GA GA - Joshua Randall Harmon, 8, Struck on Head and Strangled. Roswell. May 1988
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PayrollNerd
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Informative post on Roswell Police Dept Facebook page. Really great comments too from people remembering the incident.
Roswell Police Department
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 marks the thirty-first anniversary of the homicide of Joshua Harmon. Joshua was 8-years-old at the time of his death. The Roswell Police Department, with the support of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, is asking the public to help to generate new leads for this case. We are seeking any information that may help Joshua’s family get answers.
On Sunday, May 15, 1988, 8-year-old, Joshua Harmon was reported missing to the Roswell Police Department by his mother. At the time of his murder, Joshua’s family lived in an apartment complex called “Roundtree Apartments”. Today, it is known as “River Crossing at Roswell”.
Joshua regularly played outside in the area of his apartment building and the other buildings in the immediate vicinity. He searched for turtles around the lake in the complex and played in the “fort” in the woods behind his building. On May 15th, Joshua had been playing outside, with friends and alone, all day. Joshua’s mother recounts that he was in and out of the apartment throughout the day for various reasons. When Joshua’s mother started making dinner she asked her husband, Joshua’s stepfather, to let Joshua know to stay close to home. When Joshua’s stepfather could not find him, Joshua’s mother called the Roswell Police.
A neighbor informed the family that Joshua had stopped by their residence at approximately 7:00 PM to ask if his child, Joshua’s friend, could come outside to play. The family was spending time together and eating dinner so the boy could not come outside. Joshua told the neighbor that he was going to be waiting for the neighbor boy in the woods at the fort where the children commonly played together. This is the last reported sighting of Joshua alive.
After extensive searches over the next nearly 48 hours, Joshua Harmon’s lifeless body was located in the woods of the apartment complex on Tuesday, May 17, 1988. Joshua was beaten and strangled to death. Joshua was buried under loose dirt and pine straw. Logs were placed on top of his body to conceal him from immediate discovery.
Evidence was collected during the investigation that is still available. There have been incredible advancements in forensic technology since 1988. But science is not all that can be used to catch this killer. It is the hope of the Roswell Police Department and the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office that the community will help with this case so that Joshua’s murderer can be identified and held accountable for this heinous crime.
Along with reviewing all of the available evidence, the Roswell Police Department is reaching out to witnesses from the original investigation. We are also looking for new witnesses that may know, or have heard, something about this case over the years. We are asking for anyone who may have any information about this case to please call Crime Stoppers or the Roswell Police Department to share that information. In the last 31 years, we believe that the killer may have spoken to someone about this incident and disclosed their involvement.
If you have information and would like to speak with an investigator, please call Detective Jennifer Bennett at 770-640-4380 or she can be reached by email at jbennett@roswellgov.com
Information on this case can be submitted anonymously to the Crime Stoppers Atlanta tip line at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or online at www.StopCrimeATL.com. Persons do not have to give their name or any identifying information to be eligible for a CASH reward for the arrest and indictment of the suspect
Roswell Police Department
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 marks the thirty-first anniversary of the homicide of Joshua Harmon. Joshua was 8-years-old at the time of his death. The Roswell Police Department, with the support of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, is asking the public to help to generate new leads for this case. We are seeking any information that may help Joshua’s family get answers.
On Sunday, May 15, 1988, 8-year-old, Joshua Harmon was reported missing to the Roswell Police Department by his mother. At the time of his murder, Joshua’s family lived in an apartment complex called “Roundtree Apartments”. Today, it is known as “River Crossing at Roswell”.
Joshua regularly played outside in the area of his apartment building and the other buildings in the immediate vicinity. He searched for turtles around the lake in the complex and played in the “fort” in the woods behind his building. On May 15th, Joshua had been playing outside, with friends and alone, all day. Joshua’s mother recounts that he was in and out of the apartment throughout the day for various reasons. When Joshua’s mother started making dinner she asked her husband, Joshua’s stepfather, to let Joshua know to stay close to home. When Joshua’s stepfather could not find him, Joshua’s mother called the Roswell Police.
A neighbor informed the family that Joshua had stopped by their residence at approximately 7:00 PM to ask if his child, Joshua’s friend, could come outside to play. The family was spending time together and eating dinner so the boy could not come outside. Joshua told the neighbor that he was going to be waiting for the neighbor boy in the woods at the fort where the children commonly played together. This is the last reported sighting of Joshua alive.
After extensive searches over the next nearly 48 hours, Joshua Harmon’s lifeless body was located in the woods of the apartment complex on Tuesday, May 17, 1988. Joshua was beaten and strangled to death. Joshua was buried under loose dirt and pine straw. Logs were placed on top of his body to conceal him from immediate discovery.
Evidence was collected during the investigation that is still available. There have been incredible advancements in forensic technology since 1988. But science is not all that can be used to catch this killer. It is the hope of the Roswell Police Department and the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office that the community will help with this case so that Joshua’s murderer can be identified and held accountable for this heinous crime.
Along with reviewing all of the available evidence, the Roswell Police Department is reaching out to witnesses from the original investigation. We are also looking for new witnesses that may know, or have heard, something about this case over the years. We are asking for anyone who may have any information about this case to please call Crime Stoppers or the Roswell Police Department to share that information. In the last 31 years, we believe that the killer may have spoken to someone about this incident and disclosed their involvement.
If you have information and would like to speak with an investigator, please call Detective Jennifer Bennett at 770-640-4380 or she can be reached by email at jbennett@roswellgov.com
Information on this case can be submitted anonymously to the Crime Stoppers Atlanta tip line at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or online at www.StopCrimeATL.com. Persons do not have to give their name or any identifying information to be eligible for a CASH reward for the arrest and indictment of the suspect
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PerhapsIt'sYou
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interesting case. this is the first ive heard of it.
seems to me that stepdad has to be suspect #1. I am assuming he was investigated and cleared?
seems to me that stepdad has to be suspect #1. I am assuming he was investigated and cleared?
When I first saw this thread, I immediately thought of the Levi Frady case that happened 9 years later. He was 11 y/o when he disappeared and later found murdered. Joshua lived in Roswell which is 20 miles SW of Cumming from where Levi was taken. It is a straight shot on Hwy 19.
Serial killer Gary Michael Hilton who resembles the drawn sketch in Levi's case lived and worked in the area. I wonder if he has been considered.
GA - GA - Levi Frady, 11, Cumming, 22 Oct 1997
Gary M Hilton
Serial killer Gary Michael Hilton who resembles the drawn sketch in Levi's case lived and worked in the area. I wonder if he has been considered.
GA - GA - Levi Frady, 11, Cumming, 22 Oct 1997
Gary M Hilton
Bugurl747
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Interesting, in the fox5 video link @ 1:35 his mother states that someone removed all his clothes but I haven't seen that specific detail in any of the above posted articles. I have seen numerous times that his body was covered by logs to prevent detection.
Was that something previously announced?
MOO
Was that something previously announced?
MOO
PayrollNerd
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The Roswell Police Dept Facebook page linked above has comments from people remembering the search. Some are very detailed like the video you mentioned.
Bugurl747
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Gone, but not forgotten.
It was interesting reading some of the comments from key players back in the day.
DNA testing has come so far since then. I hope that can be revisited to give some answers and justice for Mom, before they meet again
️MOO
I totally missed seeing all the articles and pictures that were embedded in your post when I first read it.
A later web search found this link which includes the same articles.
Joshua Harmon
Hey guys - I actually registered for this case and to be honest, am excited that the PD is finally doing something public after all these decades. I lost track of this for a few months just due to life, so it was a nice surprise to see something about this.
Originally, I did a write up for it for r/UnresolvedMysteries over a year ago after the name was suggested asking for more information. I ended up in a rabbit hole as the only way to get info on the case was to subscribe to the local paper for back issues. There was literally nothing about this case anywhere online outside of a more recent, and rather haunting YouTube video that described the bare bones of the case. Later on, another user was able to get images and make an album of all the newspaper articles detailing the case so that the rest of the users could see them and the album is still up on my original post (under the same name on Reddit), which is were that Imgur album yall found comes from.
According to his mother, Cherie Harmon, her son was found with socks and one shoe and these were taken by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). At this point, they seem to have been lost, so I'm hoping that they have other viable samples for testing. The GBI is extraordinarily unhelpful to talk to, but Detective Bennet, who I spoke to a while back, was more forthcoming. She was adamant the case was still open and that they hoped with recent improvements in genealogical research and DNA testing that an arrest would be made, though if evidence has been lost, that hope is a bit diminished.
It was interesting that even with my post that a number of people commented about having been in the area at that time. Even more so with the Facebook post by the Roswell PD about the case with people talking about their involvement and experiences with the case after all these decades. It was the GBI at the time that limited public information and kept things close to the chest, and when the stepfather was cleared (who is still a close family friend), the case disappeared and nothing was spoken of for decades. I truly believe that someone out there knows something, saw something that could be the lead to get to the person involved and this could have been solved a long time ago if it hadn't been kept so quiet.
The GBI still, after 31 years, does not list Joshua Harmon on their unsolved homicides page even though they were intimately involved with the original investigation.
Originally, I did a write up for it for r/UnresolvedMysteries over a year ago after the name was suggested asking for more information. I ended up in a rabbit hole as the only way to get info on the case was to subscribe to the local paper for back issues. There was literally nothing about this case anywhere online outside of a more recent, and rather haunting YouTube video that described the bare bones of the case. Later on, another user was able to get images and make an album of all the newspaper articles detailing the case so that the rest of the users could see them and the album is still up on my original post (under the same name on Reddit), which is were that Imgur album yall found comes from.
According to his mother, Cherie Harmon, her son was found with socks and one shoe and these were taken by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). At this point, they seem to have been lost, so I'm hoping that they have other viable samples for testing. The GBI is extraordinarily unhelpful to talk to, but Detective Bennet, who I spoke to a while back, was more forthcoming. She was adamant the case was still open and that they hoped with recent improvements in genealogical research and DNA testing that an arrest would be made, though if evidence has been lost, that hope is a bit diminished.
It was interesting that even with my post that a number of people commented about having been in the area at that time. Even more so with the Facebook post by the Roswell PD about the case with people talking about their involvement and experiences with the case after all these decades. It was the GBI at the time that limited public information and kept things close to the chest, and when the stepfather was cleared (who is still a close family friend), the case disappeared and nothing was spoken of for decades. I truly believe that someone out there knows something, saw something that could be the lead to get to the person involved and this could have been solved a long time ago if it hadn't been kept so quiet.
The GBI still, after 31 years, does not list Joshua Harmon on their unsolved homicides page even though they were intimately involved with the original investigation.
Britishbatty
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When the AJC did this story, I had just finished a podcast on forensic genealogy (the Golden State killer story was hit). I reached out to the Roswell PD to ask if they had any DNA, share the podcast, and to offer to help with research (I live in Roswell). I got a polite, thanks but no thanks without confirmation of whether or not any DNA exists.
I saw the mothers reddit post and keep hoping that something comes of this, maybe because I have children now and shudder to think of the possibility of some child killer still living here.
That said, unless more details come out, it’s really hard for me to see this ever being solved. One question, while I’ve seen Josh’s mom post, It’s only been to clear the name of the step-dad. Has she ever publicly addressed the accusations made about her father?
I saw the mothers reddit post and keep hoping that something comes of this, maybe because I have children now and shudder to think of the possibility of some child killer still living here.
That said, unless more details come out, it’s really hard for me to see this ever being solved. One question, while I’ve seen Josh’s mom post, It’s only been to clear the name of the step-dad. Has she ever publicly addressed the accusations made about her father?
Welcome to Ws Britishbatty, good questions and moniker too!
PayrollNerd
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I find this statement odd. "stumbled upon Joshua's body by accident" If you are participating in a group search, how do you find a body by accident? He went missing in the evening on May 15th and was found in the afternoon of May 17th. That's not quite 2 days - not much de-comp at that point, even in Georgia in May.
If the the clothes had been removed, then the perp took them as a trophy, unless they were found nearby? I don't see any mention of them being found. Older boys bullying him wouldn't make me think of clothing being removed, nor taken. The physical injuries, yes, but not removing his clothing.
How far was the "gully in the woods" from the fort where the boys played? Had the boys played in the gully area in the past?
"Roswell police officers spent the next 48 hours searching the 60 acres of woods surrounding the apartment complex but did not find Joshua’s body in the first search, the Journal-Constitution reported at the time. His body was eventually discovered the afternoon of May 17, 1988, in a gully in the woods where the boy, described as a “nature nut,” loved to play.
A police lieutenant involved in the search stumbled upon Joshua’s body by accident, authorities said."
Original Link from above:
Georgia police seek new info in 1988 cold case murder of 8-year-old Roswell boy
If the the clothes had been removed, then the perp took them as a trophy, unless they were found nearby? I don't see any mention of them being found. Older boys bullying him wouldn't make me think of clothing being removed, nor taken. The physical injuries, yes, but not removing his clothing.
How far was the "gully in the woods" from the fort where the boys played? Had the boys played in the gully area in the past?
"Roswell police officers spent the next 48 hours searching the 60 acres of woods surrounding the apartment complex but did not find Joshua’s body in the first search, the Journal-Constitution reported at the time. His body was eventually discovered the afternoon of May 17, 1988, in a gully in the woods where the boy, described as a “nature nut,” loved to play.
A police lieutenant involved in the search stumbled upon Joshua’s body by accident, authorities said."
Original Link from above:
Georgia police seek new info in 1988 cold case murder of 8-year-old Roswell boy
PayrollNerd
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Joshua's virtual memorial has multiple pages. I didn't know you could do this for someone. It's really cool and I love that it has photos and written memories of his funeral service. I wonder if the perp has read it.
https://www.virtual-memorials.com/main.php?action=view&mem_id=10709&page_no=1
https://www.virtual-memorials.com/main.php?action=view&mem_id=10709&page_no=1
Thanks again for finding and posting this memorial.
I did an up to date search on him and only came up with older articles from Boston and from Butler County, wherever that is. I don't know why the local media is not pushing this case.
Georgia police seek new info in 1988 cold case murder of 8-year-old Roswell boy
Georgia police seek new info in 1988 cold case murder of 8-year-old Roswell boy
Very sad case. I just moved to Roswell a few months ago and never knew something like this could happen here. It’s such a quiet area. I also lived in Dacula for a short period time which is where his mom lives now. I hope this case gets solved