beachlvr0810
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Even a teenage kid in the 1970s who learned about crime from watching Columbo on TV would know that the way to get away with murder was to get rid of the bodies (easier said than done) and get rid of the murder weapon (and not talk to Columbo).
Of course in the 1970s, there was not DNA from murder weapons, but any murder weapon, such as a hammer would leave marks, which could be roughly matched to wounds on bodies.
A murder weapon would not even be needed with small victims. I am not sure that a murder weapon other than a rock or branch would be available if the crime occurred in the woods. Of course if a murder occurred inside someone's house, several murder weapons such as knives or tools would be available in almost any house.
If bodies were buried, a shovel or other digging tool such as a garden trowel or just a screwdriver would most likely be used. If the bodies were transported a couple of hundred miles to the back woods of VA, most likely a large shovel would be used, which may have been in a trunk with bodies for the trip. If the bodies were burred nearby Kensington, a murderer may have used a smaller shovel/trowel, which would be both easier to steal from a nearby store, and to dig with unobserved.
The police did seize a box with a hammer in it. A hammer could have been a murder weapon. Or the box could have also had a small shovel in it.
Before DNA use in forensics, I can't recall anyone burning down houses or cars to burn DNA evidence, and I can't recall any criminals getting rid of shovels. DNA detection is getting better, but it would be a long shot if any blood/DNA remained in any crack or wood of a digging tool.
I can't imagine using a trowel to dig a grave. That would take quite a while to dig. Since the items LE took this time were the same items that had been taken before, is there a list somewhere of exactly what was in the box or did I miss that?
It's been extremely quiet on Taylor's Mountain lately. Too quiet!