Mystery couple murdered in South Carolina, 1976 - #3

[Reannan]

I also agree that the Chilian theory is interesting, but somehow it just doesn't "feel" right to me. At this point, however, we can't rule it out because we don't know what happened - thus all theories are on the table. One of the questions that keeps going around and around in my weary brain, is why they are not on any missing persons list that we have been able to find? Jane Doe in particular had those two moles on her left cheek, which should have been a fairly easy characteristic to cause a missing person with those same features to have been identified by now. So what are the reasons that people would be missing yet never reported missing?? Here are some of the thoughts I have come up with:

1. Assumed accidental death - like mountain climbers that went on a climb and never returned, or sailors that went sailing and never returned. 2. The familiy just assumes they are still alive - seems far fetched, but anything is possible.
3. They were on a list at some point and were somehow deleted.

What else??? :waitasec:

 

[MaryLiz]

I too agree that the Chilean theory is an interesting one. Regarding the Quebec angle, it seems I have done most of my searching there. I've searched other places but mostly Quebec because of the possibility of Jock's name being French. I know I shouldn't limit myself, but I always seem to end up there, even if I start out looking somewhere else. That's the problem with this case, is that they look like they could have been from anywhere; Canada, Europe, South America, Cuba, Mexico, etc.

 

[phenolred]

More info from our neighbor to the north....

So, now I wonder if the SQ has been contacted also, or is that what you meant RMF?

Oh, and it would not be the RCMP that one would contact for that case. It would be the SQ (Sureté du Québec), which is our provincial police force. Kathy Reichs (the author) did alot of forensic work for them (don't know if she still do though.) The SQ is one of the best provincial/state bureau of investigation in North America. One of its officers created the most recent program to make 3D composite sketches.

The SQ and the Montreal Police would be the ones to contact. The only way the RCMP would be interested in this case is if it was found that the persons were from other provinces than Ontario or Quebec (the two most populous provinces have their own provincial forces.All the rest are under the RCMP).

 

[phenolred]

ok here goes multy post phenol again LOL


I truly think a local did it and the local police covered it up because they knew the person who did it. as in a friend or family because I cant imagine if I were stopped for drunk driving and I had a gun with the serial number filed off ( federal crime ) AND determined to be the gun used in a double homicide that they would just slap me on the wrist and say see ya later ....


also regarding the ring (Jocks ) I am wondering if it truly was a LINDY / LINDE ring from what I have found they were a division of Union Carbide at one time an American company. I think I read where it has been stated that the ring appeared to be of far eastern design.

Which leads me to believe it could be a NATURAL star sapphire alot of them are mined in the east.

I found out on Lindy rings they are imprinted on the back of the stone with an L so it should be easy to determine if it is a Lindy

here is a pic of the back of a Lindy stone showing what the mark would look like

 

[phenolred]

Most commonly you will see that synthetics jump out as way too perfect looking, ie: a perfect star, a super clean stone, and great color. If you own one and aren't sure if it's genuine... Here's a few quick ways you might be able to tell the difference... First thing to look at is the bottom, if there is an "L" stamped in the stone, it's a Lindy Star and synthetic... if it does not have an "L" it passes that test, now look for imperfections within the stone, and/or unevenness on the bottom, and/or stripes or lines of color that shows through the top... most naturals have one or more of these natural imperfections... then look at the star itself, using a flashlight... most natural stars do not have a "perfect" star, whereas the natural will most likely have 1 or more of the 6 legs not exactly the same length, or maybe not all 6 are perfectly straight... now move the flashlight around in a circle, the star should travel around and follow the light source... if the star stays stationary it is definitely synthetic.

more at this link

http://reviews.ebay.ca/HOW-TO-SPOT-A-FAKE-BLUE-STAR-SAPPHIRE_W0QQugidZ10000000006988238

MORE INFO ABOUT IT HERE

http://jcrs.com/newsletters/2004/2004_11.htm

I FOUND THESE 2 RINGS THAT LOOK ALOT LIKE THE ONE JOCK WAS WEARING

http://www.rubylane.com/ni/shops/emilysattictreasures/ilist?ss=star+sapphire&samedb=1&previd=0&sb=1

 

[s_finch]

ok here goes multy post phenol again LOL


I truly think a local did it and the local police covered it up because they knew the person who did it. as in a friend or family because I cant imagine if I were stopped for drunk driving and I had a gun with the serial number filed off ( federal crime ) AND determined to be the gun used in a double homicide that they would just slap me on the wrist and say see ya later ....

I'd like to know more about what LE pursued in this case with regards to the local. Has LE ever released records of any kinds? But being a SC gal, I can attest to the fact that the "good ol' boy" system is still alive and well here in the south. The local probably had a gazillion relatives and one of them had the power to pull strings. Also, we have plenty of LE here in SC involved in crooked activities, especially drugs, and I personally think these murders were somehow drug related because the couple wasn't from the south (we women shave our legs and wear underwear) and no one has ever been able to identify them. In SC towns, outsiders are noticed pretty quickly by someone and not one person in the area remembers ever seeing them---therefore they weren't staying in or hanging around Sumter, they were traveling through. I-95 is a MAJOR drug traffic route and they were found just off I-95. Either they stopped to deliver some drugs and something went wrong or they stopped to ask directions or picked up a hitchhiker and ended up being shot.

I would like to see justice served but my life experiences have taught me 1) don't get caught up in illegal activites because it can often shorten your life span and 2) this is a crazy, dangerous world and you can't be too careful 3) Life isn't fair and 4) justice isn't served nearly often enough

 

[phenolred]

Yeah it does seem like they would have stood out to the locals. Its seems kind of weird no one besides the KOA campground managers husband came forward to say that they saw them around. He is the only one to have ever said he saw them before they were killed. I mean if he remembers them then his wife must surely have remembered them too!!!! She WAS the campground manager. It would have had to have been her or some other employee that would have had to of registered them into the campground. But with them being locals and these 2 ending up dead maybe they were just afraid to come forward fearing they would be killed too.

 

[phenolred]

I'd like to know more about what LE pursued in this case with regards to the local. Has LE ever released records of any kinds? But being a SC gal, I can attest to the fact that the "good ol' boy" system is still alive and well here in the south. The local probably had a gazillion relatives and one of them had the power to pull strings. Also, we have plenty of LE here in SC involved in crooked activities, especially drugs, and I personally think these murders were somehow drug related because the couple wasn't from the south (we women shave our legs and wear underwear) and no one has ever been able to identify them. In SC towns, outsiders are noticed pretty quickly by someone and not one person in the area remembers ever seeing them---therefore they weren't staying in or hanging around Sumter, they were traveling through. I-95 is a MAJOR drug traffic route and they were found just off I-95. Either they stopped to deliver some drugs and something went wrong or they stopped to ask directions or picked up a hitchhiker and ended up being shot.

I would like to see justice served but my life experiences have taught me 1) don't get caught up in illegal activites because it can often shorten your life span and 2) this is a crazy, dangerous world and you can't be too careful 3) Life isn't fair and 4) justice isn't served nearly often enough

The only thing I could find about who investigated the crime is this
SC Sheriffs office and Sc LED

By 6:20 a.m., officers with the Sumter County Sheriff's Office were probing what would become their most vexing mystery.
The Canadian connection comes from a four-page report found in the evidence box, written a year after the murders by Lieutenant James E. Gamble of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division


and as someone had mentioned before it is interesting that the calibre of the gun has changed based on different newspaper articles.
here it is listed as a .357 in other articles it says it was a .38 so????

Perhaps the best chance for solving the mystery came four months after the murder when a South Carolina man was arrested for drinking and driving. Under his car seat police found a .357-calibre handgun. Tests linked it to the slayings. The man with the gun, Lonnie George Henry,
point-blank shot with a .357-calibre handgun under each chin.

 

[phenolred]

Ok I wanted to post the actual line from one of the papers about the gun

About four months after the murders, police in the Darlington County town of Latta arrested Lonnie George Henry for drunk driving. Under the seat of his car they found a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson with the serial number filed off.
Police sent the gun to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division's forensic lab for tests and later concluded that Henry's revolver had killed the mystery couple. Bullets taken from the bodies matched with the weapon.
This article even states it was a smith & wesson

Maybe there are discrepencies in the police report...

 

[phenolred]

awhile back I posted about Danny Dewey being identified recently from his fingerprints he was found murdered in 1976 the print matching system of that time wasnt like it is today. But this year they re-ran his prints and got a match from a MISDEMENOR arrest for not wearing a motorcycle helmet.

I was looking at another case today and found another one that was recently identified the same way

here is a clip from that case

When Nissen was found in 1978, the technology at the time wasn't good enough to identify her. But in January 2006, investigators plugged in a fingerprint search in the updated FBI software, and got a 100% positive ID by fingerprint analysis to the young woman from California.

So I just wonder when the last time their prints were ran, I wonder if they were ran in the 70's or have they been ran recently

 

[youshouldveknown]

(we women shave our legs and wear underwear)

Hey hey, speak for yourself. My legs are pretty fuzzy right now (I'm about to wax) and I don't always wear panties.

With that said, I do agree with the good ol' boys system that governs South Carolina. I live more toward the city than Sumpter is, but it's still pretty crooked.

 

[youshouldveknown]

So I just wonder when the last time their prints were ran, I wonder if they were ran in the 70's or have they been ran recently

I'd like to know that as well.

One other question I have is where did Henry get the gun? I know I've read that HE was the one who filed the number off of the gun for whatever reason... If anyone knows off the top of your head, can you refresh my memory as to why, and where he bought the gun?

 

[shadowangel]

After lying about where he got the gun several times, the serial number was traced back to LGH's brother. The brother stated he gave the gun to LGH as a Christmas present, but the serial number was untouched when he gave the gun away.

 

[bluestarzz]

i do think we have the "good ole boy" network here......the dude has the gun and nothing happens????

another angle, i mentioned to this to someone else, he was talking about how both were so skinny...well fed healthy, but skinny...........drugs???
it could be... nothing been mentioned about them being tested?

also? all this on the kao campground? how many hotels were examined on possions and vehicles, and no check outs in the area? i would love to read the investiongation files....how thorough were they????
vehicles towed? in the area never claimed?
bluestarzz

 

[MaryLiz]

i do think we have the "good ole boy" network here......the dude has the gun and nothing happens????

another angle, i mentioned to this to someone else, he was talking about how both were so skinny...well fed healthy, but skinny...........drugs???
it could be... nothing been mentioned about them being tested?

also? all this on the kao campground? how many hotels were examined on possions and vehicles, and no check outs in the area? i would love to read the investiongation files....how thorough were they????
vehicles towed? in the area never claimed?
bluestarzz

The only thing mentioned about drugs was that they didn't have any "drugs or alcohol on them." And the only thing the autopsy mentioned was that they had eaten "fruit or ice cream with fruit" shortly before they died. I just assumed that they didn't find drugs in their system or it would have been mentioned in the autopsy report.

I got those statements in quotes above from the Crime Library story.

Maybe they were involved in running drugs but didn't take drugs themselves??

 

[bluestarzz]

good point mary beth, i had forgotten the autopsy results. but could have been "running" them.
i am grasping at straws......senseless murders.... like our oklahoma angles.... go figure.
bluestarzz

 

[Bud]

Hey hey, speak for yourself. My legs are pretty fuzzy right now (I'm about to wax) and I don't always wear panties.

Prove it!

But, remember to watermark the photo... :clap:

:crazy:

 

[youshouldveknown]

After lying about where he got the gun several times, the serial number was traced back to LGH's brother. The brother stated he gave the gun to LGH as a Christmas present, but the serial number was untouched when he gave the gun away.

Okay, and I wonder where his brother bought the gun...

 

[youshouldveknown]

Prove it!

But, remember to watermark the photo... :clap:

:crazy:

I'm a southern lady. I don't prove anything.

 

[phenolred]

This was posted on Greatful dead fan Jason Doe....By Marylandmissing, I wanted to quote them but I cant since its in a different thread....

so I just pasted it here because I think they make some EXCELLENT POINTS
and SO MANY of these points could APPLY to the SC couple


Originally Posted by marylandmissing
For awhile I was doing a little research on the cases that were solved by the DoeNetwork and what went wrong. Did a little presentation on this once for law enforcement...What I've seen continually is this:

A. Number one reason is age estimations of the unknown are off. Police may be searching for someone 20-25 when the missing person is 35, and therefore they won't get a hit through NCIC on it.

B. Person isn't reported missing. We've had several at Doe who were never reported missing, but family came to the site for assistance. Various reasons - missing was in trouble with the law, family was estranged and not allowed 'legally' to report the person missing, prime suspect is the one who didn't report them missing, or they were ignorant on how to report a person missing or if the report was still active.

C. Missing was not from the US

D. Foster child who ran more than several states over.

E. AFIS and DNA didn't exist. Florida and other states have cleared up a dozen or so UNID cases by rerunning fingerprints (many didn't have access to national fingerprint databases years ago).

F. Drifters who were reported missing in another state.

G. No one knows exactly when the person went missing, and therefore an estimated date is put into the system. We've seen several cases on Doe where the missing date was July, body found prior, and it matched up.

H. Person disappeared prior to 1985 and the missing person report wasn't in the system anymore.