MI MI - Shannon Verhage, 11 months, Cedar Springs, 3 June 1997

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shadowangel

shadowangel

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I am also seeking info from a case shown on Unsolved Mysteries. This case involved a young woman who had allegedly been raped by the town bully. Just prior to testifying against her attacker, the young lady was murdered. Other people with knowledge of the case also disappeared. The person who allegedly raped and then later murdered the girl was caught. If anyone knows anything about this case, or where I can find the info, please let me know. (I have been completely through the Unsolved Mysteries website).
 
The case was on again the other day. If this is the case you're talking about. I forget his real name, but I think he used the assumed name Robert Allen. He had a terrible moustache. The girl was raped and murdered and found in the bottom of a lake. The girl was going to testify against him that she was raped. Before trial She was suppossed to be out on a date and never returned home. It was one of Robert Allen's friends. Evidentally the guy she went out with is missing as well as her baby daughter was also missing. As well as the original Robert Allen whois also missing.
There was an update and he was arrested. The baby girl though was never found.
 
That's it! Thank you! I had the right case in mind, but couldn't put 2 and 2 together. Marvin Gabrion is the guy's name, the mother and daughter, Rachel and Shannon Verhage. Little Shannon is still missing.
 
Shannon's Charley Project page....

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/v/verhage_shannon.html

On June 15, 1996, baby Shannon was born to young Rachel Timmerman. Since her homelife was horrible, Rachel moved in with Shannon's paternal grandparents.
Six weeks later, Rachel was raped by Marvin Gabrion. Gabrion was arrested for the rape. Gabrion was then released on bond. Just before the date of the rape trial, Rachel and Shannon disappeared. Rachel was mending things with her family, and had moved in with her father. On June 3rd, 1997, she and Shannon got into a car with an unknown male, stating they would return in two hours. Over the next weeks, the father received letters purportedly from Rachel, stating everything was fine.
Rachel's remains were found a few weeks later on July 5th in a nearby lake-she had been bound, gagged, chained to blocks and thrown into the lake alive.
Shannon has not been seen since.
An alleged witness to the rape, Wayne Davis, is also missing. The man Rachel is believed to have left her father's home with, John Weeks, a known associate of Gabrion's, has never been seen again.
In October of '97, Gabrion was captured in upstate NY, living under the identity Robert Allen. Allen was a transient from MI. Gabrion was collecting Allen's social security checks.
Allen's whereabouts are unknown.

Some believe that Shannon may still be alive, given over to other "associates" of Gabrion who would not, it is believed, harm her.

Michigan does not have the death penalty, but as the murder occured on federal land, prosecutors were able to secure the death penalty for Gabrion under federal law in 2002.

No charges have ever been brought in the disappearances of Shannon, Weeks, Davis or Allen.
 
How in the hell does this guy get a website??? I like how he was framed...I mean, just because he was found with the keys that go to the locks that chained Rachel...Or that he was collecting the SS checks of man no one has ever seen again.

Notice he says he is a widower...Make anyone wonder why?

I first got interested in him because I thought he bore a resemblance to Henry Harbison (color photo a the bottom of the attached page). This story is discussed in the thread "Freda, Sheri Lyn and Michael Johnson".

http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/1023dfmo.html
 
Did Rachel Timmerman ever call her child her little rainbow?
( I am working on a little long shot idea.)
 
shadowangel said:
I don't know, but here is a website set up by the paternal grandmother. She would be able to answer the question----

http://www.kats-korner.com/child/verhage.html
Click to expand...
Ty- Here is a poem written by the perp that seems interesting in light of his crime against mother & baby. (Edited post to add:This poem version is quite different & is a bit longer than the more polished edited version seen on perps own website. I think this version below is possibly the earlier version and I wonder if it is more message/riddle than poem.)

STOLEN LOVE

Romantic Love for any lady,
becomes a dream judged shady.
My heart bleeds wrongfully lonely Blue,
ever again Loves rainbow hues?

Her harmless Lie, for their evil corruption,
their seeded media lies, created guilty as asumption.
Helling upon my soul, this little world's.
Blind in mind, hatefull murderous words.

Any Lady, should she choose,
aces Love, she may lose.
Though it be, as Love is, freely grave,
if 'they', put this body, in a grave.

MARVIN CHARLES GABRION II
Terre Haute, IN
Rachel Timmerman
Click to expand...
http://justice4u4003.bulldoghome.com/pages/justice4u4003_bulldoghome_com/page10.htm
 
Ok here is part of a long long shot idea that I am still working on. The whole idea is still not set in concrete yet so I may change things as time goes on.
It is just barely possible that this version of the poem is a sort of message/riddle. I have seen another version of the poem that I think is newer and shortened and reworded to mean something totally different.
(Note: Its ok to think this idea is crazy. -lol. I said it's only a long long shot.)
STOLEN LOVE - (He raped her)

Romantic Love for any lady,
becomes a dream judged shady.- (He raped her and then was judged guilty for it.)
My heart bleeds wrongfully lonely Blue, -(his heart (the girl he murdered) is lonely & blue= she was drowned alone in the lake)

ever again Loves rainbow hues? -(unknown-best guess=will she ever again see the light of day?=all the colors of the rainbow exist in the daylight Or maybe it means "will the baby(love) ever be seen again?")

Her harmless Lie,-(the baby was harmless & baby's body lies in unrevealed place) for their (moms and state's) evil corruption, -(because they provided evidence against me)
their seeded media lies, created guilty as asumption. -(blames his guilty verdict on news reports contaminating jury)
Helling upon my soul, this little world's. (taking out the aposterphe makes this verse understandable-"Helling upon my soul this little world is" -little world means the baby & so the baby is helling upon his soul)
Blind in mind, hatefull murderous words. (Not our world that that is blind in mind but rather HIS mind is blinded by the guilt of the hateful murderous words he hears the baby speak - Guilty guilty guilty)

****************************
Note:
I think it is possible the next and last verse is an effort to
salve his concience (or buy time on death row)
by leaving a clue to the whereabouts of baby's body.

I am not sure of the meaing yet. It could mean she is in
a free grave or paupers grave but there are actually
people surnamed freely so I wonder if any of them
are buried near the area they disappeared from.

If so then perhaps they buried the baby in a grave
already marked as someone else.
He says she(grandmother?) should go to graveyard(implied) &choose any lady
(Lady: Among the four strongest starting hands in Texas Hold’Em is a Pair of Aces ("Ladies").
http://www.winningpokersupplies.com/10_95ladies.htm)
Maybe the last line means to use this poem to find the baby's
body if the state puts the perp in the grave.
Or it could mean -if his associates placed the baby in a grave
as they were supposed to have done.
******************************

Any Lady, should she choose,-(maybe it means to look for 2 sisters buried in a cemetary)
aces Love, she may lose. (the "ladies" wont be happy for their grave to be dug up to find the baby)
Though it be, as Love is, freely grave, -(. . . perhaps under the surname "freely" or "queen".)
if 'they', put this body, in a grave.
poem written by MARVIN CHARLES GABRION II
 
Missing Since: June 3, 1997 from Cedar Springs, Michigan
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: June 15, 1996
Age: 11 months old
Height and Weight: 2'6, 30 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Blonde hair. blue eyes. Verhage has a strawberry birthmark on the back of her neck at her hairline. Her last name may be spelled "VerHage."
Clothing Description: A tri-colored dress and a diaper.
Sex: Female
Race: White
Age Now: 9
Case Number: NCMC835530

NCME

Charley Project
 
This case is very sad. I hope that they find this girl.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1884dfmi.html
Shannon Dale VerHage
Missing since June 3, 1997 from Cedar Springs, Kent County, Michigan
Classification: Non-Family Abduction




Vital Statistics
  • Date Of Birth: June 15, 1996
  • Age at Time of Disappearance: 11 months old
  • Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 2'6" (76 cm); 30 lbs (14 kg).
  • Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde hair; blue eyes.
  • Marks, Scars: Strawberry birthmark on back of neck at hairline.
  • Clothing: She was last seen wearing a tricolored dress and a diaper.


Circumstances of Disappearance
VerHage was last seen in Cedar Springs, Michigan on June 3, 1997 with her mother, Rachel Timmerman. Her mother was found deceased on July 5, 1997 in a lake in White Cloud, Michigan. Her mother was the victim of a homicide.
Marvin Charles Gabrion II was convicted of the murder of Rachel Timmerman in early March 2002 and sentenced to death shortly thereafter.
Shannon has never been located.



Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Michigan State Police
Newaygo Post
616-652-1661
 
i saw that to but not the whole thing like the part where the father says shes afraid to testify and they show her with her baby and they are puting on jewlery and stuff.. all the guys friends went missing around the time she did.. and he wont tell where the baby is do you think he would have killed his own baby? maybe he sold her to someone or gave her to someone for safekeeping? he was crazy but was he crazy enugh to kill the child
 
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: June 3, 1997 from Cedar Springs, Michigan
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: June 15, 1996
Age: 11 months old
Height and Weight: 2'6, 30 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Blonde hair. blue eyes. Verhage has a strawberry birthmark on the back of her neck at her hairline. Her last name may be spelled "VerHage."
Clothing Description: A tri-colored dress and a diaper.
​
bar.jpg


Details of Disappearance

Verhage's mother, Rachel Timmerman, was allegedly raped by Marvin Charles Gabrion II six weeks after she gave birth to Verhage in 1996 in Cedar Springs, Michigan. Photos of Timmerman and Gabrion are posted below this case summary. Timmerman reported the attack to law enforcement and Gabrion was arrested. He was released on bond shortly thereafter. Timmerman was scheduled to testify against Gabrion in court during the summer of 1997. One of the alleged crime's witnesses, Wayne Davis, disappeared after Gabrion was released from custody. Davis planned to testify on Timmerman's behalf at the upcoming rape trial. Timmerman was having problems with her family during this time and sent Verhage to live with the infant's paternal grandparents. Timmerman began repairing her family relationships during May 1997 and was planning to move into her father's home with Verhage during the summer. She took Verhage to her father's residence during the weekend of June 3, 1997 in preparation for the change of custody. Timmerman and Verhage were last seen on June 3, when an unidentified man picked them up from Timmerman's father's house. Timmerman told her stepmother they planned to return in approximately two hours. Timmerman apparently only brought Verhage's diaper bag with her, as she did not plan to be away from home for an extended period of time.

Timmerman's father received a letter that was supposedly written by his daughter shortly after she and Verhage left the house. It stated that she planned to elope with an unidentified man and would be in contact with her family in about two weeks. Another letter arrived at her father's home two weeks afterwards, which was postmarked from Little Rock, Arkansas. The final note stated that Timmerman and Verhage were doing well and would write again when they located a permanent address in the area. Family members grew very concerned and suspicious, as Timmerman apparently had no plans to marry anyone and no travel plans.

Timmerman's body was discovered in Oxford Lake in Manistee National Forest on July 5, 1997, over one month after she and Verhage were last seen. Oxford Lake is approximately 70 miles north of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Timmerman's eyes and mouth had been covered with duct tape and she was placed in handcuffs. She was chained to cinder blocks, then thrown into the water alive, where she drowned. Timmerman was 19 years old at the time of her homicide. There was no sign of Verhage at the scene and the child has never been heard from again.

Timmerman's brother told authorities that Gabrion threatened to murder his sister if she testified against him. Investigators determined that Gabrion was in Newago County and the Cedar Springs area prior to Timmerman and Verhage's disappearances in June 1997. Authorities believed that Timmerman's friend, John Weeks, was the unidentified man who picked Timmerman and Verhage up from her father's residence prior to their disappearances. Weeks also vanished in June 1997 and has never been located.

An investigation was launched into Gabrion's background. Authorities discovered that he was collecting Social Security checks under the name "Robert Allen" in 1997. Allen was actually a transient from Grand Rapids and had been missing for some time. Gabrion was arrested and convicted of Social Security fraud in July 1998 and was sentenced to five years in federal prison.

Gabrion was charged with Timmerman's murder in March 2001. The state of Michigan banned the death penalty many years ago, but authorities charged Gabrion in federal court due to Timmerman's murder location, which occurred on government property. As a result, prosecutors are able to seek the death penalty as punishment for Gabrion if he is convicted. Gabrion has not been charged in connection with the disappearances of Verhage, Davis, Weeks or Allen. Authorities stated in the death penalty notice that Gabrion's conduct led to the Verhage's disappearance.

Authorities dredged Oxford Lake in May 2001 in an attempt to recover possible evidence against Gabrion, but nothing was located. Gabiron's trial for Timmerman's homicide began in Grand Rapids, Michigan in Fenruary 2002. Authorities stated that keys found in his residence fit the locks placed on Timmerman's body. Investigators admitted that the locks, chain and handcuffs found with Timmerman had not been checked for fingerprints. Prints were not found on the duct tape which covered her face.

Gabrion was convicted of Timmerman's murder in early March 2002 and sentenced to death shortly thereafter. Verhage's case remains unsolved. She has never been located.


http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/v/verhage_shannon.html
 
The last execution in Michigan under STATE law was Stephen G. Simmons, who murdered his wife in a drunken fury. He was publicly hanged in Detroit. Seats were erected for spectators and a military band provided music.

Furor over the carnival-like atmosphere led to Michigan legislature abolishing capital punishment in 1846 - the first state in the Union to do so.

The last person executed in Michigan up to now was Anthony Chebatoris who robbed the Chemical State Savings Bank in Bay City, and in the process, murdered a bystander. There was a very strict National Bank Robbery Act in place at the time to stop the rash of bank robberies going on in the 1930's. Chebatoris was the first person in the country convicted under that act and on 8 July 1938, he became the last person executed in Michigan.

So now, some 68 years later, one Marvin Charles Gabrion II is slated for this special honor. Certainly, his lawyers will be appealing for years to come.


Too bad they can't torture him in the meanwhile, to get him to give up information about Shannon's wherabouts.
 
A recent article:

Rare Michigan capital-punishment case challenged

GRAND RAPIDS -- A federal appeals court has returned a death-penalty case to a Michigan courtroom, where attorneys will argue whether the federal government had the jurisdiction to prosecute it.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joan Meyer said she is confident the court will uphold the conviction and death sentence of Marvin Charles Gabrion II.

"We believe we have the jurisdiction to prosecute this case," she told The Grand Rapids Press for a story published Friday.

But Kevin McNally, the defense lawyer handling Gabrion's appeal, said newly uncovered federal documents bring into question whether the case, which involves a slaying on federal property, should have instead been tried in state court.

*snip*

McNally said the documents indicate that when the federal government obtained the land 67 years ago for the Manistee National Forest, it failed to take the necessary steps to also obtain law-enforcement jurisdiction.

Gabrion was sentenced in March 2002 to be executed after being convicted of killing Rachel Helena Timmerman in the national forest.

Meyer disagreed with McNally, saying the government "took all the necessary steps" when it acquired the forest in 1939.

If the appeal is successful, Gabrion would be removed from death row at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., and given a new trial in state court in Newaygo County, where the crime happened.

More at link:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060415/METRO/604150346/1003/rss
 
 
Mr. E said:
Gabrion is an evil, evil man. He murdered Rachel Timmerman so she couldn't testify about the rape, he murdered Robert Allen so he could have a new identity, and he murdered Wayne Davis because he was a witness to the rape. He refuses to say where Shannon is.


http://www.ccadp.org/marvingabrion.htm

http://www.kats-korner.com/child/verhage.html
Click to expand...
His website actually states he is a former member of "Menza" and states that he has scored "100% on hardest IQ tests", yet has horribly misspelled words and incorrect grammar.

Oh, I certainly believe he he was a former member of "Menza"!:loser:

He is disgusting. :furious:
 
I can't go into it but there is reason to believe that Shannon may still be alive.
They have suspicions and information but no evidence on the possible accomplices who are still alive and walking around free.
Rachel was seen up until June 5th, 1997.
Shannon was never seen after they left Rachel's fathers house on June 3rd. Investigators believe Shannon was with a baby-sitter.
Associates of Mr. Gabrion, who were close to Rachel and known to baby-sit for Shannon, left on an unplanned trip on June 5th, 1997.
They were gone for two weeks.
Police have not been able to find where they went.
They have refused to be interviewed.
It is not believed that these associates would harm Shannon.
But they would hide her to protect Marvin Gabrion.



I hope that is true. That man deserves to fry!
 
If Shannon is alive I hope she was adopted by a nice family who doesn't know her history. Like Tiffany Stasi.

The problem with missing infants is that who knows what they'll look like when they grow up? All babies look pretty much the same so it's hard to do an accurate AP, which is really the only good resource for finding them.
 
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