Lined In Chalk

Arriving on the Scene: The date is October 19th, 1983.  In the town of St. Charles, Missouri, a call is placed, alerting investigators that a vehicle had been run off the road. Some of the interesting notes were a small fire on the driver's side, and the fact that the engine was still running.  Deputy Ed Copeland made his way down into the ravine the car had ended up in. He found an open door, and was able to climb into the car. He noted hearing gasping and gurgling. He saw a woman laying on her back stuffed underneath the dash. The next thing he noticed was a break in the windshield. He said that he noticed she was in some sort of trouble, and he tried to open her airway so that she could breathe. The next thing he noticed was an injury to the back of her head. He noticed this woman had wig on, and described the back of the woman's head as "mushy." Copeland also said that trying to get this woman out of the car and pass her on to the paramedics was something he had n...

Part of a news broadcast showing Reverend AB Schirmer's wives On October 29th, 2008, investigators were called to a crime scene at Reeders Methodist Church in Reeders, Pennsylvania. The victim is Joesph Musante, a parishioner at the church. A window leading into the church's office had been broken. There was also a gun laying at Joseph's feet.  Investigators immediately determined to look into this case as a homicide, at least until they could prove otherwise. The evidence would show that Joe Musante died of a gunshot wound to the head.  It should also be noted that nothing appeared to be out of place. Initially it might actually appear as though Joe's death was a suicide.  So, the question becomes: why did Joe Musante go into the church in the first place. Right now, the evidence seems like it could go either way. There's nothing that seems to definitively point to murder, nor is there anything that definitively points to suicide.   The first step investigators...

Starting Note:  Before I move into the case, I just wanted to say I'm sorry that I was pretty radio silent for the month of September. Ok, here we go.  Halloween Night: Timothy O'Bryan For this case, we are going back to 1974. It was Halloween Night in Deer Park, TX. Ronald Clark O'Bryan was watching over his two kids, eight-year-old Timothy and five year-old Elizabeth. He was with them while they were trick or treating. They were also joined by O'Bryan's neighbor Jim Bates and his son.  Before long, they had come upon a house with no lights on. The kids went up to the house and knocked on the door anyways, but nobody answered. The kids ran on to the next house, and Bates followed. Ronald was temporarily left alone. Ronald caught back up with them a short while later, with some pixy stix. Ronald handed some out to each of the three kids trick or treating as well as another boy Ronald recognized from church, and some for Jim Bates' other child.  As the night unwo...

The date was February 12th, 1980. The place was San Angelo, Texas. Officer Robert Lloyd and his partner had been on patrol when they received a call about a shooting at a place called Musick Jewelry Store.  Lloyd said he didn't know what to expect. When he and his partner walked inside, they found a female laying on the floor, face down in the middle of the showroom.  The victim was 20-year-old Sheila Elrod. She was the store clerk.  Sheila's killers had gone there with the intention of robbing the jewelry store. They ended up walking away with roughly $100,000 in jewelry.  One of the people involved in the investigation was sergeant Fred Dietz. Dietz used to work security at the jewelry store and he knew Sheila.  Dietz was also one of the first people to get work, with the intention of catching Sheila's killer. One of the things her killers hadn't intended on was leaving behind a clue, which they did.  It was determined that Sheila's killers broke the jewe...

 On January 28th, 1978, crime scene Technician Scott Boatright was called to a homicide at a Holiday Inn in Tysons Corner, Virginia.  The victim was 25-year-old Mona Lisa Abney. Her body was discovered when the maid entered the hotel room in order to clean it. Mona's hotel room had been ransacked, and her cash, credit cards, and jewelry were all missing.  However, something Scott Boatright would notice was that the ransacking had been staged. Boatright had also noted that the killer may have wanted it to look like there was a bigger struggle than what had actually occurred.  The medical examiner would go on to determine that Mona Lisa Abney had been raped and strangled. This does seem to match up with how she was found. She was found laying on her back, almost named from her waist down.  The investigators (mainly a man named Ron Yeager) actually began working their way through the hotel. One of the people they talked to was a maid who claimed to have let a man i...

Refresher: As I jump back into this case, I should probably do a little bit of refreshing. 61-year-old Richard Alfredo apparently died due to heart problems. Rumors began to surface that his death wasn't so natural after all. The police investigated. They ultimately exhumed Richard's body and traces of LSD and prescription medicine. Richard's girlfriend, Christina Martin, was arrested, charged, and found guilty for Richard's murder. When her case came up for a routine appeal, her lawyer seemed to find something in her file.  Christina's Lawyer:  So, jumping back into the case, let's talk a little bit about Christina's lawyer. He was a public defender named Kevin Mahoney. Mahoney said himself that he while was waiting to pick up Christina's case file, he began talking to a man standing next to him. This man had turned out to be an assistant D.A. Mahoney said that this man told him to look closely at Christina Martin's file. Mahoney said he found this ...

The victim, Richard Alfredo Introduction:  When 61-year-old Richard Alfredo died in his home, it was assumed that he had died of natural causes. After all, he had a history of heart problems. But, a new possibility seemed to have been brought to light after his death when rumors began to around, suggesting that Richard had actually been murdered.  Richard Alfredo's Death:  Richard had died in January of 1990. On the night he had died, his girlfriend called the police to tell them Richard was unresponsive. As I already stated, when authorities arrived on the scene, Richard's girlfriend had informed them  that he had a history of heart trouble. One of the technicians, Allen Manley had noted a scar from a past heart surgery. Authorities had attempted CPR, but it did not work. Richard was pronounced dead an hour later at a nearby hospital.  Something I found interesting was that the medical examiner decided not to perform an autopsy because of Richard's history with...

Introduction:  This is something I kind of want to look at every now and then, just for a good bit of fun.  The Crime:  A group of office workers in Windsor, Ontario were outside on a break, enjoying a mix of ice cream and nice weather. They noticed something unusual.  A car pulled up into the driveway of a nearby bank. Inside the car were three men. Two of the three men put ski masks on, grabbed hand guns and ran into the bank. The third man, the driver, shifted the car into reverse and slowly backed the car near the bank's main door. From there, he just waited, keeping the car running.  This whole time, the office workers were just watching, silent and completely stunned. It wasn't too much longer before the other two criminals ran out of the bank with bags of money. As the two men neared the car, one of them stumbled and shot himself in the left foot.  The other criminal shouted for the driver to "hit it" as he ran behind the car in order to get in. The ...

English immigrant Luke Phipps and his wife Effie drifted around the East coast of the United States, often arguing and making babies (three while they were moving around). The two made their way to the Great Lakes port of Detroit. This is where the two decided to settle down for a little while. Luke found a job working at a billiard hall. This was also where things started to go wrong. Luke and Effie rented a flat and had a fourth child. Luke rented a room to his co-worker at the billiard hall, Harry Livingstone.  Around this time, Harry and Effie ended up developing feelings for each other. Luke began to notice just how much time Harry and Effie were spending together. This drove Luke to jealousy. On Christmas morning of 1882, Luke attacked Effie. He was eventually arrested and spent January of 1883 behind bars. When Luke was released, he found that Effie, Harry, and the children had all moved. Effie had taken her kids to a place called the Home for the Friendless. Effie and Harry...

Introduction:  So, this is a case from my hometown. It's a case I have something of a personal tie to. I even went to the same high school as Carly. I didn't know her personally. But, given some of the other ties I kind of have to this case, this is something I wanted to make sure I could get right.   Robert Schwander: Robert Schwander, the man convicted for Carly's murder 18-year-old Robert Schwander was arrested for Carly's murder. Robert's father was a sheriff's deputy in Traverse City. After he was arrested, Robert led police to Carly's body. Her body was located in a sand pile at the city's public work complex. During this time, Schwander was staying in a hut nearby.  To give some history, Schwander's father was a sheriff's deputy. Scahwander was described as a troublemaker. Because of this, his father kicked him out. Schwander floated around for a while until the Lewis familty took him in. He stayed with the family for a few months before b...

  Introduction:  Newspaper headline after Brenda Spencer's arrest The morning bell rang on January 29, 1979 signaling what was meant to be the beginning of the school day at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego. Little did anyone know that danger lay in a house across the street. As the kids wandered into their classrooms, 16-year-old Brenda Spencer aimed at the school through the scope of a .22 caliber rifle.  Brenda Spencer:  Classmates described Brenda Spencer as being weird and too small to be scary. She also apparently didn't seem to bother anybody. She was also described as being lonely and having no friends. She was also very into guns. Her classmates also said that they never felt as though she would ever harm anybody. However, some of her classmates also said she had expressed a negative attitude towards police. Her father allegedly never allowed her to dress like a girl. Apparently all Brenda talked about was her interest in guns and how mean her...

  Introduction:  Seth Privacky The date is November 29, 1998. The Privacky family gathered for a late Thanksgiving. How was the family to know that things would turn to a bloodbath by the end of the night once i8-year-old Seth Privacky murdered his entire family.  Who Were the Victims:  Stephen Privacky was Seth's father. He taught the fifth grade, and was described as a dedicated teacher and was reportedly (at least at one point in time) proud of Seth.  Linda Privacky was Seth's mother. She was a receptionist at a medical office.  John Privacky was Stephen's father, and Seth's grandfather.  Jed Privacky was Seth's older brother.  April Boss was Jed Privacky's girlfriend. She was described as someone who got along with everyone. April's stepfather had said that he just wanted to know why, and that he couldn't believe his stepdaughter would have done anything to Seth.  Jed and April were both 19, attending Muskegon Community College, and study...

The Prosecution:  On October 14, 1975, Butch's case finally went to trial. The prosecutor for the case was Gerard Sullivan, the assistant district attorney with Suffolk County, NY. Even though Butch had confessed, led investigators to the evidence, and investigators had positively identified his own .35 caliber rife as the murder weapon, Sullivan chose not to take any chances. During the pre-trial and jury selection, Sullivan studied and questioned Butch. Sullivan allegedly knew that Butch was a pathological liar, and could be evasive. Sullivan's goal was to make sure the jury knew for sure that Butch was completely sane, and was acting methodically. However, he was also able to see that the idea that Butch was insane might actually not be enough to convince a jury of Butch's insanity. Throughout the trial, many witnesses were called to stand. But, it would appear that the witness who would help Sullivan the most was Butch DeFeo himself. When Sullivan would eventually have ...

 Last week, I discussed some background around Ronald Defeo Sr. and his son Ronald "Butch" DeFeo Jr. At this point, we're now arriving on the night of the murders. The bodies of the DeFeo family are taken out of the home during the investigation. The Murders:  November 14, 1974. It should be noted that due to his violent tendencies, Butch was the only family member who had his own room. Butch had also collected weapons over the years. Because he had his own room, he also had some private storage for the weapons he collected.  While the rest of the family slept, Butch grabbed a .35 caliber Marlin rifle from his closet and headed towards his parents' bedroom. He fired the first shot at his father, shooting him through the back, ripping through his kidney, and exiting through his chest. Butch then fired a second shot through his father's back, piercing Ronald's spine, and lodging in his neck.  Butch's mother, Louise, was beginning to wake at this point. She b...