NY NY - Robert Garrow (pre-July 1974) - were there other victims?

I couldn't find a thread for Robert Garrow. Based on what is officially known he is likely better classified as a 'spree killer' than a 'serial killer', but I am questioning that.

At the time (July 1973), the largest manhunt in NY state history was focused on capturing Robert Garrow. He was known to have killed 4 people and raped 7 others....some children (all by his own confession).

That's what is in the history books. But is there more?

I came across this news story, which only now brings to the forefront the fact that a map was found in Garrow's car, a map with many red dots, including dots that relate to his known victims. But what did the other dots relate to? Are there other unsolved murders that could be attributed to Garrow?

For instance, check out this fairly recent news item:

Tiny red dot on a map could be key to solving Hamilton cold case
http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/news/story/2013/01/25/hamilton-macphail-cold-case-garrow-komoroski.html


Detectives say Robert Garrow now 'best suspect' in 1973 Komorowski murder
http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/news/story/2013/02/08/hamilton-adele-komorowski-murder-garrow.html

If it's possible that Garrow murdered a young woman in Hamilton, Ontario, who else might he have killed?

Unfortunately the map is 'lost', but are there unsolved crimes in Vermont, Pennsylvania, Ohio, or Massachusetts that might be his work?

I thought it warranted a thread. Can any of you WSers help out here?

Posted about this poi in Toronto Cold Case file, glad to find this thread here!

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...nto-Crimes-Discussion&p=10783337#post10783337

The podcast Radiolab just covered this case. It doesn't go into the crimes that much, but the problems that garrow's attorneys were presented with and it is quite interesting. By the way, these Radiolab podcasts are very good.

http://www.radiolab.org/story/the_buried_bodies_case/

Oh, and a guy by the name of Jim Tracy is working on a book about this case. The working title is Twisted Truth. It is mentioned in the podcast. Another book has already been published Terror in the Adirondacks, but it is very pricey.

IF Robert Garrow murdered Adele Komorowski and IF the dots on the map represent his victims, we need to figure out who else he may have killed. Are there other unsolved murders in NY state that could be attributed to Garrow?

Here is the timeline I have to the best of my knowledge (based on the article in the Saratogian, Wikipedia and the CBC articles.

http://www.saratogian.com/article/ST/20130622/NEWS/306229943

Robert Garrow's timeline

- March 4, 1936 -- Robert Garrow is born in Dannemora NY.
- ~1951 (age 15) –sent to reform school for altercation with his father
- ~1952 -- joins Air Force. Spends almost 2 years, mostly in military jail (stealing, etc.) including in Florida and Georgia
- ~1954 – returns to NY State
- June 1957 -- marries in Lowville (20 mi. s. of Watertown). Has son (timing?)
- ~Sept 1957 – moves to Albany
- 1961 -- arrested for raping a woman in Albany. Sentenced to 20 years.
- 1968 -- released from state prison on good behavior after serving more than six years of a 20-year sentence.
- 1972 -- ties up 2 college students in Syracuse. They refuse to press charges.
- May 15, 1973 – Adele Komorowski raped/murdered in Hamilton Ontario. Did Garrow do it?
- May 31, 1973 – arrested for raping 2 girls (9 and 11) in Geddes (nr Syracuse). Jumped bail. Became a fugitive.
- July 11, 1973 -- rapes and kills 16-year-old Alicia Hauck in Syracuse.
- July 14, 1973 -- kills Daniel Porter, 23, and Susan Petz, 20, in Wevertown, Warren County.
- July 29, 1973 -- Garrow stabs to death Philip Domblewski at a campsite in Wells, Hamilton County, after tying him to a tree. Three other intended victims escape.
- Aug. 9, 1973 --Garrow is shot, wounded and captured in Mineville, Essex County, where he grew up. He was shot by state Forest Ranger Hilary "Guy" LeBlanc of Ballston Spa, who is now retired.
- July 2, 1974 --Garrow begins a 25-year to life prison sentence at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora.
- Sept. 8, 1978 -- Garrow escapes from the Elderly and Handicapped Unit at Fishkill Correctional Facility, where he was moved after faking paralysis.
- Sept. 11, 1978 -- Garrow shoots at prison guards who spot him a short distance from prison walls. He is shot and killed when corrections officers return fire.


Because Garrow is classified as a "spree killer", I think he is being overlooked as a possible serial killer with a longer, more extensive history of killing. I am wondering what unsolved murders of young women there are in upstate NY in particular during the 1968 - 1973 period.

Any ideas??

https://troopers.ny.gov/Wanted_and_Missing/Homicide/view.php?ID=13364759-65d4-4411-bc90-c667b49e7286


Kemp, Barbara Jean
Walkowicz, Wanda Lee

dotr said:

https://troopers.ny.gov/Wanted_and_Missing/Homicide/view.php?ID=13364759-65d4-4411-bc90-c667b49e7286


Kemp, Barbara Jean
Walkowicz, Wanda Lee

Click to expand...

Barbara Jean Kemp cannot be his victim. He was in prison at the time.
Wanda Lee Walkowicz could be a victim.

Wanda Lee Walkowicz was considered one of the 3 alphabet victims in Rochester NY. One of the 3, Michele Mainze (11) was murdered in Nov 1973 so could not be a victim of Garrow's since he was arrested in August 1973.

I'll have to look closer at these cases.

Film about serial killer Robert Garrow to premiere in Johnstown | Fulton County Express

The film, “Garrow,” by Adirondack Films LLC and writer Director Lori Kelly-Bailey, is described as the life and crimes of “knife wielding psychopath that could charm his victims before carving them to death.”

Click to expand...

Going to see this film premier on Saturday at the Wood Theater in Glens Falls, NY.

COLONIE, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities in the Albany area are hoping modern DNA tracing techniques will help solve the murder of an 18-year-old woman more than 60 years ago.

The body of Ruth Whitman was exhumed from a cemetery in Glenmont last week to perform DNA testing. The case had been cold since the 1990s when police pursued what turned out to be a bogus tip, but was reopened in 2012 when Whitman’s family approached police.

Whitman disappeared in December 1959 after being seen walking away from the scene of a fire at a house in her neighborhood. Police have suspected deceased serial killer Robert Garrow, who lived in Whitman’s neighborhood at the time, but tell the Albany Times-Union they have at least two other people of interest — one in Florida and the other in Connecticut.

Mitchel & Bonnie (his girlfriend) were hitchhiking and attending a concert festival in Watkins Glen, New York when they disappeared on July 27, 1973. They have never been seen or heard from again.
In 2000, a guy by the name of Allyn/Alan Smith told police that back in 1973, he was hitching a ride back home from this same concert. He took a ride from a male driving an orange VW. He claims that there were two teenagers in the vehicle as well. He did not recall their names but remembers what they were wearing and that the girl was talking about a summer camp that she worked at (Bonnie worked at a summer camp). Smith then goes on to say that they made a quick stop at an unknown river to swim & cool off. He claims that Bonnie "started to drown" and Mitch jumped into save her but they were both "swept away" & presumed drowned. The driver of the orange VW said that he would call the authorities once they got to a gas station but no such call was made/logged. The police called Smith "credible" but wondered why he did not jump in to save them because he was an athletic, Navy veteran.

On July 20th, 1973, Robert Garrow stabbed & killed Daniel Porter and stabbed/assaulted/killed his girlfriend Susan Petz in Wevertown, NY.

The murder of Phil Domblewski and attempted murders of Carol Ann Malinowski, David Freeman, & Nick Fiorello took place on July 29th, 1973. The same day that Mitchel & Bonnie were supposed to return home. Robert Garrow drove an orange VW. The manhunt for Garrow starts after this incident at the campground.

I wonder what Garrow was doing between July 20th & July 29th, 1973? Could Mitchel and Bonnie have met with foul play due to Garrow? Could Allyn Smith been responsible for their disapperances? Or could Smith's story be true about them drowning? - Or 1/2 truth... maybe he witnessed something terrible and was threatened/apart of/ or wanted to distance his connection or what he saw that day. The driver could have been Garrow and not wanting to give up where he was during the search for him, did not make the call about them "drowning".

xxashleyxx said:

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Mitchel Fred Weiser – The Charley Project

Bonita Mara Bickwit – The Charley Project

Mitchel & Bonnie (his girlfriend) were hitchhiking and attending a concert festival in Watkins Glen, New York when they disappeared on July 27, 1973. They have never been seen or heard from again.
In 2000, a guy by the name of Allyn/Alan Smith told police that back in 1973, he was hitching a ride back home from this same concert. He took a ride from a male driving an orange VW. He claims that there were two teenagers in the vehicle as well. He did not recall their names but remembers what they were wearing and that the girl was talking about a summer camp that she worked at (Bonnie worked at a summer camp). Smith then goes on to say that they made a quick stop at an unknown river to swim & cool off. He claims that Bonnie "started to drown" and Mitch jumped into save her but they were both "swept away" & presumed drowned. The driver of the orange VW said that he would call the authorities once they got to a gas station but no such call was made/logged. The police called Smith "credible" but wondered why he did not jump in to save them because he was an athletic, Navy veteran.

On July 20th, 1973, Robert Garrow stabbed & killed Daniel Porter and stabbed/assaulted/killed his girlfriend Susan Petz in Wevertown, NY.

The murder of Phil Domblewski and attempted murders of Carol Ann Malinowski, David Freeman, & Nick Fiorello took place on July 29th, 1973. The same day that Mitchel & Bonnie were supposed to return home. Robert Garrow drove an orange VW. The manhunt for Garrow starts after this incident at the campground.

I wonder what Garrow was doing between July 20th & July 29th, 1973? Could Mitchel and Bonnie have met with foul play due to Garrow? Could Allyn Smith been responsible for their disapperances? Or could Smith's story be true about them drowning? - Or 1/2 truth... maybe he witnessed something terrible and was threatened/apart of/ or wanted to distance his connection or what he saw that day. The driver could have been Garrow and not wanting to give up where he was during the search for him, did not make the call about them "drowning".

Click to expand...

Oh I have always though there was Some truth with the Allyn Smith story. I wonder how common was to have an orange VW in upstate NY in 1973?