PA Who killed Christine Guenther? Peter's Twp., Oct 26, 1981

[ALAD]

I’ve posted before/ my family was very close to the Guenther family- so much so that my father was at the morgue with her father to identify her body. According to my parents the teacher who was married to Dourlain went to police in more than one occasion to say he killed Chris but then would recant her story - not sure if she was afraid of him or if she was not telling the truth.

 

[PGHJW]

This week marks 44 years since Christine's abduction. In the past year I've had many people reach out in an old Reddit thread that I either started or commented in regarding the case. A few absolutely want to defend Dourlain.

 

[pinballwizard1919]

I find it very strange that she went missing after Michele Reidenbach. Just over a month apart (September 22 to October 26), both in fall 1981.

Victims: Teenage girls, white, from stable suburban families, no signs of risk-taking behavior.

Circumstances: Both disappeared in broad daylight during routine activities (quick errand vs. bus ride to an appointment) in semi-rural/suburban spots near major roads (South Main Street in Zelienople; Route 19 in Peters Township).
Broader Context: 1981 saw a cluster of similar abductions/murders in the Pittsburgh area. For instance, Vicki Lynn Sinz (16) vanished from Butler County on July 25, 1981.

I know Peters and Zelienople are about an hour's drive apart. Just wondering if there could be any sort of link.

 

[PGHJW]

I think it's more a sign that there were a lot of creeps running around. Dourlain doesn't strike me as the type to leave his familiar area.

 

[jm_research]

I was not aware that there were other people looking at Robert Dourlain when I started my research on him years ago. But, yes, I believe he is one of the strongest suspects in the murder of Christine Guenther. Why do I believe that?

• At least two law enforcement officials close to the case acknowledged he was a suspect to members of the community.
• He was a violent sex offender living within blocks of Christine's high school as well as the bus stop where she disappeared. He had a history of kidnapping, attempted kidnapping and assault of young women.
• Her body was found on or near property where he grew up and where members of his family had lived for decades.

There is more about Dourlain's life and criminal history, especially when physically mapped, that uncovers a lot. Including other people close to him who had disappeared mysteriously. His own mother. A cousin's daughter.

All of the research that I've done on his life and history of crime is here in this Google Drive (Robert Dourlain files). Previously, I tried to contact LEO who were still living during this case but was unsuccessful and I have not been back to McMurray or Pittsburgh in decades.

I would like to hope that we can solve this mystery and get closure for Christine. I would also like to find out what happened to Margaret Straka Dourlain and his young cousin, Gloria Jean Dourlain, who I've not been able to find (and hope that they lived long and happy lives, and for some reason are just untraceable.)

For his criminal history, you can start here in the files.

#JusticeForChristineGuenther

 

[ALAD]

I was not aware that there were other people looking at Robert Dourlain when I started my research on him years ago. But, yes, I believe he is one of the strongest suspects in the murder of Christine Guenther. Why do I believe that?

• At least two law enforcement officials close to the case acknowledged he was a suspect to members of the community.
• He was a violent sex offender living within blocks of Christine's high school as well as the bus stop where she disappeared. He had a history of kidnapping, attempted kidnapping and assault of young women.
• Her body was found on or near property where he grew up and where members of his family had lived for decades.

There is more about Dourlain's life and criminal history, especially when physically mapped, that uncovers a lot. Including other people close to him who had disappeared mysteriously. His own mother. A cousin's daughter.

All of the research that I've done on his life and history of crime is here in this Google Drive (Robert Dourlain files). Previously, I tried to contact LEO who were still living during this case but was unsuccessful and I have not been back to McMurray or Pittsburgh in decades.

I would like to hope that we can solve this mystery and get closure for Christine. I would also like to find out what happened to Margaret Straka Dourlain and his young cousin, Gloria Jean Dourlain, who I've not been able to find (and hope that they lived long and happy lives, and for some reason are just untraceable.)

For his criminal history, you can start here in the files.

#JusticeForChristineGuenther

A few months ago I was in touch with someone who thought maybe the hunter that found Christine was involved. A lot of what he said made sense to me. I reached out to the officer now handling Chris’s case and he said he is aware of the hunter and that he recently questioned him in another disappearance. He also said he went to talk to Dourlain on his death bed and he did not confess. I tried to encourage the person who told me about the hunter to talk to the officer but as far as I know he hasn’t yet. Chris’s
Mother and brother are still alive and I would love for them to have closure.

 

[jm_research]

Dourlain had dementia and it is pretty unlikely he could have confessed on his death bed.

Personally, I believe that there are too many coincidences in the arc of Dourlain's life, including similarities with his past crimes, and I agree with the two LEO's who believe he did it (and who have now passed away from old age.)

My theory is that Bob was likely driving to work downtown at his VRC Catering job, saw Christine waiting in the rain, she knew him from either his daughter or wife, and he offered her a ride downtown. He would have driven from his house the half mile to that corner of Rt. 19 in order to get to his job north on Rt 19 to Pittsburgh. The catering crew he managed worked evenings for events. As Christine was unlikely to have taken a ride with a stranger, if he convinced her that she knew his daughter or wife...possible? That her body ended up in the middle of the area where he grew up and so many of his extended family lived adds to the "coincidences."

His modus operandi for the four assault and battery cases we know about (1958 through 1980) are all mostly the same. Young woman alone. He's in a car. He either tries to lure them into the car or leaves the car to force them into a car.

1958: young nurse who he hit on the back of the head with a wrench in Pittsburgh.
1964: young girl in a parking lot (assault and "intent to ravish"/rape) in Beaver Falls.
1971: Assault, kidnapping Shirley Cercone and taking her in her car.
1980: Attack on 23 yr old woman (King) in Mt Lebanon where he dragged her into the woods.

He also had cases for suspected arson and DUI; was questioned by the FBI for a murder in Illinois (while he was an escaped felon going by the name Robert Reeves and met his wife); was arrested for another battery case; etc. He should have been put away SO many times.

He owned a lot of properties. I gave up trying to find all of the deeds and land transfers, though I did find quite a few. One of them burnt down between Christine's death and the start of his trial for the King assault. And the van next to the house burned too. Was it an accident? Arson? Covering evidence? Who knows? I'd like to see the Fire Marshall report.

I wish, if his ex-wife or daughter know anything, that they would finally tell the police now that he is dead. So many of us who graduated from that high school in the early to mid-80's when this happened have never stopped thinking about it. I would love to give Christine's mother and brother closure too. It's way overdue.