PA PA - Toni Sharpless, 29, Gladwyne, 23 Aug 2009

[justagirl247]

my only thought about the letter is, if it is legit then the cop that killed her i'm sure he knows all the people that would know about that so i'm sure he would be able to idetifiy the author and i'm sure the author would also be aware of that so that makes me question how legit this letter actually is

 

[SusanB]

my only thought about the letter is, if it is legit then the cop that killed her i'm sure he knows all the people that would know about that so i'm sure he would be able to idetifiy the author and i'm sure the author would also be aware of that so that makes me question how legit this letter actually is

Perhaps they were not that close. From what I understood, the author stated he/she had a "friend" who knew that the cop killed Toni. It's like a-friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend type thing, KWIM?
Anyway, I also do not understand the purpose of the author writing and sending that letter - all I can think of is a guilty conscience. The author would then hope that the perpetrator of the original crime of murder either would not know they sent the letter or may not even know the identity of the author.

 

[justagirl247]

Perhaps they were not that close. From what I understood, the author stated he/she had a "friend" who knew that the cop killed Toni. It's like a-friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend type thing, KWIM?
Anyway, I also do not understand the purpose of the author writing and sending that letter - all I can think of is a guilty conscience. The author would then hope that the perpetrator of the original crime of murder either would not know they sent the letter or may not even know the identity of the author.

oh ok i must have misunderstood theni thought the friend was who had written it thank you for clearing that up

 

[Missing Budweiser]

Good question. There are toll booths on I-76, shortly past where she would have entered the highway if she was heading west (towards her home), as well as a toll for the Ben Franklin bridge - but you do not pay or stop going INTO New Jersey, only LEAVING. So she would not have had to stop on her way into Camden if that is where she went, only if she stayed for awhile in Camden and left to go back to Lancaster (home). In other words, if she did go to Camden after the party, there would be no toll booth to record anything as she went over the bridge.
I wonder if they checked the video of the I-76 toll booth - to see if she drove towards home that night. I wonder if they checked any of the possible toll points around the time of her disappearance. I can understand it would be a quite a task to do that, though. :aktion1:

If Toni headed toward Lancaster, she wouldn't have gone through any toll booths. They are for the turnpike. She would have taken route 30. Her normal route home was driven and checked numerous times by LE and friends/family.

 

[margarita25]

Perhaps they were not that close. From what I understood, the author stated he/she had a "friend" who knew that the cop killed Toni. It's like a-friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend type thing, KWIM?
Anyway, I also do not understand the purpose of the author writing and sending that letter - all I can think of is a guilty conscience. The author would then hope that the perpetrator of the original crime of murder either would not know they sent the letter or may not even know the identity of the author.

So this person knew the vin number, even being a friend of a friend?

 

[Murkywaters]

So this person knew the vin number, even being a friend of a friend?

This is the text of the letter that was sent to Eileen law. It explains everything.

"Dear Eileen law,
The police in Pa do not have a tip line. I tried calling the philly police where I live but they said it was not in their jurisdiction. One of the detectives pulled me aside and gave me your name and address. In the last few days of Sept. 2009 a friend in Camden called me and offered me money to move a car from Brooklawn NJ to Boston Mass. He told me he would pay me $5,000 dollars cash plus I could have the plates. He asked if I new anyone 27 or 29 that wanted to paper trip so he gave me a social security card. I drove the car a black 4 dr. Pontiac Grand Prix and drove to a auto body shop outside of Boston Mass. I took off the plates and with a black magic marker wrote down the last five digits of the VIN number and cleared out the glove box. I came back to Camden a day later and he told me that the car was not stolen but missing. He said a friend of his a cop in Camden got into a fight with a girl, she died and he needed to get the car out of Jersey. About a month ago my daughter was playing in the garage and found the box with the plates & S.S. card I had forgotten all about it. The plates are DND7772 the S.S. card.(Sharpless’ cell phone number was written here) and the last 5 digits of the VIN are (the last five numbers of Sharpless’ vehicle’s identification number was written here). Because of hurricane Sandy I had to visit Jersey to help friends clean up. I decided to drop you this letter. What happened to Tony I don’t really know all I know is that she had a run in with the police and I was paid much needed cash to get the car to a shop in Boston."

 

[carbuff]

Okay, I know the shop he probably means. Boston area is pretty notorious for its car disposal and organized car theft rings.

Whole story sounds quite plausible and if true is never going to be investigated for obvious reasons...

 

[Murkywaters]

It was in the last few days of Sept. 2009 the cop asked the writer to dispose of Toni's vehicle... I guess that proves Toni was alive for some time after taking off in her car in August 23. I wonder if he disposed of Toni's body a while before the last few days of September 2009 or had just did it recently. I also wonder where he took Ton's remains, being a police officer he would definitively know how to get rid of a dead body and cover up his tracks and the crime for sure you would think. And that what makes me doubt whether this case can be solved or not.

 

[walkingdeadgirl]

It was in the last few days of Sept. 2009 the cop asked the writer to dispose of Toni's vehicle... I guess that proves Toni was alive for some time after taking off in her car in August 23. I wonder if he disposed of Toni's body a while before the last few days of September 2009 or had just did it recently. I also wonder where he took Ton's remains, being a police officer he would definitively know how to get rid of a dead body and cover up his tracks and the crime for sure you would think. And that what makes me doubt whether this case can be solved or not.

It sounds like the cop asked a friend, who then asked the writer, to dispose of the car.

Police officers don't know everything, and can panic like anyone, especially if the murder wasn't premeditated. If they can find a lead, or get Toni's car, I bet they can recover evidence.

 

[Spinweb]

I actually watched this episode on Disappeared today. The letter supposedly written to the PI would seemingly tie up all the loose ends. However there are multiple holes in it.

1. Police routinely call in tags of license plates before they interview a driver. It sounds like the city of Camden isn't a place you take romantic midnight walks down a dark alley. So I would think a LE officers initiating a traffic stop would also provide location(s) with the vehicle color/make/model, license plate and number of occupants in the vehicle. This should be well documented in public records.

2. The last 4 of a VIN (which the PI confirmed was the correct numbers) can be found in numerous databases if you have the Tag number. But why would anyone need to keep such information? If you are being paid 5 grand to move a car, you have to know there is something wrong with this deal. I can understand needing to remove the tags but what good does it do to capture the VIN?

3. Not sure what's going on with the SS card? That's almost as odd as my first two points.

Taken at face value, the letter would seem tie it up with a bow and more importantly stop any further investigation.

This is my first post, reply I hope I didn't break any rules.

 

[Murkywaters]

I actually watched this episode on Disappeared today. The letter supposedly written to the PI would seemingly tie up all the loose ends. However there are multiple holes in it.

1. Police routinely call in tags of license plates before they interview a driver. It sounds like the city of Camden isn't a place you take romantic midnight walks down a dark alley. So I would think a LE officers initiating a traffic stop would also provide location(s) with the vehicle color/make/model, license plate and number of occupants in the vehicle. This should be well documented in public records.

2. The last 4 of a VIN (which the PI confirmed was the correct numbers) can be found in numerous databases if you have the Tag number. But why would anyone need to keep such information? If you are being paid 5 grand to move a car, you have to know there is something wrong with this deal. I can understand needing to remove the tags but what good does it do to capture the VIN?

3. Not sure what's going on with the SS card? That's almost as odd as my first two points.

Taken at face value, the letter would seem tie it up with a bow and more importantly stop any further investigation.

This is my first post, reply I hope I didn't break any rules.

You are right about the VIN being able to found in numerous databases, I also remember they had Toni's VIN number on one of the missing person fliers or something. But anyway for why somebody would record such a thing, I honestly don't know. However in the anonymous letter he/she said daughter their found the box in the garage where he had kept the plate and SS card. With the SS card claim, The friend who asked for help disposing of Toni's car also wanted to know if he or she knew anyone looking for a "paper-trip" by using Toni's Social Security card.

 

[Vox_Veritas_JT]

I watch this thread with interest.

For me the letter to the PI just ties everything up far too neatly. The part that stretches my credulity (and please correct me if i am wrong) is that the letter writer has been trusted with the social security card (and plates). And furthermore it is implied the S.S number could be used for a false identity. Traces can be put on S.S numbers - I have seen this in a few cases. The idea a cop would be so sloppy as to see the S.S card and plates end up with a random fixer (in a garage box no less!) stretches my belief. This is not to say the letter is not of interest. There is a chance whoever wrote that does know what happened to Toni and is muddying the waters.

One thing troubles me with the relapse theory. Toni's bank account was untouched. Does anyone know how much cash Toni had on her? This would help. It would also help to know what drug Toni was likely to abuse. Heroin use through injection could well lead to death as tolerance depletes so rapidly but overdosing through smoking heroin (or crack) is obviously very unlikely. What is likely is that with any drug if Toni didn't overdose the first time she is likely to continue using and the chances of an overdose then decrease slightly due to tolerance. My point being she would have needed to withdraw cash quite quickly in the event of a relapse and to my knowledge her account remained untouched.

 

[Murkywaters]

I watch this thread with interest.

For me the letter to the PI just ties everything up far too neatly. The part that stretches my credulity (and please correct me if i am wrong) is that the letter writer has been trusted with the social security card (and plates). And furthermore it is implied the S.S number could be used for a false identity. Traces can be put on S.S numbers - I have seen this in a few cases. The idea a cop would be so sloppy as to see the S.S card and plates end up with a random fixer (in a garage box no less!) stretches my belief. This is not to say the letter is not of interest. There is a chance whoever wrote that does know what happened to Toni and is muddying the waters.

One thing troubles me with the relapse theory. Toni's bank account was untouched. Does anyone know how much cash Toni had on her? This would help. It would also help to know what drug Toni was likely to abuse. Heroin use through injection could well lead to death as tolerance depletes so rapidly but overdosing through smoking heroin (or crack) is obviously very unlikely. What is likely is that with any drug if Toni didn't overdose the first time she is likely to continue using and the chances of an overdose then decrease slightly due to tolerance. My point being she would have needed to withdraw cash quite quickly in the event of a relapse and to my knowledge her account remained untouched.

I too agree the letter does tie everything up to neatly however i guess it is also possible the cop may have trusted this friend with the plates in VIN number. And with him asking the writer if he knew anyone 27-29 that wanted to 'paper trip' shows they may have had a close relationship.

And for the relapse theory, I think that is what most likely happened. Even though Toni's bank account was untouched. All of the sightings of Toni took place in areas known for their prostitution and drug activity. It was likely she could have prostituting for money to buy drugs. As to what drugs Toni took, i honestly don't know.

 

[Redux]

Sorry if this has been asked and answered. Did the toll booths pick up her pic going into or back out of NJ? TIA

I just stumbled across Toni's case while looking for a Disappeared episode on youtube. I haven't read through this thread yet so I don't know if it's been addressed previously, but just wanted to note this. From this article...

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...ers-clue-case-missing-nurse-article-1.1238873

A friend in the car with Sharpless was kicked out along the way, and police have had almost no clues as to what happened to Sharpless, a nurse and mother, except that her license plate was last electronically recorded in nearby Camden, N.J.

Another article mentions that it was recorded by an automatic license plate reader.

 

[Redux]

http://articles.philly.com/2013-01-11/news/36260624_1_anonymous-letter-camden-county-letter-claims

The only hard evidence police received about her disappearance came two weeks later, when the license plate of her Pontiac Grand Prix was recorded by an automatic license-plate reader in Camden.

So does that mean it was recorded 2 weeks later or they only discovered that evidence 2 weeks later? It's written as if it's the former which would be very interesting if true.

Edited to add:

http://lancasteronline.com/news/tip...75a-a5e8-5e9a-963b-520bd2040327.html?mode=jqm

A month after Sharpless' disappearance, a camera mounted on a police car parked in Camden, N.J., recorded a passing vehicle with Sharpless' license plate number, but the camera could not determine what state the plate was from. Police searched the area but never found her car, a black Pontiac Grand Prix.

Certainly they could have checked all the other states to see if any had the same license number and then contacted those people to see if they had been in new jersey then. At most 49 people to call, right?

And geez, doesn't that match with what the anonymous letter said, that he had disposed of the car about a month after Toni went missing?

 

[Redux]

Just wanted to add, since I'm watching the disappeared video right now and this came up, the detective in the case was contacted on September 14, 2009 by Camden police stating that one of their vehicles had recorded Toni Sharpless' car on September 8th in Camden. That's straight from the detective's mouth.

That's about two weeks after she disappeared not a full month as was indicated in the lancasteronline article above. :facepalm:

 

[luthersmama]

I know someone who knows the family and who also knows Ms. Law. My friend's opinion is that Law is a complete fraud. She has probably gotten tired of "working" for free (thinking it would get her great publicity) and has now put out this nice tidy letter. My friend was very annoyed with Law for giving the family false hope for years.

 

[Murkywaters]

I know someone who knows the family and who also knows Ms. Law. My friend's opinion is that Law is a complete fraud. She has probably gotten tired of "working" for free (thinking it would get her great publicity) and has now put out this nice tidy letter. My friend was very annoyed with Law for giving the family false hope for years.

And why would your friend think that? Law IMO has completely honest throughout the entire thing. I genuinely feel she wants to find Toni, In fact during the Disappeared interview she bursted into tears and was glad they didn't air it. She has tons of framed pictures of Toni throughout her office, and met Toni's daughter. That is why she is probably so obsessed with this case, Also Eileen is not working for free for ''great publicity'' in fact one news paper wanted to do a news article on her and put her picture on it, She however told them she'll only allow them to do it if they put Toni's picture on there instead. They didn't so she declined the offer. Ad what exactly do you mean she was giving the family false hope?

 

[luthersmama]

My friend is a former District Attorney who is intimately familiar with the nasty underbelly of the local area, including Philadelphia and Camden. There is little doubt that Toni died shortly after her disappearance because, as my friend said, "She was a white girl in a black world". The alleged sightings in Lancaster made no sense whatsoever. A red-headed white girl could not have stayed hidden in the Lancaster/Philly/Camden sex trade for more than a week, yet Law reported "sightings" for months. She puts up a good show, but none of it holds water if you know the local sex trade, which my friend does and which you cannot if you are from Australia.

 

[Missing Budweiser]

My opinion also is that the sightings were fabricated. The Lancaster sightings make absolutely ZERO sense. I too believe Toni died either that morning or within the next few days.