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

[k-mac]

A quote I saw and does anybody know if this is a relation to one of the grave robbers?

The brother.

not sure what relevance 'the brother' has to this point asyousay …..it is a good question. (added later....unless mm is stating shorthand john recla is dustin reclas brother?? but I thought he looked old enough To be his dad)

SO....john recla if I remember correctly is dustin recla's father. one of the grave robbers so a connection definitely.
always thought it odd why he injected himself into the crimescene video.

he would have known suzie and sherrill I imagine from the kids dating.

 

[Missouri Mule]

Dustin’s Brother.

 

[Betty P]

I think straight up asking gets an honest reaction, especially if they have no time to prepare. I love how they breakdown the suspects and then either eliminate them or not by questioning people and seeing if stories have changed. I know there have been episodes where they ask ex girlfriends or wives about a suspect. If you are dating someone at the time of a crime you might not come forward or you are young and love blinds you. I think few times an ex on Cold Justice said a husband or boyfriend threatened that they would end up like the victim. This is where time helps.

Spot on. Often, cold cases are cracked when LE goes back to re-check and challenge alibis and look for inconsistencies. That needs to be done again and again. If someone says "we went to a movie that night", go back and check with the people who worked at the movie theater. Ask questions again about the movie they saw, who else was with them or saw them, then re-question those people. It's amazing how many times I've read cold cases where important information was found when investigators broadened the number of people they questioned this way. Sometimes they're in a rush to follow up on large numbers of tips that they don't "go deep" on questioning secondary and tertiary witnesses.

 

[asyousay]

Spot on. Often, cold cases are cracked when LE goes back to re-check and challenge alibis and look for inconsistencies. That needs to be done again and again. If someone says "we went to a movie that night", go back and check with the people who worked at the movie theater. Ask questions again about the movie they saw, who else was with them or saw them, then re-question those people. It's amazing how many times I've read cold cases where important information was found when investigators broadened the number of people they questioned this way. Sometimes they're in a rush to follow up on large numbers of tips that they don't "go deep" on questioning secondary and tertiary witnesses.

Surely the problem is people forget as well. It’s been over 25 years.

 

[asyousay]

not sure what relevance 'the brother' has to this point asyousay …..it is a good question. (added later....unless mm is stating shorthand john recla is dustin reclas brother?? but I thought he looked old enough To be his dad)

SO....john recla if I remember correctly is dustin recla's father. one of the grave robbers so a connection definitely.
always thought it odd why he injected himself into the crimescene video.

he would have known suzie and sherrill I imagine from the kids dating.

I just found it intriguing that the brother of Dustin would be outside the house knowing that Suzie was responsible for getting his brother arrested and I am assuming they wasn’t exactly all on speaking terms when Suzie vanished.

 

[MooseMeMuch]

Surely the problem is people forget as well. It’s been over 25 years.

That's sorta the point. People remember the truth. (according the Johnny Bonds, renowned interrogator who's questioned a LOT of killers).
Makes sense... If you had to make crap up....it's easy to forget the crap you made up. You make up more crap to cover your hide. Oopsie.

 

[beebosox]

It's a good buzz phrase - "People remember the truth" - but it's not so, memory is far too complex to assure of that.

 

[HmmWhoKnows]

not sure what relevance 'the brother' has to this point asyousay …..it is a good question. (added later....unless mm is stating shorthand john recla is dustin reclas brother?? but I thought he looked old enough To be his dad)

SO....john recla if I remember correctly is dustin recla's father. one of the grave robbers so a connection definitely.
always thought it odd why he injected himself into the crimescene video.

he would have known suzie and sherrill I imagine from the kids dating.

Johnny Cross Recla. You can go find him on Facebook. He's FB friends with Mike Henson too.

Grave Robbers didn't do this. Mike and Dusty were cleared. They had an alibi. They were at the Cyanide Rainbow show then at Mike's sister Cathe's house for the remainder of the night. I believe two people verified this fact. The CR show let out around bar close at 2AM.

Just because someone did a stupid thing as a kid, doesn't make them triple abduction/murderers. I believe Mike and Dusty may have some knowledge of some things they are keeping close to the vest. But I do not think they are guilty.

You won't find the answers in newspaper clippings.

 

[HmmWhoKnows]

yes as I stated above.
the term KIDNAPPER in this release is unfortunate.
because spd have no idea what happened to the girls.
probably imo why it wasn't solved.

tunnel vision to begin with

Says who?

You're certain police have no idea?

 

[HmmWhoKnows]

I just found it intriguing that the brother of Dustin would be outside the house knowing that Suzie was responsible for getting his brother arrested and I am assuming they wasn’t exactly all on speaking terms when Suzie vanished.

Assumptions can get you in trouble.

Look at the timeline of their dating history and their friendship. Bartt also said Dusty was around Suzie in April 1992 (post dating)

The "grave robber" thing wasn't at the forefront of the media on day 3 or so when that was published. And I'm sure Dusty and John and Janelle and Mike and many others were around the crime scene. It was a big deal. Hell, my family went and checked it out I believe a few times. That whole block was a circus during the first two or three weeks.

Just because you're friends with people who were friends with the victims, doesn't mean you committed a crime. The media has really done a number on this case. Grave robbing is a nice little cutaway on a crime show, however, these guys were not involved.

 

[Betty P]

It's a good buzz phrase - "People remember the truth" - but it's not so, memory is far too complex to assure of that.

Yes, but people will remember if someone asked them to tell a lie to LE. They will remember that, as it would probably continue to nag their conscience.

 

[beebosox]

Yes, but people will remember if someone asked them to tell a lie to LE. They will remember that, as it would probably continue to nag their conscience.

They might.

 

[asyousay]

Assumptions can get you in trouble.

Look at the timeline of their dating history and their friendship. Bartt also said Dusty was around Suzie in April 1992 (post dating)

The "grave robber" thing wasn't at the forefront of the media on day 3 or so when that was published. And I'm sure Dusty and John and Janelle and Mike and many others were around the crime scene. It was a big deal. Hell, my family went and checked it out I believe a few times. That whole block was a circus during the first two or three weeks.

Just because you're friends with people who were friends with the victims, doesn't mean you committed a crime. The media has really done a number on this case. Grave robbing is a nice little cutaway on a crime show, however, these guys were not involved.

What kind of trouble?


So Mike did have connections with the Grave robbers?

As nobody has been arrested or been found guilty how can anybody know what happened that night?

 

[HmmWhoKnows]

Three people went missing and it has stayed a secret for 26 years.

Or has it? There might be a reason people close to this case aren't talking. They have children. They have a life. Why talk if it gets you killed?

Consider this Wright statement:
The abduction leader probably was an acquaintance "who may have known their comings and goings," he said.
Secondary players may fear going to police because they think the primary culprit would retaliate, he said.
But anyone withholding information probably is feeling strong anxiety, he added.
"If you think you don't feel good about it now, don't think it's going to get any better. Don't think it's going to go away," Wright said.

^^The bolded above is why I think no one says anything. Retaliation from the perps.

 

[HmmWhoKnows]

What kind of trouble?
So Mike did have connections with the Grave robbers?

The connections are weak. The girls went to school with 1200 other students. You can connect anyone to anyone in a town of 120k or so in 1992.

I can connect Mike Henson to anyone in Springfield if I really tried. It's the magnitude of the connections that are important. You can connect a lot of people to Dusty. Means little if you can't find meaning in it.

Classic correlation does not equal causation.

 

[Missouri Mule]

I will unquestionably get push-back on this but I will say IMO there are three viable suspects. NONE of the “usual suspects” were involved. Not the kids, not the grave robbers (actually crypt vandals) and not the “Grand Jury Three.”

It has long been rumored that the police were skimming off the drug stops along the I44 corridor. Drugs were, I understand it, at least some of them, were stored in the property room and some cops could have been skimming and reselling for extra money as they were not well paid and allowed to work off duty jobs to supplement their police pay. That is a rumor and I got the clear impression from Garrison when he called me at home was that he was leaning in that direction. He also told me something else interesting. He didn’t know who the biker who threatened his attorney. Garrison is, I believe, a full “patched” Galloping Goose member. It was always my impression that it was a warning to Garrison to clam up. If Garrison is to be believed, that is not true. The meaning of the “message” is unclear but it seems evident that the defense attorney’s enthusiasm declined after that encounter.

Garrison was bailed out of the secure county jail and taken to a hotel for questioning. The bond was insignificant. Nothing came of that and Garrison told me that he was left alone and he simply walked out of an unlocked door and went on to rape that college student. In our brief conversation he owned up to that crime and with good behavior should be out in a relatively short time as his sentences run concurrently. I did not find him threatening and would invite him into my home to discuss the case if he wanted to meet. I just think he wants his freedom. He also said the other two of the GJ3 played no part in this crime and I believe him. It really doesn’t make a lot of sense. All three had a long rap sheet and they were easy targets for the prosecuting attorney as they were on the street at the time of the sbductions.

Having said all this, I personally believe the best suspects would be bad cops, Robert Cox, or my best take, someone who scoped out the girls at one of the graduating parties and simply followed them home.

 

[asyousay]

The connections are weak. The girls went to school with 1200 other students. You can connect anyone to anyone in a town of 120k or so in 1992.

I can connect Mike Henson to anyone in Springfield if I really tried. It's the magnitude of the connections that are important. You can connect a lot of people to Dusty. Means little if you can't find meaning in it.

Classic correlation does not equal causation.

But did these other school friends of Suzies let themselves into a crime scene and contaminate it?

Mike and Janelle walked into a house they had never been into before and walked around it and answered and did god knows what else and that’s suspicious and Janelle couldn’t even keep track of where they had got the broom to sweep up the glass.

Anyone else pickup on her statement in the recent KC Star article? She has stated before that Mike went INTO the house to retrieve the broom and dustpan. She told the same version to the "Disappeared" producers (it's not in the show.) She told Laura Bauer in the KC Star article that they got the broom from UNDER THE CARPORT

So why did she not remember something so simple?

 

[MooseMeMuch]

Yes, but people will remember if someone asked them to tell a lie to LE. They will remember that, as it would probably continue to nag their conscience.

Amen!

 

[HmmWhoKnows]

Lots of odd behavior from Janelle. I admit.

Extremely odd behavior from Mike Clay and Dusty Recla.

Does not mean they committed a triple abduction/murder. Someone with the power to keep people quiet did this. Janelle has no pull. Grave robbers have no pull.

Who has pull?

Too much attention is placed on the facts that the media has given you. You need to be interviewing people close to the crime. Interview all of Sherrill's coworkers--I believe most are known, you can even find her old salon's ads in Newsleader archives. You can use many background check sites to find information on her neighbors and even credit history.

This was a highly orchestrated crime. 18-21 year olds didn't triple abduct and murder and keep people quiet. Sorry, just not buying that for a second.

 

[MooseMeMuch]

Weak connections except for........a few classmates who were 'close friends'.