TX TX - Julie Moseley, 9, Mary Trlica, 17, Lisa Wilson, 14, Fort Worth, 23 Dec 1974 #8

[falkenberg3132]

worst to me is that they didn't have even the tiniest silver of humanity in them to spare Moseley.

 

[Brightchaser47]

Then (apparently) only in April 2001, one Bill Hutchins, a former Fort Worth police officer and security guard at the Seminary South Sears outlet, comes with that odd story of him seeing the "smiling" girls in a van whose driver he had an argument in the night they disappeared. It is another ruse worth considering. A pity the guy is dead now.

One hypothesis: the whole story of the letter arriving so "early" ( and don't forget the false stamp) and Hutchins' weird tale appearing only years latter points out to an elaborate hoax and one may wonder who was in command of the criminal act (even in 2001).

RSBM
Assuming somone in LE was responsible for the girls disappearing, it would have to be someone higher- ranking than an officer of FWPD (and likely more than one) to merit all the covering up, stalling, thwarting the investigation we've seen in this case, imo.
After all this time, probably most of the people with first-hand knowledge are dead (tres convenient!). In fact, it's been so long, the guilty parties (assuming  they're still alive) are almost completely scott-free, as there can't be many witnesses left. I find it infuriating that members of LE half a century later are still willing to hide the truth behind the disappearance of Rachel, Renee, and Julie. JMO

 

[Chypre]

RSBM
Assuming somone in LE was responsible for the girls disappearing, it would have to be someone higher- ranking than an officer of FWPD (and likely more than one) to merit all the covering up, stalling, thwarting the investigation we've seen in this case, imo.
After all this time, probably most of the people with first-hand knowledge are dead (tres convenient!). In fact, it's been so long, the guilty parties (assuming  they're still alive) are almost completely scott-free, as there can't be many witnesses left. I find it infuriating that members of LE half a century later are still willing to hide the truth behind the disappearance of Rachel, Renee, and Julie. JMI

I've never looked to see if there are any informative act rules about old cases. There are still that handful of persons of interest in this case, besides all the unknown perp theories. Wish there was a balance of letting family look at LE records after suspects pass on.

 

[Brightchaser47]

I've never looked to see if there are any informative act rules about old cases. There are still that handful of persons of interest in this case, besides all the unknown perp theories.

RSBM
After all these years, I'd think that POI list would be getting shorter...

Wish there was a balance of letting family look at LE records after suspects pass on.

That would be awesome, but if there  was someone in LE involved, LE isn't likely to allow victims' families access to the police files.
There's a cold case involving two murdered teens in Weatherford (Parker County, about 1/2 hr from Fort Worth), that happened in 1983. The investigation was a disgrace, the P.I. hired by the parents wasn't permitted access to anything. The victims' parents were denied access to the autopsy reports, for crying out loud! One of the more popular theories is that a former sheriff was involved. JS

 

[Olivier La Buse]

RSBM
Assuming somone in LE was responsible for the girls disappearing, it would have to be someone higher- ranking than an officer of FWPD (and likely more than one) to merit all the covering up, stalling, thwarting the investigation we've seen in this case, imo.
After all this time, probably most of the people with first-hand knowledge are dead (tres convenient!). In fact, it's been so long, the guilty parties (assuming  they're still alive)

There are at least two people (very much alive) that should be interviewed by the (NOW) police, or (just in case) an independent detective.

They are older than 70, but IMHO they still hold the keys to solve this "mystery" .

Problem 1 is that both individuals live much under the radar now. Info about them are hard to come by on the internet.

Problem 2 : It might be the case of a deathbed confession or afterwards...

A family member (a very nice person I mentioned before) also told me he was expelled from the police office for pushing them into investigation the matter more. He feels that is so because they are "nobodies".

 

[Olivier La Buse]

worst to me is that they didn't have even the tiniest silver of humanity in them to spare Moseley.

They wouldn't take any chances, they had a lot to lose.

 

[DD Byrd]

From the posts on WS, over the past decade, I'm seeing a few suspects creating narratives that go around in circles:
- Tommy with or w/o another person - intended victim Rachel, anyone else deemed necessary collateral
- Acquaintances of Tommy - with Rachel or anyone associated with Rachel fair game
- Members of Rachel's own family with the intended victim being Rachel only, did not expect R+J as witnesses
- LE - Rachel and Renee intended, Julie showing up a potential "surprise"
- Store employee/Mall Employee/Mall Security - random or ideation but not necessarily planned (that day) opportunity
- Complete random perp - who knows

The question still comes down to motivation, and I'd guess it's one (or a combo) of the oldest known to mankind
- sexual
- jealousy
- silencing of victim(s) for something she/they "knew", thought they knew, or knew and didn't know it (or even "saw")
- financial (either robbery gone wrong or a bigger picture of assets or the future)

Then the least fantastical scenario location where whatever happened, FIRST happened:
- the mall
- Julie's home
- Renee's home
- The home of someone who is not a victim
- A business not in the mall
- Somewhere as yet unknown (or released to the public)

Somewhere in the ether is a Venn diagram of these that makes sense. I swing between a missing piece of info being released, or the bodies and/or car being found to start the solving of this case. Or whoever wrote the note will write one last one as a deathbed confession of murder, involvement, or remaining silent all these years.

 

[falkenberg3132]

silver - sliver = I was a bit emotionally overcome.

 

[DD Byrd]

worst to me is that they didn't have even the tiniest silver of humanity in them to spare Moseley

Indeed, that takes this to another level of evil. Someone sending a note from "Rachel" when it really wouldn't be necessary and reinforces it was someone known to her, coupled with Julie as a last second addition to the day's events, IMO says this was about Rachel and/or Renee.

We know Julie wanted to go with the older girls and asked her mother to do so. But I've had the fleeting thought that maybe Rachel/Renee wanted to bring the younger girl to diffuse a situation, or thought having her with them at wherever they went might squelch any shenanigans, i.e. delay a drug deal, stop sexually charged interactions, or keep everyone on their best behavior lest Julie "tell." I highly doubt this was a high stakes mafia informant hit clandestine meeting, but I've wondered if Julie's presence wasn't worked into the plans. I lean towards no, and she was simply there and wasn't supposed to be without any second plots. As I mentioned elsewhere, she may have even been waiting in the car but had her fate sealed as a potential witness.

Meanwhile, what would it take to kill Julie as an innocent child? Because she saw something or heard something, likely including the assaults or murders of Rachel and Renee. It was then too late to change the outcome. People have done less to avoid serving minimal time, let alone a life sentence or hello Texas, the death penalty. I can see her murder coming down to "it's you/us, or her."

 

[Olivier La Buse]

As I said, the whole things seems like an elaborate hoax. We've been fed and led by half truths and misled as one author G. Hostin once said: Those managing the case are " either selective on what facts to present or what to reject or to best suit their interests" .

 

[falkenberg3132]

Any records that might tell the truth have likely long since been altered or simply burnt.

 

[jetsfanjohn]

Te letter was obviously a ruse to create a narrative. It seems the police took the bait, at least for a while. One might wonder why the letter was specifically sent to that address.

I'm guessing the person(s) responsible didn't know who Julie was so it could not be sent to her address.

I agree. It enforced the narrative that the girls were at the Mall that day. I would be far from 100% convinced that they did make it to the Mall that day.

 

[DD Byrd]

I would be far from 100% convinced that they did make it to the Mall that day.

I agree. If someone knew of the mall plans, he/she either heard it about it earlier, or on the fly as the girls were headed there (and things went sideways). Unless a stranger committed an exceedingly rare triple abduction in a public place using a weapon to subdue them. Do we know where Bundy or Alcala were in on that day, even if not their (known) MOs. Or another brazen SK for that matter. More likely, if the 3 girls got in another vehicle they knew or 'trusted' the person/s. I can imagine, "hey, I'll give you a ride to the other entrance, I saw xyz is on sale at xyz, but there's no parking left there" and that was it. Or they were picked up for alleged shoplifting/other ruse to get them in.

As @Olivier La Buse said, the whole thing seems "elaborate" if you consider the letter key. At first glance it seems close to home. A rando wouldn't know who these girls were, and even a rogue security or mall employee wouldn't feel the need to leave any wisp of a trail writing it. UNLESS they were also trying to frame TT or Rachel's sister. But what is the motive there? And backing up, what's so pressing it couldn't have waited to spare Julie? I can't buy it's so cloak and dagger that someone/s wanted people to THINK "Rachel" was overwritten after a typo and thus did it intentionally.

I can buy that maybe HOURS later, the letter is drafted from a 2nd party wholly uninvolved with the disappearance itself. Before the internet and instantaneous "breaking news as it happens" it would have to be someone who knew immediately they were missing. So, heard it from family personally or overheard on the scene, was a local w/ a police scanner, or was even a member of the FWPD. But that person ALSO had to care enough to look up Tommy's address. I think if they already knew it, they knew him, and therefore wouldn't have addressed it to 'Thomas.' (sidenote - does anyone know the address on Rachel's license?) This 2nd party might just be a colossal D and didn't (like everyone else) anticipate how serious it was. But again, why bother? It's not just a bad joke, it's kind of bizarre and sounds like someone while uninvolved, knew of Rachel or Renee. It does however, make a lot of things make more sense. If it was a farce, whoever wrote it likely wouldn't come forward and implicate him/herself when in reality they had zero involvement. And as time went by, revealing the lie wouldn't find them anyway. It explains "Thomas" rather than Tommy and the Rachel typo. And most important, explains why someone would dare write it (because they didn't do it). Overall, two separate incidents erroneously connected could explain why this has gone in circles for 5 decades.

Meanwhile, revealing years later you saw the girls with a guard is either unburdening guilt for keeping quiet at the time, implicating that guard for other reasons, shows someone was was getting to close to the truth and another layer was added, or trying to get the abduction angle back on track and away from TT, etc. FWPD involvement has always been thrown into the mix. But again, if someone were cunning enough to want to eliminate THREE people including a 9 year old, what in hell is the motive? Did someone have such a burning hatred for Rachel/Renee (or their family/associates) literal overkill made sense?

 

[Brightchaser47]

DBM

 

[Tex Willer]

People often wonder: if Rachel was the only target, why not wait until she was alone, instead of acting in the presence of Renee and Julie? I believe a few things. I don't think it was a premeditated crime; I believe it was a situation that arose unexpectedly and unpredictably. It's possible that the person or people responsible were not thinking clearly, and they may have acted impulsively, influenced by their age or drug use, without considering the consequences. Later, someone more clear-headed probably intervened to help the responsible person or people and distorted the reality.

 

[Brightchaser47]

Any records that might tell the truth have likely long since been altered or simply burnt.

Or they're just buried somewhere in an evidence room or an attic, waiting until a generation is gone...jmo

 

[Brightchaser47]

It's been stated there are several banker boxes of files/evidence pertaining to this case. Assuming that's true, how do you have  that much information about a case (accurate or otherwise) and it's still "unsolved"(and not being investigated)? When someone in local LE was involved, that's how. Just a thought and jmo.

 

[jetsfanjohn]

It's been stated there are several banker boxes of files/evidence pertaining to this case. Assuming that's true, how do you have  that much information about a case (accurate or otherwise) and it's still "unsolved"(and not being investigated)? When someone in local LE was involved, that's how. Just a thought and jmo.

I am not 100% convinced of LE involvement, but can't rule it out completely. However, I do believe they made a complete mess of the investigation when the girls first went missing and because of this the perp(s) got away with it. As a result LE may just want the case to 'go away.'

My best guess that one or two people were involved in their initial disappearance. If it occurred at the Mall, then I think it happened in the Parking Lot sometime around 1pm and I don't think they made it to the Mall proper. However, as I have mentioned beforeI I tend to think whatever fate befell the girls occurred elsewhere.

 

[falkenberg3132]

Again, i feel it takes a special type of darkness to not spare JM. I only hope her end was quicker and less painful than the other girls.

 

[SweetDreamsAreMadeOfCheez]

The only thing that sounds reasonable to me is that all 3 were abducted and killed. Lots of serial killers running around in the 70s. Even the note to Tommy makes sense. SK's liked to write even if it didn't always make sense. Nothing else makes sense to me because of Julie. Just MOO.