Sunshine 1950 - you've posted the best material I've ever seen on Websleuths. Keep it coming. Estrada pointed out that there were indications of a "cover-up" and a 1972 attempt to re-open the case met a "deadend". You would think that people in Carlsbad would be up in arms to have the case re-investigated, but the opposite is true. the shame is on Carlsbad.
NM NM - Patty Pritz, 14, & Mattie Restine, 13, Carlsbad, 11 Aug 1961 - #1
- Thread starter TOM BEYER
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Thanks for posting the police report and the news articles Anne. I will read them all again and make notes but I wanted to state a couple of observations that came to me.
Two or three witnesses (can't remember which; good reason for taking notes) reported seeing a 1955 or 1956 Chevrolet. Two witnesses reported the vehicle as being a 1955 or 1956 Ford. One of the witnesses who reported it as being a Chevrolet described the vehicle as having large round taillights, which is more consistent as having been the Ford.
The three witnesses driving by murder road together that night who saw the car with the bright lights turning around in the area where the bodies were later found establish a time line for the placement of the bodies and help establish as fact that the murders took place somewhere else. In my way of thinking this goes against Earl Nichols as having been involved. Nichols was a resident of Texas and was a visitor to the area. Where would he have taken the girls to committ this crime?
Two or three witnesses (can't remember which; good reason for taking notes) reported seeing a 1955 or 1956 Chevrolet. Two witnesses reported the vehicle as being a 1955 or 1956 Ford. One of the witnesses who reported it as being a Chevrolet described the vehicle as having large round taillights, which is more consistent as having been the Ford.
The three witnesses driving by murder road together that night who saw the car with the bright lights turning around in the area where the bodies were later found establish a time line for the placement of the bodies and help establish as fact that the murders took place somewhere else. In my way of thinking this goes against Earl Nichols as having been involved. Nichols was a resident of Texas and was a visitor to the area. Where would he have taken the girls to committ this crime?
Sunshine1950, I have read each item you have placed on here. I'm somewhat speechless at the moment, but want you to know I am processing the information and have a great deal of enthusiasm about where this case can go from here.
The Eddy County Sheriff's Office has an opportunity to pick this up and move forward with DNA testing, or to allow the FBI or NM State Police to take it over and bring it to what will, hopefully, be its conclusion. ECSO still has a chance to "right" some of the seemingly cloudy and tainted history of Carlsbad. Let's see what they choose to do.
My only question at this point: does the Eddy County Sheriff's Office know that the double homicide has been featured on Websleuths.com and elsewhere? If not, perhaps someone should let them and the local District Attorney's Office know. This might help to speed the process of investigation, since the "public outcry" is now likely to come from a worldwide audience rather than from just the confines of their own county or state. Time is of the essence, especially since the Nichols' tip involves testimony of an elderly person, and there may be others alive who are also reaching advanced stages of life who could offer additional information at this juncture.
Also, Hurricane's thoughts and suggestions are so appreciated. Hurricane has much to offer in this. Stay on board, Hurricane!
The Eddy County Sheriff's Office has an opportunity to pick this up and move forward with DNA testing, or to allow the FBI or NM State Police to take it over and bring it to what will, hopefully, be its conclusion. ECSO still has a chance to "right" some of the seemingly cloudy and tainted history of Carlsbad. Let's see what they choose to do.
My only question at this point: does the Eddy County Sheriff's Office know that the double homicide has been featured on Websleuths.com and elsewhere? If not, perhaps someone should let them and the local District Attorney's Office know. This might help to speed the process of investigation, since the "public outcry" is now likely to come from a worldwide audience rather than from just the confines of their own county or state. Time is of the essence, especially since the Nichols' tip involves testimony of an elderly person, and there may be others alive who are also reaching advanced stages of life who could offer additional information at this juncture.
Also, Hurricane's thoughts and suggestions are so appreciated. Hurricane has much to offer in this. Stay on board, Hurricane!
Sunshine 1950,
As I've told you privately, everything you've said here, at the Argus thread and to me by e-mail is backed up by Estrada's investigation. I'm not done with reading it & taking notes, but I think Investigator Estrada did an excellent job. But it was never completed. There is still much to be done.
Thank you to Legacy, Hurricane, and KarlK. Sunshine 1950 shouldn't be stuck with 100% of the posting (even though she's done 99%
)). Almost 1500 readers have visited this thread.
As I've told you privately, everything you've said here, at the Argus thread and to me by e-mail is backed up by Estrada's investigation. I'm not done with reading it & taking notes, but I think Investigator Estrada did an excellent job. But it was never completed. There is still much to be done.
Thank you to Legacy, Hurricane, and KarlK. Sunshine 1950 shouldn't be stuck with 100% of the posting (even though she's done 99%
)). Almost 1500 readers have visited this thread.My memory is sketchy at best - I was very young when we moved from the area. I was glad to see you post that there used to be rides there. When I went back several years ago there were no rides, but my vague memory from childhood told me there should have been. I wasn't sure I didn't have it mixed up with somewhere else.
Aren't there municipal buildings parallel with the access road to the beach/park area on the opposite side? Maybe someone from the area could better answer this one.
I still can't get past why a 70 year old man (Nichols) would choose to be "standing around" a place known to be a hangout of young people, unless there was an illicit ulterior motive there. However, the information given regarding the other suspects, especially Blair, is also very compelling.
Did I read correctly that a baby was also found buried in your sister's grave? (Edited: After reviewing this, I can see now that this was a baby sister who passed away, so my apologies for not catching this the first time.)
Who were Ronnie and Dee Blair? They were listed as being suspects on a log, but I don't recall reading about them elsewhere. I thought I read David had one brother who was distanced from the family. So, if David's parents were Artell and Willie D, I might have missed something that referenced these two suspects, Ronnie and Dee.
Hurricane, I see what you are saying and this type of back and forth dialogue will hopefully help in some way with the investigation. I appreciate your observations and respect your opinions. I can tell you know what you are talking about. This is what it will take, alot of back and forth and bouncing off ideas among the participants on this board - friendly debate, if you will.
To give you a little clearer idea of my thought process, let me add some ideas to the discussion. Regarding the anger/hostility which was directed at Patty, isn't it possible that Mattie did not fit the specific profile of young girls that Nichols, or whoever commited the crime, preferred and that she still would have been at the wrong place at the wrong time? My thoughts lean toward the possibility that Mattie could have reminded the perp of someone (even someone from his own family) that he could not have directed this degree of hostility to. Could it have been something as simple as color of hair (I believe Mattie was blonde and Patty brunette), or mannerisms of the two that would make the killer inflict greater brutality against one and not the other? Or could he have found it difficult to handle the two girls together, disposed of one, leaving himself able to inflict his full wrath on the other? Then there was the substance believed to be semen on Mattie's clothes and the fact that he shot her, which adds to my suspicion that it was not entirely all about Patty, but that Patty became the "chosen" primary victim whether by choice or circumstance.
I wonder if Bunnel is still living. If so, and he was the last person to see the girls alive other than the killer, was his alibi substantiated? He was from out of town as well and although it doesn't seem likely that he would have offered assistance in the form of a witness account had he been involved, stranger things have happened. He said the girls were approached by a man with a "mature" voice. While I don't recall reading the mention of one of the girls getting into the car and one hesitating or scuffling toward the car while being lead by the man on these latest reports, it seems I recall this from somewhere in other posts. The "shrieks" I have a concern with, the giggling not, unless they were mistaken by the witness or turned from giggles to shrieks. One thing that the witness did not say was whether the car bore out of state license plates. I don't know whether plates were as distinguishable among states as they are today. Nichols' car more than likely would have bore Texas plates, but with the witness being from out of town himself this might not have registered.
I wish we had a vehicle description of the vehicle Nichols was driving when he visited his daughter. If it matches the description of the vehicle in which a man was seen sleeping by the side of the road on or near "murder road," that could place Nichols in the area of the crime, whether the actual murder location or where the bodies were dumped and later discovered. I believe the Nichols family said that he did not return until the next morning. Would he have rented a motel room? This man sleeping in the car would explain where he was the rest of the night in question. Would the family be able to say whether or not Nichols routinely wore white t-shirts, which in 1961 were probably common attire? Did he say if he had spoken with the girls that night and established rapport of any kind, or would he even have shared this if he had?
Was Patty going to spend the night with Mattie, or did she live close by? I'd like to see a map re-creation of the entire route the girls would have taken, where the reported sightings were, where other suspects and families lived and where the bodies were eventually discovered, as well as a timeline of the entire day's events. Unless they lived close by or were planning to have a sleepover, couldn't Blair have waited to approach Patty until after she left Mattie's house and then picked her up? This leads me to think the perp might not have known where the girls lived, but rather followed them until they were in a quiet residential area where he recognized an opportunity to sieze them and not as easily be detected.
If we can't get some corroborating answers from the Nichols family regarding these questions, I would certainly lean toward Blair as being primary. As of now, I'm torn between these two, but I understand where you are coming from in your deductions, Hurricane.
I'm going to review the files. What time did Blair's parents come to his house to whisk him away for a job in Monahans, TX? Since the girls were not to be home until dark, would this reported time frame have allowed Blair to commit the crimes, go to his parents' house and return home and start packing? He would have either have had to physically drive to his parents home or call them from a payphone or someone else's house to set this process in motion. I also want to review whether this occurred the day of discovery of the bodies or the night the homicides occurred.
To give you a little clearer idea of my thought process, let me add some ideas to the discussion. Regarding the anger/hostility which was directed at Patty, isn't it possible that Mattie did not fit the specific profile of young girls that Nichols, or whoever commited the crime, preferred and that she still would have been at the wrong place at the wrong time? My thoughts lean toward the possibility that Mattie could have reminded the perp of someone (even someone from his own family) that he could not have directed this degree of hostility to. Could it have been something as simple as color of hair (I believe Mattie was blonde and Patty brunette), or mannerisms of the two that would make the killer inflict greater brutality against one and not the other? Or could he have found it difficult to handle the two girls together, disposed of one, leaving himself able to inflict his full wrath on the other? Then there was the substance believed to be semen on Mattie's clothes and the fact that he shot her, which adds to my suspicion that it was not entirely all about Patty, but that Patty became the "chosen" primary victim whether by choice or circumstance.
I wonder if Bunnel is still living. If so, and he was the last person to see the girls alive other than the killer, was his alibi substantiated? He was from out of town as well and although it doesn't seem likely that he would have offered assistance in the form of a witness account had he been involved, stranger things have happened. He said the girls were approached by a man with a "mature" voice. While I don't recall reading the mention of one of the girls getting into the car and one hesitating or scuffling toward the car while being lead by the man on these latest reports, it seems I recall this from somewhere in other posts. The "shrieks" I have a concern with, the giggling not, unless they were mistaken by the witness or turned from giggles to shrieks. One thing that the witness did not say was whether the car bore out of state license plates. I don't know whether plates were as distinguishable among states as they are today. Nichols' car more than likely would have bore Texas plates, but with the witness being from out of town himself this might not have registered.
I wish we had a vehicle description of the vehicle Nichols was driving when he visited his daughter. If it matches the description of the vehicle in which a man was seen sleeping by the side of the road on or near "murder road," that could place Nichols in the area of the crime, whether the actual murder location or where the bodies were dumped and later discovered. I believe the Nichols family said that he did not return until the next morning. Would he have rented a motel room? This man sleeping in the car would explain where he was the rest of the night in question. Would the family be able to say whether or not Nichols routinely wore white t-shirts, which in 1961 were probably common attire? Did he say if he had spoken with the girls that night and established rapport of any kind, or would he even have shared this if he had?
Was Patty going to spend the night with Mattie, or did she live close by? I'd like to see a map re-creation of the entire route the girls would have taken, where the reported sightings were, where other suspects and families lived and where the bodies were eventually discovered, as well as a timeline of the entire day's events. Unless they lived close by or were planning to have a sleepover, couldn't Blair have waited to approach Patty until after she left Mattie's house and then picked her up? This leads me to think the perp might not have known where the girls lived, but rather followed them until they were in a quiet residential area where he recognized an opportunity to sieze them and not as easily be detected.
If we can't get some corroborating answers from the Nichols family regarding these questions, I would certainly lean toward Blair as being primary. As of now, I'm torn between these two, but I understand where you are coming from in your deductions, Hurricane.
I'm going to review the files. What time did Blair's parents come to his house to whisk him away for a job in Monahans, TX? Since the girls were not to be home until dark, would this reported time frame have allowed Blair to commit the crimes, go to his parents' house and return home and start packing? He would have either have had to physically drive to his parents home or call them from a payphone or someone else's house to set this process in motion. I also want to review whether this occurred the day of discovery of the bodies or the night the homicides occurred.
According to his family Nichols drove a 1953 Chev. at that time. Nichols could not have abducted the two girls much before 9:30 p.m. Witness statements indicate that the girls were seen with people other than Nichols until that time.
Every witness description of male subjects seen with two girls during Friday Aug 11th describes young men between 27-30 yrs old.
Look at the evidence in order to establish a timeline of when the girls were seen and with who:
2:30 p.m. Aug 11th. The girls stop by the McDonald’s Dry Goods Store to see Ronnie Rice who was working from 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
8:40 p.m. The girls are seen on the beach by Ben Wade Gaines when he gave them tickets to the rides and offered to walk them home when he got off work at 9:00 p.m. Mattie was supposed to have been home by 8:00 p.m.
9:00 p.m. Keith Bunnel saw two girls get into a 1955 or 1956 GM car ( with round taillights) at 603 N. Mesquite St. The male was described only as having a mature voice and wearing a white tee shirt.
9:00 – 9:30 p.m. Geneva Smith and her daughter saw two girls at the Arrowhead Drive-In get into a white colored car with a male described as being 27-30 yrs old wearing a yellow or tan shirt with the sleeves rolled up, possibly intoxicated. The car parked to the left side of Smith’s car giving her a good view of both the driver and the two girls as they got in. She estimated him at 6 ft, 170#’s. An employee of the Arrowhead Drive-In named Christine also made note of seeing the girls with the man and noted that the man seemed to be flowing the girls down Mesquite St. (apparently on the way into the drive-in, but unclear or unknown for sure).
10:00 - 10:30 P.M. Mr. & Mrs. A.W. Craft and Ms. Lewis driving past the Artesia highway area where the bodies would later be found, on their way to the Craft home when Ms. Lewis sees a car with bright lights turning around in a circle ¼ mi off the road.
11:30 p.m. Bill Smith driving in the Artesia Highway area did not see anything unusual or see anyone else.
5:30 a.m. Aug 12th. Bill Smith driving back by the area sees a 1955 Chev. (pink over white) parked on Sitting Bull Falls Rd. with someone sleeping inside. LE believes that the colors may be somewhat off but that it is likely the same car that A.W. Craft saw that morning.
8:30 A.M. Aug. 12th. A.W. Craft drives back by the area and sees a 1955 Ford (light color two-tone cream).
12:40 p.m. (one report says 1:30 p.m.) Aug 13th. The bodies of the girls were reported to LE by Willie D. Blair and Bill Melton.
I see that Blair was reported to have arrived home after midnight to begin packing, with his parents arriving a short time later. The summary report does not indicate what time the couple who were driving by saw the car headlights from the field, but assuming it was sometime between 9:30 p.m. and midnight, this scenario could be possible. It is highly unusual that they would plan a middle of the night sudden departure for a job. If he was going to a job and took his car, why would it have been necessary for the parents to accompany him? And probably most importantly, why didn't Willie D. Blair mention this late night trip in his account of where he was the night of the homicides?
The beach area and the place where the girls were discovered off the Artesia Highway are miles apart from each other, so the couple returning from Cloudcroft were in an entirely different area from the beach. To answer your question about where Nichols could have gone to kill the girls, there would have been many remote desert locations near Carlsbad where the homicides could have occurred. It has grown up a little now, but "out in the middle of nowhere" would have been a good description of the area in 1961. Thanks for the timeline - was to be my next step. Maybe I can do the map.
The beach area and the place where the girls were discovered off the Artesia Highway are miles apart from each other, so the couple returning from Cloudcroft were in an entirely different area from the beach. To answer your question about where Nichols could have gone to kill the girls, there would have been many remote desert locations near Carlsbad where the homicides could have occurred. It has grown up a little now, but "out in the middle of nowhere" would have been a good description of the area in 1961. Thanks for the timeline - was to be my next step. Maybe I can do the map.
Sunshine 1950
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What I'm posting now is from the old investigation....Keith Bunnel's interview
It takes forever to scan and then upload these to post the other way...so here goes.
Interview of Keith D. Bunnel, 603 N. Mesquite St., Carlsbad, N.M.
by:
Captain Funk, N.M.S.P. (Q1) Sheriff Hawkins (Q4)
Lt. Smith, N.M.S.P. (Q2) Deputy O'Neal (Q5)
Officer Dan McGrew, N.M.S.P. (Q3)
Bunnel was interviewed in the State Police Office after bodies of victims were found Sunday afternoon, 13 August 1961. Questions were taped on a V.M. recorder. Due to the background noise of that tape an accurate report follows of all questions and answers during interview.
Q3 Mr. Bunnel, would you please tell all of us what you saw Friday night, Aug. 11th?
Answer: I saw a car pull to the curb in front of the house next door south. The reason I noticed it was we lived here some years ago. I thought it might have been somebody saw me come out of the house who knew me, and was going to stop and say hello, so I looked a little closer than I ordinarily would have, but nothing happened and nobody said 'hi' or anything like that, so I went on and started to lock up my car. As I was going about that, I noticed two girls kinda walking along going south in front of our house, so as I was finishing up getting the car locked up, I just happened to notice that a man from the car had stopped these girls out front of the house.
Q2 Now when he pulled up and stopped at a rather sudden stop, did he pull by the girls
or right adjacent to them?
Answer: No, by them.
Q2 Right by them?
Q5 Was he going in the same direction?
Answer: He was going in the same direction, but he didn't stop abreast of them.
He stopped in front of them.
Q2 In front of them?
Answer: Yes, by a couple of house lengths.
Q2 A couple of house lengths? In other words, after he stopped, the girls came
walking by?
Answer: Yes, and he met them there on the sidewalk and I could hear low voices
and what seemed to be a little bit of a scuffle, but nothing more than
teenagers would normally do, and little squeals or muffled shrieks. You know
again and he kinda hustled them to the car.
Q2 Both at once? Or-----
Answer: The larger girl got in first and then the smaller girl kinda tagged along.
Q2 Both got in the front seat?
Answer: Oh, can't answer that. I would say the speed in which they got in I would
judge they did.
Q2 Did they get in the car in such a manner as you would think it was voluntary or
half voluntary or so you think it was a forced entry?
Answer: Well, an --didn't appear, in other words it didn't look to me the guy was
shoving them in. If it had of, I think I would have been alarmed about it.
What I thought it was teenagers kidding around as they will do.
Q2 But the worst was, there was a scuffle?
Answer: Yes, he did have a hold of the first girl, sort of escorting her into the car.
Q3 Would that have been the taller girl or the shorter?
Answer: The taller. And when they got into the car he slammed the door hurriedly
"almost ran" around in back of the car, climbed in on the drivers seat and
drove away and turned to the right there on the corner.
Q2 To the right?
Anwer: Yes, to the west.
Q3 Would that put him on North Lake, wouldn't it?
Answer: Well, we're on Mesquite. What is the east and west street?
Q3 Well, it really doesn't make too much difference.
Answer: Well, anyway, thats......He was heading out and turned immediately heading
west.
Q3 Could you tell if he had anything in his hand?
Answer: Seemed that he had something. I couldn't tell you what it was, but he
seemed to have something in his hand and the larger girl had a bundle. She
had something in her arms.
Q3 What were the girls dressed like? Can you tell us pretty close?
Answer: No, it was dark, of course.
Q3 Did one of them have a cap on of any kind that you noticed?
Answer: Not that I noticed. I was seeing them in silouette against the street light
there and I can't tell you what their dress was. The only thing I can recall
about dress was that the man or boy or whatever it was seemed to have on
a white Tee shirt.
Q2 How big a fellow was he?
Answer: Not very big. I would say not any bigger than I am.
(Bunnel was 5' 10" tall and weighed 155 lbs.)
Q2 Well, is he grown? Do you think he is a young man or an older fellow?
Q3 By the tone of his voice, could you tell is it was a mature voice?
Answer: I would say it was a mature voice, but certainly not an old man. This is
just my impression, now, but he didn't strike me as an old man.
Q2 What age would you guess him?
Answer: Well, gee, I don't know. I again, this is an impression, but I would say in his middle twenties. I couldn't see his face.
Q2 Did you look at his trousers?
Answer: No
Q2 Didn't notice his trousers? Nothing about his dress other than his tee shirt? Was
the similar to what you have on?
Answer: I'd say it would be like this. Yea ( knit short sleeved Tee shirt with left breast
pocket) except that I got the impression again that it was the undershirt kind
of Tee shirt.
Q2 How about the car?
Answer: I could be almost certain that it was a '55 or '56 Chevrolet.
Q2 A '55 or ' 56 Chevrolet?
Answer: Yea. I looked close enought I could almost be certain it was a light color. At
least where the tail lights reflect. I can't tell you for sure.
Q2 Now, start back over that again.
Answer: About the car?
Q2 Yeah, we got a '55 or '56 Chevrolet, light colored. Can you describe where the
color was?
Answer: No, I can't. Again the impression I have, it isn't a two-tone car.
Q2 It isn't? It's a solid colored car?
Answer: That's the impression I have. How, I got the impression looking at the car
of a solid color, a light color.
Q2 Now, what do you mean by a light color?
Answer: You wouldn't say it was white.
Q2 Tan, green, blue?
Answer: I can't answer that. It wasn't one of the white cars such as your squad car.
I'm certain of that or it would have shown more than it did.
Q3 How about noises like loud pipes or mufflers?
Answer: No, the other gentleman asked this morning about that. No, there wasn't
any. The engine sounded pretty good as a matter of fact and he didn't
tear off in a great rush.
Q3 Could you tell how many tail lights it had?
Answer: Two.
Q3 Two tail lights?
Answer: And the license plate light was working.
Q1 Could you tell if it was a New Mexico license plate?
Answer: I beg your pardon. Well, I didn't look at it at all. I just can't recall anything
about that at all.
Q3 You don't know if they had silvery aluminated background?
Answer: Well, I didn't notice.
Q3 Would you say the car was a Sedan or a Coupe?
Answer: Seems to me like it was a two-door Sedan. I ...again an impression.
Q 3 Well, you might enven remember where he put the girls. Did he put them in the
front seat?
Answer: From the speed at which he got them in there, I would say the front seat.
Q 3 Put them in from his side or the driver's ?
Answer: No, the other side. From the right hand side.
Q3 Keith, you say these little girls were kind of squealing like little kids will do. Did
you get the impression that they might know the subject or do you think he was
a total stranger to them?
Answer: Well, my impression was that....but apparently this was all wrong, but you
shouldn't put much grieving in it, but my impression was these were a couple
of girls and the guy in the car knew them and was teasing them trying to give
them a ride.
Q5 When you went out the door, you say you snapped on the porch light? Now,
from where you went out the door, what was the position of the girls?
Answer: I didn't see them at all when I went out the door.
Q5 Oh, they had already passed by?
Answer: No, no, they were apparently walking down the sidewalk coming from the
north. I didn't see them at all until I had gotten out to my car and had
gotten the windows rolled up and had started to lock it up and I saw them.
Q5 They had already passed your house or south of your house the time you first
noticed them, is that right?
Answer: Well, almost, they were just about our drive-way, actually.
Q3 Were they on your sidewalk or the opposite sidewalk?
Answer: The opposite side.
Q3 The opposite side?
Answer: No, same side as our side.
Q1 They were walking south on the west side of the street? You live on the west
side of the street?
Answer: Yes
Q5 If one of the little girls was dressed in say a solid white blouse, would you have
notice that?
Answer: I honestly can't say. It was shadowy and dark out there as I say. What I
got I got pretty much in a silouette looking against the streetlight on the
corner. It would seem to me if it were a solid white getup I would have
noticed it.
Q2 How about a little sailor hat, would you have noticed that?
Answer: I didn't
Q2 You didn't?
Q3 Did they have on dresses or shorts?
Answer: No, they had on shorts. I could tell that from where they were standing
there against the light.
Q3 Now, you say the taller girl had some kind of a little bundle in her hand?
Answer: Seemed to have.
Q3 How big of a bundle.
Answer: Well, not a very big one. She was holding something in her arms.
Q3 Well you are fairly familiar with cars from the rear, that is. Would you say this
was a Ford product or a General Motors product or could you say at all?
Answer: It was a Chevrolet.
Q2 Do you know the difference in the tail light on a '55 or '56?
Answer: I think I do. The '55 comes up like this ( described the oval pointed shape).
The '56 has a round tail light.
Q 2 You're sure right. Which one of them?
Answer: I think it's a '55.
Q3 Well, did he make any effort to get hold of the little girl or just the big one?
Answer: Just the bigger one. Just the bigger one.
Q3 Did he actually grab her or did he just put his hands upon her? Or what do you
think?
ANswer: I couldn't really tell, but when he first stopped them there she was kinda in
lead and the little girl tagging behind a little. Seemed he kinda had his hand
up in the beginning then he kinda stepped away from her a little, then is
when I could notice he had something in his hands. I could...no idea what
he had in his hands.
Q5 You make the impression of the big girl and the little girl.
Answer: Yes.
Q5 Could you tell how much difference there was in their height?
Was one a great deal shorter than the other?
Answer: Well, I 'll tell you what I thought. I thought it must be either a mother and
her early teenage daughter or a girl and her older sister. There was quite a
difference in their height. By quite, I mean to say anywhere between 6 and
10 inches and incidentally, the man seemed not much larger than the older,
larger girl.
Q5 Was he of slender build?
Answer: Rather slender, I'd say.
Q3 Wouldn't have happened to notice the length of the girls hair? You say in the
silouette you kinda got the idea that you got here.....
Answer: The impression was both had fairly long hair. I don't mean real long down
around here ( indicating below the shoulders); not the real short Italian job.
Q3 Medium cut?
Answer: Yes, I have racked my brain since this morning trying to think of anything
that might be significant.
Q2 From your observation there, could you draw the conclusion---the opinion that
the girls knew this subject? So do you think they might have known him?
Answer: I just don't know. As I said, the reason I didn't become alarmed at all last
night was because I thought it was a couple of girls walking home from
somewhere and this guy knew them and was just horsing around as dids will
do. When thinking back on it, it's hard to sort out. It's hard to be objective,
but I'm thinking of those squeals and giggles and they don't sound like my
girls giggles and squeals. They sound frightened.
Q2 Frightened??
Answer: Yes, here again I hope it's an objective. Looking back on it so to answer
your question, I have to say that my opinion is that they probably didn't.
Q5 In other words, the giggles didn't have the sound of fear or anything they ordinar-
ily would have if they had been strangers?
Answer: No, what I'm saying is if I think back on it and compare it with the giggles and
squeals I hear from my daughter, they didn't sound the same at all.
Q3 Kinda hysterical little giggles?
Q2 But they weren't screams?
Answer: No screams, no loud noises at all.
Q2 Just little shrieks?
Answer: Nothing that anyone any further away than I would hear.
Q3 You didn't happen to notice what color of shoes they had on or if they had on
heels or anything like that?
Answer: No
Q3 You couldn't hear any heels?
Answer: I didn't hear any sound. A a matter of fact, they were coming on so quietly,
that I didn't hear them pass by in front of our house, and actually I saw them
after they were abreast of me.
Q2 Anything else you can think of? Anything that happened there?
Answer: I can't think of nothing. I can't think of nothing.
Q1 Are you sure that in you own mind that was Friday night?
Answer: Yes, I'm positive
********************************
This tape is on file in the State Police Office in Carlsbad, N.M.
Signed by: McGrew
It takes forever to scan and then upload these to post the other way...so here goes.
Interview of Keith D. Bunnel, 603 N. Mesquite St., Carlsbad, N.M.
by:
Captain Funk, N.M.S.P. (Q1) Sheriff Hawkins (Q4)
Lt. Smith, N.M.S.P. (Q2) Deputy O'Neal (Q5)
Officer Dan McGrew, N.M.S.P. (Q3)
Bunnel was interviewed in the State Police Office after bodies of victims were found Sunday afternoon, 13 August 1961. Questions were taped on a V.M. recorder. Due to the background noise of that tape an accurate report follows of all questions and answers during interview.
Q3 Mr. Bunnel, would you please tell all of us what you saw Friday night, Aug. 11th?
Answer: I saw a car pull to the curb in front of the house next door south. The reason I noticed it was we lived here some years ago. I thought it might have been somebody saw me come out of the house who knew me, and was going to stop and say hello, so I looked a little closer than I ordinarily would have, but nothing happened and nobody said 'hi' or anything like that, so I went on and started to lock up my car. As I was going about that, I noticed two girls kinda walking along going south in front of our house, so as I was finishing up getting the car locked up, I just happened to notice that a man from the car had stopped these girls out front of the house.
Q2 Now when he pulled up and stopped at a rather sudden stop, did he pull by the girls
or right adjacent to them?
Answer: No, by them.
Q2 Right by them?
Q5 Was he going in the same direction?
Answer: He was going in the same direction, but he didn't stop abreast of them.
He stopped in front of them.
Q2 In front of them?
Answer: Yes, by a couple of house lengths.
Q2 A couple of house lengths? In other words, after he stopped, the girls came
walking by?
Answer: Yes, and he met them there on the sidewalk and I could hear low voices
and what seemed to be a little bit of a scuffle, but nothing more than
teenagers would normally do, and little squeals or muffled shrieks. You know
again and he kinda hustled them to the car.
Q2 Both at once? Or-----
Answer: The larger girl got in first and then the smaller girl kinda tagged along.
Q2 Both got in the front seat?
Answer: Oh, can't answer that. I would say the speed in which they got in I would
judge they did.
Q2 Did they get in the car in such a manner as you would think it was voluntary or
half voluntary or so you think it was a forced entry?
Answer: Well, an --didn't appear, in other words it didn't look to me the guy was
shoving them in. If it had of, I think I would have been alarmed about it.
What I thought it was teenagers kidding around as they will do.
Q2 But the worst was, there was a scuffle?
Answer: Yes, he did have a hold of the first girl, sort of escorting her into the car.
Q3 Would that have been the taller girl or the shorter?
Answer: The taller. And when they got into the car he slammed the door hurriedly
"almost ran" around in back of the car, climbed in on the drivers seat and
drove away and turned to the right there on the corner.
Q2 To the right?
Anwer: Yes, to the west.
Q3 Would that put him on North Lake, wouldn't it?
Answer: Well, we're on Mesquite. What is the east and west street?
Q3 Well, it really doesn't make too much difference.
Answer: Well, anyway, thats......He was heading out and turned immediately heading
west.
Q3 Could you tell if he had anything in his hand?
Answer: Seemed that he had something. I couldn't tell you what it was, but he
seemed to have something in his hand and the larger girl had a bundle. She
had something in her arms.
Q3 What were the girls dressed like? Can you tell us pretty close?
Answer: No, it was dark, of course.
Q3 Did one of them have a cap on of any kind that you noticed?
Answer: Not that I noticed. I was seeing them in silouette against the street light
there and I can't tell you what their dress was. The only thing I can recall
about dress was that the man or boy or whatever it was seemed to have on
a white Tee shirt.
Q2 How big a fellow was he?
Answer: Not very big. I would say not any bigger than I am.
(Bunnel was 5' 10" tall and weighed 155 lbs.)
Q2 Well, is he grown? Do you think he is a young man or an older fellow?
Q3 By the tone of his voice, could you tell is it was a mature voice?
Answer: I would say it was a mature voice, but certainly not an old man. This is
just my impression, now, but he didn't strike me as an old man.
Q2 What age would you guess him?
Answer: Well, gee, I don't know. I again, this is an impression, but I would say in his middle twenties. I couldn't see his face.
Q2 Did you look at his trousers?
Answer: No
Q2 Didn't notice his trousers? Nothing about his dress other than his tee shirt? Was
the similar to what you have on?
Answer: I'd say it would be like this. Yea ( knit short sleeved Tee shirt with left breast
pocket) except that I got the impression again that it was the undershirt kind
of Tee shirt.
Q2 How about the car?
Answer: I could be almost certain that it was a '55 or '56 Chevrolet.
Q2 A '55 or ' 56 Chevrolet?
Answer: Yea. I looked close enought I could almost be certain it was a light color. At
least where the tail lights reflect. I can't tell you for sure.
Q2 Now, start back over that again.
Answer: About the car?
Q2 Yeah, we got a '55 or '56 Chevrolet, light colored. Can you describe where the
color was?
Answer: No, I can't. Again the impression I have, it isn't a two-tone car.
Q2 It isn't? It's a solid colored car?
Answer: That's the impression I have. How, I got the impression looking at the car
of a solid color, a light color.
Q2 Now, what do you mean by a light color?
Answer: You wouldn't say it was white.
Q2 Tan, green, blue?
Answer: I can't answer that. It wasn't one of the white cars such as your squad car.
I'm certain of that or it would have shown more than it did.
Q3 How about noises like loud pipes or mufflers?
Answer: No, the other gentleman asked this morning about that. No, there wasn't
any. The engine sounded pretty good as a matter of fact and he didn't
tear off in a great rush.
Q3 Could you tell how many tail lights it had?
Answer: Two.
Q3 Two tail lights?
Answer: And the license plate light was working.
Q1 Could you tell if it was a New Mexico license plate?
Answer: I beg your pardon. Well, I didn't look at it at all. I just can't recall anything
about that at all.
Q3 You don't know if they had silvery aluminated background?
Answer: Well, I didn't notice.
Q3 Would you say the car was a Sedan or a Coupe?
Answer: Seems to me like it was a two-door Sedan. I ...again an impression.
Q 3 Well, you might enven remember where he put the girls. Did he put them in the
front seat?
Answer: From the speed at which he got them in there, I would say the front seat.
Q 3 Put them in from his side or the driver's ?
Answer: No, the other side. From the right hand side.
Q3 Keith, you say these little girls were kind of squealing like little kids will do. Did
you get the impression that they might know the subject or do you think he was
a total stranger to them?
Answer: Well, my impression was that....but apparently this was all wrong, but you
shouldn't put much grieving in it, but my impression was these were a couple
of girls and the guy in the car knew them and was teasing them trying to give
them a ride.
Q5 When you went out the door, you say you snapped on the porch light? Now,
from where you went out the door, what was the position of the girls?
Answer: I didn't see them at all when I went out the door.
Q5 Oh, they had already passed by?
Answer: No, no, they were apparently walking down the sidewalk coming from the
north. I didn't see them at all until I had gotten out to my car and had
gotten the windows rolled up and had started to lock it up and I saw them.
Q5 They had already passed your house or south of your house the time you first
noticed them, is that right?
Answer: Well, almost, they were just about our drive-way, actually.
Q3 Were they on your sidewalk or the opposite sidewalk?
Answer: The opposite side.
Q3 The opposite side?
Answer: No, same side as our side.
Q1 They were walking south on the west side of the street? You live on the west
side of the street?
Answer: Yes
Q5 If one of the little girls was dressed in say a solid white blouse, would you have
notice that?
Answer: I honestly can't say. It was shadowy and dark out there as I say. What I
got I got pretty much in a silouette looking against the streetlight on the
corner. It would seem to me if it were a solid white getup I would have
noticed it.
Q2 How about a little sailor hat, would you have noticed that?
Answer: I didn't
Q2 You didn't?
Q3 Did they have on dresses or shorts?
Answer: No, they had on shorts. I could tell that from where they were standing
there against the light.
Q3 Now, you say the taller girl had some kind of a little bundle in her hand?
Answer: Seemed to have.
Q3 How big of a bundle.
Answer: Well, not a very big one. She was holding something in her arms.
Q3 Well you are fairly familiar with cars from the rear, that is. Would you say this
was a Ford product or a General Motors product or could you say at all?
Answer: It was a Chevrolet.
Q2 Do you know the difference in the tail light on a '55 or '56?
Answer: I think I do. The '55 comes up like this ( described the oval pointed shape).
The '56 has a round tail light.
Q 2 You're sure right. Which one of them?
Answer: I think it's a '55.
Q3 Well, did he make any effort to get hold of the little girl or just the big one?
Answer: Just the bigger one. Just the bigger one.
Q3 Did he actually grab her or did he just put his hands upon her? Or what do you
think?
ANswer: I couldn't really tell, but when he first stopped them there she was kinda in
lead and the little girl tagging behind a little. Seemed he kinda had his hand
up in the beginning then he kinda stepped away from her a little, then is
when I could notice he had something in his hands. I could...no idea what
he had in his hands.
Q5 You make the impression of the big girl and the little girl.
Answer: Yes.
Q5 Could you tell how much difference there was in their height?
Was one a great deal shorter than the other?
Answer: Well, I 'll tell you what I thought. I thought it must be either a mother and
her early teenage daughter or a girl and her older sister. There was quite a
difference in their height. By quite, I mean to say anywhere between 6 and
10 inches and incidentally, the man seemed not much larger than the older,
larger girl.
Q5 Was he of slender build?
Answer: Rather slender, I'd say.
Q3 Wouldn't have happened to notice the length of the girls hair? You say in the
silouette you kinda got the idea that you got here.....
Answer: The impression was both had fairly long hair. I don't mean real long down
around here ( indicating below the shoulders); not the real short Italian job.
Q3 Medium cut?
Answer: Yes, I have racked my brain since this morning trying to think of anything
that might be significant.
Q2 From your observation there, could you draw the conclusion---the opinion that
the girls knew this subject? So do you think they might have known him?
Answer: I just don't know. As I said, the reason I didn't become alarmed at all last
night was because I thought it was a couple of girls walking home from
somewhere and this guy knew them and was just horsing around as dids will
do. When thinking back on it, it's hard to sort out. It's hard to be objective,
but I'm thinking of those squeals and giggles and they don't sound like my
girls giggles and squeals. They sound frightened.
Q2 Frightened??
Answer: Yes, here again I hope it's an objective. Looking back on it so to answer
your question, I have to say that my opinion is that they probably didn't.
Q5 In other words, the giggles didn't have the sound of fear or anything they ordinar-
ily would have if they had been strangers?
Answer: No, what I'm saying is if I think back on it and compare it with the giggles and
squeals I hear from my daughter, they didn't sound the same at all.
Q3 Kinda hysterical little giggles?
Q2 But they weren't screams?
Answer: No screams, no loud noises at all.
Q2 Just little shrieks?
Answer: Nothing that anyone any further away than I would hear.
Q3 You didn't happen to notice what color of shoes they had on or if they had on
heels or anything like that?
Answer: No
Q3 You couldn't hear any heels?
Answer: I didn't hear any sound. A a matter of fact, they were coming on so quietly,
that I didn't hear them pass by in front of our house, and actually I saw them
after they were abreast of me.
Q2 Anything else you can think of? Anything that happened there?
Answer: I can't think of nothing. I can't think of nothing.
Q1 Are you sure that in you own mind that was Friday night?
Answer: Yes, I'm positive
********************************
This tape is on file in the State Police Office in Carlsbad, N.M.
Signed by: McGrew
I see that Blair was reported to have arrived home after midnight to begin packing, with his parents arriving a short time later. The summary report does not indicate what time the couple who were driving by saw the car headlights from the field, but assuming it was sometime between 9:30 p.m. and midnight, this scenario could be possible. It is highly unusual that they would plan a middle of the night sudden departure for a job. If he was going to a job and took his car, why would it have been necessary for the parents to accompany him? And probably most importantly, why didn't Willie D. Blair mention this late night trip in his account of where he was the night of the homicides?
The beach area and the place where the girls were discovered off the Artesia Highway are miles apart from each other, so the couple returning from Cloudcroft were in an entirely different area from the beach.It has grown up a little now, but "out in the middle of nowhere" would have been a good description of the area in 1961. Thanks for the timeline - was to be my next step. Maybe I can do the map.
Thanks for the correction between the beach and the Artesia Highway area. I'm not familiar with the area. I will edit my previous post.
So why would he have bothered to move the bodies from the kill site then? Why risk it? The only reason to move the bodies is to remove them from the crime scene such as a home, cabin, or place of business which can be linked to the perp.
Expanding on the above timeline. Please feel free to copy/paste and add any new facts as they are developed or anything I have missed:
Known Timeline
April 1961. Mr. Thomas J. Smith has a confrontation with David Blair and an unknown female who were firing a pistol near his home at 1049 Standpipe Rd.
Mid-July 1961. Jimmy Ray Funk, a friend of Patty’s boyfriend Ronnie Rice, asked permission from his mother to allow Patty to spend the night at their house after Patty and Ronnie Rice claim that Patty’s mother, Betty Jo Davidson had gotten drunk and ran them off with a .22 caliber rifle because she did not like Rice. Patty spends the night sleeping in their car after being given a pillow and blanket. No work on where Rice spent the night.
Late July. Jimmy Ray Funk claims that the last time he saw Patty was late July.
Wed., Aug. 9th. Patty is with Ronnie Rice when they both told their parents that they were going to church.
Time unknown, Aug. 11th. Margret Warble, a friend of Patty’s saw the two girls as they were on their way to Patty’s aunt’s house to pick up a sailor hat.
2:30 p.m. Aug 11th. The girls stop by the McDonald’s Dry Goods Store to see Ronnie Rice who was working from 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
8:00 p.m. The time Mattie was to have been home, according to what the girls told Ben Wade Gaines.
8:40 p.m. The girls are seen on the beach by Ben Wade Gaines when he gave them tickets to the rides and offered to walk them home when he got off work at 9:00 p.m. Mattie was supposed to have been home by 8:00 p.m.
9:00 p.m. Keith Bunnel saw two girls get into a 1955 or 1956 GM car ( with round taillights) at 603 N. Mesquite St. The male was described only as having a mature voice and wearing a white tee shirt.
9:00 p.m. Ms. Harold Groves and Ms. O.L. Utley return to Utley’s home at 405 N. Mesquite St. Ms. Utley noted a couple riding bicycles up and down the street; the Gaines boy sitting on the porch with Ms. Davidson. Utley stated that she did not see the girls nor did she see any vehicles leaving the area.
9:00 p.m. After getting off work at the beach Ben Wade Gaines runs all the way to Patty’s house at 403 N. Mesquite St. trying to “catch up” to the two girls. Arriving and not finding the girls there he sits and waits about 45 minutes with Patty’s mother before going home.
9:00 p.m. Willie Dee and Artell Blair return home with friends from an evening of fishing. Willie Blair said that their friends stayed and visited with them until 10:00 p.m. at which time their friends left and the Blair’s went to bed.
9:00 – 9:30 p.m. Geneva Smith and her daughter saw two girls at the Arrowhead Drive-In get into a white colored car with a male described as being 27-30 yrs old wearing a yellow or tan shirt with the sleeves rolled up, possibly intoxicated. The car parked to the left side of Smith’s car giving her a good view of both the driver and the two girls as they got in. She estimated him at 6 ft, 170#’s. An employee of the Arrowhead Drive-In named Christine also made note of seeing the girls with the man and noted that the man seemed to be flowing the girls down Mesquite St. (apparently on the way into the drive-in, but unclear or unknown for sure).
10:00 -- 10:30 p.m. Mr. & Mrs. A.W. Craft and Ms. Lewis driving past the Artesia Highway area where the bodies would eventually be found, on their way to the Craft home when Ms. Lewis sees a car with bright lights turning around in a circle ¼ mi off the road in the area where the bodies would later be found.
11:30 p.m. Bill Smith driving in the Artesia highway area did not see anything unusual or see anyone else.
12:00 a.m. Aug 12, Ex-wife of David Blair states that he comes home worried and agitated. He starts to pack a bag without explanation as to what has happened or where he is going. Shortly after that his parents arrive. His father, Willie D. Blair claims that a friend in Monahans, TX has found a job for David. They leave immediately.
5:30 a.m. Aug 12th. Bill Smith driving back by the Artesia highway area sees a 1955 Chev. (pink over white) parked on Sitting Bull Falls Rd. with someone sleeping inside. LE believes that the colors may be somewhat off but that it is likely the same car that A.W. Craft saw that morning.
8:30 a.m. Aug. 12th. A.W. Craft drives back by the Artesia highway area and sees a 1955 Ford (light color two-tone cream).
9:30 a.m. Aug 13th. Willie Dee Blair and Bill Melton leave to go fishing. Melton is driving a 1956 Ford.
10:00 a.m. Aug 13th. Officer called into work to search for the missing girls.
12:40 p.m. (one report says 1:30 p.m.) Aug 13th. The bodies of the girls were reported to LE by Willie D. Blair and Bill Melton.
Time unknown. Ronnie Rice received a telephone call from Brad Lackey asking if it is true that Patty’s step-father, Cullen Davidson had killed the girls.
Mid-September. David Blair returns to Carlsbad from Monahans, TX.
Known Timeline
April 1961. Mr. Thomas J. Smith has a confrontation with David Blair and an unknown female who were firing a pistol near his home at 1049 Standpipe Rd.
Mid-July 1961. Jimmy Ray Funk, a friend of Patty’s boyfriend Ronnie Rice, asked permission from his mother to allow Patty to spend the night at their house after Patty and Ronnie Rice claim that Patty’s mother, Betty Jo Davidson had gotten drunk and ran them off with a .22 caliber rifle because she did not like Rice. Patty spends the night sleeping in their car after being given a pillow and blanket. No work on where Rice spent the night.
Late July. Jimmy Ray Funk claims that the last time he saw Patty was late July.
Wed., Aug. 9th. Patty is with Ronnie Rice when they both told their parents that they were going to church.
Time unknown, Aug. 11th. Margret Warble, a friend of Patty’s saw the two girls as they were on their way to Patty’s aunt’s house to pick up a sailor hat.
2:30 p.m. Aug 11th. The girls stop by the McDonald’s Dry Goods Store to see Ronnie Rice who was working from 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
8:00 p.m. The time Mattie was to have been home, according to what the girls told Ben Wade Gaines.
8:40 p.m. The girls are seen on the beach by Ben Wade Gaines when he gave them tickets to the rides and offered to walk them home when he got off work at 9:00 p.m. Mattie was supposed to have been home by 8:00 p.m.
9:00 p.m. Keith Bunnel saw two girls get into a 1955 or 1956 GM car ( with round taillights) at 603 N. Mesquite St. The male was described only as having a mature voice and wearing a white tee shirt.
9:00 p.m. Ms. Harold Groves and Ms. O.L. Utley return to Utley’s home at 405 N. Mesquite St. Ms. Utley noted a couple riding bicycles up and down the street; the Gaines boy sitting on the porch with Ms. Davidson. Utley stated that she did not see the girls nor did she see any vehicles leaving the area.
9:00 p.m. After getting off work at the beach Ben Wade Gaines runs all the way to Patty’s house at 403 N. Mesquite St. trying to “catch up” to the two girls. Arriving and not finding the girls there he sits and waits about 45 minutes with Patty’s mother before going home.
9:00 p.m. Willie Dee and Artell Blair return home with friends from an evening of fishing. Willie Blair said that their friends stayed and visited with them until 10:00 p.m. at which time their friends left and the Blair’s went to bed.
9:00 – 9:30 p.m. Geneva Smith and her daughter saw two girls at the Arrowhead Drive-In get into a white colored car with a male described as being 27-30 yrs old wearing a yellow or tan shirt with the sleeves rolled up, possibly intoxicated. The car parked to the left side of Smith’s car giving her a good view of both the driver and the two girls as they got in. She estimated him at 6 ft, 170#’s. An employee of the Arrowhead Drive-In named Christine also made note of seeing the girls with the man and noted that the man seemed to be flowing the girls down Mesquite St. (apparently on the way into the drive-in, but unclear or unknown for sure).
10:00 -- 10:30 p.m. Mr. & Mrs. A.W. Craft and Ms. Lewis driving past the Artesia Highway area where the bodies would eventually be found, on their way to the Craft home when Ms. Lewis sees a car with bright lights turning around in a circle ¼ mi off the road in the area where the bodies would later be found.
11:30 p.m. Bill Smith driving in the Artesia highway area did not see anything unusual or see anyone else.
12:00 a.m. Aug 12, Ex-wife of David Blair states that he comes home worried and agitated. He starts to pack a bag without explanation as to what has happened or where he is going. Shortly after that his parents arrive. His father, Willie D. Blair claims that a friend in Monahans, TX has found a job for David. They leave immediately.
5:30 a.m. Aug 12th. Bill Smith driving back by the Artesia highway area sees a 1955 Chev. (pink over white) parked on Sitting Bull Falls Rd. with someone sleeping inside. LE believes that the colors may be somewhat off but that it is likely the same car that A.W. Craft saw that morning.
8:30 a.m. Aug. 12th. A.W. Craft drives back by the Artesia highway area and sees a 1955 Ford (light color two-tone cream).
9:30 a.m. Aug 13th. Willie Dee Blair and Bill Melton leave to go fishing. Melton is driving a 1956 Ford.
10:00 a.m. Aug 13th. Officer called into work to search for the missing girls.
12:40 p.m. (one report says 1:30 p.m.) Aug 13th. The bodies of the girls were reported to LE by Willie D. Blair and Bill Melton.
Time unknown. Ronnie Rice received a telephone call from Brad Lackey asking if it is true that Patty’s step-father, Cullen Davidson had killed the girls.
Mid-September. David Blair returns to Carlsbad from Monahans, TX.
Sunshine 1950
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I personally feel like the girls were killed somewhere other than when their bodies found. Maybe in the killers car...
Yes, Tom. I have resorted to posting my replies on my Word program and then transferring them once completed. After many frustrating attempts and lost posts, it is my opinion that the session "times out" before much can be typed in the reply area. I thought it was an effort to keep posts short, but as you can tell that is really not my style...
Sunshine1950, has the family indicated the color of Nichols' car, or if it had two colors on it? The paperwork they still possess could be key in determining the color of his car and, in the outside chance the vehicle could be traced and recovered, could still hold the evidence needed to solve the crime once and for all. How did he explain away the scratches to his face the morning following the homicides as he was leaving town? Was anything out of the ordinary found in his belongings when he died that he could have kept as a memento from either of the girls?
Another observation noted from the reports: Willie D. Blair said that it was Bill Melton's idea to go where there were "lots of rabbits," and not his own. So it wasn't really Blair who led the two to the area, but rather Melton.
Another observation noted from the reports: Willie D. Blair said that it was Bill Melton's idea to go where there were "lots of rabbits," and not his own. So it wasn't really Blair who led the two to the area, but rather Melton.
I also lean toward the assumption that the homicides could have occurred in a car. I believe the killer orchestrated his sick gratification scheme quickly and with a great deal of malice and forethought. Based on evidence shown here, the homicides could have occurred and the bodies disposed of within 1-2 hours' time. The recent posting by Sunshine1950 transcribing the account of the witness seeing the two girls escorted to the car by a man holding something in his hands only serves to confirm my suspicion. The man could not be clearly seen from where the witness was standing, so he estimated his age to be 27-30 years with a "mature" voice.
The entire ordeal could have started and ended in the pasture where the vehicle was seen, with trace evidence of the crime being confined to the car. Mattie's eyes were found tightly shut as if she was anticipating the gunshot that took her life. He probably killed her first, likely while she was still sitting in the front seat, which would have added to the frenzy of the second little girl, Patty, and to his own excitement. Patty's rape and murder then could have taken place in the back seat of the vehicle. With Patty being the smallest of the two and Mattie being about the size of the man seen escorting the two to the vehicle, this could confirm that he was looking for smaller, child-sized victims. (Please correct me if I'm wrong about Mattie being the largest of the two, it seems I did read this earlier.)
I don't know that any of the suspects would have had access to a private building for the murders as the primary suspects did not live alone (except maybe the teacher). The desert fauna of that area would prohibit the rape from occurring on the ground unless in a higher traffic area, say a well-traveled dirt road.
The entire ordeal could have started and ended in the pasture where the vehicle was seen, with trace evidence of the crime being confined to the car. Mattie's eyes were found tightly shut as if she was anticipating the gunshot that took her life. He probably killed her first, likely while she was still sitting in the front seat, which would have added to the frenzy of the second little girl, Patty, and to his own excitement. Patty's rape and murder then could have taken place in the back seat of the vehicle. With Patty being the smallest of the two and Mattie being about the size of the man seen escorting the two to the vehicle, this could confirm that he was looking for smaller, child-sized victims. (Please correct me if I'm wrong about Mattie being the largest of the two, it seems I did read this earlier.)
I don't know that any of the suspects would have had access to a private building for the murders as the primary suspects did not live alone (except maybe the teacher). The desert fauna of that area would prohibit the rape from occurring on the ground unless in a higher traffic area, say a well-traveled dirt road.
Tom, it does time out if you have been logged on for a while prior to posting, or if you have it set up with a cookie and you don't have to sign in each time. There may also be a component depending on how busy the website is. Sort of like getting bumped off from a dial up connection.
The best thing to do is when reading just not sign in. Sign in only when you want to post or use Microsoft Word and copy/past your post so it is not lost if you're timed out when you go to post.
I agree that there is/was another crime scene where the killing actually took place. I'm not inclined to believe that they were shot inside a car though. If you fire a gun inside a car your ears will ring for hours, if not days. And it makes no difference if the windows are rolled up or not. It would also make for a gory, horrible mess inside the car. Both the perp and Patty would have been covered from blood splatter. Patty's discarded clothing show no signs of that. If the perp had shot Mattie first in the car it would then have become necessary for him to have done what he did to Patty outside of the car. Since we know that there was no evidence of that at the Artesia sight then there is most definitely a second or primary crime scene somewhere else.
If the perp was David Blair and he fired his gun once or twice inside the car, he would not have been able to hear well enough to communicate with his parents or his wife Bonnie as he packed for Monnahans, TX. And his clothing would have been covered in blood and other forensic evidence when he returned home. It would have been obvious to his wife and his parents.
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