I had the same thought about Cold Justice becoming involved but I'll bet there are tons of cases already on their docket. Could Sheila and the other Sharp family members pressure the locals to request their help? These family members have waited far too long for answers!
If anyone doesn't already know, Parts 1 & 2 of the documentary are now available free on YouTube, at least in No. America. While it's certainly an interesting documentary, I'd caution folks that it's chock full of gossip and wild speculation. Examples: Drug related?
Not likely. Drug murders are usually a quick shot to the head and the perpetrators are OUT of there...These killers were disorganized. They have none of the characteristics of a professional hit. Mom was on welfare?
Irrelevant. Sue was "
sleeping with men for money"? Where is the evidence? Marty confessed to his counselor? Interesting, but his statement is
troubling for a lot of reasons not important here. (One major problem is the abduction of Tina. To silence her? Why not kill her right there?) Further, his motivation is troubling as he claims therapists are obliged to report crime which is patently false. (See US vs. Farrar, 281 US 624 (1930), and Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 17 Cal. 3d 425, 551 P.2d 334, 131 Cal. Rptr. 14 (Cal. 1976). Also read:
http://www.jaapl.org/content/14/3/221.full.pdf?origin=publication_detail... ) States require therapists warn of impending criminal conduct. As in the case of someone telling their therapist that he/she intends to kill his/her spouse. People, even therapists, have all kind of motivations to inject themselves into cases like this, most of them suspect.
How much did
value judgment of Ms. Sharp as a
single mom cloud the direction the investigation took in the early days? Recollection enhanced by hypnosis, as we all know, is inherently suspect. Justin has changed his story many times, as people familiar with this are aware. We really don't "know" (empirically, I mean) how much memory is recollective vs. how much is interpretive. Justin was a traumatized juvenile when this occurred; therefore, who knows how much his "memory" tracks what actually happened?
I have some questions for the people here who know far more than I do about this case. Not having access to the actual case files but some experience with criminal cases, I've searched and searched for any information pertaining to the
biological father of the kids. I'm assuming that he was interviewed and ruled out? There were no simmering custody battles or child support wars? Beating death is up close and personal, and often (but not always) indicative of rage. (The Groene abductions/murders, of course, were by a stranger/perpetrator and are a perfect exception).
A few things other than the victims injuries spur my curiosity. First, Tina's accusation that a man sexually molested her in the past is troubling in light of the fact that she was the person abducted from the scene. Why abduct her unless she had some special significance to the killer? Was there someone fixating on Tina? If she was just a witness, she would have been killed right there. No need to take the chance of abducting her unless she had some "value" to the perpetrator. It seems she was killed soon after being abducted. Were her remains kept by the perpetrator? The forensic anthropologist didn't feel her skull was out there for more than a year, a year and a half at the most. Was it kept as a trophy? It also showed NO SIGNS of blunt force trauma, while the others were brutally beaten, with numerous skull fractures. Why?
Having read part or all of John Douglas' profile, he also believes Tina to have been the focus of this crime. Obviously, this doesn't make it true, but it's something to consider. There were a number of accusations made by people in the documentary about local pedophiles. Sex crimes (even those against children) were not taken as seriously back then as they are now. Back then, LE didn't realize that sex offenders often progress in violence. "Peeping toms" were frequently dismissed as "harmless". (Often they were the butt of jokes in popular entertainment at the time!!). We don't look at them as "comic relief" anymore.
I'm also assuming there wasn't enough DNA collected or it wasn't adequately preserved? Is there DNA available that might provide answers?