NC - Ricky Simonds, 49, found dead in car trunk, Gastonia, 8 June 2008

[golfmom]

Here's his picture:

 

[golfmom]

http://news14.com/content/top_stories/596437/dead-man-linked-to-missing-woman/Default.aspx
............

Simonds’ ex-girlfriend, Kim Springer, found his body in the trunk of her 2007 Ford Taurus on Bradford Street. A week earlier, her purse and keys were stolen out of her car, and that’s when she filed a restraining order against Simonds.

"When we removed the gentleman last night, that purse was in the back of the car along with a set of car keys that were in his pocket," West said.

Simmonds had served time in the 1980s for killing an ex-girlfriend.

 

[Masterj]

I have seen this man's picture somewhere before. What a crazy story! Thank goodness the woman got away from him.

 

[concernedperson]

I have seen this man's picture somewhere before. What a crazy story! Thank goodness the woman got away from him.

After reading the other articles about him, Kim Springer was a very lucky woman. I think he chose that weekend to do away with her but he was stupid...Thank God.

Also, I am glad his son has a chance to be away from him too. Maybe he will get on the right road and not follow in his father's nasty footprints.

 

[jantel74]

I too believe he hid in the trunk to harm Kim. I've had a few Tauruses. They all had a push button on the back seat where you could access the trunk from inside the car. I wonder if he thought he could get into the car that way. In any event, he sounded like a very evil man. I hope that Ms. Fraley's mom somehow finds out what happened to her daughter. I have no doubt that this man was the reason she disappeared.

 

[TGIRecovered]

In the Twilight Zone, the stalker ex-boyfriend would hidden in the trunk with the intention of a surprize attack, but wait! He can't get out of the trunk!
...The woman hears her potential attacker banging on the trunk. He is angry; "Open #$%&*^* trunk NOW woman...let-me-out!"

His angry threats mutate to pathetic pleas and false apologies. He claims he will never bother her again if only she will free him from this embarassing predicament.

"My, my, it's warm out today! You know, Ricky, price of gas so high and the weather is so nice and sunny, I think I'll just walk today. Might just have to leave the car parked all week..."

 

[panthera]

It sounds like he either was stalking her and got stuck in her trunk (maybe thinking he could later get out) or he committed suicide this way knowing she would be the one to find him.

It's been really hot here in the past few days, and I do think it's possible he got stuck in the trunk and suffocated from the heat. I can't imagine what the smell would've been like and the poor women!

 

[CAgirlatheart]

Yeah, I hope his last few minutes on earth were the most miserable he's ever known. Not only did he rot in the truck of a car, he'll rot in hell for the rest of his life.

Good riddance!

 

[curious1]

It's been really hot here in the past few days, and I do think it's possible he got stuck in the trunk and suffocated from the heat. I can't imagine what the smell would've been like and the poor women!

Oh yes, nice and toasty days around here. He probably did not last half a day in there. It was so hot on Sat in Hickory the asphalt got soft. DH went there for an autocross and he and is friend were telling me the racing jack sank into the pavement about 2 inches while the car was up on it having the tires changed. Can you imagine being in the trunk with that kind of heat? :Banane54:

 

[believe09]

In the Twilight Zone, the stalker ex-boyfriend would hidden in the trunk with the intention of a surprize attack, but wait! He can't get out of the trunk!
...The woman hears her potential attacker banging on the trunk. He is angry; "Open #$%&*^* trunk NOW woman...let-me-out!"

His angry threats mutate to pathetic pleas and false apologies. He claims he will never bother her again if only she will free him from this embarassing predicament.

"My, my, it's warm out today! You know, Ricky, price of gas so high and the weather is so nice and sunny, I think I'll just walk today. Might just have to leave the car parked all week..."

Oh yeah-you have my same sense of irony...

 

[KR2tonenow]

GASTONIA, N.C. --http://www.wsoctv.com/news/16545358/detail.html?rss=char&psp=news

>snip
They've been investigating a missing persons case for months. Jamie Fraley, 22, went missing in early April, and Simmons is connected to her case. Simmons' son was dating Fraley prior to her disappearance. She has not been found.
>snip

Somebody wanted this dead. This young woman is still Missing!

 

[meowy]

Maybe he got in with the intent to die, to set her up for his death?

 

[PrayersForMaura]

>snip
They've been investigating a missing persons case for months. Jamie Fraley, 22, went missing in early April, and Simmons is connected to her case. Simmons' son was dating Fraley prior to her disappearance. She has not been found.
>snip

Somebody wanted this dead. This young woman is still Missing!

wild... I totally missed that...

 

[SeriouslySearching]

>snip
They've been investigating a missing persons case for months. Jamie Fraley, 22, went missing in early April, and Simmons is connected to her case. Simmons' son was dating Fraley prior to her disappearance. She has not been found.
>snip

Somebody wanted this dead. This young woman is still Missing!

Wow! This can't be a coincidence. I don't know that foul play is involved other than on his part tho. I still think he was set on getting her next.

 

[pjop]

What in the world was a 22 y.o. girl doing w/ this nasty lookin' thang?!!

Anyway, yeah, it appears he got what was coming to him.

 

[SewingDeb]

I think 22 year old Jamie Fraley was dating the dead man's son when she went missing.

 

[pjop]

I have a tendency to skim what I'm reading and miss important details. Bad habit. Thanks!

 

[noZme]

north carolina websleuthers, have there been any new reports on this story? when i 1st read about this i assumed the dead guy was drunk or drugged & thought hiding in the trunk was a great idea. (teehee) there is little doubt in my mind he is responsible for the missing girl. ​

from what i have read about jamie, she is pretty, petite & was from a very religious family & her faith is evident in writings & music in myspace.com. news reports have described her as "dating" Fraley Jr, but her my space says married. her last login was april 8 & here is a note that appears on the 1st page:

"J@mie has 17 days left until her sweetheart is home! " ​

below are 2 samples of her writings about him:​

Missing you


Missing you and loving you,


longing to hold you without being pulled away,


I leave a peice of me with you


when I must leave you behind the gates.


Barb wire keeps me from reaching you,


but still to you I am drawn,


I want you to know Im holding it down at home


every moment you must be gone.


Missing you,loving you


I still reach for you at night,


Ill be so glad when my baby is home and everything is right.​

Its Easy To Say You Love Someone But Proving Your Love Is What Matters. When Times Get Hard And The World Is Up Against You, Youll Find Out If Your Love Is For Real. Love Doesnt Mean One Sitting Back While The Other Feels All The Pain. Its A True Bond So You Know And Feel The Other Persons Joys And Hurts. Your Each Others World. I Could Never See Myself Going On Without Ricky In Mine.

http://www.myspace.com/aylensimonds2006​

i do not know what the boyfriend/husband was in jail for, but this looks to me like a naive young woman got mixed up with some rough characters. ​

the taurus was a recent model & i thought NTSA was requiring all vehicles manufactured after a certain date were to have emergency escape pulls for the trunk but i haven't found verification. I know i have owned vehicles that came thusly equipped & there are several after market devices that can be added... remember the search for little boys in ny or nj who disappeared from their yard & were found several days later in the trunk of an abandoned car in the driveway? i think that's what prompted discussion about mandatory releases. ​

excerpts from a recent article about someone who escaped from a car's trunk: The story of a carjacking — from inside the trunk ​

6/17/2008 The Citizen Online http://www.thecitizen.com/~citizen0/node/29331

“... [W]hen I walked out of the store, the 2 guys approached me with a pistol to my head. One told me to turn around or else he’d kill me. The other grabbed my cell phone. Then they put me in the trunk and took my keys......God was looking after me. After the trunk door shut when I got into it, I closed my eyes and prayed to God to let me out of that trunk alive. When I opened my eyes, staring right back at me was the emergency release latch with a picture of a person jumping out of a trunk and running away. “Next I prayed for opportunity. That’s when the wreck occurred....."

 

[txsvicki]

If the dead Springer and his son both were in jail, then what the heck are these two church going women doing taking up with them? Of course one of the Springers did something to Jamie and the older lady is probably lucky to be alive since the nut had been stalking her and already killed one girlfriend.

 

[vibec]

Here is a good set of links to articles in the Gastonia Gazette. It includes a link to an interview with Greta about the case.

http://www.gastongazette.com/news/fraley_21801___article.html/jamie_michael.html