ClaireNC
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This case has haunted me for years. I grew up and lived very close to where this happened. Here is the link the the Morris County, NJ CrimeStoppers site that is the only place I have found it mentioned.
http://mccrimehomicides.blogspot.com/2003/03/7880-walter-whitey-burd.asp
Here is the listing from Crimestoppers:
I was teen at the time this happened. Ledgewood was a still small town with one traffic light. Everybody pretty much knew everybody. While the above reference says it was a robbery attempt, Whitey's murder was much more.
He was a local character and was often seen walking around. He was probably homeless or living in a nearby low income boarding house or fleabag hotel. There were a few such characters that we called "hobos". We knew them, they always waved and said Hello. They were never seen as a threat of any kind.
Now, back to the murder, there was no robbery. According to some township workers at the time, Whitey was tortured and brutally murdered. His eyes, tongue and ears were cut out. The local LE thought it was a message of some sort, possibly mob related. The hypothesis was that Whitey, and, some of his friends or the other homeless people in the area, might have witnessed something "big" and the message was to keep quiet. The ears, eyes and tongue being removed were interpreted as a "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" kind of gesture.
Since he was just a "throwaway kind of human" (sarcastic), the local police never did much to try to solve the case. The thought at the time among LE was that eventually somebody would talk/brag and the case would be solved. Well it's been 30+ years and nobody has.
http://mccrimehomicides.blogspot.com/2003/03/7880-walter-whitey-burd.asp
Here is the listing from Crimestoppers:
On Tuesday, July 8, 1980 at approximately 7:00 a.m. the victim, Walter "Whitey" Burd, age 57 was discovered deceased inside the Circle Lanes Bowling Alley, Route 46, Ledgewood, NJ. The victim was employed as a maintenance worker at the bowling alley and had been murdered during an apparent robbery of the safe in the bowling alley. The victim was last seen alive at approximately 4:00 a.m. on 7/8/80 at a local restaurant and had been assaulted and stabbed prior to his death. The bowling alley had been closed at the time of the homicide.
I was teen at the time this happened. Ledgewood was a still small town with one traffic light. Everybody pretty much knew everybody. While the above reference says it was a robbery attempt, Whitey's murder was much more.
He was a local character and was often seen walking around. He was probably homeless or living in a nearby low income boarding house or fleabag hotel. There were a few such characters that we called "hobos". We knew them, they always waved and said Hello. They were never seen as a threat of any kind.
Now, back to the murder, there was no robbery. According to some township workers at the time, Whitey was tortured and brutally murdered. His eyes, tongue and ears were cut out. The local LE thought it was a message of some sort, possibly mob related. The hypothesis was that Whitey, and, some of his friends or the other homeless people in the area, might have witnessed something "big" and the message was to keep quiet. The ears, eyes and tongue being removed were interpreted as a "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" kind of gesture.
Since he was just a "throwaway kind of human" (sarcastic), the local police never did much to try to solve the case. The thought at the time among LE was that eventually somebody would talk/brag and the case would be solved. Well it's been 30+ years and nobody has.