PA PA - Debra Makel, 8, Rices Landing, 5 Oct 1973

[nousername]

the perps each knew the child's routine, and knew they had enough time to do what they wanted and get away without being caught. In Debra's case, I think I know where I'd look to find the one(s) who did this.

I believe that, after a short period of time, LE knew exactly why it happened, how it happened & who did it. No question in my mind. Lets face it, this crime wasnt on the same scale as the JFK assassination, although after 40 years of it not being solved, its kind of taken on the same mythic proportion of a case as grandiose as the JFK mystery. Also, you have to understnad that, with the newspapers releasing such vague & inconsistent aspects of the entire case over all these years, that too played a role in making this case seem like it was shrouded in more mystery than it actually was. They knew all along. When you see the most current headlines saying something to the effect of, " WERE CLOSER TO CATCHING THE KILLER" I personally believe it to be just public appeasement.

As for the actual killer, I personally believe that this person is dead. Over the years of studying this case, from all of the information I gathered & just using common sense, I narrowed it down to 3 likely individuals & their all dead now BUT, Im sure that there are things to this day, I never knew about regarding this case i.e exactly WHO was exactly WHERE, WHEN everything exactly took place, their alibis etc. so, who knows except for the investigators & the actual perpetrator. Its possible that, Im completely wrong on my own conclusions & that some random "boogeyman" just whisked in out of the wind 1 day & did this but, Im very confident that definitely wasnt the case, here.

 

[websurfer]

I was wondering if DNA on the evidence found with her body could be tested with the newest methods?
:thinking:

 

[Jim_M]

[h=2]PA - Debra Makel, 8, Rices Landing, 5 Oct 1973[/h]We can only imagine what a wonderful life this child could have had.

With advancements in technology, perhaps LE can utilize the DNA technology on any evidence they (hopefully) saved from Debra's case. "DNA Phenotyping", could provide a profile/picture of the culprit(s).

Unsolved now for 44 years.

http://www.observer-reporter.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131009/NEWS02/131009302

 

[Richard]

It has been 45 years since Debra's murder and it remains unsolved.

 

[cb66]

Coming up on 46 years and it appears that this crime is no closer to being solved than it was in 1973, sad to say the least. Anyone have any idea what was determined after the new detective was assigned as stated in the newspaper article several years ago? I'm guessing this went no where as I expected.

 

[PerhapsIt'sYou]

The two guys who found her body after having a "vision" have to be the top suspects, no?

Can anyone confirm if both are still alive?

 

[cb66]

I do not believe they were suspects,first of all they too were kids at the time and from what the newspaper articles stated they lived in Somerset Pa this is approx. 2 hours from where Debbie lived and where the crime was committed . I believe they arrived in the area to search several days after she went missing so based on what I have read no they were not suspects and for good reasons. Also I dont know where it started that they had a vision because none of the news articles that I read say this anywhere unless I missed that .

 

[Richard]

LINK:
Unknown Debra Makel Killer- Pennsylvania- 1973 | America's Most Wanted Fans (an unofficial fan page for America's Most Wanted & In Pursuit with John Walsh)

 

[mikaliksa]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I'm from Carmichaels, about 5 miles from the just as small town of Rices Landing. A few months back, I finally asked my parents about this. My mother & late aunt worked with Charlotte (Debbie's mother) at one of the now long-gone factories in the area when the murder occurred. My mother found it puzzling that the murder wasn't solved considering the close-knit small communities where something like this doesn't happen. I can only think of one other murder from in & around my hometown from 2006ish. She did mentions rumors about the autistic teen neighbor but didn't go any further than that.

One thing that was not mentioned in this thread: Debbie's father Duane "Sonny" Makel passed away in January 2020 at age 78. He & Charlotte were married 48 years and they & their four sons never left the area.

Duane Makel Obituary - Jefferson, PA

 

[Fede]

LINK:
Unknown Debra Makel Killer- Pennsylvania- 1973 | America's Most Wanted Fans (an unofficial fan page for America's Most Wanted & In Pursuit with John Walsh)

It was the most depressing thing to read the thousands of individuals who were 'disappeared' in South America: women, some who were pregnant at the time, men, and so many children as young as twelve. I agree that most were dead shortly after they went missing.

on this link there is a citation of a 2013 articvle that says: "In 2003, the cold case detectives investigating Debbie’s murder sent evidence from the crime scene to a police lab where the killer’s DNA was extracted.

“We have a DNA profile of somebody. It has been put into a database but as of this date there have been no matches,” Marshall said. “Over time, various individuals have confessed, who, through DNA, interviews and a polygraph test, have been eliminated. Whether they were braggarts, had a hero complex, or were thinking they were helping the community by confessing to this, the DNA profile showed to be negative.”

Marshall said there were only a few men who stood out during the original investigation as persons of interest. One of them, currently deceased, passed a polygraph. “Ninety-nine times out of one hundred they say, ‘Sure, let’s help,’” Marshall said. “I will be reopening all of the interviews in the investigation. My purpose with every male I talk to is to try to get consent from them for a DNA swab,” he said."

 

[cb66]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I'm from Carmichaels, about 5 miles from the just as small town of Rices Landing. A few months back, I finally asked my parents about this. My mother & late aunt worked with Charlotte (Debbie's mother) at one of the now long-gone factories in the area when the murder occurred. My mother found it puzzling that the murder wasn't solved considering the close-knit small communities where something like this doesn't happen. I can only think of one other murder from in & around my hometown from 2006ish. She did mentions rumors about the autistic teen neighbor but didn't go any further than that.

One thing that was not mentioned in this thread: Debbie's father Duane "Sonny" Makel passed away in January 2020 at age 78. He & Charlotte were married 48 years and they & their four sons never left the area.

Duane Makel Obituary - Jefferson, PA

Unfortunately like any cold case the longer time continues to pass by it becomes more realistic to believe that it probably never will be solved and the fact is that someone got away with murder . Many of those who investigated the crime or lived in that area have passed away over the years making any chances of it being solved even more unlikely. The articles that local newspapers put together the past decade proved to be nothing more than false hope that this case was closer to being solved .Those who I knew that were involved in the search all said that the body was not where it was found when the initial search took place, meaning she was put there later and discovered 2 days later.

 

[Kell1]

In most abduction murder cases of children the suspects name is known within 7-14 days

They may struggle to link that individual to the case however for one reason or another

 

[cb66]

There are also many tools available now that were not available to help solve crimes in the early 1970s so while your statement might be true in todays world not so true in the time when this occurred.

 

[Fede]

I would like to know what happened with the investigation since that article from 2013 up to today. What happened with the DNA profile?

 

[cb66]

I would like to know what happened with the investigation since that article from 2013 up to today. What happened with the DNA profile?

Apparently nothing.

 

[chiippertheripper]

Hi everyone. Long time, no new news on the case. There is still a lot of interest,though. I have a few more people that want to talk to me regarding the case. Its been so long, most of the people involved in the original search and investigation are gone now. There are some around. Mostly the age group of kids she went to school with.
I spoke with the cousin who found her via email a few years back. His story was a rehash of what we already know, so no new information. When I went into my email account recently to find the messages, to print them, they were gone. I checked all the spam and deleted message folders and they are not there. Weird, but it is a gmail account, so who knows.
I'm actually moving back to Rices Landing soon and will live across the road from whare she was found. My friend owns the property now and gave me full access to video anytime. If any new information comes up, I'll be sure and post here! Take care, everyone.

 

[cb66]

Hi everyone. Long time, no new news on the case. There is still a lot of interest,though. I have a few more people that want to talk to me regarding the case. Its been so long, most of the people involved in the original search and investigation are gone now. There are some around. Mostly the age group of kids she went to school with.
I spoke with the cousin who found her via email a few years back. His story was a rehash of what we already know, so no new information. When I went into my email account recently to find the messages, to print them, they were gone. I checked all the spam and deleted message folders and they are not there. Weird, but it is a gmail account, so who knows.
I'm actually moving back to Rices Landing soon and will live across the road from whare she was found. My friend owns the property now and gave me full access to video anytime. If any new information comes up, I'll be sure and post here! Take care, everyone.

Approaching another anniversary of the date this happened as the chances of it being solved decease even more ....

 

[Hoopsticks]

I'm hoping there's enough evidence left to create an autosomal profile and do some genealogy. If not, I hope there's a way to start bridging that gap.

This case is upsetting. Can't believe it's been so long.

 

[chiippertheripper]

Debbie was found 49 years ago tonight. No new developments I'm aware of. I've been meaning to write more on the blog about the case but there isnt much to tell that isnt already known. I expect to see it revisited as next year is 50 years. <modsnip - not an approved source> Take care everyone. -Chip

 

[Ozoner]

I would like to know what happened with the investigation since that article from 2013 up to today. What happened with the DNA profile?

Approaching another anniversary of the date this happened as the chances of it being solved decease even more ....

BBM I disagree. They have the killer's DNA. Genetic genealogy is coming for him if he's still alive.

I think that it was probably someone in the community who also had a connection to the school—maybe someone like an older brother or father of one of Debbie's friends or an older relative one of her brothers' friends.

The suspect could have been someone very young—say 15 or 16—and someone like that might not have been on LE's radar screen back them. Nowadays we know that rapists and serial killers sometimes start very young.

I'm not to familiar with the geography of that area. How far was it from where Debra's body was found to other houses? There's a very good chance the the killer lived very close and in that general direction.