WV WV - Lynn Priestly, 34, Charleston, 21 March 1990

^^^^^ Also a valid point. As to where her body would have ended up had she been thrown in the water, she would have been carried a couple of miles downstream to be caught at the Marmet Locks & Dam. That is, of course, had she not gotten caught up on underwater obstructions or bank debris.

I will actually speak with the first person to find the body later today or tomorrow. What I want to know is the condition of the body, and the positioning of the remains. Was her head lower than her feet; was there marked lividity as one would expect following four days on a river bank. Was there scavenging by rodents, insects &c? Was there purge, skin slippage and signs of decomposition? Considering it was mid-March and the temperature was likely freezing or below overnight, I would not expect marked decomposition. What was the ambient temperature compared with the body temp? (In that regard, I have requested weather data for the entire period from the Marmet Locks).
 
According to info supplied from the airport in Charleston (Yeager), the temps for the days before and after Lynn's death are as follows:

3/20 low temp 28 hi temp 47 .18 precipitation
3/21 low temp 27 hi temp 56 0.0 precip
3/22 low temp 27 hi temp 74 (that seems like an extreme range, but that's what is reported) 0.0 precip
3/23 low temp 50 hi temp 75 0.0 precip

If this is indeed true (as reported through www.almanac.com's history tool) then the area got a heavy dose of a warm Spring.
 
It often-times appears that LE put on the "blinders" when it comes to certain cases. Certainly, the boyfriend seems the most obvious subject, but in this case he seems to be the only one. A lot of the supposed holes in his story should have been verified fairly easily...

Did he in fact call a cab?
What company?
Was he picked up? What time?
Where was he dropped off?
What time?
If so, did he have access to a vehicle to return to Lynn?
Was it searched?

If, given all that, there still wasn't enough to go to indict TW, then it was seriously time to start looking elsewhere.
 
just commenting before bed.
You asked about the clothes.........they could have removed them, with the idea if they dropped her in the river,(they missed) the current would take her further downstream and without the clothes, a better chance of her not becoming entangled with debris or whatever...But I am just guessing.
Goodnight.

I just spent about an hour looking at bing maps to look at the area she was found in. And I dont see any bridge close by that he could have dropped her from. And since she wasn't in water just laying by the bank perhaps that was his intention instead of dropping her into the river. Few miles between last seen and where found. straight hi way. 20 26 minutes or so away.
She may have went voluntarily to Chesapeake and was killed down there.
Even short distant, 20 minutes with a dead body could seem like hours and a lot could happened that he would have to stop and maybe be caught transporting the body to Chesapeake.
If his intentions were to leave her on the bank and not drop her into the water, perhaps the removing of clothes was to delay identification for awhile. When reported missing a description of what she was wearing was broadcast, so removing the clothes would temporarily delay identification when found. As if to give the killer extra time for some reason. Perhaps they did know each other and the killer wanted or had planned on leaving town, and wanted the extra time to establish an alibi. Just speculation on all the above
 
I have to tell you: I'm getting a bit discouraged about finding information on this case from the folks who investigated it. Yesterday, I wrote a letter to the CPD contact I made and told him that I fear the investigators do not want to share information with me because they may feel I am butting into business that isn't mine to butt into. I certainly can understand that, if that is the case.

The man who found the body did not show up to speak with me and I've not been able to reach him or the Chesapeake City Councilman who went with KC Prosecutor's Investigator Leonard when he reported the body found.

Also, I'm dense as a bag of ready mix concrete! It totally escaped my notice that it was just this week 23 years ago, Ms. Priestley was murdered! I have to wonder though, there were only a couple, maybe three, Bing and Google references to Lynn Priestley's abduction and death prior to the posting of this thread and our subsequent discussions. Now, this thread runs on both search engines. You have to wonder if the killer also has searched to see what info is out there?

But I did make a FIO request for the ME's file yesterday. Again, I have no official standing; I'm not a crime writer; and this is way outside my comfort zone. I am discouraged that there isn't more information readily available. But I did speak with a historian here in Charleston whose opinion I value and he is of the same opinion as am I: there must be very compelling reasons that Thomas R. White was not charged in this murder. Were I T. R. White, I'd want desperately to clear my name; I would have shouted from the rooftops my innocence! Yet, so long after the fact, he's moved on with his life, whatever that life is.

It's not that I see a wall of silence from officials; I just see nothing at all, and there has to be a reason for that as well. But it is plain to me that the members of this website are helpful and concerned folks, and maybe there is something we can figure out--maybe not, but I keep hoping. What began for me as a subject for a historical narrative has become a subject on which I am ill-equipped to deal in any other way than as a amateur.

But even an amateur can ask the following question:

How is it possible (of course it is, but how is it) that the very white, nude body of Lynn Priestley lay on a 16 foot riverbank, of a river barely 300 feet wide where she was found (if that), from early Saturday morning until the following Wednesday and not have been seen by the crews of scores (if not over a hundred) laden coal barges heading downstream from the mines, and up stream on return trips? There are, one supposes, lookouts on the craft whose jobs it is to watch the river and banks for navigational hazards and other things? Either the killer was very, very lucky, or the body was thrown over in weeds high enough to obstruct it, but the reporter who covered the recovery did not say that to me.
 
Kanawha City Frank, I have a little bit of experience with some of what you are going through. A lot of the time, it is a waiting game. See how your FOIA request plays out. Dont push so hard and let people know that you are not on the hunt for information that has the potential to embarrass or cause anyone to question them, especially if they are LE. My typical approach is that I am looking to raise the profile of the case to see if it helps shake out a tip that will lead to a conclusion. Every member of LE would like to close a case, but they have learned to be wary of civilian investigators. Especially folks that are old school.

I find that giving LE good reasons to make public some of the information that has been with held usually results in a positive response.
 
^^^^^^ How right you are! It is an absolute fact that the CPD wants to solve this case; everyone I've encountered who worked the case is a professional officer, and of that I have no doubt. Plodding though historical records is what I do and I never expected to waltz through this. In point of fact, I figured I'd look at the file, make a few observations of fact, and concentrate on the personal recollections of the officers and witnesses who were involved; and then write a narrative that presented the case and allowed the reader to make whatever conclusions they could. And, BTW, I made it clear in my request for the file that anything I wrote would be submitted to the CPD prior to publication for them to review and approve.

Let me also say this: I truly believe that the number of cases, cold or hot, that go unsolved are numerically few. Now, before I get my chain jerked for that statement, let me say that the number of cases that go un-adjudicated may be significant, but, in my heart of hearts, I believe that most cases are solved (at least in the minds of the police officers who investigate them) whether or not they have enough evidence to prosecute the offenders.

Just look at the Skylar Neese case from the Star City (Margantown) area in the news right now! LE and the FBI have many viable suspects, yet they are methodically weeding out the wheat from the chaff to get the best possible solution out of many. This case is has become highly politicized already; it will be solved!

But compared to the Deward Roger Lough case, where the victim is not so well known or politically connected, the Priestley case was, and yet remains cold. And after 23 years, one would think the police have nothing to lose by making the case file available (maybe not to me) but if for no other reason than to jog the memories of potential witnesses.

Yes, I'm growing frustrated, but I do not have the experience most of you WS'ers have, plus I am either going to have to drop this case from my magazine piece due to time constraints, or get enough information to write it and do it justice. Either way, I'm now hooked on this websleuthing; I won't let this case go. :banghead::banghead:
 
Maybe you can use a different angle for your magazine article? Respectfully, you have gained a lot of experience on the concept of "websleuthing" cold cases and the professionalism of LE and their desire to close cases that they may no longer have resources for.

FOIA is a little known subject, and yet a critical one for civilian investigators. Several states, Colorado is one example, are actively pursuing civilian investigators in order to free up resources for those who carry badges and guns. Imagine if detectives didnt need to screen or process MP reports. Imagine if they didnt need to do status checks and run their cases against NCIC and update NAMUS.

Maybe Lynn's case is an example of a partnership that could happen which would benefit everyone involved and would be a good teaching tool for the future.
 
Unfortunately, for us as private citizens, there often comes the point where we "hit the wall". Without the cooperation of local law enforcement who have the essential details, there's only so much sleuthing that can be done.

As you've been doing, you can continue to interview non-LE witnesses (such as anyone who worked at the restaurants).
A talk with the security officer might be enlightening as well.
Talk with family members, if they're willing (and step very carefully). They may have information that LE discounted at the time.
Listen for rumors, try to find out if there were any similar cases in the state or close by in that same time frame.
Try to determine what happened in TW's life in the months and years following Lynn's murder.
See if local news entities would be willing to run updates in order to generate new leads- Ask that they stress to viewers that anyone knowing anything should come forward.

These are a few things you can do that don't involve LE directly.
 
I've given this thread eight days to perk in my head without writing anything, but I have been doing several things that shadowangel suggested such as running down former employees of Tidewater Grill, both reporters who filed the stories, a second and third attempt to talk with the fisherman who found the body, and a trip through every newpaper archive in the city. I also located two family members of Lynn Priestley though I am loath to approach them just now as this is the anniversary of their grief.

Although I may be making a mountain out of a molehill, I can't get off my mind that the killer must have seen the new Lynn Priestley threads on the various search engines. It is not beyond possibility that he/she (?) has even read this thread! And most likely, since I approached the CPD officials and the state medical examiner's office, some thought has been given to those people about watching this thread. And here is why: according to one of my contacts at the Gazette, there may have been another suspect. In fact, I mentioned here the other day that a story was filed about an anonymous woman having called the 24-hour hotline over the weekend after Lynn's disappearance. Someone does know something (other than the killer obviously).

The CPD is not being difficult; I think they are concerned. Were I one of them, I would have checked out ME too, considering killers often insert themselves into investigations out of curiosity or hubris or both. Also, I have to wonder this: did the killer visit the dumpsite two Wednesdays ago? Has he/she also visited Lynn's crypt at the Huntington mausoleum (on 50 miles away)? It beggars the imagination that anyone could have done this and not been watching, especially just last week, exactly 23 years after the killing.

And I intend to do my best to find out who... Perhaps that is just hubris on my part!
 
So, this is what I have been told about the Lynn Priestley case. It does come from more than one source, all of which are credible. Apparently, she worked in a job that had something to do with the housing authority. Her boss was in some kind of legal trouble and was due to appear in court the week following her murder. She was supposed to testify against her boss, hmmm. As if it is not already crazy enough . . .
Also, there was a pawn shop beneath where Lynn worked and she would have lunch almost every day with one of the guys that worked at the pawn shop and at the time the pawn shop was reportedly being investigated for receiving stolen property that was being sold to a doctor here in Charleston.
When they discovered the body, her underwear was found stuffed in her mouth. DNA was found under her fingernails so she fought her attacker. DNA was perhaps too deteriorated to use years ago but maybe with advances it may be possible to get a hit now. A rape kit was analyzed and showed no evidence of a sexual assault. Still, even with all of this, I believe that she and Thomas White were arguing over her car keys. I think she could have believed that he was keeping them from her. So, I think she would head back to a place where she was familiar (Tidewater) and the last place she knew she had seen her keys. She had worked there and knew people. I think that someone was getting off work at Tidewater that she knew, offered her a ride and she got in since she knew them. Went bad from there. Just my gut feeling.
 

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