Widow
.I.P. Donnie, Dave, Melinda, Clayton, Lesa, James:
3 persons were found shot to death in a farmhouse in Preble County, OH, on 10/30/87 on Consolidated Rd. Donnie Marker, Dave Smelser, and Melinda Newcomb were all in their 20s, and their bodies were discovered 3 days later. They were each shot in the head.
I am Donnie Marker's widow. I later found out that shots were heard and reported at app. 11:05pm on a Friday evening. Donnie had moved back to Ohio from where we were living in Colorado to attain a job and a home for us to move our 3 young children to. On that same Friday night, as I sat surrounded by my children, I was suddenly overwhelmed with a frightful feeling of extreme loneliness and sadness - for no apparent reason. I remember looking at the clock, and it was 9:05pm...11:05 Ohio time. I never saw Donnie again.
There were problems with authorities from the very beginning of the case. I was never notified of the murders, I heard it from my husband's brother. Desperate calls to the sheriff's office were never answered, and messages were never returned. Friends began calling me to tell me to be careful when I flew back because it was believed authorities killed everyone in a drug deal. When I arrived in Ohio to bury my husband, I finally met and was interviewed by a deputy and investigator. The very persons that our friends had warned me about.
Subsequently, evidence was destroyed, families appealed to media about their treatment by authorities, witnesses were encouraged by the investigator to meet him in dark abandoned places, emotional tactics were used to get us to stop asking questions, and persons with crime in their history were falsely named suspects.
Outside agencies eventually investigated, but never finished. They did acknowledge the presence of corruption.
Other cases of likely wrongdoing kept appearing
... James Silvers was found shot in the head, wrapped in sheets and buried under the floorboards of his house. The investigator (the same one involved in the triple homicide) declared the death a SUICIDE. The victim's wife was known to be having an affair with a sheriff. The sheriff is the investigator's best friend...
... Lesa Buckley was found floating in a lake the day after a party. Most of the witness testimony, including Lesa's mother, suspected a person who had previously attacked her and had been stalking and threatening her. Lesa had reported to her physician that she was afraid for her life from this person. The named suspect's family has enjoyed great favors from authorities in the county, and was never investigated. Instead, a friend of Lesa's, Billy Scott, was targeted by authorities. We have witness testimony of detectives offering deals for false testimony. Billy Scott has been in prison for 15 years while innocent. Billy Scott's father is the founder of the Citizen's Task Force and has angered authorities. The history of false charges and harassment on this family is incredible...
...Clayton Helriggle was out with friends in a local bar when a woman began flirting with him. The woman was a local sheriff's deputy. The woman's husband was also a local deputy. Weeks later, Clayton died from a gunshot to the chest in a horrific drug raid on his home. The husband of the flirting deputy was responsible for staking out the house for proof of drug activity and organizing the raid. The raid led to the discovery that there had never been drug dealing at Clayton's home, and netted a few prescription pills and a small amount of personal marijuana. When the house was raided, Clayton came down the stairs wondering what the commotion was about with a blue cup in his hand. Later, authorities insisted he had a gun in his hand, despite many eyewitness accounts of the blue cup...
The saddest thing is that this county has a population of barely over 40,000...meaning if you anger authorities or have incriminating knowledge of a case, your odds of survival are not good.
The families of the victims of these cases have recently discovered each other on the internet, and realized there is a tremendous pattern of corruption and wrongdoing. We have collected our documents and made a formal complaint to the Department of Justice. We seek investigative journalists to help us get our story known. Local authorities insist we are a bunch of conspiracy theorists listening to wild rumors. We never make a statement without having a document to back it up, including everything I have written above.
I hope that everyone will take time to look at various forums and threads we have created in our plea for an outside investigation. Thank you so much for allowing us a presence on WebSleuths.
Widow
http://triplehomicide.proboards55.com
http://ClearBillyScott.com
http://murder-preblecounty.blogspot.com/
http://www.talkeaton.com/forumdisplay.php?f=37
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/mb/preble?forum=42485
I am Donnie Marker's widow. I later found out that shots were heard and reported at app. 11:05pm on a Friday evening. Donnie had moved back to Ohio from where we were living in Colorado to attain a job and a home for us to move our 3 young children to. On that same Friday night, as I sat surrounded by my children, I was suddenly overwhelmed with a frightful feeling of extreme loneliness and sadness - for no apparent reason. I remember looking at the clock, and it was 9:05pm...11:05 Ohio time. I never saw Donnie again.
There were problems with authorities from the very beginning of the case. I was never notified of the murders, I heard it from my husband's brother. Desperate calls to the sheriff's office were never answered, and messages were never returned. Friends began calling me to tell me to be careful when I flew back because it was believed authorities killed everyone in a drug deal. When I arrived in Ohio to bury my husband, I finally met and was interviewed by a deputy and investigator. The very persons that our friends had warned me about.
Subsequently, evidence was destroyed, families appealed to media about their treatment by authorities, witnesses were encouraged by the investigator to meet him in dark abandoned places, emotional tactics were used to get us to stop asking questions, and persons with crime in their history were falsely named suspects.
Outside agencies eventually investigated, but never finished. They did acknowledge the presence of corruption.
Other cases of likely wrongdoing kept appearing
... James Silvers was found shot in the head, wrapped in sheets and buried under the floorboards of his house. The investigator (the same one involved in the triple homicide) declared the death a SUICIDE. The victim's wife was known to be having an affair with a sheriff. The sheriff is the investigator's best friend...
... Lesa Buckley was found floating in a lake the day after a party. Most of the witness testimony, including Lesa's mother, suspected a person who had previously attacked her and had been stalking and threatening her. Lesa had reported to her physician that she was afraid for her life from this person. The named suspect's family has enjoyed great favors from authorities in the county, and was never investigated. Instead, a friend of Lesa's, Billy Scott, was targeted by authorities. We have witness testimony of detectives offering deals for false testimony. Billy Scott has been in prison for 15 years while innocent. Billy Scott's father is the founder of the Citizen's Task Force and has angered authorities. The history of false charges and harassment on this family is incredible...
...Clayton Helriggle was out with friends in a local bar when a woman began flirting with him. The woman was a local sheriff's deputy. The woman's husband was also a local deputy. Weeks later, Clayton died from a gunshot to the chest in a horrific drug raid on his home. The husband of the flirting deputy was responsible for staking out the house for proof of drug activity and organizing the raid. The raid led to the discovery that there had never been drug dealing at Clayton's home, and netted a few prescription pills and a small amount of personal marijuana. When the house was raided, Clayton came down the stairs wondering what the commotion was about with a blue cup in his hand. Later, authorities insisted he had a gun in his hand, despite many eyewitness accounts of the blue cup...
The saddest thing is that this county has a population of barely over 40,000...meaning if you anger authorities or have incriminating knowledge of a case, your odds of survival are not good.
The families of the victims of these cases have recently discovered each other on the internet, and realized there is a tremendous pattern of corruption and wrongdoing. We have collected our documents and made a formal complaint to the Department of Justice. We seek investigative journalists to help us get our story known. Local authorities insist we are a bunch of conspiracy theorists listening to wild rumors. We never make a statement without having a document to back it up, including everything I have written above.
I hope that everyone will take time to look at various forums and threads we have created in our plea for an outside investigation. Thank you so much for allowing us a presence on WebSleuths.
Widow
http://triplehomicide.proboards55.com
http://ClearBillyScott.com
http://murder-preblecounty.blogspot.com/
http://www.talkeaton.com/forumdisplay.php?f=37
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/mb/preble?forum=42485