GUILTY PA - Barbara Rowan, 14, raped & murdered, Trevose, 3 Aug 1984

Richard

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Name: Barbara Rowan
Age at Time of Disapperance: 14
Gender: Female
From City/State: Bensalem, PA

Circumstances of Disappearance: Barbara left her first floor apartment at approximately 3:00pm on August 3, 1984 in the vicinity of the 4000 block of Old Lincoln Hwy, in Trevose, PA.

Circumstances of Discovery: Close to her residence on August 16, 1984, her nude body was found, bound and gagged. A vehicle had been seen in the area of her body and is described as a white, late 1970 full size car driven by an unknown male. The man is described as white with dark complexion, dark hair, mustache, possibly 20-30 years old and wearing a tan sports shirt. In addition, a dark green 1974 Chevrolet Impala was seen in the area. A suspect had been developed but could not be charged due to insufficient evidence.

Investigative Agency: Bensalem Police Department
Phone: (215) 633-3660
Website: http://www.bensalem-township.com/cis.asp

Link
http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?C200301463W
 
There are quite a few girls missing from Pennsylvania under suspicious circumstances. Here is one from the same town as Barbara Rowan, same age, missing only a year earlier. I wonder if there is a connection between this case and some of the others?

----------------------------------
TRACY ANN BYRD
DOB: Jul 7, 1968
Missing: Mar 7, 1983
Age at time: 14
Age Now: 36
Sex: Female
Race: White
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
Height: 5'0" (152 cm)
Weight: 95 lbs (43 kg)
Missing From: BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA, United States
Non-Family Abduction

Child was last seen by a family friend who dropped her off at school. She did not attend classes that day. Child has pierced ears and her hair is strawberry blonde. Partial dental records are available.

Bensalem Township Police Department (Pennsylvania) - Missing Persons Unit 1-215-639-3700

Link
http://www.missingkids.com/missingk...NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US
 
I posted on the above two cases some time ago, but got no replies. I thought with the recent interest in similar cases, I would bump it up and see if anyone might be able to find more information on either of these two cases. I have a feeling that they might be linked, and if so, perhaps other similar cases might also be connected.
 
Any further information on the dark green 1974 impala? Was it just cited by a witness or did they find out whose it was?





Richard said:
Name: Barbara Rowan
Age at Time of Disapperance: 14
Gender: Female
From City/State: Bensalem, PA

Circumstances of Disappearance: Barbara left her first floor apartment at approximately 3:00pm on August 3, 1984 in the vicinity of the 4000 block of Old Lincoln Hwy, in Trevose, PA.

Circumstances of Discovery: Close to her residence on August 16, 1984, her nude body was found, bound and gagged. A vehicle had been seen in the area of her body and is described as a white, late 1970 full size car driven by an unknown male. The man is described as white with dark complexion, dark hair, mustache, possibly 20-30 years old and wearing a tan sports shirt. In addition, a dark green 1974 Chevrolet Impala was seen in the area. A suspect had been developed but could not be charged due to insufficient evidence.

Investigative Agency: Bensalem Police Department
Phone: (215) 633-3660
Website: http://www.bensalem-township.com/cis.asp

Link
http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?C200301463W
 
Thanks Richard for bumping this... I hope you will do it with more cases.

Seeing this makes me wonder if you haven't struck on something... you know yourself how hard it is for LE to make the connection sometimes.
 
Richard, they long have suspected a serial killer was operating in that area around this time...When I came to the Doe Network, I noticed a huge amount of brunettes missing in PA while searching for a match for the Frederick Jane doe. I sent a list to the state police here and was told investigators long since believe a serial killer was operating in the area. There was a truck driver interviewed with the Frederick Jane Doe case and apparently he operated in this area.

MD
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/237ufmd.html 1991 Jane Doe, Frederick
Tracy Hoffmaster, found 1996 not far rom this site http://www.cityoffrederick.com/departments/Police/Homicides.htm
PA cases:

1987 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/51dfpa.html
1988 Jane Doe http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/461ufpa.html
1989 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/899dfpa.html
1989 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/601dfpa.html (may be domestic)
1989 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/19dfpa.html
1990 Jane Doe http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/246ufpa.html
1991 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/260dfpa.html
1991 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/166dfpa.html
1992 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/602dfpa.html
1992 Jane Doe http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/179ufpa.html
1993 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/852dfpa.html
1993 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/769dfpa.html
1995 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/1285dfpa.html
 
marylandmissing said:
Richard, they long have suspected a serial killer was operating in that area around this time...When I came to the Doe Network, I noticed a huge amount of brunettes missing in PA while searching for a match for the Frederick Jane doe. I sent a list to the state police here and was told investigators long since believe a serial killer was operating in the area. There was a truck driver interviewed with the Frederick Jane Doe case and apparently he operated in this area.

MD
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/237ufmd.html 1991 Jane Doe, Frederick
Tracy Hoffmaster, found 1996 not far rom this site http://www.cityoffrederick.com/departments/Police/Homicides.htm
PA cases:

1987 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/51dfpa.html
1988 Jane Doe http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/461ufpa.html
1989 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/899dfpa.html
1989 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/601dfpa.html (may be domestic)
1989 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/19dfpa.html
1990 Jane Doe http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/246ufpa.html
1991 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/260dfpa.html
1991 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/166dfpa.html
1992 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/602dfpa.html
1992 Jane Doe http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/179ufpa.html
1993 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/852dfpa.html
1993 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/769dfpa.html
1995 http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/1285dfpa.html
Thank you for all the links. Some of them I have seen, but others I had not. There definitely seems to be some patterns and similarities among them. It is hard to say if it is the same killer at work, or if there are several who do essentially the same thing. Frederick Maryland is very close to Pennsylvania. I go by it several times each year when driving to Gettysburg, PA.
 
The Daily Intelligencer
Aug 19th 1984
Doylestown, PA

The search continued Saturday for suspects in the murder of a girl believed to be 14-year-old Barbara Rowan-missing for two weeks from her Bensalem trailer park home.
.......
The victim was suffocated according to Dr. Thomas J. Rosko, Buck's county coroner.
.......
The badly decomposed, partially clad body was discovered about 5:30 p.m Thursday in dense weeds about a dozen feet from the edge of Noth River Drive-scarcely a mile from her home-by a resident of a nearby cluster of River Drive homes who was looking for his dog....
 
The Daily Intelligencer
Nov 28th 1984
Doylestown PA
A sealed indictment handed up by a New Castle Del. grand jury led to the arrest last Friday of Paul Edward Greenwald, 38, of.....Philadelphia on charges he kidnapped and murdered his estranged wife Jean Louise Byrd, 36, of Bensalem Township.
.......
A spokesman for the Delaware State Troopers said the indictment states the murder of Mrs. Byrd occurred between Oct. 8th and Oct. 18th, 1983 in the Blackbird State Forest, a wilderness area about two miles east of Delaware's Route 13, south of Smyrna.
Mrs Byrd died of asphyxiation her mouth bound with heavy tape, according to records. She had been abducted from the apartment complex parking lot. Her decomposed body was found by a man walking through the woods 11 days after her kidnapping.
.......
In 1980 , Greenwald had been convicted of kidnapping Mrs. Byrd at knife point and was placed on probation.
.........
..said there was no evidence to link Greenwald to the girl's disappearance. An intense search of the area where Mrs. Byrd's partially clad body was turned up gave no evidence of her daughter.
Bensalem police declined to confirm foul play in Tracy's disappearance.They continue to list her as a missing person.They said she was driven by a friend of the family to Bensalem High School on Hulmeville road, but the girl never got to class.
 
It just burns me when LE suspects a serial killer, and the don't advise the public. And that is supposed to be for our own good (to prevent a public panic)
Like that is supposed to outweigh the advantage of knowing that Hey, there is a serial killer out there and he may be running around looking for someone to murder.
The public seems to handle it ok when rapists and murderers break out of jail, and run, and LE wants them back. Even knowing that a desperate criminal is on the loose, the public is naturally interested but no panic.
I think the main reason they don't publicize a serial, is because they don't want the added pressure of the public scrunitizing their investigation into the murders and the pressure from the public to solve them.
 
It bugs me that they didn't think that all three of these cases were related. Hmmmm!!!
 
Tracy Byrd disappeared 7 months before her mother was murdered.
 
The Intelligencer
Sept. 13th, 1987
Doylestown PA

.......
On March 8, 1983, Tracy was dropped off at Bensalem High School by her mother's boyfriend, Paul Greenwald. Tracy, who had been suspended and hadn't told her mother, then unsuccessfully tried to get other friends to join her by skipping classes, since she wasn't allowed in the school.
Tracy apparentely then ran away that afternoon, leaving rumors circulating that she was pregnant.
.........
Greenwald pleaded guilty to her (Jean) murder, but no connection could be made to Tracy's disappearance. On the day of his sentencing, Greenwald was found dead in his cell of an overdose of medication.
According to Bensalem police Detective Terry Lachman, one of the few people who believes Tracy is still alive,believes Tracy may still be in the area Lachman said recently many calls have come in from people who went to school with her, saying they have seen her in places such as Space Port in Oxford Valley Mall and in Neshaminy Mall.
 
Are any photos available of Greenwald to compare to the description of the man seen in the area of Rowan's body? It would be interesting to know what type of vehicle Greenwald was operating.

Is it possible that Tracey called Greenwald from school to pick up her when she was unable to talk any of her friends into mischief?

I'm also curious as to where Greenwald would have been working at the time of Tracey's disappearance.
 
I didn't find any photos of Greenwald, but another article I read stated theat he was being sentenced for a "manslaughter" charge. So, because he pled guilty they probably made him a deal. He would have been out again in no time flat.
 
Hollow said:
I didn't find any photos of Greenwald, but another article I read stated theat he was being sentenced for a "manslaughter" charge. So, because he pled guilty they probably made him a deal. He would have been out again in no time flat.
When was that? If he is still incarcerated, he might be on the correctional facility website with pic.
 
According to Hollow's post (#15) Greenwald killed himself, I'm assuming sometime in '84.
 
shadowangel said:
Are any photos available of Greenwald to compare to the description of the man seen in the area of Rowan's body? It would be interesting to know what type of vehicle Greenwald was operating.

Is it possible that Tracey called Greenwald from school to pick up her when she was unable to talk any of her friends into mischief?

I'm also curious as to where Greenwald would have been working at the time of Tracey's disappearance.
Greenwald would certainly have been photographed and fingerprinted as a routine procedure upon his arrest. Those photos should be available to investigators involved in the other two cases.

If Greenwald had been in his car at the time of arrest, or if it had been identified in a search warrant, that information would be available as well.
 

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