GA GA - Mary Shotwell Little, 25, Atlanta, 14 Oct 1965

[galateasca]

Of course Lenox Square doesn't look anything like that now. The open air courtyard was huge and housed statues of Joel Chandler Harris characters- Br'er Fox, Br'er Rabbit and Br'er Bear. The Colonial looks to be right next to the mall, but there was definite space between them. The cafeteria, from what I remember, was down an escalator along with Kresge's. At least I think it was. I was only 7 when they remodeled the mall.

 

[Joyce Josette]

Two different people saw a woman with blood on her head/legs, possibly with a man who was "ordering" her around, and they didn't say anything???? A simple "Ma'am, are you all right" might have saved her life.

They've done studies that show people-men, especially-are much more likely to intervene with a woman in distress if they know it's not her boyfriend or husband. My mother's always told me to yell "You're not my husband!" or "You're not my boyfriend! I don't know you!" if I was being attacked or threatened by a man.

This case has always given me the creeps. So sad...

 

[AMP1979]

I made a labeled map of Lenox at the time of Mary's disappearance using a vintage postcard I bought on eBay. The only thing I'm not 100% on is exactly where the yellow parking was-but from the description in the papers it had to be in the labeled area. I'm positive about the location of the cafeteria, because I remember eating there.

Actually, as far as Lenox has come in the last 50 years, that little section where Rich's and the cafeteria were, is largely unchanged. There are still stores without mall access (Lenscrafters, et cetera) and the original Rich's building has never really been altered on the outside because it's surrounded by other buildings and the parking garage.

If you want to compare this to a current map of Lenox, Rich's is now Macy's and the red brick building is now Bloomingdales.

 

[dogperson]

I have long wondered whether the cases of Nancy Stewart Wilke, Mary Shotwell Little, and Carlene Tengelsen were related. There really are many similarities, as you said AMP1979. Carlene is my pet case.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.gastongazette.com/spotli...d-key-to-mary-little-s-disappearance-1.381501

An Atlanta man holds out hope that the key to solving an almost 50-year-old cold case lies in a Mount Holly house. The problem: He’s not sure which house it is...

Online tales of an inmate’s confession about his role in the woman’s disappearance led Pate to believe the key to solving the crime lies somewhere in Gaston County...

Still, the sketchy account left questions Pate couldn't shake. He read the account of a green house down a dirt road with a wraparound porch. On a visit to North Carolina this weekend, he plans to make a trip to Mount Holly to get a look at homes that might match the description. “I’m going to scratch around,” he said. “Because there may be something ...”

 

[FieryDee]

Gone since 49 years ago today. Bump for Mary.. hope the guy who goes to Mt. Holly mentioned in the last post will find something...

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.thestate.com/2014/10/20/3757632_mystery-of-charlotte-woman-missing.html?rh=1

About a year ago, Pate stumbled on a 2010 blog post from Susan Carpenter Scott, an attorney who has investigated the Little and Shields cases on her own. Scott had obtained law enforcement records that included a 1966 interview FBI agents conducted with a Georgia prison inmate who confessed to involvement with what may have been the Little case.

The man, who has since died, spun a complex story about how two other men in Atlanta told him about kidnapping a woman, taking her to a small green house with a wrap-around porch in Mount Holly and later killing her. He said the men told him someone paid them $5,000 each to abduct a girl named Mary, but he gave no further details.

In a recent newspaper article, Pate saw a photo of a house in Mount Holly that matched the description given by the inmate. Even though Pate later learned the house has been demolished, he's made two trips to the eastern Gaston County town and plans to return.

 

[Mountain Mama]

Props to you all, Princess Rose, Cambria, and tsvicki - the number of roses, the black bra, and the positioning of the undergarments found in the car are all elements of the crime I had never considered seriously. This is the kind of fresh, original thinking that may move this case forward - and as to the undergarments, that's the type of clue that was likely ignored by the all male Atlanta PD detectives who originally worked this case.

IMO, I can't find any particular meaning in the roses beyond the explanations you all have offered. I suppose, I see the roses as a further attempt by Mary's stalker to intimidate and frighten her, to somehow stake his "claim" to her. So far as I know, the roses didn't even contain a card identifying the sender. If it did, Mary didn't share it with anyone at her work place. She also talked regularly to her mother and her sister on the phone and didn't reveal the identity of the sender to them so far as I know - I suspect Mary didn't know who sent them. But the roses, the phone calls, the feeling of being followed and being anxious, were all part of the escalation of the obsession and stalking that culminated in Mary's kidnapping.

I find the discussion of the undergarments far more telling. Mary had been married six weeks earlier - if the perpetrator was an obsessed co-worker as the psychic suggested - the color of the bra may have no meaning other than Mary got lots of new lingerie leading up to her marriage.

The positioning of the undergarments, I also see as significant. The cut in the hosiery, the careful folding of some of Mary's undergarments, I see those things as consistent with the abductor acting out his sick fantasy of taking control of this woman he had become obsessed with - acts of domination and humiliation.

I can't help but think of the advice Oprah has given repeatedly on her show - if you find yourself in a situation where an attacker is trying to force you into a car - take a stand and say, "No! Kill me here if you have to but I will not go with you to some deserted spot where I'll be even more vulnerable." If only Mary could've heard that advice - she'd have been more prepared to defend herself and the outcome might have been very different.

My first thought when I read that the undergarments were neatly rolled and stockings neatly cut was this is the work of a cool, calculating and organized predator. Not unlike Michael Debardeleben who methodically crafted confusing crime scenes & circumstances.

 

[Mountain Mama]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1102670/posts

...Diane Shields was a pretty blond secretary from Guntersville, Ala. Transferred into personnel after Little vanished, she occupied Mary's old desk and befriended her former colleagues. For a time, she roomed with some of them in their Buckhead duplex. She eventually moved out to live with her sister in College Park and took a job as a receptionist with another company downtown...

...On May 19, 1967, Shields left work in her blue and white Chevy Impala. She never made it home...A scarf and a piece of paper had been stuffed down her throat, as if to silence her...

...There was one other potential connection between Shields and Little that was never reported. Shields told her closest friend back home in Guntersville that she was working undercover with police trying to solve the disappearance of a woman named Mary. "They want me to work with them so we can close this case," Gail Husbands recalls her saying...

...Far from solving the Little mystery, the Shields slaying actually confused matters for another Atlanta detective working the case. When C.J. Strickland was quoted in the newspaper as saying the crimes seemed related, he got a phone call from Little's mother.

"She told me she didn't want the investigation into her daughter's disappearance pursued any further," says Strickland...

IMO it is possible that Mary's mother was afraid that more women would be harmed if C&S was probed further? Is that why all of a sudden, following Shield's death, Mrs. Little requested this investigation be dropped?

 

[Richard]

2015 will mark the 50 year anniversary of the disappearance of Mary Shotwell Little, and 10 years since the case was first posted here in Websleuths.

Here are a few links to other websites that have picked up the story:

[h=3]Buckhead - Atlanta, Georgia - Mystery - Mary Shotwell Little[/h]www.buckhead.net/history/mystery/msl_a.html


Mystery of Charlotte woman missing since 1965 leads former ...


www.charlotteobserver.com/.../mystery-of-charlotte-woman-missing.html


[h=3]Man thinks Mount Holly may hold key to Mary Little's ...[/h]www.gastongazette.com/.../man-thinks-mount-holly-may-hold-key-to-mary- little...

• [h=3]What happened to Mary Shotwell Little? (Atlanta's "Black ...[/h]www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1102670/posts
  
  
  
• [h=3]Georgia Mysteries: Mary Shotwell Little Vanishes at Lenox ...[/h]georgiamysteries.blogspot.com/.../mary-shotwell-little-vanishes...
  
  
• [h=4]More Interesting Facts About the Mary Shotwell Little Case[/h]georgiamysteries.blogspot.com/.../more-interesting-facts...
  
  

• [h=3]The Charley Project: Mary Shotwell Little[/h]www.charleyproject.org/cases/l/little_mary.html
  
  
• [h=3]mary shotwell little and diane shields[/h]maryshotwelllittle.blogspot.com/.../mary-shotwell-little-and-di...
  

 

[Mountain Mama]

I've also wondered if C&S may have become suspicious of this employee (assuming the perpetrator was also an employee of the bank) and terminated him or forced him to move on after Diane's murder. I can imagine C&S would've done nearly anything to prevent the negative publicity and potential liability of hiring and retaining an employee who preyed on other employees.

.

I like where you are going with this. Here is a quote that is related to the aftermath as it played out at C&S. "Nothing ever implicated Roy Little, but suspicion was enough for his bosses in the Banking Department. As they later admitted to detectives, they made his work life so unpleasant that he finally quit. In a moment of frankness with investigators, Little said he felt that some friends had cut him off." From: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1102670/posts

 

[Mountain Mama]

This case is really baffling. There are so many scenarios. The "old boyfriend from Charlotte" as the perp is one that I think deserves a lot of consideration. Also the notion that it was James Mitchell "Mike" Debardeleben or MD, who has been considered by some websleuthers to be a possible perp in Carlene Tengelsen's case. He was known as the "mall passer". Check him out, he was in Georgia and all over the map during his nearly 50 years of activity. http://murderpedia.org/male.D/d/debardeleben-james.htm

 

[Mountain Mama]

I realize that there are many reasons to think that this was related to the bank and that the criminals were from Atlanta.

Suspend these assertions temporarily, if you will....
Slight of hand / art of trickery / staging was MD's modus operandi. If it was MD (who also was known for targeting the wives of bankers in his early crimes) he would be the just the sort to taunt police with another killing (Shields). He did his homework, and would have the know how to make it all look bank-related or friends-related , steering the investigation those directions. It has been said (and I don't have a link) that MD had a secret house that he hid victims in in NC. He was very active in NC.

Another thing that stands out is that those roses were sent to Mary's home. If the roses were sent by the perp, then the perp knew where she lived and could have accosted her in her apartment complex parking area. Returning the car to the mall could have been a way to confuse the investigation.

 

[Stella]

The C&S Bank scandal angle has got my attention now. She may have known about the alleged homosexual prostitution ring at the bank and was on the verge of exposing them. Roy probably knew as well but was too afraid to speak up; he certainly didn't seem very surprised when his bride turned up missing. The 2 men seen in the car with Mary at the gas station may well have been thugs hired by the "high up" guy/ring leader at the bank to literally "take her for a ride" in order to shut her up permanently. Then Diane Shields was put in Mary's place at the bank by the police (?), found out what Mary knew and they got rid of her as well. Must be some pretty powerful people at that bank and if their outside clientele was afraid of being exposed....the possibilities are endless just for the bank scandal theory alone.

 

[terryneal]

Where do I find the files on this case? I believe they are posted online?

 

[True Crime Lover]

I remember the Mary Shotwell Little case, although I was just a child. I remember searchers looking behind our house on West Paces Ferry Rd. and other neighborhoods, about 5 miles away from Lenox Square. That was eery. Reading posts here have brought back memories. As I recall, the cafeteria at Lenox was on the lower level below the Kresge, a few doors down from the pet store. It would be a miracle if this case is ever solved.

 

[Ray Pate]

Thank you, all this information I am reading is helping me to unravel some details and those details are allowing me
to complete the 50 year old puzzle. My puzzle is all together except for the one glaring missing piece..I wish I could
demonstrate that I can write my reply with the same clarity as all of you are able to posts. But what I reveal, I believe
you are able to digest even if it is not with the most authority. In July, 214, I stumbeled onto Susan Carpenter's
blog post. After reading her extensive document, I said to myself, I can solve this case. With the internet available
and enough time, cases can be explained and minute details revealed that wouls surprise anyone. I stuck my name
and vital personal information on the bottom of her remarks. As a result, a reporter called me from the Charlotte
Observer and wrote a story. From the information in Mrs. Carpenter's blog spot,She revealed that she had an F.B.I.
file of great length. The reporter called her and explained my effort to jump in the case and move it forward. Mrs.
Carpenter e-maile me and told me that she had passed the file on to the head of the author of COLD CASE, PATH-
WAYS TO JUSTICE. The short of this problem was solved when I met her and received the file.. After reading the
900 page file, came to a conclusion that I knew all along why these two cases were never solved.I could write a
book on the reasons why..That said, do not ever think that the F.B.I, and all surrounding L.E. agencies did not
give it all they had. That file contains like I said, 900 pages, and they interviewed over 800 ,friends, relatives, achool
classmates and on and on. They did every thing except name that glaring missing piece of the puzzle. Why? I'll
have to tell you later. I talked to East Point L.E..who has the file on Diane Shields, East Point rejected me..
I went to Atlanta Homicide and the would not offer any help,They told me they would not take my advice
unless I handed over my file to them.I ttold them, they had the file 50 years and did nothing with it.I knew that
when I got down to indicting a suspect, I hads no authority and it was good L.E. logic to get them involved early.
So, I went back to Atlanta Homicide and left the file with them. Not the large F.B.I. File, but my personal file.
This will be solved in time...

 

[Sutton]

...They did every thing except name that glaring missing piece of the puzzle. Why? I'll have to tell you later...

RSBM. Welcome to Websleuths!
I'm a fairly new poster myself, but have followed the Mary Shotwell Little case for years. Glad you were able to follow that wild goose chase you related and take possession of the file.
But please don't keep us waiting--what is the missing puzzle piece? What is your theory on Mary's disappearance? What new details or clues can you reveal from the file?
Can't wait to read your response!

 

[shanda3434]

I'm new, but trying to come at this from every angle. What if the lesbian harassment and the roommate were connected. I haven't been able to connect everything, but the roommate was from her hometown. Maybe Diane was somehow planted by the cops to investigate both her work and her roommates. The killer or person who hired someone doesn't have to be a man.

 

[Ray Pate]

I say thanks for your statements and I will in my limited ability attempt to
clear up the issue you have mentioned .. Since I have a copy of the F.B.I. file and it contained
information about the investigation of the lesbian connection.The conclusion they all reached was
that two females were indentified, consulter and they moved on.This departure of the two girls
happened before any evidence of Mary's disappearance came to the surface. There never was
any indication that any action was obvious by the femals and it was not a distubing trend..
The other suggestion you made about Diane being a plant to investigate the affairs can not
be found in the file either. Diane came up from Alabama and occupied Mary's position.
She went through less than ideal conditions and to her it was time to move on. She found a
job with the State, as a secretary, and that was where she was working when she was killed.
Stay tuned. The rest of the story can now be revealed as soon as I have a copy of the
East Point Police file on Diane Shields. That file will reveal, I think, vital missing evidence.