Cases That Haunt You

[Dragonfyree]

A DNA comparison against the person of interest (the ex-boyfriend) came back as a conclusive non-match. The case is still open, though it doesn't appear Riverside PD is all that interested in pursuing fresh leads.

Thank you, I had not heard about the DNA. It sounds like they didn't compare it to the DNA they have of Zodiac or against any database. Sometimes it seems if the police can be fixated on one person and if that doesn't pan out they don't want to look any further.

 

[Dragonfyree]

When I was a child I was friends and neighbors with a girl who would go on to become the victim of a brutal murder in her teen years. Kimberly Dawn Best and Paige Suzann Sinclair were found murdered in October of 1977. They were 15 years old; runaways who were hitchhiking their way south down I5 to Reno Nevada. Their bodies were found at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Lake Clementine. Kimberly had been shot and Paige had been bludgeoned.

I have fond memories of playing with Kimberly as a child and I've often thought of her and her family over the years. At the time of the crimes a suspect, Kenneth Edgar Lane, was tried 3 times, but never convicted. Ejector marks on .38 caliber shell casings matched those found in his home, at the grave of a dog he had shot the day before, and in the area where the girl's bodies were found. The gun was never recovered.

I don't know any one who was officially "murdered" but my sister and I were questioned in a case when we were 13 & 12.

We babysat for a family across the street and they had moved a few months before and their 1 1/2 year old baby boy walked 2 miles and "fell into the Missouri River."

The police wanted to know if we had ever seen anything while babysitting, but we hadn't as far as we knew.

When I think about it all these years later, I've often wondered if there was something we might have seen and not even noticed at that age and the police didn't know how to question us correctly. (This was back in the early 1970's).

 

[Pettibon Junction]

Sometimes it seems if the police can be fixated on one person and if that doesn't pan out they don't want to look any further.

Ain't that the truth! One can only imagine how many leads and interesting suspects slipped through the cracks because the police were too fixed on "Barnett." Not to get off-topic, but the Zodiac (and all the tangentially-related crimes) is one of the most maddening cases in that respect. Until quite recently, investigators in Vallejo were still trying to pin their murders on Arthur Leigh Allen, despite his having been ruled out via handwriting, fingerprints, and DNA evidence. (Not to mention the teenagers in Presidio Heights who got the clearest view of the killer never identified him as the man they saw wiping down Paul Stine's cab.)

 

[Cintaurus]

We babysat for a family across the street and they had moved a few months before and their 1 1/2 year old baby boy walked 2 miles and "fell into the Missouri River."

Wow that is suspicious. I think it tends to stick with you when someone loses their life so tragically young. It really bothers me that the gun was never found in Kimberly's case when the suspect had it in his possession just days before. I wonder how that was explained away during the trials. This was also happening around the same time and area as The Santa Rosa Hitch Hiker Murders. Very suspicious....

 

[PrairieWind]

Lots of cases haunt me, for different reasons. Especially those where a child is missing: so heartbreaking. However, one case that particularly haunts me is that of Jennifer Short and her family. Her mother and father were found murdered in their home in Virginia in August of 2002. Nine year old Jennifer was missing. Several months later her body was found in the woods in North Carolina, she had been shot in the head. As far as I know, no real suspects have ever been identified in this tragedy. I think they looked for someone that may have had a dispute with her father over his mobile home moving business, but nothing panned out. Obviously the girl was taken from the home alive. but why? Was she the target? A sexual predator? We may never know. So very very sad that a whole family was wiped out like that. At least we know they are together in Heaven.

 

[chlban]

Ain't that the truth! One can only imagine how many leads and interesting suspects slipped through the cracks because the police were too fixed on "Barnett." Not to get off-topic, but the Zodiac (and all the tangentially-related crimes) is one of the most maddening cases in that respect. Until quite recently, investigators in Vallejo were still trying to pin their murders on Arthur Leigh Allen, despite his having been ruled out via handwriting, fingerprints, and DNA evidence. (Not to mention the teenagers in Presidio Heights who got the clearest view of the killer never identified him as the man they saw wiping down Paul Stine's cab.)

I have never believed it was Allen, but then i don't believe it to be any of the popular "suspects". I agree it was wierd that they fixated in spite of the DNA evidence especially but, to be fair, there were major differences between the descriptons
from the surviving victim as well as the teenagers that it's hard to know what to make of that. It's been a while but werent the age descriptions off by like 20+ years?

 

[Pettibon Junction]

It's been a while but werent the age descriptions off by like 20+ years?

There have been some discrepancies in that department, yes. Bryan Hartnell described a man in his mid-to-late 20s, as did Mike Mageau at Blue Rock Springs. The teens at Presidio Heights described someone between 30 and 35. The sketch based on their accounts was amended after patrolman Fouke came forward describing a white male closer to 40.

Based on behavior and similar offender profiles, I place the most stock in Hartnell's description. Zodiac (IMHO) was most likely a younger man, somewhere between the ages of 24 and 29.

 

[chlban]

There have been some discrepancies in that department, yes. Bryan Hartnell described a man in his mid-to-late 20s, as did Mike Mageau at Blue Rock Springs. The teens at Presidio Heights described someone between 30 and 35. The sketch based on their accounts was amended after patrolman Fouke came forward describing a white male closer to 40.

Based on behavior and similar offender profiles, I place the most stock in Hartnell's description. Zodiac (IMHO) was most likely a younger man, somewhere between the ages of 24 and 29.

I am just curious as to why you would put more stock in Mike and Bryan's description? As victims wouldn't it seem that they might not have the most accurate descriptions? I am just basing that on trauma and the fact that Zodiac had that mask on during Bryan's attack.
I can see teenagers being off, when your a teenager 30 seems old so I probably wouldn't put much stock in their age descriptions, but I would think the cop would be the closest.

I am not trying to argue, I am just interested in your POV. I have no dog in this race. I would prefer the younger description to be accurate only because that means a better chance he isn't dead yet. If he's dead already, I don't think we will ever find out who he was, but if not there is still a chance, IMO.

I have always thought the Stine killing and subsequent run in with the police in the Presidio was the main reason he went underground. Just too close for comfort. If that report had had the correct race, he might have been captured. Or he might just have become a cop killer, well never know.

 

[Pettibon Junction]

Well, it's not so much Mike's account - the trauma of that night did a number on him and he's been anything but a reliable witness over the years. But Bryan Hartnell impresses the heck out of me. He spent a sizable chunk of time TALKING to the Zodiac, interacting, challenging his assailant and observing him with a remarkably level head, given the circumstances. Plus he did so under optimal conditions - Lake Berryessa was the only known DAYLIGHT Zodiac murder.

And Bryan's not the only one; Cecilia, who saw her attacker before he donned the hood, provided a description to park authorities before losing consciousness. There were also a number of witnesses who came forward to describe a suspicious man hanging out in the park earlier that day and the composite sketch generated from these accounts dovetails eerily well with the Presidio Heights sketch (forget the hair - just look at the nose and eyes).

 

[scriptgirl]

Again, can anyone help me find these cases:

There are 2 cases I want solved and I remember reading them on here-any help with the victim's names would be great. First case was a girl at school who asked to go to the bathroom-she went and was gone a long time. Her best friend kept begging to check on her and finally when she did, it was apparent the other girl had been taken. Second case was a woman who entered her apartment building , but never made it past the entry way-her gold bracelet or just a bracelet was found either in the entry way or the parking lot. It was apparent there had been a struggle. I f anyone has the names of these two women, do tell.

 

[Dragonfyree]

Again, can anyone help me find these cases:

There are 2 cases I want solved and I remember reading them on here-any help with the victim's names would be great. First case was a girl at school who asked to go to the bathroom-she went and was gone a long time. Her best friend kept begging to check on her and finally when she did, it was apparent the other girl had been taken. Second case was a woman who entered her apartment building , but never made it past the entry way-her gold bracelet or just a bracelet was found either in the entry way or the parking lot. It was apparent there had been a struggle. I f anyone has the names of these two women, do tell.

Do you have any time period or general location?

The second one maybe Jodi Huisentruit - She was leaving her building at about 5:00am her personal items (don't know if there was a bracelet) were strewn around the parking lot - definite signs of a struggle - Newswoman - Mason City, IA - June 27, 1995.

If you read them on this board, I'm sure someone will be able to tell you who they are.

 

[scriptgirl]

Not Jodi, but thanks!

 

[joejs89]

The case that haunts me the most is April Marie Tinsley from Fort Wayne Indiana. This creepy perp surfaces every so often to remind people that he is still out there. Creepy as creepy gets!

 

[georgiasblu]

The case that haunts me the most is April Marie Tinsley from Fort Wayne Indiana. This creepy perp surfaces every so often to remind people that he is still out there. Creepy as creepy gets!

I'm with you on that. Those notes and baggies...
I think he's dead now. It's been 10 years since they last heard from him. I live in Ft Wayne and my cousin lived near to where the bicycle note was left.

 

[wendybtn]

Eisenberg. Florida. Never been found. Parents still under suspicion depending on which version of events you are reading.

 

[wendybtn]

Patricia Adkins. Missing from Marysville, Ohio. She was a Honda plant supervisor, 2nd shift. She crawled into the back of a married man's pick-up truck after work one night in July 2001 and was never seen again. There is a blood droplet on the tourmaline (sp?) that can only be tested once with present technology. MSM has named this man. My emotional mind wants him locked up NOW! My rational mind wants that DNA test NOW! I will never forget her!

 

[joejs89]

I'm with you on that. Those notes and baggies...
I think he's dead now. It's been 10 years since they last heard from him. I live in Ft Wayne and my cousin lived near to where the bicycle note was left.

I think he may be as well but BTK went silent for a number of years prior to making contact again. Still it is a creepy case. He made sure he left his DNA so the police could verify it was the murderer. I would be terrified if one of my children recieved one of those baggies.:scared:

 

[georgiasblu]

I think he may be as well but BTK went silent for a number of years prior to making contact again. Still it is a creepy case. He made sure he left his DNA so the police could verify it was the murderer. I would be terrified if one of my children recieved one of those baggies.:scared:

I hear you! This is such a strange case. That he never acted on his sick urges again, that we know of, is perplexing.

 

[ekardh]

Death of Kendrick Johnson - Kendrick Johnson was a high-school student ruled to have died from asphyxiation whilst climbing into a rolled up gym mat to retrieve his trainers. This took place in the middle of a school day but there were no witnesses to the event, and CCTV at the school conveniently cuts out once Kendrick enters the gym. After the autopsy, Kendrick's internal organs were removed and destroyed by the coroner and his body stuffed with newspapers by the funeral home. Kendrick's parents have always suspected foul play and continue to fight for justice for their son.

Death of Elisa Lam - The video of her in the elevator still creeps the bejesus out of me. There's nothing supernatural about it but it's difficult to tell if the poor girl is having some kind of psychotic episode or in genuine fear. It's chilling to think that someone else might be deliberately out of shot, knowing there's a security camera. There is also time missing from the security footage. Like the death of Kendrick Johnson, this is another case where I believe the authorities were too quick to rule this as an accidental death.

Disappearance of Jennifer Kesse - A young American woman who mysteriously vanished one morning. Just over a mile away, her car has being ditched by an unidentified person. A hidden surveillance camera managed to record the person walking past but this was clearly their lucky day, as the culprit's face was obscured by the fenceposts. The fact they were so close and yet so far away to identifying someone behind her disappearance is something that often haunts me.

Jack the Ripper - Not just for the ghastly nature of the murders but because we'll likely never know the true identity of this infamous serial killer. For all the diaries and shawls in the world, it's been too long to find any definitive proof. There's no consensus on just how many of the Whitechapel victims were claimed by the Ripper. In all probability, he was none of the long list of suspects we have, but of all them I'd argue William H. Bury is the best of a bad bunch. He's the only suspect we have who committed a known Ripper-esque murder (against his wife). The murders apparently stopped when he left the East End, and there was graffiti found at his new premises stating that Jack the Ripper lived here. Bury certainly fits the profile of an average loser, and not some mad doctor, member of the Royal Family, or tortured artist as favoured by many armchair detectives over the years.

 

[Dragonfyree]

I thought I had heard recently that they were looking into the Kendrick Johnson case again.

I just saw the Elisa Lam video a couple weeks ago on some true crime show and it was creepy. I wonder if someone had slipped her a drug and she was having some kind of psychotic episode.

The Jennifer Kesse video makes me think if you're going to have video security then use one that is a continuous feed, not like this one where it shoots every couple of seconds so that a murderer can just walk by and just get missed every time.