GA GA - Mary Shotwell Little, 25, Atlanta, 14 Oct 1965

[ms-t]

I wonder why her married name was omitted in her sister's obit.

I thought that was interesting too. Maybe some bad feelings about Mary's husband related to their marriage or the way he dealt with her disappearance? BTW I her husband is still alive and living in Florida now.

 

[Markybug]

randomly reading a solved cold case, the person convicted was apparently mentioned as a suspect in Mary's case ?


"In a strange story on Sept. 9, 1966, 23 yr old Larry Stargel of Gainesville, GA pens a letter to police from Reidsville State Prison requesting an interview with local LE and the FBI regarding C&S Bank employee Mary Shotwell Little's disappearance in Atlanta on October 14 1965. Stargel names Gerald Mason as one of the two men responsible for the kidnapping & murder of Mary Shotwell Little. He stated that Mason had told him that they were hired for $5000 each by the husband Roy Little to kidnap & murder his wife. Later Larry Stargel refused to sign his statement to the FBI after mulling it over but did initial the statement. Just 18 months later, Mary Shotwell Little's replacement at C&S Bank, 20 yr old Diane Shields was murdered. Neither Roy Little or Gerald Mason were ever charged with the Mary Shotwell Little or Diane Shields murders. Both have remained unsolved for nearly 60 years."

Gerald Mason - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[branmuffin]

randomly reading a solved cold case, the person convicted was apparently mentioned as a suspect in Mary's case ?


"In a strange story on Sept. 9, 1966, 23 yr old Larry Stargel of Gainesville, GA pens a letter to police from Reidsville State Prison requesting an interview with local LE and the FBI regarding C&S Bank employee Mary Shotwell Little's disappearance in Atlanta on October 14 1965. Stargel names Gerald Mason as one of the two men responsible for the kidnapping & murder of Mary Shotwell Little. He stated that Mason had told him that they were hired for $5000 each by the husband Roy Little to kidnap & murder his wife. Later Larry Stargel refused to sign his statement to the FBI after mulling it over but did initial the statement. Just 18 months later, Mary Shotwell Little's replacement at C&S Bank, 20 yr old Diane Shields was murdered. Neither Roy Little or Gerald Mason were ever charged with the Mary Shotwell Little or Diane Shields murders. Both have remained unsolved for nearly 60 years."

Gerald Mason - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

How could that be the same Gerald Mason? The Wiki page says after the murders of the two police officers he lived a quiet life, was well off and a well-liked member of the community for 45 years. Forty five years is from 1957 to 2003 which means he couldn't have been in prison in 1966. Wouldn't they have a record of his incarceration even if it was in another state. We don't know how old his children are but to have grandchildren in 2003 when he was arrested it would mean his daughter was probably alive in 1966.

 

[Woodberry]

How could that be the same Gerald Mason? The Wiki page says after the murders of the two police officers he lived a quiet life, was well off and a well-liked member of the community for 45 years. Forty five years is from 1957 to 2003 which means he couldn't have been in prison in 1966. Wouldn't they have a record of his incarceration even if it was in another state. We don't know how old his children are but to have grandchildren in 2003 when he was arrested it would mean his daughter was probably alive in 1966.

Did Larry Stargel state that the conversation he had with Gerald Mason was while they were both in jail? Maybe it happened outside of jail, but from what the wiki page suggests, Gerald Mason kept his nose clean and his head down and was a law abiding citizen after the murders. Gerald would have been 31 and Larry Stargel would have been 22 in 1965 when Mary was killed. It seems unlikely he would have taken a chance on messing up the life he was living to make that confession.

 

[branmuffin]

Did Larry Stargel state that the conversation he had with Gerald Mason was while they were both in jail? Maybe it happened outside of jail, but from what the wiki page suggests, Gerald Mason kept his nose clean and his head down and was a law abiding citizen after the murders. Gerald would have been 31 and Larry Stargel would have been 22 in 1965 when Mary was killed. It seems unlikely he would have taken a chance on messing up the life he was living to make that confession.

No, he didn't. I see what you are saying but a man who robbed four teenagers, raped one of those teenagers, stole their watches and car then ended up murdering two police officers because he was afraid they'd find out what he had done earlier, may have been motivated to keep his nose clean after committing those opportunistic crimes. It also might mean it was in his best interests to remain law abiding in the future because the robbery and rape were not the first crimes he'd committed since being released from jail and his fingerprints would prove it. Conversely, you'd also think that a guy that committed those types of crime without any guilt would find it hard to transition to a squeaky clean life for the next 45 years. So let's suppose those 45 years of squeaky cleaning living was only because he was never been suspected in any other crimes; that he had committed other crimes and managed to stay under the radar. When he murdered the police officers he was 23 years old. He entered the military in the 1950s and was honorably discharged in the 1950s so I believe his tenure in the military was before the murders perhaps when he became of age to join. I haven't seen any records of his military service. In April 1956 he was sentenced to 3 years in prison but the sentence was reduced to a year and he got out after only 8 months in Dec 56 or Jan 57. Six months later he murdered 2 cops, robbed four teenagers and raped one of the girls. He got married two and half years later in 1960 and had two daughters. So that would mean in the 1960s while he was married with children and building a successful business of owning multiple car dealerships he was also involved in criminal activity in another state. I suppose it is possible for someone to hide in plain while committing crimes but being involved in an abduction and murder is difficult to hide, especially conspiracy to commit murder because others are complicit in the crime.

 

[Markybug]

It would be interesting to know how the guy in prison knew or knew of Mason, really stopped me in my tracks when i read it.

Edit, seems a poster mentioned Mason back in 2022

Post in thread 'GA - Mary Shotwell Little, 25, Atlanta, 14 Oct 1965'
GA - GA - Mary Shotwell Little, 25, Atlanta, 14 Oct 1965

 

[Valiant]

randomly reading a solved cold case, the person convicted was apparently mentioned as a suspect in Mary's case ?


"In a strange story on Sept. 9, 1966, 23 yr old Larry Stargel of Gainesville, GA pens a letter to police from Reidsville State Prison requesting an interview with local LE and the FBI regarding C&S Bank employee Mary Shotwell Little's disappearance in Atlanta on October 14 1965. Stargel names Gerald Mason as one of the two men responsible for the kidnapping & murder of Mary Shotwell Little. He stated that Mason had told him that they were hired for $5000 each by the husband Roy Little to kidnap & murder his wife. Later Larry Stargel refused to sign his statement to the FBI after mulling it over but did initial the statement. Just 18 months later, Mary Shotwell Little's replacement at C&S Bank, 20 yr old Diane Shields was murdered. Neither Roy Little or Gerald Mason were ever charged with the Mary Shotwell Little or Diane Shields murders. Both have remained unsolved for nearly 60 years."

Gerald Mason - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

That just sounds a bit extreme. $10,000 then would be like $100,0000 today. I don’t see how the husband would have had that kind of money or motive to be rid of her. That amount of money would leave a trail. The car she was driving, the 1965 Mercury Comet, only cost about $2500 new.

 

[Richard]

14 October will mark 59 years missing...

Mary Shotwell Little, age 25, Missing since 14 October 1965

LINK:

Mary Wallace Shotwell Little (1940-1965) - Find a...

Daughter of Nathan Randolph and Margaret Murrell Shotwell (nee Proctor). Wife of Roy Hardin Little Jr. Mary Shotwell Little, a secretary at the Citizens & Southern (C&S) Bank, disappeared on 14 October 1965. She was 5'6 tall and weighed 120 pounds. She had light brown hair and green-hazel eyes...

www.findagrave.com

 

[branmuffin]

It would be interesting to know how the guy in prison knew or knew of Mason, really stopped me in my tracks when i read it.

Edit, seems a poster mentioned Mason back in 2022

Post in thread 'GA - Mary Shotwell Little, 25, Atlanta, 14 Oct 1965'
GA - GA - Mary Shotwell Little, 25, Atlanta, 14 Oct 1965

How do we know they were the same Gerald Mason? If you look up the name Gerald Mason in obits, there are at least 60 that come up. And that's just in the last couple of years. There are currently 306 men called Gerald Mason in the US. There must be have been hundreds named Gerald Mason back in the 60s too, proven by the police officers who originally investigated the claim of the prison inmate. I have a pretty unique name and I thought maybe I was the only person in the world with my name but there are 2 other women in the UK with it, not the same middle initial, though. Can you imagine how many George Browns there are? I'll tell you:15808.

 

[Same Old Stella]

Divorce would've been cheaper so I too find it hard to believe that her husband would shell out that kind of money.

That just sounds a bit extreme. $10,000 then would be like $100,0000 today. I don’t see how the husband would have had that kind of money or motive to be rid of her. That amount of money would leave a trail. The car she was driving, the 1965 Mercury Comet, only cost about $2500 new.

 

[Proton]

Divorce would've been cheaper so I too find it hard to believe that her husband would shell out that kind of money.

I agree, it makes me wonder about life insurance. Although, he’d have to make sure her body was found.

 

[Caring1]

14 Unidentified Person Exclusions

 

[dotr]

556DFGA - Mary Shotwell Little

556DFGA​

Name: Mary Shotwell Little
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: October 14, 1965
Location Last Seen: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia

Physical Description​

Date of Birth: January 14, 1940
Age: 25 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 120 lbs.
Hair Color: Light brown
Eye Color: Hazel-green
Nickname/Alias: Mary Wallace Shotwell
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Glasses; discoloration on left arm

Identifiers​

Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Available
DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: White London Fog raincoat; olive green sheath dress printed with white flowers; flats
Jewelry: Platinum wedding ring; solitaire engagement ring; yellow gold "University of North Carolina" woman's class ring; scarab bracelet
Additional Personal Items: Set of keys; John Romain handbag; glasses

Circumstances of Disappearance​

Little was employed as a secretary at the C&S Bank and had been married to a bank examiner for six weeks at the time of her disappearance. Her husband was out of town on bank business, but he was due back the next day, and they planned to see friends the following evening.

Little purchased groceries and then shared dinner at the Piccadilly Cafeteria with a bank coworker; she was never seen again. The coworker who had dined with Little alerted their supervisor about Little's absence from work the following morning and recalled that Little had mentioned the area where she was parked. With that information, the boss phoned security at Lenox Square, asking them to look for a 1965 metallic pearl gray Mercury Comet . Security soon notified them that no such car could be found.

Little's husband was notified of her disappearance and he headed home. Her boss drove to Lenox Square for his own search of the parking lot. He located her car in the parking area. Police found a fine coat of red dust on the exterior of the car, as if it had been on a dirt road. They also found blood in several places. Also found in the car, carefully rolled together and placed between the seats, was a set of women's undergarments, a girdle, slip, and panties that had tiny drops of blood on them. On the floorboard lay a black bra and a section of stocking that had been cut neatly. Tests indicated the blood probably was Little's. The undergarments definitely were hers and had been worn recently. The car was also littered with dozens of other items, including Coke bottles, a package of Kent cigarettes (Little's brand) and four bags of groceries.

One of her friends told investigators that Little had expressed fear of being home alone and of being alone in her car several days before she disappeared. Authorities also learned that Little had received roses from an unidentified "secret admirer" shortly before she vanished. The flowers were traced to a florist near Little's home, but police were unable to identify the purchaser. Coworkers remembered that Little was disturbed by phone calls she received at work. She never discussed the conversations with anyone.

A key piece of evidence was discovered one month after Little's disappearance. Investigators learned that Little's gasoline credit card had been used in North Carolina. A gas station in Charlotte showed Little's card had been used in the early morning of October 15, just a few hours after she was last seen at Lenox Square. The card was used again several hours later in Raleigh with what appeared to be Little's signature.

The gas station attendant in Charlotte recalled a woman with a cut on her head, trying to hide her face, traveling in the company of a man who seemed to be giving her orders. In Raleigh, the attendant told of a "bloody woman," with blood even on her legs, traveling with two men. No further leads were found about her disappearance and Little has never been found.''

Mary Shotwell Little – The Charley Project

charleyproject.org