GUILTY OH - Richard, 84, & Gladis Russell, 85, Bellefontaine, 16 Feb 2011

[mysteriew]

I hope his confessions mean he will plead guilty and not force these families through the agony of trials, which could drag on for years. That would be the only relief in all of this tragedy.

He will get an attorney and once he gets an attorney he will plead not guilty. That is almost guarenteed. The only way he will plead not guilty is if a plea deal is arranged. That is just kinda the way our justice system works.

 

[mysteriew]

Can someone answer this question:
If SL cannot better describe the Valdosta area from his jail cell, or cannot/will not do it precisely, can he be put in a car and driven to Georgia to show authorities exactly where he left the Russells, specifically which cotton field he is talking about? Is that doable, or is it breaking some law? He already confessed to killing them, why can't he help locate them?

I just so much want the Russells' bodies to be found and to receive a proper, respectful burial in a lovely setting. Anything else would not be right.

It is possible, and since it is a high profile case it is very possible that they will do it. But they will do their own searches first. If they find the Russell's without his help it will go harder on him in court.

 

[panthera]

No I think that it is too early yet for a deal. I think his family may be putting pressure on him to tell what happened, that would include what he did and where he left he Russell's.

I don't think his family were in contact with him until he called his father. I think he headed to Florida, and something happened. Maybe he ran short on money or maybe the cop in Valdosta spooked him. But I do think he headed to his father's hoping for assistance in hiding him. But IMO dad tried to talk him into turning himself in. I think that he maybe told his father that he would, but either he chickened out or he had no intention of turning himself in and just told his dad he would. Because even after he did get caught he didn't give himself up he made them take him down.

Fighting extradition, I think he is mainly doing that to stay close to family. I have read that his father is real sick (cancer maybe?) and that he hadn't seen his family for years. His sis said on camera that whereever he was they would be there for him. So I think maybe it is both for his own comfort and to spend time with his father. I don't worry about that though because he can't get out of jail, and eventually he will have to return to Ohio. Probably he will try to use his father's illness to prevent extradition, but that will only last so long. LE doesn't like hanging on to someone else's prisoner if they don't have charges against them on their own. There is also the fact that once he hits Ohio he will be hit with the trials and the possibility that the DP might (probably will) be on the table. So he may want to procrastinate for a while. But he will be under tremendous pressure to accept extradition.

Just curious if maybe he thought LE would pursue him after taking off from the traffic stop, or if he thought they would take him down when he resisted arrest........ MOO

 

[Rhyme & Reason]

I think if there was a deal made,it would have included whereabouts of the Russells.(moo)...Rest In Peace Mr. and Mrs.Russell.

:Welcome1: Sum1'sYaYa!

 

[Whatever1]

The article said that littleton said he put them in a cotton field in Valdosta FL area off of I 75. I just keep thinking about this lovely couple that has done so many wonderful things for others in their lives. They were in that car with him all the way down to Florida. He could have just let them go....there are no words for this monster. I'm just so very, very sad for the families.

So was the couple alive then when he was out of the rest area in Butler County? If so, were they in the bathroom? I'm confused.

 

[Whatever1]

They just said on our local news that the Russells were killed in their home.

So they were in the truck probably??

 

[oceanblueeyes]

So was the couple alive then when he was out of the rest area in Butler County? If so, were they in the bathroom? I'm confused.

No, they were killed in their home. He most likely had them in the trunk of their car the entire time and discarded their bodies in Valdosta, Georgia.

I wonder if he was going I-75 North or South when he disposed of their bodies.

If he is being truthful I am sure he told LE which way he was heading though.

I just hope they find them soon.

 

[nerosleuth]

He already confessed to killing them, why can't he help locate them?

I just so much want the Russells' bodies to be found and to receive a proper, respectful burial in a lovely setting. Anything else would not be right.

I'm asking the same question. How do we know that SL is really telling the truth? :banghead:

He could have dumped their bodies anywhere. We just don't know if it's along the I-75 corridor or on a back road in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, or Florida.

I do agree with you that the Russells' bodies must be found so they can recieve a proper respectful Christian burial.

 

[debloree]

From what I've read they are now saying they've been searching in Georgia since Wednesday. Download and read the press Release at this Link.


http://www.examiner.org/index.php?o...ells-in-georgia&catid=34:local-news&Itemid=55

 

[cluciano63]

I am relieved, in a way, that they were not alive for days with him, terrified and suffering, and awaiting death. That would be even worse to imagine.

 

[mysteriew]

Just curious if maybe he thought LE would pursue him after taking off from the traffic stop, or if he thought they would take him down when he resisted arrest........ MOO

After he was seen in Valdosta I think that was just plain panic, so he took off at a high rate of speed. I mean he had to know that he was wanted for murder and kidnapping. He knew he had also killed the Russell's. Now a cop tries to stop him for driving without his lights, and I think he panicked. Were the Russell's still in the car? If so they were probably in the trunk and probably wouldn't have been seen. Had he just dropped their remains off? He might have thought that he had been seen. Funny thing is if he had pulled over, most likely just telling the patrolman that he stopped to check a tire and didn't notice that his lights were off may have satisfyed the patrolman.

As far as his running when they finally caught him, IDK if that was panic too or if he believed the movies and was thinking they might shoot him if he ran.

 

[nerosleuth]

Found something very interesting in the online edition of the Columbus Dispatch.

Authorities say Littleton was in Georgia two days after murder of Logan County couple

Friday, February 25, 2011 04:00 PM

By Randy Ludlow and Holly Zachariah

The Columbus Dispatch

Commander Brian Childress of the Valdosta Police Department said authorities placed the Russells' car in Georgia after two minor incidents.

An officer attempted to stop a vehicle for a minor traffic violation at about 6 a.m. on Feb. 18. The driver, however, refused and the officer did not pursue, per department policy regarding minor traffic violations.

Later, another officer took a report of a license plate stolen from a car in a Walmart parking lot near the site of the aborted traffic stop.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/conten...ton-confesses-to-couplexs-murder.html?sid=101

 

[CKay]

Very sad for the families and Bellefontaine community. Hopefully they will find Dick and Gladis soon. I've avoided the news today. Knew it was going to be bad. Wanted to digest it all at once, instead of all day long. Gov. Kasish will probably sign the Governor's order and he will be back soon. What a total .

As for the DP, being from Knox County where Matthew Hoffman killed 3 people and put their dismembered bodies in a hollow tree ... there is a sense of relief for all involved, that he pled guilty and is in prison. Had he not gotten the deal, the families might not ever know the location of the bodies. And to think that the case was concluded in under 2 months must be a record. Logan County is not unlike Knox County (rural, economically challenged and not set up to deal with major DP cases). The families didn't have to sit threw a long and gruesomely detailed trial (and in the case here, SM not having to testify was huge). Healing could begin. Life in prison without parole can be more punishing imo (especially if he ends up in some place like Lucasville, which the other Ohioans here will know what I mean).

 

[debloree]

The question now isn't only where Littleton supposedly dumped the bodies. Relatives of the Russells also are questioning whether Littleton is telling the truth.

“There's nothing that they told us that says, 'yes, this is right,” said Mike Coder, nephew of the Russells. “So things (Littleton) has said must have led them there, but there's nothing definite there."

Friday afternoon, Bellefontaine Police met with the Russells’ family where they were told of the search efforts and that investigators believe the Russells were killed in their home. That information took Coder by surprise.

“In the house there was no sign of a struggle, there was nothing, it’s almost like (Dick and Gladis) just evaporated,” said Coder.

http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2011/feb...ching-bellefontaine-couple-georgia-ar-406748/

 

[MsFacetious]

I can think of several law enforcement agencies who could take some lessons on how to search from these guys...

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news...ies-of-elderly-couple-to-georgia-1091189.html

The area being searched in Georgia is 180 miles long . “He (Littleton) is vague about where the bodies were disposed of,” Prine said.

Because the location of the bodies is unclear, the search includes checking exits off I-75 from the Florida line to Macon in central Georgia.

More than 100 people are now involved in the search.

Authorities are deploying police helicopters and dogs for the search that includes exits off I-75 and areas along railroad lines.

Personnel involved in the search include the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Lanier County Sheriff’s Office, Valdosta Police Department, Hahira Police Department, CSX Railroad Police and the Norfolk Southern Railroad Police, said Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine.

The search stopped at nightfall Friday and will resume today at daybreak.

 

[mysteriew]

Found something very interesting in the online edition of the Columbus Dispatch.

Authorities say Littleton was in Georgia two days after murder of Logan County couple

Friday, February 25, 2011 04:00 PM

By Randy Ludlow and Holly Zachariah

The Columbus Dispatch

Commander Brian Childress of the Valdosta Police Department said authorities placed the Russells' car in Georgia after two minor incidents.

An officer attempted to stop a vehicle for a minor traffic violation at about 6 a.m. on Feb. 18. The driver, however, refused and the officer did not pursue, per department policy regarding minor traffic violations.

Later, another officer took a report of a license plate stolen from a car in a Walmart parking lot near the site of the aborted traffic stop.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/conten...ton-confesses-to-couplexs-murder.html?sid=101

He seems to have liked wally world doesn't he.

They are always busy both with lots of people coming in and out and lots of cars in the lot, the car would have fit in. Not a high security area.

 

[mysteriew]

The question now isn't only where Littleton supposedly dumped the bodies. Relatives of the Russells also are questioning whether Littleton is telling the truth.

“There's nothing that they told us that says, 'yes, this is right,” said Mike Coder, nephew of the Russells. “So things (Littleton) has said must have led them there, but there's nothing definite there."

Friday afternoon, Bellefontaine Police met with the Russells’ family where they were told of the search efforts and that investigators believe the Russells were killed in their home. That information took Coder by surprise.

“In the house there was no sign of a struggle, there was nothing, it’s almost like (Dick and Gladis) just evaporated,” said Coder.

http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2011/feb...ching-bellefontaine-couple-georgia-ar-406748/

In some ways he sounds like a person in the early stages of grief, like he is not sure he accepts that they are dead. But in some ways what he said is true. If there was no sign of trouble in the house, no neighbors heard signs of a struggle it doesn't seem likely that they would have been killed there. Unless he took the time to clean up afterwards, and I can't believe they didn't find signs of that (missed blood, bleach smell etc.)

The only blood reported was in the car, specifically in the front passenger seat and the trunk. Front passenger seat to me sounds like someone was sitting there when they were killed (unless it was just trace amts.)

Even when a perp confesses, they don't always confess to everything. They may try to hide if they showed cruelty, torture, sexual assault and etc. So he could have tried to hide something by saying that he killed them at their home.

 

[katydid23]

In some ways he sounds like a person in the early stages of grief, like he is not sure he accepts that they are dead. But in some ways what he said is true. If there was no sign of trouble in the house, no neighbors heard signs of a struggle it doesn't seem likely that they would have been killed there. Unless he took the time to clean up afterwards, and I can't believe they didn't find signs of that (missed blood, bleach smell etc.)

The only blood reported was in the car, specifically in the front passenger seat and the trunk. Front passenger seat to me sounds like someone was sitting there when they were killed (unless it was just trace amts.)

Even when a perp confesses, they don't always confess to everything. They may try to hide if they showed cruelty, torture, sexual assault and etc. So he could have tried to hide something by saying that he killed them at their home.

I am wondering if he might have called them from his truck, right down the road from their house. Asked them to come pick him up --car trouble.
He may have left a message, hence his number written on the paper on the table.
So they pick him up, bring him to their home, and he may have put a gun to the husbands head, and told the wife to gather money, gas cards, food, supplies and they would not be hurt. So she does that and he says he is going to take them and their car and leave them at his destination if they cooperate.
So they agree to get in the car, and once inside, at some point, he shoots them, and then hides them or dumps them. He deserves the DP if anyone does, imo.

 

[mysteriew]

I am wondering if he might have called them from his truck, right down the road from their house. Asked them to come pick him up --car trouble.
He may have left a message, hence his number written on the paper on the table.
So they pick him up, bring him to their home, and he may have put a gun to the husbands head, and told the wife to gather money, gas cards, food, supplies and they would not be hurt. So she does that and he says he is going to take them and their car and leave them at his destination if they cooperate.
So they agree to get in the car, and once inside, at some point, he shoots them, and then hides them or dumps them. He deserves the DP if anyone does, imo.

Could have been a gun, but could also have been a knife. With two elderly people, all he had to do was hold a knife on Mrs. Russell and Mr Russell would have done what he was told. Otherwise it is an excellent scenario. Also he could have killed them near his car, and just taken their car. He also could have forced them to an atm, maybe forced them to give their passcode too.

 

[jadejazzkayla]

The question now isn't only where Littleton supposedly dumped the bodies. Relatives of the Russells also are questioning whether Littleton is telling the truth.

“There's nothing that they told us that says, 'yes, this is right,” said Mike Coder, nephew of the Russells. “So things (Littleton) has said must have led them there, but there's nothing definite there."

Friday afternoon, Bellefontaine Police met with the Russells’ family where they were told of the search efforts and that investigators believe the Russells were killed in their home. That information took Coder by surprise.

“In the house there was no sign of a struggle, there was nothing, it’s almost like (Dick and Gladis) just evaporated,” said Coder.

http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2011/feb...ching-bellefontaine-couple-georgia-ar-406748/

i agree with mike. everything looked kosher at the russell's house except for sam's phone number on a piece of paper.

i don't believe sam killed the russells in their home then carried their dead bodies out to their car.

i would like to hear from the russells' friend who called 911.