Possible Connections

[j123]

I agree with Fukiyama. There are some major similarities on paper, and I definitely think they were worth comparing, but when it comes down to it they don't seem to actually resemble one another very much. And while this is definitely reaching, there is a certain "coolness", if you will, about Michael that, from what I have gathered, does not seem to be a part of LLW.

 

[siriunsun]

I'm wondering if both Cynthia and her boyfriend met with foul play.......I agree, LLW and "Michael" do not look like the same person.

 

[Richard]

There are similarities or perhaps just coincidences in this side-by-side comparison. The two photos might or might not be the same person, but either could match the description and composite sketch. Certainly enough to introduce an element of doubt should the case ever go to trial.

I mentioned before that since the parents did not know much about this mysterious "Michael" character, they might have found the photo in their daughter's things and thought it was him. There could be enough of a resemblence that one could mistake the guy in the photo for Lloyd Welch if they only saw him once or twice before.

If this is two separate persons, then you have two potential suspects in similar crimes in the same area out there. So the comparisons or similarities go further than simply a one for one photo comparison.

 

[Historydetective63]

Definitely two different people. Welch, on the left, has a very distinct nose and a hardness/sinister/evil look in his eyes.

 

[Richard]

Definitely two different people. Welch, on the left, has a very distinct nose and a hardness/sinister/evil look in his eyes.

The photo on the Left is a dated Mug Shot (1977), face front, of Lloyd Lee Welch, Jr. taken while he was being booked for some offense. His eyes probably reflect his feelings at the time. His nose, as can be seen in this photo had been broken at some time previously.

The photo on the Right is undated, but probably taken some time prior to 1980. It is a snap shot taken at a slight angle, allegedly of someone named Michael or Mike who was said to be a boy friend or acquaintance of Cynthia Gastelle (see earlier post this thread). The sunglasses and the fact that he is looking away from the camera make eye comparison difficult.

The composite sketch and description in the center view is of an unidentified Long Haired Man (LHM) drawn by MCP officer Morton Davis on 27 March 1975 and released to the public on 23 November 2013. The description came from an unnamed 12 or 13 year-old girl who said that she was with Katherine and Sheila Lyon at Wheaton Plaza on 25 March 1975 (the day the Lyon girls went missing) and that they were followed and bothered by such a man at the mall.

 

[Historydetective63]

This month marks the 40 year anniversary of the still unsolved abduction and murder of Eileen Kelly, 18 years old.

I have mentioned it in this thread previously as a possible connected case to the disappearance of the Lyon Sisters.

Eileen was also from Montgomery County, Maryland but she worked as an intern in Washington, DC. It is believed that she boarded a bus for home and never made it. Nine days later, her body was found in DC. Time of death would indicate that she was held alive for days between her abduction and murder.

Recent discussion in the Lyon Sisters forum touched on the possibility of those girls being kept alive for days after their disappearance. Perhaps there are some similarities or links between the two cases.

Note that Eileen disappeared only three months before the Lyon Sisters did.

For more on Eileen's case, see the link below to her thread in the Cold Cases section of Websleuths.

LINK:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?97069-DC-Eileen-Kelly-18-Washington-DC-December-1974

Note: I believe that Eileen Kelly was from Prince Georges County, Maryland, not Montgomery County as stated above.

 

[Motherof5]

I agree. I don't think that the boyfriend looks like Welch,it's odd that his name is Michael...but that is not why I think the cases are connected. The possible connections for me are:

Cynthia lived in Takoma Park and went missing from Silver Spring. Both places are not far from where Kate and Sheila lived and went missing. Cynthia was last seen at a deli where she went for a job interview,not unlike a shopping center. Cynthia and Sheila were about the same size with long hair. Cynthia was found in one part of VA and they are looking for Kate and Sheila in another part of VA. Both cases happened in the Spring and only 5 years and 9 days apart. JMO

 

[Richard]

Note: I believe that Eileen Kelly was from Prince Georges County, Maryland, not Montgomery County as stated above.

That is correct. Eileen lived in Hyattsville, Maryland which is in adjacent Prince Georges County.

Eileen's family reported her missing and so initially it was a Prince Georges County case. When her body was found nine days later just over the line in Washington DC - and since she had last been seen in Washington DC - the case was transferred to Washington Metropolitan Police as a homicide. It remains an unsolved, but active case.

Eileen is buried in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, which is in Silver Spring, Montgomery County, Maryland.

 

[Historydetective63]

I agree. I don't think that the boyfriend looks like Welch,it's odd that his name is Michael...but that is not why I think the cases are connected. The possible connections for me are:

Cynthia lived in Takoma Park and went missing from Silver Spring. Both places are not far from where Kate and Sheila lived and went missing. Cynthia was last seen at a deli where she went for a job interview,not unlike a shopping center. Cynthia and Sheila were about the same size with long hair. Cynthia was found in one part of VA and they are looking for Kate and Sheila in another part of VA. Both cases happened in the Spring and only 5 years and 9 days apart. JMO

I read that LE has DNA from the Cynthia Gastelle case. Also, I thought I read that based on the skeletal remains that Cynthia had been stabbed, or was any cause of death determined? Does anyone know where LLW was in Spring 1980 when Cynthia Gastelle disappeared (on April 3, 1980)? I wonder if he was in the Montgomery County area.

 

[Motherof5]

I read that LE has DNA from the Cynthia Gastelle case. Also, I thought I read that based on the skeletal remains that Cynthia had been stabbed, or was any cause of death determined? Does anyone know where LLW was in Spring 1980 when Cynthia Gastelle disappeared (on April 3, 1980)? I wonder if he was in the Montgomery County area.

I haven't seen a cause of death but I'll double check.

 

[siriunsun]

I read that LE has DNA from the Cynthia Gastelle case. Also, I thought I read that based on the skeletal remains that Cynthia had been stabbed, or was any cause of death determined? Does anyone know where LLW was in Spring 1980 when Cynthia Gastelle disappeared (on April 3, 1980)? I wonder if he was in the Montgomery County area.

He WAS in Montgomery County, but incarcerated on April 3. He was transferred to the pre-release center on April 21 of that year.

 

[simplifymylife2014]

There is a Katherine McGar Welch who passed away in 2013
and as of yet, it is NOT stated on findagrave WHICH cemetary she is at.
As you read the comments for Katherine McGar Welch,
you will note that she lost a son named Baker Welch
when he was just 19 years old, not quite 20 yet.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=106461081

NOTE THE DATE OF HIS DEATH AND THE INSCRIPTION
WRITTEN ON THE STONE SAYING, "EASTER SUNDAY"!!!

COULD ONE OR BOTH LYON SISTERS HAVE BEEN
GIVEN TO SOMEONE ON EASTER SUNDAY in 1975
to FILL THE VOID FROM THE LOSS OF BAKER??!!

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Welch&GSiman=1&GScid=3542&GRid=85761329&

 

[simplifymylife2014]

Here is a link about a Katherine McGar Welch,
who just passed away in 2013.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=106461081


Note how for SOME "STRANGE REASON",
Katherine McGar Welch's information in
the link below is information that also
pertains to:

Dr. "Katherine" "Welch" who works in
THAILAND with a project called Relentless
which helps children and people caught up
in HUMAN TRAFFICKING!!!!

http://www.intelius.com/Find-Phone-Address/Dallas-TX/Kath-Welch.html

 

[simplifymylife2014]

I am trying to see if there is any connection between
Frank Welch (Katherine McGar Welch's spouse--which I believe
IS deceased, however I can not find info about his death)
and James E. Welch from Conroe, Texas.

In the research I have done Frank Welch was a VERY experienced
and highly viewed architect in Dallas, TX.

Frank and Katherine McGar Welch both did not seem to have
a lack of money.

Frank got a scholarship and went with Katherine to Paris early in their marriage.
Katherine is spoken of as contributing to different, what appears to be family scholarship funds.

I truly believe it may be from those funds and/or an inheritance that
Katherine Welch became a pediatrician in the US, went to China and then
to Thailand.

I need assistance to see if there is a connection of James E. Welch (from Conroe, TX)
to Frank Welch (from Dallas, TX).

As far as age, it appears that Frank was old enough to be
the father or uncle of James E. Welch.

A pretty good search tool I found that is free
is www.familytreenow.com

 

[siriunsun]

I looked at it. I don't think it's her. It was a good idea to have someone check it out, though.

 

[Richard]

I don't want to do any speculation on people based on coincidences of names, but the person you mention is listed as being 85 years old. I doubt that she is the same person seen in earlier links of the doctor in Thailand.

It should be considered when doing any of these kind of searches or sorts that sometimes a website or posting may have gotten things wrong simply because of similarities in names or other bits of information.

I once "googled" my own name and learned all sorts of fascinating things that "I" had done - at least according to what came up on the screen. Obviously there were other people with my same name and probably a few "typos" or misspellings which accounted for the rather colorful and varied biography.

 

[Historydetective63]

Has anyone been able to find the cause of death for Cynthia Gastelle? I thought I read someway that she was stabbed, but i could be wrong. Cynthia went missing from montgomery county, maryland on April 3, 1980.

 

[Motherof5]

Has anyone been able to find the cause of death for Cynthia Gastelle? I thought I read someway that she was stabbed, but i could be wrong. Cynthia went missing from montgomery county, maryland on April 3, 1980.

Not that I know of.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gregjrichards]

Has anyone been able to find the cause of death for Cynthia Gastelle? I thought I read someway that she was stabbed, but i could be wrong. Cynthia went missing from montgomery county, maryland on April 3, 1980.

"The skeleton showed injuries consistent with a stabbing, police said."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...isappearance/2012/06/13/gJQAz6z1aV_story.html

 

[Historydetective63]

"The skeleton showed injuries consistent with a stabbing, police said."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...isappearance/2012/06/13/gJQAz6z1aV_story.html

Thanks, I thought I had read that they believe Cyntia was stabbed. I wonder if there is a way to distribute the photo of her boyfriend, Mike or Michael, to see if anyone could identify him. He may have valuable info regarding the Cynthia Gastelle case. She disappeared on April 3, 1980. She was last seen in Montgomery County, Maryland.