Bad Blood,  Victim:   Raymond Gibson 11-26-2007

S1E10 Gilpen Court Shooting,  Victim:   Mario Buffy Kearney 06-18-2007

S1E11 Shots in the Dark,  Victim:   Johnny Davis Jr. 10-09-2007

All information has been compiled from Crime 360 and various sources on the internet such as Find A Grave, Ancestry, and Legacy.

#brandonjamalgriffin #samuelmckinseycolemanjr #samuelmckinseybigsamcolemanjr #michaelbrownjr #hughantwanfatdaddyhickson #gabrielgordofeciciano #juanitanitareneaburnley  #mariobuffykearney 

[latenightsleuth]

Column: Tyesha Bell is finally found, but not the way loved ones had prayed for

(Image from Tyisha's Twitter page.)

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“Until I get a knock at my door and police tell me they have found my daughter’s remains, I will continue to think of her as alive.”

I ended a column written eight years ago with that quote from Lorna Smith, whose 22-year-old daughter Tyesha Bell went missing in May of 2003.

I begin today’s with that same haunting statement because the hopes of that grieving mom were dashed forever this week when police identified the remains of Tyesha, a young mom of two small children who mysteriously walked out of her Aurora apartment one day, leaving behind her money, her purse and the two small children she adored.

Tyesha Bell’s disappearance did not get the high profile treatment as another missing Aurora person, Timmothy Pitzen, who was last seen in May of 2011. We covered her case locally over the years. But on a grander scale it did not get near the exhaustive coverage as other white young women who suddenly vanished, including Plainfield mom Lisa Stebic, or Laci Peterson or Natalee Holloway.

The only real national news Tyesha’s story got was when ABC featured it on a show about how the cases of non-white people who are missing get slighted by the media.

But over the years, Lorna Smith made it a point of contacting our newsroom on every anniversary of her daughter’s disappearance because she knew it was up to her to keep Tyesha’s name in the public eye.

And in all those interviews, Smith never lost hope.

That was especially true on the 10th anniversary of Tyesha’s disappearance in May of 2013 when national headlines that same month declared three women in Cleveland had been found alive after being held for nearly a decade in the home of a monster who eventually killed himself in prison.

A year later, Smith talked to me again about how she hangs on to optimism after receiving a series of strange hang-up calls, from Ohio of all places.

She was so hopeful those calls – at times the other person would stay on the line until she said her daughter’s name – that she even attached Tyesha’s name to the number.

Likely it was a prank, the cruelest kind of “joke” as it raised false hopes for this family that not only included Smith but Tyesha’s two daughters she was raising.

They were just 2 and 5 when their mom went missing, which means both are young women now. But throughout their childhoods they made scrapbooks and wrote beautiful poems about their mother who they knew would never have left them of her own free will.

Police always suspected foul play because of the way Tyesha vanished. Her sister, also her roommate in their apartment in the 800 block of North Randall Road, had heard her talking on the phone early the morning of May 10 and later heard her leave the apartment, never to be heard from again.

An exhaustive police investigation, including airplane and dog searches, as well as drilling holes in the floor of the home of a person of interest, had not produced any clues. Nor did a $10,000 reward Smith raised.

She’d long suspected a man who had last talked to Tyesha on the day she disappeared. But over the years, Smith told me in 2014, she let that anger and suspicions go as she relied heavily on her Christian faith to come to a place of peace.

Peace with hope.

Until now.

When I heard on Tuesday morning that there would be a press conference regarding a high-profile missing person’s case in Aurora, the first name that came to mind was Pitzen, the 6-year-old boy who has been missing since May of 2011 when his mother took him from his kindergarten class and then killed herself, leaving behind a note saying her son was safe and with people who loved him but would never be found.

Had Tuesday’s press conference been about his case, which has been featured on countless national TV shows and will again be featured on HBO, likely around the 10th anniversary, the national media would have descended on the Aurora Police Station like ants on a PB&J. There was hardly that level of attention on Tuesday, and some journalists seemed to know little about Tyesha or had files on her disappearance.

But if this past year has been a national lesson about Black Lives Matter, that certainly must include young Black women who go missing. And hopefully the press that comes with this APD announcement will bring in those tips desperately needed to make an arrest in a very old case that is now a full-fledged murder investigation.

Because the family – there were about 20 who attended Tuesday’s press conference – only recently learned Tyesha’s remains had been found in a shallow grave in a wooded area of Kane County in December, asked for privacy as they came to terms with this news. So I can’t close with a statement from Smith, but I can tell you one thing for sure.

This mother may have lost the hope she’s been holding onto these past 18 years that her daughter was still alive. But she still needs some sort of closure.

And so I will end this column not with a new quote from Lorna Smith but the phone number of the dedicated tip line for the case, 630-256-5517, and with the words of the head of the Aurora Police Department’s Bureau of Investigative Services.

“Our detectives continue to have working theories in Tyesha’s case, but we need more information before criminal charges can be authorized,” said Aurora Police Cmdr. Jack Fichtel. “We implore anyone who may have information to please come forward.”

[email protected]

By DENISE CROSBY

AURORA BEACON-NEWS | MAR 16, 2021 AT 6:11 PM

[latenightsleuth]

This is a great read about the three lighthouse keepers who disappeared just after Christmas 1899. (Donald MacArthur, James Ducat, Thomas Marshall)

[latenightsleuth]

Solving A 1964 Cold Case: Mystery Of Frank Morris