Possible Connections

[Richard]

A correction to my post regarding Elizabeth ARCHARD: The year that Elizabeth was abducted and murdered was 1978, NOT 1975.

Here is her listing in the Social Security Death Index:

Name ELIZABETH ARCHARD
Birth 25 Sep 1964
Death Aug 1978
Last Residence 21404 (Annapolis, Anne Arundel, MD)
Last Benefit (none specified)
SSN 215-82-4858
State issued Maryland

There was a three year separation between the the Lyon and Beatty cases and the murder of Elizabeth. Still, I wonder if there might be a connection?

 

[2sisters]

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43958

do you think these girls are connected? i apologize if this has been covered.

 

[Richard]

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43958

do you think these girls are connected? i apologize if this has been covered.

There are similarities in some of the other cases posted here. Circumstances such as time of day, remote locations, ages of victims, description of suspects, etc all play a part in trying to make a connection.

The problem is that in missing cases, there often is little or no forensic evidence to go on. Perhaps the solution to some of the missing cases is to find similarities to cases like that of Elizabeth Archard or Kathy Beatty - both of whom were abducted and murdered, and their bodies found.

 

[ShurlT]

For what it's worth, there's a Naval base in Annapolis. Though Coffey was discharged Sep 1974 he was in the Navy 12 years and could have been familiar with that area.

There was also a disappearance in Del Mar, MD Tuesday, 7-14-1981 (Kathryn Mae Quackenbush) which has a direct escape route straight into Virgina Beach, VA where Coffey was discharged after committing several crimes against children there. Most of the disappearances in MD and surrounding PA occurred on Tuesdays except for the 2 boys in Lisbon, NJ on Monday, 4-07-1975, the same day as the alleged sighting of the Lyon sisters in Mannassas, the Media, PA disappearance of Wendy Eaton on Saturday, 5-17-1975 and the attack of Kathy Lynn Beatty possibly a Thursday. Interestingly enough, she died on Tuesday, 8-5-1975.

Part of my original research took into consideration the possibility of disappearances on a certain day of the week as well as locations and proximity to the Rockville, Silver Spring area of MD and escape routes. I've always felt there may have been a reason for the Tuesday disappearances. Could it have been the day he was born? For a while it looked that way until NCDC changed his birth date from the 20th, a Tuesday, to the 19th, Monday but maybe there was another reason. Was it his day off? At that time I didn't know if he had a job or not. Was there some other unknown reason for most of these disapearances occurring on a Tuesday? Coffey was discharged on a Saturday. At least that's the date given somewhere on these threads of the Lyon sisters.
Coffey's pattern changed to Wednesdays in NC. WHY?

When I began my search on Fred Coffey in 2004 all this information was online on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and several others. Also, many newspaper articles under The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, NC have a lot of detail about the various Fred Coffey cases as well as about Coffey, himself, are online and several other websites have information on him for anyone who wants to do their own investigation or verification of information. However, the last time I checked The Charlotte Observer there didn't seem to be as many articles available as there was a year ago. I hope they don't delete any of this information since the case is still active. When I sent the information I had to MCP in 2004 I put a cover page documenting all the websites I had searched so they could verify the information if they chose to do so. As a genealogy researcher this is part of the protocol for genealogy research and I followed that procedure and others as a part of my research on Mr. Coffey. There is a lot of information about him online if anyone wants to take the time to research it.

What is lacking in all this information is proof positive that he is the culprit in all these abductions and there is little information online about the other abductions compared to the information on the Lyon sisters disappearance. If only there were more information available on these other disapperances. Did anyone see someone or a vehicle? Was anything found near the point of disappearance, etc.? DNA would help a whole lot if something could be found but then a case would have to be built around it to cement it. There is a need for much prayer in this area.
For now, it seems the Kathy Lynn Beatty case is the only one that MIGHT produce DNA if at all and if the evidence hasn't disappeared. Another area for prayer since Coffey may be extradited to Bristol, VA for the murder of Travis Shane King. The next best hope is if they could make a deal with him to confess and tell about these abductions in MD, PA and NJ - IF - he's guilty and where all these children are. It is so infuriating (sp?) to think that someone has the gall to snatch children off the street when ever they feel like it and they never can be found and the evil people that do these things won't tell what they've done with them or where they are. Something has to be done to put a stop to these people or some way has to be found to protect our children from them. There are too many missing children that cannot be accounted for. WHERE ARE THEY??? WHO TOOK THEM??? Confession is good for the soul. Cough it up!

 

[Richard]

ShurlT,

You make some excellent points and observations.

Besides the day of the week, and other factors mentioned, one might look at such factors as time of the month, phase of the moon, time of day, and weather.

At first glance, someone might disregard that sort of information, but you have to consider it, because those are factors which affect everyone in one way or another. Serial killers or Serial offenders (of whatever vice) all have patterns that they follow - just as everyone is a creature of habit in one way or another.

I once did a profile on the Unibomber for the FBI. This was before he was identified. From his 17 years of bombings, I drew up a chart which analyzed each crime based on day of the week, date and month, moon phase, etc. There were definitely patterns which could be seen. He also seemed to do his "work" in the spring and fall. I felt that he must be a gardener or hunter because he seemed to mail his bombs before planting season and after the harvest. The FBI, of course, never acknowledged any of this, except to riddicule the "moon phase theory" in Newsweek magazine. But in one of the first books about the Unibomber after his capture, one of their agents took credit for my analysis, and mentioned how accurate it proved to be.

My point, is that people are affected by different factors. Some get very depressed when it rains a lot. Others might get very active and productive at certain times because of the weather or season. If similarities appear along these lines in separate cases, perhaps links can be made and paths can be followed.

Just as forensic scientists look for similarities and matches in physical injuries, DNA, fingerprints, blood types, etc. The investigator has to look for behavior patterns in his suspects in order to track them down - or to predict where and when they might strike next.

 

[Richard]

Although this girl disappeared a little over a year after the Lyon Sisters went missing, and several states away, there are some very disturbing similarities in both cases.
Dorothy was between the Lyon Sisters in age and size. She was white and had blue eyes and wore glasses similar to those of Sheila Lyon. Dorothy's hair was light brown, while the Lyon sisters had blonde hair. Her hair was parted down the middle and was similar in style to the way Sheila wore her hair. It might also be noted that the girls bear a strong resemblence to each other.

In both cases, the last sighting of the girls was at 2PM, on a week day, at a Shopping Center. The clothing Dorothy was wearing was similar to that worn by Katherine Lyon (red top, blue jeans).

It might also be noted that Dorothy's disappearance occurred one year (almost to the day) after the abduction and murder of Kathy Lynn Beatty, whose body was found near a shopping center.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dorothy Delilah Scofield
Missing since July 22, 1976 from Ocala, Marion County, Florida.
Classification: Non-Family Abduction

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: January 8, 1964
Age at Time of Disappearance: 12 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 4'11; 100 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown, straight hair; blue eyes. Scofield wears eyeglasses; at the time of her disappearance, she was wearing teardrop-shaped frames.
Clothing: A red short-sleeved form-fitting shirt, blue jeans, a leather belt with a metal buckle, and green tennis shoes. Her glasses had gold wire rims.
Dentals: Her incisor tooth slightly covers her upper front tooth. One of her teeth was missing at the time of her disappearance.
AKA: Dee

Circumstances of Disappearance
Scofield and her mother went to a shopping mall together in Ocala, Florida on July 22, 1976. They went their separate ways once at the mall and agreed to meet later at a designated location; Scofield never arrived and has not been seen since. She was last seen at approximately 2:00 PM in the center.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning Scofield's whereabouts, please contact:
Ocala Police Department
Detective Mike Balken
352-629-8508
352-369-7070
You may remain anonymous when submitting information.

Agency Case Number: O76072084
NCMEC #: NCMC601894
NCIC Number: M-085578070
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
Florida Department Of Law Enforcement
The Doe Network: Case File 363DFFL

Link:
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/363dffl.html

 

[ShurlT]

Richard, I've been racking my brain as to how le could obtain DNA from the Kathy Lynn Beatty case and something just came to mind this afternoon. Do you think they would have cut her fingernails? If not, if her body was exhumed for that purpose would any possible DNA under her fingernails be degraded by now and not usable?

 

[Richard]

Richard, I've been racking my brain as to how le could obtain DNA from the Kathy Lynn Beatty case and something just came to mind this afternoon. Do you think they would have cut her fingernails? If not, if her body was exhumed for that purpose would any possible DNA under her fingernails be degraded by now and not usable?

The short answer is that it might be possible that DNA evidence could be obtained. But, remember that in 1975 nobody knew what DNA was, so even if a piece of clothing, or nail scraping, etc might have been saved for some reason, it has had 31 years to be contaminated, lost, or degraded. I think that if MCP had any such evidence, they would have tested it by now.

Kathy lived for 12 days after her attack, hospitalized and in a coma. I do not know any specifics, but it is quite possible that she was cleaned up during that time. There is a chance that some residual DNA might be still in existance, but that would require a costly exhumation and examination. It has been done for others, however.

 

[BigDaddy]

ShurlT,

You make some excellent points and observations.

Besides the day of the week, and other factors mentioned, one might look at such factors as time of the month, phase of the moon, time of day, and weather.

At first glance, someone might disregard that sort of information, but you have to consider it, because those are factors which affect everyone in one way or another. Serial killers or Serial offenders (of whatever vice) all have patterns that they follow - just as everyone is a creature of habit in one way or another.

I once did a profile on the Unibomber for the FBI. This was before he was identified. From his 17 years of bombings, I drew up a chart which analyzed each crime based on day of the week, date and month, moon phase, etc. There were definitely patterns which could be seen. He also seemed to do his "work" in the spring and fall. I felt that he must be a gardener or hunter because he seemed to mail his bombs before planting season and after the harvest. The FBI, of course, never acknowledged any of this, except to riddicule the "moon phase theory" in Newsweek magazine. But in one of the first books about the Unibomber after his capture, one of their agents took credit for my analysis, and mentioned how accurate it proved to be.

My point, is that people are affected by different factors. Some get very depressed when it rains a lot. Others might get very active and productive at certain times because of the weather or season. If similarities appear along these lines in separate cases, perhaps links can be made and paths can be followed.

Just as forensic scientists look for similarities and matches in physical injuries, DNA, fingerprints, blood types, etc. The investigator has to look for behavior patterns in his suspects in order to track them down - or to predict where and when they might strike next.

Richard, what is the name of your book about the Unibomber? I would like to read it. Thanks

 

[Richard]

Richard, what is the name of your book about the Unibomber? I would like to read it. Thanks

I think that you misunderstood my post.

I wrote a several page analysis on the Unibomber, his patterns and personality and sent it to the FBI. They did not acknowledge my work, except to make a passing derogatory reference to it after he was caught and when they were dismantling his shack.

My work appeared (without credit) in a book written six months later by one of the FBI officers who implied that my analysis was his own. I do not recall the name of the book or the author, but if you happen to see a book published shortly after Ted Kaczynski was caught - which goes into detail about moon phases, date/month patterns, and days of the week - that might be the one.

 

[moorestown gal]

Carolyn was missing from Moorestown NJ.

Carolyn Majane went missing from Moorestown, NJ. Not PA. One of my best friends in Moorestown growing up just wrote to me. I have lived away from Moorestown, NJ since 1976. Carolyn was a friend of hers; I met her once or twice, she was new in Moorestown, had not lived there long. Main St. was a local hangout for teenagers. Lots of teenagers went missing in the 70s; many were runaways. I just recently learned that Carolyn's body had been found 20 years ago. I don't suppose her cause of death has been determined? Are there any suspects? Very sad, as my hometown of Moorestown, NJ is just a small, historic Quaker town. A dry town, not any liquor sold there when I was growing up. All of us teens pretty much knew each other. When there was a party going on, word got around. I was 17 years old the August Carolyn went missing. Wendy Ellis, Moorestown gal.

 

[Richard]

Carolyn Majane went missing from Moorestown, NJ. Not PA. ... I just recently learned that Carolyn's body had been found 20 years ago. I don't suppose her cause of death has been determined? Are there any suspects? ...

I am not certain, but I do not believe that an exact cause of death was determined. Based on the fact that her body had been buried in a shallow grave in a (then) isolated area, it is most likely that she was murdered. Her body was discovered when a housing development was being built. There are no known suspects in her murder, that I know of.

Besides Carolyn's disappearance and the time frame, another factor (or perhaps coincidence) which possibly connects her case to that of the Lyon Sisters and to Kathy Lynn Beatty is that she was origionally from Montgomery County Maryland. She had only been living in Moorestown a short time before she disappeared.

 

[Richard]

On the Websleuths Cold Cases board there is a thread titled:
Neely Smith, age 5, murdered 1981, NC - Suspect: Fred Howard Coffey Jr.

The thread also discusses other cases, including those of the Lyon sisters and Kathy Beatty. I recently posted a timeline for Fred Coffey.
LINK:
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16875

 

[mere]

Carolyn Majane went missing from Moorestown, NJ. Not PA. One of my best friends in Moorestown growing up just wrote to me. I have lived away from Moorestown, NJ since 1976. Carolyn was a friend of hers; I met her once or twice, she was new in Moorestown, had not lived there long. Main St. was a local hangout for teenagers. Lots of teenagers went missing in the 70s; many were runaways. I just recently learned that Carolyn's body had been found 20 years ago. I don't suppose her cause of death has been determined? Are there any suspects? Very sad, as my hometown of Moorestown, NJ is just a small, historic Quaker town. A dry town, not any liquor sold there when I was growing up. All of us teens pretty much knew each other. When there was a party going on, word got around. I was 17 years old the August Carolyn went missing. Wendy Ellis, Moorestown gal.

Thanks for sharing your memories. Do you remember if their was talk or speculation of what happened to Carolyn back in 1975?

 

[crimesleuther]

Good questions. It's a very long story........ Once upon a time, I lived in Washington D.C.....

Skipper, I would be very interested to hear more of this long story, as I'm sure many others here would as well. I see you haven't been on in a few months and hope that you are still coming on occassion and would be willing to enlighten myself and others as to this story of once upon a time long ago when you lived in Washington DC. If you have more information, or even strong suspiscions regarding people possibly involved in this case, please be so kind as to share this info with us, rather than dropping vague hints, so that we as a group could better ponder the possibilities of your thoughts on exactly what may have occured to these girls. Thanks in advance for your time....

CS

 

[Richard]

Elizabeth Ann Metzler
Abducted, molested, and murdered 6 December 1971
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
This case has a separate thread of its own in the WS Cold Case Forum, but because Anne Arundel County is just east of Montgomery County, Maryland, and because the murder occurred just a little over three years before the disappearance of Sheila and Kate, I post it here for consideration as to possible connections.

The below has been excerpted from a lengthly news article which discusses several unrelated, but unsolved Anne Arundel County (Maryland) cases. I have left out details of the other cases so as not to confuse facts in this case.

------------------------------------------------
The Capitol
Mon, Sept. 17, 1973
Annapolis, MD

When the body of 10-year-old Elizabeth Ann Metzler was found buried under a pile of trash along a litter-strewn deserted lover's lane in December 1971, Anne Arundel County Police Lt. Bernnard Kiessling pledged to work fulltime on the case until the little girl's murderer was found.

Now, nearly two years later, Kiessling is no longer putting in the seven-day-a-week schedule he kept up for six months but he is still hopeful the young girl's killer will be found. ...

The Metzler girl was last seen alive by neighbors walking along a dirt driveway to her home off Quarterfield road in the Ridgeway section of the county after leaving the Ridgeway Elementary school December 6, 1971.

After searching the rest of that day and for the next three days, her nude body was found about five miles from her house alongside an abandoned car off Harmons road.

The little girl had been strangled to death after being viciously assaulted.

Kiessling believes a man in his mid-forties may be the killer. A man spotted near the Metzler driveway by several persons leads police to believe their prime suspect may have brown or possibly dyed hair cut fairly short and combed forward. He may have bulging pale blue eyes and a ruddy complexion, similar to that of an outdoorsman. (See below link to view the composite sketch of the suspect).

In addition, a dirty white station wagon, probably fairly old, was seen in the vicinity of the girl's home.

Since the little girls abduction and death, police have questioned dozens of suspects and, according to Kiessling, have been within five minutes of charging two different persons with the slaying. Those cases fell apart at the last minute.

One person confessed to the killing on three occasions to three different persons, but police, after investigating, decided he could not have committed the crime.

Kiessling has sent investigators to seven states, checking into similar crimes and possible suspects.

To date, nothing has panned out.

Kiessling even recieved aid from a Virginia man who claims to have clairvoyant powers. "I don't believe in clairvoyants, but I can't completely discount them either," Kiessling said, adding that the man predicted to police that a girl with long black hair would be found murdered along Capitol Beltway. A few days later, such a girl was found dead. Police have ruled out the clairvoyant as a suspect, however.

The lieutenant has worked with the image of the Metzler girl's killer now for nearly two years and is convinced that whoever killed her has a mentally depraved mind.

"I'm very much afraid," he said," that this person committed a crime like this before or since."

One event which may have led Kiessling to that statement occurred just a few weeks after the Metzler murder, in Marietta Ga, where a 9-year-old girl was walking home from a laundromat disappeard and her body was found a few days later. The victim had wounds similar to those of the Metzler girl and police here believe that Elizabeth Ann's killer could easily have gone to Georgia after the Metzler slaying and committed the other crime.

The driveway from which the little (Georgia) girl was abducted led at one time to a nudist colony known as Hidden Village.

Her disappearance from that driveway was not the first such occurrance. In 1958, a 58-year-old man, William Brooks, was walking along the driveway when he was seized by two men who later killed him and stole his car. ....

(The article goes on to discuss several other unsolved cases unrelated to the murder of little Elizabeth Ann Metzler.)

Link below shows a composite sketch of a suspect in the Metzler case:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k235/fireangeldancer/conyers1.jpg?t=1173731814/

-----------------------
Additional information:
This case remained unsolved for seven years.

In 1978, a man named Richard Miles Chaney, dob 19 November 1939, was arrested, tried and convicted of the murder of little Elizabeth Ann Metzler.

He was sentenced to Life without Parole - the highest allowable sentence at the time. In 2002 and 2003, he appealed his sentence, but lost. Now age 67, he is still incarcerated at:

Maryland Correctional Institute-Jessup
Address: P.O. Box 549, Jessup, MD 20794
Phone: 877-313-0632

Where was he on 25 March 1975?

 

[poppypetals]

I'm wondering if the man convicted of he Metzler murder did indeed have this off-white station wagon and if he was ever questioned about the Lyons sisters.

 

[poppypetals]

Found an old news article indicating that Chaney was fingered for this crime in May 1975, it says while he was serving a four year sentence for molesting his seven year old daughter. A witness at the scene actually identified him, she said, in February 1975, but had told police she didn't want to get involved in it. I guess depending on when he was arrested for molesting his own daughter and was he given jail time or probation ? Chaney's ex-wife developed him in early 1975 as a possible suspect in the Metzler case.

 

[JusticeForAll]

Do you have a link to the old article? I would be interested in reading it.

 

[poppypetals]

No, I'm really sorry, I can't link the article. It is off of a pay site. I'll tell you what though, this guy looks so much like the sketch of TRM it's not even funny. The likelihood that he was not in jail at the time of the Lyons sister's disappearance is very slim. He did definately have an off white station wagon.