dogperson, there was a reporter for The Macon Telegraph, Randall Savage, who intensively covered much of the Paul John Knowles story (1974). Not sure whether he was with that paper in 1972 when Carlene disappeared, but I just bet that he heard things about her case. As recently as this past election, Mr. Savage was still doing the occasional guest spot on Macon's 13WMAZ television news, with political commentary and interviews..
During our earlier discussions about whether Knowles might have been involved in Carlene's disappearance, I did a lot of digging and had always intended to bring some of what I found back here in-depth, but it is complex and confusing (there are conflicting reports about some things in various sources) and I just kept waiting "until" I could fill in some missing information about Knowles
Right now, I have just lost my own mother (she passed away in October) after about 7 years of being her caregiver, and I am going through a very serious depression, so I just am not able right now to follow up on this and thought maybe someone else who has followed this case might like to.
Here's a few items:
.Never could determine for sure whether Knowles could have been in Macon at the time of Carlene's disappearance. He was popping in and out of jail a lot, if I remember correctly, during that time. If he was incarcerated, well, that rules him out...but I have never been able to determine for sure. If, however, he was NOT behind bars...
Knowles had a girlfriend in Macon. In fact, according to a "years later" interview that Randall Savage did, they actually married at one point but she had the marriage annulled. IIRC, she actually first met him in Florida, while she was married to someone else...I do not recall offhand what year that was. I believe she was living in Florida at the time and I do not know WHEN she came to Macon (or possibly came BACK to Macon, as I also do not recall whether she had already lived in Macon). What I DO know is that she was living in Macon during 1974, because Knowles gave her some "gifts" that turned out later to have come from some of his victims. As I understand, she and Knowles weren't exactly "together" at that time but he would "drop in". So we do know that Knowles spent time in Macon, off and on, and probably knew the area rather well.
Where did the girlfriend live and what restaurant did she work at? This is information that I bet Mr. Savage could supply -- he covered the case very intensely and interviewed her both at the time and in later years. I brought the girlfriend's name to this thread once before, but I decided to ask to have it removed (which it was) because I believe she truly did not know what was going on with Knowles. IF Knowles was not incarcerated in June 1972, and especially IF the girlfriend lived and or worked (she was a waitress) in the vicinity of Westgate, I think Knowles is certainly a possibility. (He could have been visiting her and going about the area on foot or may have had his own car, or he could have even borrowed her car with the agreement he would pick her up after work, some scenario like that.)
Something that has really intrigued me: Anybody who has looked at the Knowles case at all knows that he made tapes about his murders, and other matters; they became very controversial and infamous during the legal proceedings that followed his capture. Some feel he included ALL of his murders, that he was strictly a "spree" killer and recounted them all... and he did express a wish to "claim" all his victims, for a wanted notoriety. But it certainly seems possible there MAY have been earlier murders that he did not claim, for various possible reasons. There ARE reports that on at least one occasion he gave an indication that there were "more" than on the tapes -- but whether those reports are accurate, or whether if they are he was telling the truth...well, who knows.
Anyhow, though he had at least two different tape recorders along the way, one of them, the "main" one I think, he apparently bought in Macon during the 1974 spree -- a store clerk identified him as doing so. Some accounts say the store was in downtown Macon, but some say it was at the Zayre store -- which was located in the shopping center down the hill and to the west of Westgate, which ALSO was where the grocery store where Carlene's boyfriend worked was located, I'm pretty sure. That purchase was in 1974, two years after Carlene's disappearance, of course -- but if that purchase WAS at Zayre, it is another indication that he did know that area to some degree.
Maybe someone can see where I'm going with this rambling and maybe contact Mr. Savage to see if he can provide that CRUCIAL info about whether Knowles was behind bars on the VERY DAY that Carlene disappeared ... and if he WASN'T, to see if we can find out the answers to some of the other questions I've brought up.
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