IA IA- 'Roberta “Bobbi” Crawford, 53, Secretary @ Ellsworth Community College, Bludgeoned to death @ home, No known motive, 16 Nov. 1999

[dotr]

Gone Cold: Bobbi Crawford, killed in 1999

This is a weekly feature highlighting some of Iowa’s unsolved homicides in the hopes that it will lead to new tips and potentially help solve cases.

www.desmoinesregister.com

2015 rbbm.

''Roberta “Bobbi” Crawford was murdered inside her Hampton home sometime between late on Nov. 16, 1999, and early the next morning. An autopsy concluded the 53-year-old, who lived alone, died of blunt force trauma to the head. Someone had cut what they thought were the phone lines and then broken in, killing her in her bedroom. Burglary didn’t seem to the motive, nor had she been sexually assaulted.

Since the murder, the local and state investigators have tracked hundreds of leads, some across state lines, but still can’t make sense of the crime. In June 2005, a private investigator from South Dakota said he believed Bobbi Crawford was killed by a serial killer — the same one he believes killed Mason City television reporter Jodi Huisentruit. The detective said the suspect was a Newton native who then moved to Arizona, where he and another man allegedly beat a man to death.''

 

[Tippy Lynn]

Gone Cold: Bobbi Crawford, killed in 1999

This is a weekly feature highlighting some of Iowa’s unsolved homicides in the hopes that it will lead to new tips and potentially help solve cases.

www.desmoinesregister.com

2015 rbbm.
View attachment 363246
''Roberta “Bobbi” Crawford was murdered inside her Hampton home sometime between late on Nov. 16, 1999, and early the next morning. An autopsy concluded the 53-year-old, who lived alone, died of blunt force trauma to the head. Someone had cut what they thought were the phone lines and then broken in, killing her in her bedroom. Burglary didn’t seem to the motive, nor had she been sexually assaulted.

Since the murder, the local and state investigators have tracked hundreds of leads, some across state lines, but still can’t make sense of the crime. In June 2005, a private investigator from South Dakota said he believed Bobbi Crawford was killed by a serial killer — the same one he believes killed Mason City television reporter Jodi Huisentruit. The detective said the suspect was a Newton native who then moved to Arizona, where he and another man allegedly beat a man to death.''

Sound like the detective's suspect is JV.

 

[dotr]

2012

 

[TedMac]

Sound like the detective's suspect is JV.

I never knew JV was a suspect in any other murders other than Jodi & now Bobbi. Who was the man who was beaten to death in Arizona?

 

[Tippy Lynn]

I never knew JV was a suspect in any other murders other than Jodi & now Bobbi. Who was the man who was beaten to death in Arizona?

In the early 2000's JV was a security guard at a Fry's Food Store in Scottsdale, AZ and ended up killing a 65 year old man, Lawrence Melsky.

 

[TedMac]

In the early 2000's JV was a security guard at a Fry's Food Store in Scottsdale, AZ and ended up killing a 65 year old man, Lawrence Melsky.

Was he charged in Melsky's death?

 

[dotr]

Was he charged in Melsky's death?

2003

Police not recommending charges in death of suspected shoplifter

PHOENIX (AP) — Police aren't recommending criminal charges in the death of a 65-year-old man who struggled with grocery store security guards in October.

azdailysun.com

''
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death an accident in December.
The incident has triggered interest from the Phoenix Jewish community because of Melsky's heritage and because one of the security guards reportedly was once in a White supremacist gang.''

 

[dotr]

Nov 27, 2024

Meet the people running Iowa's new Cold Case Unit and a family hoping for answers

A few high-profile murders tend to grab the headlines, but more than 400 Iowa families are waiting for answers in the death of a loved one.

www.kcci.com

''Bobbi Crawford was found dead from blunt force trauma in her Hampton home on Nov. 17, 1999. Her family is still grappling with the unsolved mystery 25 years later.

"It would mean the world to have some type of closure," Crawford said.

Hampton police say they have asked Iowa's new Cold Case Unit to take a look at Bobbi Crawford's case. The unit of three investigators and one prosecutor is currently combing through cases to decide which ones are solvable. Iowa currently has more than 400 unsolved cases.''

Nov 27, 2024
Meet the people running Iowa's new Cold Case Unit and a family hoping for answers