OH OH - William 'Bill' Comeans, 14, Columbus, 7 Jan 1980 - #1

[bessie]

:welcome3:


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[nerosleuth]

Original post TBM:


I'm also wondering if the dates are of any importance. For example, the Sept./Jan. attacks come just after school holidays.

By any chance would 10/22 fit this bill in Ohio schools -- some kind of "fall break" maybe?

I don't know about other public school districts in Ohio, but I do know that in the Columbus public school district, the Friday after the middle of October were always a professional day for school teachers. Students were off from school that day giving them a three day weekend holiday. That school holiday in October still continues in the Columbus public school district today.

I also remember that the school year in the Columbus public schools had two semesters back then. The first semester went from September to January and the second semester went from February to the end of the school year in June.

 

[GoingByMyGut]

First Assault: 9/5/1979, Wednesday, 8:30 PM = dark edge of twilight (fairly dark to be accurate).

Second Assault: 10/22/79, Monday, 6:30 PM = still light out

Third assault/murder: 1/7/80, Monday, About 9 PM = dark

Thanks for the catch on the day of the week of the second assault. I must have looked at Sept. for that date.

Interesting that all are weeknights then ... seems to beg for a continuation of a school interaction, IMO.

ETA: Also interesting that the 2nd attempt on Bill -- which took place on a main road -- was in daylight. Another brazen detail.

 

[GoingByMyGut]

I don't know about other public school districts in Ohio, but I do know that in the Columbus public school district, the Friday after the middle of October were always a professional day for school teachers. Students were off from school that day giving them a three day weekend holiday. That school holiday in October still continues in the Columbus public school district today.

I also remember that the school year in the Columbus public schools had two semesters back then. The first semester went from September to January and the second semester went from February to the end of the school year in June.

Thanks, Nero! Do you know anything about adjacent districts? Were these Ohio practices? It looks like Westland HS is part of the South-Western City School District.

 

[nerosleuth]

One thought that I have here is that perhaps one of the bullies was an older high school graduate that had a younger sibling who still attended the same high school at that time.

 

[nerosleuth]

Thanks, Nero! Do you know anything about adjacent districts? Were these Ohio practices? It looks like Westland HS is part of the South-Western City School District.

Yes, you're correct that Westland HS is in the South-Western City School District.

I don't know about the other school districts that were adjacent to the Columbus Public School District and when they had their professional teacher days.

I do know that the state of Ohio allows school districts in Ohio to have professional teachers days scheduled during the school year.

 

[pdxmama]

You know, we haven't heard anything about fingerprints. I wonder if they ever fingerprinted the notes, the knife, rubber tubing...it seems pretty obvious but the fact that I haven't seen anything about fingerprinting mentioned is making me wonder.

 

[bob6104]

I don't really remember hearing much about fingerprints back then.

 

[shefner]

He did not die immediately after any of the attacks. He even lived long enough to be found by his dad on the last…and then for about 2 more hours. Two men who are seeking to kill would not allow the young man they are seeking to live a third time. They would make sure he was deceased immediately. Right? Hmmmmm…..

I don't think this was auto-erotic strangulation. But it does look suspicious for self-strangulation. And I hate even typing that. Bless his heart, whatever happened was horrible.

 

[shefner]

Someone would have had to know where Bill's locker was located…and also his friends' lockers. And they would have to be very cautious….if they were seen leaving the notes, they would be discovered.
They had to know where Bill was at most all times…and where his family members were. They had to be very brazen…to drive into a neighborhood and take a large young man from his own yard in broad daylight with people loaded up nearby having a birthday party?

 

[bob6104]

He was dead when we found him. I was giving him mouth to mouth. The only reason he went to the hospital was because we started CPR, so EMS took over and transported. Otherwise it would have been a body, crime scene tape, pictures, and evidence collection. The scene was chaos. IMO

 

[GoingByMyGut]

He was dead when we found him. I was giving him mouth to mouth. The only reason he went to the hospital was because we started CPR, so EMS took over and transported. Otherwise it would have been a body, crime scene tape, pictures, and evidence collection. The scene was chaos. IMO

Terribly sad, Bob. Thanks for clarifying that.

 

[GoingByMyGut]

I don't really remember hearing much about fingerprints back then.

Can you add anything about the valium, Bob? To your knowledge, did a doctor prescribe Bill a sedative after one of the earlier attacks?

 

[bob6104]

No idea where valium came from. I did a double take when I read the autopsy report and saw that.

 

[GoingByMyGut]

No idea where valium came from. I did a double take when I read the autopsy report and saw that.

Very perplexing ... I am guessing that if there were a medical basis your parents would have mentioned it at some point. Looks like his attackers could have introduced it then. I hope it dulled his pain.

 

[GoingByMyGut]

Bob, did you know capehart and/or trudell when you were at westland?

 

[RainyAlaska]

Someone would have had to know where Bill's locker was located…and also his friends' lockers. And they would have to be very cautious….if they were seen leaving the notes, they would be discovered.

Thanks Shefner and welcome to this thread.

During class changes the halls would have been very crowded. Students going every direction, bumping into each other and rushing to class. It would have been very easy. I went to a smaller high school than Westland and it was very easy to put notes into lockers. Our lockers had vents in them so it was very easy to push a note through those vents and not be seen.

It's great to see so many suggestions and opinions. More viewpoints = more clues and possibilities.

Bob, thank you so much for participating. It cannot be easy but it helps so much to have your input. Thank you. Let's hope you and your family get some answers.

 

[RainyAlaska]

Very perplexing ... I am guessing that if there were a medical basis your parents would have mentioned it at some point. Looks like his attackers could have introduced it then. I hope it dulled his pain.

Going, any idea why the assailants would drug their victim when the strangulation was so brutal? I'm trying to understand the motivation for the Valium. Since there were two attackers, maybe one was the possible psychopath and the other was a little more humane? Or did they want Bill to be dazed so he was easier to control? The drugging has me stumped.

 

[rosesfromangels]

He was dead when we found him. I was giving him mouth to mouth. The only reason he went to the hospital was because we started CPR, so EMS took over and transported. Otherwise it would have been a body, crime scene tape, pictures, and evidence collection. The scene was chaos. IMO

Oh Bob, God Bless You, I am so sorry. This must still be just horrific even after all these years. I know something like that never diminishes in your mind.

You have captured our hearts and I know we will all stretch our minds and double down on our prayers to help you find the answers you need.

If I were a bettin' gal, I would say you most likely have a real good idea of who did this. WHY they did this is very baffling. But putting all these bits of info together, I would have to say they had complete control over Bill; he went with them on command. Not sure why they had this level of control, but I feel certain they did. This is why they were never detected. I suspect they lurked, and signaled him, and he had to quietly follow.

These were secret activities. Maybe this started out as experimentation of some sort, and then the Perp's true psychosis took over and amplified these secret sessions.

Of course this is just impressions and deductions on my part. I am so glad you have a detective. Talking to people and piecing it together should give you a lot. But all in all, I suspect in your heart you know who is responsible.
I pray for justice, and for your family. God Bless You.

 

[bob6104]

Did not know them. I had graduated before all this.