NY NY - Sylvia Lwowski, 22, Staten Island, 6 Sept 1975 - #3

[Jmoose]

I don't recall any individual islands on Staten Island... you may be thinking of surrounding islands that are on the bay, such as Governor's Island, Ellis Island, Liberty Island...

I think the landfill is somewhat likely, as it is one place where tools may not have been necessary to conceal a body. A few larger pieces of garbage may have done the trick, and an odor may not be detected because that place always smelled awful... as much as I hate the thought...

This makes sense to me, especially in light of the recent death of a woman who was found by the smell of decomposition in one of the parks. I wonder, though, if it was easy to enter the landfill? I wouldn't think just anyone could get in there-maybe back in the 70's you could?

 

[alliemay]

http://whereaboutsstillunknown.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/ethel-atwell/

Two other women went missing in 1977, one was found in a shallow grave, Shin Lee. I could not find much on her except in this article with Ethel Atwell, missing from Willowbrook,(renamed Staten Island Development Center in 1974), she was never found.

 

[FrankD]

The Island Theater was located on Richmond Ave in between the SI Mall and the Kmart parking lot where the B/F reported she exited the vehicle! Across the street was the Fresh Kills Garbage Dump! You were able to see it and smell it!

 

[GoingByMyGut]

This makes sense to me, especially in light of the recent death of a woman who was found by the smell of decomposition in one of the parks. I wonder, though, if it was easy to enter the landfill? I wouldn't think just anyone could get in there-maybe back in the 70's you could?

BBM: From maps I've seen, I think it would have been super easy. You could access the dump from across from the theater, but it extended all the way to the western shore of the island, and it sprawled out to the north and south. It was huge, so would have been difficult to protect its boundaries. There were probably access points that were more isolated than others and times of day that made it easy not to be seen.

 

[GoingByMyGut]

http://whereaboutsstillunknown.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/ethel-atwell/

Two other women went missing in 1977, one was found in a shallow grave, Shin Lee. I could not find much on her except in this article with Ethel Atwell, missing from Willowbrook,(renamed Staten Island Development Center in 1974), she was never found.

BBM: When I was looking at this in thread one, I ran into the same roadblock, Skeet -- couldn't find anything on Shin Lee, except a small NY Times article I posted that I think mentioned her by name. Is that the article you mean? I'm not at my usual computer, but I can repost it tomorrow.

ETA:
UL1: Were other Rand victims found disposed of this way? I am not recalling at the moment. I wonder how likely it is that he would vary his disposal MO. Isn't the problem with Rand that the bodies most of his alleged victims were never found? IMO, that's an argument for Fresh Kills. Given all the searches of the woods around Willowbrook over the years, I find it likely that more bodies would have been found if his disposal MO was shallow graves in the woods. The issue of the tunnels does complicate things though. I suppose it's also possible that he could have used a single location, like a well or tunnel, that no one's uncovered yet.

 

[Jmoose]

BBM: When I was looking at this in thread one, I ran into the same roadblock, Skeet -- couldn't find anything on Shin Lee, except a small NY Times article I posted that I think mentioned her by name. Is that the article you mean? I'm not at my usual computer, but I can repost it tomorrow.

ETA:
UL1: Were other Rand victims found disposed of this way? I am not recalling at the moment. I wonder how likely it is that he would vary his disposal MO. Isn't the problem with Rand that the bodies most of his alleged victims were never found? IMO, that's an argument for Fresh Kills. Given all the searches of the woods around Willowbrook over the years, I find it likely that more bodies would have been found if his disposal MO was shallow graves in the woods. The issue of the tunnels does complicate things though. I suppose it's also possible that he could have used a single location, like a well or tunnel, that no one's uncovered yet.

They found Jennifer Schweiger buried in a shallow grave on the Willowbrook grounds, I believe; was Rand convicted of this little girl's murder or just suspected of it-and convicted in the death of another?

 

[Odyssey]

They found Jennifer Schweiger buried in a shallow grave on the Willowbrook grounds, I believe; was Rand convicted of this little girl's murder or just suspected of it-and convicted in the death of another?

I believe he was convicted of Jennifer Schweiger's murder and the kidnap of Holly Ann Hughes. Holly has not been found.

I don't know of anyone that went missing from SI during the 70's-mid 80's that wasn't blamed on Rand, except for Sylvia and Brenda Crowley. Brenda is believed to have been a runaway.

 

[FrankD]

Around that time period in the mid 70's I remember reading somewhere that Rand was working as a cab driver for Sam's cabs down at Port Richmond Ave and Richmond Terrace. He was able to look for vulnerable people while he worked!

 

[Odyssey]

Around that time period in the mid 70's I remember reading somewhere that Rand was working as a cab driver for Sam's cabs down at Port Richmond Ave and Richmond Terrace. He was able to look for vulnerable people while he worked!

From what I recall, we didn't know about Rand in the 70's... we knew there was a 'Bogeyman' and that someone was kidnapping children, but I don't think Rand was connected to any of it until Jennifer Schweiger.

I could be mistaken, I was just a kid then but I'm pretty sure that when I left Staten Island in 84, they still had no idea who was responsible... although they did feel the cases were connected.

 

[GoingByMyGut]

They found Jennifer Schweiger buried in a shallow grave on the Willowbrook grounds, I believe; was Rand convicted of this little girl's murder or just suspected of it-and convicted in the death of another?

BBM: He was only convicted of kidnapping Jennifer; the jury was hung on murder. According to this website, he would have been eligible for parole for Jennifer's kidnapping on 7/2012. However, he was later also convicted of kidnapping Holly Ann Hughes, even though they never found Holly's body. That tacked a second consectutive 25-years-to-life sentence onto the time he's serving.

I just went back and reread the (really long) post I wrote in Thread 1 based on what I read about Rand. It seems weird to me now that he is thought of as a serial killer (he even brags that he's like Ted Bundy) -- but the body of only one victim associated with him has ever been found and he only has the one murder conviction (ETA: Wait -- no "murder" convictions, technically -- though it seems highly unlikely that he "kidnapped" Jennifer but someone else killed her.)

It's the SI Advance article that I cite in Thread 1 in which he boasts about also liking lonely older women, not just children. It also says, "He is not eligible for parole until 2037, when he'll be 93 years old." The article makes it clear Rand likes to talk ... I hope someday he does.

 

[Jmoose]

Around that time period in the mid 70's I remember reading somewhere that Rand was working as a cab driver for Sam's cabs down at Port Richmond Ave and Richmond Terrace. He was able to look for vulnerable people while he worked!

Hmmm...where'd you find that; it's very interesting-I was trying to find out what he was doing at that time, too.

 

[GoingByMyGut]

From what I recall, we didn't know about Rand in the 70's... we knew there was a 'Bogeyman' and that someone was kidnapping children, but I don't think Rand was connected to any of it until Jennifer Schweiger.

I could be mistaken, I was just a kid then but I'm pretty sure that when I left Staten Island in 84, they still had no idea who was responsible... although they did feel the cases were connected.

BBM: The public may have been unaware of him, but according to this site, Rand was associated with the disappearance of Alice Pereira from South Beach, SI, in 1972. He'd already served time for attempted rape:
"His first brush with the law was on May 25, 1969, when he enticed a 9-year-old Bronx girl into his car and drove her to a vacant lot. He removed his clothes and hers, but a passing police car interrupted the crime. Charged with attempted rape, Rand pleaded guilty to sexual abuse and was sentenced to four years. He served 16 months." He was paroled in Jan. 1972.

 

[Jmoose]

BBM: He was only convicted of kidnapping Jennifer; the jury was hung on murder. According to this website, he would have been eligible for parole for Jennifer's kidnapping on 7/2012. However, he was later also convicted of kidnapping Holly Ann Hughes , even though they never found Holly's body. That tacked a second consectutive 25-years-to-life sentence onto the time he's serving.

I just went back and reread the (really long) post I wrote in Thread 1 based on what I read about Rand. It seems weird to me now that he is thought of as a serial killer (he even brags that he's like Ted Bundy) -- but the body of only one victim associated with him has ever been found and he only has the one murder conviction.

It's the SI Advance article that I cite in Thread 1 in which he boasts about also liking lonely older women, not just children. It also says, "He is not eligible for parole until 2037, when he'll be 93 years old." The article makes it clear Rand likes to talk ... I hope someday he does.

One of my cousins is a recently retired Lieutenant corrections officer from the penetentiary in Elmira, where Rand currently resides (I think)-I wish I'd known this when I saw him back in May, because I would have asked him about Rand. I guess he wouldn't have had anything interesting to say to a CO, though!

Revised by me-looks like Rand isn't at Elmira-

 

[GoingByMyGut]

Around that time period in the mid 70's I remember reading somewhere that Rand was working as a cab driver for Sam's cabs down at Port Richmond Ave and Richmond Terrace. He was able to look for vulnerable people while he worked!

Hi, Frank

It would be helpful if you could find the source for the cab driver bit. I've only seen him described as a house painter, sign painter, and physical therapist (his job at Willowbrook). If it's true, that would give him access to a helluva a lot of lonely women.

 

[GoingByMyGut]

BBM: When I was looking at this in thread one, I ran into the same roadblock, Skeet -- couldn't find anything on Shin Lee, except a small NY Times article I posted that I think mentioned her by name. Is that the article you mean? I'm not at my usual computer, but I can repost it tomorrow.

BBM: Quoting myself, with post TBM, to followup on the NY Times article, which I have attached. The article is dated July 16, 1979.

The lead is actually about a woman I haven't seen discussed anyplace else -- Helen Lever, a Willowbrook patient who went missing. I have no idea if she was ever found. But it also mentions Shin Lee, the woman found in a shallow grave, and Ethel Atwell, the woman whose body has never been found, IIRC. This article made me so sad when I first found it -- three missing or dead women wrapped up in as many column-inches. Surely they deserved more ...

 

[FrankD]

Hi, Frank

It would be helpful if you could find the source for the cab driver bit. I've only seen him described as a house painter, sign painter, and physical therapist (his job at Willowbrook). If it's true, that would give him access to a helluva a lot of lonely women.

I will check articles from the SI Advance, the cab company is long gone

 

[alliemay]

Hi, Frank

It would be helpful if you could find the source for the cab driver bit. I've only seen him described as a house painter, sign painter, and physical therapist (his job at Willowbrook). If it's true, that would give him access to a helluva a lot of lonely women.

It was in 1972 that he worked as a painter in the Tyson or Tyson's Lane Apartments. Rand's Aunt lived in the Port Richmond Apartment Building, but I'm not sure what year, and Rand lived at some point at 90 Vreeland Street which is close to Willowbrook. Sunnyside Nursing home, is also close. I wonder if that is where Sylvia read to the blind?

 

[rosemadderlake]

The history and geological aspects of Staten Island outlined in this nyc.gov document is interesting. The landfill garbage traffic looks staggering, too. I am wondering could the general public and smaller businesses; construction and landscape companies drive their garbage and refuse to the dump in 1975?

Fresh Kills: Landfill to Landscape
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/fkl/about_fkl.pdf

Pg.10
ROADS
Regional access to the landfill (from New Jersey and other New York City boroughs) is provided by the island's three limited access highways: the Staten Island Expressway ( I-278), the West Shore Expressway (Route 440) and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway (Rte. 440, Willowbrook Expressway). Important arterial roadways in the surrounding area include the Korean War Veteran's Memorial Highway (Richmond Parkway), Victory Boulevard, Arden Avenue, Arthur Kill Road and Richmond Avenue.

Fresh Kills Landfill is accessible from the West Shore Expressway at the Victory Boulevard exit, by way of the West Service Road. Vehicles can exit the landfill just south of the Victory Boulevard exit by the East Service Road (Glen Street). Muldoon Avenue also provides ingress and egress from the landfill by way of the southbound West Shore Expressway West Service Road just south of the Muldoon Avenue exit. (Although the West Shore Expressway bisects the site, allowing the public to pass "through" its landscape, it is not publicly accessible.)

 

[Jmoose]

The history and geological aspects of Staten Island outlined in this nyc.gov document is interesting. The landfill garbage traffic looks staggering, too. I am wondering could the general public and smaller businesses; construction and landscape companies drive their garbage and refuse to the dump in 1975?

Fresh Kills: Landfill to Landscape
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/fkl/about_fkl.pdf

Pg.10
ROADS
Regional access to the landfill (from New Jersey and other New York City boroughs) is provided by the island's three limited access highways: the Staten Island Expressway ( I-278), the West Shore Expressway (Route 440) and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway (Rte. 440, Willowbrook Expressway). Important arterial roadways in the surrounding area include the Korean War Veteran's Memorial Highway (Richmond Parkway), Victory Boulevard, Arden Avenue, Arthur Kill Road and Richmond Avenue.

Fresh Kills Landfill is accessible from the West Shore Expressway at the Victory Boulevard exit, by way of the West Service Road. Vehicles can exit the landfill just south of the Victory Boulevard exit by the East Service Road (Glen Street). Muldoon Avenue also provides ingress and egress from the landfill by way of the southbound West Shore Expressway West Service Road just south of the Muldoon Avenue exit. (Although the West Shore Expressway bisects the site, allowing the public to pass "through" its landscape, it is not publicly accessible.)

This is where I was going the other day-could a person easily get into a landfill-any landfill? I envision lots and lots of chainlink fencing, and limited access by way of gates at various places. I have been to Staten Island once at night, and it was a long time ago (early 80's)-do not remember the dump at all. Our detective friend did suggest the dump as a place where Sylvia could have ended up, considering the proximity to the shopping center on Richmond Ave. If that is the case, then she won't be found, and that bothers me more than anything. For me, it is mostly about finding Sylvia, and less about punishing someone, especially if it's Andre Rand.

 

[alliemay]

Wish I could find more on Rand's whereabouts in 75, in the meantime I continue to be surprised at much this man was able to get away with.

"In 1983, while working for a school bus company in Staten Island, he was charged with unlawful imprisonment for taking several elementary schoolchildren on an unauthorized outing to New Jersey, officials said. He was convicted and sentenced to 10 months in jail."