OH OH - William 'Bill' Comeans, 14, Columbus, 7 Jan 1980 - #1

[ellemo]

Out of curiosity, did you tell anyone about it? Parents, sibs, friends, teacher? Not really comparable (I'm thinking this is easier for girls to own up to than boys), but I'm curious. I think a lot of teenagers keep their parents at a distance to prevent too much "governance" in their lives.

Nope, I didn't tell anyone. My friends knew, but only because they witnessed it. I had several older siblings. I didn't tell them and they were much older and in other schools by then. Most teachers knew, and did nothing and to some extent actually encouraged it, but that is a rant for a whole other thread. But I can really relate to Billy and why he said nothing. If my situation had gotten worse - if I had been physically attacked after I slapped the one kid - I am not sure if I would have told anyone.

 

[MURDERER_SERVANT]

Random thoughts prob put forward earlier :fence:

It doesn't make much sense to me now that Bill was taken by car/kidnapped by the attackers in front of his porch / yard when everyone was at home and it was not late at night . I lean to think that he maybe didn't really know / see the attackers in the two previous attacks or maybe he heard them a bit but didn't recognize them..

The note left in the first attack said "He was warned " appears either
the message was addressed to someone else i.e to Bill's family maybe.. or someone else wrote the note and ordered the two guys to attack Bill and said them leave the note after they
threaten him to death...the writer and the attackers might be sort of related but different people ..

So not knowing the attackers maybe the third time someone Bill felt safe called him friendly / asked his help or maybe someone told him that sb he liked was waiting him in the tracks..so Bill went to a car/a nearby house/tracks willingly and unfortunately sudden and quick third fatal attack came with no note behind..
jmo

 

[MURDERER_SERVANT]

Does anyone know Bill's father occupation at the time ?

 

[catatonia]

Just came across another cold case (SOLVED WA - Susan Swartz, murdered in Snohomish County, 1979 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community) that could be solved by using so called "cold case playing cards". It's a regular deck of cards, only with faces and data of missing people in the area of current cold cases.

Does anyone know, whether this was ever given consideration in Bill's case?

A short description of how it works:

If a prisoner tipped the detectives on the fates of these people, there would be a reward.

The prison system is filled with connections, eyewitnesses, tips, and hints that the cops could have missed. And with the right incentive, be it money, a will to correct past wrongs, or just snitching on a guy they hate, a prisoner can be perfectly willing to aid the police. This is what happened with the case of Susan Schwarz: One con recognized the victim's face on one of the cold case playing cards and alerted the authorities. This caused the police to reopen the case three decades after the crime, examine the evidence, and eventually convict a 57-year-old man from Seattle.

The exact tip the prisoner gave the authorities was not disclosed, but it is believed that the man (then just a boy) was an eyewitness to the crime, and the killer had threatened to kill him too if he ever told anyone. After a hard-knock life and a prison sentence or six, such threats were now old hat, so he had no problem spilling the beans once he learned the case was still open.

Source: http://www.cracked.com/article_20523_5-mind-blowing-ways-people-solved-unsolvable-cold-cases.html

 

[MURDERER_SERVANT]

The method also seems weird in Bill's case ..and all attacks same method prob. very quick as no wittness and not letting the victim see his/their face..

IMO guys connected with some sort of fighting sports / to Army /to LE would be more professional and capable of such kind of a technique. Just a thought..

 

[GoingByMyGut]

Just came across another cold case (SOLVED WA - Susan Swartz, murdered in Snohomish County, 1979 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community) that could be solved by using so called "cold case playing cards". It's a regular deck of cards, only with faces and data of missing people in the area of current cold cases.

Does anyone know, whether this was ever given consideration in Bill's case?

A short description of how it works:

If a prisoner tipped the detectives on the fates of these people, there would be a reward.

The prison system is filled with connections, eyewitnesses, tips, and hints that the cops could have missed. And with the right incentive, be it money, a will to correct past wrongs, or just snitching on a guy they hate, a prisoner can be perfectly willing to aid the police. This is what happened with the case of Susan Schwarz: One con recognized the victim's face on one of the cold case playing cards and alerted the authorities. This caused the police to reopen the case three decades after the crime, examine the evidence, and eventually convict a 57-year-old man from Seattle.

The exact tip the prisoner gave the authorities was not disclosed, but it is believed that the man (then just a boy) was an eyewitness to the crime, and the killer had threatened to kill him too if he ever told anyone. After a hard-knock life and a prison sentence or six, such threats were now old hat, so he had no problem spilling the beans once he learned the case was still open.

Source: http://www.cracked.com/article_20523_5-mind-blowing-ways-people-solved-unsolvable-cold-cases.html

That was an interesting read, catatonia -- thanks. I never heard of the cards before but what a great idea. A few pages back I posted a link to the FCSO's FB page. If you have an account, that would be a great place to post the suggestion. JMO

 

[ZaZara]

Random thoughts prob put forward earlier :fence:

It doesn't make much sense to me now that Bill was taken by car/kidnapped by the attackers in front of his porch / yard when everyone was at home and it was not late at night . I lean to think that he maybe didn't really know / see the attackers in the two previous attacks or maybe he heard them a bit but didn't recognize them..

The note left in the first attack said "He was warned " appears either
the message was addressed to someone else i.e to Bill's family maybe.. or someone else wrote the note and ordered the two guys to attack Bill and said them leave the note after they
threaten him to death...the writer and the attackers might be sort of related but different people ..

So not knowing the attackers maybe the third time someone Bill felt safe called him friendly / asked his help or maybe someone told him that sb he liked was waiting him in the tracks..so Bill went to a car/a nearby house/tracks willingly and unfortunately sudden and quick third fatal attack came with no note behind..
jmo

Bill would not have left without telling his parents and they would not have let him go on his own. After the second attack, according to Bob, the family made sure that Bill never went out on his own. To pick up his sister from the party nextdoor, he went through the neighbor's gardens.

 

[GoingByMyGut]

Nope, I didn't tell anyone. My friends knew, but only because they witnessed it. I had several older siblings. I didn't tell them and they were much older and in other schools by then. Most teachers knew, and did nothing and to some extent actually encouraged it, but that is a rant for a whole other thread. But I can really relate to Billy and why he said nothing. If my situation had gotten worse - if I had been physically attacked after I slapped the one kid - I am not sure if I would have told anyone.

Sad, huh? The gulf was wide between my parents and I when I was a kid (tho that was a long time ago) ... in the same shoes, I might have kept quiet too.

 

[Gemmie]

Bill would not have left without telling his parents and they would not have let him go on his own. After the second attack, according to Bob, the family made sure that Bill never went out on his own. To pick up his sister from the party nextdoor, he went through the neighbor's gardens.

hmmmmm... I wonder which neighbors? AJT?

 

[ZaZara]

hmmmmm... I wonder which neighbors? AJT?

No need to wonder about AJT.
AJT lived across the street so it is hardly likely that Bill would go through her garden to get to the neighbors 2 houses down south.

See KatCo's post: Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - SPOTLIGHT CASE OH - Bill Comeans, 15, Columbus, 7 Jan 1980 - Family Seeks Info thru Social Media

 

[Methodical]

It seems there's some confusion on locations.
Hope these aerials and street views explain it all.
AJT's house is on left in aerial photo, and labelled as such.

Note: Sorry for the blurriness of the RED labels. The originals are crystal clear & sharp.
Therefore I believe WS is compressing the photos a bit much, hence the quality reduction.

 

[ZaZara]

It seems there's some confusion on locations.
Hope these aerials and street views explain it all.
AJT's house is on left in aerial photo, and labelled as such.

Note: Sorry for the blurriness of the RED labels. The originals are crystal clear & sharp.
Therefore I believe WS is compressing the photos a bit much, hence the quality reduction.

Thanks, Methodical for these pictures!
The house that you indicate seems almost in front of the Comeans' home. KatCo mentions that AJT lived 'over one house from ours'.
I'm not quite sure what that means, I take it that it is 'the house across the street next to the house in front of the C 'home.' ???
I wonder if the houses across the street are still the same buildings that were there 34 years ago. I would have placed AJT's house in the empty spot beneath the house that you indicated in the second picture.

 

[Methodical]

Thanks, Methodical for these pictures!
The house that you indicate seems almost in front of the Comeans' home. KatCo mentions that AJT lived 'over one house from ours'.
I'm not quite sure what that means, I take it that it is 'the house across the street next to the house in front of the C 'home.' ???
I wonder if the houses across the street are still the same buildings that were there 34 years ago. I would have placed AJT's house in the empty spot beneath the house that you indicated in the second picture.

AJT's home (as indicated on my aerial) is slightly off-angle from the Comeans, being just a bit more "south". So I believe Kat was relating to this "off-angle" and not "directly" across the street as "1-house down".

In one of Kat's first posts, she said all houses and environment are virtually the same. I am positive there's been no changes to house locations on her block. BTW, these labels are not "guesses". I've done my research and they are correct. (I'm not saying that in any demeaning way)

ETA: I've read the AJT address on the house indicated, off the actual address numbers on the house itself, so unless the Topes put up the wrong numbers on their house, it is correct.

 

[Pensfan]

BBM1: Right -- this is why you can't kill yourself by choking -- you would pass out before you were dead.

BBM2: As I've said, this is troubling me too. I'm repeating myself, but I wish we knew whether they did a tox screen (wouldn't this be SOP?). I suppose he could have initially passed out, then slept? The stress/trauma could have physically exhausted him? I mean, he's just a kid -- at that age my daughter might not have woken up for 12 hours. I have the impression that BC used the word "unconscious" -- but how could he tell the difference between that and sleep? All that said, I strongly suspect some sort of drug, the effects of which lasted the length of time he slept.

BBM3: I don't think we really know that his airway was restricted while he was unconscious or asleep. I actually think if he was, he wouldn't have lived to tell the tale, or he would have been comatose/brain dead.

The use of a pharmaceutical would also explain how the killers were able to spirit him away the night he died. I wonder what was available at that time?

bbm
People die from autoerotic asphyxiation. Many who practice this don't just tie a ligature around their neck, but also use additional devices to restrict their oxygen including those which were found on Bill (I'm not listing these devices because kids google this topic.)

 

[Gemmie]

No need to wonder about AJT.
AJT lived across the street so it is hardly likely that Bill would go through her garden to get to the neighbors 2 houses down south.

See KatCo's post: Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - SPOTLIGHT CASE OH - Bill Comeans, 15, Columbus, 7 Jan 1980 - Family Seeks Info thru Social Media

I think I'll go back to what I do best. :lurk: LOL

 

[rosemadderlake]

Methodical, the pictures you posted of where Bill went missing are really helpful. -Thank you!!

My first impression is there is not much between the house and the road. No fencing, or enclosed yards with landscaping on the street line. I can see how Bill could have been "rushed" to the street, down the street, to a car, swiftly, in the dark.

I wonder what everything looked like in 1979? The maps and street views on the internet today are more recent, (post 2000?), so the trees shown in the aerial are grown (20 plus years later). The landscaping might have been a little "wilder" in the '70s & '80s, too. -Before the "housing market".

Imo- He either fell into a trap (set up to lure him into car, or nearby house), or could have been ambushed, but from where?

 

[zoomom]

across the street? (lured.)

 

[shefner]

This case will absolutely drive you crazy. How could this happen?
My first instinct upon reading this case is that these incidents were self-inflicted (no disrespect intended....sorry family).
But its extremely complex. I can't get it out of my mind.
What really happened to Bill?

 

[Pensfan]

Among those questioned, Rich said, was a teacher who told detectives Billie had been asking him questions “about how to make yourself pass out”.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9dpNu3jLO3tWmhDdHk5VXpwZkU/edit?pli=1

Autoerotic asphyxial behavior typically begins during adolescence. Most autoerotic deaths are male and occur in this age group because the practitioners lack experience and are unaware of the dangers of hypoxia. Adolescent victims are described as otherwise well adjusted, high achievers, apparently sexually normal and not perceived to be depressed or suicidal by friends and family.


<modnsip>

My thoughts and prayers are with Billie's grieving family.

Pensfan
verified psychiatric mental health nurse

 

[GoingByMyGut]

Originally Posted by GoingByMyGut
BBM1: Right -- this is why you can't kill yourself by choking -- you would pass out before you were dead.

bbm
People die from autoerotic asphyxiation. Many who practice this don't just tie a ligature around their neck, but also use additional devices to restrict their oxygen including those which were found on Bill (I'm not listing these devices because kids google this topic.)

Hi, Pensfan -- Boy that post is from early in the thread! You must just be working your way through to us

Thanks. You are right. I'm aware that you can strangle or hang yourself with "equipment," but what I meant here by choking was "with your own hands." IIRC, I believe my post was in response to one by pdxmama, where she was explaining how quickly a person regains consciousness after the airway is no longer constricted. Thus, when you're using your hands, you lose consciousness, you let go, you breathe, you come to ... we were comparing it to Bill's 2nd attack, where he was said to be "unconscious" for 5-6 hours.