NJ NJ - Five Missing Teens, Newark, 20 Aug 1978

[CASuzk]

Does anyone remember this case? (link at the bottom) It is almost 30 years, on the 20th of Aug. that these boys went missing. For some reason, I thought that a car had been found with their bodies a few years ago but I can't find that story.

Was there another group of missing teens found in a sunken car after years have passed? I remember one from the Stockton CA area where a car of teens had gone off a levy and were found years after they went missing.
Does anyone remember any of these cases? I truly thought that these boy's bodies had been found.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04E2DC1E3AF935A2575BC0A96E958260

 

[kline]

Strange story.It amazes me how quickly authorities in the 70's were to jump on the 'they ran away'excuse.
You here it over and over concerning disappearences from that era.(A good many of which later turned out to be homicides)
I remember about ten years ago a van turned up in a canal in Boca Rotan Fla.that had the remains of a bunch of teenagers missing since 1979,but that wasnt these kids im sure.

 

[marion]

According to this recent article, they are still missing:

http://www.wnbc.com/news/17213231/detail.html

ETA: None of the articles mention any of them having/being in a car, so I doubt this was an accident. Strange how there's next to nothing about them on the internet, except for a few newspaper articles. No pictures, case details, nothing. One of the articles says it happened at a time when there was no such thing as 24 hour news channels and the internet, coupled with racial problems, so it wasn't widely publicized. That is true, but why not publicize it now.....

 

[gaia227]

They did a news story about this last night on the local news. I had never heard of this until then. I have not read the articles yet but from what I gathered from the news last night is they really need to re-interview and re-poly Lee - the man who picked up all 5 boys that day to take them to a work site. He claims he dropped them off and that was it. They poly'd him in the 70's but as we all know technology has changed a lot and with that so has accuracy. The reporter said Lee is still alive.

Whoever was involved had to have help. It would be pretty complicated for one or even two people to overcome five young, healthy teenage boys. That is what makes this so intriguing.

 

[CASuzk]

Weird huh? I can't find it right now but I know there was another group of boys missing who were found years later. I think they were AA also and they were found in a submerged car. I believe that was in the great lakes area and they had simply run off the road and died the night they went missing.
But these boys were not in driving so what happened? Were they out exploring and maybe hop a rail car or fall down an elevator shaft in an old building?

 

[Shecky]

Anyone think that this may have been a hate crime? I find it hard to believe that one or two people could overpower five healthy teen boys, but what about a group of men?

 

[CASuzk]

It sounds like they had a suspect, someone who offered work.
Rememeber, John Wayne Gacey used that same MO.

I just read up on the person who's truck two of the boy were seen riding in and he is still alive. He supposedly passed a lie detector test.
There was a pretty good size reward offered but this really is very odd. From everything that I've been able to find, these were good kids and they felt safe in their community.

 

[Shecky]

It sounds like they had a suspect, someone who offered work.
Rememeber, John Wayne Gacey used that same MO.

But how would one man overpower five guys? Perhaps this man lured them to a location where others were waiting? Failing that, I suppose he could have drugged them. What do you think?

This is a very odd case indeed. Certainly one of the most puzzling that I have encountered.

 

[Teresa Larson]

The big question is why would this guy who they seemed to be friends with kill all 5 of them? Did they possibly see something they shouldn't have and he had to do away with them? 5 teenage boys didn't run away. BTW I don't care who passed a polygraph test lots of guilty people pass them every day.

 

[Still_Snarky]

what a sad (and honestly, creepy) story. i hadn't heard of it until now. what on earth would it take to make 5 healthy teenage boys disappear?

 

[Shecky]

what a sad (and honestly, creepy) story. i hadn't heard of it until now. what on earth would it take to make 5 healthy teenage boys disappear?

That is what bothers me about this. These were not little boys, these were young men. It takes more than one person to abduct 5 guys.

It really is a shame that this case never got more exposure.

 

[CASuzk]

That is what bothers me about this. These were not little boys, these were young men. It takes more than one person to abduct 5 guys.

It really is a shame that this case never got more exposure.

I have the ability to search old newspapers online and it does look like it made the front page news in many of the eastern states but 30 years ago there wouldn't be much more than a casual mention on the nightly news.

I still wonder if they were helping tear down or were exploring an old building and fell down an elevator shaft or one was overcome by fumes and the others went into help him without knowing it was dangerous.
They were a lot of closed up buildings that were imploded to make way for new construction.

 

[Teresa Larson]

I have the ability to search old newspapers online and it does look like it made the front page news in many of the eastern states but 30 years ago there wouldn't be much more than a casual mention on the nightly news.

I still wonder if they were helping tear down or were exploring an old building and fell down an elevator shaft or one was overcome by fumes and the others went into help him without knowing it was dangerous.
They were a lot of closed up buildings that were imploded to make way for new construction.

That's a possibility however don't you think somebody would have found them after awhile? I think if the guy they worked for (their friend) killed all 5 of them he would have had a hard time getting rid of their bodies. What would he have done with all 5 bodies. It's not like they were little kids They were big teenage boys. I still find it hard to believe that he could kill all 5 of them at once. I wonder if it's possible he had them at different times and killed them one by one. :waitasec:

 

[meggilyweggily]

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/j/johnson_randy.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/mcdowell_michael.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/p/pittman_melvin.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/t/taylor_ernest.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/t/turner_alvin.html

 

[Kymistry35]

I was just reading about these boys the other day on Doe Network. I wish they would re-poly the guy that claims to have dropped them off. They need to do it now, before any/all people involved pass away.

 

[Teresa Larson]

How could someone from Washington D.C. which is 225 miles away from Newark know about this case? It could have been a prank call from someone who lived in the Newark area and they just happened to be in D.C. I wonder if it was in the newspaper in D.C.?? Maybe we should check that out. I doubt the caller knew anything about what happened to these 5 young guys. What stumps me is how one guy could kill all 5 of them.

 

[Filly]

Anyone think that this may have been a hate crime? I find it hard to believe that one or two people could overpower five healthy teen boys, but what about a group of men?

Shecky, I don't believe it was a hate crime, personally. If it was then someone would have talked by now. Even if it was I think that whoever murderd them would then want it to be known it was a hate crime. Sort of sending a message out.

Absolutely I believe the reason this didn't get much attention back in the day is because of race. Heck, back in '78 a lily white teen girl could go missing and like Kline mentioned they used to bring out the 'ol "Runaway" schpeel until God forbid they were missing for awhile.

What an awful, awful, awful thing for these families of these kids. It's so sad. Here's the lates link retelling the story.


http://www.wnbc.com/news/17213231/detail.html

 

[Filly]

O.K. this guy, Lee Anthony better known to the kids as "Big Man" if I found the right person he would have been fairly young himself around the time the boys disappeared. If it's him then he's 55 years old now.

Well he's lived in a few different places in New Jersey and the one freaked me out. In Irvington New Jersey a search of the addy turns out to be called
"Museum Of Life Or Death". It's a corporation so it's one of them tax exempt thingies. However I can't find out what the heck it is?

Also and I am sorry I lost the link. From archives on the anniversary of the boys death it says after dinner the one boy Michael was seen in the back of Big Man's truck with another boy. Not the three others I presume. It also looks like this man has a son by the same name at age 31. That would have meant he had a baby not long before these kids disappeared.


"Museum Of Life Or Death". If anyone can find anything that'd be good.

 

[Teresa Larson]

The guy with the pick up was only 25 himself. I wonder if all 5 boys were seen in the truck at the same time that night??? All of the articles I have read only say one was seen in the truck. I also wonder if anybody witnessed them getting out of the truck that night.

 

[Kymistry35]

Maybe he had already killed three of the boys when he came back and told the other two that the boys were working and needed help and they went along? He then killed them too?