The Springfield Three--missing since June 1992 - #1

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Hey all,

I'm new here. Just reading about different cases. I was wondering if there had been a book written on this particular case? I checked Amazon.com with the women's names but nothing came up.
 
Missa said:
Hey all,

I'm new here. Just reading about different cases. I was wondering if there had been a book written on this particular case? I checked Amazon.com with the women's names but nothing came up.
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Actually there was a little "novelette" written about it some years ago. It didn't specifically name the women but it was obviously about them. Offhand I don't recall the name nor the author. In point of fact, there was nothing revealing about it and I understand that the mother was not happy with it being written. I could probably find the title for you but don't know if it is still in print. As far as a comprehensive true crime book, I am unaware of one. Many years ago I was in touch with Ann Rule suggesting she look into this case. She replied that she didn't do investigation (although she is an ex cop) and couldn't do it. She of course was the one who worked alongside Ted Bundy, the serial murderer put to death in 1989, without realizing what he was. Both were working, of all places in a call-in crisis center. Strange world.

I believe that another reporter will be preparing a book about the case if and when it is solved by the SPD. But at this rate of progress we'll probably have to read it from the grave. It is literally true that we know more about Jack the Ripper than we do what happened in this case.

If you want the name of the novelette, let me know and I'll get it for you.
 
Thanks for the info! I would love the name of the novelette. Don't go to too much trouble or anything.

I've read alot of Anne Rule actually, but I think she mainly writes about cases that occurred in the pacific northwest. Missouri might be a little out of her territory.

I was thinking about true crime books and this case last night. I figured since it wasn't solved that there wouldn't be a book on it as most true crime books are about solved crimes. Save for those about Jack the Ripper, Zodiac and other famous unsolved serial murders.

It is so true and sad that there is more information out there about Jack the Ripper. These poor women deserve justice. Hopefully someone WILL write a book in the future as this case does deserve attention.
 
Missa said:
Thanks for the info! I would love the name of the novelette. Don't go to too much trouble or anything.

I've read alot of Anne Rule actually, but I think she mainly writes about cases that occurred in the pacific northwest. Missouri might be a little out of her territory.

I was thinking about true crime books and this case last night. I figured since it wasn't solved that there wouldn't be a book on it as most true crime books are about solved crimes. Save for those about Jack the Ripper, Zodiac and other famous unsolved serial murders.

It is so true and sad that there is more information out there about Jack the Ripper. These poor women deserve justice. Hopefully someone WILL write a book in the future as this case does deserve attention.
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At your service:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?z=y&isbn=1573220981

And let me give credit to Kathee Baird, an investigative reporter, who is working this case right now. She provided this information to me at my request. I felt she would have this information at her ready and sure enough she did. Thanks Kathee!
 
This is quite a thread. I have been trying to read all of it and have a few comments to what I have read.

I recall that the reward was up to $95000 the fall of 1992, thanks to Smitty's Supermarket. I noticed that other posts stated the reward at less than half of that. Is there an explanation for that?

Also, it was mentioned that George's Steakhouse would have been quiet at that time of day so anyone there would have noticed a commotion caused by Suzie. I know from experience that in the 1980s, I was part of the crowd in North Springfield that would close up a bar (1:15 or so) and we would then congregate at a restaurant for an overnight breakfast. We would get there around 1:30 AM and leave around 3 AM. Let me tell you, the all-night diners had a lot of business at that time of the morning. Most of the patrons would be intoxicated enough that it would not be noticed if another table was being a little rowdy, as the intoxicated tables could be really rowdy. So, Suzie could have been there with her Mom and Stacy and not be noticed. Also, if they were there, it would have been very easy for a few men to start hitting on them.

Thanks for listening.
 
I may have been the one who originally proposed that George's Steak House might have been quite at that hour, I don't recall. But you are correct, it was quite crowded with a bar crowd at that hour. Here is a quote from the Springfield News-Leader concerning the reported sighting at George's:

Quote:
The steak house was filled with a bar crowd, employees have told
police since investigators learned of the possible sighting about a
week ago.

The waitress said Levitt and Streeter had been there before, but not
for at least a couple of months. Customers and at least one other
employee agreed.

The waitress is the lone witness to this apparent sighting, and
investigators are asking that anyone else who may have seen them to
contact the department. End quote. News-Leader,June 24,1992.

I eventually came to discard the waitess as being mistaken on her account mainly because the steak house was extremely crowded at that hour of morning, employees and regular customers both said that Levitt & Streeter were somewhat regular customers there but had not been in for a while, and that the waitress was the only witness among all those people to claim that they were in there that morning. Also the waitress didn't report her tip to SPD until 10 days after the abduction.

As to the reward money I wasn't aware that Smithy's had made a large donation. Early on there was a donation of $40,000 made by an anonymous donor. Going into the fall it was reported several times in the paper that the reward fund was about $43,000.


 
Luzer said:
This is quite a thread. I have been trying to read all of it and have a few comments to what I have read.

I recall that the reward was up to $95000 the fall of 1992, thanks to Smitty's Supermarket. I noticed that other posts stated the reward at less than half of that. Is there an explanation for that?

Also, it was mentioned that George's Steakhouse would have been quiet at that time of day so anyone there would have noticed a commotion caused by Suzie. I know from experience that in the 1980s, I was part of the crowd in North Springfield that would close up a bar (1:15 or so) and we would then congregate at a restaurant for an overnight breakfast. We would get there around 1:30 AM and leave around 3 AM. Let me tell you, the all-night diners had a lot of business at that time of the morning. Most of the patrons would be intoxicated enough that it would not be noticed if another table was being a little rowdy, as the intoxicated tables could be really rowdy. So, Suzie could have been there with her Mom and Stacy and not be noticed. Also, if they were there, it would have been very easy for a few men to start hitting on them.

Thanks for listening.
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Interesting, about the reward money. Certainly Smitty's is/was a reputable concern. They eventually were bought out by Albertsons. I wonder who the other contributors were. I think I read somewhere that one of the rewards was anonymous but I could be mistaken.

Assume that they could have been picked up there at George's. They would obviously have had to go back to the Levitt home because their effects were there in the house including Stacy's shorts. It is fairly obvious to me that the crime scene was staged for some purpose. If they were three men out looking for a good time, would they likely have done that? I suppose it is possible. But they also would have had to have left without leaving any fingerprints or DNA behind. I believe the public information reflects that all such evidence was accounted for in the known individuals who came and went from the home. (Someone correct me if I am mistaken.) And then there is the mystery of the glass shards that has to be somehow explained.

And perhaps the DNA should be reexamined by the Missouri Highway Patrol that has recently and apparently broken that other high profile crime in the area. DNA has come a long way in the past few years. A hair, skin particle or any other thing might lead to new suspects.
 
It is certainly possible that Smitty's made a contribution late in the year to the reward fund. I have not read that. And you are correct, the $40,000 donation was done anonymously. I have a friend who was in LE for many years and he has told me that sometimes a wealthy individual or corporation can "pledge" an amount to a reward fund but the amount is not collected from that individual or corporation until the reward is paid out. Therefore the wealthy individual or corporation continues to earn from the pledged amount and not the reward fund. The "pledge" is taken in good faith that the money will be there when the reward is paid out.

I'm sure that the MHP will be looking into the evidence of this case as well.
 
I always had doubts about that apparent sighting at George's Steak House for 2 reasons. First, as Hurricane mentioned, the waitress was the only one who said she saw them and didn't come forward until 10 days later. In a restaurant filled with a bar crowd they could have gone unnoticed but surely someone else would have seen them. In my bar-hopping days (longer ago than I care to remember), if we went to restaurants for breakfast after the bars closed at 2:30 I would myself often look around no matter how crowded it was to see if I recognized anyone that I had seen out earlier in the evening. So someone else probably would have seen them. The second thing is, all indications were that they were abducted from the home after Suzie and Stacy got back from Battlefield. In the News-Leader it said Sherrill had apparently been in bed reading a book as there was one turned over on her bed and the girls had gotten undressed for bed and washed their faces, etc. The timeline just doesn't support a visit by all 3 of them to a restaurant, I don't think. I guess it might be possible if they all went and only stayed a few minutes but I just don't think they were there. It seems to me everything went down after Suzie and Stacy returned to the home after leaving their graduation parties and I think Sherrill had probably been in bed reading when the girls arrived, somewhere in the neighborhood of between 2:30 and 3:00 a.m. I'm basing that all on the timeline and circumstances mentioned in the News-Leader.
 
I found a link that states there was a $100000.00 reward for the missing women.

http://www.myspace.com/sherrill_suzy_stacy

And to clear things up, I only wanted to state that the restaurant should have been pretty busy at 2 AM. I have no idea either way if the women showed up.
 
Luzer said:
I found a link that states there was a $100000.00 reward for the missing women.

http://www.myspace.com/sherrill_suzy_stacy

And to clear things up, I only wanted to state that the restaurant should have been pretty busy at 2 AM. I have no idea either way if the women showed up.
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No, I didn't mean anything by it...simply that there are some people who really put a lot of credence into that sighting. I don't think they were there but as I said, they could have all slipped into the restaurant quickly and out just as quickly. I have no idea either if they were actually there..It was just my :twocents:
 
It was reported in news accounts that there were no finger prints, fibers, or DNA found in the residence that was not linked to those who lived there or had reason to have been in the residence recently, such as the 18 friends and family who entered on June 7th. No unknowns or unidentified.

Assume that LE does have the glass shards from the porch light globe but the shards contain no finger prints, blood, or DNA.

Assume the abductor(s) of the 3MW was/were smart enough not to keep any “trophies” missing from the house, such as the missing pictures of Suzie.

No van has ever been recovered.

No remains have ever been recovered.

Given the passage of time and the lack of witnesses, short of a snitch in trouble or a confession from someone involved how will this case ever progress to trial?
 
Hurricane said:
It was reported in news accounts that there were no finger prints, fibers, or DNA found in the residence that was not linked to those who lived there or had reason to have been in the residence recently, such as the 18 friends and family who entered on June 7th. No unknowns or unidentified.

Assume that LE does have the glass shards from the porch light globe but the shards contain no finger prints, blood, or DNA.

Assume the abductor(s) of the 3MW was/were smart enough not to keep any “trophies” missing from the house, such as the missing pictures of Suzie.

No van has ever been recovered.

No remains have ever been recovered.

Given the passage of time and the lack of witnesses, short of a snitch in trouble or a confession from someone involved how will this case ever progress to trial?
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Good question...I've discussed this with Missouri Mule quite a bit and I think he hit the nail on the head when he said the only way this would be solved is if someone just comes forward who has been holding information for the last 15 years, just as you suggest in the last paragraph, whether it be a deathbed confession or someone who is in trouble with LE and wants to trade information for a lighter sentence. Certainly the SPD will never solve this with good old-fashioned detective work.

I'm glad you resurrected this thread again. I wanted to bump it up several times and probably should have, but like everyone else, I just hit a dead end when I consider everything that has happened with the case. I hope it sparks some lively discussion again!
 
Hurricane said:
It was reported in news accounts that there were no finger prints, fibers, or DNA found in the residence that was not linked to those who lived there or had reason to have been in the residence recently, such as the 18 friends and family who entered on June 7th. No unknowns or unidentified.

Assume that LE does have the glass shards from the porch light globe but the shards contain no finger prints, blood, or DNA.

Assume the abductor(s) of the 3MW was/were smart enough not to keep any “trophies” missing from the house, such as the missing pictures of Suzie.

No van has ever been recovered.

No remains have ever been recovered.

Given the passage of time and the lack of witnesses, short of a snitch in trouble or a confession from someone involved how will this case ever progress to trial?
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All solid facts and a most salient question. But I am reminded by one of the detectives who worked the case that time has a way of causing some to finally want to cleanse their souls of this awful crime. And we also have the observation of the FBI profiler who observed that it was his belief that there were one or more people who "didn't feel good about their knowledge of the case" (paraphrasing). It is not out of the realm of possibility that there is someone who would like to get "right with God" so to speak and tell what it is they know even if they were not directly involved.

Alternatively, the case could be taken from the offices of the Springfield Police Department to a bona fide criminal investigation office such as the Missouri Highway Patrol that doesn't have any axes to grind except to get at the truth. If I were the Springfield Police Department this is what I would do and get out of the way. They had their chance and couldn't solve the case. They claim that "fresh eyes" have looked at the case but we have no real way to know if any of the suggestions that followed were implemented. In my opinion, what has been missing most from this case is the removal of overstuffed egos which has unnecessarily hamstrung this case and let some "fresh eyes" start at the beginning without an agenda or fixed point of view. That's what ought to happen, but I would think it highly unlikely. We are told that there were no less than 5,300 leads and that all of them proved to be bogus leads. I find that hard to believe. In fact, I don't believe it at all. But trying to get the SPD off its high horse is something akin to moving mountains. It isn't in the cards.
 
After 15 yrs I don't think that anyone's conscience is bothering them too bad! We always hear about so called "death bed" confessions but I can't think of a one that has ever checked out, on this case or any other.

I think the FBI profiler who made the statement in the press that one or more didn't feel good about their involvement in the case was just trying to drive a wedge between co-conspirators in an effort to get someone to come in and make the first move. Obviously that didn't happen.

I would welcome MHP's involvement, especially after their recent success in the Jackie Johns case and the arrest of Gerald Carnahan. For all we know, they may be looking into the case now.

Otherwise, I'm reminded of the SPD detective who said early on that this case is "unsolvable".
 
Hurricane said:
After 15 yrs I don't think that anyone's conscience is bothering them too bad! We always hear about so called "death bed" confessions but I can't think of a one that has ever checked out, on this case or any other.

I think the FBI profiler who made the statement in the press that one or more didn't feel good about their involvement in the case was just trying to drive a wedge between co-conspirators in an effort to get someone to come in and make the first move. Obviously that didn't happen.

I would welcome MHP's involvement, especially after their recent success in the Jackie Johns case and the arrest of Gerald Carnahan. For all we know, they may be looking into the case now.

Otherwise, I'm reminded of the SPD detective who said early on that this case is "unsolvable".
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I would welcome MHPs involvement or ANY additional LE agency to either assist the SPD or do their own investigation apart from them. I still think this is THE perfect case for the Vidocq Society. Unfortunately, a family member has to contact them and I don't think Janis McCall will. I don't know about the Levitt/Streeter family. Sherrill's sister, Debra Schwartz may be open to that.

www.vidocq.org
 
liz325 said:
I still think this is THE perfect case for the Vidocq Society. Unfortunately, a family member has to contact them and I don't think Janis McCall will. I don't know about the Levitt/Streeter family. Sherrill's sister, Debra Schwartz may be open to that.
www.vidocq.org
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Does VIDOCQ Society have access to the evidence when they accept a case? Would SPD have to let them in? I'm asking because I don't know.

By the way, Debbie Schwartz lives in Arizona now.
 
Hurricane said:
Does VIDOCQ Society have access to the evidence when they accept a case? Would SPD have to let them in? I'm asking because I don't know.

By the way, Debbie Schwartz lives in Arizona now.
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Thanks for the info on Debbie Schwartz. I didn't know where she lived now. Yes, I'm pretty sure the SPD would have to be involved. This is a paragraph from their home page:

When cases meet Vidocq's stringent criteria and the investigating agency seeks our participation, V.S.M.'s (Vidocq Society Members) serve in the background at the pleasure and direction of law enforcement.
 
liz325 said:
When cases meet Vidocq's stringent criteria and the investigating agency seeks our participation, V.S.M.'s (Vidocq Society Members) serve in the background at the pleasure and direction of law enforcement.
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I'm not sure if SPD would seek Vidocq's participation into the investigation, even if a family member asked for their help. They don't seem to want the FBI to help as the FBI has said that they have not been asked.


MHP is another matter though. They don't have to be asked by SPD in order to enter the case. I hope that is happening now.
 
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