GUILTY FL - Fred Laster, 16, found dismembered, Lake City, 5 June 1994 *youth pastor arrest*

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It couldve happened anywhere within that six hour range of lake city. It doesnt help that several major highways intersect there either. She could've come from the Florida peninsula, the panhandle, Georgia, Alabama.............

Yeah, it is just very difficult to pinpoint where the events took place. If the body was dumped at the gas station by the ramp, definitely this was an out of town hit. I'm also thinking to that the person could have come from east of Lake City being that I-10 runs east/west. Either the person was from Jacksonville, or somewhere within a couple hours west of Lake City; like maybe Tallahassee, Live Oak, Madison, etc.
 
I am new to all this but reading all the details, I was wondering (did not see it mentioned), did they try to see where the garbage from the gas station had been taken previously in case the rest of the body was there. Or they may have dropped the other body parts in a close proximity to that gas staion in another dumpster. How many garbage dumps are there in that city and could they have traced the route or anything? Just a horrible way to die. I can'ty imagine not knowing where a family member was if they had gone missing. Everyone has someone.

According to archived paper articles, The Sheriffs Office had said that all dumpsters, landfills and wooded areas had been searched and no parts could be found. They searched within a few hours proximity of Lake City, but to no avail. It is a horrible way to go. Hopefully justice will be served and a named be put to this person.
 
Hey everyone, I just wanted to give everyone a quick update. Sheriff Mark Hunter of Columbia County issued a cease and desist order that was endorsed by a judge in the Columbia County court to no longer attempt to do undercover work on this case; or it would be met with prosecution for tampering with an open homicide investigation. Apparently, Florida has strict rules in regards to murder cases; this case falling in line with an active homicide investigation. My response to this, for the first time since the cease and desist order, is to disregard his call for us to stop. The only thing we can do is continue to pursue more facts and try to identify this guy. We need more public awareness! But I can only do it with your help and the help of others. I am planning a mass email party soon, and everyone on Websleuths should help me with this. We must email Mark Hunter and tell him we need more from this case! Who can help me put this together? Email me at jasonfutch1024@comcast.net and we shall communicate.
 
Why would they order a cease and desist? How does this hurt the case? Usually if there's info that they don't want getting out they don't release it. Could they be close to identifying the person and the perp and they feel this could impede an arrest?
 
How is what we do on here "undercover work?"

I would think that most of us who post here are "civilians" that want to solve mysteries.
We're not lying about being detectives, because most of us truly aren't (at least in a professional sense).
 
UPDATE: Hey everyone! Sorry, it has been a while since I last posted but it looks like some more "Evidence" has been released to the public; this time concerning a red checkered button up that was not public info until recently. It appears that the John Doe may have worn this shirt; however there is no sign of blood on the shirt other than that it was found with the body. Please let me know what everyone thinks. Also too, I was able to find out that no "Cease and Desist" order did not exist from the Sheriff; and that it was a possible scare tactic to derail the sleuthing of this case. So this is good news; meaning hopefully real soon, I can get back to working this case full time, with the downside that I do now live halfway across the country in Portland, Oregon.

Jason

NCMU1184239c1.jpg
 
It looks like there is a bit of blood in the lower sleeves. Maybe the deceased was wearing it when his hands were removed.
 
Also, the shirt is inside-out in that photo.
 
You'd hope that they would have looked for some hairs by the shirt collar.
 
Thanks for that! I had to re-examine the photo and it looks like there is some blood. That is a possibility he was wearing it while being dismembered; however, you would think that there would be a lot of blood on the shirt if he was wearing it then...sorta like the shirt of JFK when they released the photo evidence of his assassination. But yes this is something to think about. I hope the CCSO release more stuff on this case soon.
 
Webrocket, I am sure they did; though they were able to find plenty of hair in the neck area. If the suspect wore that shirt, that would have been smart to do considering some of his hair could be in the collar.
 
Thank you for not giving up on this UID, Jason! You've been doing a great job. [emoji1]
 
Hey everyone, just sharing a quick update with everyone. The life of a Greyhound bus driver gets pretty hectic; therefore I haven't been able to work on this as much as possible. But here is some information I need to share:

A few months ago, I received information on the case that was apparently sensitive information. Today, I am planning to follow up with the Columbia County Sheriffs Office to see if the information is true. Although I am not going to discuss it yet, as I have been asked by the person not to, I do plan to keep those following this case aware of the situation. I've spent 5 years or more tracking this case, hoping that a good lead will follow through or that something great will happen in regards to a breakthrough. As you all are aware, this is also a murder investigation; so this case will be far from over if and when this UID Male is identified. But if we can just get a name, I will be happy with that!

I am also prepared to confirm with fellow sleuthers that if CCSO confirms or denies the lead, I will inform everyone; but will tread lightly. I am going to need all the strength and support from you all to keep me going with this case. I am not giving up; and I will keep tracking this down until something happens.

I am also going to start working on a new website and Facebook page to keep everyone updated on this case. I feel that if we can get the word out about this case, someone somewhere will know something and that this case can be finally put to rest.

Jason
 
A news article from Jacksonville's Channel 4 W-JXT released an article about a murder that occurred at the same gas station; back when it was under another name. Apparently according to the article, the store was robbed at gunpoint and the robbers had cornered a customer and the store clerk and shot them. The customer lived, but the store clerk died. Here is the article for everyone to look at. This was a time when Lake City was not the big city it is now.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/florid...tives-seek-information-in-lake-city-cold-case
 
Hey everyone, I have a quick UPDATE to share:

So last week, I sought out some answers from the CCSO by sending an email to follow up on a tip. I received a response from Captain Katina Dicks from the Criminal Investigation Division of the CCSO. In the email, she had stated that she has been following this forum and gave some praise for the sleuthing that was done over the last few years. The information that I have posted along with tips has led to this case becoming very ACTIVE; HOWEVER, at this time there are no leads and that if there were leads, we would not know about it until the case has a positive suspect arrested. She stressed that because this is a case of murder and not just unidentified remains, everything has to be kept confidential; which our team can completely understand.

At this time, we are looking forward to continuing to collaborate with CCSO on any leads we may potentially find; however, we are on an ice cold track. I will keep everyone informed with updates, and am currently working on a very interactive website about the case, as well as a new Facebook page dedicated to this case as well as other unidentified person cases in Florida and South Georgia!
 
They have someone in custody in Jax beach. Can't copy and paste right now. It's on news4jax.com tho.
 

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