After Mary disappeared a woman named Diane Shields went to work in her office. I think she took Mary's place at the bank. Diane even shared an apartment with some of Mary's ex roomies. Diane reportedly told her sister that she was working with LE to help solve Mary's murder. LE later denied this. Diane quit the job at the bank, and went to work elsewhere. She moved in with her sister,who had moved to Atlanta. She was brutally murdered about 18 months after Mary vanished. Her killer had stuffed the pages of a phone book into her throat. Her murder was never solved. Diane was not the same woman who had dinner with Mary at the mall shortly before she vanished.
GA GA - Mary Shotwell Little, 25, Atlanta, 14 Oct 1965
- Thread starter Richard
- Start date
After Mary disappeared a woman named Diane Shields went to work in her office. I think she took Mary's place at the bank. Diane even shared an apartment with some of Mary's ex roomies. Diane reportedly told her sister that she was working with LE to help solve Mary's murder. LE later denied this. Diane quit the job at the bank, and went to work elsewhere. She moved in with her sister,who had moved to Atlanta. She was brutally murdered about 18 months after Mary vanished. Her killer had stuffed the pages of a phone book into her throat. Her murder was never solved. Diane was not the same woman who had dinner with Mary at the mall shortly before she vanished.
bulldoggirl77
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it was not the same person. Diane Shields was not the girl that met her for dinner. Diane is the one that was found murdered.
I might add some information that has surfaced.,a few months ago. East Point
Police got a call where a skeleton was discovered in a shallow grave behind
a residence not far from where my suspect lived in 1965, the time of the
kidnapping of Mary Little..The EPP reported that the remaines were of a female
and had been buried for about 50 years. EPP has not reported any further
information on the discovery..If the body is Mary Little, It will be fairly easy..
Mary had some valuables on her when she disappeared,like college class
ring,keys, and more..I never heard where the police ever found any items
located with the corpse.The reason I am so excited about the information
is because in 1965, my PI lived a few blocks from the discovery. That also
put the discovery of Diane Shield's body close to the corpse a few blocks...
Diane Shields lived with her sister in Hapevill across the street from East Point..
If you will visualize a circle and put East Point in the middle, you will be able
to chart how close all of these events are..Hince, 12:00 noon, my PI.
1:00 the corpse found, 4:00 body of Diane Shields ...I can't speculate
further but these facts are very strange. To be continued.May 11-2017...
Police got a call where a skeleton was discovered in a shallow grave behind
a residence not far from where my suspect lived in 1965, the time of the
kidnapping of Mary Little..The EPP reported that the remaines were of a female
and had been buried for about 50 years. EPP has not reported any further
information on the discovery..If the body is Mary Little, It will be fairly easy..
Mary had some valuables on her when she disappeared,like college class
ring,keys, and more..I never heard where the police ever found any items
located with the corpse.The reason I am so excited about the information
is because in 1965, my PI lived a few blocks from the discovery. That also
put the discovery of Diane Shield's body close to the corpse a few blocks...
Diane Shields lived with her sister in Hapevill across the street from East Point..
If you will visualize a circle and put East Point in the middle, you will be able
to chart how close all of these events are..Hince, 12:00 noon, my PI.
1:00 the corpse found, 4:00 body of Diane Shields ...I can't speculate
further but these facts are very strange. To be continued.May 11-2017...
Wow, Ray, this is fascinating. Hoping for new news on this...TY for letting us know.
txsvicki
Active Member
I haven't been on Websleuths in ages, and got to thinking about this case and had to google to remember the name and was led back here with news of a skeleton being found. Now I see someone has a POI. I guess the POI would be considered a serial killer ? Hope it is all resolved.
Ozoner
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I always come back to this thread hoping that Ray will post some new information. Granted, the POI may be dead by now, but I would still like to see the case resolved.
FrozenPeach
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Has anyone who has a lot of information on this case been following the Jenna Van Gelderen case? would be curious what your take on it is, there are some overlapping similarities
I first read Mary Shotwell Little's story in the AJC Sunday magazine when I was a child in the late 1960s. Every few years, the AJC would run a follow-up to Mary's story - usually calling it Atlanta's most baffling unsolved crime.
In about 2007, I took an extended leave of absence from work. My mother was dying from ALS, but she was lucky enough to have a lot of good caregivers. I didn't have a lot to do except worry. I found myself with a lot of time on my hands, staying up all night, unable to sleep, and searching the internet. Increasingly my searches became focused on Mary and her story.
Looking back, I think Mary became a sort of rescue fantasy for me during that time - I couldn't save my mother - but I could work on Mary's case. And maybe do something good there; find a new clue; focus public attention on her case; help Mary's family find answers; something...
I spent about two year working on Mary's story. I had no clear plan - i just followed my instincts. I found and bought all Mary's high school and college year books online. I reached out to Mary's friends by phone, letters, and emails. I interviewed a number of Mary's high school friends. I found one of Mary's friends who had gone to Myers Park High School with Mary and who also ended up living and working in Atlanta in 1964 and 1965 before Mary disappeared - I'll call him "Woody" for the sake of his privacy. Woody and his wife at the time had socialized with Mary and Roy Little, in the months before her death.
Woody and I communicated on a regular basis for many months - Woody had cancer and our conversations were free-flowing. As with many of Mary's friends, I was struck by how fresh Woody's grief for Mary was, some 40 years on. Woody gave me so much background - he wanted so much to help. But in the end, he really had no solid clues as to who had kidnapped Mary. It's fair to say that Woody was haunted by Mary.
I developed correspondent relationships with about five of Mary's friends. I promised myself I'd work on Mary's story until I could write a short story, then I'd let it go. In the end, I wrote my story. My mother died. I got a new job, and I moved on with my life. But Mary's story stays with me.
I can't forget one of Mary's classmates, a women in her late 60s or early 70s at the time, and who by her own admission was not a particularly close friend of Mary's, breaking down in tears as she told me how she still felt guilt and anguish that Mary's life had been cut so short. It was a theme among Mary's friends - they were still experiencing survivor's guilt more than 40 years after Mary had disappeared.
Based on my work, I developed a clear picture of Mary year's in Charlotte at Myers Park High. I even found the modest house, where her family lived during her high school years at 117 Placid Place (how's that for irony). I got a sense of what her college life was like at UNC Woman's College (now UNC Greensboro). I even got some insights into what Mary's after college life was like when she moved to the triplex in the Emory area that she shared with Sandra Green, other former college classmates, and friends. I heard how excited Mary was to start to work at C&S Bank.
But I found no real clues to what happened to Mary. I didn't solve the case. Ultimately, I couldn't rescue Mary any more than I had been able to rescue my dying mother.
In the end though, I don't regret all the work I did researching Mary's life and disappearance. In a way, I felt as if Mary became a real person to me - more than just the victim of a lurid crime. She had a life cut short, but she had a life of many wonderful experiences, surrounded by friends and family who loved her.
I live in Greensboro, NC now, where my daily commute takes me past the campus of Mary's college - UNCG. On Autumn days when the leaves are turning and the students are crowding the sidewalks, I sometimes sit at a traffic light and I think of Mary. How much she was like the young women I see there now. And in seeing Mary's life with more fullness, with less emphasis on her death, I feel somehow connected to her and not so sad.
In about 2007, I took an extended leave of absence from work. My mother was dying from ALS, but she was lucky enough to have a lot of good caregivers. I didn't have a lot to do except worry. I found myself with a lot of time on my hands, staying up all night, unable to sleep, and searching the internet. Increasingly my searches became focused on Mary and her story.
Looking back, I think Mary became a sort of rescue fantasy for me during that time - I couldn't save my mother - but I could work on Mary's case. And maybe do something good there; find a new clue; focus public attention on her case; help Mary's family find answers; something...
I spent about two year working on Mary's story. I had no clear plan - i just followed my instincts. I found and bought all Mary's high school and college year books online. I reached out to Mary's friends by phone, letters, and emails. I interviewed a number of Mary's high school friends. I found one of Mary's friends who had gone to Myers Park High School with Mary and who also ended up living and working in Atlanta in 1964 and 1965 before Mary disappeared - I'll call him "Woody" for the sake of his privacy. Woody and his wife at the time had socialized with Mary and Roy Little, in the months before her death.
Woody and I communicated on a regular basis for many months - Woody had cancer and our conversations were free-flowing. As with many of Mary's friends, I was struck by how fresh Woody's grief for Mary was, some 40 years on. Woody gave me so much background - he wanted so much to help. But in the end, he really had no solid clues as to who had kidnapped Mary. It's fair to say that Woody was haunted by Mary.
I developed correspondent relationships with about five of Mary's friends. I promised myself I'd work on Mary's story until I could write a short story, then I'd let it go. In the end, I wrote my story. My mother died. I got a new job, and I moved on with my life. But Mary's story stays with me.
I can't forget one of Mary's classmates, a women in her late 60s or early 70s at the time, and who by her own admission was not a particularly close friend of Mary's, breaking down in tears as she told me how she still felt guilt and anguish that Mary's life had been cut so short. It was a theme among Mary's friends - they were still experiencing survivor's guilt more than 40 years after Mary had disappeared.
Based on my work, I developed a clear picture of Mary year's in Charlotte at Myers Park High. I even found the modest house, where her family lived during her high school years at 117 Placid Place (how's that for irony). I got a sense of what her college life was like at UNC Woman's College (now UNC Greensboro). I even got some insights into what Mary's after college life was like when she moved to the triplex in the Emory area that she shared with Sandra Green, other former college classmates, and friends. I heard how excited Mary was to start to work at C&S Bank.
But I found no real clues to what happened to Mary. I didn't solve the case. Ultimately, I couldn't rescue Mary any more than I had been able to rescue my dying mother.
In the end though, I don't regret all the work I did researching Mary's life and disappearance. In a way, I felt as if Mary became a real person to me - more than just the victim of a lurid crime. She had a life cut short, but she had a life of many wonderful experiences, surrounded by friends and family who loved her.
I live in Greensboro, NC now, where my daily commute takes me past the campus of Mary's college - UNCG. On Autumn days when the leaves are turning and the students are crowding the sidewalks, I sometimes sit at a traffic light and I think of Mary. How much she was like the young women I see there now. And in seeing Mary's life with more fullness, with less emphasis on her death, I feel somehow connected to her and not so sad.
Isla Stack was reported to be the older woman and C&S Bank coworker who met Mary at Lenox Square after work that Thursday, October 14, 1965.
Apparently Mary went to the grocery store - then at the South end of the shopping center - and bought several bags of groceries before she met Isla Stack. Mary moved her car to the Yellow Zone (IIRC) outside of the Rich's department store. The two women then shopped and ate dinner together at the cafeteria. Some accounts say it was the S&S cafeteria, some say it was the Picadilly cafeteria. Then about 8 pm, Mary and Isla said goodbye on the sidewalk near the cafeteria and Rich's, with Mary walking in the direction of her car and Isla presumably walking toward her car.
Odd Bits & Pieces
Here are some things I found in my research of Mary's life that remain questions in my mind - I don't know if they mean anything.
They're just observations or questions in my mind.
As part of my research, I ordered Mary's birth certificate (she was born in Guilford Count, NC in January 1940 IIRC). Mary's mother's name on her birth certificate was incorrect. How odd?
Did some well meaning record clerk change Mary's mother's name to protect her?
I researched Mary's family history and eventually found her mother's correct name - but I'm still baffled by that.
Here are some things I found in my research of Mary's life that remain questions in my mind - I don't know if they mean anything.
They're just observations or questions in my mind.
As part of my research, I ordered Mary's birth certificate (she was born in Guilford Count, NC in January 1940 IIRC). Mary's mother's name on her birth certificate was incorrect. How odd?
Did some well meaning record clerk change Mary's mother's name to protect her?
I researched Mary's family history and eventually found her mother's correct name - but I'm still baffled by that.
Mary's father - Nathan Shotwell's family was from Rutherford County, NC. But he had relatives in Greensboro, NC and Guilford County, where Mary was born.
Mary's mother's family was from Gaston County, NC (west of Charlotte and the location of Mount Holly).
Mary's mother's family was from Gaston County, NC (west of Charlotte and the location of Mount Holly).
Mary's father died about 1979 - the Shotwell family continued to live in the 117 Placid Place house for decades after Mary's disappearance.
Mary's mother lived to be well into her 90s in a nursing home - IIRC she died only in the last 10 years or so - she was still alive at the time I did my research.
I never made any attempt to contact Mary's family, but mutual friends told me that Mary's family sometimes called her "Missy" and that her mother would have moments of asking for "Missy" late into her life.
She
Mary's mother lived to be well into her 90s in a nursing home - IIRC she died only in the last 10 years or so - she was still alive at the time I did my research.
I never made any attempt to contact Mary's family, but mutual friends told me that Mary's family sometimes called her "Missy" and that her mother would have moments of asking for "Missy" late into her life.
She
Mary's middle name was "Wallace" a family name that was significant in her father's family - I can't remember the details exactly now, but it seems Mary was named for a "Johnnie Wallace" who had been a maternal figure (maybe a mother or stepmother) to her father.
Mary had only one sibling - a younger sister - who I presume is still alive.
Mary had only one sibling - a younger sister - who I presume is still alive.
Mary was liked in school, but she was far from the popular girl or the sensual beauty her photos from the era might suggest.
Mary's friends said she was a well-behaved, but somewhat shy girl. She participated and was liked well-enough but she tended to live on the periphery - never seeking or being the center of attention.
Mary's friends said she was a well-behaved, but somewhat shy girl. She participated and was liked well-enough but she tended to live on the periphery - never seeking or being the center of attention.
Mary had one best friend all through high school - I'd have to look up her name now - I think her first name was Janet.
All of Mary's friends wanted to know if I'd talked to Janet about Mary.
Sadly Janet died of cancer about a year before I started my research on Mary in 2007.
All of Mary's friends wanted to know if I'd talked to Janet about Mary.
Sadly Janet died of cancer about a year before I started my research on Mary in 2007.
Mary and Roy Little got married at the Myers Park Presbyterian Church (Mary's family church) in Charlotte over the Labor Day weekend in September 1965.
Mary's parent's (who wanted the best for their first-born) gave Mary a beautiful wedding. But one friend from Mary's high school days said she was sad that more of Mary's high school friends didn't show up for the wedding.
Mary's parent's (who wanted the best for their first-born) gave Mary a beautiful wedding. But one friend from Mary's high school days said she was sad that more of Mary's high school friends didn't show up for the wedding.
Roy H. Little, Jr. was a bank examiner for the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance (GDBF) at the time he and Mary married, which coincidentally was also my first job out of college - though I worked at the GDBF about 15 or 20 years after Mary disappeared.
One of my colleagues remembered Roy - he had the sense that Roy had been hounded by the Atlanta Police and other law enforcement. He told me that eventually the negative publicity and suspicion cost Roy his job - the GDBF just didn't want Roy around with all the questions about Mary's disappearance.
While Roy may have been a somewhat charmless bureaucrat - I've never heard anyone who knew Roy or Mary express a serious concern that Roy was involved in Mary's disappearance. And I, myself, don't consider Roy a serious suspect.
One of my colleagues remembered Roy - he had the sense that Roy had been hounded by the Atlanta Police and other law enforcement. He told me that eventually the negative publicity and suspicion cost Roy his job - the GDBF just didn't want Roy around with all the questions about Mary's disappearance.
While Roy may have been a somewhat charmless bureaucrat - I've never heard anyone who knew Roy or Mary express a serious concern that Roy was involved in Mary's disappearance. And I, myself, don't consider Roy a serious suspect.
Why do you reckon Roy has never discussed Mary's disappearance ?
I can only speculate about why Roy never talked about Mary's disappearance.
I can't even rule Roy out as a suspect definitively. I suppose, the primary issue for me is that I've come to believe that Mary and Diane Shields' deaths are connected. Given that, I can't really see Roy being the perpetrator in both murders.
I find the connections between Mary and Diane - their jobs at C&S, their overlapping circles friends and even some roommates so compelling that I feel the answer to their murders has to be related to that - rather than to Roy Little.
As the old truism goes, "There may be coincidences in life but they make me itchy."
I just believe the answer to Mary and Diane's murders must be related to their jobs and/or their other connections.