By all appearances, the Burger Chef murders probably came as the result of a botched robbery. Over the years, weve added more names because unfortunately, weve lost more people, he said. They are $10.00 dollars. The article ran two days before Endres body was found and police seemed to consider Jones a prime suspect. Burch was a detective who investigated Nichols murder. And, of course, there were people who thought Lawson was somehow involved in Carrie's abduction. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The pair would eventually return to the cabin. "It's stuff like that that gets you through. The FBI set up a command post inside Lawson's home. She didn't say anything that was true.". He works as a freelance writer and has been published in The Weekly Standard, The Atlantic, Listverse, and other publications. It adjusts for the number of visitors and daily workers commuting into cities. I use it as an example when people have a horrible tragedy and their entire world as they know it has been obliterated. I can see the window off the guest room. ", "That doesn't happen to people. Registration Opens For Hospice Of West Alabama's 13th Annual 5K, Teen Victim Identified After Fatal Crash On 15th Street Tuesday, UWA's Woodruff Earns Back-To-Back GSC Coach Of The Year Honors, Commission Considers New Storm Shelter For Jerusalem Heights Community, Commission Moves Forward On New Fosters Farmers Market, Tuscaloosa Public Library To Kick Off Summer With Free Northport Event. What's more, another witness in the parking lot informed police at the time of the shooting that they saw a white man wearing black clothing run behind the lounge immediately after the shot rang out. He still responds to tips, and continues to fight against parole for McPherson, most recently in August. What happens when it comes around to your house? "The FBI was taping the call, but the tape recorder was turned off," Kubiszyn said. During the wait, Bland killed himself. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. "I remember having to call them and tell them what just happened," he said, "and that is maybe the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life.". Uland had taken out a life insurance policy on both Gierse and Hinson worth $150,000. It has also plagued the family of a woman who has been behind bars for 25 years in connection with the crime. The suspects wore gloves and did not leave behind their blood at the scene, but they did leave footprints. Lawson said his father had suffered recent medical issues, so at the time it seemed believable that something could be wrong with him. Those with information into this or any other cases are asked to call VCU at (205) 464-8690, the Tuscaloosa Police Department at (205) 349-2121, or CrimeStoppers at (205) 752-STOP (7867). "I remember sitting at my kitchen table. Harriett Smith died about eight years ago, and Smith, now 82, has since remarried. The other three were so badly burned that further examination was almost impossible.[9]. HARDEEVILLE, Sc. Other theories about the case include a scorned, jealous husband or boyfriend (all three men had an ongoing bet about who could sleep with the most women) and the local mob. Thats why law enforcement across Jasper County is asking for the communitys help. As the couple left for the hospital, a gunman appeared at their vehicle. "I was going to be at that house when she came walking up the driveway," she said. People know who did these cases, and its the fear of them telling and saying what happened to law enforcement, and they scared of the retaliation, he said, As long as we dont say nothing, we be alright, but guess what? The murder was the latest in a violent year for Tuscaloosa, marking the ninth homicide investigated by the multi-agency unit in 1996. According to our research of Alabama and other state lists, there were 61 registered sex offenders living in Jasper, Alabama as of March 01, 2023. 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. "I've always admired my dad so much -- he just keeps plugging on. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Some of the cases remain unsolved. And when Bland killed himself, state charges were being sought because Carrie had not been taken across state lines, which would have constituted a federal crime, they said. His penis had also been removed. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. The Walker family of Osprey, Florida, included father Cliff (25 years old), mother Christine (24 years old), a son named Jimmie (three years old), and a daughter named Debbie (two years old). It has been 25 years since 25-year-old Carrie Smith Lawson disappeared in Walker County on Sept. 11, 1991. I just remember being nauseous.". He just wants to know what happened. There is talk among both departments of forming a special cold case unit. During the stakeout, Bland, his wife and two daughters slept on mattresses in the living room, ducking when police lights bore into their windows. He told me to get on the ground on my stomach. McPhersons cousin, Jerry Bland, was identified as the main suspect and committed suicide as lawmen surrounded his home. There were several extortion attempts on the Lawson family, one that led to a 15-year prison sentence for the convict. Before 10:45 AM, four customers, the stores manager, and a part-time employee were taken to the back of the Lane Bryant store located at the Brookside Marketplace shopping mall. On Sept. 13, another meeting was arranged and Lawson delivered $300,000 at a service station on the outskirts of Jasper. The family had migrated from Connecticut to Keddie following Glennas separation from her husband James. McPherson was the "nurse" who made the call, and she dropped Bland off at the Lawson home to carry out the kidnapping. Additionally, the homicide unit commander at the time of the murder said investigators believed that several other people were in the parking lot at the time of the shooting and were reluctant to come forward. 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. All rights reserved. I couldn't believe this was happening. He said he and another man guarded Carrie at an abandoned house in Marshall County and then she was taken to Jackson County and strangled. In a sworn statement, Investigator Sean Mukaddam said he initially spoke to Whited, who agreed to show police the crime scene. My uncle lived in Nebraska. 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. He and his wife, Carrie, had received an urgent call after midnight claiming Lawson's father was gravely ill. Bland, once successful in businesses of coal mining and land reclamation, had fallen on hard times and was desperate for money, according to investigators and family members. In 1999, high school seniors J.B. Hilton Green Beasley and Tracie Jean . var zoneid = '30'; A hammer and a knife were recovered at the crime scene, while survivor Justin Sharp provided information that led to a composite sketch. The Smith family also has long thought there were more than Bland and McPherson involved, as does McPherson's family. On the day of the murders, John Sharp, Glennas eldest child, spent the day in Quincy, California, with his friend Dana Wingate. My sister had a minor role in this. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary to the housewife. Indeed, believe it or not, American citizens are currently living in a time of unprecedented peace.[1]. Furthermore, Florida police officers learned through their investigation that the Walkers were interested in purchasing a Chevy Bel Air prior to the massacre. If mistakes were made, it wasn't because of a lack of effort. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. document.write ("&loc=" + escape(window.location)); On Sept. 19, 2005, Melvin Keeling, 43, Loveland, Ohio, shot and killed Family Express employees Lisa Kendall, 29, and Kendora Furr, 38, at the gas station, located on U.S. 24 and Interstate 65. The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Jasper is 233 to 1. With that in mind, Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit (VCU) is once again reminding the public that Wednesday marks the 25th anniversary of the seemingly unprovoked killing. Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? The City-Data.com crime index weighs serious crimes and violent crimes more heavily. White was known to associate with local gangsters, including Solmonte, who had given Kelly the job at Blackfriars following his sacking at the television station. Prior to their deaths, Hinson and Gierse had moved to Indianapolis in order to start their own microfilm company called B&B Microfilm Services. I honestly believe the trauma exacerbated my mother's Alzheimer's, and it certainly broke all of our hearts," Kubiszyn said. He drove away with Carrie as Lawson assured himself she would be OK. She had to be OK. "Back in 1991, nobody got kidnapped. The whole Jerry Bland suicide is very suspicious, and it's very possible somebody else killed him. Because of this, and because of wall-to-wall media coverage of such events, it can be easy to assume that this era of mass murder is unprecedented in American history. All of these clues would be wasted during the initial investigation, which is blamed by contemporary law enforcement for failing to follow up on solid leads and outright ignoring pieces of evidence. "This case affected our community," District Attorney Bill Adair said, noting hundreds of people carried out searches and held prayer vigils. Thirty years ago . "On Day 1, they told us the statistical probabilities of someone being found alive and well. She even managed to put away her groceries before she was attacked. As of April 1, there were around 19 reported murders in Alabama in 2021. Hell talk about killing a person like its a 10-point buck.. If your interested in cold cases, you may find yourself wondering about how many unsolved murders in US a year. Keddie, California, is an out-of-the-way kind of place. I always felt like he had this deep-seated feeling that he failed Carrie because he couldn't protect her," she said. On the horrible morning of February 10, 1990, two armed men entered the Las Cruces Bowl located on East Amador Avenue in Las Cruces, New Mexico. She had taken the bar exam but disappeared never knowing she had passed. On November 18, 1978, an off-duty employee of the Burger Chef, a local fast food joint in Speedway, Indiana, found the restaurant's back door wide open. "I didn't know what to do next.". They came to this conclusion because a local bank revealed that Dorothy Harris had visited them 30 minutes prior to the murders. These murders became known locally and state-wide as "The Mars Hill Murders". To complicate matters, the woman with Jowers was unable to provide a description of the suspect. The Federal Bureau of Investigation released a report in 2019 that explained that 250,000 is the number of unsolved murders in U.S. 2019 or unsolved murders USA 2020, and that the number rises by around 6,000 each year that passes. The kidnapper initially demanded Lawson's father, Earl Lawson Sr., make the delivery in Cullman. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The days without an arrest turned into months and then . Endres vanished the same month Greenwell was found dead. Earl Lawson told himself one thing, even as it was happening: It will all be over soon. Anyone with information about Endres murder is asked to call the Georgia Bureau of Investigation or go to unsolved.com. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Closure came tantalizingly close when four young men were arrested in Texas and West Virginia in October 1999. He was the best dad to both of us. Lawson left the money at the payphone, as directed, and drove off. The next to die were Cliff, Jimmie, and Debbie. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Then he had to call Carrie's parents, David and Harriett Smith, in Tennessee. The WCSO currently has two Cold Case investigators that work 40+ hours a week solely on cold cases. "And her lawyers called that night and said she was taking her story back. She was alone with Carrie for a long time when they were holding her and she got to know her and still didnt let her go, she said. [10] Keiths body would not be found until the next day. Unsolved Alabama Murders According to Project: Cold Case, from 1980 to 2019 there were 20,003 homicides in Alabama alone, leaving 7,893 unsolved murders in Alabama. [4] All victims were shot in the head before the two criminals set fire to the bowling alley. Jones claimed. Ultimately, the shooters would kill four people before escaping into the unknown. 1 song on U.S. charts the night of Saturday, Oct. 12, 1996, when a Gene Stallings-led Crimson Tide football team won a road game 24-19 over North Carolina State in Raleigh to move to 6-0. They rushed to the car, and it began. ", "It was an event that brought tragedy to our community and brought a lot of attention, and it's something that still reverberates today," Adair said. And it bothers me that my kids have to read stuff like that.". "Having somebody kidnapped was the last thing you could ever think of.". Lawson said he managed to free himself. "I fully expected when we got down there, they would have found her and it would be over. Kubiszyn was on a business trip in Cincinnati. In one case, two victims died when their home was intentionally set on fire in Selma. The murders shocked the area and although the . Authorities searched to no avail. Investigators deduced that the attack had been part of a robbery, and the attacker had opened fire after McFarland managed to call 911. They were saying something about exculpatory evidence that needed to be cleared up. The intensity lasted for about six weeks, but ultimately the FBI and other agencies pulled out. But everyone that knew her felt like they were loved by her, and that was extraordinary.". It just so happened that Smith and Hickock had driven to Florida in a stolen Bel Air. The potential suspect was described to then-Homicide Unit Commander Capt. Benjamin Welton is a West Virginia native currently living in Boston. Last updated January 26, 2023. There weren't a lot of murders in Jasper," Lawson said in a recent interview, his first about the case in more than 20 years. The case file on Brown remains what it is; thick, unsolved and no justice at least for now. Then they got in my car and they left.". I believe hes a strong possibility for Patrices murder, Burch said. On November 6, 2001, at approximately 11:00 AM, a woman arrived for an appointment at the Hair Gallery, located in Florence, Montana. After asking Senac to retrieve $5,000 from the bowling alleys safe, the gunmen shot all four several times. And then, Day 2, they told you again. In 2002, a tip led searchers near the Tuscaloosa County community of Samantha, where crews used a backhoe to try to unearth new information about Carrie's remains. "I was 26 years old, and I still had to work and earn a living somehow.". Police even managed to obtain the killers voice on the emergency phone call. If you have any information on an unsolved murder, you can make an anonymous phone call to the LowcountryCrimeStoppers at 843-554-1111. (Photo courtesy of McPherson's family). Christmas 1959 was supposed to follow this tradition. In 2001, Springsteen was sentenced to death. People who may have evidence or clues about cold case sexual assaults and murders are encouraged to call or email the Attorney General's Office and share this information. Everywhere I went in Jasper, people wanted to hug me and talk about it," he said. Despite Bland's death, and McPherson's swift arrest on first-degree kidnapping charges, the searches for Carrie continued by hundreds, if not thousands. The only tangible evidence is a composite sketch released in 1990 which shows two middle-aged black or Hispanic males with mustaches. (AL.com/File). Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The first to return to their modest ranch-style house was Christine. Miraculously, three young boys managed to sleep through the entire massacre. "And still do," Lawson said. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. On November 19, police went to the trailer of 29-year-old Robert Keith Dardeen, who had failed to show up for work at the Rend Lake Water Conservancy District. A 3-D-enhanced version of this sketch was released in February 2018. The murder occurred after Gus agreed to testify in court about the Taylor brothers' dishonest money-making schemes. After more than two decades, different potential leads in the case have grabbed headlines, but formal charges have never been brought against a single suspect. It was like the movies," Kubiszyn said. 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. |, Powered by Creative Circle Media Solutions. Click here to create a free account which will allow access to 5 stories every 30 days. You lose your future, and also your connection to the past.". If the case was easily solved, it would have not gone cold. Read about more disturbing unsolved murders on 10 Unsolved Murders Linked To Organized Crime and 10 Unsolved Murders With Strange Links To The Occult. Jamol Horton actually helped do the foundation for my house and some of my friends homes, Mitchell said, He also coached my son in little league football.. The family hired private investigator W.W. "Red" Self, a former Birmingham police officer and district attorney's office investigator, a few months after the investigation and he stayed on the case until his death. [3] The unidentified killer used duct tape to tie up his victims before shooting them execution-style. On Saturday, Sept. 28, 1991, federal agents searched Bland's home. Under the FBI's direction, Lawson wore a directional beeper to let agents follow him as he made the drop. Kennedy said the unit intends to release information concerning Jowers' death ahead of the anniversary each year until the case is solved, in the hopes that someone will come forward with new information as to the person or people responsible. We were supported by thousands of people who didn't even know us, and that's one reason we've been able to move on. We tracked down the lady Brown was dating at the time and she declined to be part of this story. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. "Detectives met with Whited who reenacted the crime to detectives and provided corroborated information about the murder," the statement said. Johnny Swinten, Vietnam Vet. Jowers was buried the following Wednesday at Demopolis Memorial Gardens in Marengo County, according to a brief newspaper obituary. Five years later, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Springsteens conviction. Both of these suspicions were quickly ruled out, as there was no evidence of ritual activity, and a VCR and a camera were left untouched at the crime scene. The most recent in May 2017 Jamol Horton who was shot and killed in his home in Ridgleand. The kidnapping happened about 3 a.m. at the home Lawson, 25, shared with her husband, 26-year-old Earl Lawson, also an attorney. Friends, family and federal agents descended upon the small town. She was also Bland's cousin by marriage, and the two were close. She had recently graduated from the University of Alabama law school. The first man suspected was Ted Uland, the owner of Records Security. If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account and connect your subscription to it by clicking here. var width = $(window).width(); Netflixs reboot of the classic Unsolved Mysteries, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Walker County Missing & Unsolved Deaths(Surrounding Areas)-Group Discussion Keddie, however, became infamous on the night of April 11, 1981. It was not uncommon for all three to clock in hours of overtime in order to accomplish projects. She sat down with my dad for five hours and told all lies, Kubiszyn said. "I needed to start over. It still bothers me. Higher means more crime, U.S. average is 270.6. Your family?. Karen McPherson, now 60, is. document.write ("