NJ NJ - Sharon Thor, 15, murdered, Franklin Township, 26 October 1982

[dotr]

rbbm

A 15-year-old ballet dancer was killed 40 years ago. Her death is a mystery.

For decades, the Thor family has hoped to learn more than the grim news they received in 1982, when searchers found Sharon Thor’s bludgeoned body in the woods, about a quarter mile from the family’…

njtoday.news

''On Friday, October 29, 1982, her partially clothed body was found in a wooded area just a quarter of a mile from her home. The property was maintained by a local utility company; although there were signs posted to prohibit trespassing, there was no fence to keep anyone out.

The girl had died a brutal death, being beaten with a two-by-four and a cinder block that were found near her blood-covered body.

She had sustained multiple fractures to her ribs and head, and she had been sexually assaulted before her death.

Authorities determined that Sharon was killed only an hour after she left the house.''

''Prosecutors say Sharon’s murder appeared to be sexually motivated and they believe that she knew her assailant, but like the vast majority of crimes reported to police, the case remains unsolved.''

 

[Chris M]

The problem could be with finding the suspect in Sharon's murder is the suspect is probably not in CODIS(Convicted Offender and Registry Index.) This means the suspect probably not been found to be in jail or prison before or probably hasn't been convicted of another crime. What CODIS does is it matches DNA(found at a crime scene for example) to a person that has been convicted of another previous crime or has been in jail or prison previously. If anybody has watched CSI or one its offshoot shows for example the CODIS system will go through different faces(really fast) and if there is a match with DNA to a previous offender law enforcement will go to question or apprehend a potential suspect. If there is no hit in CODIS(a previously convicted person) law enforcement has more work to do in terms of finding a suspect involved in the crime that they are investigating.

CODIS started mainly in the mid to late 1990's(1994-1999) but its roots extend back to 1990 with 14 state and local laboratories. I'm not sure if New Jersey was one of the 14 states that CODIS started in in 1990.

I do wonder if the suspect who killed Sharon got pulled over by the cops in their car like up to a 2 year period(late 1982-early 1985) for a driving or vehicle infraction and acted oddly or a maybe a little animated when being pulled over and the cop couldn't figure out why.

 

[Chris M]

Sign the Petition

Justice for the Thor Family: Reopen the 40 year old cold case of Sharon M. Thor of NJ

www.change.org

The subject of the petition was touched on at "the play" about Sharon's murder a few weeks ago by the lead police officer who is investigating this case in the officer Q&A after "the play". He said the case is still open. A case is "open" unless it is labeled as "inactive" he said.

 

[Chris M]

rbbm

She had sustained multiple fractures to her ribs and head, and she had been sexually assaulted before her death.

''Prosecutors say Sharon’s murder appeared to be sexually motivated and they believe that she knew her assailant, but like the vast majority of crimes reported to police, the case remains unsolved.''

The lead police officer on Sharon's case a few weeks ago who took a Q&A after "the play" was asked the question from an audience member if Sharon was sexually assaulted? He said no. I have heard though that Sharon's jeans and shirt were partially removed through when you google "Was Sharon Thor sexually assaulted"? which I did yesterday. Whether the suspect sexually assaulted Sharon it isn't known. I did ask the question in one of my past posts on this thread if Sharon was sexually assaulted because I did not know myself.

On a side note having to do with this case I was thinking Sharon may have not given the guy who called her her phone number and somebody else may have given her phone number out. It was said she was surprised to hear from the caller. I have said on this thread in the past though maybe she met this guy or had bumped into an old school mate like 1-1/2 month before her death and they had called her unexpectedly.

On another side note having to do with this case the car that Sharon got into it had a loud muffler I had read.

Maybe I will post something else tomorrow on this thread.

 

[bykerladi]

The attorney in the initial article is no longer practicing. njcourts.gov website shows she resigned w/o prejudice. Whatever that means. Unfortunately NJ didn't institute electronic filing until well after the initial article. And the criminal docket doesn't allow a search by attorney now anyway. Or by name. Just indictment number.

 

[Chris M]

I was going to post something Sunday but I didn't get around to it. Anyways, on the topic of the phone call to Sharon the day she was killed at 5:30pm. One of the audience members at the Q&A after the play asked the question to the officer about tracking the phone call. The officer said the instrument(I'll call it that) that were tracking the calls incoming(and maybe outgoing) to Sharon's house was off. I would like to know how was the instrument off that tracks incoming and maybe outgoing calls to the house off? Could crews have been working on the power lines at the time maybe near Sharon's house that turned the instrument off automatically? Could it have been something else that turned the instrument that tracked the phone calls off? I try to google the question about the instrument being off but I can't find the answer because landline phones aren't really relevant anymore. I myself a few months ago had posted on this thread if the phone call to Sharon was made at a pay phone on Easton Ave at places maybe like the Holiday Inn near I-287, Exxon Station and the strip mall on the corner of Cedar Grove Lane. I had suggested that the phone call had maybe been made at a pay phone because Sharon walked right outside after the phone call was finished. If its the boy or young man down the street she wouldn't have been surprised in my opinion to hear from him and not gotten into a car with him.

Anyways, the people that were interviewed by police nobody admitted to calling Sharon at 5:30 pm the day of her death.

 

[Chris M]

The attorney in the initial article is no longer practicing. njcourts.gov website shows she resigned w/o prejudice. Whatever that means. Unfortunately NJ didn't institute electronic filing until well after the initial article. And the criminal docket doesn't allow a search by attorney now anyway. Or by name. Just indictment number.

Yeah your post reminds me that they were close in 2017 to maybe solving this case and then something had happened with a DNA sample of a potential suspect. There was a mix up in terms of a judge not showing up for a DNA sample hearing for the potential suspect because maybe he had a scheduling conflict. Maybe the DNA on the potential suspect came up inconclusive but I'm not too sure about that.

 

[Chris M]

I just want to update that Sharon's body has been exhumed. The family made this decision to exhume her body because science has progressed in terms of DNA. I wonder if somebody's else's DNA can be found after 40+ years like this(exhuming.) If somebody else's DNA is found on Sharon's body law enforcement will probably have to go through CODIS to see if the DNA matches any convicted law offenders. On a side note I go to the franklinreporter.com sometimes to find updates on Sharon's case. Thats where I found out that Sharon's body is going to be exhumed.

 

[Chris M]

I was reading an article about Sharon's death right after I posted last night. It said some of her family members thought she may have gone to Woodbridge Twp, NJ(Middlesex County.) I'm unsure what connection what she had to Woodbridge because the article doesn't go into detail about that. I have a theory though that maybe she had met this guy in Woodbridge at one point and that maybe the guy called her out of the blue at 5:30pm on the day of her death and she got into a car in the front passenger seat with him(being the driver) and another guy who was in the backseat. I do wonder if law enforcement with the Franklin Twp, (NJ) PD, The FBI, and the Somerset County, (NJ) Prosecutor's Office explored any leads in Woodbridge.

 

[ifindedout]

1970's Chevy Monza 2+2 or a 1970's era Buick Skylark

View attachment 446237

Snipped for focus (I'm not able to remove those table cells)
The Pontiac Sunbird and the Oldsmobile Starfire also were of this body type.

 

[ifindedout]

The attorney in the initial article is no longer practicing. njcourts.gov website shows she resigned w/o prejudice. Whatever that means. Unfortunately NJ didn't institute electronic filing until well after the initial article. And the criminal docket doesn't allow a search by attorney now anyway. Or by name. Just indictment number.

Without prejudice means she was eligible for rehire if she decided to return. IOW, resignation on good terms.

 

[bykerladi]

Resigned w/o prejudice doesn't mean on good terms per se. A lot of times these have a consent order stating that they are NOT ALLOWED to ever practice law in this state again. And if that isn't part of the agreement, then you'd better believe the ethics investigation would start as soon as she became eligible again. There is no statute of limitations on ethics violations against lawyers in New Jersey.

 

[Chris M]

Snipped for focus (I'm not able to remove those table cells)
The Pontiac Sunbird and the Oldsmobile Starfire also were of this body type.

I'm sorry about that I double posted because I wasn't sure if the first post went through that day. Good call on the Pontiac Sunbird. I didn't even know a Sunbird model was made at that time(1976-1980 models) as well as the 1982-1987 models until I looked it up just now. I kinda knew about the Oldsmobile Starfire but I was just looking for AMC Gremlin and Ford Pinto model competitors and see what came up on the google search results. Maybe I will put pictures up of the Starfire and Sunbird up at a later date.

 

[Chris M]

Here is a photo of the 1976-1980 Pontiac Sunbird in light blue color:



Here is a photo of the 1975-1980 Oldsmoble Starfire back end:



Here is a photo of the 1975-1980 Oldsmoble Starfire front end:



Again the car that Sharon Thor got into on Tuesday, October 26th, 1982 at 5:35 pm had something in place of the back window of the car like a garbage bag or a piece of fabric because the actual back window may have been broken. In my opinion the car was likely out of a Somerset County, New Jersey or Middlesex County, New Jersey town. I have listed towns that the car may have been out of in prior posts on this thread. At least one of the guys in the car had dark hair and was in his late teens/early 20's in terms of age and was non-hispanic white or may have been white hispanic.

 

[Chris M]

When I first started posted here on this thread and on Webslueths overall I had asked the question why did Sharon get into a car with 2 guys at 5:35 pm while she had a dance lesson to go to that day at 6:00 pm in nearby Bound Brook, NJ on the day of her death? Well my own answer to my own question would be she probably thought she had enough time to spare between spending time with these 2 guys and her dance lesson. I should note I think it was the driver of the car that she took an interest in particular. Sharon's mom had said in newspaper articles about Sharon's death that they usually left the house at 5:45pm in order to get to Sharon's dance lesson at 6:00 pm at Neva McCrimmon Dance School in nearby Bound Brook. I'm unsure if the dance school that she went to was on Main Street in the downtown area of Bound Brook or on Rt 28 section of Bound Brook like where "Effingers Plaza" is. Sharon may have thought she had enough time because repeating myself here a little bit Sharon maybe planned to hang out with the 2 guys until 5:45 pm and then go back home at that time and then leave for her dance lesson to get there at 6:00pm. After all Sharon had said "be right back" to her mom when she walked out of the house at 5:35 pm and she left without her brush and purse which were 2 things she never left the house without. Going past the 6:00 pm time frame on October 26th, 1982 I had about posted in my earlier days on Webslueths on this thread Sharon may have gone in my opinion to 1 of the D&R canal locks by the I-287 and Easton Ave interchange by the South Bound Brook and Franklin Twp. Border or another D&R canal lock at the end of DeMott Lane in Franklin Twp to hang out with the 2 guys. She may have also gone to "Cedar Grove Center" on Cedar Grove Lane for something to eat with the 2 guys. Sharon and the 2 guy in the car may have hung out at the parking lot at Rutgers Prep on Easton Ave. At some point she went to the local hangout where kids would hang out at that local public utility site by where she lived by. I'm kinda 50/50 if Sharon had been there the whole time with the 2 guys(about 5:37-6:30 pm(the time of her death) in my opinion. Most kids and we all have been a kid once in our lives have dinner around 6:00 pm-6:30 pm so if Sharon was at the local public utility site the whole 50+ minutes maybe nobody saw her and the 2 guys because all the kids went home by that time(5:37pm) for dinner. Its certainly possible though somebody could have seen Sharon and the 2 guys in passing though(walking past them on the way to their house for dinner.) Keep in mind at 6:02 pm on Tuesday, October 26th, 1982 it was sunset so it was mostly dark by 6:30 pm when Sharon was killed.

 

[Chris M]

Well just to update its been around 1 month since Sharon's body was exhumed I think. There haven't been any updates if there is any new DNA evidence that has come along from exhuming Sharon's body. Its just odd in my opinion that there is a car, DNA from the murder weapons, and a phone call that entail(having to with) this case and yet we don't know what person or persons that these 3 pieces of evidence belong too or go with. The evidence feels like a needle in a haystack in my mind I have thought at different times since I started following this case.

I have 1 or 2 posts that I want to post here in the near future.

 

[Chris M]

Here are 2 more different versions of the 1976-1980 Pontiac Sunbird and Oldsmobile Starfire that Sharon may have gotten into on Tuesday, October 26th, 1982 at around 5:35 pm:

1976-1980 Pontiac Sunbird Hatchback



NOTE: The hatchback could have had the "Formula" written in the same color as the car surrounding with say with a big black colored(for a color example) stripe surrounding the world "Formula" on the lower part of the side of the car. I just noticed this while looking for a good photo to put of the Pontiac Sunbird Hatchback on this thread.

1976-1980 Oldsmobile Starfire "Firenza"




Its similar to the regular Starfire except for the red colored stripe (in this case) and the black cladding underneath the red stripe. Its has the word "firenza" written in silver mostly along where the red stripe is but also some on the lower black cladding. Interestingly enough GM used the "Firenza" name for a later car called the Oldsmobile Forenza(yeah I know different spelling.)

NOTE: I am putting up photos of possible cars that Sharon may have gotten into on the day of her death which was 55 minutes to 1 hour prior to her being murdered. I am not sure what color the car is that Sharon may have gotten into and a color of car has never been known I don't think in this murder case. Again, the car had a piece of fabric or maybe a garbage bag covering the rear window in place of the window because the rear window may have broken.

 

[Richard]

In 1975, General Motors came out with their version of a compact size car in four of their companies: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick. They were very similar to each other and featured either a 4 cylinder or V-6 engine.

Here are the Chevrolet Monza (left) and the Buick Skyhawk (right):



Except for a few trim and minor option differences, they were almost identical.

 

[Chris M]

I myself have learned that in this case that it was originally thought that Sharon had gotten into the car 55 minutes- 1 hour before her death with originally 1 man. The 1 man being the driver of the car. It was not known till 2009 that there was a 2nd man in the backseat of the car. I also learned that there was a dirt road in the back of the property that was owned by the utility company by where Sharon's body was discovered a few days after her death. I thank Episode 194 of "The Two Girls One Ghost Podcast" on Youtube for these 2 bits of information. Finally, I did look at the ariel from 1984 and there was in fact a dirt road that led out to Willow Ave. Today the dirt road doesn't exist. The housing development outside of the utility company property didn't come until after 1984 according to the ariels that I looked at.

Sharon's mom originally came up with the theory that the possible suspects in the car drove onto the dirt road after Sharon's death that led out of the property that was owned by the utility property. Sharon's mom seemed to think that the potential suspects in the car were from Franklin Twp because she thinks that they knew about the dirt road. However the young boy (at that the time) that was playing in his yard that saw Sharon get into the car claimed to some effect(my words) that the car didn't appear to know where it was going when it pulled up by Sharon's house.

If a car did infact go down the dirt road wouldn't there be tire tracks.? Couldn't you look into to see what size and width that the tire of the car used to determine what kind of car it was? Finally the young boy(at the time) who saw Sharon get into the car didn't see a 2nd person in the car because his view was obstructed by something(fabric or garbage bag) that was in the rear window.

 

[Chris M]

Today would have been Sharon's birthday I believe. Anyways, there have been no updates sadly on her case since her body was exhumed.