WA WA - "Tube Sock Murders", Diana Robertson & Michael Riemer, Tacoma, Dec 1985

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Hathor16

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CASE DETAILS

A tube sock was tied around her neck

On the morning of December 12, 1985, Mike Riemer, his girlfriend Diana and their daughter, Crystal, set out for a day in the mountains near Tacoma, Washington.* Diana had just turned 21 and had known her 36-year-old boyfriend since she was 17.* The couple drove up into the forest south of Tacoma, a scenic region often frequented by campers and nature lovers.* They planned on finding a Christmas tree, and as Mike was a trapper, he intended to check his animal traps.

Later that same afternoon, Crystal was found at a department store near Tacoma.* She seemed stunned, silent, and her parents were nowhere to be found.* After being checked at a local hospital, Crystal was sent to a temporary foster home.* Three days later, after being recognized from a news broadcast, Crystal was identified by Diana’s mother, Louise Conrad

[...]

from:
https://unsolved.com/gallery/diana-robertson/

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
 
Mystery lingers: Discovery of trapper's skull adds clue to couple's 1985 disappearance

The mystery of what happened to a Puyallup trapper missing for more than 25 years is closer to being solved after a hiker found a partial skull in Lewis County.

But the discovery also renews questions about what happened to Michael L. Riemer Jr. and his longtime girlfriend, Diana Robertson.

Robertson’s remains were found buried in the snow along a logging road between Elbe and Mineral on Feb. 18, 1986, two months after she and Riemer failed to return home from a trapping trip.

Nothing was ever heard from Riemer.

[...]
Click to expand...

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/crime/article25296325.html#storylink=cpy
 
So, if little Crystal was with them (because she seemed to know that Mommy was in the trees) and ended up at the KMart, who took Crystal to the store after having been in the forest?

From the Olympian article linked above:

Detectives also wondered whether their disappearance could be connected to the slayings of a Tacoma-area couple found four months before, according to “Unsolved Mysteries.”

Ruth Cooper and Stephen Harkins were found dead in 1985 in a wooded area of Pierce County, about 15 miles from where Robertson’s remains were found.

Harkins was discovered first. He’d been shot in the head in his sleeping bag.

Cooper’s body was found two months later in heavy brush. She had a sock tied around her neck much like Robertson, a sheriff’s detective told “Unsolved Mysteries.”
Click to expand...

IMO, we have Mike as a possible perp, but could it have been a stranger who just didn't have the heart to harm a child?
 
After a few online searches, I found there are some who speculate there could be a connection between these cases and the murders of Edward Smith and Kimberly D LaVine. (Billy Ray Ballard confessed and was convicted of the Smith and LaVine murders)

Of note, the crime scenes were different and the victims were killed in different ways

https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=-o4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3723,6954905&hl=en


Or maybe the perp is one of the killers listed in this news report?

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Suspected-or-convicted-serial-killers-in-1107863.php


Just my opinion but it doesn't seem like the killer was Mike... I dunno. :thinking:
 
Remains Identified | Lewis County

The human remains found near Mineral on Saturday, March 26, 2011, have been positively identified as Michael Lloyd Riemer. Riemer was originally reported as a missing person in December of 1985 to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. Riemer was missing along with his significant other, Diana Robertson, also from Pierce County.
 
Non graphic pm pics at link.
Speculation, could the killer be an animal lover angry about the trapping of animals but kind to innocent children?

The Mysterious Murder of Diana Robertson - Unsolved Mysteries
mur_diana_robertson1.jpg

Mike Riemer & Diana Robertson
"Police believed that this killing was possibly connected to a double murder that had occurred four months earlier, just 15 miles from where Diana Robertson was discovered. These murders occurred in Pierce County, an area where Mike Riemer was known to set his animal traps. A man named Stephen Harkins was found dead in his sleeping bag, shot in the forehead. His companion, Ruth Cooper, was discovered two months later. She too had been shot to death. And like Diana, a tube sock had been tied around her neck. According to Detective Neiser, the tube sock on Diana had been tied with exactly the same type of knot as in the earlier murder:"
 
I read a post on this board that after the recent conviction of Mr Talbott in another Washington State double murder case wondering if LE are making any progress in these cases. Of course there are also very brutal murders. Here is some more information about them. One of the interesting aspects of the case if why the killer left a child alive yet so brutally murdered the adults:

The Tube Sock Killings — Edward Evans

Whither the Tube Sock Killer? A Tale of Murder and Mystery in the Pacific Northwest


The Unsolved Case of the 1985 Tube Sock Killings

Morbid N' Macabre
 
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jaejae said:
I read a post on this board that after the recent conviction of Mr Talbott in another Washington State double murder case wondering if LE are making any progress in these cases. Of course there are also very brutal murders. Here is some more information about them. One of the interesting aspects of the case if why the killer left a child alive yet so brutally murdered the adults:

The Tube Sock Killings — Edward Evans

Whither the Tube Sock Killer? A Tale of Murder and Mystery in the Pacific Northwest


The Unsolved Case of the 1985 Tube Sock Killings

Morbid N' Macabre
Click to expand...

These cases are from Colorado but I would just like to make the point the killer also used socks as some kind of perverse statement:

Bobbie Oberholtzer and Annette Schnee

Rocky Mountain Cold Case 1982

Breckenridge: Female hitchhikers kidnapped and murdered

CO - CO - Bobbie Oberholtzer, 29, & Annette Schnee, 21, Breckenridge, 3 July 1982
 
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Thinking about tube socks and what comes to mind, is that you can get a huge bag of them for cheap!
Maybe for a killer, they are malleable, handy, clean and disposable as tissue paper.
He could innocently carry them around and not look suspicious, he could minimize evidence by using them as" gloves" for his hands, "covers" for his shoes and as a gag on his victims.
If he was inclined to bring a tripod to photograph his victims, he could fill tube socks with rice, slip them on the tripod legs to hold it in place, or - use them in perverse ways, as did serial killer, Randy Kraft.
Randy Kraft - Wikipedia
imo, speculation.
 
I found a man who I think did committed these murders.
He was born in Tacoma Washington but came to Ohio and his name is James Worley. James Worley was convicted of abducting Siearah Joughin and murdering her. She was found wearing tube socks and an adult diaper. They noted in the article that she was wearing the same tube socks as other tube socks found in the barn as well. Not sure why there are so many tube socks? and had a gag shoved down her throat. She died from asphyxiation.
James Worley IS a serial killer I believe.
He has a list of 30 potential victims. I think this guy was born in Tacoma, moved to Ohio and went back to Tacoma and that’s where he first started murdering. The 80’s is when this man would’ve lost his mind. I believe he would have been 26 years old.
Probably thinking he won’t get caught. So he went away but couldn’t stay away so he came back.
Let me know what you guys think?



Hathor16 said:
CASE DETAILS

A tube sock was tied around her neck

On the morning of December 12, 1985, Mike Riemer, his girlfriend Diana and their daughter, Crystal, set out for a day in the mountains near Tacoma, Washington.* Diana had just turned 21 and had known her 36-year-old boyfriend since she was 17.* The couple drove up into the forest south of Tacoma, a scenic region often frequented by campers and nature lovers.* They planned on finding a Christmas tree, and as Mike was a trapper, he intended to check his animal traps.

Later that same afternoon, Crystal was found at a department store near Tacoma.* She seemed stunned, silent, and her parents were nowhere to be found.* After being checked at a local hospital, Crystal was sent to a temporary foster home.* Three days later, after being recognized from a news broadcast, Crystal was identified by Diana’s mother, Louise Conrad

[...]

from:
The Mysterious Murder of Diana Robertson - Unsolved Mysteries

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
webnerd0526 said:
I found a man who I think did committed these murders.
He was born in Tacoma Washington but came to Ohio and his name is James Worley. James Worley was convicted of abducting Siearah Joughin and murdering her. She was found wearing tube socks and an adult diaper. They noted in the article that she was wearing the same tube socks as other tube socks found in the barn as well. Not sure why there are so many tube socks? and had a gag shoved down her throat. She died from asphyxiation.
James Worley IS a serial killer I believe.
He has a list of 30 potential victims. I think this guy was born in Tacoma, moved to Ohio and went back to Tacoma and that’s where he first started murdering. The 80’s is when this man would’ve lost his mind. I believe he would have been 26 years old.
Probably thinking he won’t get caught. So he went away but couldn’t stay away so he came back.
Let me know what you guys think?
Click to expand...
Welcome to Ws webnerd0526, interesting theory, will have to check out this guy!

James Worley: Ohio murder suspect had hidden room with freezer - CNN
 
Nice thought on Worley but, he kidnapped a victim and brought her to a secret room at his place. He'd outfitted this room for torture. He brought her somewhere he had pre assembled to spend max private time with victim. Guys like this usually look for easy prey. Diana was with BF, who was kind of a bad *advertiser censored*. It is interesting/surprising to see how many tube sock murders there are! A niche fetish, I bet there are some weird as hell dark boards out there
 
Hathor16 said:
Nice thought on Worley but, he kidnapped a victim and brought her to a secret room at his place. He'd outfitted this room for torture. He brought her somewhere he had pre assembled to spend max private time with victim. Guys like this usually look for easy prey. Diana was with BF, who was kind of a bad *advertiser censored*. It is interesting/surprising to see how many tube sock murders there are! A niche fetish, I bet there are some weird as hell dark boards out there
Click to expand...
Good grief, there is such a thing as a tube sock fetish, the things i learn here! Seems to be (but not limited to) a gay thing from the little poking around i did. Apparently, smelly ones are desirable, maybe because they are associated with youthful sports?
imo, speculation.
 
Mike could have killed the first couple Ruth and Stephan in Aug when he went to set his traps. He and Diana having a complicated relationship - he could have said 'let's reconcile get a tree as a family and check my traps' (or something like that to lure her up there) kill her, then take their child Crystal to the shopping mall, where it could be presumed she is 'safe' go back up there and write the note "I love you Diana" and then kill himself.

Can't find much evidence or thoughts from police about this, seems like they botched the case. DNA? Check Mike's belongings ie: sock drawer - do they match? Penmanship could have been matched with belongings at his house, check book, bill logs, etc.
 
Speculation, could the killer be an animal lover angry about the trapping of animals but kind to innocent children?

The Mysterious Murder of Diana Robertson - Unsolved Mysteries
mur_diana_robertson1.jpg

Mike Riemer & Diana [/QUOTE] I kind of thought maybe a "territorial" killing. Back in the day people would claim and mark, areas of wilderness, specifically mushroom patches. Believe it or not, morels were such a hot commodity booby traps would be set... and guarded with guns. Seasons are wrong but people go weird and feral. Marijuana cultivation, methlabs, poaching blinds ect. On the other hand, its interesting that only the women had tube socks, as far as anyone could tell. Mikes skull was found so much later its impossible to know if he got the same treatment. I can't say the cases are related, but the tube socks give me pause. Initially I wondered about a murder suicide, but I don't believe Mike would leave the camp site, drop the girl off and return.
 
PrivateInspector007 said:
Mike could have killed the first couple Ruth and Stephan in Aug when he went to set his traps. He and Diana having a complicated relationship - he could have said 'let's reconcile get a tree as a family and check my traps' (or something like that to lure her up there) kill her, then take their child Crystal to the shopping mall, where it could be presumed she is 'safe' go back up there and write the note "I love you Diana" and then kill himself.

Can't find much evidence or thoughts from police about this, seems like they botched the case. DNA? Check Mike's belongings ie: sock drawer - do they match? Penmanship could have been matched with belongings at his house, check book, bill logs, etc.
Click to expand...
I think that's exactly what happened.

Mike was said to have a violent temper, physically abused Diana, and the two of them were separated in the months leading up to their disappearance. Interestingly, the other couple that were murdered (Stephen and Ruth), had the same age difference as Mike and Diana. If Mike did encounter them at a time when he was estranged from Diana, I wonder if they triggered some kind of jealous rage? Purely speculation on my part. Just thought it was a coincidence worth noting.

Also, Stephen and Ruth were both shot with a .22-caliber handgun (a type of firearm which Michael owned), whereas Diana was stabbed repeatedly to death. Stabbings are often linked to crimes of passion, and perhaps that's why this murder differed from the others in MO.

Along with the envelope, the sighting of Mike and Crystal without Diana, and the fact that no more murders of this type were discovered after, leads me to suspect Mike was the killer, and he took his own life.
 
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