KS KS - Mandi Alexander, 24, & Mary Drake, 79, Great Bend, 4 Sept 2002

New Posts

Gina_M

Gina_M

New Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2006
Messages
1,582
Reaction score
151
Website
www.findmywayhome.org
I saw Mandi profiled on Myspace but did not see a thread for her. Police still have not found the killer and are unsure of a motive.

http://www.myspace.com/mandialexander

Mandi Alexander was a clerk and Mary Drake was a customer at what used to be the Dolly Madison bread store.

It was business as usual here, until late that Wednesday afternoon.

Corey Latham: "We are looking at a time frame somewhere between 5:15 and 6 p.m."

A delivery man arrived to find the store locked.

He had a key for the back door....and when he went in....discovered Mandi and Mary stabbed to death...lying in a pool of blood.

...

Minutes before the bodies were discovered....a person wanting to shop at the store told police he arrived to find a man walking out the front door and locking it...saying the store was closed.

...

Money was missing...but it wasn't a lot....so investigators are not sure that robbery was the motive.

After questioning more than 600 people, there are many unanswered questions.

http://www.kwch.com/Global/story.asp?S=6059659

http://www.kansas.gov/kbi/mw_gbdollymadison.shtml
 
Link said:
Money was missing...but it wasn't a lot....
Click to expand...

Rather than the amount, it would be more useful to know if it's all the cash contained in the cash register that was missing or if some other than small change was left. In the absence of any connection between suspect and victims this appears to me as a junkie robbery gone awry. Small isolated shop could mean the guy didn't care how much money he could grab, as long as there was enough to cover his next fix, and a low level of risk involved.
 
Found another article with some additional info:

Great Bend Police Chief Dean Akings said, "There was money missing out of the cash register, and that, as far as motive is concerned, is all we know."

The murders took place on one of the city's busiest corners at the height of evening rush. So if robbery was the motive, it was a big risk.

"For what was taken out of there, if robbery was a motive, there's a whole lot of other places they could go for a whole lot more money," said Chief Akings.

http://www.wichitasedgwickcountycrimestoppers.com/unsolved_murders/alexander.html
 
Gina_M said:
The murders took place on one of the city's busiest corners at the height of evening rush. So if robbery was the motive, it was a big risk.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, judging from the picture this store appears to be self-contained rather than being part of a cluster of shops in a little plaza, that's what I meant when I said isolated. I would imagine that such a location could be useful to a would-be robber desperate for quick cash because by counting the cars in the parking lot he can make an educated guess on how many customers may be inside the store. That's probably as far as planning ahead gets in a drug-starved brain.

But that's just speculation on my part based on a single picture and very few details, locals would be in a better position to comment.
 
I wonder if they would have been taking out the trash before closing and if that is how someone gained entry or if the perp pretended to be a customer first. The last 2 transactions may not have been traced yet but they may not have been involved at all or they might be linked to the killer.
 
On September 4, 2002, 24 year old Mandi Alexander & 79 year old Mary Drake were victims of homicide that occurred at a Dolly Madison Bakery in Great Bend, Kansas.

Mandi had worked at the bakery for only 3 days when this happened. Mary was a customer of the bakery.

To date no one has been arrested in this case. Law enforcement continue to search for the person responsible for this horrible crime. A witness did see a man come out of the front door of the bakery & appeared to be locking it behind him. The witness was able to give the police information that produced a composite sketch of the suspect.

For more information on this case & to see a picture of the composite sketch please go to Mandi's page at www.myspace.com/mandialexander

There is a $17,000.00 reward leading to an arrest in this case.
 
So this guy just walks away after murdering two innocent people?

Someone out there knows something...this story makes me really angry.
 
Gina_M said:
Found another article with some additional info:

Great Bend Police Chief Dean Akings said, "There was money missing out of the cash register, and that, as far as motive is concerned, is all we know."

The murders took place on one of the city's busiest corners at the height of evening rush. So if robbery was the motive, it was a big risk.

"For what was taken out of there, if robbery was a motive, there's a whole lot of other places they could go for a whole lot more money," said Chief Akings.

http://www.wichitasedgwickcountycrimestoppers.com/unsolved_murders/alexander.html
Click to expand...

Chiefs Atkins is right that" there's a whole lot of other places they could go for a whole lot more money". Their was a bank located right across the street at the time so if they wanted a big score that would have been it. But then again maybe they were thinking less security at a bakery than a bank.

I was born and raised in Great Bend. The local PD does not have a very good track record solving murders. Lots of unsolved one.
 
KarlK said:
Not necessarily, judging from the picture this store appears to be self-contained rather than being part of a cluster of shops in a little plaza, that's what I meant when I said isolated. I would imagine that such a location could be useful to a would-be robber desperate for quick cash because by counting the cars in the parking lot he can make an educated guess on how many customers may be inside the store. That's probably as far as planning ahead gets in a drug-starved brain.

But that's just speculation on my part based on a single picture and very few details, locals would be in a better position to comment.
Click to expand...

I lived in Great Bend many years. The bakery was on a very busy street corner. The store is self contained but there are a bunch of other businesses very close. Bank across the street. McDonalds other side of street.
 
Investigators announced Tuesday that they have collected new DNA evidence they hope will lead to a break in the killing of two Kansas women at a bakery 20 years ago.

A delivery driver found the bodies of 24-year-old Mandi Alexander and 79-year-old Mary Drake the evening of Sept. 4, 2002, at a Dolly Madison Bakery outlet in Great Bend, Kansas.

www.cbsnews.com

New DNA evidence collected in killing of two women at Kansas bakery 20 years ago: "It's promising"

Mary Drake was a customer, and Mandi Alexander had begun working as a clerk the week she was killed.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com
 
I heard that there was a witness who saw a man leaving the business or area but the person was a relative of some sort to a higher up in the city and so it was basically brushed under the rug. I can't believe this case has not gained more traction over the years.
 
garretmc23 said:
I heard that there was a witness who saw a man leaving the business or area but the person was a relative of some sort to a higher up in the city and so it was basically brushed under the rug. I can't believe this case has not gained more traction over the years.
Click to expand...
There was a witness who saw the man leaving. But he has never been identified so no relation to any higher up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 203 more.
Total: 2,279 (members: 204, guests: 2,075)

Online statistics

Members online
204
Guests online
2,075
Total visitors
2,279
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
591,536
Messages
17,954,218
Members
228,527
Latest member
rxpb
Back
Top