Schipperke
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2015
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Richard said: "In this case, regarding the Lyon sisters, it is believed by prosecutors that they were in fact killed but no solid forensic evidence of that was presented at the recent trial. Nor did it have to be, since Lloyd Lee Welch, Jr. pled guilty."
"Believed to be" is a key point in your discussion. Makes me wonder; have there been any tips on possibilities of the girls being still alive, and if reports have been submitted to LE, have they been seriously investigated?
We all know that many things related to cases such as this NEVER REACH THE EYES OR EARS OF THE PUBLIC--sometimes for good reason so LE can identify people who may have information which is not generally known, but it is also reality that some information could be totally withheld (even after 40+ years) or released with deliberate inaccuracies which lead people to form "facts" in their own minds, sometimes even leading future investigators to believe the inaccuracies. Our POTUS screams "fake news," but is it a real step to "rewriting history?" I had to chuckle recently when I mentioned the Lyon Case to a police officer and the comment that came back to me was, "Oh that case has been solved." Oh Really!
Looking at some of the early threads on this case, there was considerable discussion on the sketch which was not released at the time it was made (1975) and somehow got lost in the evidence files even though time and energy was spent in making the sketch. No substantive reason has ever been identified for that "oversight." Also in early threads in 2013, there was discussion of a Welch-family friend who had been sentenced to prison in Maryland (inmate) for molesting some younger Welch-family members. Then the story came out that the sketch was found "inadvertently" through case review sometime around 2013 when an unidentified "inmate" implicated LLW2 in the abduction of the girls. Was it ever reported, or was it just assumed (by many), that the implication came from a person incarcerated "alongside" LLW2 in Delaware? Leads to another question--who made the decision not to release the sketch when the case was open and hot in 1975, and why? That decision had to be made internally in Montgomery County LE.
Then there is the reported sightings of one or both of the girls in a station wagon near I-66 and I-81 in VA which was widely reported and treated with disdain in 1975. Yet, in 2013+, we realize that the area of the sightings could reasonably make sense and that information on a "note" reportedly found in a bottle in that area long ago (and withheld from the public) could also have been a valuable link in solving this case.
There is something to be said for looking at "old information" with "new eyes" or with eyes totally "unfettered with what we think we know" and taking in only the "known facts." But, someone will always be quick to point out that there is always a difference between "facts released to the public" and "facts only known internally by LE and/or people involved."
Given this kind of review, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE STATUS OF THIS CASE? Is it an open cold case--still open for investigation, or as Montgomery County labeled it closed? In reality, we are no where near a complete resolution of what happened and who did what. All we know for sure now that we didn't know until 2013, is that LLW2 played some role in the abduction of these two girls. Where is LLW2 incarcerated now? In Virginia or back in Delaware to complete his first sentence?
Then the big question: If this is a closed case, are the complete files open to public inspection? If not, why? As a few of us have found, there is a plethora of cold cases from that era which seem to have disappeared with absolutely no answers--either on the solutions of the cases or why the cases cannot be found. Then there are the cold cases on which some of us have submitted information only to be put on hold for a year or more (if we even get acknowledgement of submissions) with only an explanation of "new cases have priority." (This is true in many states, not just in this case in Maryland.) IMO, if we dedicated some time to these oldcold cases, we may find some leads to the newer ones! Remember when we were told by LE when this case was transferred to Bedford, VA, that rows and tiers of cells would be filled when this case was concluded? Where are they, if this case is considered concluded?
"Believed to be" is a key point in your discussion. Makes me wonder; have there been any tips on possibilities of the girls being still alive, and if reports have been submitted to LE, have they been seriously investigated?
We all know that many things related to cases such as this NEVER REACH THE EYES OR EARS OF THE PUBLIC--sometimes for good reason so LE can identify people who may have information which is not generally known, but it is also reality that some information could be totally withheld (even after 40+ years) or released with deliberate inaccuracies which lead people to form "facts" in their own minds, sometimes even leading future investigators to believe the inaccuracies. Our POTUS screams "fake news," but is it a real step to "rewriting history?" I had to chuckle recently when I mentioned the Lyon Case to a police officer and the comment that came back to me was, "Oh that case has been solved." Oh Really!
Looking at some of the early threads on this case, there was considerable discussion on the sketch which was not released at the time it was made (1975) and somehow got lost in the evidence files even though time and energy was spent in making the sketch. No substantive reason has ever been identified for that "oversight." Also in early threads in 2013, there was discussion of a Welch-family friend who had been sentenced to prison in Maryland (inmate) for molesting some younger Welch-family members. Then the story came out that the sketch was found "inadvertently" through case review sometime around 2013 when an unidentified "inmate" implicated LLW2 in the abduction of the girls. Was it ever reported, or was it just assumed (by many), that the implication came from a person incarcerated "alongside" LLW2 in Delaware? Leads to another question--who made the decision not to release the sketch when the case was open and hot in 1975, and why? That decision had to be made internally in Montgomery County LE.
Then there is the reported sightings of one or both of the girls in a station wagon near I-66 and I-81 in VA which was widely reported and treated with disdain in 1975. Yet, in 2013+, we realize that the area of the sightings could reasonably make sense and that information on a "note" reportedly found in a bottle in that area long ago (and withheld from the public) could also have been a valuable link in solving this case.
There is something to be said for looking at "old information" with "new eyes" or with eyes totally "unfettered with what we think we know" and taking in only the "known facts." But, someone will always be quick to point out that there is always a difference between "facts released to the public" and "facts only known internally by LE and/or people involved."
Given this kind of review, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE STATUS OF THIS CASE? Is it an open cold case--still open for investigation, or as Montgomery County labeled it closed? In reality, we are no where near a complete resolution of what happened and who did what. All we know for sure now that we didn't know until 2013, is that LLW2 played some role in the abduction of these two girls. Where is LLW2 incarcerated now? In Virginia or back in Delaware to complete his first sentence?
Then the big question: If this is a closed case, are the complete files open to public inspection? If not, why? As a few of us have found, there is a plethora of cold cases from that era which seem to have disappeared with absolutely no answers--either on the solutions of the cases or why the cases cannot be found. Then there are the cold cases on which some of us have submitted information only to be put on hold for a year or more (if we even get acknowledgement of submissions) with only an explanation of "new cases have priority." (This is true in many states, not just in this case in Maryland.) IMO, if we dedicated some time to these oldcold cases, we may find some leads to the newer ones! Remember when we were told by LE when this case was transferred to Bedford, VA, that rows and tiers of cells would be filled when this case was concluded? Where are they, if this case is considered concluded?
