Raymond Rudolph Mileski
Mileski, was a strong suspect, probably the strongest, yes he mentioned C.D. He did kill family members and sexually assaulted several young females but a direct connection to the Lyon sisters disappearance was not found or a connection to Lloyd Welch.
Mileski was a criminal well known to MCP long before the Lyon case. He had been shot in an encounter with police attempting to arrest him during a burglary. He lost a leg as a result, and walked with a prosthetic one.
In November 1977, following an on-going family argument about a 19 year old male "boarder" staying with them, Mileski shot and killed his own son in the basement of his home with a high power deer rifle. When his wife and youngest son came running down the stairs, Mileski turned the gun on them, killing his wife and wounding the little boy.
That "boarder" (MCP has his name) was said to be the original source of the 2001 informant's story (mentioned in previous posts) alleging Marvin Peirce Peele II's and Mileski's connections to the Lyon case.
The "boarder" was said to have revealed this information shortly after being allowed back into the Mileski house crime scene to retrieve his personal belongings. Those statements to the 2001 Informant were NOT made public or relayed to MCP at the time (1977).
That would have been about December 1977, five years before the prison inmates told their very similar story about Mileski.
Mileski responded in writing to letters sent him in 2001 while in prison. In his return letters, he claimed intimate knowledge of who the abductor of the Lyon girls was and called him "C.D.", whom he claimed to have met in prison.
He did not admit in his letters to having been personally involved in the kidnapping, but did have suggestions that the girls' bodies might be found "in a rural area, near a sort of cabin where one might go for hunting or fishing." It is interesting that LE search efforts in Virginia were in just such an area.
Mileski, in his letter wanted it pointed out to his son Carl (16 years old in 1977), that the named "boarder" did not come into their life until AFTER the Lyon sisters incident.
This statement would indicate that he mistakenly believed Carl had offered the 2001 information to police about the "boarder" and the Lyon case connection. He hadn't, but it begs the question as to what he might have known - or what Mileski thought he knew. He wasn't completely denying what he thought Carl said, but was saying that Carl was somewhat mistaken and was making minor corrections as to dates and times.
Also, the statement indicates that Mileski was pretty clear about when the Lyon case occurred - and what his own living situation was at that time - since he seemed to be able to pinpoint other events (such as who was boarding at their house at a given time) so accurately, 26 years later. It might indicate that the Lyon case figured into his life personally.
While there might not have been a strong/known link between Mileski and Welch, there seems to be at least some coincidental links. Both were burglars and both were known to be armed while committing home break ins.
Peele (Mileski's alleged accomplice) was originally from Hyattsville (as was Welch) and he, too had many criminal charges on his record - including kidnapping, rape, assault and battery and possession of weapons. Peele lived in numerous rented rooms and houses in the Suitland, Maryland area - near Mileski's home and business.
The Tape Recorder Man (yes him again) was seen at Wheaton Plaza, but also at Iverson Mall and Marlow Heights Shopping Center only days before the girls went missing. Those two adjacent PG County malls were only minutes away from Mileski's Cabinet shop/ware house.
Mileski was known to have both a white panel truck or van which he used in his cabinet business, as well as a family station wagon - the types of vehicles which have been mentioned in connection with the Lyon case over the years.
Making a connection between Mileski and Welch today, after so many years, might be difficult, but there are possible ways this might be done. Knowing some of Mileski's associates and persons connected with Welch, might provide the link. Prison records might indicate if they served time together, and who else served with both of them at various specific times.
Knowing the exact location of Mileski's cabinet business/warehouse might provide clues as well.