Found Deceased FL - Tammy Alexander, 16, Brooksville, 8 Nov 1979
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Roselvr
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Because it was personal. He was enraged about something.
sloane7777
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I always thought she was shot in the back running andthe head shot was last?
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No, there is nothing to indicate that she ran from her attacker. She was shot in the forehead from close-range as she faced him. She was then dragged into the cornfield and shot again in the back.
Still_Seek_Answers
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They do not wish to release that information at the current time. However, they are certain the first shot killed her instantly.
Returntous
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While hiking around the Finger Lakes/Southern Tier a couple days ago I realized I was close to Dansville and thought I would visit Tammy Jo's grave site at Greenmount cemetery. After a few set backs I managed to finally find the cemetery but unfortunately had no idea where the marker was. I somehow managed to drive up to the exact spot where it was but somehow walked right past it without knowing. I was about ready to give up in frustration until I crossed paths with a kindly old gentleman and he guided me to the spot I had just passed. I could see how I missed it as it isn't that big as it appears on the internet photos I have seen. He told me a new headstone with her name will be ready later this spring.
From there I thought I would check out the Lima Family Restaurant (formerly the Lima Diner) for lunch even tho it wasn't exactly on the way home. I have passed through Lima many times and even stopped in the bar across the street some years back but never went into the diner. The experience raised some key questions about this case that I'm not sure I have heard addressed here or elsewhere. Though there are a ton of posts on the main Cali Doe thread I was able to pretty much skim through most of them but never really saw anyone give a rational explaination as to why after being seen by the waitress at the Lima Diner (which is believable because it is a very small diner and tho expanded in the late 80s it is still quite intimate) would she end up being found dead ten miles down the road (actually a lot closer to Avon than the town center of Caledonia) on the SOUTH SIDE of route 20 in the shoulder of the road heading east, back towards Lima? If she was possibly heading toward Boston why was she found headed the other way from when she was last seen? Getting back to the diner (btw don't eat the food) this is definitely one of those places where if you aren't from the immediate surrounding area you stick out like a sore thumb. The first thing I was asked right after I sat down was where I was from. The degree of intimacy in this place must have been even more appearent in 79 before the place was expanded. Were any of the regulars who were probably there questioned as to seeing or noticing anything unusual? It seems like in a place such as this with just 8 booths, a couple counter stools and two tables stuck in the middle one would stand a good chance of noticing a teenage girl with an older guy late at night? I just find it difficult to believe nobody else was there save for the waitress. In addition, not even a hundred feet away is an old 1860's structure on the corner from the diner known as the American Hotel which is primarily a restaurant but still to this day has about a dozen rooms it still rents out. We know Tammy Jo was a transient and it is likely the man she was with was too as nobody can identify the sketch so did anybody look into the possibility they might have stayed there? I mean she had to live somewhere right? At that time all the ma and pa hotels along 20 had been long closed after the construction of the New York State thruway in 1954, so there were very places she could have spent the previous night in that area. I dunno...just some thoughts as I was headed back down 20 to Erie County.
I basically found websleuths late last year because of my interest in the Bridget Lee Pendell case out in San Francisco but I only became a member a month after lurking because of this Cali case, which has fascinated me since I first read about it 15 years ago on the front page of the Buffalo News.
From there I thought I would check out the Lima Family Restaurant (formerly the Lima Diner) for lunch even tho it wasn't exactly on the way home. I have passed through Lima many times and even stopped in the bar across the street some years back but never went into the diner. The experience raised some key questions about this case that I'm not sure I have heard addressed here or elsewhere. Though there are a ton of posts on the main Cali Doe thread I was able to pretty much skim through most of them but never really saw anyone give a rational explaination as to why after being seen by the waitress at the Lima Diner (which is believable because it is a very small diner and tho expanded in the late 80s it is still quite intimate) would she end up being found dead ten miles down the road (actually a lot closer to Avon than the town center of Caledonia) on the SOUTH SIDE of route 20 in the shoulder of the road heading east, back towards Lima? If she was possibly heading toward Boston why was she found headed the other way from when she was last seen? Getting back to the diner (btw don't eat the food) this is definitely one of those places where if you aren't from the immediate surrounding area you stick out like a sore thumb. The first thing I was asked right after I sat down was where I was from. The degree of intimacy in this place must have been even more appearent in 79 before the place was expanded. Were any of the regulars who were probably there questioned as to seeing or noticing anything unusual? It seems like in a place such as this with just 8 booths, a couple counter stools and two tables stuck in the middle one would stand a good chance of noticing a teenage girl with an older guy late at night? I just find it difficult to believe nobody else was there save for the waitress. In addition, not even a hundred feet away is an old 1860's structure on the corner from the diner known as the American Hotel which is primarily a restaurant but still to this day has about a dozen rooms it still rents out. We know Tammy Jo was a transient and it is likely the man she was with was too as nobody can identify the sketch so did anybody look into the possibility they might have stayed there? I mean she had to live somewhere right? At that time all the ma and pa hotels along 20 had been long closed after the construction of the New York State thruway in 1954, so there were very places she could have spent the previous night in that area. I dunno...just some thoughts as I was headed back down 20 to Erie County.
I basically found websleuths late last year because of my interest in the Bridget Lee Pendell case out in San Francisco but I only became a member a month after lurking because of this Cali case, which has fascinated me since I first read about it 15 years ago on the front page of the Buffalo News.
She was last seen by people who knew her close to or on her birthday which was very close to the time she was killed. That means she probably wasn't in the area for long and didn't need a place to stay. As for the diner, when I eat I could care less about who is around me and don't think it's too out of the norm for a slightly older guy to be with a younger girl. I'm sure the cops talked to everyone that was there that the waitress knew from around town
I think four4rock is on the right track with the glasses. Given her age at the time I wonder what her relationship could have possibly been with Rainbow Ministries? I'm starting to wonder if she had a relative that was in prison and used Rainbow Ministries to stay in contact with him. Perhaps diner guy was an uncle or cousin? It seems possible considering what I stated earlier about being with people you know around your birthday.
I think four4rock is on the right track with the glasses. Given her age at the time I wonder what her relationship could have possibly been with Rainbow Ministries? I'm starting to wonder if she had a relative that was in prison and used Rainbow Ministries to stay in contact with him. Perhaps diner guy was an uncle or cousin? It seems possible considering what I stated earlier about being with people you know around your birthday.
Another thought. What if he was on parole at the time and left the state. Perhaps while they were here something happened between them and she threatened to report him. I would be checking people who were paroled around the time both in Florida and New York who had a connection to both states.
Returntous
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People who were paroled around 1979 with connections to two of the most populous states in the country? Wow! That will take some time.
The concentration here, I believe anyway, should be on that five day window from when she was last seen the day after her 16th birthday until she was shot before midnight on the eighth. It takes roughly a day to make it up from the Tampa Bay area to WNY. Assuming she made it in a day or two to her final location where was she staying during the rest of that time? Dressed like that? As a native WNYer I know the weather can turn drastically that time of year.
The concentration here, I believe anyway, should be on that five day window from when she was last seen the day after her 16th birthday until she was shot before midnight on the eighth. It takes roughly a day to make it up from the Tampa Bay area to WNY. Assuming she made it in a day or two to her final location where was she staying during the rest of that time? Dressed like that? As a native WNYer I know the weather can turn drastically that time of year.
Considering the jacket she was wearing was presumed to not be hers due to the size, she had to have been staying in a warmer climate. The night she was killed it was cold and it had been raining for a few days if I remember correctly. Rainbow Ministries was located in Georgia. It's possible that the person she was with could have been staying there after being paroled and decided to go north for some reason. Tammy was known to travel a lot and perhaps decided to go with him. As for people paroled at that time, I meant people with connection more relating to the area she lived in or was killed in. Still a daunting task, but the connection to this area I think is the key.
You are right though. In that five day window she decided to come up here. Why? And it was said by the waitress that she seemed comfortable with the guy she was with even though she was in an area that presumably she was unfamiliar with. There is some kind of a connection there.
Roselvr
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Sorry I have not been back to Cali's FB page. Was a busy weekend.
We had the discussion in my secret FB group about the restaurant; how no one noticed her? Tammy was a good looking gal. I can't believe that no one checked her out! Also; the side of the street may mean nothing. They could have been fighting; she got out of the car running. I feel Tammy knew this guy.
*Have to run; daughter has college...
sloane7777
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if she was comfortable it would stand to reason it was someone she knew from FL and most people that run off have a bag , purse heck even a grocery store bag, something? where is her stuff? did he dump it ?
Returntous
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What I have difficulty understanding is the timeline and the location of her body. If she was murdered before midnight on the east bound lane on route 20 after the diner wouldn't that mean her killer headed back towards Lima? Is he local? Was she at the diner at 5 or 6 for supper....or later? She was discovered on the southern portion of the road the next morning. If she was at the diner earlier say around suppertime why would she be heading back in that direction? Wouldn't it make more sense she would be on the northern westbound lane headed towards Genesee County or other points west? Why the doubleback?
In 1979, parolees wouldn't be allowed to leave their state without permission of their parole officer, right? How many Florida (or Georgia) parolees were granted permission to go to NY in that period +/- 5 days, do you think? Or absconded during that time?
Returntous
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Bear with me here folks. I'm just learning the ins and outs of this forum as well as the Tapatalk app so if I come off less than coherent I apologize. I'm also doing this from my Galaxy phone since I don't own a pc so that makes it slightly more difficult as well.
The parolee thing is an interesting take and yes, I doubt very much anyone recently released would be allowed to cross state lines. In addition how would a parolee gain access to a handgun? I don't think the gun culture was as ubiquitous back then as it is these days where firearms are easily accessible which leads me to speculate that hey, what if he wasn't a former inmate? What if he was possibly a guard or worked in the penal system in some other capacity? Would that have made it easier to gain Tammy Jo's trust? We do know there is a concentration of prisons in the area including Attica and Groveland. As a matter of fact as I was cashing out of the diner the cashier looked over my shoulder out the window and stated very caustically "have a nice life." I turned around and saw a bus and asked her what that was about and she said matter of factly "prison transfer." I wonder if the diner was an eating spot for prison employees. At my booth there was one of those newspaper articles that was turned into sheet metal and hung from the wall above the table as a plaque. The article was from 1978 and appeared in the Livonia paper and featured the diner and the Greek immigrant family that owned it for years. In the piece it stated the place was open 24 hours on weekends and opened at five am everyday which would be perfect for different shift workers to grab a bite. Of course the waitress not recognizing Tammy and the man she was with might dispell the notion he was local but that can possibly be due to other factors.
Just food for thought.
I'm not sure if Groveland was open then but Attica, Wende, Five Points and Auburn are all maximum security facilities located close to 5&20.