FL FL- Andrea Ford, 38, shot back of head, 29 Oct. '97, & Dawn Petterson, 38, shot in back of head, 9 Sep '99, *Both shot from same.25 caliber gun*

[dotr]

Feb 16, 2024
Two women killed in a similar fashion just two years apart. But the question is, who pulled the trigger?
February 16, 2024

UNSOLVED: Two women, killed two years apart with the same gun

Two women killed in a similar fashion just two years apart. But the question is, who pulled the trigger?

www.firstcoastnews.com

''FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — The combined case files are around 15,000 pages thick.
Details of the deaths of two women, Andrea Ford and Dawn Petterson. They lived similar lives and died similar deaths.
"We don't know if they knew each other or not, but it is likely they crossed paths at least once," said Detective Sarah Scalia with the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.

The case begins the morning of Oct. 29, 1997. The report states a bus driver discovered the body of Andrea Ford lying on the side of State Road 100 near County Road 302. A gunshot wound to the back of the head.
"They remove the bullet from her head and it is a .25 caliber," Scalia said. "There are no suspects, no information, not even a crime scene - nothing around her."
''With little information, the case went cold. Then two years later: another victim.
Sept. 9, 1999. Petterson was found dumped on the side of Seminole Woods Parkway near Squash Blossom Trail. Dead from a gunshot wound to the back of the head, also a .25 caliber.
"They determine that they were fired from the same gun," explains Scalia.
Which leads to the belief that the same person killed both Andrea and Dawn. So could there be a serial killer?''

 

[dotr]

FCSO Cold Case 97-25596: Homicide, Andrea Ford

www.flaglersheriff.com

 

[dotr]

FCSO Cold Case 99-22207: Homicide, Dawn Petterson

www.flaglersheriff.com

 

[Cryptic]

As a side note....

A bullet's power and well.... lethality (horrible thought in this case) comes from two general means: A. velocity B. weight.

Designers try to balance both to get an ideal velocity to weight ratio for the type of weapon that they envision will fire the bullet. My general understanding is that the .25 caliber bullet flubbed as a design. It had neither the velocity of the .22, nor sufficient weight to compensate.

All the above trivia aside, .25 caliber pistols are pretty rare. That would be doubly so in the earlier days of the internet before google and associated web pages enable one to find and buy pretty much anything with in seconds.

Modern .25 pistols tend to be made by Berretta (expensive "real thing") or Taurus. Taurus ("Acceptable- but not the real thing"). There are probably some "Saturday Night Specials" out there as well- but my bet is that they are also rare.

Going on..... The unusual .25 caliber, and especially a Berretta .25 could suggest a fire arms enthusiast that sought one out. As Berrettas are expensive, such a perpetrator would need sufficient income to buy one. He would not need to be wealthy at all. But, the cost and the need to seek it out would be beyond the means of most semi homeless or drug addict type perpetrators.

Going out on a limb.....

The victim has tattoos and is pictured with alcohol. Maybe out law biker affiliated? Out law bikers inherently like ike "nice toys" (bikes are worth alot). Most of their income is probably consumed by the bike. But.... the "nice, cool and different" toy approach could extend to unusual pistols from famous brands. Maybe a .25 caliber Berretta?

 

[DS2021]

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — The combined case files are around 15,000 pages thick.
Details of the deaths of two women, Andrea Ford and Dawn Petterson. They lived similar lives and died similar deaths.

 BBM what does that mean i wonder?

 

[carbuff]

As a side note....

A bullet's power and well.... lethality (horrible thought in this case) comes from two general means: A. velocity B. weight.

Designers try to balance both to get an ideal velocity to weight ratio for the type of weapon that they envision will fire the bullet. My general understanding is that the .25 caliber bullet flubbed as a design. It had neither the velocity of the .22, nor sufficient weight to compensate.

All the above trivia aside, .25 caliber pistols are pretty rare. That would be doubly so in the earlier days of the internet before google and associated web pages enable one to find and buy pretty much anything with in seconds.

Modern .25 pistols tend to be made by Berretta (expensive "real thing") or Taurus. Taurus ("Acceptable- but not the real thing"). There are probably some "Saturday Night Specials" out there as well- but my bet is that they are also rare.

Going on..... The unusual .25 caliber, and especially a Berretta .25 could suggest a fire arms enthusiast that sought one out. As Berrettas are expensive, such a perpetrator would need sufficient income to buy one. He would not need to be wealthy at all. But, the cost and the need to seek it out would be beyond the means of most semi homeless or drug addict type perpetrators.

Going out on a limb.....

The victim has tattoos and is pictured with alcohol. Maybe out law biker affiliated? Out law bikers inherently like ike "nice toys" (bikes are worth alot). Most of their income is probably consumed by the bike. But.... the "nice, cool and different" toy approach could extend to unusual pistols from famous brands. Maybe a .25 caliber Berretta?

I don't know whether it's still true, but the small pistols like the .25 Beretta used to be popular with women who wanted something that could be carried in a handbag. My first thought reading the description of the crimes was 'that doesn't sound like a man's crime."

 

[Laughing]

@GatorFL , because you know about firearms & Florida.

Re: similar lifestyle -- the image of Dawn Petterson made me wonder if she was a bodybuilder?

Now, I do get plenty of exercise jumping to conclusions, and have been known to create dots when there are not quite enough dots to connect....

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[GatorFL]

@GatorFL , because you know about firearms & Florida.

Re: similar lifestyle -- the image of Dawn Petterson made me wonder if she was a bodybuilder?

Now, I do get plenty of exercise jumping to conclusions, and have been known to create dots when there are not quite enough dots to connect....

jmho ymmv lrr

I grew up in that area. I don't know the Palm Coast area very well but where Andrea Ford was found off SR 100, I used to drive to and from Gainesville that way at times back when I was in college. It's out in the middle of nowhere.

I agree with @Cryptic's post. All of it. .25 caliber is pretty rare, especially these days. Even in the mid 90's it was rare, people were opting for either a .22 where the ammo was readily available and cheap or a .380 or 9MM for the additional firepower. Side note, I have a 1000 round brick of .22 ammo I paid $8.99 for back then. That same amount of ammo is 10x that price today, if you can find it.

I also agree they were biker chicks. I thought I saw in the clip one of them had various arrests for prostitution. Back then the most dangerous gang was The Outlaws. In the mid 90's there was a pretty high profile raid/multiple arrests/evictions of The Outlaws from their clubhouse. I think the main leader went on the run and was placed on the 10 most wanted list and they got him a year later. I would not be surprised if these ladies were somehow affiliated. I tried to do some court record searches but the website is down right now.

If they were biker chicks I think there is a reasonable possibility they might have had beers with Aileen Wuornos. She was arrested at The Last Resort, that was a huge biker hangout back then.

 

[GatorFL]

 BBM what does that mean i wonder?

Biker chicks, IMO.

 

[Cryptic]

I also agree they were biker chicks. I thought I saw in the clip one of them had various arrests for prostitution. Back then the most dangerous gang was The Outlaws. In the mid 90's there was a pretty high profile raid/multiple arrests/evictions of The Outlaws from their clubhouse. I think the main leader went on the run and was placed on the 10 most wanted list and they got him a year later.

Big name 2% groups like the Outlaws in the mid 1990s tended also to be criminal organizations from the ground up 24/7/365 (unlike most modern 2% groups that have criminal individual members, but the group as a whole is not).

Thus, the "need" to murder say two prostitutes who wanted out, drug couriers caught stealing, affiliates who got "uppity", or stash house guardians who got sticky fingers- or failed to protect the stash was probably far more likely to be "greenlighted" by a 2" group back then.

If it was Biker related, I am thinking that it must have been club sanctioned rather than an individual grudge. I can see a 2% group tolerating one murder for personal reasosn, but two would probably be seen as erratic, prone to attract police attention and bad for the group's "bidness". Thus, the member would become a uhhmmm "liability"?

 

[GatorFL]

I did a little sleuthing and both of these ladies had minor arrests for various crimes such as prostitution, exposure of breasts, trespassing and a couple other things. They definitely lived their lives a little bit seedy and I say that not trying to victim shame at all, I just wanted to give a little context on the supposition they were biker chicks.

Having grown up in that area and worked with a number of bikers, I can attest the vast majority of them were great people with hearts of gold. I can remember going into Froggy's with some of my coworkers after work and a couple of bikers objected to my presence (my appearance was early 90's preppy kid just old enough to drink) and my coworkers came to my defense. I ended up being able to go into any biker bar afterwards without fear of an altercation since I had people who vouched for me.

Although I was never a biker, I still look back fondly on those days. These were the people who taught me a lot about life. How to respect people, no matter what their outward appearance is. How to cook. How to drink. How to ride a motorcycle. Even how to shoot. I had grown up with guns but these guys were all next level, many of them being Vietnam vets.

I moved south in 1996, and most of those guys have passed away now.

 

[LadyL]

Big name 2% groups like the Outlaws in the mid 1990s tended also to be criminal organizations from the ground up 24/7/365 (unlike most modern 2% groups that have criminal individual members, but the group as a whole is not).

Thus, the "need" to murder say two prostitutes who wanted out, drug couriers caught stealing, affiliates who got "uppity", or stash house guardians who got sticky fingers- or failed to protect the stash was probably far more likely to be "greenlighted" by a 2" group back then.

If it was Biker related, I am thinking that it must have been club sanctioned rather than an individual grudge. I can see a 2% group tolerating one murder for personal reasosn, but two would probably be seen as erratic, prone to attract police attention and bad for the group's "bidness". Thus, the member would become a uhhmmm "liability"?

What'a 2% group? I googled but nothing came up.

 

[Cryptic]

What'a 2% group? I googled but nothing came up.

Its a reference to out law bikers.

It stems from a quote made in 1950s or so that only 2% of motorcycle owners are problem people. Thus, a certain number of out law bikers wear 2% patches. The term was then extended to certain clubs as being "2%" or not.

 

[LadyL]

Its a reference to out law bikers.

It stems from a quote made in 1950s or so that only 2% of motorcycle owners are problem people. Thus, a certain number of out law bikers wear 2% patches. The term was then extended to certain clubs as being "2%" or not.

and they're proud of it ...
I wonder if that extends to committing certain crimes in order to be inducted into the 2% club

 

[dotr]

and they're proud of it ...
I wonder if that extends to committing certain crimes in order to be inducted into the 2% club

In Canada, afaik- they are called 1%..
''What is 1% in gang?
Styling themselves “outlaws” or “one-percenters”, they wear a patch on their jackets showing a 1 % sign inside a diamond shape. This means that they belong to an outlaw motorcycle gang, such as the Hells Angels, Bandidos or Outlaws. Since 2005, there has been steady growth in the membership of such gangs worldwide.''

1% gang - Google Search

 

[Cryptic]

and they're proud of it ...
I wonder if that extends to committing certain crimes in order to be inducted into the 2% club

Maybe in previous generations, but not anymore.

The initial generations of bikers who founded 1% / 2% clubs have suffered heavy casualties from decades of biker violence, road accidents, mega long "forever home" type prison sentences and.... from plain old hard living based on copious use of alcohol and cigarretes.

As a result, there is a lot of new blood in the groups. Most, if not nearly all such clubs have de emphasized criminality. All of them still have individual criminal members, but the groups as a whole are no longer criminal- at least not usually.