Atlantic City Eastbound Strangler 4 Women Found Dead behind Motel Egg Harbor Twp, Nov 2006

[Muttley]

The point about the lights of the billboard illuminating the road at night is very interesting.

"Elementary my dear Watson!" I can't take credit, this occurred to me from reading one of the Sherlock Holmes stories "The Six Napoleons". I'll try and set it up. Someone is stealing statues or "busts" of Napoleon and smashing them. Nothing else is touched or stolen but at this last crime scene there was a murder. Anyway they are tracing the culprits steps from where the bust was taken to where they found it smashed:

“... But I wish to call
your attention very particularly to the position of
this house in the garden of which the bust was
destroyed.”
(Detective)Lestrade looked about him.
“It was an empty house, and so he knew that
he would not be disturbed in the garden.”
“Yes, but there is another empty house farther
up the street which he must have passed before he
came to this one. Why did he not break it there,
since it is evident that every yard that he carried it
increased the risk of someone meeting him?”
“I give it up,” said Lestrade.
Holmes pointed to the street lamp above our
heads.
“He could see what he was doing here and he
could not there. That was his reason.”

There is no doubt in my mind that my powers of observation have been enhanced by reading every book and story involving Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Here's the PDF of the whole story if anyone is interested, especially if you are curios to why the busts were being smashed. :websleuther:

https://sherlock-holm.es/stories/pdf/a4/1-sided/sixn.pdf

So why this part of the long drainage ditch? Many reasons, the light from the billboard I believe being one of them. A secluded area but he certainly could not use a flashlight or point his headlights at what he was doing for fear of being seen.

If you look at the positions of the bodies being placed (based on time of disappearance and decomposition) the first 2 are in the middle, the third was furthest from the billboard and the last of course behind the Golden Key and closest to the billboard, all almost evenly spaced (one report was 50'-60' apart). I believe the last could have been 50'-60' past and on the other side of the other 3 bodies. It would have been less likely to be discovered. Maybe it was too dark that far from the billboard lights. Maybe it was not placed that far for reasons we have recently discussed. Sunrise, coverage, maybe a job/work soon.But why would such a meticulous planner put himself in that position? To be rushed might mean to make a mistake! Still turning it over in my mind...

 

[cynical_1]

If you look at the positions of the bodies being placed (based on time of disappearance and decomposition) the first 2 are in the middle, the third was furthest from the billboard and the last of course behind the Golden Key and closest to the billboard, all almost evenly spaced (one report was 50'-60' apart). I believe the last could have been 50'-60' past and on the other side of the other 3 bodies. It would have been less likely to be discovered. Maybe it was too dark that far from the billboard lights. Maybe it was not placed that far for reasons we have recently discussed. Sunrise, coverage, maybe a job/work soon.But why would such a meticulous planner put himself in that position? To be rushed might mean to make a mistake! Still turning it over in my mind...

Perhaps the reason he placed the last victim behind the Golden Key has more to do with her not adhering to his timetable. Maybe her last client took longer than usual and she couldn't get away until 5:00 am.

Remember it was dumb luck that the body was discovered in the first place. The woman who found it was reaching over to pick a flower off a reed when she noticed the body. That flower could have been growing on a reed next to any one of the other bodies.

I do understand your thinking though. But the simple fact was probably that the sun was coming up fast and the guy has a dead body in his trunk. Time to improvise. - Just my opinion.

 

[kat913]

I was looking at the 2008 google view which shows Golden Key and the restaurant just before it (as you come over bridge from Atlantic City). It appears very desolate on that side of the road (as compared to the other side). Two thoughts...I used to live a few counties up on the Jersey shore and my ex-husband had lived there his whole life "a piney". Any desolate sandy area was well-trodden and familar to him. Seeing that someone was walking near this ditch shows how familar an area can be. I wonder how much of this area is visible from the roadway/the restaurant or even the 4th or 5th floor of the Ramada across the street? Also there is a loop road (called a jughandle...way you can make a left in Jersey!) before the bridge that may also have given a good view. Also it's the town line changing from Atlantic City to Pleasantville (Egg Harbor Twp)...wonder if that was intentional as well? When you look at the strip of desolation between GK and restautant...makes perfect sense to pick that hidden spot. Could he view them (even if it's in his mind) from the Ramada?

 

[Rachel1]

I agree and was left scratching my head as well. But then:

A joint investigation by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Egg Harbor Township Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), with the assistance of the Pleasantville Police Department, culminated in the arrest of Stallworth on August 5, 2014. Detectives arrested Stallworth without incident in Mays Landing at approximately 9:40 a.m.


So they know something we don't.

I agree that they have to know something we don't ( Atlantic county prosecutors office is frustratingly tight lipped about these things until after a conviction) so chances are that stallworth is the guy for Tara . Maybe even Joyce but I doubt it.
But my reservations are about the AC,4 . I have my doubts but since so little is known, it'll be interesting to see what comes out at his trial. The information learned there could help us determine if he has potential to be the ac4 SK .
Since so little is known about Tara's case, I'm eager to see what the connection was between them. Where they lovers? How'd they know each other? Was this random? ( I doubt it was random but I could be wrong)

 

[Rachel1]

Tara's time of death was reported as being july-dec ?????
https://www.google.com/amp/www.nj.c...ffed_her_in_a_suitcase_indictment_alleges.amp

 

[LR1]

Tara's time of death was reported as being july-dec ?????
https://www.google.com/amp/www.nj.c...ffed_her_in_a_suitcase_indictment_alleges.amp

Don't hold me to this but from what I remember it was thought she had been deceased for at least a month before she was found. I seem to remember reading about an unconfirmed sighting of her in Nov. We have a thread for her here somewhere.

 

[LR1]

I was looking at the 2008 google view which shows Golden Key and the restaurant just before it (as you come over bridge from Atlantic City). It appears very desolate on that side of the road (as compared to the other side). Two thoughts...I used to live a few counties up on the Jersey shore and my ex-husband had lived there his whole life "a piney". Any desolate sandy area was well-trodden and familar to him. Seeing that someone was walking near this ditch shows how familar an area can be. I wonder how much of this area is visible from the roadway/the restaurant or even the 4th or 5th floor of the Ramada across the street? Also there is a loop road (called a jughandle...way you can make a left in Jersey!) before the bridge that may also have given a good view. Also it's the town line changing from Atlantic City to Pleasantville (Egg Harbor Twp)...wonder if that was intentional as well? When you look at the strip of desolation between GK and restautant...makes perfect sense to pick that hidden spot. Could he view them (even if it's in his mind) from the Ramada?

I don't know if the Ramada might have played a roll or not, in the back of my mind I've always thought it was possible. That would've been one of the first places LE sought clues from either video or witnesses, in fact I think I remember a quote in the media from an employee there in one of the early reports. No doubt they would've had a ring side seat from a few floors up. I go back and forth whether the disposal sight has some significance or just offered convenience.

 

[cynical_1]

I don't know if the Ramada might have played a roll or not, in the back of my mind I've always thought it was possible. That would've been one of the first places LE sought clues from either video or witnesses, in fact I think I remember a quote in the media from an employee there in one of the early reports. No doubt they would've had a ring side seat from a few floors up. I go back and forth whether the disposal sight has some significance or just offered convenience.

While we're analyzing the disposal site one might also take a look at the rest stop across the way on the AC Expy. It's a toll free road to and from AC. The Atlantic City Visitor Center is located there. I wonder if there's a message there?

There's also a sizable parking lot for Casino employees to park and take the bus into town. The Sunoco service station has a very good view of the site. NJ doesn't allow one to pump their own gas so an attendant would be working there 24/7. That spot would also be a good place for the killer to return to and not bring suspicion upon himself.

 

[cynical_1]

The possibility of whether or not the victims were killed in a room at the Golden Key has been the subject of much discussion. In particular, room 101 has received most of the attention. Very early after the discovery of the bodies investigators were spotted taking bags from that room.

It's recently been revealed that room 101 has a back door that leads out to the drainage ditch behind. So naturally that would lead one to suspect that something involving these crimes could have occurred in that room. Especially since Ms. Raffo's body was found directly behind the motel.

However, according to an article published by the Star-Ledger, room 101 hadn't been rented out to anyone for a week prior to Nov. 22, 2006.

Fear On Atlantic City's Fringes
POLICE INVESTIGATE 4 BODIES IN HUNT FOR THEIR KILLER
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
BY MARYANN SPOTO AND BRIAN DONOHUE
Star-Ledger Staff

“Employees of the Golden Key said they didn't know if any of the victims spent time at the motel. Police had taken the hotel's guest logs, the employees said, adding that the room being searched had last been rented about a week ago.”

I've often found that the most accurate articles are the ones published nearest in date to Nov. 20th, 2006. As often happens when researching this case, articles published in 2006 have disappeared from the Internet but can be found in archives by non-MSM sites. That is why I am not posting a direct link to the site where I found this information. If there is an interest in viewing the entire article then searching for the headline should gets results.

 

[Rachel1]

I think the reasons room 101 caused so much excitement where 1. Obviously because it had the back door 2. Because many here wanted to believe the handy man was the perp. Since he had been caught filming his gf's child and since he lived in the golden key , many wanted to blame him without any evidence. Many say he was an odd man who had problems ( I have never met him so can't speak about his character) so they wanted to so badly believe that he was responsible for this.
IMO, he's not the perp. He may not be societies model citizen but I don't think he had anything to do with this.
Again that's just my opinion.

 

[Gothamgoddess27]

I lived in Atlantic City when this happened and worked only 1.5 miles for the burial sight. At the time I was babysitting for a family. On two occasions when I went over to watch their daughter, they had a a man there, who was remodeling their kitchen. I was introduced, but can't recall the name, and only his first had been given. When this went down he was held by police for questioning on the murders, and when he was released, after 24 hours, he skipped town. That made me really think he was guilty. He did not finish their kitchen and made off with the advance. It was not the man featured on The Killing Season. He was maybe in his 40's, lean with Sandy hair and a mustache. He was odd, the kind of guy that might seek the company of a hooker. Everyone in my circle thought he did it, and when the bodies were found at Gilgo, I thought immediately they were connected. Now I'm not so sure. I do remember 10 years prior to that, maybe 1996, a hooker was found dismembered in a dumpster at The Best Western on St. James Place, down the street from The Irish Pub. Not all the pieces were there, and I don't think they found them all. I did here rumor that the room she was killed in was discovered, but I'm not entirely sure that was true. It may be of interesting note, that across the street from the Golden Key, the Bahia Vista owned by Barbra Hutton, Woolworth heiress, used to stand there, until 2002, when it was demolished. That area has always been paluaged with problems. That house and all those motels.

 

[Gothamgoddess27]

That is a good vantage point.

 

[Rachel1]

The possibility of whether or not the victims were killed in a room at the Golden Key has been the subject of much discussion. In particular, room 101 has received most of the attention. Very early after the discovery of the bodies investigators were spotted taking bags from that room.

It's recently been revealed that room 101 has a back door that leads out to the drainage ditch behind. So naturally that would lead one to suspect that something involving these crimes could have occurred in that room. Especially since Ms. Raffo's body was found directly behind the motel.

However, according to an article published by the Star-Ledger, room 101 hadn't been rented out to anyone for a week prior to Nov. 22, 2006.

Fear On Atlantic City's Fringes
POLICE INVESTIGATE 4 BODIES IN HUNT FOR THEIR KILLER
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
BY MARYANN SPOTO AND BRIAN DONOHUE
Star-Ledger Staff

“Employees of the Golden Key said they didn't know if any of the victims spent time at the motel. Police had taken the hotel's guest logs, the employees said, adding that the room being searched had last been rented about a week ago.”

I've often found that the most accurate articles are the ones published nearest in date to Nov. 20th, 2006. As often happens when researching this case, articles published in 2006 have disappeared from the Internet but can be found in archives by non-MSM sites. That is why I am not posting a direct link to the site where I found this information. If there is an interest in viewing the entire article then searching for the headline should gets results.

Cynical 1 , I'd like to publicly thank you for all the research your doing on this case. It warms my heart to think that the perp may one day be brought to justice and closure will be provided to the families of these victims because people like yourself have not stopped looking into the case. These victims may have made some mistakes in life but nobody deserves this. I look at the picture of Jeremiah Dilts and hope and pray that this case gets solved one day.

 

[cynical_1]

Cynical 1 , I'd like to publicly thank you for all the research your doing on this case. It warms my heart to think that the perp may one day be brought to justice and closure will be provided to the families of these victims because people like yourself have not stopped looking into the case. These victims may have made some mistakes in life but nobody deserves this. I look at the picture of Jeremiah Dilts and hope and pray that this case gets solved one day.

Rachel_1, thank you for the compliment, it means a lot.

If you look at the picture of Molly, I mean really look at it, one can't help but wonder how anyone could possibly want to harm this young lady. The kind heart is there for all to see. I never met her but I have come to know her through my research.

Did you know that two months before coming to Atlantic City she saved someone's life on a street corner in North Philadelphia. It's true. She was standing with a man, waiting for a bus, when he was gunned down by another man who had gotten into an argument with him. Molly defied the gunman and stayed with the wounded man applying pressure to the wound until help could arrive.

The wounded man, after having recovered, tried to look Molly up and thank her. But by then she was gone.
http://www.post-gazette.com/frontpage/2007/02/04/The-girl-in-the-ditch/stories/200702040162

All these victims had their lives tragically cut short. None of them deserved to die before their time. Hopefully one day their killer will be brought to justice. If the victims can no longer speak for themselves then maybe some of us here can do what little we can to help.

The one thing that my research has shown me is just what a difficult job the investigators are up against. Nothing more difficult than a stranger-on-stranger crime. I think that they deserve credit for putting as much effort as they have in trying to solve it. But this case is a bear.

Hopefully one day Molly's son will read the article in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and come to realize just what a courageous mother he had. And hopefully he'll come to know her as much more than the girl in the ditch.

 

[cynical_1]

A brief follow-up to an earlier post concerning Room 101. According to Yasmin Olan who was living at the Golden Key during the period of the crimes:

“Yasmin Olan, who has lived in the motel for several months, said a former tenant of that room was an admitted crack addict. He moved out more than a week ago, she said.”
http://www.practicalhomicide.com/current/11262006.htm

Investigators were undoubtedly quick to check out the tenant named by Yasmin Olan.

So it would appear that there is confirmation that Room 101 was vacant at the time of Ms. Raffo's murder and that it was quite possibly occupied by a tenant at the time of Tracy Roberts' disappearance around Nov. 15th.

While these reports are not conclusive, they do tend to cast doubt on Room 101 as a crime scene. As we've analyzed the disposal site from every angle I thought it wise to eliminate the Golden Key from consideration as a focal point. I've come to believe that the Golden Key motel is nothing more than a backdrop to these crimes.

As always, just my opinion.

 

[The Nomad]

A brief follow-up to an earlier post concerning Room 101. According to Yasmin Olan who was living at the Golden Key during the period of the crimes:

“Yasmin Olan, who has lived in the motel for several months, said a former tenant of that room was an admitted crack addict. He moved out more than a week ago, she said.”
http://www.practicalhomicide.com/current/11262006.htm

Investigators were undoubtedly quick to check out the tenant named by Yasmin Olan.

So it would appear that there is confirmation that Room 101 was vacant at the time of Ms. Raffo's murder and that it was quite possibly occupied by a tenant at the time of Tracy Roberts' disappearance around Nov. 15th.

While these reports are not conclusive, they do tend to cast doubt on Room 101 as a crime scene. As we've analyzed the disposal site from every angle I thought it wise to eliminate the Golden Key from consideration as a focal point. I've come to believe that the Golden Key motel is nothing more than a backdrop to these crimes.

As always, just my opinion.

I tend to agree.. The placement of victims 1 thru 4, to me makes it seem unlikely the Golden Key motel was used. I said the same up thread.

 

[Gothamgoddess27]

Yes, really. I was thinking of contacting the lady I baby sat for to see if she recalls the name.

 

[cynical_1]

On several occasions I've seen the word “wildcard” used to describe victim Barbara Breidor. Most likely that characterization is used to describe her because at the time of the crimes she was known to reside in nearby Ventnor, NJ. and not in a boarding house along Tennessee or Ocean Avenues where the other victims resided.

In an earlier post I made reference to an article that quoted Sister Jean Webster where she stated that Ms. Breidor, along with the other three victims, were frequent visitors to the soup kitchen she ran in a church located on Pacific Ave. behind the Taj Mahal.

That was the first instance that I could find that placed her (Ms. Breidor) on Pacific Ave on a regular basis. I’ve since come across another article that places her at that location as well.

"Acquaintances said Ms. Dilts worked as a prostitute along Pacific Avenue, and several said they frequently saw her with another of the victims, Barbara Breidor, 42, of Ventnor, near Ocean and Tennessee Avenues."
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04EEDE113EF93AA15752C1A9609C8B63

It makes sense that she would be working along Pacific Ave. because, in the words of the famous bank robber Willie Sutton when asked why he robbed banks, “that’s where the money is”. So, moving forward, I think it’s important that all four victims can now be definitely placed as either living or working in the area of Pacific and Tennessee Avenues during the commission of these crimes.

As always, just my opinion.

 

[Rachel1]

I agree with cynical 1 about Pacific Ave 100% and yes, that would be exactly where the money is ( if you where a lady of the night)

 

[cynical_1]

Just thinking out loud here concerning the whole missing shoes thing. Some have speculated that it may be a ritual of sorts while others have posted thoughts about it being an effort at avoiding having forensic evidence left behind on the shoes.

Considering the latter point of view, I started thinking about what kind of evidence could be left on shoes that would possibly help investigators trace the victims last hours. Naturally, fibers from a car carpet was suggested by many posters.

Yet, a commonality between the victims was the close proximity to the beach that all four of them lived or worked by. Steel Pier and Schiff's Central Pier are located in the immediate area. I do know that many homeless find refuge for the night under these piers.

I wonder if those beach areas are also a hub for drug activity. Having sand inside the shoes of several victims would certainly be a red flag. Ms. Raffo left the Taj Mahal at 5:00 am and most likely took a right towards Pacific Ave. A long-shot, but any chance she took a left towards the boardwalk? - Just my opinion.