ID ID - Lonnie Jones, 13, Orofino, September 1951

[Ausgirl]

Robin, I've done some research on victim choice in predators who target children

from 'World of Forensic Science':

Sexual psychopaths are a subcategory of sexual predators who are characterized as being far more likely to rape (and/or commit homicide) than simply to molest their victims. They are more likely to victimize both children and adults, rather than one or the other. Their criminal sexual predatory behavior, if they are motivated by thrill-seeking rather than by specific fantasies, may be directed into indiscriminate victim choice, not targeting one or a small number of victim types.

Someone capable of Lonnie's murder definitely fits the description of 'psychopath'.

 

[Robin Hood]

I have thrown relatives details in the hat should anyone want to work out a possible name for the cousin who cleaned and re-upholsted his car. Urban myth or not it maybe worth investigation to see if any crimes also moved areas. IYSWIM.

 

[kline]

Holy cripes lol

I can't find it now but I'm sure weeks ago I found a farm where Woods was living and it was just off the Greer road going up to Weippe. I could of course be wrong and may have got it confused with another case.
Anyway, if I wanted to (trust me I don't) kidnap somebody on the spur of the moment wouldn't the best approach be surprise. Drive past, park up and wait. If it was just a moment thing it maybe wasn't supposed to end in murder, maybe just sexual assault.
Jump out in the dark, use his own hankerchief to blindfold him, use my trouser belt on his hands and bungle him into the truck. Take him to a secluded outbuilding, assault him and then take him away again and let him go. If Lonnie got a look at me then he would have to be killed, if he didn't then leave him by the road.
How many times do we hear that an attack got out of hand and wasn't supposed to end that way.
I would have expected the perp to do it again unless it was a one off 'mistake'
Just thinking out loud, a very serious crime that appears to not be repeated again in the area.
Apologies if my scenario is graphic and offends.

The scenario you describe is pretty much how I visualize Lonnie's murder happening give or take a few details.
Whether the denoument of killing Lonnie was panic or pure savagery we will probably never know...marching him to the shoulder of the road then wrenching his head back and cutting his throat(from the sounds of it he was nearly decapitated)speaks of a very organized and savage killer...they arent known for one off killings yet obviously nothing like that has happened here before of since.
And I still feel in my gut the killer was a local.
Maybe Mr.Wood was pretty much shut down after his high profile role in Lonnie's case followed by yet more scrutiny on his contributing beef and he couldnt do any thing else.

 

[kline]

Liz, I had some similar thoughts re the Freemason's building. My grand-dad and ex father-in-law (whom I like immensely) were/are both Masons. About as sinister as banana bread. On a local level, at least, I see the Masons as a social club. But maybe somebody wanted to implicate something about them, for whatever reason?

I'd love to know if that knife's still around somewhere, and what the finding was on it.

Ive found the FreeMason connection interesting as well.
And as Ive said before there was a slaughterhouse here back then.
I have two days off coming up and Im going to try to go through channels at the courthouse and see if I can get my hands on the inquest transcript.
Wood testified of course and I too would very much like to know if he was alone returning to Weippe from the Fair.
Ive wondered about that now thanks to these new revelations I REALLY want to know.
iBy the way...when I started the thred I had no idea so many people would be interested in this virtually unknown murder of a boy dead for nearly 60 years and you guys have added so much to my understanding of this case through your incredible sleuthing...I have no words.
I really think its a nice memorial to that poor kid who has occupied that frozen grave up on the prairie since 1951 that people who werent even born when his life ended on that dark roadside,people from all over the world are interested in trying to find some answers and havent forgotten.
Your good folks.

 

[Robin Hood]

Is this Lonnie's stepfather - Delbert ? He has a son Delvin

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...5539,355271&dq=elna+jones+marner+weippe&hl=en

 

[Ausgirl]

when I started the thred I had no idea so many people would be interested in this virtually unknown murder of a boy dead for nearly 60 years and you guys have added so much to my understanding of this case through your incredible sleuthing...I have no words.
I really think its a nice memorial to that poor kid who has occupied that frozen grave up on the prairie since 1951 that people who werent even born when his life ended on that dark roadside,people from all over the world are interested in trying to find some answers and havent forgotten.
Your good folks.

Dammit, Kline, I got all teary after that.

Robin, good searches -- I found a bunch of info about Lonnie's mother and other relatives too, it's somewhere back a few pages, about how his mother's maiden name was Jones, same as Lonnie's - so that's maybe why he'd been living with his grandparents since he was little. 1951 wasn't kind to unwed mothers.

There's Del, the stepfather, and Delvin, the son (15 or so at the time, and living with his mother in another town) - and Delvin Jr. aka 'Butch' b. 1962, who died at only 20 years old or so.

Delbert Marner was the same age as Orrin C. Wood -- 33 yo in 1951.
Elna was 29, and only 16 when Lonnie was born.

To answer an earlier question, Orrin Wood may have been married at the time - his daughter Linda D was born in 1941, when he was 25 yo. At least, I think it's his daughter, unless he married a woman 25 years his junior? They share a headstone.

 

[Robin Hood]

Ausgirl, I use LDS for ancestry info, do you have a link to the site you use ?

While I've got my beggin' bowl out can I have a link to the headstone please ?

Also Kline, do you have a photo of Lonnie's headstone at all ?

Just to add - I didn't realise the name Lonnie was sometimes the shortened version of
Alonzo.

I wouldn't mind a look at Lonnie's birth cert to see if a father is registered.

 

[Robin Hood]

Here is a listing of town's cemetery stones:
Cemetery Listings
http://www.mrail.net/data/cemete/idaho/clearwater/weippe/index.htm

Found the shared headstone.

 

[kline]

Ausgirl, I use LDS for ancestry info, do you have a link to the site you use ?

While I've got my beggin' bowl out can I have a link to the headstone please ?

Also Kline, do you have a photo of Lonnie's headstone at all ?

Just to add - I didn't realise the name Lonnie was sometimes the shortened version of
Alonzo.

I wouldn't mind a look at Lonnie's birth cert to see if a father is registered.

Next time Im up there(that is when it isnt under four feet of snow like it is now) Ill bring my son's digital camera and get a shot of Lonnie's headstone.
You guys ought to see that stretch of prairie where the cemetary is at in the spring time.
When all the Camus blooms its bright blue and from a distance looks like water.
Lewis and Clark thought they were approaching a lake.
Its beautiful.Maybe if I can time it right Ill get a good shot of that too.

 

[Robin Hood]

Next time Im up there(that is when it isnt under four feet of snow like it is now) Ill bring my son's digital camera and get a shot of Lonnie's headstone.
You guys ought to see that stretch of prairie where the cemetary is at in the spring time.
When all the Camus blooms its bright blue and from a distance looks like water.
Lewis and Clark thought they were approaching a lake.
Its beautiful.Maybe if I can time it right Ill get a good shot of that too.

That would be amazing, thanks Kline.

 

[liz b.]

Next time Im up there(that is when it isnt under four feet of snow like it is now) Ill bring my son's digital camera and get a shot of Lonnie's headstone.
You guys ought to see that stretch of prairie where the cemetary is at in the spring time.
When all the Camus blooms its bright blue and from a distance looks like water.
Lewis and Clark thought they were approaching a lake.
Its beautiful.Maybe if I can time it right Ill get a good shot of that too.

That sounds very beautiful.Even though I am an Easterner, and a big city person, I love the west.

 

[Jacie Estes]

Ive found the FreeMason connection interesting as well.
And as Ive said before there was a slaughterhouse here back then.
I have two days off coming up and Im going to try to go through channels at the courthouse and see if I can get my hands on the inquest transcript.
Wood testified of course and I too would very much like to know if he was alone returning to Weippe from the Fair.
Ive wondered about that now thanks to these new revelations I REALLY want to know.
iBy the way...when I started the thred I had no idea so many people would be interested in this virtually unknown murder of a boy dead for nearly 60 years and you guys have added so much to my understanding of this case through your incredible sleuthing...I have no words.
I really think its a nice memorial to that poor kid who has occupied that frozen grave up on the prairie since 1951 that people who werent even born when his life ended on that dark roadside,people from all over the world are interested in trying to find some answers and havent forgotten.
Your good folks.

BBM See if you can get an autopsy report, as well.

 

[Robin Hood]

After much searching the only other knife using murderer of the era in Idaho I can find is Raymond Allen Snowden.

This gives one reason for the murder
http://www.truecrimelibrary.com/crime_series_show.php?id=831&series_number=13

This gives another
http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...g=3202,5824247&dq=raymond+allen+snowden&hl=en

More info here 'Idaho's Jack the Ripper'
''There are accounts that Snowden boasted of two more murders''

http://www.thecabinet.com/darkdesti...stinations&location_id=old_idaho_penitentiary

Idaho seemed a reasonibly safe place to live after the 2nd WW

 

[Ausgirl]

Robin, I don't use any one site, more a bunch of 'em - Ancestry, news articles (the papers used to announce people visiting, bless 'em), obits, peoplefinder kind of sites, all sorts, and then cobble it all together to cross-reference for facts. For news, I use google paper archives.

Oh- I found this news snippet. And this one, also.

Seems Linda was Orrin's wife, 23 or so years younger than him. Can't find a marriage record, but she was around 19 for the birth of one of her daughters.

 

[Robin Hood]

Cheers Aus, much the same as me then.

 

[Robin Hood]

Another thing...was Lonnie wearing any clothes ?

 

[kline]

Robin, I don't use any one site, more a bunch of 'em - Ancestry, news articles (the papers used to announce people visiting, bless 'em), obits, peoplefinder kind of sites, all sorts, and then cobble it all together to cross-reference for facts. For news, I use google paper archives.

Oh- I found this news snippet. And this one, also.

Seems Linda was Orrin's wife, 23 or so years younger than him. Can't find a marriage record, but she was around 19 for the birth of one of her daughters.

Hmmm.It seems Mr. Wood really related to the young people.....

 

[kline]

That sounds very beautiful.Even though I am an Easterner, and a big city person, I love the west.

You should come and check out the Inland Northwest.
I keep thinking that I wish I could drive you guys from the Fair grounds up the River to Greer then up the Hill to Weippe so you could get a feel for the logistics(though it blows my mind how many of you already have an accurate feel for it even though youve never been here!)
At the very least the scenery along that route is breathtaking.

 

[kline]

Another thing...was Lonnie wearing any clothes ?

I had heard for years that he was found nude but in one of those contemporary newspaper articles Ausgirl found for us it says that his body was clothed in the same shirt and jeans he dissappeared in.

 

[Robin Hood]

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AAIBAJ&pg=1609,2469166&dq=attack+weippe&hl=en

A knife found in an alley in Pierce, two blood stained tissues and a straw hat found on the Greer grade road were handed in.