Unsolved Lovers Lane Murders

[(AQ)]

Sept 14, 2018 3:51:43 GMT cleopatra said:

Sept 12, 2018 21:16:01 GMT englishman said:

It's a medical opioid that could easily of descended into using heroin. If someone was dealing it to them, the dealer would of had links to the medical field or stole them off someone who had a prescription. It's a plausible theory, perhaps the friends were worried they might get trouble with the police.

Re:  AUG. 1984 - MICHAEL MARGARET & DONNA HALL

The drug-deal-gone-bad theory VERSUS possibly the work of the CPK?

I do not want to get hung up on an unproven theory. Especially since it's been floating around now for 30 years and nothing has developed to prove or disprove it.  I've learned from my experience in the EAR/ONS case,

- victims tend to have many things going on in their personal lives.  In the EAR/ONS case, LE used such things to develop their theories.  Which then led LE down wrong paths, got LE stuck on theories lacking factual evidence, ruined innocent people's reputations, sent innocent men to prison, etc...

- the ONS murdered couples in different counties (Sacramento, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Dana Point, etc.), and none of the investigators (not including the Sac detectives) believed any of the murders were linked to one man.  Sometimes the killer used gunshot, sometimes strangulation, sometimes bludgeoning with an object taken away from the scene.  The killer tied the victims wrists, yet took away the ligatures. Far away, 400 miles up North, investigators heard of the murders that took place in Southern California, and with absolute certainty they claimed it was their EAR who raped and murdered in their jurisdiction. 

- meantime, a partner of one murder victim went to prison, an ex-boyfriend of those same victims was accused of committing the exact same murder, a priest started a rumor which caused an innocent man to go to prison, the husband of another victim was accused by LE of brutally murdering his beloved wife, etc...

FAST FORWARD 20 years.... NONE / NOT ONE SINGLE ONE of the theories developed by the original Southern California investigators were right.  All the murders had enough similarities (not all) in the MO, that despite them being carried out 400 miles away from the Northern Cal murders, the Sac and Contra Costa detectives were right all along.  The ONS (1979-1986) was the EAR (1976-1979), who was also the VR (early 1973-1976)  And that madman progressed over the years, starting with this less violent crimes in Visalia.

If Michael Margaret and Donna Hall did not have the drug background it's been claimed they had, the drug-deal-gone-bad theory would have probably been a different theory - something  else going on in their lives would have been worked into such another theory - jealous boyfriend, angry best-friend, relative who had a falling-out.  

As for myself, I see a vicious, heinous murder of two youths who were doing nothing different than other youths were doing, and who were probably being romantic that night.  The perp was a cold-blooded, evil freak.  He sat by their dead bodies and smoked cigarettes, then went through their jeep and wiped away his prints.  This psychopath is no youth or neighbor who got *ed off.  He was older than they were, and he was strong.  He showed up at the crime scene with his tools - ligatures and rope.  If he moved in their circles, surely someone would have noticed an overbearing, strong, mean man with a bad temper.  Surely the guy would have exploded at other times, and he would have been caught by now.  I do not believe this was a drug-deal-done-bad. 

Joe Aslip was not the disgruntled business partner trying to out his partner, Lyman Smith, and therefore bludgeoned both Lyman and his wife, Charlene, to   death.  David Witthuhn did not strangle and brutally kill his wife Manuela.  Janelle Cruz was not beaten and stabbed multiple times by a marine who she previously accused of raping her.  Likewise, in my opinion, neither Michael nor Donna were savagely slaughtered in the middle of the night in the woods by an angry drug dealer. 

People, families, LE, want this case solved and as they seek answers I believe they cling to any theory that will help bring answers.  But facts should be used to determine how they met their fate. 

Really love this piece, Cleo !!  
Nicely presented; strong case; especially since I've done more & more reading on it.

Jealous boyfriend has been mentioned but there's no notes re it being thoroughly investigated, just a what-if.  
Yes !! Re the smoking by their bodies, wiping it down & going thru the jeep.   So he felt he had time & wasn't worried about being found (knowing it was an isolated area- car sat for 3-4 days, I believe)

Looking for answers and making the facts fit- easiest way to NOT solve a case and spend inordinate time going down the rabbit hole.

[billthom56]

Thanks for the research.

Just getting back from being out of town and catching up.


Bill Thomas

[cleopatra]

Sept 14, 2018 4:08:39 GMT (AQ) said:

Sept 14, 2018 3:51:43 GMT cleopatra said:

Re:  AUG. 1984 - MICHAEL MARGARET & DONNA HALL

I wonder if the homicide detectives consulted with narcotic agencies to see if there were other drug related murders of this caliber.  Or if they were familiar with any  drug dealers who they believed capable of such violence. Or if they heard anything from any informant or during the course of any investigations about a drug deal gone bad ending in a vicious double murder. Or if they came across any Demoral drug dealers.;

[cleopatra]

IF IF IF IF..... this murder was the work of the CPK, its possible he lived in the area and it was an opportunistic attack. It may not have been planned and it may not have been his first, but if he just happened to see this couple, he may have been compelled to act.

The similarities between this crime and CP crimes are strong. That is a fact.

An FBI profiler or some other MO analyzer/specialist should compare this  crime with that of the CPMs.  And also the others on alwaysquestioning's spreadsheet.

Prior to the DNA matches made between  the Contra Costa rapes and the 10 separate SoCal murders 20 years after they were committed, they were ALL believed to have been committed by different assailants. The MOs had strong similarities, not exact similarities, and manners of murder varied (gunshot, knife, strangulation, bludgeon).  One commonality was the hunting ground (middle to upper middle class neighborhoods either in culdesacs or next to green belt parks) and Couples. 

With the subject MO  ---- past midnight, weekends (some  were three day holidays) car/truck/jeep, couples/pairs, WOODS; secluded area/dark/trees, stabbings/gunshots/strangulation, wallets left behind, no sexual assaults, killed away from vehicle, no  witnesses, some vehicles lit on fire, I-64. All Facts.

Biggest similarity:  the sheer viciousness of the attacks. Overkill. Cold blooded. Heinous. These We're Not Kill-n-go. These were STAY-N-KILL AND KEEP ON KIILLING.

[cleopatra]

I don't know if any of the murders listed in this thread are those of the CPK. I do believe he has committed more crimes than the CPMs. However, there a chance some may he his crimes and if so, if it can be determined with great certainty which ones were committed by the CPK, it could increase the chances of finding him. Because there would be a geographical spiatia to work with. He may have lived nearby one of his crimes. He may have been arrested or had some personal scandal that had been memorialized, a law suit in the county of one murder, a death in the family in an area where one of the crimes on the list occurred, etc....

With the CPMs, there are too many towns and cities on the outskirts. Whereas with a murder taking place within a city or town, the city or town could be searched for clues of his identity if he lived in it.

[billthom56]

Cleo:

Just for the record, I am not buying the idea that the Donna Hall Mike Margaret murders are related to the Colonial Parkway Murders.

Some similarities, lots of differences. I'll bet you lunch that Hall/Margaret is a drug deal gone bad related to a bunch of lowlife locals and a desire to hit the road with the Grateful Dead.

Thanks.



Bill Thomas

[englishman]

These are not Lover Lane murders as such, but two double murders of couples which occurred in the forested area of Lewis and Pierce County Washington in 1985, they are known as the Tube Sock Killings since a tube sock was found around the necks of both female victims, a knife and gun was used as well in the murders.

link

[trabuco]

Sept 14, 2018 9:03:12 GMT cleopatra said:

IF IF IF IF..... this murder was the work of the CPK, its possible he lived in the area and it was an opportunistic attack. It may not have been planned and it may not have been his first, but if he just happened to see this couple, he may have been compelled to act.

The similarities between this crime and CP crimes are strong. That is a fact.

An FBI profiler or some other MO analyzer/specialist should compare this  crime with that of the CPMs.  And also the others on alwaysquestioning's spreadsheet.

Prior to the DNA matches made between  the Contra Costa rapes and the 10 separate SoCal murders 20 years after they were committed, they were ALL believed to have been committed by different assailants. The MOs had strong similarities, not exact similarities, and manners of murder varied (gunshot, knife, strangulation, bludgeon).  One commonality was the hunting ground (middle to upper middle class neighborhoods either in culdesacs or next to green belt parks) and Couples. 

With the subject MO  ---- past midnight, weekends (some  were three day holidays) car/truck/jeep, couples/pairs, WOODS; secluded area/dark/trees, stabbings/gunshots/strangulation, wallets left behind, no sexual assaults, killed away from vehicle, no  witnesses, some vehicles lit on fire, I-64. All Facts.

Biggest similarity:  the sheer viciousness of the attacks. Overkill. Cold blooded. Heinous. These We're Not Kill-n-go. These were STAY-N-KILL AND KEEP ON KIILLING.

A little man makes a lot of noise. The victims in their little cars. Why? Was it so he could be above them as he approached them in his vehicle? I'm just speculating. The Overkill. Was that him over-compensating for a weakness? Maybe he couldn't have sex but boy could he kill.

[trabuco]

Sept 14, 2018 7:03:19 GMT billthom56 said:

Thanks for the research.

Just getting back from being out of town and catching up.


Bill Thomas

Bill, you have been a part of this case from the very beginning. How could you not be? Your sister and her lover were his first victims. Pardon me if my question is rendundant but I want to know what your gut feelings are. It doesn't matter what anyone will think. Do your suspicions keep going back to something or someone that you have never talked about?

[cleopatra]

Sept 16, 2018 15:51:48 GMT englishman said:

These are not Lover Lane murders as such, but two double murders of couples which occurred in the forested area of Lewis and Pierce County Washington in 1985, they are known as the Tube Sock Killings since a tube sock was found around the necks of both female victims, a knife and gun was used as well in the murders.

link

This is another great find, englishman.

As I have previously mentioned, serial killers are known to have changed up or mixed-matched their MOs in efforts to throw LE off their trails.  They especially didn't want LE to link all their murders to one man.  It is also known that in their conscious effort to change up their MO, they impulsively stuck to some of their usual tecniques, particularly  hunting grounds and choice of victims.

IF IF IF this murder is the work of the CPK, he may have felt compelled to strangle and thought tube socks instead of rope would throw off LE.  That is, if this was the work of the CPK and if he had committed previous murders.  The  CPK alternated between gun and knife, and sometimes used both simultaneously.

[englishman]

Sept 16, 2018 19:53:32 GMT cleopatra said:

Sept 16, 2018 15:51:48 GMT englishman said:

These are not Lover Lane murders as such, but two double murders of couples which occurred in the forested area of Lewis and Pierce County Washington in 1985, they are known as the Tube Sock Killings since a tube sock was found around the necks of both female victims, a knife and gun was used as well in the murders.

link

This is another great find, englishman.

As I have previously mentioned, serial killers are known to have changed up or mixed-matched their MOs in efforts to throw LE off their trails.  They especially didn't want LE to link all their murders to only one man.  It is also known that in their conscious effort to change up their MO, they impulsively stuck to some of their usual tecniques, particularly  hunting grounds and choice of victims.

IF IF IF this murder is the work of the CPK, he may have felt compelled to strangle and thought tube socks instead of rope would throw off LE.

With a lot of these I'm trying to find murders which happened woodland area's, occurring at weekends or around national holidays.

I think it depends on the killer, some like to experiment or change things up to throw off LE, but others stick to what they regard as a tried and tested method.

This one is a bit suspicious, but if Riemer did this and killed himself, they would of found a bullet wound on his skull or murder weapons nearby the scene.

[billthom56]

All:

Good stuff thanks.



Bill Thomas

[billthom56]

Sept 16, 2018 17:24:22 GMT trabuco said:

Sept 14, 2018 7:03:19 GMT billthom56 said:

Thanks for the research.

Just getting back from being out of town and catching up.


Bill Thomas

Bill, you have been a part of this case from the very beginning. How could you not be? Your sister and her lover were his first victims. Pardon me if my question is rendundant but I want to know what your gut feelings are. It doesn't matter what anyone will think. Do your suspicions keep going back to something or someone that you have never talked about?

Trabuco:

I think this is someone in law enforcement, and I have a relatively short list of suspects.

Thanks.

Bill Thomas

[cleopatra]

I found another cold case of a murdered couple back in 1979 in Ohio. I have been searching for cases that have strong similarities to the CPMs. FORTUNATELY, there are not many.

The similarities I use are: 

- couple/pair
- long, dark, urban road
- travelling or parked in vehicle together
- weekend and/or 3-day holiday weekend
- went missing after midnight
- wooded area
- victims found away from vehicle
- no robbery; wallet, purse, personal belongings were left behind
- killed in woods; trees, creek/river/lake
- hands were bound
- signs of strangulation
- gunshot(s)
- stabbings
- no sexual assault

When I found this case, I used google maps  (I inserted a pic of the map I created) to look at the location and immediately noticed that the crime took place once again by a National Park, Cuyahoga Valley National.  Not all states have National Parks.  Preceding the cold case info below, is an excerpt from a NPS Ranger Newsletter. The ranger's statement shows that rangers can float to multiple national parks, either upon request or by applying to openings posted by the NPS. There are also rangers hired merely to work on a seasonal basis.

"For 12 years, I wore the uniform: I performed law enforcement, fire fighting, and search and rescue at parks like Zion, Yosemite, Cape Hatteras, and the Grand Canyon. I directed traffic around tarantula jams. I pursued bad guys while galloping on horseback. I jumped into rescue helicopters bound for the depths of the Grand Canyon. I won arguments with bears. I dodged lightning bolts. I *ed on wildfires. I slept with rattlesnakes. I also saved endangered turtles, helped hikers get home, and saw a lifetime’s worth of sunsets. "


Akron, Ohio

After 30 years of uncertainty, justice isn’t so much on the minds of Mary Leonard’s family.
Why the 17-year-old North High senior and her boyfriend, Ricky Beard, 19, died in such a brutal manner remains foremost in their thoughts.
The fact that someone knows the answers makes the questions even more baffling.
How does a young couple on a date wind up shot and stabbed and left for dead in a rural field off Riverview Road in Cuyahoga Falls?
Why was their car two miles away?
And why hasn’t anyone in such a highly publicized case been held accountable?
”It’s not so much who anymore; it’s why? Why would someone do this?” said Connie Leonard, wife of the slain teen’s brother, Jerry.
The Beard family had many of the same thoughts as today’s 30th anniversary of one the city’s most daunting unsolved murders approached.
Helen Beard Plouse’s quest to learn her son’s true fate ended this year with her death in February at the age of 75. She now shares a grave site with him in Holy Cross cemetery.
”We wanted her to have peace about it, and we’re happy for her that maybe
now she does. Maybe she got to join him,” said Luanne Eddy, 53, Ricky Beard’s sister.
Akron police officer Bob Swain hasn’t given up on the case, not since the day in May 1985 when he stood guard over the crime scene west of Riverview Road between Smith and Bath roads.
After fruitless searches years earlier in the same area, the teenagers’ bodies were found that day by chance. A backhoe operator digging trenches was confronted by a land owner, who called the police. An officer stayed around to keep the peace.
After more digging, Mary Leonard’s body was spotted. A short while later, Ricky Beard’s emerged.
It turned out Beard suffered gunshot wounds to his chest and neck. Leonard was stabbed at least once in the chest and shot multiple times in the chest.
A murder investigation was under way as one mystery ended.
The discovery of the bodies ended nearly six years of wondering what had happened to the two after they left the old Ascot Drive-In movie theater on Akron-Cleveland Road the night of Aug. 24, 1979.
Car found first
The day after they disappeared, Beard’s car was found abandoned in a garage in a remote area near Northampton Road. A bullet hole dotted the windshield of his 1972 Chevrolet Impala, but there was no blood inside.
Authorities believe the person or persons responsible killed the couple in the Riverview Road field and moved the car 2.5 miles away to the garage. Robbery does not appear to be a motive.
Over the years, the families and police have received tips, hired a private investigator, enlisted the help of psychics and promised immunity to suspects.
Family members have also endured rumors and heard claims of death threats against anyone who talks about the murders. They have even fallen victim to pranksters, who once lured Leonard’s family to Gorge Park with a promise of information, only to drive by, point their fingers and laugh.
In Akron, police over the years have passed the case among each other as one detective retires and another steps in. There is no DNA to help them, no real leads to go on.
Police said they recently received an anonymous call urging them to look at Edward Edwards, 76, a notorious Akron criminal linked last month by DNA to a 1980 murder of high school sweethearts in Wisconsin.
The tipster offered no other information.
For police, the beat goes on.
”It’s just one case around the department we have just stayed with and stayed with,” Swain said.
Tears still shed
Gloria and Richard Leonard, both in their 80s, still cry while talking about their daughter’s abbreviated life.
She was a good girl who had dated Beard for about three months. She was the youngest daughter of seven children, looking forward to her senior year in high school. She worked at the local Acme store to help pay expenses.
”We’re no closer than we were 30 years ago,” Gloria Leonard conceded.
Ricky Beard was a hard worker, close to his family and five siblings, but a little rougher around the edges. He smoked pot and perhaps other drugs. Rumors flourish that he may have crossed someone along the way, leading to his death.
Neither teen’s family talks to the other anymore. In fact, the Leonards just learned their daughter shares the same cemetery as Beard.
Their common trait, however, is the loss of a loved one and the frustration of not knowing how — or why.
”Everything has gone on,” Eddy said. ”Life has gone on, but we always feel that loss, always feel that hole in our family.”

[cleopatra]

NPS Rangers hired for seasonal assignments  work April thru November, but not continuously and not every single month. It depends on the needs of each park and requests submitted to NPS headquarters to fill vacancies by each park.   

Note: Keep in mind that the cases posted in the "Unsolved Lovers Lane Murders" thread are not linked to the CPMs. However, they have strong similarities to the CPMs. I'm going to post this info in the "Unsolved Lovers Lane Murders" thread as well. I am not including the Aug. 23, 1990 Texas murders of Atkinson & Henry because sexual assault occurred. The CPMs and other similar murders had no signs of sexual assault.   Note:  See "LE/Ranger?" Thread and the last few posts about job description and seasonal assignments of National Park Rangers.   

COLD CASE LOVER LANE MURDERS THAT OCCURRED IN NPS "SEASONAL" MONTHS:


AUGUST 24, 1979 - FRIDAY - AKRON, OH

AUGUST 17, 1984 - FRIDAY - RICHMOND, VA


SEPTEMBER 22, 1987 - TUESDAY - CP, VA

SEPTEMBER 05, 1989 - TUESDAY - CP, VA


OCTOBER 12, 1986 - SUNDAY - CP, VA

OCTOBER 17, 2003 - SUNDAY - BUMBLEBEE, AZ