Identified! Canada - Casselman, Ont, 'Nation River Lady' WhtFem 239UFON, 25-50, May'75 *POI charged* - Jewell Parchman Langford

[AndrewM71]

Oh......!!!

He's one I was looking at....(actually, the main one)
He's got records in FL, going back to the late 80's....Same age....Not a nice guy....

Can you share more?

I found a petition (court action) filed in Broward County against another man but can’t figure out what it concerns. It’s classified as “family/other”.

 

[Friday Fan]

Can you share more?

I found a petition (court action) filed in Broward County against another man but can’t figure out what it concerns. It’s classified as “family/other”.

He has FL records for assault in the late 80's
FL public records show a divorce in 1990
Don't have access to civil courts.


Records indicate he's likely a US citizen and not a nice person.
He also has arrests in NC (unspecified)

 

[AddyFinch]

BOOM.. Here it comes......."Nichols recently developed cognitive and memory issues, as reported by his power of attorney, the documents say. OPP investigators who interviewed Nichols were aware of this and conducted an assessment of his mental condition before finding him to be fit for questioning, the documents say".
So he changes his story, then confesses, and now lawyer claims cognition issues, they are smearing the playing field with doubt. I feel sorry for the family that would like resolution. I wonder how OPP found him fit? Geriatric assessment no doubt, but some smart lawyer will blow that to bits.

 

[dotr]

Aug 8 2023

Retired Florida man, 81, admits murder of girlfriend 50 years ago

A retired Florida man who suffers from dementia has confessed to the cold murder case of his girlfriend after nearly 50 years because he 'had to come clean', court documents revealed.

www.dailymail.co.uk

By KAMAL SULTAN
''A retired Florida man who suffers from dementia has confessed to the cold case murder of his girlfriend after nearly 50 years because he 'had to come clean', court documents revealed. ''

''Nichols was interviewed by police on June 7, 1975 and he told them he came home one night when Langford was intoxicated and they got into an argument.

He claimed she told him she had plans to travel across Canada and, despite attempts to get her to stay, she was gone the next morning.''

''He then told authorities he had received a call from Langford in early June to say she would be coming back to Montreal for his birthday.

Investigators then followed up with him but he said he did not hear anything from her since and he was not considered to be a suspect.

Once Langford was identified to be the woman found in the river, authorities determined that his story did not add up.''

''He initially denied any involvement in her death and changed his story multiple times, saying she drowned after their boat capsized before claiming she tried to drown herself.

But he then admitted to murdering her at his Montreal home before dumping her body in the river, according to the court document.''

 

[AddyFinch]

Foolish judge letting him return home…does he think violent assaults don’t happen in assisted living/nursing homes? LOL, boy could I tell you some stories! If this accused does indeed have dementia/feigning dementia, his lawyer will play the most believable defence. Both mean it’s doubtful he’ll ever see court, even if they can prove he was clear in mind when offence took place, which now is improbable. Lots of incarcerate take credit for murders they never do, and they aren’t old and senile. I’m a supporter of the police, but think they dropped the ball here in ’75.

 

[Friday Fan]

Foolish judge letting him return home…does he think violent assaults don’t happen in assisted living/nursing homes? LOL, boy could I tell you some stories! If this accused does indeed have dementia/feigning dementia, his lawyer will play the most believable defence. Both mean it’s doubtful he’ll ever see court, even if they can prove he was clear in mind when offence took place, which now is improbable. Lots of incarcerate take credit for murders they never do, and they aren’t old and senile. I’m a supporter of the police, but think they dropped the ball here in ’75.

Is the judge letting him return home? According to the DM, he's in federal detention pending extradition. His defense attorney wants him out.

 

[StarrChance]

Could he have been born in England? There is a Rodney Meryvn Nichols about the right age in England that committed a burglary and the injured women died in 1967.

 

[Friday Fan]

Could he have been born in England? There is a Rodney Meryvn Nichols about the right age in England that committed a burglary and the injured women died in 1967.

I believe there is some connection to the UK. He think he joined the military over there and didn't stick around.

He was born in Nova Scotia

• He joined the British Army in 1961, but only served 1 yr, didn't complete his training

 

[AddyFinch]

Sorry public defender requesting he be allowed to return home. I honestly see this case going nowhere, due to “confusion” claim. Extradition motion could take years (stalled). Maybe holding a wheelchair bound senile 81 year old in jail during stalling period is justice served?? Sad for family.

 

[dotr]

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA Case No. IN THE M ATTER OF THE EXTRADITION OF RODNEY M ERVYN NICHOLS COM PLAINT (18 U.S.C. j 3184) 1

Wheelchair-bound man with dementia confessed to businesswoman's cold case murder: Documents

Rodney Mervyn Nichols, 81, allegedly told investigators he "had to come clean" in confessing that he murdered beloved Tennessee businesswoman Jewell Parchman Langford and dumped her body in a river.

lawandcrime.com

''Authorities claim they determined Nichols was verbal and able to engage in conversation, and that he demonstrated accurate recall, such as when he corrected the interviewing officer about the name of his former rugby club and criticized the lunch he had just eaten.''

''Lopez called the investigators’ mental capacity test “laughably inept” and that it fell short of what is required to make sure someone is fully aware of the nature and circumstances of the interrogation, the rights he had, and whether he knowingly and voluntarily waived those rights.''

“The Victim was partially nude, her hands and feet were bound with neckties, a twenty-four-inch piece of black plastic-covered coaxial cable wire was loosely around her neck, and her head was covered by a handcloth, a towel, and a tablecloth, which were knotted tightly around her neck,” documents stated.

The autopsy found two fracture injuries to her larynx. The coroner’s report concluded she died of strangulation by ligature of the neck.

“The presence of swelling of the wrists around the ligatures suggested to Canadian authorities that the Victim was alive when her wrists and ankles were tied,” prosecutors wrote. But her lungs contained no water. In light of that, Canadian investigators believed she was dead before entering the water.''

 

[AddyFinch]

^^^Great find…boy this old guy was a piece of work. I really believe if LE from 75 had of pursued questioning him, he would’ve confessed then. How could they not be suspicious with all the changing of stories. A full geriatric assessment and cognitive exam are more intense than a mini mental, and results assessed by qualified personnel (ie. psychogeriatrician)Cops aren’t trained for that. Their results wouldn’t stand up in court. Guess his DNA didn’t get any other hits……..yet.

 

[AndrewM71]

^^^Great find…boy this old guy was a piece of work. I really believe if LE from 75 had of pursued questioning him, he would’ve confessed then. How could they not be suspicious with all the changing of stories. A full geriatric assessment and cognitive exam are more intense than a mini mental, and results assessed by qualified personnel (ie. psychogeriatrician)Cops aren’t trained for that. Their results wouldn’t stand up in court. Guess his DNA didn’t get any other hits……..yet.

They would have been running his DNA long ago, before they identified him.

 

[Cedars]

They would have been running his DNA long ago, before they identified him.

I don't believe they have any DNA from the crime. That's why his confession is such a key piece of evidence.

Ontario police only found the link to him recently, because they finally identified Jewell through her DNA geneology, and her family told them about her living with a guy in Montreal when she disappeared.

I don't believe that, in 1975, Montreal police had probable cause to arrest him and or evidence to take him to trial. They had no body, they had no crime scene. A recently-divorced woman visiting from the US could have been anywhere.

They didn't know her body had been found in Ontario. It was 1975, that wasn't expected to happen. Murder wasn't so common amongst 'nice' people. Ted Bundy hadn't been caught yet.

Technology/communications have caught up with that problem, but back then, it was the reality. Also, potentially, the language issue made it worse.

JMO

 

[AddyFinch]

From ^ crime article “Nichols voluntarily gave investigators a DNA sample, prosecutors said. This allegedly matched the partial male DNA profile collected in 2011 from the green cloth wrapped around Langford’s face and neck.”.

Casselman has a huge French speaking population, even back then, but I don’t recall being bilingual was a requirement for OPP application in 75, but maybe being located in Ottawa valley, it was??? And communication issues back then definitely, esp if you factor in Montreal PD / QPP/ OPP reluctance to “share” with each othe. Sad but rumours say it was true???

 

[branmuffin]

Adding to the timeline from the article:
He was still playing rugby in Canada in 1983

___________________________

I don't know if he's a US citizen, but here are several ways to obtain citizenship:
Marriage and money. (Yes, you can buy citizenship)

Wish he had a middle name.

There are a few marriages in Florida with his name.
There is a divorce for someone with his age and name in Florida (1990)
There is someone with his name and age residing in Florida in 1995.
There is someone with his name and age with "connections" to Hollywood, Florida and another state.

Caveat: name and age don't mean much and it could be a different person, especially since we don't have a middle name for this guy.

Or he could have been married and resided somewhere else in the US and became a citizen and retired in Florida recently. Since he's in an assisted living community, there probably wouldn't be a FL paper trail for him....
Who knows.....But there are numerous ways he could have become a US citizen.

(Also, if going back 30 years or more, he could have possibly had a fraudulent citizenship and they're having to check things out before he's extradited)

I wouldn't be surprised to find out he's married American women more than once. I know two men who have gained American citizenship by marrying an American woman. He sounds like a charmer, the life of the party, a smooth talker who can charm his way into someone's life. Lot's of widows in Florida.

 

[branmuffin]

I don't believe he was born in Nova Scotia. I think he had ties to Canada because he might have been one of those kids that was sent to Canada during the war. If he's 81 he was born in 1941 or 42. Britain sent children as young as 3 to Canada, Australia and South Africa to avoid the bombing in large urban areas. He may have come back to Canada as a young man but returned to the UK for military service. Conscription in the UK didn't end until the early 60s which may be why he didn't finish his service.

I think he's a con man that weaves stories around the partial truth. Not every 81 old suffers from dementia. He might get confused with the lies he tells.

I used to work for the OPP. Bilingualism is definitely a plus when duration postings are in French speaking communities but it may not have been a requirement back then. Usually the OPP does not post their recruits into areas where they reside. So a French speaking recruit from Casselman might be posted in Smooth Rock Falls, Ignace or Timmins.

 

[StarrChance]

This is a newspaper article from 1967 England, right age range but not sure if the same Rodney Mervyn Nichols. The lady died, I couldn’t find any more information on the trial. His electoral roll stops after 1967.

 

[branmuffin]

This is a newspaper article from 1967 England, right age range but not sure if the same Rodney Mervyn Nichols. The lady died, I couldn’t find any more information on the trial. His electoral roll stops after 1967.

View attachment 440077

I wonder if the investigating officers are aware of this article and the possibility that Nichols has attacked women before, if in fact, this is the same person. The combination of the two names would be pretty rare, I would think.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Rodney Marvyn Nichols is being held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami, pending extradition to Canada, where he is charged with murder, authorities said. He had lived in Montreal with Jewell Parchman Langford when the woman went missing, police said.

Officers with the Ontario Provisional Police had previously flown to Florida to interview Nichols at the North-Lake Retirement Home where he resided. Accompanied by FBI agents, the law enforcement officials questioned Nichols in February 2022, when he allegedly said he “had to come clean” and confessed to killing Langford.

But in a motion filed Wednesday, federal public defender Bernardo Lopez questioned the validity of that alleged confession, saying Nichols suffers from profound dementia, needs daily medication and is confined to a wheelchair.

"There are serious questions as to whether he has any real idea of what is transpiring from day to day," the motion says. Attorney Lopez is seeking bail for the elderly man.

“The Federal Detention Center is no place for someone with Mr. Nichol’s frailties and vulnerabilities,” Lopez said in his motion for bail.

Elderly Man With Dementia Confesses to 1975 Murder: Court Documents

An 81-year-old man with dementia was arrested at his nursing home after he confessed to the cold case murder of his girlfriend nearly 50 years ago, court documents say.

www.insideedition.com

 

[branmuffin]

During that era, the 60s, a lot of people were still coming to Canada, for new job opportunities. Traveling by plane was still expensive, but booking a transatlantic crossing on a ship could still be pretty cheap below decks. Depending on the cruise lines they stopped in different areas. I traveled back and forth from England on ships several times when I was a kid because my mom was terrified to fly. Sometimes we landed in Quebec City, sometimes in New York City but Halifax was also a port of entry to Canada. Which might be where he concocted his born in Nova Scotia narrative. I'm really beginning to wonder about this guy.