Mystery couple murdered in South Carolina, 1976 - #3

[shadetreePI]

Thank you MaryBeth. I don't know how I missed this before. Very interesting. And who do you think Lonnie would lie for (if he was)? Only someone very close to him - my first guess would be his own child.

Shadow: I'd love to see the obit if it's not too much trouble. How weird that he died at PeeDee. I go there all the time with my husband and friends. Beautifully creepy place... black water with a mirror-like reflection, lots of swamp with many alligators. Good fishing though.

Reannan: Please, let me pass along a word of caution (told to me by Verna Moore herself)...

Please be very cautious while doing any investigating in person. We still don't know who killed these people and they could very well be a local and still alive. Take someone with you if you decide to trek out in person. Just a word of advice - I'd hate for anything to ever happen. I'd rather be paranoid and err on the side of caution, you know?

 

[MaryLiz]

You're welcome, shadetree.. I just found it by accident by clicking on one of the page numbers above the post! I think it's a very interesting article. I agree..my first guess would be Lonnie Henry was protecting his son.

I can imagine he probably wasn't in the healthiest frame of mind after his other son drowned and then he accidentally killed his coworker, but not sure I'm buying that he could have done the murders and not remembered it.

 

[MaryLiz]

The matches came from the Grants Truck Stop in New Mexico, Nebraska or Idaho. In the United States

Oops...my bad, Teresa...I didn't realize Shadowangel pointed out the York, NB was Nebraska and NOT New Brunswick, CA. Sorry about that.

 

[superunknown]

Here are my thoughts on Lonnie Henry Sr. etc.:

According to my research, Henry Sr. died in the early 1980s. At the time of his DUI arrest and subsequent discovery of the murder weapon in 1976/77, he was approximately 60 years old.

So, if we are to form some theories on this, then probable children from Mr. Henry could have ranged in age anywhere from, let's say, ages 20-40 years of age at the time the murders took place. This could have put a child of his very well into the peer group (or slightly older) of the victims.

I also agree with some of the other posts that when a person covers up a crime for someone else, it is usually a loved one or family member. It would make sense that Lonnie Henry Sr. would not want to discuss the disposition of the gun or who may have had access to it at the time of the murders if he suspected it had been in the possession of one of his own relatives.

This is all theory however and is in no means meant to unfairly implicate anyone related to Mr. Henry.

I have also done some checking and there is a Lonnie Henry Jr. who was incarcerated and convicted of numerous drug crimes. I found this information in public records. I am not certain this is the son of this particular Lonnie Henry, but I found it interesting nonetheless.

 

[Reannan]

Reannan: Please, let me pass along a word of caution (told to me by Verna Moore herself)...

Please be very cautious while doing any investigating in person. We still don't know who killed these people and they could very well be a local and still alive. Take someone with you if you decide to trek out in person. Just a word of advice - I'd hate for anything to ever happen. I'd rather be paranoid and err on the side of caution, you know?

Thanks for the heads-up Shadetree! I will of course, take your advice. Heck from reading WS's I LIVE in constant combat ready mode! :bang:

I stumbled on the following information today about a missing couple from the April/May 1976 time frame. I have never seen their names anywhere else, and it is infact, hard to find information on them. I can't find a description anywhere. Apparently, they were a young couple from Portland, Oregon with ties to Vancouver, Canada. They must have been fairly affluent because they sailed from Hawaii to Oregon for several years. They went missing on a sailing trip in May of 1976. There was one article from a September 1976 Newspaper that "the family" had launched an investigation. No mention of LE being involved. And the other thing I found was a posting on a Cruisingworld.com webiste by the brother of the missing man from August of this year (2008). How timely, huh? No where is there a description of the couple. So....I registered at the cruisingworld.com site and responded to his query with directions to our thread here. Can't hurt. The missing couple's name was Michael and Coredlia McMinn, both around 26 years old.

 

[Reannan]

Here is a link to the News Paper Article:
http://z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/index.php?showtopic=28880

Here is what it says (because it is hard to read at the link):

Tri-City Herald 9/1976
Vancouver, Canada (AP)
The disappearance of a Portland, Oregon couple on a Trimaran that sailed from Hawaii in May remains a mystery in spite of an investigation launched by their family.
Mrs. Malcolm McMinn of Portland said in a telephone interview she and her husband traveled to Vancouver Island and the San Juan islands to pass out leaflets and to interview witnesses who reportedly saw her son and daughter in-law’s sailboat.
Michael McMinn and his wife Coredlia, both 26, left Hanalei, Kaui in their 25-foot Trimaran drum, May 12. They had food and water for 80 days and an automatic signaling device with a range of 150 miles. They never arrived.
“We confirmed two sightings, and discounted two more,” said Mrs. McMinn.

 

[Reannan]

And here is what the "brother" who is posting as "Sailorbrother" over at the cruisingworld.com forum said:

http://forums.cruisingworld.com/showthread.php?t=2100
COLD CASE
Sailorbrother
Hi folks,
I'm new to this forum, and although I sail a lot, I'm not an ocean cruiser. The real reason I've joined is to post a query.

My brother and his wife went missing some 30 years ago (April/May1976) somewhere between Kauai, Hawaii and Seattle, Washington. They were well regarded among sailors in Hawaii and had many floating friends. This is to ask the cruising public at large, especially you old-timers in the Pacific, to reflect on any of the following information and email me with any information you may have, however foggy:

J. Michael McMinn
Cordelia McMinn
25 foot trimaran, Drum
Sailed throughout Hawaii in the years 1973-1976

Also, if you have other resources you feel I should make use of, please let me know.

Thanks ahead and fair winds,

Peter McMinn

 

[MaryLiz]

I stumbled on the following information today about a missing couple from the April/May 1976 time frame. I have never seen their names anywhere else, and it is infact, hard to find information on them. I can't find a description anywhere. Apparently, they were a young couple from Portland, Oregon with ties to Vancouver, Canada. They must have been fairly affluent because they sailed from Hawaii to Oregon for several years. They went missing on a sailing trip in May of 1976. There was one article from a September 1976 Newspaper that "the family" had launched an investigation. No mention of LE being involved. And the other thing I found was a posting on a Cruisingworld.com webiste by the brother of the missing man from August of this year (2008). How timely, huh? No where is there a description of the couple. So....I registered at the cruisingworld.com site and responded to his query with directions to our thread here. Can't hurt. The missing couple's name was Michael and Coredlia McMinn, both around 26 years old.

Reannan, I remember reading about Michael and Cordelia McMinn when I was searching for the Mystery Couple about a year ago, and comparing notes with their case. But I only found one article about it! I could find absolutely nothing else about them. I didn't look on any cruising sites but just checked a lot in newspaperarchives.com and also news library. That was a good idea to register at the cruisingworld.com website. How ironic that his brother would JUST post on there!

 

[Reannan]

It is ironic that his brother just posted on the cruisingworld.com site. I think it would be a HUGE long shot, but I don't have anything else to for this case right now. I bet I have looked at every missing person in the USA over the last few days - again!!! The initials of the sailing couple do not match what was on the ring that Jock was wearing, but the brother indicated that the first initial was "J". Who is to say that Jock didn't get that ring from someone as a trade for something else??? We just don't know anything really, and yet we have SO much information on this case it just HAS to be solvable. It is driving me nuts! :crazy:

 

[Teresa Larson]

I wonder if these two could have been friends of Lonnie Henry's son? Those matches could have come from somebody else They could have been given to Jock or he could have picked them up off of a counter at another truck stop near by.

 

[Bud]

Here it is, I must have been thinking of another picture because this isn't exactly the way I remembered it. But this must be the one I saw for them.

(Scroll down)
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/classics/mystery_couple/index.html

"They had no money on them, but there were several clues that led investigators to believe that the couple might have been well-to-do or perhaps even from another country."

So, what were the several clues mentioned in the story that led investigators to believe they were from outside the U.S.?

The fact neither was wearing underwear and her legs were unshaven seem like a fairly big clue. Was it common for Canadian women... especially from French Quebec not to shave their legs (in the mid 70's).

My stepfather was born and raised in Quebec and he refused to wear underwear, too. I'll have to ask him if this was common... a cultural thing... or perhaps it was just his personal aversion to undergarments.

What about his shoes? Was he wearing any? Are there closeups of her wedge-heeled shoes? Who sold the brand she was wearing?

 

[MaryLiz]

I wonder if these two could have been friends of Lonnie Henry's son? Those matches could have come from somebody else They could have been given to Jock or he could have picked them up off of a counter at another truck stop near by.

I never thought of that before, that they could have been friends with Lonnie Henry's son. It's certainly possible. Lonnie Henry, Sr. had to have been protecting someone. It makes no sense that he would try to file off the serial number of the gun unless he suspected or knew it had been used in the murders.

I agree the matches could have just been given to Jock, and he never was actually at a Grant's Truck Stop at all. In fact, that very thought crossed my mind yesterday.

 

[MaryLiz]

"They had no money on them, but there were several clues that led investigators to believe that the couple might have been well-to-do or perhaps even from another country."

So, what were the several clues mentioned in the story that led investigators to believe they were from outside the U.S.?

The fact neither was wearing underwear and her legs were unshaven seem like a fairly big clue. Was it common for Canadian women... especially from French Quebec not to shave their legs (in the mid 70's).

My stepfather was born and raised in Quebec and he refused to wear underwear, too. I'll have to ask him if this was common... a cultural thing... or perhaps it was just his personal aversion to undergarments.

What about his shoes? Was he wearing any? Are there closeups of her wedge-heeled shoes? Who sold the brand she was wearing?

The sandals had lavender, pink and purple straps and were made by Stride Rite.

 

[matknee]

mary frances gregory is actually missing from canada and maria anjiras I believe conn both are on the charley project

 

[phenolred]

I had a fellow websleuther do an overly pic. She said I could post this for you. She had done an overlay on Maricopa Jane Doe that we now know is Tawni Lee Mazzone. I was especially interested in her doing an overlay of the crime scene profile pics. I asked her if it was an easy match up, she said yes the overlay was easy compared to the one she did on Maricopa and Coral Hall, which we now know it was Not Coral.

here is a link to the overlays that she did Thanks again
Aphra

http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn123/Aphra75/

 

[MaryLiz]

I had a fellow websleuther do an overly pic. She said I could post this for you. She had done an overlay on Maricopa Jane Doe that we now know is Tawni Lee Mazzone. I was especially interested in her doing an overlay of the crime scene profile pics. I asked her if it was an easy match up, she said yes the overlay was easy compared to the one she did on Maricopa and Coral Hall, which we now know it was Not Coral.

here is a link to the overlays that she did Thanks again
Aphra

http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn123/Aphra75/

Those are very interesting and well done. I'm glad they were relatively easy for her to do. Thanks to her for taking the time to do them.

 

[phenolred]

I have received some excellent info from someone who is trying to get registered here. She indicated it would be alright
to post the gist of the information she has shared with me until she can get on here and speak for herself. Her Grandfather wasa prominent doctor in Quebec, and HOW IRONIC that Dr FORSEY was one of his friends!!!

She will be a great assest to finding their identities I think she has some excellent ideas!!!


Here is a quote from her
Jacques's father would be of the same generation as my g-father. I can totally imagine a French-Canadian doctor of that generation disowning his son if he doesn't want to follow in his footsteps or lived a life a little bit too "countercultural" for his liking. The Catholic religion had a big hold on that generation; I can see J wanting to get away from it. Or his father could have owned a clinic and wanted his son to run it after he retired?
I could go and visit French language hospitals in the Montreal area. A lot of them have pictures of all the doctors that used to work there in their history. I also can go to the main research library (I often have to go for work)to look through microfilms of 1976-77 Mtl newspapers and see if any sons of reputed doctor is reported missing. In Quebec we have two weekly tabloid newspapers that specializes in local crime news and stories. Maybe these tabloids have their 1970's issues on microfilms?
This J person could have wanted to get away from Montreal for a while that summer of '76. It was the Summer Olympics here and a lot of young people from all over came here and after headed south for US bicentannial celebrations. Maybe that's how he met the girl?

 

[phenolred]

additonal info from the above person

For teachers here in QC there is a Quebec Teachers Corp. (Fédération des Enseignants du Québec), I could search eventually in it...I'd be interested to see what year he would have graduated univ. to be a teacher; or maybe he was teaching some craft (this was the 70's), so he didn'tstudy at university. Oh! I could visit the two French language education faculties here in Montreal; there are boards on
the walls with pics of the graduates. I'll have to make a plan and a schedule for all of this.


Oh! And the Royal College of Medecine doesn't even have half of the doctors of the province of Quebec registered with them. Since we're a French speaking province we do things dif. here than in the rest of Canada (different civil code, for example). There's anther medical corporation for Quebec practitionners. Those that are members of the RCM are those that can practice in other provinces as well as Quebec

she also has a Chilean theory
Another theory of mine is that our mystery couple is from Chile. In 1976 the Pinochet repression was in full swing; a former minister of Salvador Allende was brutally murdered in broad daylight in central Washington DC by a car bombing from Pinochet's secret police, killing him and his assistant. His name was Orlando Letellier; Letellier is a French name. A lot of Chileans have French names (Pinochet is a French name as well, from Britanny). That summer DINA (Pinochet's secret police) was involved in killing regime opponent all over the western hemisphere. Our couple could have been known Socialist sympathizers, killed by DINA agents in SC. Contrary to popular opinion a lot of rich people in Chile supported the Socialists. These socialists were more akin to Scandinavian social-democrats than to Cuban communists (American propaganda said that Allende was a Communist), even if Allende and Castro were friends. Most Chileans are white, contrary to Guatemaleans and Peruvians.

 

[superunknown]

The Quebec connection has always been intriguing. The RCMP has been contacted there by the authorities more than once, even in French. They won't respond to inquiries to get this case some attention there.

 

[Aphra]

the Chilean theory is very interesting! do you guys think it's plausible? I would if they hadn't found the gun's owner, but even then...who knows?