MD MD - Pamela Conyers, 16, Glen Burnie, 16 Oct 1970

[Betty P]

I think that I figured out the general area where she was found by using the information off of the AA County Cold Case website and Google Maps. I am going to now do a Mapquest with a few of his past addresses to see if those were within walking distance.

I figured that she was in a rush to get to the Mall before it closed. She left at 8:30 p.m., and the Mall probably closed at 9 p.m. I don't know the location of Thom McCann's, but it may have had a side entrance (to the Mall) that she could have used to run in to get the shoe dye. She did in fact buy the dye according to a store clerk.

If she used a secluded, side entrance (if there was one), this could have been one of those unfortunate things where she was quickly forced into her car when nobody else was around and made to drive down to the Pasadena area, which he knew very well since he lived in that area and had gone to school in that area.

I believe that he made her drive there (or he could have knocked her out and driven the car down there himself like the Kelsey Smith/Edwin Hall case). He then raped and strangled her, drove her car to the wooded median and dumped her and abandoned the car.

I believe that her purse, keys and underwear were not found. I do believe that there are others who know some information. I think that he had at least infant at the time of this murder. I don't know if he was with the mother or not. If he was, I wonder what she knows. I hope that she has been forthcoming. I imagine, now that they have a name, the police have talked to relatives and friends. I am still amazed at how genealogy mapping can assist in solving these old cases.

It seems that FCW remained in Maryland at least until the 1990's as I found where he had a citation for fishing without a license. You can check here: https://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/casesearch/processDisclaimer.jis?disclaimer=Y

JMO.

Here's another good resource for old aerial photos to use on cold cases. The photos will still have a watermark on them, but they're sometimes helpful.

Historic Aerials: Viewer

www.historicaerials.com

The closest you can find for Glen Burnie, MD are aerials from 1981 and 1966

 

[Synergizer Bunny]

I'm thinking that he got a ride. Her purse was missing. So, she probably had money left over from the shoe dye purchase. Back then, there were pay phones around. So, maybe, he used a pay phone to call someone for a ride. I don't imagine that he wanted to stay in the area or be seen walking and take a chance of being picked up.

I am going to post where I think that Pam's body may have been found (marked by the pink "x") and a map of where he may have been headed (Mapquest driving route). I hope that, if he did have someone give him a ride, that person is still alive and will step forward.

All of this is my speculation and my opinion, only. I am wrong more often than I am right!

 

[Synergizer Bunny]

BTW - She did not normally wear her hair in those ringlets. I am going to post a photo of what she usually looked like. I'm assuming her hair was naturally curly, and she went through the trouble of straightening like a lot of high school girls.

 

[iamshadow21]

BTW - She did not normally wear her hair in those ringlets. I am going to post a photo of what she usually looked like. I'm assuming her hair was naturally curly, and she went through the trouble of straightening like a lot of high school girls.

I figured the ringlets were a fancy hairdo for a dance, a wedding, or a prom. That's what that photo looks like, to me.

 

[Betty P]

I figured the ringlets were a fancy hairdo for a dance, a wedding, or a prom. That's what that photo looks like, to me.

Yes, for a while in the late 1960's and early 70's, ringlets were a popular style for formal hairdos. I remember getting mine styled that way for 8th grade graduation. Below is an example of ringlets in an updo.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1967/

This was the ad I took to the hairdresser for my graduation do.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/463730092872951236/

 

[Betty P]

DBM - WS is janky today

 

[Synergizer Bunny]

Well, you learn something new every day! I didn't know that about the ringlets!!

 

[Betty P]

Well, you learn something new every day! I didn't know that about the ringlets!!

It was a cute style for young women, but difficult to style and maintain. Definitely not a hairdo for everyday. We didn't have as many styling products back then. You had to spray it stiff with hairspray. By the late 60's the trend was towards more low maintenance and "natural". Same with make up - less of the heavy make up, eyeliner, etc. except for dressing up.

I assume Pamela was shopping for shoe dye to have a pair of formal shoes to match her gown. She must have been getting ready for a formal dance, assume homecoming? Kids in the suburban Washington DC/Baltimore area probably went more formal for these events back then. Back in the Midwest, we would get a nice new dress, but usually knee-length. Full length gowns and dyed to match shoes were usually for the senior prom, etc.

 

[Betty P]

.

 

[Synergizer Bunny]

It was a cute style for young women, but difficult to style and maintain. Definitely not a hairdo for everyday. We didn't have as many styling products back then. You had to spray it stiff with hairspray. By the late 60's the trend was towards more low maintenance and "natural". Same with make up - less of the heavy make up, eyeliner, etc. except for dressing up.

I assume Pamela was shopping for shoe dye to have a pair of formal shoes to match her gown. She must have been getting ready for a formal dance, assume homecoming? Kids in the suburban Washington DC/Baltimore area probably went more formal for these events back then. Back in the Midwest, we would get a nice new dress, but usually knee-length. Full length gowns and dyed to match shoes were usually for the senior prom, etc.

Another question: Once you dye the formal shoes, can you dye them another color? I've never dyed shoes before. Do you need a certain type of shoes in order to dye them?

Also, it was October. So, it was some kind of homecoming dance. She went to a bonfire at the high school. She was in the 10th grade, I believe. She also played the flute in the marching band and was supposed to play before the football game that Saturday, I believe. The dance would have been that night.

All of this information was from various news articles throughout the years. Just to be safe, I will say that it is my opinion and speculation.

 

[Betty P]

Another question: Once you dye the formal shoes, can you dye them another color? I've never dyed shoes before. Do you need a certain type of shoes in order to dye them?

Also, it was October. So, it was some kind of homecoming dance. She went to a bonfire at the high school. She was in the 10th grade, I believe. She also played the flute in the marching band and was supposed to play before the football game that Saturday, I believe. The dance would have been that night.

All of this information was from various news articles throughout the years. Just to be safe, I will say that it is my opinion and speculation.

I never wore dyed shoes, but my mom had a couple pairs of them over the years. It looks like they were similar then to the ones sold now - shoes made of a kind of silky/satiny kind of fabric. They start out white and I suppose you can dye them to be progressively darker, up to a limit. At some point, they'll be black.

Here's a link to dyeable shoes today. Many more styles to choose from

Dyeable Shoes Archives

Dyeable Shoes are perfect for getting the color you desire in the footwear style you love. With thousand of styles to choose from, you will love your shoes!

www.dyeableshoestore.com

They usually sold the dye in formal wear stores for women

 

[Richard]

Back in 1970 there were very few fully enclosed Malls like those seen today. They were usually a strip of connected businesses, each with its own entrance from the outside - usually facing the parking lot.

So, an abduction could very well have taken place in the parking lot. The perpetrator could sit in his own car or simply watch from a short distance looking for a victim and an opportunity.

 

[sds71]

FBI says genetic genealogy was used to identify this second murder suspect, Donald Willard. He was a handyman who worked out of a Pasadena including on the Rt 100 project.

Same methods were used to identify first suspect, Forrest Clyde Williams III, which was announced last year. Investigators are asking the public to come forward with any information about these 2 men.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1769742000176156873

 

[dotr]

Second suspect announced in 1970s cold case murder of Maryland teenager Pamela Lynn Conyers

Detectives said last year they have not ruled out that others were involved in the death of Pamela Lynn Conyers.

www.cbsnews.com

By Rohan Mattu March 18, 2024

Donald Willard, Left, Forrest Clyde, RightANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY POLICE
'Police asked residents to review photos provided of the suspects to determine if they had ever interacted with them. Both men were hunters and were known to frequent The Mountain Bar on Mountain Road in Pasadena.

An investigation is ongoing, and police ask any residents who may have worked with them, hunted with them or talked with them to report it.

"There is no information that's too small," a police spokesperson said. "It's all significant to us."

Anyone with information on the murder is asked to call AACPD tip line at 410-222-4731.

 

[dotr]

After 53 years, Pamela Conyers' Murder is Solved

Anne Arundel County PD & FBI Leverage Othram's Genetic Testing Platform to Identify a 1970 Murder Suspect

dnasolves.com

 

[summergirl1]

I couldn't seem to find an obit for Donald Willard, so possibly he didn't have one.

 

[Richard]

Forrest Clyde Williams III​

BIRTH 12 Dec 1948 Covington City, Virginia, USA
DEATH 28 Mar 2018 (aged 69) Salem City, Virginia, USA
BURIAL: Locust Bottom Cemetery, Botetourt County, Virginia

LINKS:

Forrest Clyde Williams III (1948-2018) - Find a...

www.findagrave.com

Police ID second suspect in 1970 killing of teenager

Anne Arundel County police and the FBI identified a second suspect in connection with the 1970 killing of a teenager.

www.wbaltv.com

Pamela Lynn Conyers: Maryland girl's murder mystery solved after 52 years, suspect identified

Pamela Conyers, 16, was murdered following her disappearance from a local shopping mall

meaww.com

 

[Richard]

11 months prior to the abduction and murder of Pamela Conyers, Joyce Malecki, age 20 visited the same mall and was subsequently found murdered in a similar manner. Could Forrest Clyde Williams III - or some of his associates have been the perpetrator(s)? How many other victims were there?


Joyce Malecki, age 20
Murdered 11 November 1969

LINK:

MD - MD - Joyce Malecki, 20, Glen Burnie, 11 Nov 1969

Police get several tips in 1969 slaying of nunJuly 10, 1994|By Robert A. Erlandson and Joe Nawrozki | Robert A. Erlandson and Joe Nawrozki,Sun Staff Writers Four days after Sister Catherine disappeared, Joyce Helen Malecki, 20, of Lansdowne, vanished on a Christmas shopping trip in Glen...

www.websleuths.com

 

[summergirl1]

Browsing through newspapers.com, there was an article about an attempted abduction from Glen Burnie Mall the following December. I don't think I can link to it, but here's a summary:

A 20 yr old woman was abducted from the Glen Burnie Mall on Dec. 14, 1970. She had been shopping and came out around 9:15 pm to find her car had a flat tire. A man, about age 30, approached and asked her if she needed help changing the tire. After changing it for her, he convinced her she needed to take the tire to a local tire store for repair. He got into the passenger side seat to ride with her. She pulled out on Ritchie Hwy and when stopped in traffic, he grabbed her by the head and forced himself into the driver's seat. As they drove farther down Ritchie Hwy, they slowed in traffic and she jumped out of the car and began screaming for help. The abductor drove off and she called her father to pick her up. They reported the incident to police who searched and later found her car in flames less than a mile away. The car was destroyed.

The description of the man was similar to that of a man who abducted 2 women and sexually attacked them in a Glen Burnie shopping center parking lot in 1969. He was white, about 30 yrs old, medium length brown hair and about 5 ft 10 in tall, with a medium build.

From The Capital, 16 Dec 1970

That's 4 women attacked, one killed in 1969-70 all abducted from the same area.

It sounds as though there was a serial rapist/abductor in the area who escalated to murder. He either lived in the area and walked home after his crimes or stashed a car nearby.

Other incidents at the mall and a nearby shopping center in the same time period. These only mention one man. Donald Willard was the older of the two, he was about 34 in 1970, so it sounds more like him, unless there was another guy doing this along with them (maybe not Pamela's murder as no further DNA evidence has been mentioned). These could be unrelated..but probably not, especially the incident at the mall. I wonder if the woman mentioned above is still living.

 

[DD Byrd]

I still wonder about Lloyd Welch. Could he have known FCW?