OH OH - John Hundley & James McQueary, both 9, Fairfax, 15 Oct 1964

[Bootsctr]

The Tuscaloosa News

Sunday September 17, 1967

AWOL Marine Admits Killing Boys

The Los Angeles Time

San Diego - A 17-year-old AWOL Marine has told police here that he stabbed two 9-year-old boys and buried their bodies three years ago in Fairfax, Ohio, detectives reported.

Homicide Lieutenant Edward C. Stevens said the alleged confessor slayer, Pvt. Gary Lee McKee, went to Bethany Lutheran Church and told his story to Rev. Willard C. Latz because the murders had been "bugging me." Laatz called police.

...Police chief James Finan of Fairfax and Sgt. Gene Moore of the Cincinnati Police Department arrived here to return McKee to Fairfax, a suburb of Cincinnati.

Lt. Stevens said McKee told him he and an accomplice, who was not named, lured the boys to a wooded area and McKee stabbed them to death "to get revenge for a dispute with the McQueary boy's older brother.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=I5sEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7153,2663888&hl=en
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Going back and re-reading. My apologies for anything double-posted.

Was James McQueary's older brother questioned in regards to who had a "beef" with him, and exactly what the "beef" was?

If McKee indeed told Lt Stevens who the "accomplice" was, was that person investigated? Shoddy detective work at best if so-called accomplice's name was not written down for the investigation. It would be interesting to see the "case books" for John Hundley and James McQueary.

 

[Bootsctr]

Interesting reaction from McKee's mother:

McKee's mother, Mrs. Robert McKee, said in Fairfax when informed of her son's confession:

"I can't believe it. I can't believe it. I can't believe it. I don't know what to do. I'm afraid to call my husband. He's had a nervous breakdown.

"He was so upset at Gary this summer when he quit school and joined the Marines. I had high hopes for Gary. I thought it would really do him good to be in the Marines.

"Do you really think Gary could have done such a thing? I just can't believe it. I knew about the missing boys, but I thought they just ran away."

https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=I5sEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7153,2663888&hl=en

So McKee's dad has a nervous breakdown and Gary quit school at 17 to join the Marines. Sounds like a history of being a problem child. Did McKee have previous run-ins with law enforcement? Would that be in his case book? Who were his known associates/classmates/friends? Did McKee have the beef with James McQueary's older brother?

How does a $20 dollar bill fit in to this story, as per the waitress? $1.04 was the amount of the restaurant bill. Did James McQueary's older brother owe McKee $20? Apologies, just rambling thoughts on this rainy Sunday morning...

 

[Bootsctr]

Indeed, it does sound as if McKee was a very troubled young person (a little more of a timeline too):

"McKee got the name of Bethany Lutheran Church out of a telephone book while wandering in San Diego after going AWOL here for the second time since he enlisted in the Marine Corps last May."

https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=I5sEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7153,2663888&hl=en

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You can go AWOL and be allowed back in to the Marine Corp to go AWOL a second time???? Did McKee confess to fellow bunkmate who chose not to tell anyone? It would be nice if someone else McKee had confessed to came forward with more information or to add that McKee confessed to more than one person.

 

[Bootsctr]

The Missing Boys Who Still Have Never Been Found

It's been over 35 years since two nine-year old boys from the Cincinnati suburb of Fairfax went out to play after school, walked away from their immediate neighborhood and never returned home. Today, they are still missing and the case is still considered "open" and "unsolved" by local police.


On Thursday afternoon, October 15, 1964, Johnny Hundley and Jimmy McQueary, who were in the third grade, got together after their day at Fairfax School was over. They were seen on a suburban street about 4 P.M. They then wondered away and what took place after that is pretty much speculation.


When they did not return home by dark, police were contacted. The search for the missing pair was conducted on a local level at first. As the story got into the Cincinnati newspapers, witnesses came forth with information they believed was pertinent.


A waitress at a local drive-in restaurant reported that the pair was seen there on late Thursday afternoon. One of the youths owed $1.04 for food purchased a few days before. The waitress said he paid for it with a $20 bill that he said he had found. One of the parents indicated that they knew of this money being owed and had given the boy the $1.04 the pay the debt. The parent did not know how he had obtained the $20 bill. The waitress recalled the boys had walked away from the restaurant, across the large parking lot that surrounded it.

http://unsolvedmysteries.com/usm13901.html

 

[Bootsctr]

PVC Gary McKee, an AWOL Marine confessed to a minister that he stabbed the boys and buried them but later recanted. He claimed to have an accomplice who wasn't named. He claimed it was an act of revenge against McQuery's older brother.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AJ&pg=7153,2663888&dq=ohio+missing+boys&hl=en

From your most excellent link Miss Jeanie C:

"McKee, according to Lt. Stevens, said he buried the boys a short distance from where they were killed and buried the knife behind his house.

In Fairfax, police dug up a 90-foot area behind McKee's house but could not find the weapon.

The Fairfax police chief said it may also be difficult finding the bodies as the spot where they were buried has since been developed."

Did they just start digging at a spot McKee pointed out? Surely they used a metal detector first... Or obviously McKee was lying. Maybe McKee buried it behind the "accomplice's" house...

 

[Bootsctr]

John and James are still listing as Missing & Endangered on the Ohio Alerts Website.

They did an age progression on John but not James.

http://www.mostfreebies.com/AmberAlert/AmberAlertOhio.php

No, James was declared dead in 1972.

"In the late summer of 1967, a Marine recruit reported to authorites that he had information on the boys. He was returned to the Cincinnati area and questioned. At first, the man said he had killed them and buried the bodies in a wooded area not far from their homes. Then, just as quickly, he admitted that he had nothing to do with their disappearance and said he had just said what he did because he was homesick. Police had nothing to link him to the disappearance and he was turned back over to the Marines to face a charge of being absent without leave.


No further information ever came forth following this and in 1972, McQueary was declared legally dead. No offical report has ever come forth on the fate of the boys."

http://unsolvedmysteries.com/usm13901.html

 

[Bootsctr]

Why was the theory that the boys could have run away, discarded? Maybe that should have been looked into more?

I also agree that McKee should be talked to if he is still alive. His passing of the polygraph is good evidence in his favor that he may not have killed the boys. However, he might have more information that could help LE.

Satch

Exactly! The name of his accomplice......

 

[Bootsctr]

The property at 3758 Meadowlark Lane has not been in the McKee family name since late 1990. If Gary is still living in the local area, it would be at a location other than that one.

Perhaps. The property could have just been changed in name in order to allow McKee to remain there, but able to go dark, especially if he was worried about this case heating up again. Did McKee marry? He sounds like a creepy person with mental problems. Did he have brothers or sisters?

 

[liz b.]

The Missing Boys Who Still Have Never Been Found

It's been over 35 years since two nine-year old boys from the Cincinnati suburb of Fairfax went out to play after school, walked away from their immediate neighborhood and never returned home. Today, they are still missing and the case is still considered "open" and "unsolved" by local police.


On Thursday afternoon, October 15, 1964, Johnny Hundley and Jimmy McQueary, who were in the third grade, got together after their day at Fairfax School was over. They were seen on a suburban street about 4 P.M. They then wondered away and what took place after that is pretty much speculation.


When they did not return home by dark, police were contacted. The search for the missing pair was conducted on a local level at first. As the story got into the Cincinnati newspapers, witnesses came forth with information they believed was pertinent.


A waitress at a local drive-in restaurant reported that the pair was seen there on late Thursday afternoon. One of the youths owed $1.04 for food purchased a few days before. The waitress said he paid for it with a $20 bill that he said he had found. One of the parents indicated that they knew of this money being owed and had given the boy the $1.04 the pay the debt. The parent did not know how he had obtained the $20 bill. The waitress recalled the boys had walked away from the restaurant, across the large parking lot that surrounded it.

http://unsolvedmysteries.com/usm13901.html

Couple of things stand out : one of the boys actually told the waitress that they had found the $20.00 bill. The other thing is : I wonder if the older brother told LE about the supposed fight he had with the person who later confessed ? Did he tell LE about this fight at the time that the boys went missing ? This was supposedly the reason given for the boys' murder, revenge against the older brother . jmo

 

[Bootsctr]

Gosh! I missed that one of the boys told the waitress he found the $20 bill. Curious. So, why not pay the $1.04 diner bill with the $1.04 given by McQueary's mother and save the entire $20?

Maybe the boys were going to split the $20 after change from paying the diner bill? One boy would have a $10 bill and the other would still have $10 - only it would be a $5 bill and $4 one dollar bills and 4 cents.

Still doesn't tell us where the $20 came from? I can't imagine anyone paying them $20 for chores, or even picking up that many bottles to recycle. Did one of the boys take the $20 from a family member without their knowledge? Maybe he did find it.... but where? Was the money burning a hole in their pocket so badly they needed to spend it immediately? It was late in the day, they should have been returning home. They never made it and the search for them began at dark.

 

[lostbrother]

Yes he had a sister named Barb McKkee that l worked with at Frisches. He also had an older brother, l don't know his name, but was told he was gay. I don't know if he ever married.Never thought to ask that. My brother Bobby & Jimmys brother Pat both had problems with Gary. I really didn't know him only by name. I am older than my brother & the 2 older boys. His sister was a very nice person!! The case is stilll open. I just talked to the detective handling it the other day. He said they have had leads but proved to be useless. I completely agree that McKee should be requestioned!! I asked about the other boy implicated & the detective said he'd never heard that before. Shoddy police work back in 1964 & 67 is a mild description of what went wrong. Those boys never ran away...they had no reason too, at least Johnny didn't. Doing something like that was way out of his character!!

 

[lostbrother]

They did an age progression on Jimmy also. Go to NAMUS or the Charley Project where both pictures can be seen.
Johnny was declared deceased after 7yrs also. My mother collected the insurance money. I don't remember what year but l do remember it happening.

 

[lostbrother]

They did an age progression on Jimmy also. Go to NAMUS or the Charley Project where both pictures can be seen.
Johnny was declared deceased after 7yrs also. My mother collected the insurance money. I don't remember what year but l do remember it happening.

 

[lostbrother]

The authorities really need to talk to Mckee again. If for no other reason than to find out who he named as the accomplice. They may be able to get info from that person, if there was one. The authorities let so much go unanswered back then. They didn't notify the news media until 24hrs had passed. Going on the theory "they ran away".

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

I tend to think the name and any other information on the youth who was said to be the accomplice would be contained in police files on this case. As previously noted, when McKee was brought back to this area in 1967, the other person was said to then be 14 years old and had moved to Indianapolis. I assume this meant the move came in the almost three years between the disappearance of the two boys and McKee being returned to the area. It's not clear to me if that person was ever questioned. A suggestion would be for authorities to find and speak to him now; perhaps offering some kind of immunity if he will identify and then testify about who the killer was and provide information as to what happened, etc.

 

[Bootsctr]

Yes he had a sister named Barb McKkee that l worked with at Frisches. He also had an older brother, l don't know his name, but was told he was gay. I don't know if he ever married.Never thought to ask that. My brother Bobby & Jimmys brother Pat both had problems with Gary. I really didn't know him only by name. I am older than my brother & the 2 older boys. His sister was a very nice person!! The case is stilll open. I just talked to the detective handling it the other day. He said they have had leads but proved to be useless. I completely agree that McKee should be requestioned!! I asked about the other boy implicated & the detective said he'd never heard that before. Shoddy police work back in 1964 & 67 is a mild description of what went wrong. Those boys never ran away...they had no reason too, at least Johnny didn't. Doing something like that was way out of his character!!

Thank you lostbrother! For some reason the other boy slipped through LE's noose or he had an alibi. Still there should be note made in the case file - something - anything. Thank you for answering questions and input about the boys' case. It is so nice to have you as an insider here. Wish we had an old high school annual to pull out and look at to see McKee's classmates, and other younger classmates who might have run with McKee... Cincinnati Kid has some great suggests, but LE needs to make an effort to identify that alleged second person. McKee may have come off so unstable LE didn't believe there was a second accomplice. Yet, just the fact that McKee bring it up himself is a lead in and of itself. The detective needs to followup on that lead ASAP.

 

[lostbrother]

Today, January 13, is Johnnys birthday. He would've been 61yrs old!! Happy birthday my little brother wherever you are!!

 

[nerosleuth]

As his name has been identified in earlier posts here, it might be helpful to those not totally familiar with this matter that the person who confessed almost three years later while he was in the Marines was Gary Lee McKee. He would have been approximately 14 years old in 1964 and was the one authorities brought back to the area only to have him change his story and say he made it up to avoid being in the military.

The Missing Boys Who Still Have Never Been Found

It's been over 35 years since two nine-year old boys from the Cincinnati suburb of Fairfax went out to play after school, walked away from their immediate neighborhood and never returned home. Today, they are still missing and the case is still considered "open" and "unsolved" by local police.

On Thursday afternoon, October 15, 1964, Johnny Hundley and Jimmy McQueary, who were in the third grade, got together after their day at Fairfax School was over. They were seen on a suburban street about 4 P.M. They then wondered away and what took place after that is pretty much speculation.

My brother Bobby & Jimmys brother Pat both had problems with Gary.

Wish we had an old high school annual to pull out and look at to see McKee's classmates, and other younger classmates who might have run with McKee.

There is a difference of five years between the ages of the missing boys and Gary Lee McKee.

Johnny Hundley and Jimmy McQueary were both nine years of age and attending the same elementary school in the third grade in October 1964.

Gary Lee McKee was approximately 14 years old in October 1964. Depending on what grade he was in, he either would have been attending junior high school or high school.

That is an excellent suggestion about looking at the school yearbooks of the schools that McKee attended during the 1960’s. You might be able to find McKee’s former classmates of the same age that lived in the same neighborhood back then.

McKee’s former classmates may be willing to talk about who McKee hung or ran around with and if they knew of any incidents involving kids from the neighborhood or at school that were afraid of McKee being a bully back then.

 

[j777extra]

I have always hoped that maybe someone that knows something about this case would come forward after all these years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[4SAM]

Is there DNA from the sister on file?