GA GA - Debbie Randall, 9, Marietta, 13 Jan 1972

“We now have something that we haven’t had in 40-plus years,” said Cobb County Cold Case Unit investigator Morris Nix, a retired lieutenant with the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office and currently a sergeant with the Kennesaw Police Department.

“We have a DNA profile. DNA has changed the game,” Nix said. “It is something that we didn’t think we would have, but do because of the diligence of the Marietta Police Department.”

In February, the Cold Case Unit learned that they were able to get a DNA profile off of items collected and preserved at the scene.

“I want to emphasize,” Nix said, “that without the cooperation of the Marietta Police Department, Chief (Dan) Flynn and his detectives, and without them trusting us with this case, what we can do with it, none of this would be possible. We have received nothing but cooperation from them. Without that cooperation we wouldn’t be where we are at.”

The profile was submitted to the Combined DNA Index System, which is a national criminal database, but there wasn’t a match. But, Nix said that now that the profile is in the database, a match could come in whenever a new profile is submitted to CODIS.

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But time is running out for Juanita Randall who is fighting an aggressive form of leukemia. Her dying wish is to know – once and for all – who killed her little freckle-faced girl.

“I’d give anything if I could find out who it was before I pass away," said Juanita Randall.

Detectives are hopeful they’ll be able to grant that wish, but they still need that crucial match through DNA to bring closure to the case and the Randall family.

"Many times you believe you know the answer and you just can’t get there as far as evidence," said Dawes.

Detectives now have a short list of suspects that they hope to narrow down to just one. In the meantime, Debbie’s family believes someone may have information to help them crack the case.

“Please tell them, please tell them. It’s been too long, you know," said Melvin Randall.

Until then, the family clings to memories and a box full of Debbie’s doll clothes and small toys; a few precious photographs.

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[h=3]Brad Hunter, Toronto Sun[/h] Apr 15, 2017

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Who killed Debbie Lynn Randall in 1972?

The files are no doubt yellowed with age.
They are not frozen in time like the smile of Debbie Lynn Randall.

She was a happy Grade 3 student in Marietta, Georgia.

And then, like that, she was grabbed off the street, raped and killed and her body tossed away into a drainage ditch minutes from the safety of her home on Jan. 13, 1972. The killer was never caught.
Now, a team of retired detectives are determined to give Debbie Lynn’s mother her dying wish: put her baby’s killer behind bars.
“She was a beautiful kid. You look at her picture and you can see the innocence,” retired Det. Morris Nix told CBS Atlanta.

On the night she was murdered, the Barbie-loving 9-year-old left the laundromat where she was helping her stepdad do the wash. Debbie Lynn walked out – her home was 75 yards away – and was grabbed by a person in a dark pickup.

But the killer left behind DNA and the little girl’s family is praying that seals the deal. Cops now have a narrow list of suspects. But will it be in time for Debbie Lynn’s mom, Juanita, who is dying of leukemia?

“I’d give anything if I could find out who it was before I pass away,” her mother said.

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Jan 11, 2016

On the afternoon of January 13, Debbie was there washing clothes with friends. After some time passed, her mother began to worry. And when the family went to check on her she was gone.

A woman who worked there said she saw Debbie leave hours earlier.

"So she started walking home and they grabbed her out in the parking lot," said Debbie's mother, Juanita Randall.

Police found laundry soap splattered on the pavement in the parking lot.

For the next 16 days, Debbie’s disappearance made local and national headlines.

Then on a rainy evening at dusk, Debbie was found dead lying face down wearing the long-sleeved lavender dress she wore to school the day she was kidnapped, raped, and killed.

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Witness to 45-year-old cold case comes forward for the first time, speaks about 9-year-old girl’s abduction, murder

For 45 years, a witness, who was a little girl herself when she saw the abduction, hasn’t spoken out—until now.
Sandra, who describes herself as “once a street kid,” spoke exclusively to Nancy Grace about Debbie. Sandra was just 12 years old when she witnessed a man in a black pickup truck get out of his vehicle, grab Debbie, and force her into the truck.


Sandra, who thought maybe the man was a family member, admitted that she snickered and thought to herself that Debbie was being punished after doing something she shouldn’t have.


http://www.crimeonline.com/2017/06/...eaks-about-9-year-old-girls-abduction-murder/

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What We Know About the Suspect:

• White male with medium build
• Wore long pants and a shirt
• Drove a black pickup truck
• May have taken Debbie to the now-closed business, Dixie Cast and Stone, in Marietta
• Numerous day laborers worked at Dixie Cast and Stone, possibly including the suspect
• The suspect may have worked at Dixie Cast and Stone anywhere from 1968-1974

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On the night she was murdered, the Barbie-loving 9-year-old left the laundromat where she was helping her stepdad do the wash. Debbie Lynn walked out – her home was 75 yards away – and was grabbed by a person in a dark pickup.

But the killer left behind DNA and the little girl’s family is praying that seals the deal. Cops now have a narrow list of suspects. But will it be in time for Debbie Lynn’s mom, Juanita, who is dying of leukemia?

“I’d give anything if I could find out who it was before I pass away,” her mother said.

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Tc12215 said:

I see the post that said she was helping her stepdad with the wash. Do we know if he witnessed anything or if he was actually at the laudramat with her?

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JusticeWillBeServed said:

Debbie Randall was last seen leaving a laundromat about half a block away from her home. She never arrived and was abducted close to her house; a spilled box of laundry detergent was found outside. Over the next couple of weeks, a massive search effort was done to locate Debbie. On January 29th, a group of Southern Tech students located her body with the same clothes she had on when she disappeared. An autopsy report revealed that she had been criminally assaulted and then strangled.

Residents reported seeing a dark pick-up truck in the area on the day of Debbie's abduction. It had been around her home and pulled into a parking area beside the road where the detergent was found. Multiple individuals confessed to the murder but they were all ruled out. Virgil Delano Presnell was investigated after he was arrested for the murder of Lori Smith in 1976. It was determined that he was not in the area at the time.

Despite the passage of time, investigators continue to work the case and hope that they can one day identify Debbie's killer.

Cobb's Cold Case Unit may be closing in on girl's murder



Who killed Deborah Lynn Randall?



Older Articles:

Reading Eagle - Google News Archive Search

Rome News-Tribune - Google News Archive Search


View attachment 96078

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JusticeWillBeServed said:

Debbie Randall was last seen leaving a laundromat about half a block away from her home. She never arrived and was abducted close to her house; a spilled box of laundry detergent was found outside. Over the next couple of weeks, a massive search effort was done to locate Debbie. On January 29th, a group of Southern Tech students located her body with the same clothes she had on when she disappeared. An autopsy report revealed that she had been criminally assaulted and then strangled.

Residents reported seeing a dark pick-up truck in the area on the day of Debbie's abduction. It had been around her home and pulled into a parking area beside the road where the detergent was found. Multiple individuals confessed to the murder but they were all ruled out. Virgil Delano Presnell was investigated after he was arrested for the murder of Lori Smith in 1976. It was determined that he was not in the area at the time.

Despite the passage of time, investigators continue to work the case and hope that they can one day identify Debbie's killer.

Cobb's Cold Case Unit may be closing in on girl's murder



Who killed Deborah Lynn Randall?



Older Articles:

Reading Eagle - Google News Archive Search

Rome News-Tribune - Google News Archive Search


View attachment 96078

Click to expand...

Gone Cold is an ongoing series, where 11Alive Journalist Jessica Noll investigates some of the most infamous and lesser-known cold cases in Georgia. She's digging for answers for the still-grieving families who long for them, and for the victims who have never found their justice.

11Alive Journalist Jessica Noll spent months interviewing law enforcement, witnesses and family members to journalistically gather every aspect of the story possible. She investigated the case, sifting through public records, police reports, renderings and photos. She also visited each crime scene associated with Debbie Lynn Randall’s case.

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scriptgirl said:

How is her mom doing healthwise?

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