Lloyd Welch Pleads Guilty in Deaths of Sheila and Katherine Lyon

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From the link in the first post:

Lloyd Lee Welch Jr. has been sentenced for the murders of Katherine and Sheila Lyon in Bedford County.
Welch, 60, received two 48-year sentences for the two counts of first degree felony murder he was facing. The sentences will be served concurrently.
Katherine and Sheila Lyon, ages 10 and 12, were last seen at the Wheaton Plaza shopping center near their home in Kensington, Maryland on March 25, 1975. Family members at the time said the girls had traveled to the nearby mall to window shop.
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Great article from the Washington Post




At times patient, at times pushing, the cold-case detectives again went at Lloyd Welch inside the small interrogation room.
It was their 11th session with the longtime sex offender, who held answers to questions that had haunted a Maryland family for more than 40 years: What happened to Katherine and Sheila — the Lyon sisters — after they vanished from a shopping mall in 1975?
“I know I should be worried about the girls, the family, puttin’ it to rest and stuff like that,” Welch told the detectives. “But you also got to look at it, I’m a survivor. I’ve lived on the street. And like I told you, I’ve also gotta think of me. What’s going to happen to me?"
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Happy to see a resolution for the family but without any real solid evidence or remains I feel like we'll never know for certain what really happened to them. He's certainly a *******, but is he THE *******? And was his uncle involved?
 
There are still too many unanswered questions to consider this case "solved." It feels more like it is been neatly "packaged" and "covered up" to me. Where are the facts? What do we have now that we didn't have 40 years ago? One known liar who was already in prison, now taking the wrap for a murder (or is it 2 murders?) without identifying any of the other people involved or verification that either of the girls are actually dead. And to top it all, LLW still denies any killing; he only says he "took them from the shopping center." Even more confusing, he only addresses knowledge of one girl being dead. Is LLW on his way back to Delaware now?
 
IMO, Bedford did its job. It stopped the investigation, but did it really solve the case? Not in my opinion.
 
That WaPo story nicely blows by the Long Haired Man sketch and how LE failed to make the connection.

When I saw the case against Lloyd was going to end in a plea deal, this is precisely what I was afraid of. I have to agree with Schipperke.
 
I wish this interview was longer, but the prosecutor from Maryland shared some details and about the strategy of the plea deal. Some of it was jurisdictional.



Montgomery Co. Prosecutor John McCarthy says the sisters were likely taken into Prince Georges County within 10 minutes of their abduction, which would be the direction of Richard Allen Welch's house.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...ch_s-Guilty-Plea_Washington-DC-444228093.html
 
Schipperke said:
IMO, Bedford did its job. It stopped the investigation, but did it really solve the case? Not in my opinion.
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The frustration here is that many questions may never be answered. LLW is a liar and a psychopath who may have only delivered his version of the abduction and murders. While a statement from him may have some truth it, there is no chance it is 100% accurate.

What are LLW's motivations to lie?

He may have wanted to settle a grudge with his uncle or father. These men may be 100% innocent, but he wanted to screw them and their reputations (the father is deceased). LLW also claimed at one point his deceased girlfriend or wife babysat the girls while in captivity. IMO it is hard to believe a single person was able to kidnap both girls.

I think LE is confidant that LLW was involved, regardless of how he may have distorted the truth for whatever reasons.

It was said at sometime that LLW revealed details not known to the public. I hope at least this much will be revealed so any doubts can be put to rest. I am sure some of the details are very ugly and would not be fair to the family to release.
 
WaynezWorld said:
The frustration here is that many questions may never be answered. LLW is a liar and a psychopath who may have only delivered his version of the abduction and murders. While a statement from him may have some truth it, there is no chance it is 100% accurate.

What are LLW's motivations to lie?

He may have wanted to settle a grudge with his uncle or father. These men may be 100% innocent, but he wanted to screw them and their reputations (the father is deceased). LLW also claimed at one point his deceased girlfriend or wife babysat the girls while in captivity. IMO it is hard to believe a single person was able to kidnap both girls.

I think LE is confidant that LLW was involved, regardless of how he may have distorted the truth for whatever reasons.

It was said at sometime that LLW revealed details not known to the public. I hope at least this much will be revealed so any doubts can be put to rest. I am sure some of the details are very ugly and would not be fair to the family to release.
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I agree with almost everything above.

But I don't agree that one person couldn't kidnap 2 young girls. We have seen it happen way too often. Especially 2 girls who love each other. The monster just needs to put a knife at one sister's throat, or a gun to one sister's head, and the other will be totally compliant. :cry:
 
katydid23 said:
I agree with almost everything above.

But I don't agree that one person couldn't kidnap 2 young girls. We have seen it happen way too often. Especially 2 girls who love each other. The monster just needs to put a knife at one sister's throat, or a gun to one sister's head, and the other will be totally compliant. :cry:
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Very sad to visualize but you may have a point. These girls were basically defenseless and that makes it an even greater crime.

I am still very curious about the statements made by Teddy Welch and Wes Justice that implicated the father and the uncle.
 
I am still curious about a connection to L W Kraisel and the molestation of TTW's sons which was adjudicated just about the time LLW's sketch was discovered. This was covered in Websleuths after a posted comment made by TTW's late wife Stacy Heller Welch. If Stacy was aware of all the "skeletons," TTW Jr. must know them as well. I feel certain that there is still more knowledge within the family.
 
http://wset.com/news/local/lyon-sisters-investigation-continues There are still so many questions to be answered, including what happened in the Evidence Room in Bedford to the tooth that was supposed to prove one of the girls (at least) was burned on the mountain. This case has not been solved; it continues to be "covered." I know how painful this had been all these years for the family, but I find it hard to believe that they can be completely satisfied with the outcome at this point. One participant has been identified, but you and bet there are lots of other people around who have information they could share, but won't. Why? Either they have something to hide or they have something to fear! The dead can't hurt you, only the living can! IMO, if you believe that all the other "guilty" are now dead, then you must believe that this case has other connections to things that living people want to remain hidden. IMO, the only people who lived through this ordeal in 1975 who could possibly be content with this "solution" are knowledgeable of and connected to, the truth or involved in something else connected some way.
 
Schipperke-

I think that LLW provided information to LE that was not made public, including that one girl had been wearing a flower print shirt. He may have provided deeper and more personal information that the parents do not want disclosed, such as a scar or other physical characteristics.

Questions revolve around the statements from cousins. According to media reports, one cousin said Richard Allen Welch confided to him that he was involved with other family members in the murder, rape and abduction of the sisters. This same cousin also believes he saw the two girls at the RAW home in Hyattsville being babysat by LLW wife Helen Craver.

Other questions should be raised about the level of obstruction and the fact that 3 family members committed perjury or obstruction. Why?

I have a few theories about the case, here they are....

1. The Tape Recorder Man: Another child molester who was not "successful" on that date but coincidentally happened to be in the Mall. He never came forward to clear himself because he was guilty in other sex crimes (but maybe not murder)

2. There were more sexual assaults committed by the Welch family with RAW being the lead conspirator. The ruse was being a security guard investigating shoplifting in the Mall. LLW was a younger, dumber ride-along who also indulged. The car and residence key to the Lyons crime was RAW's.

3. The original crime may not have been intended as a murder, but a sexual assault "catch and release". Something motivated the Welchs to hold the sisters- possibly as part of a kidnap plot when they realized they were daughters of a local radio DJ. Or perhaps the uncle/nephew team felt their identities had become compromised. The Welchs may have even been involved in the Annapolis ransom scheme. As mentioned earlier, two sources including LLW claim the girls were babysat at the Hyattsville home by Helen Craver. This would lead one to believe there was a ransom motive that would be much more acceptable to the female members of the family.

4. Some of the Welch relatives have been told a toned down version of what happened with the sisters. They know that RAW had contact with the girls, but either believe he was falsely implicated as an accessory by LLW, Or maybe the family was told there was some kind of accidental death that couldn't be explained to authorities and needed to be covered up to protect the family. LLW has also implicated his deceased father in these crimes.

5. These events were around Easter and the schools Easter recess. The women of the Welch family were out of town, and the home in Hyattsville was vacant.


I think a lot more questions need to be answered by all of these people in the family.

I believe Henry Parker has since died, but his sister Connie Akers is still alive. Akers saw a cousin bring a bloody duffel bag 200 miles and throw it onto a fire. This is a major WTF moment. You said nothing at the time and only came forward later. What type of conversations did you have with family regarding this? Please explain.

Thomas Teddy Welch had several conversations with Richard Allen Welch when the investigation begin, You have also placed the sisters in the house in Hyattsville. You were very young and possibly not a willing accomplice. You did hear stories from Richard Allen Welch. Please explain.

All of the members of the extended Welch family who were charged and/or convicted of obstruction or perjury. What were your motivations and why the loyalty? Patricia Welch, Leslie Engelking, Amy Welch-Johnson and Gladys Stangee- is there a good reason you behaved as you did? Please explain.

Richard Allen Welch- either you have one vindictive SOB nephew and you are another victim or you just got away with murder. Why the conversations years later with Thomas Welch and why the lack of cooperation in this case. Please explain.
 
Good start WaynezWorld. There are just too many unanswered questions for actions having taken place during the investigation or having not taken place. I believe LE remains in possession of information which may yet yield revealing information unless it "disappears." BTW, where does all the investigative yield now reside? Montgomery County or Bedford, VA? Anyone contemplating a FOI inquiry might want to get that question settled now before it all goes missing between the jurisdictions.

Does anyone else question the "neutrality" of having this investigation handled in what is virtually the family's hometown and having the single piece of possible DNA evidence, the"tooth," disappear from the evidence room without any explanation of actions being taken to find out the "who" within the ranks of "hometown" LE was involved in the disappearance? Where did the "proof" come from which gave Bedford jurisdiction? What proof is there that either of the girls ever set foot (or dead body) in Bedford or in Virginia after the kidnapping in Wheaton? The who/what "game" screams cover up to me--"make this investigation end before the real 'skeletons' are uncovered." The late Stacy Heller Welch's words echo about the dimension of the activity, the "family" financial situation, and the "skeletons in the closet." She said they would fight because the "money is there to do it." "Family" is a strange word with different meanings in some parts of the world. Everybody is a "cuzin" no matter what name is on the "certificate" (birth, death, marriage with or without divorce, even property deeds for $10 houses, and corporations). This case needs a good Forensic Genealogist, but apparently the "family" is satisfied--both Welch and Lyon. Yet, no one knows (cares?) where the girls are or who is responsible for the parts we all know LLW could not have performed by his lonesome. Solved or covered up?
 
I thought I would feel better after LLW went to court, but I really don't. The message from Maryland is sadly clear: child abuse, including but not limited to murder, is still okey-dokey with Maryland authorities. I have yet to see Maryland authorities actually care what happens to children, even children of the rich and famous. TTW's testimony actually corroborates the testimony of a female friend of Sheila and Katherine's, who gave a really good description of the suspect, however; imagine his terror at realizing that his own family members, including his dad, was involved in this crime. Very scary, especially at such a young age. I think Maryland has a responsibility to go ahead and solve the crime.
 
I do not blame police for not making a criminal case against others. Montgomery County police want this solved very badly. I am not second guessing their intentions and abilities.

I think there are probably very good reasons why there were no charges filed against Richard Allen Welch. I am not convinced his innocence is one of them. I cannot imagine that the police in Bedford tried to protect the Welch family at all.

I do not want to blame police or question their competence. It does trouble me that LLW slipped the radar in 1975 but someone he did with the "perfect storm" of talking to police first about the reward and failing a polygraph. Perhaps also, he cut his hair and did not appear like the mugshot when he spoke to police in 1975; then returned to that look in 1977.

I would hope that law enforcement can release some of the investigative materials, interviews of LLW and statements of family members. I am confident that LLW was responsible, but I am very curious as to why no case could be built against others.

If anyone knows the status of the gag order or whether more info will be released into the public record, please let me know.
 
Having seen people get charged with crimes they definitely did not commit, it makes me really angry to see someone not get charged when his home was the last place two murder victims were seen alive. Not negating your point, but I actually do want to blame police and question their competence. Until they can give us a really good reason for getting this wrong all these years.....don't forget about the composite sketch of LLW that was never released......and tell us why RAW does not have to answer for his involvement, I will not be satisfied.
 
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