Missouri - The Springfield Three--missing since June 1992 - #8

[Missouri Mule]

Suzie's ex boyfriend shows up for a victim's support meeting. He seems very disconnected. Then after passing the lie detector test he disappears into the sunset. That seemed a bit suspicious to me.

He probably did that on advice of his attorney, the late criminal attorney, Jack Yokum. I have been told he wanted to avoid incarceration and the record should be available through Missouri Casenet and and should give the particulars.

 

[Missouri Mule]

Someone would’ve left the money if they thought they’d have to explain where it came from.

If they would have taken the money all of the purses should also have been taken. Rifleing through those purses would have left DNA behind. And it would have helped the perp into making the police believe it was robbery.

Leaving the purses strongly suggests that the killer never actually entered the house or if he did it was in such a way as to leave no forensics. I see no advantage to leaving the purses if he had the run of the house.

My source said that it was believed the perp wore a hat and had a gun. He also said that Stacy was ‘dragged’ from the house. Obviously I can’t confirm that as I don’t have the information he possessed. But I believe his sourcing was solid.

I realize this case is incredibly frustrating to everyone. Meetings were held by numerous LE officials and yet seemingly no breakthroughs have occurred save one thing.

The last official police statement I have seen referred to”the kidnapper.” If that is true, then we must be looking at one single male who in all probability had neither prior or past criminal activities.

 

[Missouri Mule]

We've talked about how a cop might have pulled this off, and someone mentioned that one of the house parties was broken up by the cops. I hope the cops that broke up the party were checked out. There are undoubtedly some SK's among the ranks of LE (à la Gerard Schaefer); the job is a perfect cover.

The main officer connected with breaking up that party was then Sgt. Mark Webb. He retired as a Lt. He is or was a local sheriff in a nearby county. Nothing I have ever seen or heard has shown he was anything less than “clean as a hound’s tooth.”

He was also seen in in the “48 Hour’s” program.

Later on, a former officer also seen in that program came to work for our agency. Although I asked him, he knew absolutely nothing about any progress of the case.

I no longer believe that LE was in anyway involved, however badly the investigation may have been handled.

 

[k-mac]

@Missouri Mule
post #979 is waiting for your reply.

 

[insearchoflight]

This may have been covered but I can’t find any information on the father of Suzie/ex of Sherrill. I’m assuming this is one of the people LE ruled out in the beginning, ya?

 

[Scooby Doo 4U]

I had several conversations with Clay requesting that Recla post his thoughts. He has wanted to stay out of the discussion. Second hand information, however, regarding Suzie was always positive.

There is no motive for the vandals to take the women.

There are three realistic possibilities that I can see.

A). A sophisticated ploy to remove an informant or informants who would reveal illegal activities. I reject this because of the need to maintain silence over some 26 years. One caveat is that the prime mover must systematically eliminate his co-conspirators. In fact three people have told me that lives are still at stake and have clammed up and to keep any of their thoughts off this board.

(B). A police officer who had some kind of relationship with one of the women. That may have been a motive to want to keep Suzie or Sherrill quiet. A very long analysis by a military intelligence professional of many years reached me some years back explaining the whys, wherefors, and the actual officer in question. It seemed plausible. I reject that today.

(C). A single lone male predator who was preying on vulnerable women. On that night he picked his target and lured her out of the house having built up her confidence during the night’s festivities. To my mind, this is the one theory that seems to factor in all variables.

No motive for the Grave Robbers to take the women? Really MM? There was plenty of motive. Susie gave statements to police about the Grave Robbing incident. Surely as close as she and her mother were, her mother knew everything she knew. We don't know what these guys were connected to, or what these guys were into. We know Clay's sister was a stripper at a local strip club. No drugs or illegal activity ever happens at those places does it? It would be save to assume that Susie could have been called to testify against the Grave Robbers. It would also be safe to say that people may have been worried that she may reveal other things she knew about things going on beyond the Grave Robbing crime. Plenty of motivation! JMO.

 

[asyousay]

If they would have taken the money all of the purses should also have been taken. Rifleing through those purses would have left DNA behind. And it would have helped the perp into making the police believe it was robbery.

Leaving the purses strongly suggests that the killer never actually entered the house or if he did it was in such a way as to leave no forensics. I see no advantage to leaving the purses if he had the run of the house.

My source said that it was believed the perp wore a hat and had a gun. He also said that Stacy was ‘dragged’ from the house. Obviously I can’t confirm that as I don’t have the information he possessed. But I believe his sourcing was solid.

I realize this case is incredibly frustrating to everyone. Meetings were held by numerous LE officials and yet seemingly no breakthroughs have occurred save one thing.

The last official police statement I have seen referred to”the kidnapper.” If that is true, then we must be looking at one single male who in all probability had neither prior or past criminal activities.

It’s called wearing gloves.

 

[Betty P]

You know, if you look at what police were asking of the public recently, they said, "Someone has to know something. May be an Ex-wife, or girlfriend. Someone who was familiar with the comings and goings of the perp. The perp had to have spent considerable time out that night, and may be was normal for that person to be out and about at strange hours". This is not a direct quote, but rather paraphrased because I didn't want to search for the exact quote, but it is close. It is also very interesting that the police used that particular reference, "An Ex-wife, or Girlfriend". Who does it sound like they are reaching out to there?

In considering this a sexually motivated crime with all three women disappearing together, is it aalso possible the killer was someone who saw all three at the graduation ceremony that day? Is it also possible the killer was older, given his attraction to both a mother and her daughter?

What if it was someone's father or other relative attending graduation ceremonies that day? How about teacher, coach, security guard? Someone who would normally be above suspicion,

 

[Scooby Doo 4U]

In considering this a sexually motivated crime with all three women disappearing together, is it aalso possible the killer was someone who saw all three at the graduation ceremony that day? Is it also possible the killer was older, given his attraction to both a mother and her daughter?

What if it was someone's father or other relative attending graduation ceremonies that day? How about teacher, coach, security guard? Someone who would normally be above suspicion,

That is a good angle, but It still doesn't explain why JK and MH acted so strange that next day, and why their stories conflicted. You may be right though. I have considered a relative angle a few times. I'm by no means the final word on all the angles of this crime, and at this point I think almost anything should be considered that is reasonable.

 

[Ozoner]

No motive for the Grave Robbers to take the women? Really MM? There was plenty of motive. Susie gave statements to police about the Grave Robbing incident. Surely as close as she and her mother were, her mother knew everything she knew. We don't know what these guys were connected to, or what these guys were into. We know Clay's sister was a stripper at a local strip club. No drugs or illegal activity ever happens at those places does it? It would be save to assume that Susie could have been called to testify against the Grave Robbers. It would also be safe to say that people may have been worried that she may reveal other things she knew about things going on beyond the Grave Robbing crime. Plenty of motivation! JMO.

I agree with you. Any one of the grave robbers could have done this in order to prevent Suzie from testifying. In DR's case, he may have felt betrayed by his girlfriend, so anger could have been the motive even if he wasn't particularly concerned about Suzie's testimony.

 

[asyousay]

Revenge certainly can’t be ruled out with the grave robbers and whoever else they was involved in.

Revenge actually works as we have no signs of a sexual assault and no signs of robbery.

IMO

 

[asyousay]

I also want to say that just because nobody has rolled over and admitted what happened doesn’t rule out multiple players.

The threat of spending the rest of their life’s in jail for the murder of 3 women would be enough to keep anybody quiet.

This isn’t some small petty crime, this is the murder of the 3 women and if convicted would never see the light of day again.

 

[Kid Dropsy]

I no longer believe that LE was in any way involved

Not even in bothering to solve this crime.

 

[Ozoner]

The main officer connected with breaking up that party was then Sgt. Mark Webb. He retired as a Lt. He is or was a local sheriff in a nearby county. Nothing I have ever seen or heard has shown he was anything less than “clean as a hound’s tooth.”

Does being "clean as a hound's tooth" exonerate him? In your previous post you said this (EBM):

The last official police statement I have seen referred to”the kidnapper.” If that is true, then we must be looking at one single male who in all probability had neither prior or past criminal activities.

Anyone who had contact with Suzie, Stacy, or Sherrill in the days leading up to their disappearance needs to be cleared.
-
I still think the simplest explanation is that one of the grave robbers abducted them, tied them up, and put them inside coffins in old above-ground crypts.
-
I started wondering how long the women could have survived inside coffins. The answer is about five-and-a-half hours, according to the following article:
How Long Could You Survive In A Coffin If You Were Buried Alive?
That time might have to be reduced slightly considering that some space in each coffin would have been occupied by whatever corpse was already in there, leaving slightly less oxygen than what was estimated in the article.

 

[Tuffgong]

In the Austin Yogurt Shop Murders, four girls were raped and murdered and the store was also robbed. Rape and robbery are not exclusive of one another. Some lowlife that seeks to rape also needs money. And if the motive was rape, why not rape them in the house? You had beds, quiet, time...

 

[Tuffgong]

I think there is an assumption that because nobody was arrested, the culprit was a genius. I don't agree with that. I think he could be just plain lucky and maybe, just maybe, capitalized on a crappy police force.

 

[Tuffgong]

Removing pictures from frames? Why not just take entire picture and frame? This makes no sense.

 

[Missouri Mule]

Does being "clean as a hound's tooth" exonerate him? In your previous post you said this (EBM):



Anyone who had contact with Suzie, Stacy, or Sherrill in the days leading up to their disappearance needs to be cleared.
-
I still think the simplest explanation is that one of the grave robbers abducted them, tied them up, and put them inside coffins in old above-ground crypts.
-
I started wondering how long the women could have survived inside coffins. The answer is about five-and-a-half hours, according to the following article:
How Long Could You Survive In A Coffin If You Were Buried Alive?
That time might have to be reduced slightly considering that some space in each coffin would have been occupied by whatever corpse was already in there, leaving slightly less oxygen than what was estimated in the article.

Is there a motive sufficient to abduct and murder three young women?

 

[Missouri Mule]

I think there is an assumption that because nobody was arrested, the culprit was a genius. I don't agree with that. I think he could be just plain lucky and maybe, just maybe, capitalized on a crappy police force.

That too.

 

[Missouri Mule]

In considering this a sexually motivated crime with all three women disappearing together, is it aalso possible the killer was someone who saw all three at the graduation ceremony that day? Is it also possible the killer was older, given his attraction to both a mother and her daughter?

What if it was someone's father or other relative attending graduation ceremonies that day? How about teacher, coach, security guard? Someone who would normally be above suspicion,

I think it is more likely a sexually mal adjusted social misfit with a “dark side.”

And mentally unstable unable to contain his emotions.

IMO, he studied police tactics and aspired to be a police officer.

As an aside the officer who signed off on the police report has a history but he was not involved with this crime.