FL FL - Miami, WhtMale 662UMFL, 16-20, blonde, alias 'Bobby Copeland', Jan'88

[CentralTxCrime]

Is male or female? Doe Network link have two sex, Namus only male.

He was found with women’s clothes in the motel room - maybe that’s why they listed him both ways.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

I wish the police would release more details about the clothing so we'd have an idea as to whether they were his. They could have belonged to a friend/girlfriend. I'd also like to know who was arrested for his murder and their motive

 

[Grungster]

Can you link the other Edward Copeland? And yes, I would like to know the details too.

 

[Grungster]

Robert Hampton has been ruled out according to NamUS.

 

[YaYa_521]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Exclusions
MP7087
MP1 Anthony Allen 10/01/1978 Sebastian AR
MP3117 Steven Anderson 04/07/1975 Burlington NJ
MP2049 Steve Arrowood 04/04/1975 Gaston NC
MP4391 Rogelio Cerda 06/29/1975 Matagorda TX
MP4615 Michael Gaughan 07/20/1975 El Paso TX
MP41033 Robert Hampton 11/26/1986 Kitsap WA
MP7089 Reed Jeppson 10/11/1964 Salt Lake UT
MP6244 Danny Jones 09/01/1974 Upshur TX
MP2551 Robert Keck 06/30/1979 Lehigh PA
MP1058 John Kinsora 02/26/1982 Maricopa AZ
MP7429 Randall Leach 11/07/1980 Bonneville ID
MP4674 Rodney Longman 03/14/1985 Lancaster NE
MP7512 Darrel Nichols 04/01/1973 Summit UT
MP6482 Brian Page 01/12/1975 Multnomah OR
MP27011 Alan Stanfill 01/13/1988 Baker FL
MP1165 Tom Starkel 12/05/1979 Los Angeles CA
-- Terry Wallace PA
MP4 Mitchel Weiser 07/27/1973 Sullivan NY
MP6800 Chester Wetmore 05/27/1986 Manatee FL
MP6800 Chester Wetmore 05/27/1986 Manatee FL
MP6800 Chester Wetmore 05/27/1986 Manatee FL

 

[Bit of hope]

Who's room was it? His? Or was it rented by somebody else? The woman's clothes suggesting that either he was a cross dresser or they were left by a woman. The killer could be a woman too IMO. Maybe he was prostituting himself? Or he was visited by a man, proposing himself as a woman. Things get awkward, John Doe was killed and the perp changed put on John Doe's clothes and left the woman's clothes. I really hope they are going to list the woman's clothing items one day, even though it's probably not really relevant to find his identity.

I read here that there was an arrest made in this case, but I couldn't find anything about that. Somebody?
Cold Cases: 1980-1989

Narrative: An arrest was made in regards to this homicide however; the victim was never officially identified. The subject offered the name of the victim as Robert or Bob Copeland.

In this list however (what is Wikiwand btw?) this John Doe is mentioned, saying case unsolved.
List of murdered American children | Wikiwand

This was posted on January 6 2019 by the Miami Dade PD.

Miami-Dade Police Department

The arrested subject provided LE with the name Bob or Robert Copeland...hmmmm. Changes my view on the name completely....I tend to skip this lead now.

Does somebody know a way to find more about this arrest?

 

[carbuff]

Is anybody else having trouble with recent posts not displaying in older threads?

 

[Bit of hope]

Is anybody else having trouble with recent posts not displaying in older threads?

Do you have an example...I'm not totally sure what you mean. Did you post on here and your post is gone?

 

[carbuff]

Do you have an example...I'm not totally sure what you mean. Did you post on here and your post is gone?

No, I mean I'm subscribed to a bunch of threads that aren't very active, and I'll get a notification that there's a new post, but sometimes when I open the thread, I don't see any new posts until I refresh a couple of times or make a reply.

It doesn't happen often, maybe a couple of times a week.

It's just weird.

 

[Grungster]

thats happened to me too

 

[Bit of hope]

No, I mean I'm subscribed to a bunch of threads that aren't very active, and I'll get a notification that there's a new post, but sometimes when I open the thread, I don't see any new posts until I refresh a couple of times or make a reply.

It doesn't happen often, maybe a couple of times a week.

It's just weird.

Aha I see....I'm also following a lot of quite threads too. I didn't experienced this yet as far as I can remember. I will give it some attention the next time I get an alert.

 

[PayrollNerd]

thats happened to me too

Me as well. I open the thread and there’s nothing. I go back a page, then go forward a page and it appears.

 

[Grungster]

You know, the guy who killed him said his name was "Bobby Copeland". I wonder if it was one of people he sold magazine stuff with?

 

[Bit of hope]

You know, the guy who killed him said his name was "Bobby Copeland". I wonder if it was one of people he sold magazine stuff with?

We don't know it was the man who killed him, it was the man they arrested who said his name was known by the name of Bobby Copeland. I couldn't find anything about the arrest, nor a conviction/a follow up. Either they weren't able to pin it on him/not enough evidence or he wasn't the killer.

 

[Grungster]

I wonder if any of us can find news archives from Miami Herald? I'll try looking in January 1988 section

 

[Bit of hope]

I wonder if any of us can find news archives from Miami Herald? I'll try looking in January 1988 section

You could try newspapers.com. I don't want to register. Newspapers.com - Historical Newspapers from 1700s-2000s I was also asking if anyone knows how to get access to arrest records. I don't know how to find them (if they are public)

 

[carbuff]

I know I've seen more information than this about Bobby and the arrest and whether the clothing found with him was his, but I can't find it right now. Hmm, wonder where that was? I don't follow crimes on other sites, so it had to be in here somewhere.

 

[carbuff]

thats happened to me too

Me as well. I open the thread and there’s nothing. I go back a page, then go forward a page and it appears.

At least I don't feel so crazy now

 

[Nancy Drew RN]

I have a newspapers.com subscription, and I really can't find any information from the Miami Herald, at least not in 1988. I looked through the paper for a couple of days after he was found, since it can be difficult to know how the potential article would be phrased (murder, body, hotel v. motel v. motor inn, etc.), but this is rather a herculean task--the day after, there are 116 scanned pages. The law enforcement site said that he was found at the Marco Polo Hotel, so I searched that, which was also brutal--I think they ran a help wanted ad, sometimes multiple ads for different positions, sometimes ads for shows or deals, almost every day of 1988.

I'm sure I could have missed something, but I also wonder if, since they found the killer (arrested, but unclear if prosecuted?), who offered a potential identity, they were initially just trying to track down and find the re Bobby Copeland variants across the country in pre-internet times. Then when they figured out that was potentially false, they figured they already had the killer and *shrug*.

I did find out some info about the hotel--it has 550 rooms and offered long term occupancy (the owner received permission in March of 1988 to rent up to 25% of the units). It had an event space, the Persian Room, which hosted things like the Miss Florida Teen USA and Vegas style shows (a lot of the help wanted ads are for cocktail waitresses, bartenders). It billed itself as a beach resort of sorts, in the Sunny Isles community, and the owner said he expected many European tourists that summer. All of this . . . seems an odd choice for a kid selling magazines, maybe? It's currently operated as a Ramada Plaza by Wyndham. The hotel offers a history, but the 1980s are completely skipped over.

 

[azure]

@Nancy Drew RN, I agree about the hotel. I wonder if he was there doing an activity outside of magazine sales (prostitution or drugs are possibilities for a young man on the fringes of society). It's not a super high end hotel today, but certainly not one of the cheapest hotels in Miami.