UNSOLVED VA - Chesterfield Co, Skeletal Remains, in car in Appomattox River, Jun'10

[Shutterfly]

Check this out....this is UNREAL.....

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2010/jul/03/appo03-ar-263373/

*snipped

Chesterfield, Va. --
The discovery of human remains found in a mud-caked car submerged up to seven years in the Appomattox River is shaping up to be an intriguing detective story, police say, with at least one surprising subplot.

Could the skeletal remains found last week in the car be those of a man who assaulted his Petersburg ex-girlfriend in 2003 and then drove off with her vehicle, never to be seen again?

That's a strong possibility, police say.

But how did the car end up in the water, how did the man inside die, and why did it take so long for the vehicle to be discovered in an area of the river popular with fishermen?

Stranger still, how did family members of the man who police suspect died in the car come to believe he had been in prison all these years? As it turns out, police say, they had sent letters and money to a complete stranger with an identical name.

"It's something of a mystery," Chesterfield County police Capt. Terry Patterson said.

more at link.......

 

[Cubby]

From the same link Shutterfly posted.
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2010/jul/03/appo03-ar-263373/

The red, older-model Oldsmobile's license plates had expired in 2004, leading police to believe it had been in the water at least that long.
The car's tags were no longer in the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles' computerized database, Patterson said, but a search by hand of DMV records eventually identified the owner -- a woman living in Petersburg.

<snip>

The woman, whom police declined to identify, told detectives she was having "run-ins" with her ex-boyfriend in 2003 and that he had assaulted her in November of that year and taken her car. She reported the incident to Petersburg police, Patterson said

<snip>

Clothing found with the skeletal remains generally matches a description of the clothing that the Petersburg woman said her ex-boyfriend was wearing when he disappeared in November 2003. The clothing does not show any evidence that the man had been shot, Patterson said.
Investigators are trying to obtain dental records for the missing man. Because the remains have been underwater for so long, a DNA analysis isn't likely, Patterson said. No wallet or identification was found in the car.

sounds like this is very likely the ex boyfriend who took off with the car in 2003. Hoping LE can get what they need to make an official id fairly quickly. How sad for this mans family to have believed the prisoner was their son, and now to have to wait on an id. Prayers for this mans family.

 

[PickieChickie]

From the same link Shutterfly posted.
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2010/jul/03/appo03-ar-263373/

The red, older-model Oldsmobile's license plates had expired in 2004, leading police to believe it had been in the water at least that long.
The car's tags were no longer in the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles' computerized database, Patterson said, but a search by hand of DMV records eventually identified the owner -- a woman living in Petersburg.

<snip>

The woman, whom police declined to identify, told detectives she was having "run-ins" with her ex-boyfriend in 2003 and that he had assaulted her in November of that year and taken her car. She reported the incident to Petersburg police, Patterson said

<snip>

Clothing found with the skeletal remains generally matches a description of the clothing that the Petersburg woman said her ex-boyfriend was wearing when he disappeared in November 2003. The clothing does not show any evidence that the man had been shot, Patterson said.
Investigators are trying to obtain dental records for the missing man. Because the remains have been underwater for so long, a DNA analysis isn't likely, Patterson said. No wallet or identification was found in the car.

sounds like this is very likely the ex boyfriend who took off with the car in 2003. Hoping LE can get what they need to make an official id fairly quickly. How sad for this mans family to have believed the prisoner was their son, and now to have to wait on an id. Prayers for this mans family.

This was a most fascinating article. Yes, it's sad for the family. Thank you for posting.

 

[Cubby]

Thank you PickieChickie, but Shutterfly deserves the credit for finding the link.
I agree, very fascinating article.

 

[Shutterfly]

Okay what about this; the guy who was in prison all that time, accepting letters and money from this poor guy's family.....shouldn't charges be brought against him?? If the family hadn't seen the man in prison and didn't know he wasn't their family member, then obviously he allowed them to believe he was so that he could take their money.
What a horrible thing to do. I cannot imagine what it must be like for these people to find out after all these years......wow.......just wow..and to find out like this? Sheesh.

 

[PickieChickie]

Okay what about this; the guy who was in prison all that time, accepting letters and money from this poor guy's family.....shouldn't charges be brought against him?? If the family hadn't seen the man in prison and didn't know he wasn't their family member, then obviously he allowed them to believe he was so that he could take their money.
What a horrible thing to do. I cannot imagine what it must be like for these people to find out after all these years......wow.......just wow..and to find out like this? Sheesh.

That part really baffles me. How did the family come to determine the guy was in prison? One would think the family would have filed a missing person report! Seriously! Someone doesn't land in prison without going to trial first!

I hope they write another article to let us know more details. Because the reporter spent so much time on this article, I have a hunch they'll write another to let readers learn the rest of the story.

 

[PickieChickie]

If you'd like to write an e-mail to the reporter who wrote the article to let them know you'd like a follow up article once more details are discovered and to praise them for an excellent job: mbowes@timesdispatch.com.

 

[Cubby]

It is possible the family went looking for him, and someone told them they found him in prison.(Probably based on a search,seeing the name but that was all used for verification). I can see this happening if the family hadn't been in frequent contact with him, and later someone said I found <name> he is listed as being in prison at ......

The family believing he was their son initiated correspondance and began sending money. I can't see the prisoner being charged, as it is very unlikely he sought out this family to be deceitful posing as their missing son. Was it wrong to not let the family know he was not who they believed him to be? Yes, but I don't think it is a crime. Plus once they began to send him money whywould he let them know? we are talking a prisoner here. Honesty isn't one of their best qualities.

FWIW, lots of people go missing and there are not missing persons reports. If this man and his family didn't have frequent contact and went long periods of time without communication it is likely they didn't know he was missing and simply believed he chose not to make contact. I will not slam them for not filing a missing persons report. They did what they needed to do asking friends, their believing they located him was just an unfortunate error.


JMO

 

[CarlK90245]

What got me is that if you are writing back and forth to this guy's own family, one would think that he would need to have a minimal knowledge of certain details of the guy's life (e.g., his hometown, his family members and their personalities, his friends, etc.).

He must have gone on for seven years picking up bits of info from the letters to him and then rolling with it.

 

[carbuff]

And yes, even if they contacted him first, he is guilty of fraud or larceny of some sort -- probably mail fraud -- for taking their money under false pretences.

 

[joeskidbeck]

For me, the mystery is how in the world the car got into the river? Does anyone else think the ex-boyfriend may have been trying to ditch the car and got trapped inside? The article says the car was still running, with all the widows rolled up when it went in. Honestly, my first thought was that the girlfriend may have put it there (with him in it), but I really don't believe this scenario.

 

[Indianagirl]

For me, the mystery is how in the world the car got into the river? Does anyone else think the ex-boyfriend may have been trying to ditch the car and got trapped inside? The article says the car was still running, with all the widows rolled up when it went in. Honestly, my first thought was that the girlfriend may have put it there (with him in it), but I really don't believe this scenario.

I was thinking maybe he drove into the river on purpose (don't know how or where) to committ suicide. He had just assaulted his gf and stole her car, so maybe he felt like his life was over?

The gf putting the car there also crossed my mind but I don't think so either. I believe that she had nothing to do with it b/c by all appearances everyone thought he was in jail. I'm really stunned the inmate was able to keep up the charade for so long. Sure would be interesting to see what he wrote in his letters to his supposed "family".

 

[tatertot]

I was curious about that. The article mentioned the car still had its heater in the "on" position and windows up, which would make sense since he stole the car in November.

I think this was more likely an accident, because he wouldn't want to get soaked while ditching the car and then have to walk home all wet, plus he should have known that once a car takes on water, the doors can be difficult to open and the windows won't go down if the electrical system dies. (I assume this Oldsmobile had power windows, anyway.)

If he just wanted to destroy his ex-girlfriend's car, putting it in neutral and shoving it into the water seems like the method he would have chosen. There wouldn't be any need to stay inside it as it submerged.

As for the broken antenna, LE might be able to determine whether it was intentionally cut or broken off by something traveling down the river, like a log or other debris.

I really can't see his ex-girlfriend being involved in this. Why would she want to destroy her car? It sounds like she just wanted him to leave her alone.

 

[PickieChickie]

Here is the Chesterfield, Virginia weather history for the entire month of November 2003.
With wind gusts up to 38 MPH and 2.6 inches of rain, I'm guessing the accident occurred on November 19, 2003 as the river would have been raging.

 

[CarlK90245]

The temperature went at or below freezing only five days that month (Nov 9, 14, 25, 26, and 30), and there was no precipitation on any of those days.

 

[PickieChickie]

The temperature went at or below freezing only five days that month (Nov 9, 14, 25, 26, and 30), and there was no precipitation on any of those days.

I noticed that also. On the 19th, 2 1/2 inches of rain fell which would have made the river rage. It could be the point of entry into the river was along the bank somewhere upriver from the bridge.

Shutterfly should be able to fill us in on where they think that might have been as it seems that it would be almost impossible for this car to have gone over either of the 48 inch side barriers without leaving NEW tire marks that would have been noticeable to the countless people who used the bridge on a regular basis and without generating calls to law enforcement.

I wonder if he was wearing his seatbelt and if there is a seatbelt law in Virginia.

 

[Shutterfly]

I noticed that also. On the 19th, 2 1/2 inches of rain fell which would have made the river rage. It could be the point of entry into the river was along the bank somewhere upriver from the bridge.

Shutterfly should be able to fill us in on where they think that might have been as it seems that it would be almost impossible for this car to have gone over either of the 48 inch side barriers without leaving NEW tire marks that would have been noticeable to the countless people who used the bridge on a regular basis and without generating calls to law enforcement.

I wonder if he was wearing his seatbelt and if there is a seatbelt law in Virginia.

Let me get you a better picture of the area....

Here's the car being brought up.... notice it's surroundings

Here's the 95 overpass, standing on Magazine Street, on the Petersburg side. Talk to Google about the overexposure. They really did that one up right didn't they?

Here's a pull out of the west side of the 95 bridge. I marked everywhere the car "could have" gained entry to the river without coming off of 95....you see 95 at the top of the pic..

Here's a closer one of Magazine and the parking lot used to gain access. The drive leading to the river appears to be in direct line with where they found this car...

Here's the east side of 95...there's nowhere close enough to gain access to the river for this car to wind up here....in my opinion...not for the car to wind up where it was

This just looks like the most likely spot to me...simplest explanation is usually the answer, right?

And btw, there is a seatbelt law in Virginia, and it is STRICTLY enforced.

Under the alleged circumstances I have to lean toward suicide or he passed out, potentially from drinking, behind the wheel.

I've checked court records for November 2003. I can't find but two people who have unauthorized use charges with assault and battery. I did find one gentleman who had an assault charge, larceny, and earned a habitual offender charge due to the fact that the assault was deemed felonious. I believe it was November 10th but don't quote me on that just yet. This could be him because with those three charges, his family would assume when he got locked up, he wouldn't get a bond and he'd be shipped off to jail. I'll keep researching that end.

 

[joeskidbeck]

Thanks, Shutterfly. It's so much easier to envision what happened with your photos. There is a man currently stalking my sister (he hasn't been violent) and he is everywhere she goes and knows everything she does. I can only imagine the relief this woman felt when, all of a sudden, this guy is not there to torment her anymore. You know what they say about karma!

 

[PickieChickie]

I've checked court records for November 2003. I can't find but two people who have unauthorized use charges with assault and battery. I did find one gentleman who had an assault charge, larceny, and earned a habitual offender charge due to the fact that the assault was deemed felonious. I believe it was November 10th but don't quote me on that just yet. This could be him because with those three charges, his family would assume when he got locked up, he wouldn't get a bond and he'd be shipped off to jail. I'll keep researching that end.

Search VineLink to find if there is an offender with the same name incarcerated in the State of Ohio to help you narrow down your suspects: https://www.vinelink.com/vinelink/initMap.do

You could also find out if the police department has an archive of their public 911 log online available for searching.

EXCELLENT POST! THANK YOU!
:gold_crown:
​

 

[Cubby]

LE already has a name for this John Doe, they just have not released it as of yet until they are able to get official id. If any sleuths are interested in seeing if they can figure out a possible name prior to LE releasing the name, please remember to only use initials. We will not use full names until LE releases an ID in the media.

Please remember, this John doe is an unidentified person, we don't know if he has a criminal background or not and WS's rules of victim friendly applies in the UID area the same way it does in missing persons cases or other area's of the forum.


thank you
Cubby
moderator