Cases from 1980-1989

[bessie]

On August 31, 1983, the nude body of Susan Eads was found lying in a ditch at NASA Rd 1 and Elam St. in Seabrook, TX. Susan was born in Mississippi but had lived for six years in Seabrook where she was a disc jockey and a waitress at the local Holiday Inn at the time of her murder. She was last seen the night of August 31, 1983 in Jason's Brown Saloon in Webster where witnesses say she refused a dance and a drink from a dark haired Caucasian man. Witnesses also observed her being followed to her car by a man. Her body was found the following day. She had been sexually assaulted, beaten and strangled.

In 1987, while investigating the disappearance of Shelley Sikes, the 19 year-old who disappeared on her way home from work one night in Texas City, police made connections between the suspects in Sikes' murder, John King and Gerald Zwarst of Bayview, and Susan Eads. (About six weeks after Susan's murder, Zwarst was arrested at Jason's Brown Saloon for public intoxication.) As of 2007, neither King nor Zwarst had been charged in connection with Eads' murder. They are both serving life sentences for the aggravated kidnapping of Shelley Sikes whose body has never been recovered. Eads' murder remains unsolved.

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/a...-officers-interested-in-talking-to-kidna.html

http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=7ee26a4d7fb632fd

SUSAN EADS

 

[JeannieC]

Summary:
Elizabeth Jones lived alone in a house in Clear Lake Shores, Texas, near the IBM facility where she worked as a manager on the NASA shuttle project. At about 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 8, 1987, Jones called her boyfriend Terry Hahn and told him that she was not feeling well and that she planned to go to bed early. Jones was in the midst of remodeling her home, and she told Hahn that a roofer was still there hammering on the roof over her bedroom. After Jones did not appear for work the next day, some friends went to her house in the evening to check on her. They found the doors locked, Jones's car parked in the driveway, no forced entry, and no one at home. Jones's friends entered the house, found no evidence of foulplay, and reported her missing to police. Gribble was the roofer. In initial questioning by police he denied any involvement, but following his arrest on September 30th, he confessed to the sexual assault, kidnaping, and murder by strangulation of Jones. He told police he returned to the house several hours after work and raped Jones after she let him in to search for the wallet he claimed to have left behind. He admitted to later driving her to an isolated area and strangling her with the belt of her robe. Gribble led police to her body in a desolate woods area, and Libby's purse was recovered from a nearby creek. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned his first conviction in 1988, saying jurors should have received better instructions about defense claims that Gribble suffered mental disorders and was sexually abused as a child. On retrial in 1992, Gribble was again convicted and sentenced to death. Gribble had previously served less than a year and a half of a 5 year sentence on a rape and false imprisonment conviction and was released under mandatory release in May 1985. He was also been indicted in the June 13, 1987 strangulation death of Donna Weis in Galveston County. Gribble confessed to the murder, but was never tried.

http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/gribble622.htm

http://thepolicenews.net/html/tpnnov07.pdf

 

[JeannieC]

Gribble claimed to be “a killer with a
conscience,” although that was never
explained. He said Libby Jones was one
of three women he killed. He had also
been indicted, but never tried for the murder
of Donna Weis, 23, whose remains
were found in Galveston County 18
months after she disappeared in June
1986. Police were never able to confirm
his claim of a third killing. At his trial prosecutors
presented three other women to
the jury who testified that he raped them
too.

http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/gribble622.htm

http://thepolicenews.net/html/tpnnov07.pdf

(added by Bessie)
From the Houston Chronicle, May 7, 1992 by the victim's sister, Vickie Weis Bolen

On June 13, 1986, a year before he killed Libby, Tim Gribble murdered Donna Weis and left her in a plastic bag in a shallow grave. My family waited for a year and a half with very slim hope that she was alive somewhere.

Donna's remains were found in November 1987 after Gribble confessed to his wife. There wasn't enough evidence left after 17 months to charge him with Donna's murder. My family had to watch like bystanders at Libby's trial; knowing that the jury would not know that not only was Gribble a serial rapist, but that he was also a serial killer.
Now that the trial is over, I wanted the jury to know about Donna so they wouldn't feel any doubts about the verdict they had given. They were justified in their decisions that Gribble would be a future threat to society and that he did kill Libby deliberately.
http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/1992_1053807/jury-in-capital-murder-case-did-the-right-thing.html

(Note: JeannieC, I've edited the above into your post for easier reference. -- Bessie)

 

[JeannieC]

Murder of Laura Marie Purchase
March 17, 1983 – I-45 at League Line Road, Conroe, Texas
SYNOPSIS: At approx. 3:00 am, an MCSO Patrol Deputy observed a fire
burning just inside the woods along the northbound service road of I-45 at
League Line Road. The dead body of an unidentified white female was
found within the fire, which had recently been set. An autopsy determined
that she had died from strangulation and the fire set with an accelerant.
Self-professed Serial Killer Henry Lee Lucas subsequently confessed to
the crime, along with several others in Montgomery County, in 1983.
Lucas had confessed to approx. 600 murders, with about 200 cleared
across the United States. In 1986, the victim was later positively
identified as Laura Marie Purchase after fingerprints were matched.
Purchase was last known to have been in Houston, Texas on March 5,
1983, living with a man named “Howard” or “Howie” who played in a
band called “Malibu”. Lucas died in prison in 2001, after his death
sentence was commuted to life. Lucas had recanted his confessions and it is believed that he is not responsible for most of the crimes he confessed too. Recent DNA testing of semen from Purchase’s body has been conducted by MCSO Cold Case Detectives, eliminating Lucas from the DNA.

Montgomery County Sheriff's Department Cold Cases

The Purchase case was thought to be closed when Lucas confessed to the slaying, Duroy said. But the Cold Case Squad has ruled Lucas out with recent DNA testing.

Duroy is looking for a man that Purchase said was her husband prior to her death. Her family believes his name is “Howard or Howie” and that he played in a Houston band, Malibu.

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cour...cle_c5cc6c10-751f-5f97-8ca9-3cc314e456db.html

 

[JeannieC]

Case # 82-18737
Murder of Gloria Ann Stephan
October 2, 1982 – Alford Road, Magnolia, Texas

SYNOPSIS: At approx. 4:00 pm, a resident found the body of an
unidentified white female in “the gravel pit” located off Alford Road.
Another resident had been by the same location and reported that the body
was not present at that location at about 9:30 am, the same day. The
victim had been strangled with a ligature and stabbed to death. Victim
was positively identified by fingerprints as Gloria Ann Stephan, who was
last seen at a convenience store in the 13000 block of Northshore in
Houston, Texas on October 2, 1982, at about 12:00 pm. Stephan had been
driving her light blue 1975 Plymouth station wagon. On October 3, 1982,
at approx. 1:00 am, a Texas DPS Trooper found Stephan’s car abandoned
along Hwy 290 in Kerrville, Texas. Self-professed Serial Killer Henry
Lee Lucas subsequently confessed to the crime, along with several others
in Montgomery County, in 1983. Lucas had confessed to approx. 600
murders, with about 200 cleared across the United States. Lucas died in
prison in 2001, after his death sentence was commuted to life. Lucas had
recanted his confessions and it is believed that he is not responsible for
most of the crimes he confessed too.


Montgomery County Sheriff's Department Cold Cases

Corley believes Lucas did commit two of the murders.

“Lucas led us to the scene (of the Stephan murder),” Corley said. “He pointed out the gravel pit, where the body was drug out in the pine trees. He told us exactly how he strangled and cut her throat.”

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cour...cle_c5cc6c10-751f-5f97-8ca9-3cc314e456db.html

 

[JeannieC]

Case # 83-6947
Murder of Laura Jean Donez
April 18, 1983 – FM 149 7 miles north of Montgomery, Texas
SYNOPSIS: At approx. 1:00 pm, an oilfield worker observed a fire
burning in a wooded area, near a logging road, approx. 400 yards west of
FM 149. The dead body of an unidentified white female was found in the
fire and MCSO Deputies were called. The fire had been set with what
appeared to be a road flare and an autopsy revealed that she had been
strangled. The victim was soon identified as Laura Jean Donez (16 yoa),
who had last been seen walking away from her residence in the 3500
block of Raymond Street, Houston, Texas. Donez had reportedly left to
buy a hamburger at a nearby restaurant. Self-professed Serial Killer
Henry Lee Lucas subsequently confessed to the crime, along with several
others in Montgomery County, in 1983. Lucas had confessed to approx.
600 murders, with about 200 cleared across the United States. Lucas died
in prison in 2001, after his death sentence was commuted to life. Lucas
had recanted his confessions and it is believed that he is not responsible
for most of the crimes he confessed too.

Montgomery County Sheriff's Department Cold Cases

In the Donez case, Corley said that they proved that Lucas could have been in the area.

“We put him in the area (in Houston),” Corley said. “We didn’t have tools like DNA back then. They very may well reopen and solve these cases. I hope they can. I praise them for trying.”

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cour...cle_c5cc6c10-751f-5f97-8ca9-3cc314e456db.html

 

[JeannieC]

Cold Case Murders May Be Connected

Around two decades ago, the bodies of five murdered Houston women were discovered in Montgomery County over a three-year period.

Although law enforcement officials never arrested anyone in connection with the murders, a detective in the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Squad believes the cases could be linked.




“It’s interesting, between 1980 and 1983, we had a number of females that were murdered, bodies dumped in the county,” Detective Thomas Duroy said. “That’s more in that short time period than in recent times.”

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/news/cold-case-murders-may-be-connected/article_c5cc6c10-751f-5f97-8ca9-3cc314e456db.html

 

[JeannieC]

The Doe Network: Case File 1114DFTX

Sharon Zelinski McCully
Missing since December 11, 1984 from Austin, Travis County, Texas.
Classification: Involuntary


Vital Statistics
•Date Of Birth: July 1, 1959
•Age at Time of Disappearance: 25 years old
•Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'6"; 130 lbs.
•Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; brown eyes. She wears contact lenses.
•Tattoos: Tattoo of a yellow and red rose on her abdomen.
•Dentals: Available
•Clothing: Dark blue slacks with white pin stripes, an unknown color of blouse, and white tennis shoes with red stripes.
•AKA: Sarah


Circumstances of Disappearance
McCully was last seen at Howard Lane and Interstate 35. She was on a Christmas shopping trip, and had just left her husband after a lunch date. Her Volkswagen was seen on Bee Cave Road that day, and in the area where Barton Creek Square is now located. It was found at an apartment complex on Research Boulevard. She was a nurse with hopes of going to medical school.
A resident told police she saw a woman fitting McCully's description getting out of the car with a man, but the tip didn't develop. Fingerprints were found on her car but there hasn't been enough physical evidence to link anyone to the crime.


Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Austin Police Department
Cold Case Unit
512-974-5281
Or
Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse
512-424-5074


NCIC Number: M-141052381
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse
KVUE

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1114dftx.html
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/images/SZMcCully.jpg

 

[:+:MrTT:+:]

http://www.hctx.net/CmpDocuments/21/Unidentified Decedent Fliers/1989-12-29-8294.pdf

Unidentified White/Hispanic Female

Located on December 29, 1989 in Houston, Harris County, Texas.
Estimated Date of Death: 1989
Recognizable Face
CAUSE OF DEATH ISN'T GIVEN IN ANY ARTICLES I'VE FOUND
Estimated age: 19 - 29 years old
Approximate Height and Weight: 5'3"-5'4" (64"); 161 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Black hair approximately 20" long; brown eyes.
Marks, Scars: Small half moon scar below the right knee; smal fine scar on right forearm
Clothing: Black corduroy pants; a white pullover shirt; black socks; white panties; a white bra and black lace-up shoes.
No sizes given on items listed.
Personal Effects: A handwritten schedule was located near her body.
Fingerprints: Not Available
Dentals: Not Available
DNA: Not Available

The victim was located at 5433 Westheimer Road in Houston, TX.

The Doe Network: Case File 96UFTX
Agency Case #: ML89-8294
NCIC Number: U-430004278

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/96uftx.html

http://www.houstonunsolved.com/index.php?topic=106.0

http://www.hctx.net/CmpDocuments/21/Unidentified Decedent Fliers/1989-12-29-8294.pdf

http://icaremissingpersonscoldcases...male--December-29-1989--Houston-Harris-County

Map of 5433 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX Harris County

Shouldn't this be moved to post 26 in the uid thread?
These decades are for missing persons and then to compare with the uids yes?

I have ask a moderator to attach my post 70 with post 6 in the UID thread.
And then to delete this posting afterwards.
​

 

[bessie]

This thread is to list general information for all of the cases from the '80s, MrTT, missing, found murdered/identified, and found murdered/unidentified.

If you want to make a comparison between a MP and a UID, then you post it in the UID sub-forum (the thread will actually be in the main Unidentified forum).

 

[grievousangel]

I hope this is the right place to post this.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/teen-slain-82-identified-missing-conn-girl-21492168

 

[bessie]

Teen Slain in '82 Identified as Missing Conn. Girl

HARTFORD, Conn. January 10, 2014 (AP)
Michelle Garvey was 14 when she was last seen on June 1, 1982, and authorities believe she had run away from her home in New London.

The girl's remains were found on a field in Houston on July 1, 1982, but her identity remained a mystery until DNA from Garvey's family recently confirmed the match, said Lt. J. Paul Vance, a spokesman for Connecticut State Police.

I don't know if it means anything, but July 1, 1982, is the same day Tamara Ellen McCurry went missing.


[ame="http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7320266&postcount=5"]Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - Cases from 1980-1989[/ame]

 

[TStewPrincess14]

I am so excited for Tim Miller! I hope he gets some resolution. He has certainly paid more forward and deserves it.

 

[TStewPrincess14]

Here's a worksheet I've been using to compile data. It's not complete, but I thought it might be helpful, anyway. I'll post an updated version later.

Omgosh. This is the best thing ever.

 

[margarita25]

Fabulous work in this thread!

 

[kae504]

This is the third posting i have seen involving bite marks.
left shoulder, another right shoulder, and another one multiple bite marks on her back.

Who were the other victims you found with bite Mark's? I have been searching for others as well. That is definitely the signature of a serial killer. Pantyhose was utilized with this UID as well as a few others, so I have been trying to come up with a list where there was strangulation, bite Mark's, and the use of pantyhose, as these were most likely killed by the same person.

 

[Deleted member 102539]

Dean Marie Pyle Peters & Cold Cases: Elizabeth Ann Campbell-Missing 26 Years
Elizabeth has brown hair, brown eyes and is part Caucasian, part Korean. She was 5'2", had a light complexion and weighed 100-105 pounds. She has one inch horizontal scars under her chin and on her forehead by her hairline. She has a scar on her elbow and another scar on her right eyebrow. There is a small mole in the center of her back between her shoulder blades, and a small birthmark on her right buttock. Her ears are double pierced and she is right handed. She wore eye glasses or contacts for far distance vision, but her contacts her left at her family's residence the day she went missing. She can speak some Spanish and knows some Korean words. In 1988, Elizabeth smoked Virginia Slims and Capri cigarettes. She goes by the nickname Liz.


Police use new technology to craft image of decapitated woman
Investigators in Galveston County have used new DNA technology to construct an image of a woman who was found decapitated in 1988.

If you have any information about the woman's identity, you are asked to contact police at (409) 765-3762.

Please, if you think, it maybe the same woman, contact police immediately!
I'm living in GER and don't want to call.

 

[scriabina]

Dean Marie Pyle Peters & Cold Cases: Elizabeth Ann Campbell-Missing 26 Years
View attachment 137363

Police use new technology to craft image of decapitated woman
Investigators in Galveston County have used new DNA technology to construct an image of a woman who was found decapitated in 1988.
View attachment 137364
If you have any information about the woman's identity, you are asked to contact police at (409) 765-3762.

Please, if you think, it maybe the same woman, contact police immediately!

Interesting! The two photos look very similar. However, the article states "Investigators reported finding the decapitated body of a young female on April 1, 1988 at the Galveston Island State Park," whereas Elizabeth Ann Campbell was last seen on April 25, 1988, so if those dates are correct, it couldn't be the same person.

 

[Deleted member 102539]

Interesting! The two photos look very similar. However, the article states "Investigators reported finding the decapitated body of a young female on April 1, 1988 at the Galveston Island State Park," whereas Elizabeth Ann Campbell was last seen on April 25, 1988, so if those dates are correct, it couldn't be the same person.

Thank you! I'm always too excited and in that case not thoroughly enough.
Also, I noticed very late (when the Edit-phase had ended): the phenotyping article had been in the news already 2016. So, my rush wasn't necessary at all.
Elizabeth Ann Campbell - unsolved until April 25th, 2018:
After 30 years, missing Central Texas woman’s fate remains a mystery

 

[Gini1982]

http://www.woodlandsonline.com/dbs/s...e/COLDCASE.pdf

1984 Case # 84-19417
Murder of Brenda Maureen Hackett

September 9, 1984 – FM 2854 3 miles west of I-45, Conroe, Texas

SYNOPSIS: Brenda Hackett was 24 years of age, lived in a rented home
off Roy Harris Loop (Conroe), and worked at Club Daniels in Conroe as a
server. On September 9, 1984, at approx. 4:23 pm, Brenda Hackett
phoned her mother from a payphone at Safeway located at 1100 West
Dallas Street, Conroe. On September 10, 1984, at approx. 3:00 pm, a
passing train observed a body in “Contrary Creek” located alongside the
railroad trestle next to FM 2854 approx. 3 miles west of I-45. MCSO
Deputies responded and found the dead body of Hackett lying partially in
the water and she had been strangled with a pair of pantyhose. On
September 13, 1984, Hackett’s dark green 1967 Ford Mustang was found
abandoned on Arnold Street, just behind the Cross-Roads Shopping Center
where Hackett had made her last known phone call. The car contained
Hackett’s purse and shoes and had been observed parked at that location
on September 10, 1984, at approx. 4:30 am. MCSO Cold Case Detectives
recently had DNA testing conducted on semen collected from Hackett’s
body, which resulted in an unknown male DNA profile being obtained.

Jerry Michael Ward was a suspect: He was the number one suspect in two new cases, involving the the disappearance of Connie Sue Cooke, and the murder of Brenda Maureen Hackett. But althought police were on the verge of arresting him, Ward committed suicide in a self-inflicted execution.
Prosecutors to seek death penalty in killing at Metro PCS store

I was a waitress at a bar called Laser’s in Conroe, TX and waited on Brenda and her murderer the night she was killed. That night will always haunt me. She and I were acquaintances, and she worked at Club Daniels at the time. Her date wore a large cowboy hat and was very careful to keep his head down so you could not see his face. I thought it was strange, but I didn’t give it a second thought. When you’re young you aren’t thinking “what if he’s a serial killer?”. I remember trying to make eye contact with him, but he’d put his head down further, or turn his head the other way. When the police questioned us after Brenda’s murder no one could give an accurate description of him because no one had seen his face. When I saw the photos of Jerry Michael Ward years later I did see some similarities (in his stature and his hair) with the man who sat at the table with her. I believe they have DNA evidence now that actually links him to her murder. Too bad he killed himself before they could take him to trial and convict him. She deserved justice, and her family deserved closure.