Omaha double murder

[YellowDog]

I would be interested to know if this housekeeper was out driving at all that afternoon. Did she pick the son up from school somewhere???

If she had been driving with Thomas in the car or not in the car. She COULD have had a run in of road rage of some type. The person could have followed her back to the house which would explain why her car was in a place that it was normally NOT. (father said he thought it was strange where her car was) -also seen was person walking between yards which could have indicated he was looking for the car to verify the house...- The person could have driven off and gathered knives (not sure what type) and gone back looking for the house he followed her to. It would make sense considering he was seen driving slowly like he didn't know what he was looking for type of scenario...having not been familiar this would make complete sense. It would also make sense why the murder weapons were left behind because he had NEVER had a personal link with the house or the victims. I do not think under any circumstance this was a professional hit, it doesn't add up. Way to sloppy and way to sloppy doing this during the daytime in the house.

I guess the other thing...being that there was an out of state plate -- could this indicate a student who was mentally unstable??? If someone was competant they most likely would have stalked out this house beforehand and been more familiar with the layout.

I also have to wonder…what types of surveillance videos are around town – even if the guy went to the local target to buy some knives would be interested If LE tapped all sources just to see if they could located this car in town that day. I know time consuming but they still have a chance to see videos if they archive for a year!!!! But that is going to expire and soon!!!!


What do you think???

I thought the father said he found it strange that the maid's car was still there when he got home, not about where it was parked.

 

[NSC]

I am certain it was where it was parked. Because why would the maid leave the son home alone??? Or am I wrong, I will listen to the station report again but I am pretty certain that is what I got out of it.

 

[T-Rex]

Those are interesting theories, Kemo and NSC--the doctor vendetta, and road rage. I wonder if there are other unolved murders in the area like this? It kind of reminds me of BTK.

 

[gaia227]

Thanks for sharing that Snick (and thanks for always sharing and keeping this thread alive!), I didnt realize all of the stations were covering the story. It is interesting that it is getting so much coverage now. I wonder if it is the bandwagon effect, or if there was something specific that got all of the Omaha media interested. I was really shocked to see it as the lead in on 7 last night.

That is really interesting about the neighbors yard. That brings up a lot more questions for me....was it the wrong house? If he was having trouble finding the address I dont think he was local, I think its common knowlege how the addresses in Omaha are laid out (maybe thats just me though). Was he trying to get a better view of the house by going through the neighbors yard? Was he trying to make it look like he was going house to house, especially with that briefcase, maybe looking like a door to door salesman? So many questions! I will be happy when this is solved!

It is interesting, isn't it? It makes me question even more if the perp did not get the wrong house. He was obviously confused, he was there to murder someone so I am certain he was nervous, starting to feel a little panicked so he went to the house he thought was the right one, rang the bell, was let inside where he confronted the housekeeper. He says he wants to speak to so and so, she tells him that person does not live there, he doesn't believe her and is getting more and more agitated. Perhaps the housekeeper yells for the boy to come up and tell this man that the person he is asking for does not live there. The situation elevates to the point of him stabbing the both, he quickly leaves forgetting to collect the knives.

 

[Snick1946]

I will try to comment on some of the recent postings here tommorrow.
Meantime I wanted to let you all know these are exciting times to be here in Omaha for those of us interested in this case. This evening WOWT had this case as a featured story for the second night running and had a live interview with the Dundee Neighborhood Association president from in front of the crime scene. The story is still all over the place.
Some of us banged our heads for months to get a line or two of attention now it's coming out our ears.
I really wonder what is going on- I just can't get a read on this; is this leading up to an arrest announcement or just all due to Dr Hunter and his family changing their minds, if the later it says something for the power that the Creighton community has in local media. Anyway for whatever reasons, I'll take it.

 

[YellowDog]

I'm glad it's at the forefront now. An arrest would be great.

 

[Nyla4]

I'm glad it's at the forefront now. An arrest would be great.

ITA! This case needs to be solved. Thank you everyone at WS and the people in Omaha for keeping this case alive. :blowkiss: And of course Omaha LE.

 

[NSC]

Snick, I am curious to know your thoughts on some of the theories we have posted...

 

[Snick1946]

Hello again all, have been away for awhile and everyone has been buisy, appreciate all your support and interest!
I will perhaps miss something here so let me know if I don't address a point you raised:
The ideas about this being related to road rage or to a killer for hire at the wrong address are good. Dr Hunter alluded to this I think in his interview, wondered if the attck was intended for another family. On some level I think I am resisting that because it's going to add to the barriers in solving the case if that is true. I don't know how you'd be able to trace whether Shirlee had such a thing happen unless someone witnessed it, the wrong house theory if true would wind up leading to a search for a needle in a haystack- did he get the address wrong, house description, what? Home invasion hits are usually found in lower income areas, this guy was way out of his element in this neighborhood, actually that may explain his apparent confusion. If either is true, it's true so maybe someone can suggest how the cops could go about tracing this.
I think he may have had difficulty seeing the street addresses on the houses. I had to stop and look several times the first time I visited the crime scene, they are not easy to read so that may explain his cutting across the yard.
Someone posted a bit confused about where Thomas was, upstairs or downstairs, he was in the basement apparently when the guy showed up, in the news article Dr Hunter ran downstairs first to see if he was hiding there (I guess) then 'went upstairs' (main floor) where he found his son.

 

[NSC]

Just an FYI, and I am SURE it is a coincidence but they seized an abandoned CRV in the Hayleigh Cummings case in FL. The out of state license plate and car struck me as odd. Sure it isn't connected by the type of scenarios but this is how something cases can get solved!!

Although!!!! Now that I am thinking more about it....

This is a HUGE stretch!!! But is it possible something could have happend to Thomas as far as being approached by a strange man, had an encounter with a SO that may have been compromised, something like this at???? Only reason I thought of this is because of the Hayleigh Cummings Case and the car being seized.

 

[ShowerSinger]

The mother was in Hawaii....with who, and did that lead to a jealous rage? was someone aware of something, an affair, probably not. A jealous co-worker who didn't get to go to Hawaii? Hmm
Otherwise, I think it's a pedophile killing.
But, the mom being out of town.....leaves a lot of questions. I hope and wonder if this avenue wasn't explored....
Affairs happen all the time, even perceived ones?
Still, the boy's habits/school stuff demand further investigation. I see a lot of trysts/I mean twists to investigate.
The perp knew he would have been home, after school.
Again, something the father said bothered me....
He said he was surprised to see the housekeeper's car still there. Hmmm... why didn't the husband/doctor call his son on any phone (cell/landline) knowing he was the one to be in charge....since wife was out of town.
Maybe there is more to the wife being out of town....
I'm just wondering who she took with her....and maybe whoever got to go got upset because he was/is an inferior boyfriend, wanting revenge.
I dunno, but something else to make ya say hmmmm
Sad and strange that the good husband doctor found the crime scene. ?

 

[ShowerSinger]

What if the killer was a druggie, and was denied a prescription by either/both doctors.....

 

[Julessleuther]

I think that is a stretch, IMO, to accuse the wife of an illicit affair, and I am guessing LE already checked into that. Besides, why would the husband kill the child with the housekeeper in the house, he would have had plenty of opportunity to do it when the child was alone. I believe I heard that she was in Hawaii for a conference, but I cannot find where I saw this...

The mother was in Hawaii....with who, and did that lead to a jealous rage? was someone aware of something, an affair, probably not. A jealous co-worker who didn't get to go to Hawaii? Hmm
Otherwise, I think it's a pedophile killing.
But, the mom being out of town.....leaves a lot of questions. I hope and wonder if this avenue wasn't explored....
Affairs happen all the time, even perceived ones?
Still, the boy's habits/school stuff demand further investigation. I see a lot of trysts/I mean twists to investigate.
The perp knew he would have been home, after school.
Again, something the father said bothered me....
He said he was surprised to see the housekeeper's car still there. Hmmm... why didn't the husband/doctor call his son on any phone (cell/landline) knowing he was the one to be in charge....since wife was out of town.
Maybe there is more to the wife being out of town....
I'm just wondering who she took with her....and maybe whoever got to go got upset because he was/is an inferior boyfriend, wanting revenge.
I dunno, but something else to make ya say hmmmm
Sad and strange that the good husband doctor found the crime scene. ?

 

[YellowDog]

The mother was in Hawaii....with who, and did that lead to a jealous rage? was someone aware of something, an affair, probably not. A jealous co-worker who didn't get to go to Hawaii? Hmm
Otherwise, I think it's a pedophile killing.
But, the mom being out of town.....leaves a lot of questions. I hope and wonder if this avenue wasn't explored....
Affairs happen all the time, even perceived ones?
Still, the boy's habits/school stuff demand further investigation. I see a lot of trysts/I mean twists to investigate.
The perp knew he would have been home, after school.
Again, something the father said bothered me....
He said he was surprised to see the housekeeper's car still there. Hmmm... why didn't the husband/doctor call his son on any phone (cell/landline) knowing he was the one to be in charge....since wife was out of town.
Maybe there is more to the wife being out of town....
I'm just wondering who she took with her....and maybe whoever got to go got upset because he was/is an inferior boyfriend, wanting revenge.
I dunno, but something else to make ya say hmmmm
Sad and strange that the good husband doctor found the crime scene. ?

I don't believe any of the family members have ever been mentioned even remotely as suspects.

 

[tapu]

Maybe it was John Wilkes Booth. He had a gun.

 

[YellowDog]

Maybe it was John Wilkes Booth. He had a gun.

LOL.......can't be him since a knife was used. Maybe Daniel Boone.

 

[Snick1946]

Actually Booth had both a knife and a gun, but I degress....

Claire Hunter was in Hawaii for a medical conference, per the Omaha World Herald article, I don't see anything sinister or suggestive in her being gone. She practices in several hospitals, some in western Iowa, and probably is absent from home a great deal.
William Hunter is a teaching doctor- pathology- I doubt he was writing prescriptions for anyone. His wife is a cardiolgist. I don't know if she was ever in the position of having to prescribe pain killers, etc but I think that less likely than other specialities.
I do think some attention should be given to areas where Tom Hunter could have interacted with adults, school and also the YMCA, where he played basketball. I think he went to the downtown branch here in Omaha, I am a member and have been there but prefer not to go to that location- there have been some unusual characters I have encountered down there, all I will say. Looks like the cops checked out the internet connection. Also noted they tracked about a dozen possible disgruntled patients and med students with no result. Only a dozen? If that's where the answer lies they didn't go far enough. Someone not perceived as angry may be the perp. His reasons wouldn't have to make sense to the rest of us.
It has all the appearence of a planned crime without any discernable motive.
One comment- I have some reason to believe the familes of the victims may be looking at this discussion, I have in the past shared some suspicions and my reasons for them of persons close to the family with others but via private messages.

 

[Snick1946]

Paste of OWH article this morning:


The family of homicide victim Shirlee Sherman has offered a $25,000 reward for tips that help Omaha police apprehend the person responsible for killing the Omaha house cleaner and an 11-year-old boy last March.




Shirlee Sherman and Tom Hunter (Click to enlarge)The Omaha Police Department will hold a press conference Thursday to announce the additional reward money, which brings the total to $50,000. Last March, an anonymous donor put up $25,000.

On March 13, 2008, someone entered a Dundee neighborhood home and killed Sherman, 57, and Tom Hunter, a sixth-grader at King Science and Technology Magnet Center who lived at the house. Sherman had been the Hunter family's house cleaner for about two years. She was also a mother and a grandmother.

Tom's parents, both doctors, are faculty members at Creighton University Medical Center.

Nearly a year later after the daytime stabbings, the case remains unsolved, and police continue to seek the community's help to find the killer.

Have information
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Call the Omaha Police Department's homicide unit at 402-444-5656. Tips can be left anonymously at www.omahacrimestoppers.net or by calling Omaha Crime Stoppers at 402-444-7867. Brad Waite of Omaha, one of Sherman's brothers, said his family has discussed increasing the Crime Stoppers reward for several months. Waite said he believes the additional money could provide motivation for someone who has crucial information but has been afraid to come forward up to this point.

Police have received numerous tips from the public since The World-Herald published an interview with the boy's father, Dr. William Hunter, on Feb. 15.

Omaha police continue to search for a man whom neighbors saw walking outside the Hunter home near 54th and Davenport Streets on the day of the slayings. That man is described as being in his late 20s to late 30s, with dark or olive-toned skin.

Police say the man may have gotten out of a gray or silver Honda CR-V or a similar type of sport utility vehicle. The man was of average height, with an average to stocky build, and wore a dark suit with a white shirt. He carried a dark satchel or briefcase over his shoulder.

This ought to push someone who knows something to come forward.

 

[YellowDog]

I picked up on something reading that article. Not many people carry a satchel or briefcase OVER THEIR SHOULDER. Most carry briefcases with a handle and not a strap.
If anyone knows a man who carries that type of satchel or briefcase, they should call the police. Most men would consider that somewhat feminine.

 

[proudmama]

I picked up on something reading that article. Not many people carry a satchel or briefcase OVER THEIR SHOULDER. Most carry briefcases with a handle and not a strap.
If anyone knows a man who carries that type of satchel or briefcase, they should call the police. Most men would consider that somewhat feminine.

Just a couple of thoughts:

Laptop bag comes to mind.

Many book bags (not back packs) that male students carry are messenger style. Designed to cross the torso, but easily slung over the shoulder.

Sorry Yellow Dog, I have to disagree with you :frown: (doesnt happen often, I know!), I think most people carry shoulder, long strapped, bags nowdays, not handheld. I think it's actually rare to see someone carry a handheld bag. JMO