GA GA - Levi Frady, 11, homicide, Cumming, 22 Oct 1997

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Seven years, one child, still no justice
Levi Frady's homicide still an unsolved mystery

By RHONDA COOK
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/22/04



A year has passed since little Levi Frady last visited his mother — in her dreams.

They're all she has now since her 11-year-old son pedaled his beloved bike into the hands of a killer in 1997.

JEAN SHIFRIN / Staff
The 20-inch bicycle Levi was riding when he was abducted and killed is among evidence kept by state investigators.




Jean Shifrin/AJC STAFF
Levi Frady was last seen leaving a friend's house Oct. 22, 1997. His body was found 22 miles away.
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"It's still hard," Marilyn Hamby said of life without Levi.

There have been no arrests and no suspects, despite a $100,000 reward put up by two Forsyth County businessmen.

The disappearance and death of Hamby's son triggered the creation of Levi's Call, a statewide emergency warning system for alerting the public about a missing child. Levi is one of 31 children whose murders remain unsolved, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

"It's really hard for us to talk about Levi, but it's an honor for him that something good has come out of something so terrible," Hamby said of Levi's Call.

The warning system is Georgia's version of the national Amber Alerts, named for Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old Texas girl who was kidnapped and murdered in 1996. Amber Alerts are activated when the child may have been removed from the area of abduction.

Some Georgia authorities also rely on computer and telephone technology alerts provided by Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based A Child iIs Missing. Those alerts target residents in an area where a child is reported missing as soon as A Child Is Missing is notified by police. It is activated for children up to age 17, the physically or mentally challenged or Alzheimer's patients.

In Atlanta, there have been efforts on the City Council to create a "Mattie's Call" alert for locating Alzheimer's patients. It would be named for Mattie Moore, an elderly Atlantan who walked away from her home on April 21 of this year and remains missing.

Levi's Calls have led to the rescue of 16 of the 17 Georgia children whose disappearances prompted an alert since its creation. In all 17 cases, suspects have been quickly identified.

Levi's case, however, remains a mystery.

"It is ironic that Levi Frady's case remains unsolved," said Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan.

'A tough investigation'

The child was last seen leaving a friend's house Oct. 22, 1997, as night approached. His bike was found the next morning about a half-mile from his Forsyth County home.

Hunters scouting locations for the opening of deer season found Levi's body22 miles away in Dawson County, on property owned by the city of Atlanta. He had been shot once in the head and twice in the chest, and his body lay partially submerged in a pit of water.

"It's really a tough investigation," said John Cagle, the special agent in charge of the GBI office in Cleveland, in White County. "There's really not much [evidence]."

What evidence there is is kept behind a steel door secured by a combination lock. It includes 66 volumes of information, bullets and bullet casings, and a red 20-inch bicycle with orange handlebar grips.

Investigators are fairly certain the boy, who was afraid of the dark but loved roller coasters, was killed at the place where he was found. "We would love to find the weapon," Cagle said, refusing to release the type of gun used in the killing.

Close to 1,000 people have been interviewed over the years, and investigators are considering re-interviewing some of Levi's friends, who are now grown.

From time to time, the sheriffs' offices in Forsyth and Dawson counties will get bogus tips that drug dealers were responsible for the boy's disappearance on that Wednesday evening. They attribute those "tips" to competing drug dealers.

If there had been an alert system when Levi disappeared, investigators think he could have been saved, especially if they had been called as soon as his family decided he was tardy.

'Did we cover this?'

The case is the only unsolved homicide Dawson County Sheriff Billy Carlisle's department has, so "you're always thinking about it," he said.

"Just yesterday, I was reading through that timeline again, thinking 'Did we cover this? Did we check this out?' " Carlisle said days before the anniversary of Levi's death. "It's always on everybody's mind. What did we do? What could we have done? What do we need to do now? I don't think anybody wants to give up. You're always looking for that one little lead that you need to go on."

Levi's mother started the week with the same thought she has at this time every year. "I think seven years ago I still had him," Hamby said.

The family doesn't talk much about him; they only occasionally discuss the stalled investigation. "It's still really hard for us to talk about Levi," Hamby said.

And it took a long time for him to appear in Hamby's dreams, she said.

"It wasn't a bad dream. It was a good feeling," she said. "I just remember seeing him and holding him. I remember him as that little boy, even though he would be 18.

"I just pray that there will be justice done for him," the mother added, "even though it won't bring him back."

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/northfulton/1004/22levi.html
 
http://www.state.ga.us/gbi/levi.html
http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/hall/newfullstory.asp?ID=85646
time line
New information released in Frady murder
staff reports


DECATUR – For the first time since the investigation began, law enforcement agencies investigating the death of Levi Frady are releasing a timeline detailing the 11-year-old’s activities the day of his abduction and murder.

It was seven years ago Friday that Levi disappeared from Forsyth County. His body was found in neighboring Dawson County the next day. He had been shot multiple times and left in a wildlife management area.

The timeline, developed by investigators through interviews with neighbors, family, and passing motorists, traces Levi’s whereabouts from last time he was seen alive till his body was found.

By releasing the chronology in detail investigators hope new eyewitnesses may come forward, resulting in new leads in the unsolved case.

Also included with the timeline are two previously released composite sketches of potential witnesses. The first man (Sketch A) was seen walking along Little Mill Road at approximately 6:30 p.m. on the day of Levi’s disappearance. The second man (Sketch B) was seen at the Dawson County Wildlife Management Area the day Levi’s body was found.

Anyone with information on the murder of Levi Frady or the identities of the men in the sketches is asked to please contact investigators at 1-888-233-5680 (toll free).

The timeline is as follows.

October 22, 1997

3:30 p.m.-4:12 p.m. Levi Frady departs from school and arrives home after getting off the school bus. Note: Levi’s sister remains at school awaiting her mother to pick her up at approximately 5:30 p.m.

4:12 p.m. Levi calls his mother at her work place in Alpharetta, and tells her that he is going over to visit a friend and is also going by another friend’s residence. His mother tells Levi to be home by 6:30 p.m.

5:12 p.m.-5:00 p.m. A couple walking on Little Mill Road sees Levi riding his bicycle passed their driveway heading in the direction of another couple’s residence (on Little Mill Road). They observe that Levi has his book bag strapped on his back.

4:15 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Another neighborhood resident sees Levi riding his bicycle traveling down Picklesimer Road.

4:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Another neighborhood resident sees Levi riding his bike in the direction of Levi’s friend’s house.

4:40 p.m.-5:45 p.m. Levi and his friend (Friend #1) ride their bicycles over to another friend’s (Friend #2) residence and play on the trampoline.

5:45 p.m.-6:00 p.m. Friend #2 and his family leave their residence enroute to the restaurant to eat. Levi and Friend #1 leave the residence at the same time enroute back to the residence of Friend #1. Note: Levi leaves his book bag on the patio of the residence of Friend #2.

6:25 p.m.-6:35 p.m. A witness was traveling down Little Mill Road in his Ford Bronco pulling a trailer. As he was approaching Frog’s Creek, he met a beige F-150 truck followed by an Oldsmobile or Pontiac station wagon with ladders and a ladder rack. He stopped to let the truck and station wagon go by.

6:00 p.m.-6:38 p.m. Levi remains with Friend #1, and at 6:38 p.m., they travel over to another residence to use the telephone. Levi’s friend remains outside the residence, and Levi calls home and talks with his sister.

6:45 p.m.-6:50 p.m. Levi leaves the residence of Friend #1 on his bicycle traveling in the direction of Little Mill Road.

6:50 p.m. A resident saw Levi traveling on his bike down Little Mill Road heading in the direction of the residence of Friend #2. Note: The resident observed a small black dog following Levi.

6:52 p.m.-7:00 p.m. A motorist, a stranger in the community who was lost, drives past a man described as being between 35 and 60 years of age, having grayish black or light brown hair (scraggly and unkempt). She observes that the man is wearing possibly blue jeans and a white or light colored shirt with the sleeves rolled up. She stops and attempts to ask the man for directions. The man does not respond to her when she says, “Mister.” The man walks off into the woods immediately after she speaks.

7:00 p.m. Levi’s mother calls Levi’s friend’s residence looking for her son but gets no answer.

7:00 p.m.-7:15 p.m. Levi’s mother and sister leave their residence enroute to look for Levi.

7:34 p.m. Levi’s mother and sister are back at their residence, and Levi’s sister calls her friend and tells her that Levi has not come home.

8:01 p.m. The family of Levi’s Friend #2 purchases items at the K-mart in Cumming after the family went out to eat and writes a check (verified by receipt).

October 23, 1997

2:00 a.m. Levi’s mother wakes up to check on Levi. Levi is not home and she again leaves her residence in her vehicle and drives around on the road looking for Levi. She does not see the bicycle at a resident’s driveway.

5:15 a.m. A resident leaves for work and sees Levi’s bicycle at the end of his driveway on the edge adjacent to Little Mill Road

6:00 a.m. A resident leaves for work and sees Levi’s bicycle in the same location as her husband did. Note: Neither of the residents moved the bicycle.

6:45 a.m. The residents’ children leave their residence and walk down to the end of the driveway to wait for the school bus. They see the bicycle at the end of the driveway adjacent to Little Mill Road and places it in the ditch along side the driveway (where it was ultimately found).

7:02 a.m. Levi’s sister talks to her father by phone but does not tell him that Levi is missing.

7:50 a.m. Levi’s mother returns to Levi’s friend’s residence and again looks for Levi. Note: During this time, Levi’s grandfather and other relatives are out looking for Levi. They find the bicycle in the ditch located adjacent to a driveway and pick the bike up and take it over to Levi’s mother’s house.

8:00 a.m. Levi’s mother files a missing person report with Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office on her son Levi.

10:15 a.m. Levi’s mother contacts Levi’s father and apprises him of the situation.

2:00 p.m. Body of Levi Frady is found in Dawson Forest Game Management Area by hunters. Crime scene reveals Levi had been shot three times.

10:48 p.m. A hunter from Dawson Forest is interviewed, and he gives a description of a small blue truck with a white camper being seen in an area close to the crime scene at approximately 10:00 a.m. this same date. He also gives description of a man dressed in a dress shirt and attire, which seemed out of place in Dawson Forest. He completed a composite.



Related Links:
More Frady information
</SPAN>
 
Not sure if he has a thread here or not. If so plz merge.

ATLANTA -- The death of an 11-year-old boy named Levi Frady remains unsolved -- 10 years after his death.

His death led to the Levi's Call for missing children -- Georgia's version of the national Amber Alert.

On October 22nd, 1997, Levi left home on his bicycle to play with friends. He never made it back.

Hunters found his body the next day some 25 miles away in neighboring Dawson County, about 100 yards off a small access road in the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area. Authorities say Levi had been shot with a handgun. Investigators say there was no molestation and no robbery and no apparent motive. more at link
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/14400652/detail.html
 
I wonder if it was an accidental shooting and someone panicked and took his body to where it was found
 
It's been 10 yrs now since his murder...I posted a link in "crimes in the news" so if anyone can merge the threads, cool...
if not, bumpoing for Levi anyway
 
here's a link...praying this poor child's murderer WILL be found:

ATLANTA -- The death of an 11-year-old boy named Levi Frady remains unsolved -- 10 years after his death.

His death led to the Levi's Call for missing children -- Georgia's version of the national Amber Alert.

On October 22nd, 1997, Levi left home on his bicycle to play with friends. He never made it back.

Hunters found his body the next day some 25 miles away in neighboring Dawson County, about 100 yards off a small access road in the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area. Authorities say Levi had been shot with a handgun. Investigators say there was no molestation and no robbery and no apparent motive. more at link
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/14400652/detail.html
 
http://tinyurl.com/2c6393

Victim: Levi Frady

Narrative:
Eleven-year-old Levi Frady was last seen on Wednesday, October 22, 1997, on Little Mill Road in Forsyth County. His body was found the next day in the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area in Dawson County. Little Mill Road is a well-traveled road between Highway 306 and 369. The Dawson County Sheriff's Office, the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office and the GBI Regional Office in Gainesville are investigating the murder.
Note: October 22,1997, was the fifth game of the World Series. October 23,1997, was opening day for deer hunting in Dawson Forest for rifles.
Investigators are also seeking the public's help in identifying 2 possible witnesses in the Levi Frady murder case.
The first person in question was seen walking along Little Mill Road in Forsyth County at 6:30 p.m. on October 22, the day Levi was reported missing. Based on witness descriptions, the sketches below - profile and front views - of the man were made by GBI forensic artist Marla. He is described as a white male in his late 50's, with a scruffy, gray beard. He was wearing a faded blue baseball cap. He walked in a stooped fashion.​
The second potential witness, left, was seen in the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area. He is described as a white male, 45 to 55 years of age, clean shaven, 6' 0" to 6' 1" tall, slim build with white or gray hair. He was driving a 1980 to 1985 medium blue Toyota, 2 wheel drive, pick-up truck with a white camper shell over the bed of the vehicle.








Contact:
Anyone with information on the murder of Levi Frady or on the identity of the persons in the sketches is asked to contact investigators by calling 1-800-432-9284 or by writing:
Levi Frady Case
189 Highway 53 West, Suite 201
Dawsonville, Georgia 30534

 
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/14998360/detail.html

From article:

"....Other Murders Investigated


Dawson County deputies told Channel 2's John Bachman Emerson's body was found just a mile and a half away from where 11-year-old Levi Frady's body was found in 1997. His murder was never solved. The Georgia Amber Alert system -- Levi's call -- was named after him......"
 
When I heard the latest details of the Meredith Emerson case and it's connection to the Patrice Endres murder my first thought was....could Gary Michael Hilton be the one who murdered Levi Frady?? When I revisited this link, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

http://www.zimbio.com/pilot?ZURL=/G...http://www.ganet.org/gbi/homicides/frady.html

That is extremely creepy when you go to that link and Hilton's photography is up there close by the two suspected witnesses. What a cute little boy. That is just so heart wrenching. Ten years later and nothing. Poor kid couldn't even just go out and ride his bike.
 
That looks VERY much like the same man. Praying for resolution for the family.
 
Hope this is alright to post this link here on Levi's thread. It may be of some help regarding a time frame. I'm sure somebody has found this in regards to Meredith Emerson's case. It's about an occupational therpist at a Psych facility who got some criminals to help him commit tax fraud as they were housed at this hospital. Not certain this is the same Gary Michael Hilton, but it is worth a look.http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_5587358?source=bb
 
Could Hilton be responsible for Levi's murder as well? On the Emerson thread, there's a link to photos of possible witnesses and one sketch looks strikingly similar to Hilton.
 
Levi has a myspace page set up and here is the link...

http://www.myspace.com/inmemoryoflevifrady

So sad to read the comments of the boys all grown up that were his age and he was friends with sharing memories on the comments....

I am praying this new "lead" will lead to answers for little Levi's family. On a positive note, Levi's disapearance brought about the local alert system in Georgia modeled after the national Amber Alert. Appropriately named, "Levi's Call".
 
Levi has a myspace page set up and here is the link...

http://www.myspace.com/inmemoryoflevifrady

So sad to read the comments of the boys all grown up that were his age and he was friends with sharing memories on the comments....

I am praying this new "lead" will lead to answers for little Levi's family. On a positive note, Levi's disapearance brought about the local alert system in Georgia modeled after the national Amber Alert. Appropriately named, "Levi's Call".

It saddens me that such a precious little boys life was cut short just because someone else decided it was time.....:(
 
October 22, 1997

3:30 p.m.-4:12 p.m. Levi Frady departs from school and arrives home after getting off the school bus. Note: Levi&#8217;s sister remains at school awaiting her mother to pick her up at approximately 5:30 p.m.

4:12 p.m. Levi calls his mother at her work place in Alpharetta, and tells her that he is going over to visit a friend and is also going by another friend&#8217;s residence. His mother tells Levi to be home by 6:30 p.m.

5:12 p.m.-5:00 p.m. A couple walking on Little Mill Road sees Levi riding his bicycle passed their driveway heading in the direction of another couple&#8217;s residence (on Little Mill Road). They observe that Levi has his book bag strapped on his back.

4:15 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Another neighborhood resident sees Levi riding his bicycle traveling down Picklesimer Road.

4:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Another neighborhood resident sees Levi riding his bike in the direction of Levi&#8217;s friend&#8217;s house.

4:40 p.m.-5:45 p.m. Levi and his friend (Friend #1) ride their bicycles over to another friend&#8217;s (Friend #2) residence and play on the trampoline.

5:45 p.m.-6:00 p.m. Friend #2 and his family leave their residence enroute to the restaurant to eat. Levi and Friend #1 leave the residence at the same time enroute back to the residence of Friend #1. Note: Levi leaves his book bag on the patio of the residence of Friend #2.

6:25 p.m.-6:35 p.m. A witness was traveling down Little Mill Road in his Ford Bronco pulling a trailer. As he was approaching Frog&#8217;s Creek, he met a beige F-150 truck followed by an Oldsmobile or Pontiac station wagon with ladders and a ladder rack. He stopped to let the truck and station wagon go by.

6:00 p.m.-6:38 p.m. Levi remains with Friend #1, and at 6:38 p.m., they travel over to another residence to use the telephone. Levi&#8217;s friend remains outside the residence, and Levi calls home and talks with his sister.

6:45 p.m.-6:50 p.m. Levi leaves the residence of Friend #1 on his bicycle traveling in the direction of Little Mill Road.

6:50 p.m. A resident saw Levi traveling on his bike down Little Mill Road heading in the direction of the residence of Friend #2. Note: The resident observed a small black dog following Levi.

6:52 p.m.-7:00 p.m. A motorist, a stranger in the community who was lost, drives past a man described as being between 35 and 60 years of age, having grayish black or light brown hair (scraggly and unkempt). She observes that the man is wearing possibly blue jeans and a white or light colored shirt with the sleeves rolled up. She stops and attempts to ask the man for directions. The man does not respond to her when she says, &#8220;Mister.&#8221; The man walks off into the woods immediately after she speaks.

7:00 p.m. Levi&#8217;s mother calls Levi&#8217;s friend&#8217;s residence looking for her son but gets no answer.

7:00 p.m.-7:15 p.m. Levi&#8217;s mother and sister leave their residence enroute to look for Levi.

7:34 p.m. Levi&#8217;s mother and sister are back at their residence, and Levi&#8217;s sister calls her friend and tells her that Levi has not come home.

8:01 p.m. The family of Levi&#8217;s Friend #2 purchases items at the K-mart in Cumming after the family went out to eat and writes a check (verified by receipt).

October 23, 1997

2:00 a.m. Levi&#8217;s mother wakes up to check on Levi. Levi is not home and she again leaves her residence in her vehicle and drives around on the road looking for Levi. She does not see the bicycle at a resident&#8217;s driveway.

5:15 a.m. A resident leaves for work and sees Levi&#8217;s bicycle at the end of his driveway on the edge adjacent to Little Mill Road

6:00 a.m. A resident leaves for work and sees Levi&#8217;s bicycle in the same location as her husband did. Note: Neither of the residents moved the bicycle.

6:45 a.m. The residents&#8217; children leave their residence and walk down to the end of the driveway to wait for the school bus. They see the bicycle at the end of the driveway adjacent to Little Mill Road and places it in the ditch along side the driveway (where it was ultimately found).

7:02 a.m. Levi&#8217;s sister talks to her father by phone but does not tell him that Levi is missing.

7:50 a.m. Levi&#8217;s mother returns to Levi&#8217;s friend&#8217;s residence and again looks for Levi. Note: During this time, Levi&#8217;s grandfather and other relatives are out looking for Levi. They find the bicycle in the ditch located adjacent to a driveway and pick the bike up and take it over to Levi&#8217;s mother&#8217;s house.

8:00 a.m. Levi&#8217;s mother files a missing person report with Forsyth County Sheriff&#8217;s Office on her son Levi.

10:15 a.m. Levi&#8217;s mother contacts Levi&#8217;s father and apprises him of the situation.

2:00 p.m. Body of Levi Frady is found in Dawson Forest Game Management Area by hunters. Crime scene reveals Levi had been shot three times.

10:48 p.m. A hunter from Dawson Forest is interviewed, and he gives a description of a small blue truck with a white camper being seen in an area close to the crime scene at approximately 10:00 a.m. this same date. He also gives description of a man dressed in a dress shirt and attire, which seemed out of place in Dawson Forest. He completed a composite.
 

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