TX TX - Julie Moseley, 9, Mary Trlica, 17, Lisa Wilson, 14, Fort Worth, 23 Dec 1974 - #2

[Deleted member 165916]

So did TT file for divorce from Rachel Arnold Trlica before she went missing, during the brief period between when they got married in June 1974 until she disappeared in December 2014?
That would be strange as they were only married 6 months and they were still living together, also with Rachel's older sister Debra. The more I understand about this case, the more my attention moves away from the Debardelebens and Welches of the world, and the focus comes back to somebody the girls knew.

1) within 3 months of her disappearance, TT packed her belongings and put them in storage.
2) within 6 months he moved from the house he owned free and clear (though he could not sell it until he was 30) two hours to the west to like in a shack. And closed his business.
3) Summer of '76 he filed for divorce (from Rachel.) Never finalized.
4) Married #3 Dec. 15, 1976.Divorced 18 mo. later (no children.)

 

[Thewop356]

I am gonna have to agree with you Zensiert. I have been following this thread for a while now too, due to the facts that made Debardeleben a viable suspect in this case because he is a viable suspect in a case from Delaware (Tina Faye Kemp) that I have been researching extensively for several years now. The more I am hearing about TT and the speculation involving his handling of Rachael's disappearance, I am certainly moving away from Debardeleben. I don't really consider Welch a viable suspect in this disappearance because he would have been really young, but his family is really shady. I am gonna keep my eyes and ears open about more info regarding TT or someone the girls knew personally.

 

[Thewop356]

Sorry made a mistake in the above post...Welch was certainly old enough as the Lyon sisters he is accused of abducting was only a few months after these girls were reported missing and he did have ties to Fort Worth area during the time frame...allegedly. However I am still starting to lean towards someone they knew was either directly or indirectly involved... All this is just my humble opinion though

 

[dvo]

1) within 3 months of her disappearance, TT packed her belongings and put them in storage.
2) within 6 months he moved from the house he owned free and clear (though he could not sell it until he was 30) two hours to the west to like in a shack. And closed his business.
3) Summer of '76 he filed for divorce (from Rachel.) Never finalized.
4) Married #3 Dec. 15, 1976.Divorced 18 mo. later (no children.)

I really want to thank you, FW_Cat, for becoming involved with this thread and addressing so many previously unanswered questions. It is SO appreciated. For what it's worth, as previously mentioned, I've searched so hard for information on this case and been unbelievably disappointed by the limited facts and sources and how everything seems to kind of wind up at a dead end or just petering off, and it's baffled me that there weren't more people speaking out more loudly about making this right. No disrespect to those who have or those who did once but have gone silent for various reasons - you have to move on with life, and I understand there are are myriad of reasons why someone personally involved might not be on Websleuths. I'm cautious as I'm typing this that I'm saying something that isn't really my place to say, but hopefully no one takes it that way. Really, just, I have so much respect for the fact that you've identified that something is blatantly wrong here and that you really care about getting the truth out there.

My latest question, if you could offer some thoughts: how close do you think LE might be to solving this case, or at least to information being published about a break in it? Months, even more years, ever? Are there even sufficient official resources still being allocated to this case for it to ever come to a conclusion?

Thank you again for joining us!!

 

[Deleted member 165916]

I really want to thank you, FW_Cat, for becoming involved with this thread and addressing so many previously unanswered questions. It is SO appreciated. For what it's worth, as previously mentioned, I've searched so hard for information on this case and been unbelievably disappointed by the limited facts and sources and how everything seems to kind of wind up at a dead end or just petering off, and it's baffled me that there weren't more people speaking out more loudly about making this right. No disrespect to those who have or those who did once but have gone silent for various reasons - you have to move on with life, and I understand there are are myriad of reasons why someone personally involved might not be on Websleuths. I'm cautious as I'm typing this that I'm saying something that isn't really my place to say, but hopefully no one takes it that way. Really, just, I have so much respect for the fact that you've identified that something is blatantly wrong here and that you really care about getting the truth out there.

My latest question, if you could offer some thoughts: how close do you think LE might be to solving this case, or at least to information being published about a break in it? Months, even more years, ever? Are there even sufficient official resources still being allocated to this case for it to ever come to a conclusion?

Thank you again for joining us!!

You're welcome...this IS about righting a wrong. I believe everything needed to solve this is in the hands of LE. IMO it has been there all along. To answer your question...weeks, a few months at the most. Yes; agencies are working together and the resources are allocated. It is a complex operation requiring a number of experts from different fields coming together. It is a huge coordination effort. Additionally; conditions for a thorough and successful (physical) search are beyond control. Meanwhile, the team is gathering information, exploring the records, preparing, and waiting for the best opportunity to present itself.

 

[Deleted member 165916]

Bumping this for them. First post on this thread in 2016. As of last week, Rachel's brother Rusty has raised over $600. He still has a long way to go to get to $20,000 so I hope more people can help.

There is no need to raise private funds. Everyone involved has known this for months. LE will investigate. It is coming together. In fact, if anyone attempts to investigate "privately" he will go to jail. No professional will go near this for any amount of money. On the positive side - no one can. Don't send money to anyone.

 

[Deleted member 165916]

1) within 3 months of her disappearance, TT packed her belongings and put them in storage.
2) within 6 months he moved from the house he owned free and clear (though he could not sell it until he was 30) two hours to the west to like in a shack. And closed his business.
3) Summer of '76 he filed for divorce (from Rachel.) Never finalized.
4) Married #3 Dec. 15, 1976.Divorced 18 mo. later (no children.)

One more thing about that:
5) Married #4 Aug. 3, 1978. There is no record of divorce.

TT has been with current/common-law wife since 1981. A few facts about Texas law: You must file for divorce in the same county where the marriage occurred. From the date a divorce is filed, the minimum time period to finalize is 30 days. The minimum time interval to re-marry is 30 days after that. It is uncanny (beyond coincidence) what can be observed by this history of relationships.

 

[Thewop356]

The news that LE is only weeks or months away is really good to hear...thanks for providing it FWCat. I will most certainly be looking for further news in the near futurr

 

[dvo]

You're welcome...this IS about righting a wrong. I believe everything needed to solve this is in the hands of LE. IMO it has been there all along. To answer your question...weeks, a few months at the most. Yes; agencies are working together and the resources are allocated. It is a complex operation requiring a number of experts from different fields coming together. It is a huge coordination effort. Additionally; conditions for a thorough and successful (physical) search are beyond control. Meanwhile, the team is gathering information, exploring the records, preparing, and waiting for the best opportunity to present itself.

This is great news!

 

[Deleted member 165916]

This is great news!

Cautiously optimistic...people deserve answers.

 

[Deleted member 165916]

The news that LE is only weeks or months away is really good to hear...thanks for providing it FWCat. I will most certainly be looking for further news in the near futurr

We will all find out together, or be disappointed again. If you compare this case to the unsolved murder of Carla Walker (unrelated Fort Worth mystery) you might throw up your hands. That case has a body, a crime-scene, an eye witness that survived, and after all these years - DNA. What it does not have is a suspect. I would not trade places or cases. I'll take the "Who" and reverse-engineer the crime, any day. The dots are there. Just squish them together.

 

[Schipperke]

"http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/crime/article24568339.html
"I believe the girls went with someone they knew for a Coke or burger," Moseley said. "Then something went wrong."
No answers
Dozens of people have been interviewed by police, and the families hired a private investigator. He committed suicide in 1979. Another private investigator has helped the families, but no leads were found.
In January 2001, Fort Worth police officially reopened the investigation, and homicide Detective Tom Boetcher was assigned to the case.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/crime/article24568339.html#storylink=cpy"


Does anyone have information on the name of the private detective or any details on his death or what he may have found?

Is this detective still working on the case or has it been reassigned?

 

[Deleted member 165916]

Jon Swaim. Accidental overdose. Going through a bad divorce via poor choices in lifestyle. Turned EMT's away, then found dead the next day. All of his files were destroyed on instruction of his will. He was a good public advocate for the families, but he turned up nothing on his own. P.I. # 2 damaged the case and turned family members against one another.
Detective Boetcher is retired. The case was never closed. In 2000, FWPD established a "Cold Case" unit with a federal grant. Too bad P.I.#2 actively contaminated the process. The money for that "program" ran out, but I believe the answers are in the case file. The case has a detective on it I have confidence in. Leaving to read this link. Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 165916]

hmmm....generally correct account of events, a few details and assumptions vary from facts...

 

[scriptgirl]

What happened with Carla Walker?

 

[glockstr]

In fact, if anyone attempts to investigate "privately" he will go to jail. No professional will go near this for any amount of money. On the positive side - no one can. Don't send money to anyone.

Just curious, why would someone go to jail for privately investigating this incident and under what law?

 

[scriptgirl]

Yeah, I'm curious as well.

 

[Deleted member 165916]

We will all find out together, or be disappointed again. If you compare this case to the unsolved murder of Carla Walker (unrelated Fort Worth mystery) you might throw up your hands. That case has a body, a crime-scene, an eye witness that survived, and after all these years - DNA. What it does not have is a suspect. I would not trade places or cases. I'll take the "Who" and reverse-engineer the crime, any day. The dots are there. Just squish them together.

What happened with Carla Walker?

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"...17 yr old Carla Walker was out on Feb. 17, 1974 with her boyfriend. They'd stopped to use the bathrooms at the bowling alley a few miles from her house. When they came outside the bowling alley and sat in the car, a man yanked open the door and yanked Carla out of the car. In the process he hit her boyfriend in the head with the gun. The boyfriend passed out, when he came to, Carla was gone. He got to her parents house as fast as he could and reported the crime.

Police searched for Carla but with no luck. Her body showed up in a culvert three days later on Feb. 20, 1974. During the autopsy, it was discovered that Carla had been drugged. She'd been raped, then strangled and dumped in the culvert. There would be a total of six disappearances [sic] both before and a year or so after Carla's murder." quote from AP [boilerplate nutshell version]

Only 3 were actual disappearances. Carla's murder remains unsolved.

https://www.fortworthpd.com/get-involved/1970-to-1979.aspx

 

[Schipperke]

Please share the link to current file.

 

[miamaia]

I have read through both threads but must have missed this - what did Rachel's family think of this photo? When I first opened it, I was immediately struck by the resemblance to Rachel.

After reading both threads, there are a few theories that resonate with me:

1) The girls did cross paths with Debardelen, masquerading as an officer or a radio person (microphone man), and he lured them away somehow. He was intelligent and experienced, and could have planned the whole thing down to a 'runaway' letter (with his victims being chosen randomly that day). It seems awfully coincidental that he lived just a few miles away, and had recently lost both his wife and mother (and already had serious issues as we know).

2) The girls were lured away and subdued by the security guard who claims to have seen them at 11:30 PM that night. Regardless of the time frame being right for him getting off of work, it seems impossible to me that a perp would keep three living hostages stored away for that many hours, and then drive out with them in the front seat. I do not believe that he saw them at that time, unless he himself was driving away with them. I was a nine year old girl once and, even though times are different, I would have been panicked at the thought of barely missing my curfew, as I'm sure Julie would have been. I have also been a fourteen year old girl, and at that age my only concern was BOYS. There is no doubt in my mind that Renee would have been itching to get back to her boyfriend, even giggly and daydreaming about him while shopping - still high on the promise ring. Even if they had been tricked by a shoplifting threat, etc., the younger two would have been frantic as the hours began to roll by, even if Rachel was able to keep her cool. There have been several cases where a 'witness' to a crime turns out to be the perpetrator looking for attention, and that doesn't seem unlikely in this situation. Also, as mentioned earlier, a security guard would be able to mail the letter that night from the mall without arousing suspicion.

3) My last theory feels like the most obvious one, and I would like to know more about the relationship between Tommy and Rachel. As a seventeen year old I fell fast and hard for someone and we moved in together quickly. In the beginning, we were as passionate as we were volatile. Hot, heavy feelings ran deep in every direction. We ended up growing up together and working it out, but I have to wonder - could something in this relationship have exploded that day? And if it did, did it happen in front of Renee and Julie, so they had to be 'done away with' as well? As for the letter, my theories on the author depend on the relationship between Tommy and Rachel, and Tommy and Debra. It is certainly disconcerting that the letter and envelope were written in two different scripts, and that the envelope wasn't produced (manufactured?) until law enforcement requested it upon viewing the letter.

Purely speculation, but I didn't spend two days reading these threads to not comment.