The Springfield Three--missing since June 1992 - #1

[rebzzz]

I am from the area and things are said..wondered if anyone is thinking about a connection between parties involved in the jackie john case and the three missing women. certain names keep coming up in both cases.

 

[Missouri Mule]

I am from the area and things are said..wondered if anyone is thinking about a connection between parties involved in the jackie john case and the three missing women. certain names keep coming up in both cases.

This was widely speculated at the time. The police would certainly have been made well aware. The chief suspect was later jailed on an unrelated, unsucessful abduction. So far as I know he is walking free. I used to see him frequently.

 

[rebzzz]

the county is very corrupt and has been for many years. the good ole boys rule and get away with what ever they do. i believe the quarry speculated about in the that county not far from ozark. i dont want to defame the dead but ms. levitt was dealing coke and was about to turn people in...at least i have heard it over and over from several people.

 

[Missouri Mule]

the county is very corrupt and has been for many years. the good ole boys rule and get away with what ever they do. i believe the quarry speculated about in the that county not far from ozark. i dont want to defame the dead but ms. levitt was dealing coke and was about to turn people in...at least i have heard it over and over from several people.

And how would they know that? Do they know that from personal knowledge or are they just repeating rumors? What evidence and what witnesses said that she did? I'm very dubious about such reports.

There is/was an old inactive quarry near downtown Springfield and there is/was another active quarry just off 65 in Christian County.

 

[MaryLiz]

I had forgotten about this quarry. Interesting angle.

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000505/NEWS01/70106011

MM - this is interesting. I don't know the reasons behind it, but from what I gather from reading and re-reading everything, I agree that there was a massive coverup involved in this case. Otherwise, I think it would have been solved by now. Interesting too that there was a red Mitsubishi in the quarry. If I remember right, one of the girls, either Stacy or Suzie had such a car I believe. I know it wasn't their's but still it's an eerie coincidence.

 

[rebzzz]

And how would they know that? Do they know that from personal knowledge or are they just repeating rumors? What evidence and what witnesses said that she did? I'm very dubious about such reports.

There is/was an old inactive quarry near downtown Springfield and there is/was another active quarry just off 65 in Christian County.

a party i used to know whose wife was passing from cancer bought it from her to aid in her pain relief. suzi turning people in has been said by many people over the years. so, i guess, calling it dubious could be correct. but just how do you make people dissappear so completely and for so long? the right people with the right connections. one person could probably pull off such crime but i dont believe it. and i just dont believe it was a random crime or a crime of opportunity. if the good ole boys were involved they certainly could hinder any investigation. after all one was the law south of springfield.
there are two quarries in christian county.

 

[Missouri Mule]

a party i used to know whose wife was passing from cancer bought it from her to aid in her pain relief. suzi turning people in has been said by many people over the years. so, i guess, calling it dubious could be correct. but just how do you make people dissappear so completely and for so long? the right people with the right connections. one person could probably pull off such crime but i dont believe it. and i just dont believe it was a random crime or a crime of opportunity. if the good ole boys were involved they certainly could hinder any investigation. after all one was the law south of springfield.
there are two quarries in christian county.

With all due respect, and if I understand your post correctly, you are going on heresay information. What do you know from personal knowledge?

I do, however, agree with you that this was not a random crime or crime of opportunity. On that we are in complete agreement.

Are you referring to Christian County "good ol' boys"? Is that supposed to be significant?

Here is a list of the quarries and mines in Christian County.

http://www.rootsweb.com/~moccl/Places/ccmmines_page3.htm

 

[Missouri Mule]

MM - this is interesting. I don't know the reasons behind it, but from what I gather from reading and re-reading everything, I agree that there was a massive coverup involved in this case. Otherwise, I think it would have been solved by now. Interesting too that there was a red Mitsubishi in the quarry. If I remember right, one of the girls, either Stacy or Suzie had such a car I believe. I know it wasn't their's but still it's an eerie coincidence.

I doubt it. In any event the quarry has been drained and is part of the Jordan Creek renewal project. A minor league ball park is next to it if you check the maps.

What has to happen is that some insider has to turn state's evidence and/or the police department putting this case front and center and putting the necessary effort into solving it. I've yet to see evidence that this will be done. The truth is, and I'm not being facetious, is that we actually know more about who "Jack the Ripper" was and who murdered the "Black Dahlia" in the L.A. area back in the 1940s. The missing women case belongs in the Judge Crater category, another one that will never be solved.

http://www.bethshort.com/dahhome.htm

 

[Trooogrit]

I been following this case for about 8-9 months now. A couple things that have caught my attention. The 2 guys working at the concrete company that year. They couldnt get any record of them working? How is this? Were they drifters paid cash money? Did they have a paycheck? Fill out any tax information? Just doesnt seem to me to be the right answer here. Are they saying NO ONE knew there names? SOunds like poor investigating. Should be much more information about them I would think. They followed up on the van, but not these guys? You find some names you can find the vehicle possibly. Whats the word on the street? I mean completely vanishing without a trace is not impossible, but someone knows something and it needs to come out even anonomously. What is gained to cover it up?

 

[Missouri Mule]

I been following this case for about 8-9 months now. A couple things that have caught my attention. The 2 guys working at the concrete company that year. They couldnt get any record of them working? How is this? Were they drifters paid cash money? Did they have a paycheck? Fill out any tax information? Just doesnt seem to me to be the right answer here. Are they saying NO ONE knew there names? SOunds like poor investigating. Should be much more information about them I would think. They followed up on the van, but not these guys? You find some names you can find the vehicle possibly. Whats the word on the street? I mean completely vanishing without a trace is not impossible, but someone knows something and it needs to come out even anonomously. What is gained to cover it up?

The death penalty, most likely. Missouri executes capital murderers by lethal injection. Anyone involved in this depraved crime would face a high probability of going to a maximum prison and if they lived long enough would be put to death. I can't imagine that any jury would have mercy on these psychopaths for what they have done to the families.

I don't have any information about the "concrete workers." That comes from other sources. I tend to put this in the speculative and unproductive category.

 

[Enrique Sparta]

i wonder what information the caller from florida had after the america's most wanted segement. since the police took it very seriously and supposedly this caller gave information that nobody except the kidnappers would know...

 

[BuddyMidwest]

Great to see so much activity on this thread since the first of the year. My work schedule has been crazy, but I've finally had time to go back and read everyone's posts.

Here's something to consider. Missouri Mule mentioned that Suzie didn't have a key to the side/rear door, just the front. And discussion was that Sherrill was concerned about controlling access to the house possibly. What if Suzie didn't have the key because she had given it to someone else? Just something I hadn't considered before. Someone outside those two may have had the means to get in without breaking/entering.

The mid-town Springfield quarry is being filled as we speak. I was surprised when I drove by earlier this week - I hadn't noticed the progress until now.

I think Liz had asked earlier about the step the purses were found on. It's my understanding that the entrance to Suzie's bedroom was sunken - so there were a few steps down - and that's where the purses were placed. Could be that's where Suzie normally stacked her purse and backpack - but wouldn't make sense for the mom to do that. At any rate, just adds to the staging theory or proof of staging.

Years ago, I had read on a website, blog - something like that - can't find it now - that a possible connection between the Jackie John's case and this one was that she could connect the abductors to the victims. But I think the timing is wrong for that - I need to check, but I believe JJ was murdered prior to 1992? But that chatter was out there. I also remember discussion about considering the same parties had been behind both - but it struck me as a normal thing to consider at the time - i.e. looking at other crimes that had occurred within a certain time frame.

With regard to the broken globe outside the house - I agree, it happened either unnoticed or in haste - too risky to stay and clean up when you're trying to herd 3 women out of the house and get out. My initial though was it was broken so there would be no light on outside - perhaps before the abductors went to the door to gain entry - however, only the globe was broken, not the bulb.

The two guys from the concrete company has gotten a fair amount of play, too. Seems there was a tip about these 2, supposedly who drove a similar van and worked for a concrete company north of town. Apparently the company sold to another - and they say the records of employment don't exist. I don't really buy that either. Could just be people repeating things they've heard that haven't been checked out. Could be parts of it are true. Could be they were paid in cash. But the fact remains people at that company would have to know them, if they drove a similar van - it was vintage, very old - I don't see how they couldn't find them.

Missouri Mule - I've been pondering the "follow the money" challenge. And thinking about who could have been on another's payroll to hinder progress. When I've been looking into principals in the case, I've always Googled the victims, family, etc., to see if there's any additional information. Could it be that you're thinking someone much higher up the food chain - like a person in charge?

 

[Missouri Mule]

Great to see so much activity on this thread since the first of the year. My work schedule has been crazy, but I've finally had time to go back and read everyone's posts.

Here's something to consider. Missouri Mule mentioned that Suzie didn't have a key to the side/rear door, just the front. And discussion was that Sherrill was concerned about controlling access to the house possibly. What if Suzie didn't have the key because she had given it to someone else? Just something I hadn't considered before. Someone outside those two may have had the means to get in without breaking/entering.

The mid-town Springfield quarry is being filled as we speak. I was surprised when I drove by earlier this week - I hadn't noticed the progress until now.

I think Liz had asked earlier about the step the purses were found on. It's my understanding that the entrance to Suzie's bedroom was sunken - so there were a few steps down - and that's where the purses were placed. Could be that's where Suzie normally stacked her purse and backpack - but wouldn't make sense for the mom to do that. At any rate, just adds to the staging theory or proof of staging.

Years ago, I had read on a website, blog - something like that - can't find it now - that a possible connection between the Jackie John's case and this one was that she could connect the abductors to the victims. But I think the timing is wrong for that - I need to check, but I believe JJ was murdered prior to 1992? But that chatter was out there. I also remember discussion about considering the same parties had been behind both - but it struck me as a normal thing to consider at the time - i.e. looking at other crimes that had occurred within a certain time frame.

With regard to the broken globe outside the house - I agree, it happened either unnoticed or in haste - too risky to stay and clean up when you're trying to herd 3 women out of the house and get out. My initial though was it was broken so there would be no light on outside - perhaps before the abductors went to the door to gain entry - however, only the globe was broken, not the bulb.

The two guys from the concrete company has gotten a fair amount of play, too. Seems there was a tip about these 2, supposedly who drove a similar van and worked for a concrete company north of town. Apparently the company sold to another - and they say the records of employment don't exist. I don't really buy that either. Could just be people repeating things they've heard that haven't been checked out. Could be parts of it are true. Could be they were paid in cash. But the fact remains people at that company would have to know them, if they drove a similar van - it was vintage, very old - I don't see how they couldn't find them.

Missouri Mule - I've been pondering the "follow the money" challenge. And thinking about who could have been on another's payroll to hinder progress. When I've been looking into principals in the case, I've always Googled the victims, family, etc., to see if there's any additional information. Could it be that you're thinking someone much higher up the food chain - like a person in charge?

The Jackie Johns case was back in the late 1980s if I recall correctly. That was a Christian County case whereas the Missing Women case was a Greene County case. The Johns case was aborted when the case was dismissed on a related charge. It is true that all kinds of speculation at the time of the Missing Women case that there was a link as to the same suspect. I'm agnostic.

On the broken globe theory, I agree with you. The fact that the perps wouldn't have allowed Stacy to even put on her shorts and she was taken clad only in her underwear points to the fact that they were in a hurry to get out of Dodge. She could have been carried to the van unconscious and it was just decided to leave the shorts behind on the bed while the home was scrubbed clean of evidence. This also suggests that the girls were there when the perps arrived and that they had either gone to bed or were preparing to go to bed. Suzie and Sherill may have been in the main living area talking to one or more of the perps or just talking among themselves when the perps arrived. Nevertheless, someone managed to gain entry.

On the concrete company employees I really don't know anything on that matter. I think it was one of many other leads that went nowhere. It would seem that the most incompetent of investigations could have accounted for all employees through payroll records. I don't put too much credence there.

 

[Missouri Mule]

i wonder what information the caller from florida had after the america's most wanted segement. since the police took it very seriously and supposedly this caller gave information that nobody except the kidnappers would know...

That's a perfectly valid question. They seemed to believe the person had material knowledge about the crime. But for whatever reasons, the information was never revealed as to its relevance. Of course, the origin of the call is telling in and of itself.

 

[MaryLiz]

Unfortunately, after reading everything, I fear MM is right and this case will very likely fall into a "Judge Crater" type case and possibly never be solved. It's just too bad because it would only take one person to, as he said, turn state's evidence to get this resolved. I know Janis McCall and her family have been active in this, with her starting the One Missing Link organization but it's too bad Janis and her family don't band together with Sherrill's sister, Debra Schwartz and maybe some more of Sherrill's family members and DEMAND some answers, especially with the 15th anniversary looming. Whoever is responsible needs to feel the "heat" of this case badly and get very nervous about things and I think only the families and the public in Springfield can make that happen. We can keep discussing it here and keep it heated up but ultimately it's going to take some profoundly angry demands by family members and other people in the Springfield area to get the ball rolling on this again. Very sad....

Buddy Midwest, Welcome Back!

 

[Missouri Mule]

Unfortunately, after reading everything, I fear MM is right and this case will very likely fall into a "Judge Crater" type case and possibly never be solved. It's just too bad because it would only take one person to, as he said, turn state's evidence to get this resolved. I know Janis McCall and her family have been active in this, with her starting the One Missing Link organization but it's too bad Janis and her family don't band together with Sherrill's sister, Debra Schwartz and maybe some more of Sherrill's family members and DEMAND some answers, especially with the 15th anniversary looming. Whoever is responsible needs to feel the "heat" of this case badly and get very nervous about things and I think only the families and the public in Springfield can make that happen. We can keep discussing it here and keep it heated up but ultimately it's going to take some profoundly angry demands by family members and other people in the Springfield area to get the ball rolling on this again. Very sad....

Buddy Midwest, Welcome Back!

I couldn't agree more with your views. What I can't understand is why the good people of Springfield don't demand some answers from the Springfield police department. What makes them so special that they can get by with the occasional utterance of bland, uninformative statements that they are still working the case. How do we know that? Is there an oversight committee to ensure that the case is still being worked? No one knows. The president of the United States is required under our Constitution to report to the United States Congress the "State of the Union" at regular intervals. Yet the police seem to have a blank check to seemingly sit on their hands.

These poor victims didn't receive justice in their lifetimes and they are not receiving justice in their deaths. Springfield's police vehicles are marked "To Protect and Serve." Who are they serving? The public or themselves?

If I were in Springfield I would be among those concerned souls who would march up and down North Boonville Avenue demanding some answers. Every day that justice is delayed is another day that justice has been denied. Somebody out there knows what happened. The police HAVE to know more than they have revealed. Why can't they at least tell us some of the statistics of the case? How many manhours have been expended? How much has it cost? How many suspects have they interviewed and do they have any viable suspects now? Do they have any working theories? Do they even have anyone actually working the case? No one here really knows.

I don't know about the rest of you here but I think it is long past the point of patience. I worked for the public in Springfield for 22 years. I never got by with this lack of results. As I said earlier, what is so special about the Springfield Police Department that they can't produce something after almost 15 years? Where is the accountability? My angry $0.02.

 

[Trooogrit]

It has been said that the Concrete company sold and records were lost. Tax records exist for all employees of that company and could be found that way. I dont know if the police looked at that at all but those tax records exist if the company was a legitimate business. Cross referenced to vehicle titles and plates this could yield results.

 

[Missouri Mule]

It has been said that the Concrete company sold and records were lost. Tax records exist for all employees of that company and could be found that way. I dont know if the police looked at that at all but those tax records exist if the company was a legitimate business. Cross referenced to vehicle titles and plates this could yield results.

Of course they do. If the police didn't even do that, they didn't do much of anything constructive, did they? The owners could have been hauled before a grand jury and made to testify. If they don't their goose is cooked. Their 5th amendment rights don't apply there. If they lie, they get the Scooter Libby treatment and may be modeling orange jump suits at Leavenworth (or in this case up in Jefferson City) before they get the needle.

Personally, I think this whole concrete company business and those alleged employees is a dry hole.

I would bet my bottom dollar that if an outside, retired investigator would take a complete look at the case, it would be solved within a month or less. Mark Fuhrmann, of O.J. fame, took a look at an old 23 year old murder case on the east coast and solved it quickly enough. The facts will always win out. But if lazy incompetence is the order of the day the case will never be solved. This was turned into a political farce almost from the outset and although it has abated over the years, those early days of lost opportunity can never be recovered. They say there is a golden 48 hours after a crime is committed to get the case solved. At this rate it will be 48 years before we know what happened.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Skakel

 

[Trooogrit]

Of course they do. If the police didn't even do that, they didn't do much of anything constructive, did they? The owners could have been hauled before a grand jury and made to testify. If they don't their goose is cooked. Their 5th amendment rights don't apply there. If they lie, they get the Scooter Libby treatment and may be modeling orange jump suits at Leavenworth (or in this case up in Jefferson City) before they get the needle.

Personally, I think this whole concrete company business and those alleged employees is a dry hole.

I would be my bottom dollar that if an outside, retired investigator would take a complete look at the case, it would be solved within a month or less. Mark Fuhrmann, of O.J. fame, took a look at an old 23 year old murder case on the east coast and solved it quickly enough. The facts will always win out. But if lazy incompetence is the order of the day the case will never be solved. This was turned into a political farce almost from the outset and although it has abated over the years, those early days of lost opportunity can never be recovered. They say there is a golden 48 hours after a crime is committed to get the case solved. At this rate it will be 48 years before we know what happened.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Skakel

You speak several times of having inside information you cant elaborate on. Is this case as solvable as you say? Is this really a coverup from within? Who gains? Who is being protected? Probably not answers you can give. Can an independent get the information he needs to solve the case? I am sure someone would take this case on just for the exposure.

 

[Missouri Mule]

You speak several times of having inside information you cant elaborate on. Is this case as solvable as you say? Is this really a coverup from within? Who gains? Who is being protected? Probably not answers you can give. Can an independent get the information he needs to solve the case? I am sure someone would take this case on just for the exposure.

What exactly are you referring to? I do have information that the general public does not have. I've already spoken to the matter of the van I spotted in late 1992 but was apparently ignored and I was threatened with my job. (The current police leadership knows of this.) And there is other information that I know from personal knowledge and which has been shared with the police department. Is that a "cover-up" or just incompetent arrogance?

I have no idea if someone is being "protected." Certainly it is not unheard of that there is something called police corruption. Was it evident here? You tell me.

Who gains? If we rule out randomness and we rule out drugs (which I have done), and we rule out a serial murderer (as I have done) and we rule out a disorganized crime which this most assuredly was not, what are we left with? I do not have the data which would show the motives in crimes although I am sure it is somewhere on the internet. Certainly money is near the top of the list of all criminal motives. Here, I just found something. Look at what is at the top of the list.

http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/111/111lect02.htm

It seems to me the crime was obviously planned. We may also make the assumption that the girls were not expected back home that evening and showed up at or about the time the home was entered by the perpetrator or perpetrators.

Who could have carried out such a crime in such meticulous detail that no physical evidence was left behind? Would a run-of-the-mill common criminal be able to do this and subdue the women successfully? Not likely.

What are we left with? Connect the dots for a motive. And then who might benefit from such a crime?

If we can believe the police, the most obvious suspects were ruled out by polygraph. Yet we know that polygraphs are neither bulletproof nor admissable in court. We have almost no clues to speak of. We have three grown women who were subdued and taken from the residence. One lone male abductor is highly unlikely to have committed such a crime with the evident perfection that this one entailed. That suggests that two or more individuals were involved; possibly three or even four. What was in it for them? Were they just along for the ride? A Manson type spree killing? In that case, the mutilated bodies were left behind. In this case there are no bodies and virtually no evidence other than the certainty that Stacy left in her underwear as her shorts were left on the bed and she could not wear Suzie's clothes. The vehicles were moved. That suggests multiple suspects. The light fixture was broken outside suggesting a possible struggle or eliminating the light source that would come shortly as it was nearing early daylight. A van was sighted with a young woman resembling Suzie was spotted and her being threatened. Could one person have done all of that? Possibly, but unlikely unless the other two were in the back of the van, either killed already or bound and gagged. And we don't even know for a certainty that a van was just used since the witnesses were unreliable, scared, or incredibly careless in reporting the sightings. One might say it was a "perfect storm."

That's why I have said that the only way this case will be solved is if this case is taken from the Springfield Police Department and given over to an outside investigator or investigators to have "fresh eyes" look at the evidence. Otherwise, the case will never be solved unless at least one of the perpetrators finally grows a conscience. Ultimately they will receive their eternal "reward" in hell but it doesn't solve the crime here in this life. Meanwhile the living are enduring their own hell on earth. And that is unforgivable.