IN IN - Richard Sweeney 8, Jeffrey Burkett 15, & Donald Abell 19, Henryville, 1977

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I feel like I've been smacking my head against a brick wall trying to tie all three boys together. Hopefully with the rumor I stated above about the 2 older boys being separate from the first child I can actually get somewhere. But honestly there isn't much to go on. I scoured the web for any and all information I could find but most are rumours that just seem to contridict each other.

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I've been following this thread for a while but haven't posted anything until now.

IMO, the person who sexually assaulted and killed Richard Sweeney, the 8 year old, is not responsible for the murders of the other two young men. It's a different MO, with the body left covered up in the barn loft, not left outdoors. There was not the brutality to the body that appears in the second murder.

Jeffrey Burkett was found with his hands tied together over his head. He had been sexually molested, beaten and dragged through the woods. Some reports say he suffered surgical style incisions and was tied with barbed wire. This was a very brutal assault.

Donald Abell was missing two weeks before his body was found. His hands were tied, and he had been beaten. He died of a skull fracture. Oddly enough, his shoes were missing.

I think it's possible that Donald Abell sexually assaulted and killed Jeffrey Burnett, and some people in the community may have suspected as much. Abell's murder sounds like vigilante justice - his hands were tied, and he was beaten, but he was not sexually assaulted. Rather than turn him over to the police, someone decided Abell didn't deserve to live.

This is only wild speculation on my part, but it would explain why Abell's family wants no investigation into his murder, and why others who ought to know something are unwilling to talk about it.

Does anyone else think this is a possibility? Or am I way off track??
 
Marilynilpa said:
I've been following this thread for a while but haven't posted anything until now.

IMO, the person who sexually assaulted and killed Richard Sweeney, the 8 year old, is not responsible for the murders of the other two young men. It's a different MO, with the body left covered up in the barn loft, not left outdoors. There was not the brutality to the body that appears in the second murder.

Jeffrey Burkett was found with his hands tied together over his head. He had been sexually molested, beaten and dragged through the woods. Some reports say he suffered surgical style incisions and was tied with barbed wire. This was a very brutal assault.

Donald Abell was missing two weeks before his body was found. His hands were tied, and he had been beaten. He died of a skull fracture. Oddly enough, his shoes were missing.

I think it's possible that Donald Abell sexually assaulted and killed Jeffrey Burnett, and some people in the community may have suspected as much. Abell's murder sounds like vigilante justice - his hands were tied, and he was beaten, but he was not sexually assaulted. Rather than turn him over to the police, someone decided Abell didn't deserve to live.

This is only wild speculation on my part, but it would explain why Abell's family wants no investigation into his murder, and why others who ought to know something are unwilling to talk about it.

Does anyone else think this is a possibility? Or am I way off track??
Click to expand...

This thought had crossed my mind as well.
 
This is my first post here and first I would like to say thanks for keeping such a forum so cases like this isn't totally forgotten. Second although I love the site it is hard for someone closer to the subject to hear strangers talk about people and a town they know nothing about...Third although I don't know any thing that would change any of these cases, I did live in the area from 1973 to about 1992 and was privy to all the local news, rumors and still have ties to the old community with family and friends still living there. So I came here looking for info on a shooting death of a friend of mine from HHS, Chris Zollman 1986. After not finding any thing about him I did find this thread about 4 other killings in my home town and I remember them well so I will try to go over what I recall from the times and if there is anything I can do as far as getting answers from friends at home I will give it my best. Forgive me if I skip around there is alot to cover.
 
Its hard for me to say but in the 70's and 80's the little town of Henryville was like "day and night". And what I mean is that it was a great town with nice people and at the same time there was always rumor of "devil worship", "murders", "coverups" and "drugs". And with a nickname like "Hooterville" and the community being split by a majority of poor farmers mixed with a few elite wealthy families added with NO local law enforcement made for a storybook place to grow up to say the least. But it's my home town and I love it. I do wish the truth would come out after all these years, the town has changed so much now.
 
We moved to Henryville around 1973 and lived on a farm owned by Dr. Greene. Dr. Greene owned several farms in the area and hired my dad to help manage and work all his farms with Charles Combs. Later after Charlie past my dad took over and later on Kendall Greene (Dr. Greene's son) took over the farms. They even moved my grandmother and my aunt and uncle on another of his farms and hired my uncle on as a farm hand. So I am bias to say I grew up close to them and Dr. Greene was like a Godfather and Kendall was like a big brother to me. Dr. Greene served in the military side by side with Governor Orr and Kendall has made it in to politics himself...I highly doubt they had anything to do with any of these tragedies. They never had time we were always working.
 
The thing I remember about the Richard Sweeny death is that at first he was just missing. My dad and Mr. Sweeney (Richard's father) were friends and helped each other with their farms when the major task came. So a couple of days ago when I found this thread I asked my dad what happened when Richard came up missing my dad said he was right there in the search and was there in the barn when they found him. Slightly different than the paper report my dad states "they found him rolled up in an old rug and covered with clothes and rags so to cover up"...and as soon as he was found the police forced every body to go home. Also my dad said at the time the rumor was "that Richard had caught his older brother or his older brothers friends doing drugs and that they were trying to scare not to tell on them when things got loud and they tried to quite him because of how close the barn was to the house it went to far and he died." I know its just a rumor but my dad remembers it like it was yesterday and he is 63. FYI the Bluelick Salebarn in its time was like a giant yardsale or hillbilly pawnstore everyone came there to sell or buy something trying to make money, like I said it was a very rich/poor town no in between. I guess it was a local practice that some rich families owned lots of farms and had poor families working for the right to live on the farm and little of no if any pay in money...I remember learning words like slavelabor and carpetbagger in history class at HHS thinking "hell my dad does that today" we were dirt poor starving, living on a rich mans farm...
 
Growing up in Henryville in my youth there were always rumors of "devil worshipers", we were surrounded by ominous landmark and folklore like The Pigeon Roost Massacre, The Ancient Indian Burial Mounds, The Witches Castle, Flat Rock and more. And with the death of Jeff Burkett it just fueled the fire. If not for the grizzly was he was mutilated just the fact he was found at "Flat Rock" was all it took. But with all the rumors in town about "devil worshipers" there never seemed to be any proof that there was any. Like it was a wild goose designed to cover up their deed and give something for the police to chase. The thing I can state for a fact is about the area. The Clark State Forestry is cut up by firelanes designed to give firefighters access in time of need. In the past we rode dirtbikes over ever inch of that forestry so I know it well. Now if you take the fact he was drug to Flat Rock and you backtrack from the firetrail leading to hwy. 160, you have a choice. A) he was drug on hwy . 160 from the direction of town. now here's were it gets good at right down the road less than a half mile is The Witches Castle. But here's where that ends. The Witches Castle is offroad,uphill in brush and hard to access at day no less the night. Not much of a chance for devil worshipers to start a ceremony and drag a man through those woods at night in those days. Or B) B is the other only other way into town. If you come from Flat Rock down the firelane to hwy. 160 the firelane continues strait across. Now from there the next local landmark would be the "Fire Tower". Not a hang out for devil worshipers because its the hangout for all the youth in Henryville. The Fire Tower was "The" place everybody in town went to party. And that was a bad thing because we thought it was the only place to go. Which in turn made a place for people that didn't like each other to meet. So for me the chance that he met the murderer at The Fire Tower (a well known hangout for our local youth) and was drug to Flat Rock to make goose chase with the cover of devil worship is the most logical thing I can see from this.
 
The fact about Donnie's death is by this time everybody was grasping at straws. For me the biggest difference in Donnie's death was that he was not sexually assaulted, maybe the killer was interrupted. It was stated that Dannie's "platform shoes" were missing. maybe he was defending himself and hurt his assailant with a kick and there was blood on the shoes so the killer took them. Then there is the dump site Bartle Knob Rd., it's off the main road and is going nowhere for anyone but some one who lives there. And if something happened to shorten the plans of the killer then maybe he lives close by...Just don't know but I think there is something about Bartle Knob rd. area. It's easier for me to believe one sexually deviant serial killer committed all three murders opposed to multiple sexual deviant murderers and a town of vigilante justice killers or devil worshiping killers. But that's why I added my opinion so I could get some feedback and maybe learn something...I also remember after these three killings that the police came by the school and said they had a new program to help protect the children of Henryville and fingerprinted everybody for a database. Some said it was an disguised way to get minors prints and maybe the killer or killers were part of the student body.
 
After reading this http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/04230801lmb.pdf and from the rumors around town, there is no mystery here. Danny got shot for the pot. The only way Sweeney got caught was he tried to kill Det. Kramer with a pipebomb under his car after Kramer questioned him. they offered him a plea and he still told them he did't do it after trying to kill a cop. If he is capable of trying to killing Det. Kramer I am sure he killed Danny while in the pot field and Danny had a shovel and two buckets in his hands.
 
1986 we were told at school our friend Chris had committed suicide. Shortly after the rumors started that he was found in his back yard sitting on a stump with a .22 caliber rifle close to his body, and that the angle of the shot would suggest that he was shot from behind his ear making a suicide impossible with the gun and angle. Any help appreciated.
 
hornet'88 said:
1986 we were told at school our friend Chris had committed suicide. Shortly after the rumors started that he was found in his back yard sitting on a stump with a .22 caliber rifle close to his body, and that the angle of the shot would suggest that he was shot from behind his ear making a suicide impossible with the gun and angle. Any help appreciated.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you should start a separate thread for him.
 
Hornet88, you have really good theory's here. I have been a member since the thread began when Mahoney started this. I have lived in the Henryville area my entire life and know all the rumors. I really wish these cases would be investigated again but really doubt that will happen now due to Henryville being physically and emotionally tore up by the F-4 tornadoes in March. I'm sure authorities wouldn't want negative light being shed on this town. I do know that Mahoney contacted some of the boys family members and some just want it left in the past but others who are eldery want to see it solved before they die.

I dated a member of the Sweeny family and the story from them on the older Sweeney is was exactly as you stated and he had no connection to the boys' murders. i also heard the the little Sweeney boy was rolled in a rug and the brother was involved.-

Maybe a seperate thread shoud be started for the Zollman boy. You may get more responses that way. Also, there is a local Clark County forum called Clark County Chatter and maye you can get some info there if you start a thread there. Good luck and thanks for the input.
 
Angels_Not_Forgotten said:
Ok so does anyone from this town remember a guy named Rick that hung out with Joe and Todd Carr? I'm assuming as well these are the 2 sons of the Doctor Carr that was well respected in the community. If you have information about Rick, such as a name, a link, or whatever, and do not feel comfortable posting it for whatever reason, please PM me. Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

My aunt (also a HHS grad) told me today she thought there was a Rick Cissell (not sure on spelling) and that not only did he run with them she thinks he was an adopted child of Dr. Carr and thats why they were always together...back then they were called Joey and Ricky so that could be the riming names you were in search of also...
 
Is the Witches Castle hornet88 mentions the same one that Shanda Sharer was brought to before she was murdered?
 
I apologize and haven't had a chance to read through the whole thread yet but has William Clyde Gibson ever been discussed as a possible perp in this case?
 
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