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

[Murkywaters]

Hi MurkeyWaters, can you give more info about the PI`s threats received and dead animals? I have not heard about that. Thanks!

http://articles.philly.com/2013-01-11/news/36260624_1_anonymous-letter-camden-county-letter-claims Here's the link.

"Law said she's tracked down leads to Camden and Lancaster, where Sharpless worked at Lancaster General Hospital. Law has received phone calls from women as far away as Michigan, claiming that they had seen Sharpless. She also said she's been threatened recently with anonymous calls warning her to "back off." She said that someone had placed dead animals in her mailbox." This is the part in particular that mentioned that incident.

 

[SusanB]

Thank you Murkey Waters for the explanation. I tried to access the link you provided for that article on my tablet, but was unsuccessful. I am now on my p.c. and was able to open and read that particular article referring to the threats against the P.I.
I am very interested in this case since the beginning - first because I live very close to the area involved, as a matter of fact, just minutes from Gladwyn and the last place Toni was seen alive.
I can also identify with her on several levels as I am in the same profession, was a single mom, working hard and trying to have some sort of social life. I remember in my younger days partying a bit too much on occasion, thus placing myself in possible harms way by being out all night, intoxicated, in bad situations. By the grace of G-d, I never got myself harmed or harmed anyone else. Unfortunately, Toni was not as lucky as I was.
At first, I really felt like something happened to her at the party resulting in her death, and the party people there disposed of her and her car. It seemed like we were not hearing anything from Willie Green, his brother, or anyone else present at that party, like they were covering up.
Dead silence from all of them, unless I am unaware of it. Please correct me if that is wrong and I'd love to read any interviews of the party-goers that night.
The only verbal person is the friend Crystal Johns. I saw her on Dissapeared and she seemed to be telling the truth about being let out of the car by a living Toni who drove off never to be seen again. Right now, I feel she does not know what happened to Toni.
I'm going to think about some possible scenarios.
I do feel the story about being killed in Camden by a cop could be true, but not sure. Especially if the P.I. is getting threats if she keeps digging. Police today are not what they used to be. It seems there are increasing numbers of citizens experiencing brutality and even death by cop, and they know how to get away with it. :twocents:
I'm going to sleep on it and post again tomorrow.

 

[Murkywaters]

Thank you Murkey Waters for the explanation. I tried to access the link you provided for that article on my tablet, but was unsuccessful. I am now on my p.c. and was able to open and read that particular article referring to the threats against the P.I.
I am very interested in this case since the beginning - first because I live very close to the area involved, as a matter of fact, just minutes from Gladwyn and the last place Toni was seen alive.
I can also identify with her on several levels as I am in the same profession, was a single mom, working hard and trying to have some sort of social life. I remember in my younger days partying a bit too much on occasion, thus placing myself in possible harms way by being out all night, intoxicated, in bad situations. By the grace of G-d, I never got myself harmed or harmed anyone else. Unfortunately, Toni was not as lucky as I was.
At first, I really felt like something happened to her at the party resulting in her death, and the party people there disposed of her and her car. It seemed like we were not hearing anything from Willie Green, his brother, or anyone else present at that party, like they were covering up.
Dead silence from all of them, unless I am unaware of it. Please correct me if that is wrong and I'd love to read any interviews of the party-goers that night.
The only verbal person is the friend Crystal Johns. I saw her on Dissapeared and she seemed to be telling the truth about being let out of the car by a living Toni who drove off never to be seen again. Right now, I feel she does not know what happened to Toni.
I'm going to think about some possible scenarios.
I do feel the story about being killed in Camden by a cop could be true, but not sure. Especially if the P.I. is getting threats if she keeps digging. Police today are not what they used to be. It seems there are increasing numbers of citizens experiencing brutality and even death by cop, and they know how to get away with it. :twocents:
I'm going to sleep on it and post again tomorrow.

I too believe Willie green's and Johns account of the night. She really did seem baffled about what happened to Toni and there's really no evidence that she has any valuable information at all. There really is nothing to indicate anything happened at the house anyway but the majority of YouTube comments on the episode seem to disagree, All they've really done is bash Crystal except actually discuss what could've possibly happened. But Eileen did say Toni was low as gas that night and could've went to a direction to get some or ran out of gas somewhere along the express way and broke down and accepted help from someone who lured her into a trap. But being Toni a recovering drug addict she may have decided to go and buy drugs that night. Because drinking can definitely cause a relapse. Your judgement is totally skewered and the craving returns and is not silenced by any type of reason, you just go with it. Then you typically feel deep shame, this is when some people stop, but others continue to use to deal with the feelings of guilt and remorse. Also people who saw Toni on the streets of Camden did all state she looked "ashamed. and incredibly sad and distraught" I also believe the PI's theory that Toni may have been being trafficked, Being a very pretty young woman who seemed broken and was doing drugs and especially in a city like Camden she easily could've gotten involved with very bad people. There were so many sightings of Toni that I certainly believe that she was certainly alive for a while, I remember Toni's sister saying on the program a man was sure it was her he wanted to get off the bus he was traveling on and go grab her. I think may have been the same man who was so certain it was her that he called 911, but it could've been a completely separate sighting.

 

[SusanB]

I wanted to check here just before I go to work - don't have time for a long message right now. But I agree with the above post by Murkey Waters.
If we think she was alive for awhile, and went to Camden here are a few thoughts:
-She could have accidently gone the wrong way trying to get home - going to Camden would mean she went the oppositeon the expressway than it would take for her to get back to Lancaster/Brandywine to her home
-But she would have realized way before getting to NJ she was going the wrong way - it is necessary to side swipe the downtown city of Philadelphia with all the skyscrapers and lights - even at 5 AM you would not miss that you were definitely in Philly, not heading to Montgomery/Chester County
She may have been trying to get gas - where she was, she may have been trying to find a service plaza or gas station - from the Gladwyn exit traveling the direction to get home, there are less options - King of Prussia area has many businesses, but at 5am it is limited.
-Yes, she may have decided to score drugs and purposely driven east on the I-76 to Camden as it is well known that you can buy drugs there. another well known drug area in Philly is the Kensington area, but from where she was it would be easier to just to hop on the I-76 straight to the Ben Franklin bridge - then just over the bridge is Camden NJ. To go to the Philly drug areas may be a shorter route, but would require more twists and turns to get there.
Will be back later!

 

[Missing Budweiser]

I am very certain that Toni wasn't harmed at the party. I was there when the river was searched and saw Crystal in person. I believe her story as does Eileen Law. Not sure I believe the multiple sightings. Especially the Lancaster ones. They make no logical sense. I still think her car may be in the river. If she did make it to Camden I believe she was killed shortly afterward. It would be a miracle if she is still alive.

 

[Murkywaters]

I am very certain that Toni wasn't harmed at the party. I was there when the river was searched and saw Crystal in person. I believe her story as does Eileen Law. Not sure I believe the multiple sightings. Especially the Lancaster ones. They make no logical sense. I still think her car may be in the river. If she did make it to Camden I believe she was killed shortly afterward. It would be a miracle if she is still alive.

I am sure Toni wasn't harmed at the party either. I remember seeing a news video of Crystal helping out on the river search, I think people a lot of give Crystal a lot of **** because of all the theories that people make up about her having something to do with it, but really she's been really cooperative in the investigation, as she went to the river search and even traveled to Camden with Eileen to hand out fliers. I do believe the sightings of Toni though, even the Lancaster ones since Candy Toni's sister said the clothes were exactly the same. I think it was also the one that sated Toni had severe dark "mascara black" circles under her eyes which Toni had struggled with since her teens and covers up with makeup. A prostitute in Camden told Eileen she believes she saw Toni and was with a few men in an alley either doing drugs or counting money. And another man who said said he is 100 percent sure he saw Toni on four separate occasions in Camden and Eileen mentioned that they had the same drug dealer. He said she seemed exceptionally distraught and mentioned physical characteristics, which her mother confirmed. I think Toni was on drugs and was with people who were perhaps transferring her to places like Lancaster and places in philly for whatever reasons. But i do believe that Toni met her fate in Camden with the 'bad cop' that supposedly caused her death.

 

[Missing Budweiser]

The Lancaster sightings don't make sense to me because there isn't a huge drug or prostitution trade there. It isn't anywhere close to Camden and is also coincidently where Toni worked. If she was spotted there so often, why didn't anyone approach her? Camden sightings don't hold very true to me either. They all came from addicts or dealers. I was on a search for missing girl a few years ago there. Within 2 hours at least 10 people had said she was seen within the last few days. She had died two weeks earlier. Not saying it's not possible but I have my doubts.

 

[Murkywaters]

The Lancaster sightings don't make sense to me because there isn't a huge drug or prostitution trade there. It isn't anywhere close to Camden and is also coincidently where Toni worked. If she was spotted there so often, why didn't anyone approach her? Camden sightings don't hold very true to me either. They all came from addicts or dealers. I was on a search for missing girl a few years ago there. Within 2 hours at least 10 people had said she was seen within the last few days. She had died two weeks earlier. Not saying it's not possible but I have my doubts.

http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/698005_Enslaved-by-human-trafficking.html I just found an article about human trafficking in Lancaster, It might not seem as if there is drug or prostitution rings there. But there probably is. I believe that the sightings are probably true just because the pattern of them, I think it would be very difficult for people just to make up sightings and have it go in one area and then stop then start in another area. Law even said People have reported more than 100 sightings of Toni in the Lancaster, Mount Joy, Reading, Camden and Philadelphia's Kensington section. And when her Disappeared episode airs in the area she gets calls in straight away. I doubt that 100 or so people would making **** up just for sake of it. And what makes it even more credible to me is that after that whole series of reports the sightings suddenly stopped for some reason. That leads me to believe maybe that was the point in time when the police officer killed her in Camden.

Here's an article that has a video of Eileen explaining the sightings, http://www.dailylocal.com/article/DL/20110213/NEWS/302139979 She said the most were in Lancaster and were in clusters. And was very encouraged by one in particular in Lancaster county by professionals who believed they saw her and said they were just three feet away from her. I guess that might have been the one Candy was talking about on the show.

 

[Missing Budweiser]

Murkywaters- I've read almost all the articles on the case. When the sightings began to be "reported," Toni's face was everywhere. The case was fairly new and getting a lot of publicity. Eileen Law is the only one that can verify how many calls she received. The areas they reportedly came from just make no logical sense to me. Sure, if they all came from Philly/Camden I could believe she was down there for awhile then met with foul play. I just don't feel that she was being "transported" place to place, city to city. In my opinion, Toni died within a day or two of leaving the party. Most like with the next few hours. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[SusanB]

Hi all, I am glad people are expressing more interest on this case which has been in my thoughts since the beginning.

I live where these events and sightings took place. I know first hand that there are prostitutes and drugs in Lancaster - I was friends with a guy who procured both there a few years ago very easily and I actually saw him do it. As a matter of fact, I actually dared him to do it, not believing myself that you could get drugs and a hooker in little old Lancaster PA, home of the horse and buggy. To my surprise, in 5 minutes he had accomplished his feat with one phone call!!!

Anyway, my own feeling is that the cop killing story is quite possible. She was intoxicated and angry when Crystal was let out of the car. Maybe scoring drugs seemed like a good idea. She must have known Camden was a sure thing to get drugs at 5 am, thus the 25 minute drive the opposite direction from going home. Scoring drugs closer to home would be more difficult at that hour.

Once there, once she got high, all bets are off. Anything could have happened. Being supposedly a "recovering" addict (she should not have been drinking alcohol if that is so), once the drugs hit her system, it would be pretty hard to stop. Shame and guilt start setting in, and to mask those feelings, she may have kept getting high. Once the cycle has begun, very very difficult to break it, and she may have gotten caught up in the environment.

I don't think she got out of Camden, though, and got stuck in a bad situation that resulted in her death there. Somehow, the cop story rings true to me. The officer could have been messing around the dark side, either a drug user himself or using prostitutes. Believe me, that happens - the police take advantage of the people who are down and out or suffering, because they CAN. Many police officers feel invincible, and killing someone is not out of the question if she resisted or argued with him. They can get away with murder (no pun intended!)

 

[Missing Budweiser]

Let me clarify my statement on Lancaster. First of all you can get drugs anywhere. A prostitute may be a little more difficult depending on whether you're talking escort service or street walker. My point was that there in not an open air drug market in Lancaster and prostitutes are not walking the streets. If Toni made it to Camden, there is a very little chance she made it back to Lancaster.

 

[Murkywaters]

Hi all, I am glad people are expressing more interest on this case which has been in my thoughts since the beginning.

I live where these events and sightings took place. I know first hand that there are prostitutes and drugs in Lancaster - I was friends with a guy who procured both there a few years ago very easily and I actually saw him do it. As a matter of fact, I actually dared him to do it, not believing myself that you could get drugs and a hooker in little old Lancaster PA, home of the horse and buggy. To my surprise, in 5 minutes he had accomplished his feat with one phone call!!!

Anyway, my own feeling is that the cop killing story is quite possible. She was intoxicated and angry when Crystal was let out of the car. Maybe scoring drugs seemed like a good idea. She must have known Camden was a sure thing to get drugs at 5 am, thus the 25 minute drive the opposite direction from going home. Scoring drugs closer to home would be more difficult at that hour.

Once there, once she got high, all bets are off. Anything could have happened. Being supposedly a "recovering" addict (she should not have been drinking alcohol if that is so), once the drugs hit her system, it would be pretty hard to stop. Shame and guilt start setting in, and to mask those feelings, she may have kept getting high. Once the cycle has begun, very very difficult to break it, and she may have gotten caught up in the environment.

I don't think she got out of Camden, though, and got stuck in a bad situation that resulted in her death there. Somehow, the cop story rings true to me. The officer could have been messing around the dark side, either a drug user himself or using prostitutes. Believe me, that happens - the police take advantage of the people who are down and out or suffering, because they CAN. Many police officers feel invincible, and killing someone is not out of the question if she resisted or argued with him. They can get away with murder (no pun intended!)

With where Toni went after she kicked Crystal out of the car, Being that her car was low on gas and Toni being in such a state it really makes me wonder how far she got on her journey "home" i don't know much about the location... but since you do live in the area where Toni was last at, is it possible for Toni to have gone from Gladwyne to Camden without her running out of gas? And if she did you would think she would have rang someone on her phone which she turned off. That's if her phone was still charged. Another thing is since Toni hadn't slept in over 36 hours it's makes me wonder if she possibly could've pulled the car over the side of the road and taken a nap, and somebody noticed vehicle and she was carjacked right then and there.

 

[SusanB]

With where Toni went after she kicked Crystal out of the car, Being that her car was low on gas and Toni being in such a state it really makes me wonder how far she got on her journey "home" i don't know much about the location... but since you do live in the area where Toni was last at, is it possible for Toni to have gone from Gladwyne to Camden without her running out of gas? And if she did you would think she would have rang someone on her phone which she turned off. That's if her phone was still charged. Another thing is since Toni hadn't slept in over 36 hours it's makes me wonder if she possibly could've pulled the car over the side of the road and taken a nap, and somebody noticed vehicle and she was carjacked right then and there.

It takes about 25 minutes to travel from Gladwyne to Camden NJ at that time of day. It depends on how low she was on gas. She would have had to get off the highway (I-76) to get gas if she needed to - and there is no gas stations right off the freeway between those 2 destinations. She would have to get off and drive around awhile - even then, there are few gas stations in that area as it travels closer to the downtown city of Philadelphia, not suburban areas with Wawa, 7-11, etc easily available.
Maybe she ran out of gas? Maybe she pulled over to nap - although I would think logically if she got tired and wanted to nap she would have been going the opposite direction heading home. Once the idea of scoring drugs comes into play for an addict, I doubt she would just pull over to rest - copping drugs is an obsession and I am sure she would not rest until she got what she wanted.
Do we know about how low she was on gas? I could get a better idea of where she would have gone if I knew.

 

[Missing Budweiser]

I believe Crystal(don't quote me on this) said they had about a 1/4 tank. I posted about that back when the thread started. More than enough to get to Camden or Lancaster. I could definitely see Toni pulling over to the side of the road. One theory is that she went the wrong way after leaving the party. Route 76 only was able to be entered heading East(towards Philly) in the direction Toni was headed.

 

[SusanB]

I believe Crystal(don't quote me on this) said they had about a 1/4 tank. I posted about that back when the thread started. More than enough to get to Camden or Lancaster. I could definitely see Toni pulling over to the side of the road. One theory is that she went the wrong way after leaving the party. Route 76 only was able to be entered heading East(towards Philly) in the direction Toni was headed.

Yes 1/4 tank is plenty to get to Camden. And yes, she would have had to turn around to head back home after entering 76 from where she was. She would have to exit 76 at Belmont Ave or another exit further down towards Philadelphia and re-enter 76 to go West (to head towards home).
But IF she went all the way to Camden, IF we believe the reported sightings there and the car license hit, she would have realized long before driving all the way to NJ that she was going the wrong direction.:aktion1:

 

[Narkj]

Wonder, still, why this person would write a letter to P.I. with information about the case? What purpose would it serve? If he or she is trying to be helpful, they could have been much, much more helpful than what was written in the letter.

 

[Zuri]

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

 

[Murkywaters]

Wonder, still, why this person would write a letter to P.I. with information about the case? What purpose would it serve? If he or she is trying to be helpful, they could have been much, much more helpful than what was written in the letter.

The author who wrote the letter stated he/she has a daughter as i remember. I think they may have watched Toni's disappeared episode and felt bad as a parent knowing that Toni's daughter and family still doesn't have any answers to what happened. Being that the authors friend is the police officer that supposedly killed Toni, he/she obviously doesn't want to get their friend into trouble. Which maybe be why the person is being so discreet. However i agree, the author of that letter really needs to come forward. Or even better the police officer needs to turn himself in. But unfortunately that probably isn't going to happen sadly. However i hope as time goes by the person who has that guilty conscious on their mind does what is right. It's a secret someone can't keep forever, and something that has to keep the person who wrote the letter up at night.

 

[SusanB]

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

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:

 

[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