They were able to tentatively identify him by his voice after releasing audiotapes of his ransom demands. These cases stem from various situations, and circumstances, but all have one thing in common: people's loved ones have yet to be found. The source material for author Beth Lowrys 2016 true crime book Who Killed These Girls?, the yogurt shop murders continue to haunt the citizens of the Lone Star State. document.write ("'><\/scr"+"ipt>"); Bland left behind a suicide note of which the full contents have never been released. Kubiszyn, previously told AL.com McPhersons role in the disappearance has always been understated. //]]>-->, Copyright 2023, Cleveland Newspapers, Inc., operating as the Daily Mountain Eagle. Two days after the murder, the Tuscaloosa News confirmed that several people had been interviewed by investigators, which ultimately proved fruitless. "I was going to be at that house when she came walking up the driveway," she said. These three would be overpowered and shot dead by the gunmen. Investigators quickly learned on that awful morning that they had a terrible and inexplicable crime on their hands. On December 19, 1959, the entire Walker family was out running errands. Mitchell started a group called Concerned Citizens of Jasper Countyand made t-shirts with every murder victim whose family has not gotten justice. In the usually quiet Chicago suburb of Tinley Park, one Lane Bryant store became infamous for a senseless shooting rampage that occurred on February 2, 2008. They focused on his associates, and eventually turned their attention to Karen Lancaster McPherson, a wife, mother and truck driver from a close-knit, blue-collar Walker County family. Former Washington Post reporter Ron Kessler, in his book "The FBI: Inside the World's Most Powerful Law Enforcement Agency," called the case one of the agency's "biggest failures." A 3-D-enhanced version of this sketch was released in February 2018. You didn't want to hear it, but you appreciated it.". "The whole thing was poorly handled," Kubiszyn said. if (document.referrer) document.write ("&referer=" + escape(document.referrer)); Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Detectives theorized at the time that the killer or killers had run out of ammunition. In a strange coda to the story, one of the men arrested in 1999, Maurice Pierce, was shot and killed by police in December 2010, after stabbing Austin police officer Frank Wilson in the neck. Upon a close examination of the crime scene, police discovered that each victim had been struck in the head with some kind of blunt object. "Most of those people didn't know us at all," he said. 'Unsolved Mysteries' linked to Alabama Jones was also implicated in the deaths of Amanda Greenwell, 16, of Douglasville, Ga. and Katherine Collins, 45, a New Orleans sex worker. Montgomery man who disappeared is found murdered in an unused grain silo. All rights reserved (About Us). He had a demon inside, you know, that he liked to sexually abuse women, Burch says. Brynn Rainey, 27, vanished . Mr. He still responds to tips, and continues to fight against parole for McPherson, most recently in August. DALLAS COUNTY, AL (WSFA) - Jan. 21, 2015, Kirby Brown, all of 22 years old, was found lying on his back shot to death near his home in the Pine Glen Estates off Highway 80 near Selma. Instead, after Bland's voice was identified as the kidnapper making ransom demands, agents surrounded the house and waited to obtain a warrant. Amazon. They cared, and tried their very hardest. I think probably in the last 10 years, he's more resigned to the fact that we probably won't find her, but if anybody calls him and says they know something, he's going to follow up on it. Family members of McPherson have said they know Karen Lancaster McPherson did wrong, but said they feel shes been punished enough. Johnny Dwight Whited called investigators saying he wanted to confess to the slaying, authorities said Thursday. Captain Jack Kennedy, the current commander of the Violent Crimes Unit, said Jowers was a popular fixture at the bar, teaching line dancing and a regularly singing karaoke. "Nobody's ever come up with a reason.". 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. If you're a print subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one. Even we have a limit that you can push us to before we stand up and cry foul.". Jones recanted his confession and police found no evidence to link Jones to her murder, but have never eliminated him as a suspect. RELATED: Details About The Murder Of Arkansas Teen Dana Stidham And Why Police Have Yet To Find Her Killer Alabama. If mistakes were made, it wasn't because of a lack of effort. Family members demanded assurances Carrie was alive and well, and Lawson spoke to her briefly Sept. 12. A subsequent search of the Walker home found that several items were missing: Cliffs pocketknife, Cliff and Christines marriage license, and a high school majorette uniform that Christine had once worn. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. The kidnapping happened about 3 a.m. at the home Lawson, 25, shared with her husband, 26-year-old Earl Lawson, also an attorney. It still bothers me. Court records don't include a defense attorney who could speak on behalf of Whited on the murder charge, but he already was awaiting trial on a methamphetamine charge with his trial scheduled for May. Lackey was sentenced to death on April 3, 2008, and was later executed in Alabama by lethal injection on July 25, 2013. "He'd never met her, but he loved her.". Lawson said much of those first few months after Carrie's disappearance and Bland's suicide is a blur. Kubiszyn was on a business trip in Cincinnati. If you had told me that moment that I'd have the kind of life I have now, I would have never believed it. The Meeks were tenants on land owned by the Taylors. "And when we woke up the next morning, he was dead. Mike Everett as wearing some type of covering on their head "like a cap" and was of average height and build. It is a case that has outlasted investigators who tried to track her down, one that haunted and hounded Lawson, his family and Carrie's. It has been called Dr. Seuss Day because of this. [10] Keiths body would not be found until the next day. Paul Burch said on the show that Jones told investigators he needed to tell them about a hairdresser he had abducted at knife-point from a Georgia salon, drawing diagrams of where his and her cars were. There is talk among both departments of forming a special cold case unit. As of April 1, there were around 19 reported murders in Alabama in 2021. Barker lived somewhere nearby at the time of the murders but was known to frequently spend his nights with his two close friends at the house on LaSalle Street. Throughout the county and city, similar stories of prolonged grief are being played out; 28 unsolved homicides since 2009. All three women had been attacked with a knife; the killer had slashed each of their throats. One victim had been stabbed to death with a hunting knife, while another had been bludgeoned to death.[6]. "I still don't know why they didn't arrest him. The day the FBI pulled off the case, and out of Lawson's house, he found himself sitting in total darkness while he waited for a friend to come pick him up. Both had been beaten to death with a baseball bat that had been a birthday present for Peter. According to a story written by reporter Wendy Reeves and published in the Tuscaloosa News the day after the shooting, Jowers was shot in the head while walking a girlfriend to her car in the parking lot of Classics Lounge at 613 37th Street between 2:10-2:15 a.m. Also inside was cook Ida Holguin. He was the best dad to both of us. "I went to visit him in the nursing home before he died and he said he wasn't afraid to die and he couldn't wait to see Carrie," Kubiszyn said. ", "What has been taken from me personally is immeasurable," said Carrie's sister, Margaret Smith Kubiszyn. Mitchell says hes seen a steady increase in murders since he started working in law enforcement in the Lowcountry in 2005, adding theyve just started to see a decrease this year. Crime in Jasper, Alabama (AL): murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, auto thefts, arson, law enforcement employees, police officers, crime map All Cities Alabama, Alabama smaller cities, Alabama small towns Jasper main page US Crime Crime rate in Jasper, Alabama (AL) However, for one Florida family, the Christmas season became a nightmare. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Gallery: Habitat for Humanitys Three House Dedications, Georgia lawmakers hope to prevent gun violence, Man accused of killing 66-year-old enters not guilty, St. Patricks Day shuttle: Tanger Outlets to Savannah, Storm Team 3 Storm Tracker with Your Local Ford Dealers, Kaleidoscope Circus free and open to the public. It has been 25 years since 25-year-old Carrie Smith Lawson disappeared in Walker County on Sept. 11, 1991. Copyright 2019 WSFA 12 News. document.write ("&loc=" + escape(window.location)); The killer or killers had beaten Elaine so badly that she had gone into labor midway through the attack. If the case was easily solved, it would have not gone cold. Several people were inside the bowling alley, including three adults and four children. He told me to get on the ground on my stomach. As a result, all three were wealthy and successful bachelors. In 2000, the Smiths met with FBI agents and pleaded with them to reopen the case, but were told all leads had been exhausted. Johnny Swinten, Vietnam Vet. There were psychics, and more inmates looking for a way out of lockup for a day, but never any success in finding Carrie's remains. Years later, in 2000, the daughter of a man named Fred Harbison told the local media that her father had written a deathbed confession claiming to have carried out the triple homicide as part of a contract killing drawn up by Uland.[8]. . The three men were reputed to be very hard workers. After asking Senac to retrieve $5,000 from the bowling alleys safe, the gunmen shot all four several times. This item is available in full to subscribers. The microscopic town of Ina, Illinois, was rocked by a quadruple homicide on November 18, 1987. I use it as an example when people have a horrible tragedy and their entire world as they know it has been obliterated. "It devastated my parents. The numbers are only getting. Whited's lawyer in the drug case, Griff Belser, said he was unaware of the arrest in the slaying until after it was announced by police. The trunk was found by hunters nearly three years to the day later, with only the elderly brothers' suits inside. Lawson has since remarried, has three children and continues to work as an attorney. With no football fans or tourists in town, the cool but clear fall weekend had been a relatively uneventful one for Tuscaloosa. 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Read More: Clearly it wasn't.". A former investigative reporter with Bostons WNAC-TV, Kelly had been fired in November 1976 after making several threatening allegations against Mayor Kevin White. These belonged to 44-year-old Brenda Patch and 71-year-old Cynthia Paulus. A masked gunman appeared out of the darkness and ordered them out of the car. The victims included 34-year-old manager Stephanie Senac, who was in her office with her 12-year-old daughter Melissa Repass, and 13-year-old babysitter Amy Houser. Authorities asking public for help in unsolved murder of Jasper man. The show includes interrogation footage of Jones from Jan. 19, 2005. Upon further investigation, the employee found $500 missing, along with four other employees. They were still missing a definitive link, until a cassette tape was found -- reportedly by a young boy at an apartment complex who turned them over to his father -- that had recordings of plans to kidnap Jasper businessman and coal executive Ellis Taylor. Over the years, weve added more names because unfortunately, weve lost more people, he said. Your family?. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. Churches would cook for all of the search groups," Kubiszyn said. McPhersons cousin, Jerry Bland, was identified as the main suspect and committed suicide as lawmen surrounded his home. ", In that same interview, Frank Evans, a supervisory special agent, said, "It is so patently inaccurate, we felt an obligation to say wait a minute. For a time, Illinois investigators suspected serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz, a Mexican-born and Texas-based transient who was arrested in 1999. 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