VA VA - Christine Wright, 7, Dinwiddie, 12 Feb 1974

Thanks Shadowangel ,This is a start. I am still seaching for that article,I know I have to have it as I save shortcuts for everything. My desktop is a full of shortcuts as my protest to my windows vista. (which i truely hate)
 
Thanks Shadowangel ,This is a start. I am still seaching for that article,I know I have to have it as I save shortcuts for everything. My desktop is a full of shortcuts as my protest to my windows vista. (which i truely hate)

Another satisfied Vista customer :) .

For some further info...Christine's dad worked for a financial services office in Richmond.
Christine attended Curtis Elementary School in Chesterfield.
 
A little off-topic, but pertaining to something we've been mentioning here as far as age of suspects and feelings of remorse.
In September of '74, 15 year-old George Thomas Vasil attempted to rape and then murdered a 12 year-old girl in Ft. Pierce, FL. After his arrest, he stated that he 'felt bad' about what he had done. He tried to overdose on aspirin.
Vasil was the youngest inmate on Florida's death row until his sentenced was commuted to life imprisonment in '79.
 
Richard-Do you have any information on Coffey's physical description during this timeframe (early 1974)?

If you look at the featured case of the missing Lyon sisters under the thread on suspects, you will find quite a bit about Mr. Coffey. Also, if you put his name into the search window for Websleuths, quite a few other threads will come up.

Coffey stands 5 feet 9 inches tall and was of a thin build - maybe about 140-160 pounds back in 1974. He has blue or gray eyes. His hair was worn rather long and combed back, although within Navy standards. His hair was starting to turn gray at the time and was described by some as "salt and pepper", although he aparently had dyed it black or dark brown at the time of his employment at Vitro Laboratories in 1975.

A photo of Coffey taken in 2002 appears on the free Inmate Locator site for North Carolina Prisons.
 
The link that Soulmagent posted to The Hook was very interesting. Summing up, Glenn Barker was convicted in 1982 for the murder of 12 year-old Katie Worsky. He admitted to being present during a sleep-over that Katie was attending, and giving Katie and other girls present beer, but denied any connection to her disappearance. A search of his apartment revealed bloody clothing under his mattress; a further search revealed girl's underwear, stained with blood, balled up in his sock drawer.
Katie has never been found.
Barker has been suspected in other disappearances and murders in the area, including 34 year-old Cynthia and 7 year-old Heather Johnson in 1996; Kelly Dove, 20, of Harrisonburg; and Paula Chandler, 18, both in 1982.
In 1981, at the age of 22, Barker abducted an 18 year-old acquaintance at knifepoint and tied her to his bed. She escaped before he could harm the girl. He received a 2-year suspended sentence when the victim refused to testify.
Barker's parents divorced when he was 6. Barker stayed with his mother in Virginia for another 8 years, living in Chester before moving to North Carolina. Barker was described as a football standout, standing 6'4" and weighing some 240 pounds. Instead of following through on college offers to play football, he married his pregnant girlfriend and took a factory job after graduating. They would have a second child who was adopted out; soon after, his wife left him and would then commit the 1981 abduction.

Going by the information given, Barker would have been 14 or 15 when he and his mother left Chester. The article stated they moved to Angier, NC, in time for high school to begin. Being that age, he may have befriended Christine. She may have let him in, or gone outside to speak to him. (One of the articles I have states that the parents had no problem with Christine, only that she didnt want to go to bed. I took that to mean that she was reluctant to go to bed on a regular basis...But what if it were only this one night?)
Being as large as he was at that age, he would have had no problem subduing her...and living in the area for 8 years, he most likely would have known the area quite well.

How he got her to the location she was dumped is problematic.

I found something I find quite interesting while looking into incidents from the area around the late '73 to early '74 timeframe. 18 year-old Phyllis Bradford left her home near Spring Lake, NC, on the morning of December 19th, 1973. Phyllis drove a school bus for the Anderson Creek School, and parked the bus at her parents' farm.
Later in the morning, the bus was located on a remote rural road some 200 to 500 yards from her home. Phyllis' books and purse were still on the bus. There was no sign of Phyllis.
On November 25th, 1974, her remains were found in a wooded area near a trailer park, some 6 miles from her home. She had been shot in the head. No attempt had been made to cover the body.

Spring Lake is some 25 miles from Angier. Phyllis' body was located 20 miles from Angier.
 
On November 25th, 1975, 3 year-old Christopher Harper was found floating in a shallow area of the James River in Richmond, VA. He had been missing for four days prior to his discovery. The ME determined he had died of suffocation, and was most likely dead when placed into the water.
It was also determined he had been sexually molested.

In mid-December, 20 year-old Marvin Leon Grimm was arrested and later convicted for the abduction, molestation, and murder of little Christopher.
Grimm lived in the same apartment complex as Harper's parents.

Grimm was a laborer for a local carpentry firm.

At the time of Christine's disappearance, the Wrights were awaiting the completion of their home in Richmond. Christine's obituary lists an address for the family in Richmond; the Jefferson Village apartments, where Grimm was living, are some 5 or 6 miles from the address.

Is it possible that Grimm worked for the firm building the Wrights' home? Could Christine have known him from there?

Grimm is still living at taxpayer expense, for the rest of his natural life, in a state prison near Richmond.
 
One other thing on Grimm...He was listed as 6', around 220 pounds. One of the articles states that he "was clean-shaven" for his court appearance...If the reporter felt it necessary to add that detail, would it be reasonable to assume he had facial hair before? (Going back to the description of the man seen near Christine's apartment the night she disappeared).
 
That is very interesting Shadowangel.Does it say how they caught him? I talked to a women today who worked at the chesterfield dinner in the 70's, she remembers when this happened and remembers the locals talking about it. She wasnt feeling well so I didnt question her more on it but i will at a later date.
I wanted to know if there was a feeling on a POI.


Where were they building there new home?
 
I can't find any info detailing what lead LE to Grimm...Other than that he lived in the same apartment complex. They originally had a bulletin out on another resident of the complex who apparently took off right after Christopher disappeared.
I don't know where the new home was being built either. But, since the father was employed in Richmond, it's very possible that it is at the address listed in the obit.
That would mean the house was very nearly finished when Christine was kidnapped, if it is the location of the new home.
Maybe someone had been watching Christine and knew she was leaving the Chesterfield apartment soon?
 
I know I saw an article ..ugh ..the lack of information is very frustrating.I am going to go and find the reports from the library,First i will try my local one ,and if that doesnt get me anywhere I am driving to chesterfield, I was planning on it anyway but will do it sooner then I was going to.I am taking a friend as I find that drive eerie . Going to the local library tomorrow.I will see if I can find anything on Grimm. What news paper are your getting your info and can you post links or is it a pay site?
 
Most of the articles were from a Danville newspaper. The articles are from a pay-to-view archive site.
It might be worth it to visit the Chesterfield PD...Someone there might be interested in talking with us.
I'm planning on contacting the author of the articles on Barker from The Hook.
 
I noticed there is a railroad very close to the area...Do these same tracks go anywhere near where Christine was found?

Is it possible that the killer dumped Christine from the bridge that is mentioned?

Those tracks do either cross White Oak Creek or come within a block of them. It's hard for me to tell from the maps. I can't tell how far it is from where the body was found, a few miles? Maybe someone else is better at this? It's to the west of where White Oak Road crosses the creek 2 or 3 miles it looks like (but it would be more by car) near Wilson, VA , near Route 460. Maybe someone else can make more out of it?

I've tried to trace the railroad tracks and their proximity to the creek where Christine was found as you mentioned it and I had noticed those tracks being so close as well. Mmmmmnnn.

It seems pretty logical though that the killer probably did dump her from the bridge on White Oak Road, because she was found closest to it. Also, because of the way they describe the creek, shallow and cluttered with rocks and debri in many places, it doesn't seem likely a body would travel very far in that water, let alone make it all that ways from where the tracks are to where she was found, unless it was flooded maybe?

I agree with Shutterfly that I can't imagine someone stumbling across the body in a remote place like that, they'd likely be looking for it. Who found the body? Was is LE? Could it be seen from the bridge? --- Also, as Shutterfly noted, it's practically inconceivable that anyone would go there in the dark to dump a body without knowing about the place ahead of time.

I've been gone a few days and just got through with the latest posts. Glad to see you are all still working on this. carrie
 
To Carrie- I did not mean for my Deliverance comparison to offend anyone, and I hope it didn't! I love VA and that area, but Dinwiddie just struck me as different.


Don't worry, not the slightest bit offended, really. :):)

I was just trying to give an accurate picture of the Chester area from where she was abducted. I didn't think you meant any harm at all, and none was done. You're probably quite right about that area being a bit eerie. Even though I grew up in Colonial Heights, I haven't spent much time in Dinwiddie at all.
carrie
 
Going by the information given, Barker would have been 14 or 15 when he and his mother left Chester. . . . Being as large as he was at that age, he would have had no problem subduing her...and living in the area for 8 years, he most likely would have known the area quite well.

How he got her to the location she was dumped is problematic.
Unless he had a driver's license (which some did at that age in VA) and access to a vehicle. I admit it's a stretch but not impossible.
 
On November 25th, 1975, 3 year-old Christopher Harper was found floating in a shallow area of the James River in Richmond, VA. ...is it possible that Grimm worked for the firm building the Wrights' home? Could Christine have known him from there?

Grimm is still living at taxpayer expense, for the rest of his natural life, in a state prison near Richmond.


Wow! That is very interesting possible connection. How could one find out if Grimm did work for the builders of the Wrights new house? Or other things about him? Im only a few blocks from the Richmond City Library, and also the VA State Library which I believe is a library of nothing but VA archives. I'm new to all this kind of research so I'm open to suggestions. Carrie
 
The information on the building of the home would be on record with the city clerk's office, most likely (the same place where you would do deed searches and the like). We know the general date of the construction, and I can PM you the parents' name and the address I have. Records of the construction would include the contractors' name, then it would be a case of back-tracking to find out if Grimm were employed there at the time.

*** ** *** ** ***
As far as the libraries go, somewhere there could help you research Grimm's background-as much as is publicly available, anyway. I'm sure they get many requests for genealogical research.
 
The information on the building of the home would be on record with the city clerk's office, most likely (the same place where you would do deed searches and the like). We know the general date of the construction, and I can PM you the parents' name and the address I have. Records of the construction would include the contractors' name, then it would be a case of back-tracking to find out if Grimm were employed there at the time.

*** ** *** ** ***
As far as the libraries go, somewhere there could help you research Grimm's background-as much as is publicly available, anyway. I'm sure they get many requests for genealogical research.

OK-thanks. It doesn't sound that hard to do just takes a little time. I'm going to check with the clerks office to see how one accesses those records and I'll get back with you on it. I have a day off on Friday because I had to work on the holiday, may I can do some of it then. Later.
 
Thanks Shadowangel ,This is a start. I am still seaching for that article,I know I have to have it as I save shortcuts for everything. My desktop is a full of shortcuts as my protest to my windows vista. (which i truely hate)

I was wondering if you ever found that article you were looking for? Hoping you did. C.
 
After doing some more digging, I don't think the address I have in Richmond was the new house. It may have been some place to stay other than the apartment from which Christine disappeared.
I think the new house was built in Asheboro, where the father's family seems to be from.
That of course doesn't, by any means, rule out Grimm as a possible.
 
After doing some more digging, I don't think the address I have in Richmond was the new house. It may have been some place to stay other than the apartment from which Christine disappeared.
I think the new house was built in Asheboro, where the father's family seems to be from.
That of course doesn't, by any means, rule out Grimm as a possible.

It just seems, from what we do know and the more one thinks about it, it HAD to be someone she knew. Why else would she open the door and go quietly? --Of course, I say that, but then there's that situation with that young woman I told of where the perp told her the house was on fire and he was a fireman and the rest of the family was outside, etc. In that case though, she was sleeping with her window open though.-- In Christine's, the house was locked, or at least they thought it was, and it was February, too cold for open windows. Or for a child to go out outside, even for a few minutes, in her nightgown for that matter! I don't guess a coat or anything was missing? How could they think she would "run away" in February without a coat or jacket in just a nightie? There was never anything said about her having taken anything else with her was there? The logical assumption is that she unlocked the door because she knew or recognized the person. (If she indeed unlocked it.)

Does anyone have anything on what led LE or whoever to find her in that remote location in that creek?

It's just so frustrating and unbelievable to me that someone can do something like this to an innocent child and just get away with it!!! There had to be evidence!:furious:

I wouldn't imagine the family would want to stay in this area after what happened anyway. If they had been moving to Richmond they could have changed their plans?

Grimm still does seem worth looking into though, you're right.
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
68
Guests online
764
Total visitors
832

Forum statistics

Threads
589,922
Messages
17,927,695
Members
228,002
Latest member
zipperoni
Back
Top