vermontaigne
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Just throwing this out here, the story of a long-haired, maybe pot smoking 15 year old who was hog-tied and burned alive in a ditch in KC in 1974. The officer who called in the discovery him was considered a suspect. 1974 case of teen burned alive had a suspect, but never an arrest He was later dismissed for calling it in to KC police, rather than his own department.
Here's the link to the thread for Hazel and Steve Avery, and Gary Longfellow, who were executed at about the same time as this UID died: KS - KS - Hazel, 60, & Steve Avery, 19, Gary Longfellow, 23, Ottawa, 28 March 1973
They were shot in Hazel's car near a bridge. Maybe they came on someone getting rid of this victim, and he was dumped in an alternate location.
David L. Eyman, 15 at the time of his death, was reported to have been found smoldering in a southern Kansas City ditch, bound at his hands and feet.
The Kansas City Police unit investigating the case suspected the Raymore officer who found Eyman had killed the teen. The officer was never charged in the case and later moved to central Kansas.
Eyman was burned alive Aug. 14, 1974, and found tied up “similar to the way a steer might be bound in a rodeo,” according to The Star at the time. A small amount of pot was found in his back pocket, though his wallet was missing. His body was unrecognizable from the burns.
He was later identified by a silver-and-turquoise ring and by matching a fingerprint.
The investigation into Eyman’s death was handled by the 25-person Metropolitan Major Case Squad for nine days, longer than the five days that was typical at the time. Before the case was handed off to the crimes against persons unit, and then declared a cold case, the Metro Squad interviewed the Raymore officer.
The officer had reported Eyman’s burning body around 3:45 a.m. to the Kansas City Police Department, rather than to the Raymore police chief, as he had been instructed. For that, he was later fired.
Because the officer had a record of discovering more fires of suspicious origin than any other law enforcement officer in the area, he was called in for questioning about the murder. Unnamed sources within the Metro Squad told The Star in 1979 they thought the Raymore officer had murdered Eyman.
The strongest evidence to support the belief was the result of a polygraph test indicating the officer was involved in the murder, according to the 1979 Star report. Missouri law required both parties to consent to the admission of those results in court, so the case never went forward. Polygraph tests vary widely in their reliability.
In 1979, a Star reporter interviewed the officer. He denied involvement with the crime, saying “there was nothing to confess to.” He described himself as a “dedicated officer,” and said his record of finding suspicious fires was due to his work ethic.
“When I was out, I worked,” he said. “I didn’t sit around drinking coffee like some of them.”
Here's the link to the thread for Hazel and Steve Avery, and Gary Longfellow, who were executed at about the same time as this UID died: KS - KS - Hazel, 60, & Steve Avery, 19, Gary Longfellow, 23, Ottawa, 28 March 1973
They were shot in Hazel's car near a bridge. Maybe they came on someone getting rid of this victim, and he was dumped in an alternate location.
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