While police sometimes make public appeals for information to help resolve old cases, that had not happened with Dailey's killing. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). "That was the first time I felt alone," he said. It has been 25 years since 25-year-old Carrie Smith Lawson disappeared in Walker County on Sept. 11, 1991. A ransom demand was made, and paid, but Carrie Lawson was never found. His penis had also been removed. "It was the next morning. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 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. 'https://mountaineaglebanners.creativecirclemedia.com/www/delivery/ajs.php':'http://mountaineaglebanners.creativecirclemedia.com/www/delivery/ajs.php'); "He had duct tape and told Carrie to duct tape my hands behind my back. Kennedy then said investigators believe the shooter may have hidden in nearby bushes and later escaped through a wooded area behind the south part of the bar's parking lot. The men tasked with trying to kill him did not. Not only does this list deal with some of the worst mass murders in American history, but each remains unsolved to this day. It was like the movies," Kubiszyn said. Jack Kelly, Charles Magarian, Peter Meroth, Freddie Delavega, and Vincent Solmonte were shot several times by a 12-gauge shotgun and a .25-caliber automatic in what appeared to be a robbery gone wrong.[11]. His corpse, which was found in a nearby field, showed that Keith had been shot three times. He has lost so much financially, emotionally, everything. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The numbers are only getting. The Boston police believed that the massacre may have been motivated by the mob, and two mobstersdrug dealer William Ierardi and Robert Italianowere arrested and tried for the crime before being acquitted in 1979. To complicate matters, the woman with Jowers was unable to provide a description of the suspect. "Macarena" by Los Del Ro was also the No. Then he had to call Carrie's parents, David and Harriett Smith, in Tennessee. He was killed outside, a party with at least 20 to 50 residents. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). "Detectives met with Whited who reenacted the crime to detectives and provided corroborated information about the murder," the statement said. Amazon. Two days after the murder, the Tuscaloosa News confirmed that several people had been interviewed by investigators, which ultimately proved fruitless. 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. Read about more disturbing unsolved murders on 10 Unsolved Murders Linked To Organized Crime and 10 Unsolved Murders With Strange Links To The Occult. In a sick twist of fate, police learned early on that the witness who found the first body may have arrived at the scene barely minutes after the murders. Authorities remove the body of Jerry Bland from his Jasper home on Oct. 1, 1991 after he committed suicide while FBI agents surrounded his home. E, was pronounced dead at the scene by Tuscaloosa Police. The potential suspect was described to then-Homicide Unit Commander Capt. If you had told me that moment that I'd have the kind of life I have now, I would have never believed it. On December 19, 1959, the entire Walker family was out running errands. You lose your future, and also your connection to the past.". They were to come to the hospital. A masked gunman appeared out of the darkness and ordered them out of the car. ", "What has been taken from me personally is immeasurable," said Carrie's sister, Margaret Smith Kubiszyn. 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. According to the newspaper's account, the girlfriend "heard a pop" and turned to see Jowers on the ground near his car, roughly 40-50 feet away. Following a negative DNA test in 2008, Springsteen and Scott were both released in 2009. Even we have a limit that you can push us to before we stand up and cry foul.". Under the FBI's direction, Lawson wore a directional beeper to let agents follow him as he made the drop. "I've always admired my dad so much -- he just keeps plugging on. During the wait, Bland killed himself. HARDEEVILLE, Sc. Another Texas serial killer, Tommy Lynn Sells, confessed to the crime in 2000, but over the years, his story repeatedly changed. For a while, Hinson and Gierse had worked for Records Security, a company based in Jasper, Indiana. The FBI set up a command post inside Lawson's home. First published on November 20, 2020 / 6:33 AM. "Financially, my dad has spent hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars.". Then police got a phone call. var zoneid = '30'; If your interested in cold cases, you may find yourself wondering about how many unsolved murders in US a year. They were saying something about exculpatory evidence that needed to be cleared up. With no football fans or tourists in town, the cool but clear fall weekend had been a relatively uneventful one for Tuscaloosa. Lawson moved away from Jasper about eight months later, joining a Birmingham law firm and renting an apartment in the city. Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect, Pence won't commit to supporting Trump if he's the nominee, 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story". } He doesn't talk about Carrie or the case much, but said not a day goes by when he doesn't think about the kindness shown to him and his and Carrie's families. "He called the payphone and said, 'I'm watching you right now. My uncle called me, and then my dad got on the phone and told me that Carrie had been kidnapped," Carrie's older sister recalled. 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. The man who killed Carrie himself is dead, Frank Lancaster, McPhersons brother and the oldest of the five Lancaster children said in 2016. if (document.mmm_fo) document.write ("&mmm_fo=1"); Christmas 1959 was supposed to follow this tradition. This quick thinking saved the young girls life, and, for a time, it saved her mothers life as well. 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. They cried with us. "He would run you around every night. 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. November 28, 2003. Daniel immediately informed the police of his gruesome discovery. "I have four sisters-in-law and I'm close with them, but missing a sister is so difficult. "Of course it bothered me. "I have no idea how he picked our family next," Lawson said. Thats always been really hard for me to swallow, that anyone could get to know Carrie and then turn her over to her executioner., Years ago, McPherson agreed to meet with Lawsons father, who has since died, and give details about the crime in return for the family not protesting parole. One of the voices was determined to be Jerry Bland, and the other McPherson. 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. The next to die were Cliff, Jimmie, and Debbie. An excavator scooped out the bottom of the pool but found nothing. "I couldn't help but think that anybody would tell, or leave a note, about where she was," Lawson said. Mr. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The days without an arrest turned into months and then . 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. Investigators deduced that the attack had been part of a robbery, and the attacker had opened fire after McFarland managed to call 911. Lawson left the money at the payphone, as directed, and drove off. 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) We tracked down the lady Brown was dating at the time and she declined to be part of this story. 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. Jones claimed to have killed 21 women in five states in 12 years, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported in 2005. Thats why law enforcement across Jasper County is asking for the communitys help. Five years later, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Springsteens conviction. That book claimed, in part, that agents had the authority to search Bland's home without a warrant. For two days, police and citizen volunteers searched the area for the missing workers. The strip mall, which was located on the northwestern edge of the city, included a yogurt shop with the witty name, I Cant Believe Its Yogurt! The firefighters managed to put out the blaze, but what they found inside necessitated the involvement of the Austin Police Department. His wife, Sheila, who has since moved out of Alabama, was McPherson's cousin. Its not quite as prevalent in the county with two unsolved cases on the books. 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. It was personal to them.". Kubiszyn, previously told AL.com McPhersons role in the disappearance has always been understated, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Montgomery man who disappeared is found murdered in an unused grain silo. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. The bodies were not found until the following day. 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. document.write ("?zoneid="+zoneid+"&block=1&blockcampaign=1"); "The whole thing was poorly handled," Kubiszyn said. 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. Please note in order for the office to follow up on any information . This man served his county, came home, and I can see the window off the guest room. A search of Blands property found the majority of the $300,000 paid by her family. Everywhere I went in Jasper, people wanted to hug me and talk about it," he said. The FBI, usually tight-lipped, staunchly defended their actions in an interview with The Birmingham News. It was daylight before agents would go inside and find Bland dead from what was ruled a self-inflicted gunshot. (WSAV) - There are 42 unsolved murder cases in Jasper County dating from 1979 to 2018. ", 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. var m3_u = (location.protocol=='https:'? "Having somebody kidnapped was the last thing you could ever think of.". "I still don't know why they didn't arrest him. The three men were reputed to be very hard workers. And then, Day 2, they told you again. My family and Carrie's family," Lawson said. U.S. Alabama murder case goes unsolved for 25 years. In 2001, Springsteen was sentenced to death. The case file on Brown remains what it is; thick, unsolved and no justice at least for now. Twenty-five years of her life are gone. However, for one Florida family, the Christmas season became a nightmare. The case. Tony Lynn Dobbins said he was there when Carrie was murdered. . I know my sister, and if she had any inclination that there was going to be harm done to Carrie, she wouldnt have done this.. Jones was also implicated in the deaths of Amanda Greenwell, 16, of Douglasville, Ga. and Katherine Collins, 45, a New Orleans sex worker. "And when we woke up the next morning, he was dead. Miraculously, three young boys managed to sleep through the entire massacre. This booking photo provided by police in Decatur, Ala., shows Johnny Dwight Whited. All rights reserved (About Us). I've got a rifle pointed at your head. 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. Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com. There were several extortion attempts on the Lawson family, one that led to a 15-year prison sentence for the convict. Clearly it wasn't.". Hes a stalker; he gets excited about his victims. 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. She had taken the bar exam but disappeared never knowing she had passed. Four days after Kelly Lynn Albright disappeared from her family's home, she was found dead in a field. Without question, the massacre was a gangland killing, yet no one is sure if the perpetrators were members of the Patriarca crime family, the Bulger gang, or some other unknown Italian or Irish crime outfit. KANSAS: In 1970, 12-year-old Kelly Lynn Albright went missing and was found dead in a field in Reno County. "This case affected our community," District Attorney Bill Adair said, noting hundreds of people carried out searches and held prayer vigils. Inside the yogurt shop were the bodies of four young women13-year-old Amy Ayers, 17-year-old Eliza Thomas, 17-year-old Jennifer Harbison, and her 15-year-old sister Sarah. Still, Bland didn't know that and called off the drop. They had been married for 18 months when the call came early that morning from a woman saying they needed to get to the hospital right away. if (document.MAX_used != ',') document.write ("&exclude=" + document.MAX_used); I was a problem child as I was coming up, and you know got in trouble and things of that nature, he said, I met this guy and he told me, he said You know, you need to be part of the solution and not the problem and thats pretty much what changed my life., My cousin Sean Jones, he went missing February 18, 1999, he said, And 2017, on the same exact day my first cousin, Darnell Williams, he was murdered on Hilton Head Island. Mitchell added, Just like any other family we want justice.. A quarter century since she vanished without a trace in a mystery that became one of the most talked-about missing person cases in Alabama history. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. ", "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. "I was 26 years old, and I still had to work and earn a living somehow.". Indeed, believe it or not, American citizens are currently living in a time of unprecedented peace.[1]. The Smith family also has long thought there were more than Bland and McPherson involved, as does McPherson's family. Others suggested that drug addicts had killed the Dardeen family in order to hock their possessions for drug money. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.