Mr Bojangles

[DHT1339]

I read that when Mr. B left Bojangles, staff watched him go to the dumpster and then head south.

yes i also remember reading this on jivepuppi

i don't think bojangles is the killer, nor do i think he had anything to do with the crime. why would a guy murder 3 young boys, use the woods to escape and keep from being seen, and then enter a restaurant where people would see him? makes no sense. especially considering this was a black man in the south. he could have very well just been a homeless guy who had gotten into a fight which would explain his disoriented state and the mud/blood.

but the timing is just too hard to let go of. what are the chances that right after the most notorious murder in the state of AR has just occurred, this guy comes into bojangles covered in mud and blood? for that reason, i think he was in the woods and either stumbled across the dead bodies or saw the killer(s) dumping the bodies. he could have injured/dirtied himself as a result of using the woods to escape and maybe he was even injured by the killer(s.) didn't RC claim he heard splashes and a gunshot? the gunshot could have been directed at mr bojangles and he managed to escape through the woods, ending up in the restaurant.

what i'm wondering is how no one managed to see him AFTER he left bojangles. the staff said they saw him walk south so he didn't reenter the woods. not one person in the area saw this guy? very odd to me. the only other account of a black man i've read (jivepuppi) was from the manager of a trucking line that had three of its trucks stop at the blue beacon after 7PM that night. one of the drivers apparently mentioned seeing a black man covered in blood.

speaking of the blue beacon, anyone else find it very odd how the logs of visiting trucks given to police end at 7:18 PM the night of 5/5? right around the most crucial time of that night. there are also missing receipts from that night and i don't believe they even interviewed any of the employees who were on the night shift

 

[fr brown]

yes i also remember reading this on jivepuppi

i don't think bojangles is the killer, nor do i think he had anything to do with the crime. why would a guy murder 3 young boys, use the woods to escape and keep from being seen, and then enter a restaurant where people would see him? makes no sense. especially considering this was a black man in the south. he could have very well just been a homeless guy who had gotten into a fight which would explain his disoriented state and the mud/blood.

but the timing is just too hard to let go of. what are the chances that right after the most notorious murder in the state of AR has just occurred, this guy comes into bojangles covered in mud and blood? for that reason, i think he was in the woods and either stumbled across the dead bodies or saw the killer(s) dumping the bodies. he could have injured/dirtied himself as a result of using the woods to escape and maybe he was even injured by the killer(s.) didn't RC claim he heard splashes and a gunshot? the gunshot could have been directed at mr bojangles and he managed to escape through the woods, ending up in the restaurant.

what i'm wondering is how no one managed to see him AFTER he left bojangles. the staff said they saw him walk south so he didn't reenter the woods. not one person in the area saw this guy? very odd to me. the only other account of a black man i've read (jivepuppi) was from the manager of a trucking line that had three of its trucks stop at the blue beacon after 7PM that night. one of the drivers apparently mentioned seeing a black man covered in blood.

speaking of the blue beacon, anyone else find it very odd how the logs of visiting trucks given to police end at 7:18 PM the night of 5/5? right around the most crucial time of that night. there are also missing receipts from that night and i don't believe they even interviewed any of the employees who were on the night shift

Why would anyone murder 3 young boys?

I looked at the area in Google Maps to see if Delta Express was still there. I didn't see it. Maybe the area south of the restaurant is not very busy at night. If it's not busy now, it probably wasn't busy then.

But how do we know that nobody saw him? Did they canvass the area? If someone called the police station about the mysterious Mr. Bojangles, the information probably got put in the circular file. Ridge lost not only the blood sample, but also the sunglasses. He said at trial that he didn't remember taking them. The manager says he gave them to him. And then there's whatever might have been put in the dumpster. Did Ridge look in there? Doubt it.

The detectives seemed uninterested in following up this lead.

If Bojangles lived in the area, it might still be possible to get information on him.

 

[DHT1339]

Why would anyone murder 3 young boys?

I looked at the area in Google Maps to see if Delta Express was still there. I didn't see it. Maybe the area south of the restaurant is not very busy at night. If it's not busy now, it probably wasn't busy then.

But how do we know that nobody saw him? Did they canvass the area? If someone called the police station about the mysterious Mr. Bojangles, the information probably got put in the circular file. Ridge lost not only the blood sample, but also the sunglasses. He said at trial that he didn't remember taking them. The manager says he gave them to him. And then there's whatever might have been put in the dumpster. Did Ridge look in there? Doubt it.

The detectives seemed uninterested in following up this lead.

If Bojangles lived in the area, it might still be possible to get information on him.

yeah the bojangles situation is a classic example of how badly WMPD messed up this entire case

i don't believe for a second that the blood sample/sunglasses were "lost," it sounds to me like they simply disregarded potentially important clues just because they were so focused on pinning the crime on the WM3

looking on google maps, the street he would've walked south on doesn't look like one that would be completely dead at night. there are some restaurants and gas stations that he would've passed by heading south. hence why i wonder how no one saw him or who knows, maybe like you said people did call in but the information was "lost." unfortunately, i don't see any way we could get new information on the bojangles guy. i'd be surprised if he was even still alive, and if he is, he either has no idea that he's been associated with this crime all these years or has no intention to come forward because he either knows something or is scared of potential consequences

 

[fr brown]

yeah the bojangles situation is a classic example of how badly WMPD messed up this entire case

i don't believe for a second that the blood sample/sunglasses were "lost," it sounds to me like they simply disregarded potentially important clues just because they were so focused on pinning the crime on the WM3

looking on google maps, the street he would've walked south on doesn't look like one that would be completely dead at night. there are some restaurants and gas stations that he would've passed by heading south. hence why i wonder how no one saw him or who knows, maybe like you said people did call in but the information was "lost." unfortunately, i don't see any way we could get new information on the bojangles guy. i'd be surprised if he was even still alive, and if he is, he either has no idea that he's been associated with this crime all these years or has no intention to come forward because he either knows something or is scared of potential consequences

I'm not sure what was there then. But there isn't any reason to doubt that Bojangles went south as reported.

If he was in his 30s, he might still be around. Even if dead, people will still know things about him. To relentlessly pursue family members to the exclusion of everyone else is like looking for your car keys under the lamp post because the light is better there.

Maybe it's been done, I don't know.

 

[DHT1339]

didn't see it mentioned in the thread, but i recall seeing something about the WMPD arresting 20 or so individuals for major drug offenses a week or two prior to the murders. except that they ended up releasing them due to overcrowding in the prison

makes you wonder if the bojangles guy was one of those people arrested and then released.

 

[herb4]

I've always thought Mr. B was tied to the case in some way. It's just too big a coincidence for me. I'm 53 years old and have never once seen a public restroom covered in mud and blood, let alone one 1.5 miles away from a triple homicide committed in a muddy creek, within an hour or 3 window of the victims' last sighting. Guy was either a witness or stumbled upon the crime and feared for his life. Being a black man in the deep south I'm sure he had reasons to worry.

Maybe he avoided coming forward or a hospital visit because he had a record, a warrant or something else like he was using/holding drugs but I mean, damn. If someone's house burns down a mile down my street and it's determined to be arson then someone claims to have seen me in a nearby convenience store with charred hands, singed clothing, reeking of gasoline and acting scared, pretty safe to say I was near that fire I think.

 

[DHT1339]

I've always thought Mr. B was tied to the case in some way. It's just too big a coincidence for me. I'm 53 years old and have never once seen a public restroom covered in mud and blood, let alone one 1.5 miles away from a triple homicide committed in a muddy creek, within an hour or 3 window of the victims' last sighting. Guy was either a witness or stumbled upon the crime and feared for his life. Being a black man in the deep south I'm sure he had reasons to worry.

Maybe he avoided coming forward or a hospital visit because he had a record, a warrant or something else like he was using/holding drugs but I mean, damn. If someone's house burns down a mile down my street and it's determined to be arson then someone claims to have seen me in a nearby convenience store with charred hands, singed clothing, reeking of gasoline and acting scared, pretty safe to say I was near that fire I think.

yeah, especially considering how the WMPD "lost" the evidence they took from the bathroom. makes you wonder if there were clues that bojangles guy was involved in the crime but they were so focused on pinning it on the WM3 that they straight up chose to ignore it

its worth noting that a trucker at the blue beacon apparently reported seeing a black man covered in blood that evening. wonder if it was the same guy