Hi, Yoda. I actually think this was interesting and worth exploring. The first thing I wondered when reading your post was how far BC's paper route went. I wonder if we could get our hands on THAT route, because whether the Hand/WW case is a hit or not, it might tell us something.
I think strangulation and head-bagging are the strongest parts of this connection you made, but WW's MO had other elements in it too. Here are some things I see that work against the connection:
- I suspect "a few miles" is too far to be part of the same route, even though when mapped you can see that the two locations are startlingly close.
- The timing of the murder of Hand's second wife (September 9, 1979) comes after the first attack on Bill (Sept. 5.), so what would BC have seen? (Also, I think if it was WW laying in wait for BC, the previous attacks on a 14-year-old would NOT have been unsuccessful.)
- The motivation to "confuse" police does not seem strong enough to sustain three attacks and the specific targeting of BC across several months.
- WW -- the friend of Hand with the strangulation MO -- seems to have been a killer for hire vs. someone acting on his own (but who knows, WW's propensities may have been what led Hand to hire him).
- If BC had seen something, I think he would have told someone (unless he didn't realize the significance of what he saw).
- WW knew that Teresa Fountain overheard his plans to kill Donna Hand for his boss, but while WW threatened her, he didn't hunt down and off Theresa.
Almost too good not to be a hit! This was great find! Could more than one ruthless murderer lived in the vicinity? The proximity to Columbus suggests maybe so ...
Question: Why are these considered cold cases when they have evidence to suggest who committed the crimes? I thought the dox you provided showed this. Is it just because WW was killed before they could try and convict him? Even under these circumstances, do they have to keep the case open?