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

[ms-t]

I wonder why her married name was omitted in her sister's obit.

I thought that was interesting too. Maybe some bad feelings about Mary's husband related to their marriage or the way he dealt with her disappearance? BTW I her husband is still alive and living in Florida now.

 

[Markybug]

randomly reading a solved cold case, the person convicted was apparently mentioned as a suspect in Mary's case ?


"In a strange story on Sept. 9, 1966, 23 yr old Larry Stargel of Gainesville, GA pens a letter to police from Reidsville State Prison requesting an interview with local LE and the FBI regarding C&S Bank employee Mary Shotwell Little's disappearance in Atlanta on October 14 1965. Stargel names Gerald Mason as one of the two men responsible for the kidnapping & murder of Mary Shotwell Little. He stated that Mason had told him that they were hired for $5000 each by the husband Roy Little to kidnap & murder his wife. Later Larry Stargel refused to sign his statement to the FBI after mulling it over but did initial the statement. Just 18 months later, Mary Shotwell Little's replacement at C&S Bank, 20 yr old Diane Shields was murdered. Neither Roy Little or Gerald Mason were ever charged with the Mary Shotwell Little or Diane Shields murders. Both have remained unsolved for nearly 60 years."

Gerald Mason - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[branmuffin]

randomly reading a solved cold case, the person convicted was apparently mentioned as a suspect in Mary's case ?


"In a strange story on Sept. 9, 1966, 23 yr old Larry Stargel of Gainesville, GA pens a letter to police from Reidsville State Prison requesting an interview with local LE and the FBI regarding C&S Bank employee Mary Shotwell Little's disappearance in Atlanta on October 14 1965. Stargel names Gerald Mason as one of the two men responsible for the kidnapping & murder of Mary Shotwell Little. He stated that Mason had told him that they were hired for $5000 each by the husband Roy Little to kidnap & murder his wife. Later Larry Stargel refused to sign his statement to the FBI after mulling it over but did initial the statement. Just 18 months later, Mary Shotwell Little's replacement at C&S Bank, 20 yr old Diane Shields was murdered. Neither Roy Little or Gerald Mason were ever charged with the Mary Shotwell Little or Diane Shields murders. Both have remained unsolved for nearly 60 years."

Gerald Mason - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

How could that be the same Gerald Mason? The Wiki page says after the murders of the two police officers he lived a quiet life, was well off and a well-liked member of the community for 45 years. Forty five years is from 1957 to 2003 which means he couldn't have been in prison in 1966. Wouldn't they have a record of his incarceration even if it was in another state. We don't know how old his children are but to have grandchildren in 2003 when he was arrested it would mean his daughter was probably alive in 1966.

 

[Woodberry]

How could that be the same Gerald Mason? The Wiki page says after the murders of the two police officers he lived a quiet life, was well off and a well-liked member of the community for 45 years. Forty five years is from 1957 to 2003 which means he couldn't have been in prison in 1966. Wouldn't they have a record of his incarceration even if it was in another state. We don't know how old his children are but to have grandchildren in 2003 when he was arrested it would mean his daughter was probably alive in 1966.

Did Larry Stargel state that the conversation he had with Gerald Mason was while they were both in jail? Maybe it happened outside of jail, but from what the wiki page suggests, Gerald Mason kept his nose clean and his head down and was a law abiding citizen after the murders. Gerald would have been 31 and Larry Stargel would have been 22 in 1965 when Mary was killed. It seems unlikely he would have taken a chance on messing up the life he was living to make that confession.

 

[branmuffin]

Did Larry Stargel state that the conversation he had with Gerald Mason was while they were both in jail? Maybe it happened outside of jail, but from what the wiki page suggests, Gerald Mason kept his nose clean and his head down and was a law abiding citizen after the murders. Gerald would have been 31 and Larry Stargel would have been 22 in 1965 when Mary was killed. It seems unlikely he would have taken a chance on messing up the life he was living to make that confession.

No, he didn't. I see what you are saying but a man who robbed four teenagers, raped one of those teenagers, stole their watches and car then ended up murdering two police officers because he was afraid they'd find out what he had done earlier, may have been motivated to keep his nose clean after committing those opportunistic crimes. It also might mean it was in his best interests to remain law abiding in the future because the robbery and rape were not the first crimes he'd committed since being released from jail and his fingerprints would prove it. Conversely, you'd also think that a guy that committed those types of crime without any guilt would find it hard to transition to a squeaky clean life for the next 45 years. So let's suppose those 45 years of squeaky cleaning living was only because he was never been suspected in any other crimes; that he had committed other crimes and managed to stay under the radar. When he murdered the police officers he was 23 years old. He entered the military in the 1950s and was honorably discharged in the 1950s so I believe his tenure in the military was before the murders perhaps when he became of age to join. I haven't seen any records of his military service. In April 1956 he was sentenced to 3 years in prison but the sentence was reduced to a year and he got out after only 8 months in Dec 56 or Jan 57. Six months later he murdered 2 cops, robbed four teenagers and raped one of the girls. He got married two and half years later in 1960 and had two daughters. So that would mean in the 1960s while he was married with children and building a successful business of owning multiple car dealerships he was also involved in criminal activity in another state. I suppose it is possible for someone to hide in plain while committing crimes but being involved in an abduction and murder is difficult to hide, especially conspiracy to commit murder because others are complicit in the crime.