WI WI - Barbara Nelson, 34, Elkhorn, 5 Aug 1982

scorpionsting

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I am titling this thread The Studebaker Pickup Truck Killers

(1) because of where the body was found,

(2) because of an organization linking Dane County (county where robbery/abduction took place) and Walworth County (place where body was found and where the victim was probably murdered),

(3) and because the killers were driving a uniquely-styled Studebaker pickup truck; more than likely a 1961 Studebaker pickup truck, based on descriptions given by witnesses at the convenience store/gas station and the site where the body was found.

On the afternoon of August 5, 1982, Barbara Nelson, the mother of a three year old girl, was working alone at the Mini Stop-N-Shop convenience store off of Highway 51 in the Town of Albion, Dane County, Wisconsin, which is near Edgerton, Wisconsin.

Her partially-decomposed body was discovered five days later on August 10, 1982, in a cornfield on Bray Road, which is about 3 miles east of Elkhorn, in Walworth County, Wisconsin. Elkhorn, Wisconsin is about 40-45 miles southeast of Albion, WI.

According to news sources, there are 10 persons of interest in this robbery/abduction/murder. DNA evidence from the crime scene has been recently submitted to the crime lab and will be used to narrow down the list of suspects.

There is some very unique evidence in this 31 year old cold case that may possibly help solve the murder of an innocent mother of a three old girl.
 
If you continue east on Bray Road, you will run into Bowers Road. Go left (North) on Bowers Road a couple miles and you will come to the site of where another murder victim, who died from blunt force trauma to the head, was found on March 26, 2002 along Bowers Road, which is about a mile from the Alpine Valley Music Theater.

The white male was identified in 2009 as Daniel M. Walden of South Beloit, who had been reported missing in 1998. No known connections to the two murders.

http://www.communityshoppers.com/New-technology-may-unearth-clues-to-unsolved-murders-and-missing-persons-cases
 
These are sketches of the truck believed to be a 1961 Studebaker pickup truck.

The detectives say suspects were developed throughout the years with witnesses offering descriptions of two men...and accounts of a dark green or blue, older model pickup, seen at the store.

"It's a very unique looking truck, and I think the bedrail extending up at a 45 degree angle is quite significant along with the bleached area on the driver's side door," Pederson Honer says.

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Cold_Case_Investigation_The_Murder_of_Barbara_Nelson_115520589.html

http://danedocs.countyofdane.com/webdocs/pdf/sheriff/Sketches_of_Suspects_and_Vehicle.pdf
 

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If you continue east on Bray Road, you will run into Bowers Road. Go left (North) on Bowers Road a couple miles and you will come to the site of where another murder victim, who died from blunt force trauma to the head, was found on March 26, 2002 along Bowers Road, which is about a mile from the Alpine Valley Music Theater.

The white male was identified in 2009 as Daniel M. Walden of South Beloit, who had been reported missing in 1998. No known connections to the two murders.

http://www.communityshoppers.com/New-technology-may-unearth-clues-to-unsolved-murders-and-missing-persons-cases

Actually, I'd like to correct where the body of Nelson was found. From a Google map it was found just before where Bray Rd. & Hwy 11 intersect. Bowers Rd. is only a couple hundred feet east. You can match the silo in the picture with the silo on Google.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Elkhorn,+WI/@42.6910166,-88.4461384,190m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x8805f215362772e3:0x2c2a8d409c42f77f
 

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The JC Penny T-shirt...did it belong to one of the killers? It was found near the body.

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Cold_Case_Investigation_The_Murder_of_Barbara_Nelson_115520589.html?device=phone

Also significant...a bleach-stained, JCPenney t-shirt found near her body along Bray Road.

"This t-shirt, in particular, is very unique. This is not a t-shirt that just anyone would have in their drawer at home back in 1982," Pederson Honer says.

It would be nice if they had a sharper lighter image and told us why this t-shirt is unique. Who's the manufacturer?

An investigator stated that the shirt might have been bought at a nearby JC Penny store, which sold that specific type of shirt.

I wonder what kind of job, if any, uses bleach, where it would get splashed on a shirt like that? Unless, maybe they used the bleach and the T-shirt to clean up blood from off the floor of the pickup truck or the bed of the pickup?

The T-shirt certainly appears to be covered with blood.

It's possible that there was also a tarp over the contents of the bed of the truck, including the victim, until they got to where they disposed of her.

She was shot four times with a .22, but there was no statement released whether she was shot at the scene where her body was found or whether she was shot elsewhere, including shot while in the pickup.

.
 

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The bleached area on the truck...

"It's a very unique looking truck, and I think the bedrail extending up at a 45 degree angle is quite significant along with the bleached area on the driver's side door," Pederson Honer says.

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Cold_Case_Investigation_The_Murder_of_Barbara_Nelson_115520589.html?device=phone

What did she mean by "bleached"? Was it faded from the sun? Did a business sign used to be attached to the door and the rest of the area around where the sign used to be appear to be bleached? Or was some type of paint thinner or solvent used to remove lettering or residue from a sign being attached to the driver's door at some time in the past? Or, was it bleached because bleach was used to remove blood from the door?

Does bleach damage paint?
 

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http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Cold_Case_Investigation_The_Murder_of_Barbara_Nelson_115520589.html?device=phone

The detectives say suspects were developed throughout the years with witnesses offering descriptions of two men...and accounts of a dark green or blue, older model pickup, seen at the store.

"It's a very unique looking truck, and I think the bedrail extending up at a 45 degree angle is quite significant along with the bleached area on the driver's side door," Pederson Honer says.

1959 Studebaker truck color chart...
 

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1961 Studebaker pickup truck paint sample...
 

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The bleached area on the truck...



http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Cold_Case_Investigation_The_Murder_of_Barbara_Nelson_115520589.html?device=phone

What did she mean by "bleached"? Was it faded from the sun? Did a business sign used to be attached to the door and the rest of the area around where the sign used to be appear to be bleached? Or was some type of paint thinner or solvent used to remove lettering or residue from a sign being attached to the driver's door at some time in the past? Or, was it bleached because bleach was used to remove blood from the door?

Does bleach damage paint?

The description also mentioned primer on the driver's door section almost as if there used to be lettering/sign on the door which was sanded off and then primed. Here's a closeup of that section which encompasses almost the whole lower panel. Also attached is a picture of a red 1961 Studebaker pickup truck. Note the section of the door that extends out almost as far as the windshield. That is not depicted in the sketches.
 

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The victim was found wearing this vest. As you can also see from the crime scene photograph, it's another poor-quality photograph. You can barely make out the lower front pockets and the epaulettes. Otherwise, you can't tell if it's a camo or OD green vest. Does it have snaps, zippers, buttons, Velcro, what?

The vest may or may not have been worn by one of the killers. I posted a photo of the crime scene vest and another vintage OD green vest with epaulettes that looks similar. I don't know if this is exactly identical to the one on the victim. I think the PD needs to take this vest and the T-shirt out of mothballs, re-photograph them and then post a better description alongside another identical T-shirt and vest if they expect someone to recognize them.

Two critical pieces of evidence never before disclosed -- a vest ... perhaps part of a uniform. It was found on Nelson's body.

"It's foreign to Barbara. This is not her item of clothing, and it's a significant factor in this case," she says.

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Cold_Case_Investigation_The_Murder_of_Barbara_Nelson_115520589.html?device=phone

Another thing to wonder about; the victim wasn't sexually assaulted but was found clad in only her undergarments and this polyester vest, which may have belonged to one of the killers. Why? Was there blood on her clothing that might have attracted attention while she was in the pickup truck?

Why kidnap her at all? Did she recognize them? Insurance in case they were caught?
 

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http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Cold_Case_Investigation_The_Murder_of_Barbara_Nelson_115520589.html?device=phone

But Craig also wants help identifying another item.

"It's the base of a car jack that you jack up a car with."

It was found with Nelson's shoes... several miles from her body. Its only distinguishing characteristic... a vague u-shape.

"We don't know what kind of car it's for."

Both locations where evidence was gathered sit in the shadow of Alpine Valley...host to a Grateful Dead concert a couple of days after the murder.

Why was it thrown out? Was it covered with blood? Where's a picture of it? A car buff somewhere will recognize what vehicle it came from. Why were these items thrown out later? One last check to get rid of evidence? If so, where the items were thrown out is significant in that it's a partial trail leading to their final destination.

Was it a home-made jack stand or commercially made? What were the markings on it, if any?
 
The robbery abduction was at Mini Stop-N-Shop convenience store off of Highway 51 in the Town of Albion, Dane County, Wisconsin, which is near Edgerton, Wisconsin.

The gas station/convenience store is now closed.
 

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Fortunately, the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend can provide a copy of the original production order for most post-War Studebaker vehicles. These list both the vehicle serial number and the engine serial number, and are usually sufficient to convince a motor vehicle department to correct incorrect registration data.

http://www.studebakerdriversclub.com/StudebakerTruckHistory.asp

I wonder if law enforcement ever pursued the above avenue of discovery, considering, of course, that the original production order contained both the color of the truck and the buyer's name? Assuming this is a Wisconsin pickup truck used in the robbery/abduction/murder, the list shouldn't be too long?
 

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This is a Google map route that the abductors, who were in their 20's, possibly took from the convenience store in Albion, WI to Bray Road, three miles east of Elkhorn, WI, where Nelson was found.

Channel3000.com reports:

http://www.channel3000.com/news/wisconsin-cold-case-detectives-release-photos-to-try-to-solve-abduction-murder/25889334

The two people involved reportedly drove on back roads that started at the store, and they ended up in a cornfield 24 hours later east of Elkhorn. Detectives said the people shot Nelson several times, but it took four more days for someone to find her body.

At least six witnesses saw the suspects driving away from the convenience store and the cornfield in a pickup truck.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Albion,+WI/Bray+Rd,+Elkhorn,+WI/@42.8015484,-88.8319949,10z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x88066ac208124981:0xc08ddb5454e1c276!2m2!1d-89.0698345!2d42.8794488!1m5!1m1!1s0x8805f2b4e296a16f:0x2921b773df3d18dc!2m2!1d-88.4871026!2d42.6804733!3e0
 

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On Aug. 5, 1982, 34-year-old Barbara Nelson was abducted from her place of employment at the Mini Stop-N-Shop in the town of Albion, near Edgerton, in Dane County.


http://news.mywalworthcounty.com/?p=6922

It is believed she was killed the following day. Her body was discovered on Aug. 10, 1982, in a cornfield on Bray Road, about three miles east of Elkhorn.

Where could they have stayed that night between Albion, WI & Elkhorn, WI, which was about an hour's drive and a distance of only 41.5 miles if one were to take Highway 12? A motel? Parked in the woods? At the home of one of the two killers? A friend's house? What were they doing in the area in the first place? Why did they go to the Elkhorn area? Was it on their way home or was it their hometown area?

The victim's shoes and a jack stand were found several miles from where the body was found. Was that location ever released? It might point the general direction that the killers were headed if the items were thrown out after the body was disposed of.
 
1960 Studebaker Champ Pickup, probably the closest-looking description to the suspect vehicle. Note the sliding rear window which mentioned in the description. Studebaker was the first vehicle manufacturer to introduce that option to the market
 

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The Madison Capital Times, November 12, 1968, reports that two Madison area men had then recently started the Studebaker Drivers Club, Inc., Wisconsin Region, in 1968.

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h337/tangledweb55/studebakerclub.jpg

The Wisconsin State Journal, May 15, 1977, shows the same organization holding their Indoor Parts & Literature Swap Meet at the Dane County Fairgrounds in Madison, WI.

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h337/tangledweb55/studeclub-1.jpg

The Wisconsin State Journal, Apr 11, 1982, the same year Barbara Nelson was abducted from Dane County and dumped in Elkhorn, Walworth County, shows the 6th Annual Swap Meet & Car Show, sponsored by the Studebaker Drivers Club, was now being held at the Walworth County Fairgrounds in Elkhorn, WI, which is a couple of minutes drive from Bray Road.

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h337/tangledweb55/studebaker2.jpg

I think four things should be looked into:

1) Whether there were any other Studebaker-related events going on at the date and time of the abduction and murder of Barbara Nelson,

2) A 1982 membership list for that Wisconsin organization should be obtained from past or present officers or members,

3) An interview off that list should be conducted by detectives with any living members of that organization from 1982 to see if perchance they happened to have dealt with the two murder suspects in any type of transaction and whether they may have purchased the truck (or truck parts) used in the abduction (or these two suspects never showed up for a sale), and

4) Law enforcement could/should create a discussion thread on the Studebaker Driver's Club Forum to discuss this crime and see if they can get any new leads and to possibly enlist the help of members to verify exactly what model of Studebaker was used in the crime.

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/forumdisplay.php?6-General-Studebaker-Specific-Discussion

I think it highly unlucky that the two 20+ year old suspects were members of that organization but they may have had dealings with members or might even have relatives in that organization.

Something of significance drew them to the Elkhorn area in Aug. 5-6, 1982 and the above-mentioned points may possibly be some good new leads. These two may have been on their way down to Elkhorn to sell the truck to a collector.

I'm sure the members would be happy to help solve the murder of Barabara Nelson, the mother of a three year old girl.
 

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