The Springfield Three--missing since June 1992 - #4

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I think of this case often and always wonder where in the heck these girls are. I hope God gives us answers in our lifetime.
 
wfgodot said:
Johns' trial conclusion gives hope to families of other cold cases
"Any case you work on, or a cold case, that doesn't get solved, it haunts you," Lt. David Millsap with the Springfield Police Department said. (KY3)

Video highlights cold cases in the Ozarks, with emphasis on 3MW.

http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-cold-case-investigations-09242010,0,3696494.story
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To be honest I wasn't sure he would actually be convicted. I had seen him many, many times in our office and he didn't seem like he had a care in the world. One can only hope that there will resolution to these other unsolved cases.
 
While the linked article is about Kansas City’s crime lab I found it interesting and it gives an indication of the history of DNA collection and other enzyme tests beyond blood typing, and the establishment of cold case squads. It would be interesting to know the practices of evidence collection and retention of SPD and Greene County. After the Gerald Carnahan conviction Moore said that in just a few more years time the DNA samples in that case would have been degraded beyond being usable. I think we have some idea and everyone has their opinion of their cold case investigations. I would like to see a N-L article done but won’t hold my breath.

The following are pertinent quotes from the linked article which help give us a general timeline of when certain things came into common practice, I think. All highlighting/underlining is mine for emphasis:


“Despite the scientific advances of recent years, evidence-retention practices still vary widely across the country, said Rebecca Brown, policy advocate for the Innocence Project, a group that seeks to exonerate wrongfully convicted people though DNA testing.”

“Many cities now routinely save evidence, but questions remain on how, how much and how long evidence should be retained. The National Institute of Justice started a work group earlier this year to answer those questions.”

“In the 1970s, scientists at the Kansas City crime lab analyzed hairs under a microscope and tested evidence for blood type. They were just starting to use a new enzyme test that could narrow down a suspect pool beyond blood type.

They did not know exactly what the future would bring, but they could foresee more enzyme tests with even more discriminatory power.

So Wilson suggested that the lab keep samples from every piece of evidence. That way, workers could retest the evidence later, using newer technology as it became available.”

“Kansas City police started using DNA as an evidence tool in 1992, first in a rape case and later that year in a “sexual homicide” case in which the suspect left behind a cigarette butt.

As DNA testing advanced into the 1990s, the true value for using it to solve cold cases emerged, Wilson said.

“We said: ‘Hey! Let’s go back and do DNA testing on some of these notorious cases,’ ” he recalled.”

“The Miami-Dade Police Department in Florida was the first in the nation to form a cold case unit in the 1980s. Most other departments did not start one until 2000 or later.”

“In 2002, Kansas City police started a homicide cold case squad.”

“By 2008, police had started a cold case sex crimes unit, using federal grant money. Soon afterward, Jackson County prosecutors won a grant to start their own cold case unit.”

“Prosecutors review cases against the statutes of limitations to ensure they could file charges if the case were to be reopened. Hunt said there would be no reason to waste police and lab workers’ time if a case could not be prosecuted.”

“The cold case efforts achieved success quickly.”

“9,611KC Regional Crime Lab cold cases”

“4,326Crimes that yielded biological evidence with DNA potential”

“905 Cases worked so far by lab’s trace evidence unit”

“253 DNA hits so far”

“Police said they have reviewed all the unsolved homicide cases, so finding another serial killer may be unlikely. But lab workers said they may be able to use new technology to get DNA from fingerprints collected at crime scenes.”

“The lab kept those, too.”

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/09/25/2250469/kc-crime-labs-long-ago-foresight.html
 
Missouri Mule said:
To be honest I wasn't sure he would actually be convicted. I had seen him many, many times in our office and he didn't seem like he had a care in the world. One can only hope that there will resolution to these other unsolved cases.
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I'm sure he didn't have a care in the world. Sociopaths have a law unto themselves. The only law they follow is when they want something, they get it. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE matters to them. The people around them are nothing more than a means to an end, servants to serve whatever need has arisen and then squashed when no longer useful.

If Carnahan had been half as good-looking as Bundy, imagine how many more women he would have raped and killed.
 
There has been a story kicking around for a long time and I don't know if it is true or false. Anyone know if he and Sherrill were ever on the same cruise ship at one time or another? Doesn't mean anything even if they were but it would be an odd coincidence if it were.

Also there seems to be some question whether or not Cox and Bundy were actually in communication while in the Florida prison. Anyone know the truth or falseness of that assertion.
 
Missouri Mule said:
There has been a story kicking around for a long time and I don't know if it is true or false. Anyone know if he and Sherrill were ever on the same cruise ship at one time or another? Doesn't mean anything even if they were but it would be an odd coincidence if it were.

Also there seems to be some question whether or not Cox and Bundy were actually in communication while in the Florida prison.
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Anyone know the truth or falseness of that assertion.
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No one other than you has made that claim, and no sources have ever been cited. Lack of citing sources is why thread #3 has been locked down. Examples taken from Thread #2 and Thread #4 are quoted below:


"We do however know that he had some contact with the serial murderer Ted Bundy who was most assuredly an organized criminal." Thread #2 Pg 30 Post 728


"As I recall, Bundy's advice to him was to make sure the bodies were never found." Thread #4 Pg 2 Post 26

How about citing your sources used to verify this information at that time?

 
Hurricane said:
No one other than you has made that claim, and no sources have ever been cited. Lack of citing sources is why thread #3 has been locked down. Examples taken from Thread #2 and Thread #4 are quoted below:

"We do however know that he had some contact with the serial murderer Ted Bundy who was most assuredly an organized criminal." Thread #2 Pg 30 Post 728

"As I recall, Bundy's advice to him was to make sure the bodies were never found." Thread #4 Pg 2 Post 26

How about citing your sources used to verify this information at that time?
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That Bundy was an "organized criminal" is without dispute. Some say he was in contact with Bundy, others say he wasn't. Where does the truth lie?

I was told that Cox did receive that advice. I don't know from personal knowledge. Can you give an up or down answer if he was or wasn't?

I was soliciting information to clarify what is known or believed about the case. Anyone else who has solid information regarding this I would appreciate knowing.

Can you respond to the cruise question?
 
Missouri Mule said:
That Bundy was an "organized criminal" is without dispute. Some say he was in contact with Bundy, others say he wasn't. Where does the truth lie?

I was told that Cox did receive that advice. I don't know from personal knowledge. Can you give an up or down answer if he was or wasn't?

I was soliciting information to clarify what is known or believed about the case. Anyone else who has solid information regarding this I would appreciate knowing.

Can you respond to the cruise question?
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You have stated over time, “We do however know that he had some contact with the serial murderer Ted Bundy…” and "As I recall, Bundy's advice to him was…” That is what is in dispute. How do you know that? If you can’t cite a source and/or verify the source, and don’t know from personal knowledge then why repeatedly state it as fact? Those statements that cannot possibly be verified without questioning the source can’t possibly help anyone who is researching this case.

Concerning the cruise rumor there is not a coworker or intimate friend of Sherrill’s, or Suzie’s who has ever stated that they have knowledge of Sherrill having been on a cruise in the recent years leading up to her abduction and disappearance. After 18 yrs it's just another wild rumor.
 
Hurricane said:
You have stated over time, “We do however know that he had some contact with the serial murderer Ted Bundy…” and "As I recall, Bundy's advice to him was…” That is what is in dispute. How do you know that? If you can’t cite a source and/or verify the source, and don’t know from personal knowledge then why repeatedly state it as fact? Those statements that cannot possibly be verified without questioning the source can’t possibly help anyone who is researching this case.

Concerning the cruise rumor there is not a coworker or intimate friend of Sherrill’s, or Suzie’s who has ever stated that they have knowledge of Sherrill having been on a cruise in the recent years leading up to her abduction and disappearance. After 18 yrs it's just another wild rumor.
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Welllll, I just spoke to one source who reports on this case within the past two weeks who provided this information. Are you disputing this information? If so, what is your evidence?

But beyond that I would remind you that I provided to you in your personal phone call to my residence late at night the names of two actual sources; one of which you did contact and the second you never did to my knowledge. So while I will not name sources on a public board I did in fact provide you the names of two actual sources did I not?

How do you know this is a "wild rumor?" What evidence do you have that can confirm this was a "wild rumor?" Have you seen the ship's manifest?

Have you actually talked to all of Sherrill's co-workers; clients and friends and they all said she never went on such a cruise? You state this as a fact. Can you prove it?

But to the question I posed, recently I was involved with a cruise in the Carribean and there are literally thousands of people who take such cruises. The fact or non-fact that she may have been on the same cruise does or doesn't establish anything other than they may have been on the same cruise ship. The largest cruise ship currently operating, the "Oasis of the Seas" will house no less than 6,296 passengers. It is not all all inconceivable that they could have been on the same ship and never came in contact. I merely wanted to clear the matter up. It is what we might call a "loose end" which I'm sure most people would want to eliminate such as we would want to eliminate all possible people as suspects. It's called basic Investigation 101.
 
Plugging and capping old wells is definitely a good idea. Here’s to hoping that each well capped gets a thorough search first.

Mo. awards $90,000 in grants for abandoned wells

Associated Press - November 25, 2010 2:14 PM ET

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is giving 13 water suppliers more than $90,000 to deal with abandoned drinking wells.

The money is to be used to find and plug the wells. Abandoned wells that are not plugged can be a danger to public health by allowing contaminants to enter drinking water aquifers. State officials estimate there could up to 500,000 abandoned and unplugged wells across the state.

Money for the grants comes through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.

Receiving the grants are Branson West, Branson West Notch, Willard, Windsor, Caruthersville, West Sullivan, Miner and Public Water Supply District No. 2 of St. Charles County. Missouri American Water is receiving grants for its Warrensburg, St. Joseph, Mexico, Brunswick and Joplin districts.

http://www.koamtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13568603
 
Missing poster still hangs 18 years later
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David Bauer, owner of Coyote's Adobe Cafe & Bar, has kept a missing persons poster of Sherrill Levitt, Suzie Streeter and Stacy McCall hanging in his restaurant since it opened in June 1992, shortly after the women went missing.

"I promised myself I'd never take it down until they were found," he said.
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http://www.news-leader.com/article/...007/Missing-poster-still-hangs-18-years-later

New chief to revisit 18-year old disappearance case
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Over the past couple of weeks, [Chief Paul] Williams has met with Janis McCall, Stacy McCall's mother, who has been actively seeking information that could help the investigation.

Among the things discussed during those conversations, McCall asked Williams to look into a highly publicized tip dating back to 2006 in which a group of amateur detectives theorized that the three women are buried under a parking garage near Cox South hospital.
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[Greene County Prosecutor Darrell] Moore said he would suggest to Williams at the meeting that a broader sweep of the parking lot might quickly dispel the rumor.

"To me, that would be a constructive step," he said.

Moore said he intends to recommend other such steps to help inch the case closer to a close, but he warned that there is no smoking gun.

"There is no immediate resolution to this case out there," he said.
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http://www.news-leader.com/article/...ief-to-revisit-18-year-old-disappearance-case
 
For some reason this case has been on my mind the last few days. Maybe I've subconsciously heard something about the new chief revisiting the case.

I've had a somewhat scrambled theory, but haven't seen anything else like it out there. Seems like so many people are quick to dismiss the women being seen at George's moments before the abductions took place. I think that all three women were together--maybe ran into someone they knew there, maybe someone they didn't know, maybe someone who was working or was just another customer slipped something into the coffee or water or whatever they were drinking. While they weren't paying any attention, took something that belonged to either Streeter, Levitt or McCall. Maybe a wallet or something that they could come by the house afterward being a "good citizen" and returning the missing item (I pick wallet, because I assume an ID with an address would be in there and this would allow a stranger access, could have been something else for someone that the women knew). Maybe he sticks around to talk to whoever answered the door (Suzie? Maybe the blinds were pulled apart because she was intoxicated while trying to peek outside to see who was there). By this time the women are pretty much drugged and able to be overtaken.

Drugging them is only way that I can see somebody getting away with this without any sign of a struggle in the home.

The light could have been busted by one of the women thrown over his shoulder and struggling a bit, or just clumsiness.
 
_mb_ said:
For some reason this case has been on my mind the last few days. Maybe I've subconsciously heard something about the new chief revisiting the case.

I've had a somewhat scrambled theory, but haven't seen anything else like it out there. Seems like so many people are quick to dismiss the women being seen at George's moments before the abductions took place. I think that all three women were together--maybe ran into someone they knew there, maybe someone they didn't know, maybe someone who was working or was just another customer slipped something into the coffee or water or whatever they were drinking. While they weren't paying any attention, took something that belonged to either Streeter, Levitt or McCall. Maybe a wallet or something that they could come by the house afterward being a "good citizen" and returning the missing item (I pick wallet, because I assume an ID with an address would be in there and this would allow a stranger access, could have been something else for someone that the women knew). Maybe he sticks around to talk to whoever answered the door (Suzie? Maybe the blinds were pulled apart because she was intoxicated while trying to peek outside to see who was there). By this time the women are pretty much drugged and able to be overtaken.

Drugging them is only way that I can see somebody getting away with this without any sign of a struggle in the home.

The light could have been busted by one of the women thrown over his shoulder and struggling a bit, or just clumsiness.
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I have always felt that dismissing the George's sighting was a mistake. I viewed the "48 Hours" piece dozens of time and the waitress seemed very credible.

Having said that, I tend to doubt that something was slipped into their drinks at the restaurant. It's possible but not probable in my opinion.

I do disagree with you on whether or not it was possible for one perp to subdue all three women. If he got into the home, some way, somehow, he could have had one of the women (probably Suzie) tie up the other two women and duct tape their mouths. Then he tied up the remaining victim and then hog-tied each one so they could be easily carried out to a waiting vehicle. Such a person having those abilities would be someone like Robert Cox.

There is another way into the house which I think is more probable, however and that comes from the call from Florida to AMW. From what we have been told, that call was seen to be highly credible. And furthermore, such a person who could have persuaded the occupants to open the door is known to have lived in Florida although we do not know when he lived in Florida.

The one element of this crime is neither the means nor the opportunity; it is the motive. And I would suggest a possible motive. It is revenge.

The broken globe is highly probable and one which I would entirely agree.
 
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