VA VA - Michael, 50, Mary, 36, & Jennifer Short, 9, Bassett, 15 Aug 2002

[JohnTate90210]

An aerial photo from 2006 of the bridge area. Bridge circled in red. Look around and you'll see several houses. Were they visible at night?

 

[JohnTate90210]

At the body disposal site, as I mentioned earlier, there were two driveways. One was of the family that found the remains. The other was directly across the road. It did lead to a house based on old aerial photos, but from Grogan Road it may not have been obvious and might have looked like a good site to attack somebody. The driveway is 220 feet from the center of the bridge. Here it is in 2007:

 

[kelsie]

Who Killed Jennifer Short? A FOX8 Digital Exclusive | WGHP FOX8

 

[JohnTate90210]

Here's a bit of good news:

FBI reopening case into murders of Virginia family of three

 

[PrairieWind]

Here's a bit of good news:

FBI reopening case into murders of Virginia family of three

Wow. I am happy to hear this. I really think this case is solvable.

 

[mks762]

Just saw the news!!! How wonderful! I really hope something comes of this. I wonder how often the FBI re-opens cases?? I can't imagine it's very often unless they have good reason to

 

[aspyingmachine]

The presser this morning — the sheriff made mention they need witness accounts to put this together “to get a conviction”. This tells me the suspect they are looking closely at is still alive. He also mentioned maybe some type of SA was occurring to Jennifer and maybe she confided in a friend.
There’s some new information we obtained from this new presser.

 

[aspyingmachine]

Also feel like they are retesting DNA they recovered from the scene.

 

[Simply Southern]

Henry County Sheriff reopens Short family murder investigation

Henry County Sheriff Lane Perry hosted a news conference Thursday morning on the reopening of the Short family murder case. Watch it here:

Perry says he has assembled a multi-agency task force to review the murders of Michael, Mary and Jennifer Short in 2002.

 

[DoubleN1993]

Let finger cross on this , but I’m not going to hold my breath on it

 

[Sunny Day]

Here's a bit of good news:

FBI reopening case into murders of Virginia family of three

That is great news! I really hope they work with CeCe Moore, the genetic genealogist. She has been instrumental in solving some high profile cold cases. I really think this case can be solved.

 

[JohnTate90210]

Investigators relaunch task force to help solve Short family murders: ‘We feel we’re close’ | WGHP FOX8

Search warrants show at least 138 pieces of evidence were taken from the house including shell casings from near the bodies, a shotgun, rifle and ammunition, family business records and a 2002 yearbook from Jennifer's school.

They haven't retested for DNA in at least 3 to 5 years.

I'd long imagined the weapon was a revolver and there were no casings. If police took a rifle, I wonder if it was the same caliber as the casings. But then they also took a shotgun which would seem to have no connection.

Why take the yearbook? Was it laying out oddly? Had it been damaged such as pages removed?

The press conference talked of wanting to speak to Jennifer's classmates to see if she'd mentioned or confided anything. The sheriff spoke of the "atrocities" that possibly happened to her. I'd think any abuser that heard of the family's move may have feared losing control of her.

 

[JohnTate90210]

Another story says police took a .22 caliber shotgun. I'd never hear of such a weapon (not that I know much about guns), but there is such a thing. It apparently doubles as a rifle. So was the gun found at the scene actually the murder weapon? Was it Michael's or did the killer bring it with him? If it was Michael's then it seems the killer came unprepared. If it was the killer's then he was awfully careless to leave it behind. Or was it purely unrelated? Police found a shell casing at each body so the murder weapon wasn't just a revolver which wouldn't eject shells.

 

[Sunny Day]

The shell casings found near the body were from a .22 caliber gun. This is from an Aug. 15, 2002 Martinsville Bulletin story.

"Sixty-four items were removed, including two .22-caliber shell casings found near the Shorts' bodies...."

Short case timeline

 

[JohnTate90210]

One story says a rifle and a shotgun. Another says a .22 caliber shotgun. I gather these guns can also fire .22 bullets rather than just shotgun shells. There are apparently very small shotgun shells the size of a .22 mostly intended for shooting rats.

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/138854-22-caliber-shotgun/

Quote: When I looked closer, I saw where the barrel end actually screwed off. The main barrel is as smooth as a baby's bottom and was designed for shooting .22 shot shells. If you decided to shoot regular ammunition, the barrel extension was threaded giving the bullet one last chance for a little spin prior to leaving the barrel.

 

[JohnTate90210]

Either way, one story says a rifle and a shotgun were seized as evidence. Another says a .22 caliber shotgun and some of those can fire regular .22 bullets.

 

[Sunny Day]

Just my opinion but I think the killer came well prepared. He knew exactly where the phone lines were and was able to cut them in the dark. It also appears he knew exactly where everyone was sleeping, probably because he had previous scoped out the house. He was able to quietly enter and execute the parents without waking the other. After all, the house was up for sale and there had been several open houses. He probably showed up for the open house, walked through and was able to tell exactly which room was Jennifer's and which was the master bedroom. He may have been aware that on hot summer nights Michael would sleep in the garage. (the garage door was found open). He appears to be a meticulous planner. I think he may very well have been the person sitting in the truck that was observed by the witness.

 

[Sunny Day]

Either way, one story says a rifle and a shotgun were seized as evidence. Another says a .22 caliber shotgun and some of those can fire regular .22 bullets.

Can you provide the link that says they seized a .22 caliber shotgun?

 

[JohnTate90210]

Here's one:

Who Killed Jennifer Short? | WGHP FOX8

Quote: Search warrants show detectives took 66 items from the Shorts’ home including two .22 shell casings found near the bodies of Michael and Mary Short who were each shot once, a .22 caliber shotgun, a rifle and ammunition, and $600 and blank checks.

 

[JohnTate90210]

For what it's worth, I also think it was pre-planned. The phone line location was easily visible from the road. You can look at old Google Streetview images and see where it was. It would have been dark, obviously.