GUILTY VA - Nancy Dunning, Ron Kirby, & Ruthanne Lodato, murdered, Alexandria, 2003-2014

[radiator]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...d6b5ac-9991-11e3-80ac-63a8ba7f7942_story.html

What a wonderful neighbor! Also sounds like the caregiver was amazingly brave, removing her elderly charge from the home and then returning to assist the woman who was shot. It's very confusing though as to exactly what happened and when the shots were actually fired.

 

[belimom]

Local news (NBC 4) just said that LE is following "dozens of leads" and that they are "making progress". Don't know if it actually means much, but just thought I'd share.

I want them to find this person.

 

[radiator]

After long silence, a teaser:

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...ide-Shooting-Alexandria-Update-248682091.html

 

[colette]

After long silence, a teaser:

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...ide-Shooting-Alexandria-Update-248682091.html

News conference now on at that link. Bullets match.

Alexandria Police say the forensics on bullets used in the murder of a beloved music teacher are similar those used in two unsolved murders, News4's Northern Virginia Bureau Chief Julie Carey reported.

 

[radiator]

for any who missed the live press conference I think you'll be able to listen to it in its entirety here:

http://new.livestream.com/AlexandriaVAGov/events/2749962

Although the police chief stressed that ballistics cannot confirm that the same gun was used, it certainly sounds like (IMO) that they're putting a lot more weight on the possibility that the Lodato, Kirby, and Dunning cases may be related.

another link: http://www.alexandrianews.org/forensic-evidence-may-link-dunning-kirby-and-lodato-homicides/

 

[belimom]

Wow. Just saw the headlines. They all probably knew each other and were high-profile folks involved in the community. Why would someone target all three? What would be the common denominator?

ETA: Discussed this with my husband. He said he heard it on the news on the drive home, and his mind immediately went to the same thing I've been thinking: development. There have been TONS of money poured into Alexandria's downtown for development purposes. Mostly going to people who already have money. The developers won and the poor and everyday Joe lost. The city has been and is transforming into a new Bethesda. I think someone got royally screwed and are seeking retaliation. That's all I can think of, other than someone being put away for criminal purposes.

I had heard of some shady deals that Nancy Dunning was involved with regarding real estate. Kirby was in transportation planning but not sure how Ruthanne Lodato would fit in to any development issues. I'm sure LE is looking at every angle of this.

Same gun may have been used in three Alexandria slayings, police say

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...53c-11e3-84d4-e59b1709222c_story.html?hpid=z2

 

[gregjrichards]

New Daily Mail article stating a serial killer may be on the loose.

The February shooting death of Ruthanne Lodato is being investigating in connection with two other unsolved murders that took place in similar circumstances just blocks from each other, police announced Thursday.
Alexandria Police Chief Earl Cook said at a press conference that they believe Lodato's killer may be the same man suspected of killing Nancy Dunning in December 2003 and Ronald Kirby last November.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ed-teacher-gunned-doorstep.html#ixzz2vEsIVq47

 

[SilkySifaka]

It looks like police are pretty sure since they are warning the community

The February shooting death of Ruthanne Lodato is being investigating in connection with two other unsolved murders that took place in similar circumstances just blocks from each other, police announced Thursday.

Alexandria Police Chief Earl Cook said at a press conference that they believe Lodato's killer may be the same man suspected of killing Nancy Dunning in December 2003 and Ronald Kirby last November.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ed-teacher-gunned-doorstep.html#ixzz2vGL7uz5c
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[gxm]

I just realized when I watched the news tonight and saw her picture that my son and I took a Music Together class from her when he was a toddler. Very nice lady... such a senseless crime.

I hope they are able to catch the perp and figure out if there is actually a common thread between these three murders. I knew two of those three folks (Nancy Dunning and Ruthanne Lodato). These were all community leaders - or at least well-known and active in the community. I think that's the common link? Just don't know what a motive would be.

ETA - That particular section of Alexandria (Del Ray, and also Old Town) are growing by leaps and bounds, with development happening that many are against. Plus it's possible that in some of the real estate deals/planning, toes were stepped on, money was made by some but not by others, etc. I don't know if that's it? Ruthanne Lodato was a music teacher - I don't see how she would be involved in that aspect of the community. Nancy Dunning, maybe (a realtor). Kirby, maybe (director of transportation and planning).

Ridge Road Drive is actually in North Ridge. Del Ray sits on the other side of Russell Road. It looks to me that the three murders happened in three different neighborhoods: Dunning (Del Ray), Kirby (Rosemont?), and Lodato (North Ridge). The first two neighborhoods are closer/adjacent to Old Town.

Del Ray has changed a lot. North Ridge, not so much. IMO, this reminds me more of the Kevin Shifflet murder (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2001/jan/29/20010129-020918-6730r/) because it seems so random. And if the killer is targeting the same general area, where has he been for the last ten years? Prison?

I work in Old Town and will definitely keep an eye out for someone who resembles the sketch.

 

[popsicle]

VA - Police look for "elderly white male" in double shooting - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

 

[nursebeeme]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/03/0...a-music-teacher-possibly-linked-to-two-other/

 

[myredpony]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/police-look-for-gunman-clues-in-fatal-shooting-in-alexandria/2014/02/07/da370d26-9004-11e3-b46a-5a3d0d2130da_story.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/07/alexandria-virginia-murder_n_4918085.html?utm_hp_ref=crime

"Forensic examination of bullet fragments found similarities among the ballistics in last month's shooting of music teacher Ruthanne Lodato, the Dec. 5, 2003, slaying of Nancy Dunning and the Nov. 11, 2013, killing of Ronald Kirby, Alexandria Police Chief Earl Cook said at a press conference."

All three lived within 2 miles of each other. All three were around the same age; Nancy was 56, Ruthanne was 59, Ronald was 69. All were murdered around the same time of day; late morning, early afternoon. All three were killed in their homes with no sign of forced entry. At least there's a witness now. Ruthanne's mother's aid was present and, "Police say they are looking for an older, white male with gray hair and a full beard."

Is this now a serial?

 

[belimom]

Ridge Road Drive is actually in North Ridge. Del Ray sits on the other side of Russell Road. It looks to me that the three murders happened in three different neighborhoods: Dunning (Del Ray), Kirby (Rosemont?), and Lodato (North Ridge). The first two neighborhoods are closer/adjacent to Old Town.

Del Ray has changed a lot. North Ridge, not so much. IMO, this reminds me more of the Kevin Shifflet murder (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2001/jan/29/20010129-020918-6730r/) because it seems so random. And if the killer is targeting the same general area, where has he been for the last ten years? Prison?

I work in Old Town and will definitely keep an eye out for someone who resembles the sketch.

We lived in Del Ray for 15 years, and Del Ray and Rosemont are - for all practical purposes - the same neighborhood, separated by a couple of roads but walkable. Same families intermingle. I've never heard of North Ridge called that - usually it's called Beverly Hills (again, taking one neighborhood's name and generalizing it to the whole area on the 'hilly' part).

When Kevin Shifflet was murdered, I was outside working in the yard a few blocks away. A neighbor came out and said to get inside - that a little boy had just been murdered a few blocks away and the killer was on the loose. It was a very very sad time in the neighborhood afterwards...

 

[belimom]

Here's another article from the Washington Post. I'd be surprised if Nancy Dunning didn't know Kirby. I also think she probably knew Ruthanne Lodato. Aside from going to the same church, Ruthanne taught so many kids in the area, including my own. We knew both Nancy and Ruthanne Lodato (more or so acquainted with her through music classes) - and we were not all that involved in the broader community activities. Alexandria City is a small community, compared to larger municipalities/counties nearby (e.g., DC, Arlington, Fairfax County). So many of the same people sit on the same boards, are involved in the same circles, etc.

Alexandria police investigate lives of three prominent slaying victims for possible links

.....Experts in criminal profiling said detectives will leave no avenue unexplored.

“I want to know everything about them,” said Mary Ellen O’Toole, a former FBI profiler who is not involved in the case. “I want to know their lives, their habits, their personality, their friends, their associates, how they interact with people.”

The circumstances of the crimes are remarkably similar, even though one occurred about a decade ago. All occurred in daylight, close to noon, at homes within two miles of one another. The killer or killers didn’t force their way in.

But aside from enjoying prominence in Alexandria, the victims seemed to share few concrete connections.

All were white, but two were women and one was a man. They were in a similar age range, although the oldest and the youngest were separated by about 13 years. All were parents, all shared an interest in the arts, and all were — on some level — engaged with public officials. Liz Dunning, Nancy Dunning’s daughter, said that her mother and Lodato were members of the city’s Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church for a time, but she did not know whether they were acquainted.

 

[messina]

During Thursday's news conference, police announced that all three cases will now be investigated as a "series."

From http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...ide-Shooting-Alexandria-Update-248682091.html

I THOUGHT SO. On page one of this thread I wondered why the police would say they were not related. Now they say the opposite. http://www.websleuths.com/forums/images/smilies/facepalm.gif

 

[gxm]

We lived in Del Ray for 15 years, and Del Ray and Rosemont are - for all practical purposes - the same neighborhood, separated by a couple of roads but walkable. Same families intermingle. I've never heard of North Ridge called that - usually it's called Beverly Hills (again, taking one neighborhood's name and generalizing it to the whole area on the 'hilly' part).

When Kevin Shifflet was murdered, I was outside working in the yard a few blocks away. A neighbor came out and said to get inside - that a little boy had just been murdered a few blocks away and the killer was on the loose. It was a very very sad time in the neighborhood afterwards...

I grew up in Beverley Hills (which is a part of North Ridge) on Old Dominion Blvd. and lived there for over 20 years. The locations where the murders took place are in no way the same neighborhood. They are adjacent neighborhoods. (I looked up current maps just to be sure because I was completely confused by your placement of the Lodato home in Del Ray.) I went to Charles Barrett but didn't meet my boyfriend (who lived in Del Ray) until high school because I didn't know anyone who lived across Russell Road. Heck, I didn't even cross over into Del Ray, much less Rosemont, on a bike ride. The farthest we ventured was occasionally crossing the tracks to the drugstore or Murphy's in Arlandria. We were more likely to head up to the Fairlington shopping center. And if we wanted to go to Old Town we took the bus because it was way too far to walk. (But I could walk to Shirlington.)

I knew some of the Shifflett kids, very sad to hear one of their children was so brutally murdered. It seems to me that the current killer does not have a day job. Either that or he has a job that allows him to be out and about during the day. And what has he been up to for the last 10 years. That's a very long stretch between murders.

 

[belimom]

I grew up in Beverley Hills (which is a part of North Ridge) on Old Dominion Blvd. and lived there for over 20 years. The locations where the murders took place are in no way the same neighborhood. They are adjacent neighborhoods. (I looked up current maps just to be sure because I was completely confused by your placement of the Lodato home in Del Ray.) I went to Charles Barrett but didn't meet my boyfriend (who lived in Del Ray) until high school because I didn't know anyone who lived across Russell Road. Heck, I didn't even cross over into Del Ray, much less Rosemont, on a bike ride. The farthest we ventured was occasionally crossing the tracks to the drugstore or Murphy's in Arlandria. We were more likely to head up to the Fairlington shopping center. And if we wanted to go to Old Town we took the bus because it was way too far to walk. (But I could walk to Shirlington.)

I knew some of the Shifflett kids, very sad to hear one of their children was so brutally murdered. It seems to me that the current killer does not have a day job. Either that or he has a job that allows him to be out and about during the day. And what has he been up to for the last 10 years. That's a very long stretch between murders.

bbm

I did not place the Lodato home in Del Ray.

 

[radiator]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...c56a6e-ab8d-11e3-adbc-888c8010c799_story.html

Alexandria officials said Friday they are looking into the possibility that a man arrested in West Virginia is connected to three high-profile slayings in the city, but a police spokeswoman said detectives are “nowhere close” to charging the man.

I've been too busy to spend much time online but this just hit my radar. I haven't read it closely yet but the charge was "felon in possession of a firearm." He apparently ran for mayor of Alexandria and is somewhat odd.

 

[radiator]

another article with a photo of the arrested man:

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/0...verance-arrested-in-west-virginia-101154.html

 

[radiator]

POI's website:

http://www.mentaldisorder.com/pi.html

(the WJLA link above cites the mayor calling him a "person of interest," I'm not sure if the mayor counts as LE so maybe he can't be sleuthed yet? I'll alert my post.)