Missouri - The Springfield Three--missing since June 1992 - #15

[asyousay]

That is so typical of kids that age.

Maybe it’s cultural?

I know for a fact if my friends had booked a hotel room for the night which our parents would of paid for at that age we would not of cancelled it last minute.


I also wouldn’t of been allowed to just randomly stay somewhere as my mum wouldn’t of allowed even at 18. But that could be down to the time’s as I was 18 in 2000’s when everybody knew the dangers.

 

[TexasT]

Yes, I have considered the I-70 killer could be the perp here, but I don't believe he is. He shot his victims and left them at the scene which is not what happened to the Springfield 3. He did kill two women in Missouri in May of 1992.

I-70 Killer - Wikipedia

I believe that whoever abducted and killed the Springfield 3 used the same M.O. as Falls. The identity if the I-70 killer remains unknown, but, I don't think he is Falls.

Say's they tested Falls DNA in 2018, but I haven't read they have the killers dna or any physical evidence to compare ? I agree with you in this case though, The only similarity in the 3mw is Stacey working at a bridal shop. The two KS women he killed were in a bridal shop.

 

[Will_Graham]

I went back to verify what I had found last year. The Nevada Daily Mail article from two days after Cheryl's disappearance mentions her husband "Walter" several times. The Vernon County Recorder doesn't have marriage licenses online but does have a real estate record reflecting both Cheryl and Walter J (albeit misspelled) as Grantees. So I'm pretty sure she was married to a Walter at the time of her disappearance. As for the link to Nigel, if you find her on FB you'll confirm her maiden name was Kenney, her Dad is James (Walter's brother) and both James and Walter are/were also on FB (Walt had two different profiles). Nigel also posted the following on FB right after Walt's death:

"While we will forever hold these memories, it is so hard to think that suddenly they are all we have. My heart is broken to have to say "Peace Out, Uncle Dude." Walt J. Kenney, you were absolutely the coolest; you'll be missed immensely."

I'm pretty certain Cheryl Kenney was Nigel's aunt.

I have seen it posted here that there is speculation Cheryl's son who remains active in searching for answers about her is the bio son of one of RD's kin. I can't recall now where I read that, but that does make for a strange set of very few degrees of separation if true.

 

[Ozarkian]

Hi there! I’m fairly new to this website but very familiar with this case as a third generation Springfieldian. I was wondering what everyone thinks about the rumor that they might be buried underneath the Cox South parking garage? I, myself, think the likelihood is slim but at this point why leave any stone unturned. I’ve heard people and/or groups outside of the SPD have offered to cover the costs and the hospital isn’t really pushing back so I’m not sure why the police department wouldn’t be willing to do it if for no other reason than to just shut people up about it.

I’m also curious how much the families of the three women have pushed for it and if that would make any difference.

 

[asyousay]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed>


It wouldn’t of cost the police force anything as it was all be paid for by a outside contractor. Then it would of been proven nothing was under there and it shuts everybody up and people move on to their next theory.


All this does is leave people convinced they are under there which just damages the case even more. In life you have to sometimes make hard decisions and I’m positive they are not under there but when outsiders are the ones spending the money and you only have to sign off on them taking a core sample why would you refuse?


<modsnip>
MOO

 

[Ozarkian]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed>


It wouldn’t of cost the police force anything as it was all be paid for by a outside contractor. Then it would of been proven nothing was under there and it shuts everybody up and people move on to their next theory.


All this does is leave people convinced they are under there which just damages the case even more. In life you have to sometimes make hard decisions and I’m positive they are not under there but when outsiders are the ones spending the money and you only have to sign off on them taking a core sample why would you refuse?


<modsnip>
MOO

<modsnip: quoted post was modsnipped>

They’ve followed other questionable leads to the ends of the Earth but this one for some reason they do not want to touch. Perhaps it’s because there is rumor that it’s origins lie in a psychic vision, but even if that is true there was that gentleman that used his underground scanner and said he saw “anomalies” that were consistent with bodies. The guy worked 9/11. Does that not carry a small bit credibility. I just don’t get it. I don’t see where just doing the core sample (and I reiterate at someone else’s expense) doesn’t just put all this to rest and quite frankly make them look good to the community. It does feel a little sketchy that they won’t even consider this when they’ve followed other tips that have lead only to dead ends. I personally feel like it’s totally negligent but maybe they’ve got something up their sleeve with this information and they are using it strategically.

 

[lisaNYC]

I personally feel like it’s totally negligent but maybe they’ve got something up their sleeve with this information and they are using it strategically.

I don't think the SPD did anything strategically with regards to this case.

 

[Betty P]

With all the talk of Stacy being in the wrong place at the wrong time, from the McCall's perspective the it would make sense to associate some blame to the Delmar house and even to its residents. The McCalls might have been upset that Stacy told them she was staying the night at one friend's house and her car is at another friends home the next day. If you are on your parents car insurance as a teen they tend to not want you doing anything risky. Even if you are sober driving around when many people have been drinking could put you at risk as well as your car. This was my experience at least.

It seems rather odd for a parent to say an 18 yo (going on 19) high school graduate needed to be given permission to go places or meet with people. They weren't young teens and spending the night with a friend, then driving 45 minutes to a swim park the next day really isn't a big deal for someone that age. Much different from being, say, 15 or 16 years old.

At the risk of repeating myself, Springfield is a smallish, very judgmental town full of people who count how many people go to church. They're very quick to look down on anyone who doesn't earn as much money or is a divorced mom or who doesn't go to the same church. The McCalls were judging and blaming Sheryl early on because that's the natural way people think in that town. It's a big distraction to keep trying to accuse Sheryl of hanging out with drug dealers, etc. JMO

Its probably one of the reasons the case will never be solved.

 

[Nixaeagle]

I don’t think they’re interested in giving into “psychic games”.
when they core and nothing is found, then They’ll say , dig over here and then when they aren’t found then go dig up PFI, and when they aren’t found there , then go dredge the James River , it never ends ..

 

[asyousay]

I don’t think they’re interested in giving into “psychic games”.
when they core and nothing is found, then They’ll say , dig over here and then when they aren’t found then go dig up PFI, and when they aren’t found there , then go dredge the James River , it never ends ..

<modsnip: rude>

It’s about progressing the case on and and as long as people think the police are hiding something it won’t move the case on. Some people are genuinely convinced they are under there and until they know they are not then people are not going to look outside their own tunnel vision. The police need help from the general public to help solve this.

Also considering the crap the police pulled this tip is no more ridiculous. They believed porch lady without a shred of proof and the story is littered with holes.

 

[Valiant]

It seems rather odd for a parent to say an 18 yo (going on 19) high school graduate needed to be given permission to go places or meet with people. They weren't young teens and spending the night with a friend, then driving 45 minutes to a swim park the next day really isn't a big deal for someone that age. Much different from being, say, 15 or 16 years old.

It doesn't seem odd to me. Growing up, I knew many 18 year old kids who were told "my house, my rules" and their comings and goings were still monitored by their parents. Full disclosure - I was one of those kids.

 

[asyousay]

It doesn't seem odd to me. Growing up, I knew many 18 year old kids who were told "my house, my rules" and their comings and goings were still monitored by their parents. Full disclosure - I was one of those kids.

My parents were the same and certainly I had rules until I went off to University

 

[Alfonsina Storni]

My parents were the same and certainly I had rules until I went off to University

What really matters is that, for the McCalls, asking for permission to go out and telling your parents where you were going was normal. Let's not forget that Stacy called her mom at 10 to tell her she would stay at Janelle. We know that there are many contradictions on the accounts of that night. So THAT is what really matters.

 

[pittsburghgirl]

...Springfield is a smallish, very judgmental town full of people who count how many people go to church. They're very quick to look down on anyone who doesn't earn as much money or is a divorced mom or who doesn't go to the same church. The McCalls were judging and blaming Sheryl early on because that's the natural way people think in that town. It's a big distraction to keep trying to accuse Sheryl of hanging out with drug dealers, etc. JMO

Its probably one of the reasons the case will never be solved.

I agree. There has never been a shred of evidence presented that Sherrill was involved with anything illegal.

 

[Missouri Mule]

I agree. There has never been a shred of evidence presented that Sherrill was involved with anything illegal.

I agree. It seems to me that it is reasonable to conclude that people promoting such notions may be the actual perp or perps. It effectively takes the focus off real suspects.

This has been going on, quite successfully for 28 years.

 

[Boston Corbett]

<modsnip>

Yes, no evidence of Sherrill being involved in any crime, but still -- when trying to figure out why three people vanished, it's important to think of the milieu that person was a part of, and a hairdresser hears lots of things. She's not necessarily guilty of a thing at all except having ears if it was information perhaps passively overheard that turned a key.

Now, her daughter? Different story, though here too the statement that we have no evidence of her being an active part of criminal activities seems true, right? She, however, through classic bad judgement, aligned herself with seamy sorts, and that may have been a part of a thread which led to late night at Delmar. Seems more likely, just based on the anecdotal kind of stuff we've heard, that it was she. Much more likely those two than Stacy, right?

But it's unsolved so who knows and this is why it's interesting, and thank you again for the depth and passion of your replies, everyone.

 

[Ozarkian]

I go back and forth trying to speculate if this was a totally random crime or if it was a targeted crime. Obviously if this was a random crime then the victims were just the unlucky chosen of someone's sick whim to cause harm. However, if it was targeted it only makes sense to me that Sherrill was the target and I'll tell you why.

I think when a crime is premeditated most the time the perpetrator(s) try to come up with a plan that draws the least amount of attention for as long as possible once the crime has been committed. These plans usually are based on regular patterns of behavior or an event (i.e. a graduation) that would create the best opportunity to carry out the act. This, in my mind, takes Suzie out of the mix as the target. I cannot think of a worse night to try and pull this off (although regardless of who the target was at this point it was pulled off) than graduation night. As it has been discussed she changed her plans several times. They were at different parties throughout the night. There is no regular pattern of behavior to try and carry out this crime. To plan to target someone depends on some level of predictability and this night she had none. It just doesn't make sense to to use graduation night to try and get to Suzie when you have no idea what she's going to be doing and who she's going to be with and where exactly she is going to be throughout the evening. Unless she was stalked out all night and followed home at which point the perpetrator(s) then know she has an additional friend with her as well as whoever is in her house that evening. They would now know they have other factors that make it harder to get to who you want. It's still possible she is the target but I think if she's the target using that night only makes it more difficult. It just seems like the least ideal situation.

On the other hand if the perpetrator(s) were aware this was graduation night they could reasonably count on Sherrill being alone that night. If this was planned I'm sure the person(s) knows she is a single woman and will be in her house alone that evening while her daughter is out celebrating and most likely will not be home until the next morning at the earliest.

Now if this was the case one has to wonder how the girls would have become involved. That I cannot answer. Also what would have made Sherrill a target would be the next question. I know there is a lot of speculation that she might have had some nefarious relationships or that she was involved in some suspect activities but I don't know if any of that has been solidly proven. Finally, if Sherrill was the target why would they have still carried it out upon realizing that she was not home alone. Again, no idea. There are so many gaping holes to fill in with any scenario.

 

[Betty P]

I agree. It seems to me that it is reasonable to conclude that people promoting such notions may be the actual perp or perps. It effectively takes the focus off real suspects.

This has been going on, quite successfully for 28 years.

Very true. Have seen similar things happen with many other cases.

 

[nye bevan]

I don't think real perps of this magnitude go back and dabble in these cases long years after. These were hardcore killers. They are either dead or gone, long gone. Why risk it, it's been most of three decades, you are free and clear and those tasked with finding you, cannot do it. Distance is the great eraser of memory. Why stay close and remind.

 

[Missouri Mule]

I don't think real perps of this magnitude go back and dabble in these cases long years after. These were hardcore killers. They are either dead or gone, long gone. Why risk it, it's been most of three decades, you are free and clear and those tasked with finding you, cannot do it. Distance is the great eraser of memory. Why stay close and remind.

I think it is not implausible that there was not some evil force came to that house that morning. I can come up with about five possible scenarios. One would be that it was a one off crime and the perp has kept his nose clean for the past 28 years. At the same time I think he has followed this case like a bloodhound.