CA CA - Speed Freak Killers (Shermantine talks; Herzog commits suicide)

[mysteriew]

California investigators digging up human remains from several burial sites that a convicted serial killer recently drew on maps have heard from the public about more than 60 unsolved missing-person cases, a sheriff's spokesman said on Wednesday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/16/us-killings-speedfreaks-california-idUSTRE81F09E20120216

 

[mysteriew]

Serial killer victim search moves to second well
http://www.news10.net/news/california/article/179058/430/Second-Linden-area-well-to-be-excavated

 

[mysteriew]

'Speed Freak' victim hunt may have harmed evidence

Investigators finished dredging an abandoned well Wednesday near the San Joaquin Valley town where they believe the Speed Freak Killers stashed as many as two dozen bodies - but because of the way the pieces of bone and clothing were pulled up, some of the well's mysteries may never be solved.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/16/MNGP1N8A4H.DTL&tsp=1

A lot of info about what was found, about what shape the remains are in and about how long to expect for testing etc.

 

[mysteriew]

Assembly member's missing cousin could be murder victim

"It's common for someone who's lost a loved one to always wonder when a case comes up, you think about it," said Galgiani whose 19-year-old cousin Dena McHan disappeared in 1981.
http://centralstockton.news10.net/n...members-missing-cousin-could-be-murder-victim

 

[LinasK]

Updated: 12:55 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012 | Posted: 12:55 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012 The Associated Press
LINDEN, Calif. —
Cadaver dogs will be used to search for human remains in dozens of dirt piles on an abandoned cattle ranch in San Joaquin County where about 1,000 bone fragments have been found, authorities said Thursday.
San Joaquin County sheriff's spokesman Les Garcia was not sure when the dogs would arrive at the ranch near Linden but said it could be as early as Friday.
The dogs will also be used to try to locate a second well on the ranch, Garcia said. more at link: http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/speed-freak-killers-search-expands-to-new-well/nH7FX/

 

[JDB]

This is getting stranger by the day. Now according to this link Padilla was telling the LE it was not the right one
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/speed-freak-killers-wrong-well.html

 

[Mom who cares]

What is huge? There are a few of us here that think when all is said and done . There will be over 20 missing cases solved.

That's exactly what I mean by "huge".

 

[LinasK]

This is getting stranger by the day. Now according to this link Padilla was telling the LE it was not the right one
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/speed-freak-killers-wrong-well.html

I think Lenny just needs to stick to bounty hunting!:twocents:

 

[mysteriew]

This is getting stranger by the day. Now according to this link Padilla was telling the LE it was not the right one
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/speed-freak-killers-wrong-well.html

If he is so adamant that they are at the wrong well, he has the resources to go off and search the one they aren't interested in.

Most likely they are planning to search one at a time, and he is just using that to cause some controversy. Gets more media attention.

I esp liked this quote from the link:

"What have they found in that well?" Dick asked. "A partial human skull and bone fragments. I'm telling you there are so many more bodies, but it's a different well."

He makes it sound like the finding of human remains is so trivial.

 

[JDB]

If he is so adamant that they are at the wrong well, he has the resources to go off and search the one they aren't interested in.

Most likely they are planning to search one at a time, and he is just using that to cause some controversy. Gets more media attention.

I esp liked this quote from the link:




He makes it sound like the finding of human remains is so trivial.

What really bothers me is this. They went in with a backhoe even the retired FBI agent Rinick said they did it wrong. Sure they have over1000 pieces. But whose to say how many bodies there are there.

 

[mysteriew]

Richmond Lab to Begin Identifying "Speed Freak" Bones
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/loca...-Identifying-Speed-Freak-Bones-139534223.html

Process of DNA testing could take weeks to months, even longer if they have to use mitochondrial DNA. Families who suspect they may have relatives who are victims are urged to submit DNA.

 

[mysteriew]

This is an older article but a good read on issues that almost prevented this dig from happening.

Also an apology to the family of Tracy Melton

In a news conference, Moore next apologized to the relatives of Tracy Melton, a 32-year-old woman believed by her family to have been a victim of Shermantine and his late partner in crime, Loren Herzog.

Shermantine and Herzog were arrested in 1999 after a two-decade-long killing spree. Herzog was convicted of three murders, but his sentence was overturned on appeal. He was paroled in 2010. Shermantine remains on death row for four murders.

Melton vanished in 1998, and a work crew in 2002 found a bone west of Stockton. Based on that, Moore's office received confirmation in April 2011 that the femur belonged to Melton.

They notified her relatives only last week.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120131/A_NEWS/201310313/-1/NEWSMAP

 

[mysteriew]

Convicted serial killer Wesley Shermantine shouldn't be allowed to collect blood money for murders now being unearthed, says a woman whose daughter may have fallen prey to him and Loren Herzog.

Susan Kizer, 64, said she's offended by the $33,000 deal Sacramento bounty hunter Leonard Padilla made with Shermantine, 45, to tease out of him burial places in Calaveras and San Joaquin counties.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120218/A_NEWS/202180316

 

[mysteriew]

For residents of this tiny farming community, it was only a matter of time before someone unearthed the bones.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/18/us/serial-killers-graveyard-opens-california-towns-wounds.html

 

[JDB]

A letter sent on 2/14 from death row. Seem L/P has not paid yet
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2012...r-from-speed-freak-killer-wesley-shermantine/

 

[nursebeeme]

I noticed they had a presser yesterday.. did anyone catch it?

 

[mysteriew]

I noticed they had a presser yesterday.. did anyone catch it?

The search of a 50-foot well containing more than 1,000 bone fragments is finished, and authorities are now focused on finding another well on the Flood Road property used as a dumping ground by serial killers in the 1980s.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120218/A_NEWS/202180318/-1/NEWSMAP

Looks like they found one purse (unknown if there an ID card) and an engraved ring.

Video
http://www.kcra.com/r-video/30459453/detail.html

 

[bessie]

I don't think anyone has posted this interview with Shermantine's ex-wife. Apparently, some of the interview has been edited out so parts of the remaining content make no sense. For instance, one statement begins, "All of this started in '84, according to Wes. So I don't think it's related..." There is no reference to what started in 1984. The article also says she believes many bodies will be found at the second well, but it's not a direct quote, and we don't hear her say that in the video. Anyway, fwiw:

"All of this didn't start until '84, according to Wes. So I don't think it's related. I think it was just another find that would not have been found if they had not been looking for the other bodies," she said. She believes investigators will find countless remains at another nearby well.

http://www.fox40.com/news/headlines...-details-of-marriage-20120214,0,6055609.story

 

[Leprikawn]

I beleive that Padilla is REALLy trying to find the victims in this case. The fact that Sherrif will not even let the detectives talk to him or look at his maps, is stupid to say the least. They need to get Shermantine out there and let him point out the locations.
The Sherrif made some stupid statement that he feared Shermantine would try to commit suicide by Cop.......then truss him up like Hanibal Lector and roll him out there. Or let him point it out from inside of a Armored car.

They should get a Rack of ribs going on a BBQ, and a nice steak amd Let Wes sit there and smell it and tell him if he wants any to start pointing out the graves.

 

[Quiche]

In this article, according to Lenny, Shermantine insists they're not even scratching the surface yet, compared to what they'll find at the second well.

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/19/4274673/answers-at-last-for-two-families.html


Regarding the area surrounding Linden... this is very rural, there's really no reason to be on those roads unless you are living/working that particular acreage. It's still remote, but I imagine there's more out there than there was 25 years ago.