The Springfield Three--missing since June 1992 - #4

[Trooogrit]

My take on when Garrison became a suspect is slightly different than yours. Garrison had been sitting in jail on the weapons charge for over 4 months in July 93 when SPD had his bond lowered in hopes that he would bond out and agree to talk to them about the 3MW case. SPD obviously saw him as a suspect at that time, or at a minimum thought that he had information concerning the abduction. How that all came about except for the fact that he was an ex-con is not publicly known.

While with SPD at a motel on 7/29 Garrison runs off. He is out on lawful bond; never the less SPD can’t find him to talk with him further. On 8/08 he rapes the college coed. He is finally rearrested on 8/17. Then 11 days later he leads LE on the search after providing information claiming that a friend had confessed to killing the women at a drunken party.

Isn’t it quite possible that Garrison was told in his friends confession that the women’s bodies were disposed of on the farm property but not know the exact spot? Perhaps he thought that once he took LE there that the bodies could be found easily and they were not? Or perhaps his attorney representing him on the weapons charge advised him to shut up. He may very well have been trying to leverage a better deal for himself on the weapons charge, which he was eventually convicted on later that year. He was not yet a suspect in the rape of the coed and was not hooked up on that charge until the following year.

My point is that he was a suspect in the 3MW case beginning sometime during the March – August 93 time frame before coming forth with the confession story, and may have been a developing suspect in LE’s eyes even before that.

You may very well be right about him becoming a suspect in March. I am talking more about when the crime occurred. Originally I thought he was a suspect at that time, however I read he became a suspect while in jail. So if he was playing a game with them he was incredibly foolish, or he actually has relevent information. The police made several statements to the press that he had information not known to the general public. This peaked there interest in him, and makes me believe he does know something. Whether or not he was actually involved is another story.

 

[Hurricane]

You may very well be right about him becoming a suspect in March. I am talking more about when the crime occurred. Originally I thought he was a suspect at that time, however I read he became a suspect while in jail.

So if he was playing a game with them he was incredibly foolish, or he actually has relevent information. The police made several statements to the press that he had information not known to the general public. This peaked there interest in him, and makes me believe he does know something. Whether or not he was actually involved is another story

.

Oh I agree. And remember one of his pards has a big time problem with drinking any alcohol.

 

[kashmir]

Springfield is getting a new police chief. The new chief is a major in the Tulsa PD and hopefully will take a fresh look at things. From all accounts he is a stand-up guy. I am local to Tulsa and this case is just as haunting down this way. I was actually in Springfield as a kid the weekend this happened...it was when my cousin was born. I often housesat for relatives living in Springfield as a teen and this case was never far from my mind. It has been too long.

 

[Hurricane]

My preference would be to get a good LE grant writer who can get some federal grant money for a small, full-time cold case squad to open a new investigation into this case and others. The answer might even be in the case file already. A new Chief isn’t going to make any difference when there isn’t enough time in a month to pull a couple of detectives off a fresh, current case investigation and devote any time to this cold case. Devoting personal time or even part time when available is not going to get it done. It’s going to take a couple of detectives who are authorized to work on these few cases only.

 

[wfgodot]

Case of 3 missing women from 1992 still haunts Springfield MO
KY3 News Jun 7, 2010
---
After 18 years, you might think Janis McCall has given up. However, after a chat with her in the Victim's Garden at Phelps Grove Park, where her daughter is now memorialized, you'd realize quickly that hope is still alive.

"She may be dead but what if there's that one-tenth of 1 percent and that comes true and she comes home and finds out that we gave up on her? Wouldn't that be worse?"
---
Law enforcement officers and volunteers searched high and low, and hundreds of miles were covered and uncovered all over the Ozarks. No signs of the women surfaced. Hours turned to days, days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and months turned to years.
---
"We want to help others. That's why we've done what we've done. That's why we have One Missing Link. Stacy is our link."

Now, the organization is running dry.

"We are down to the bare minimum," said McCall.

She pleads for people to keep on keeping on.

"If she has been killed and if she is buried somewhere, then somehow get us a note or a letter -- anything, but let us know where she is," she said.
---
Springfield police say the case is still an open and active case.

and more, at
http://www.ky3.com/news/local/95814919.html

 

[Hurricane]

Case of 3 missing women from 1992 still haunts Springfield MO
KY3 News Jun 7, 2010
---
After 18 years, you might think Janis McCall has given up. However, after a chat with her in the Victim's Garden at Phelps Grove Park, where her daughter is now memorialized, you'd realize quickly that hope is still alive.

"She may be dead but what if there's that one-tenth of 1 percent and that comes true and she comes home and finds out that we gave up on her? Wouldn't that be worse?"

---
Law enforcement officers and volunteers searched high and low, and hundreds of miles were covered and uncovered all over the Ozarks. No signs of the women surfaced. Hours turned to days, days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and months turned to years.
---
"We want to help others. That's why we've done what we've done. That's why we have One Missing Link. Stacy is our link."

Now, the organization is running dry.

"We are down to the bare minimum," said McCall.

She pleads for people to keep on keeping on.

"If she has been killed and if she is buried somewhere, then somehow get us a note or a letter -- anything, but let us know where she is," she said.

---
Springfield police say the case is still an open and active case.

and more, at
http://www.ky3.com/news/local/95814919.html

It really would be a hard thing to do; to give up that hope. But I think we are beginning to see a chink in the armor. As the years go by and you get older it’s only natural to think about your own mortality and as a parent with a missing child you probably begin to think that after all these years you will never really know what happened in this lifetime.

Here’s another chink in the armor qoute from last month:

“….Stacy is our One Missing Link, and we hope to close the links together one day with God's help, as he has her in his hands and is the one caring for her now.”

 

[theforgotten]

Wow, I can't believe it's been 18 years. I was in high school when it happened and remember watching the story on the news. I was so freaked out. It just makes me sad that we still don't know for sure what happened to them. Hopefully, someday we will.

 

[wfgodot]

Readers' Letters
Missing 3 women deserve justice

June 7th marked the 18th anniversary of the Springfield 3 missing women case. This case is so cold that it might as well be sitting on ice cubes. The question still remains: Just what exactly happened to Sherrill Levitt, Suzie Streeter and Stacy McCall during the early morning hours of June 7, 1992?

I have seen several cases go cold and find closure 20 years after the fact. This, at least, leaves me with some hope. Does this case make me angry? You bet it does! This was a senseless crime; the worst possible scenario.
---

and more, at
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20100610/OPINIONS03/6100323/Missing-3-women-deserve-justice

Cites "new [technological] evidence," which, though not specified, appears to allude to the parking-garage-burial scenario.

 

[Hurricane]

Readers' Letters
Missing 3 women deserve justice

June 7th marked the 18th anniversary of the Springfield 3 missing women case. This case is so cold that it might as well be sitting on ice cubes. The question still remains: Just what exactly happened to Sherrill Levitt, Suzie Streeter and Stacy McCall during the early morning hours of June 7, 1992?

I have seen several cases go cold and find closure 20 years after the fact. This, at least, leaves me with some hope. Does this case make me angry? You bet it does! This was a senseless crime; the worst possible scenario.
---

and more, at
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20100610/OPINIONS03/6100323/Missing-3-women-deserve-justice

Cites "new [technological] evidence," which, though not specified, appears to allude to the parking-garage-burial scenario.

My sentiments concerning the posters letter would be along the same lines as those in the comments of Professor-doofus (all highlights are mine):

“So, Stephanie, do you actually know of solid evidence that is being ignored? Or is this just idle speculation? I am just as interested in seeing justice done in this matter as is any other citizen. But reckless allegations thrown randomly at anonymous possessors of imagined evidence only serves to needlessly to spread your frustrations to others.” END QUOTE.

I only wish more people like Professor-doofus could find there way to some of these forums.

 

[Hurricane]

A lot of misinformation and I think disinformation has been thrown out concerning drugs in this case, and about the act of institutional vandalism committed by the 3GR’s. First it was claimed that the one common thread made by tipsters in anonymous emails was “meth & Marshfield”, but somewhere along the way that got changed to “meth & Rogersville” to better fit a theory. If you read what Riedel gave sworn deposition to and what his attorney told the judge in open court, it was LSD that he (they?) was/were under the influence of when they broke into the mausoleum. (N-L 12/05/92).

LSD, a psychedelic, psychotropic drug from the 1950’s – 1960’s; sort of gives new meaning to why they might have broken into the mausoleum, I think.

QUOTE:

“LSD made a comeback in the 1990s, especially through the acid house scene and raver subculture.” END QUOTE.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_LSD


A claim has been made that the vandalism of the mausoleum was a hate crime carried out against a member of the Jewish faith; and that it was possibly carried out because the widow of the deceased made a bequeath to a hospital other than Cox Hospital.

Here are the facts concerning the mausoleum and those who it holds in internment:

*The victim of the vandalism and his widow both passed in the 1960’s.
*The victim was an unusually large man and therefore would have had a large head/skull.
*The mausoleum belongs to the widow’s parents and the four are interned there together.
*The victim’s surname does not appear anywhere on the mausoleum.
*The mausoleum is one of only three (perhaps four, I don’t recall 100%) mausoleums in the small Maple Park Cemetery.
*The mausoleum is the only one with a stained glass window in the side wall. Goes to ease of entry.
*Riedel stated that he and Clay went in thru the stained glass window, and that they had to be boosted up to get in. Recla gave them a boost up.

The above facts would hardly indicate that this was a Jewish hate crime carried out so many years after their deaths, but the facts do tell us why this mausoleum was chosen over the others (ease of entry).

Could the fact that Riedel (and possibly all 3GR’s) was/were on LSD contributed to what happened in the cemetery? I think so.
When taking LSD widely different effects and experiences emerge depending upon what researchers such as Timothy Leary called “set and setting”; the "set" being the general mindset of the user, and the "setting" being the physical and social environment in which the drug's effects are experienced.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysergic_acid_diethylamide


QUOTE:

“Set and setting describes the context for psychoactive and particularly psychedelic drug experiences: one's mindset and the setting in which the user has the experience. This is especially relevant for psychedelic or hallucinogenic experiences; the term was coined by Timothy Leary.”

“The nature of the experience depends almost entirely on set and setting. Set denotes the preparation of the individual, including his personality structure and his mood at the time. Setting is physical — the weather, the room's atmosphere; social — feelings of persons present towards one another; and cultural — prevailing views as to what is real.” END QUOTE.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_and_setting


This does not sit well with me personally and I am not defending Riedel but after the vandalism he could possibly have even suffered from a psychogenic fugue brought on by the use of LSD causing reversible amnesia for personal identity and causing him to leave the area and establish a new one, until he was rearrested. The fugue state can last months or longer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugue_state

 

[Trooogrit]

I am glad that more of the facts of the vandalism have been revealed. That should dismiss all of the nonsense that has originated because of the little public information about that crime. I have never believed that this crime was the reason for the 3 missing women.

As I was typing my response I thought of another angle on this event and I will stress this is hypothetical.

What if Suzie was the crime stoppers tip? She was the one that turned them in anonomously. However after she did this, she revealed this to someone. She wouldnt even have to reveal it if the perps knew she was the only one that knew about there crime. The other possibility is Sherrill being the source of the tip? Now I do not believe that Suzies testimony was of relevence to the case, but if she or her mother were the source of that tip and were revealed, then there were would be a motive?

A few things that led me down this trail of thinking.

A. Suzie was not in great spirits at the graduation. Fellow students said she seemed sad. Possibly worried?

B. She felt ill (stomach ache) at the parties, sometimes this can be brought on by worry.

C. Obscene phone call at the home on the answering machine. Never have heard the nature of the call.

D. She took a friend home with her. Gave her comfort in thinking she would be safe with an innocent person.

E. This might explain no forced entry. She knew who was at the door or in the driveway.

One other thought, of the 3 grave robbers, 2 of the 3 may not even know if one of them took matters into his own hands with other participants.

Anyway, go ahead and shoot holes in it, I just thought maybe this was a different way of tying that event to the crime. I still do not believe this was the reason, but it might be possible.

 

[Missouri Mule]

Seems plausible to me. We'll never know what she might have hypothetically turned in to the tipster line but if the perps knew that only she was in possession of that information they knew they had a "mole" in their ranks and would have motive to remove her.

The only problem I have is why she let anyone in. What gave her comfort that the person was to be trusted?

I do think the thrust of the entry theories is that one of two common methods was used to gain entry. One was they knew the perp(s). The other is that a "ruse" was used to gain entry. Another little discussed possibility is that they were simply followed to the home and when the door was opened simply barged in and then proceeded to subdue the women having nearly three hours to clean up the crime scene.

But the biggest hurdle to overcome is to determine the actual motive, sufficient for surveillance to have occurred over several weeks and what could possibly be so serious that no other method was envisioned short of a triple homicide. That had to be a very serious issue to have resulted in this crime. Since a significant number of crimes are committed in the act of drug dealing or dealing with people who pose a threat to the drug operation it is not unreasonable to postulate that this was the underlying reason why this crime took place.

 

[Trooogrit]

Well that is a hypothetical scenario. I think that her statement was irrellivent, based on the facts, we can see she was not a participant. So with that being said it would take something more to make her a target.

 

[Hurricane]

I am glad that more of the facts of the vandalism have been revealed. That should dismiss all of the nonsense that has originated because of the little public information about that crime. I have never believed that this crime was the reason for the 3 missing women.

As I was typing my response I thought of another angle on this event and I will stress this is hypothetical.

What if Suzie was the crime stoppers tip? She was the one that turned them in anonomously. However after she did this, she revealed this to someone. She wouldnt even have to reveal it if the perps knew she was the only one that knew about there crime. The other possibility is Sherrill being the source of the tip? Now I do not believe that Suzies testimony was of relevence to the case, but if she or her mother were the source of that tip and were revealed, then there were would be a motive?

A few things that led me down this trail of thinking.

A. Suzie was not in great spirits at the graduation. Fellow students said she seemed sad. Possibly worried?

B. She felt ill (stomach ache) at the parties, sometimes this can be brought on by worry.

C. Obscene phone call at the home on the answering machine. Never have heard the nature of the call.

D. She took a friend home with her. Gave her comfort in thinking she would be safe with an innocent person.

E. This might explain no forced entry. She knew who was at the door or in the driveway.

One other thought, of the 3 grave robbers, 2 of the 3 may not even know if one of them took matters into his own hands with other participants.

Anyway, go ahead and shoot holes in it, I just thought maybe this was a different way of tying that event to the crime. I still do not believe this was the reason, but it might be possible.

The answer to the possibility that Suzie was the tipster concerning the vandalism probably lies with her relationship with Recla. If she was repulsed by his actions (in February) enough to report him to LE then I would think that she would also be willing to end their relationship at that time. When did the tip come in to LE, and when did their relationship end? If their relationship was still somewhat ongoing, even though it might have been floundering then I would say that Suzie was not the tipster. On the other hand I could see where Sherrill might have been the anonymous tipster after being confided in by Suzie.

It’s just my opinion but I believe that Suzie might have seemed sad or melancholy because a chapter in her life was closing and the next one didn’t look as promising. Her immediate friends were already in college or were going to college that fall, and she was going to cosmetology school. Stacy & Janelle were going to be roommates living on campus. Not much of a social life in cosmetology school, especially if she was finished with Recla. It may have seemed to her that her friends were moving on without her. The stress of it all may have brought on the stomach ache. And even though she had an unexpected friend stop by to wish her well, we know that she was running late in getting ready and leaving for the parties after having pizza with her mom. It might have been that she didn’t really even want to go out, for the above reasons. And if my opinion is close to being correct then her mood had no bearing on this case.

 

[Trooogrit]

Seems plausible to me. We'll never know what she might have hypothetically turned in to the tipster line but if the perps knew that only she was in possession of that information they knew they had a "mole" in their ranks and would have motive to remove her.

The only problem I have is why she let anyone in. What gave her comfort that the person was to be trusted?

I do think the thrust of the entry theories is that one of two common methods was used to gain entry. One was they knew the perp(s). The other is that a "ruse" was used to gain entry. Another little discussed possibility is that they were simply followed to the home and when the door was opened simply barged in and then proceeded to subdue the women having nearly three hours to clean up the crime scene.

But the biggest hurdle to overcome is to determine the actual motive, sufficient for surveillance to have occurred over several weeks and what could possibly be so serious that no other method was envisioned short of a triple homicide. That had to be a very serious issue to have resulted in this crime. Since a significant number of crimes are committed in the act of drug dealing or dealing with people who pose a threat to the drug operation it is not unreasonable to postulate that this was the underlying reason why this crime took place.

The only drug activity was likely by the perp. Nothing has ever tied Sherrill to drugs, and nothing to tie Suzie either. I think it is a stretch to take the rumors that have floated and create a motive that has little or nothing to back it up. Now that we know the circumstances of the vandalism it is even more difficult to make that a motive. That has been the long standing connection to drugs, but looking at the crime it appears as though the vandals were stupid young guys high on LSD. If you take away the entire drug angle what do you have left? Sexual assault or abduction by the likes of a serial killer or rapist. A stalker or unknown associate that was jilted.

 

[Missouri Mule]

The only drug activity was likely by the perp. Nothing has ever tied Sherrill to drugs, and nothing to tie Suzie either. I think it is a stretch to take the rumors that have floated and create a motive that has little or nothing to back it up. Now that we know the circumstances of the vandalism it is even more difficult to make that a motive. That has been the long standing connection to drugs, but looking at the crime it appears as though the vandals were stupid young guys high on LSD. If you take away the entire drug angle what do you have left? Sexual assault or abduction by the likes of a serial killer or rapist. A stalker or unknown associate that was jilted.

I didn't intend to convey the impression that I believed that Sherrill or Suzie were into drugs either as a user, seller or any other capacity. Nevetheless, if information was known by those who had a vested interest
in keeping such information about their own activities secret it could have presented a motive for someone to remove the threat. I base this on the surveillance of the neighborhood prior to the abductions. Clearly someone was "casing" the neighborhood for some purpose and we know this because they were never seen after the abductions. I don't know how that can easily be explained away. What puzzles me is how the various police agencies who have looked at the case believe this was a sexual assault. That's where I keep coming back to Cox. Both Cox and Garrison have known criminal histories in this area. Even if one believes that Cox doesn't have anything to do with this crime they have to explain why he voluntarily subjects himself to solitary and I believe almost to a certainty that Garrison knows more than he is saying. In any event both have clammed up. Why?

 

[Trooogrit]

Cruising the neighborhood could indicate stalking. It could indicate other things as well. Working in the area might have given the perp a look at the women, and maybe an unknown encounter. I think it is about as simple as not much pointing to drugs or personal family......sexual assault is the next likely motive.

 

[olddog]

Although the house in question was/is lower class, the area just west of the 1717 address is an area of older upscale homes. I would think a thief might spend time observing homes in that area if he were to be planning a rash of stealing. And as Mule can tell you Delmar is a good way in and out of that area. I seem to recall Delmar running all the way from Glennstone to National right through that "upscale" area.

 

[Missouri Mule]

The white van and the guy with the long flowing hair described as being in the neighborhood before the abductions has long baffled me. It occurred to me today that the reason it could have disappeared after the abductions is that with all of the police in the neighborhood it would have been seen as out of place if he had come back and would have drawn attention to itself.

Indeed, there are "old money" houses to the east and tantamount to a "gated community" one might see in modern communities without the gates. I've been in that area several times and while the homes are not new they obviously are homes to people with means and with that comes assets worth something to burglars. It cannot be said of Levitt's very modest home but some have assumed that the van was somehow connected to the abductions. The actual truth is that it might never have had anything to do with the actual abductions and was merely coincidental. I do recall from the "48 Hours" programs that the patrol officers were checking all traffic going into the area. Any potential burglars would obviously have been spooked.

 

[olddog]

I miss spoke, Delmar jogs at Fremont, before goingh on to National. However if you google earth the area you will see a number of back yard INGROUND pools, and tennis courts. Not a real common occurrence in Springfield.