UT UT/WY/NV/ID - The Great Basin Murders, 1983-1997

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anthrobones

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Has anyone else ever heard of this?

APBNews.com: The Great Basin Murders

Winner, Creative Use of the Medium, Online Journalism Awards 2000. Coverage of the unsolved murders of nine women whose bodies were found scattered across the Great Basin desert region of Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. "ABPNews.com made excellent use of the whole palette of media types to cast light on a series of murders, little known elsewhere. Audio, video, scanned police reports, maps and photos of the victims make the stories come alive in a way that print publications couldn't do," the judges said.
 
Great Basin Murders
apbnews.com Staff
At least nine dead. Last body found: Aug. 15, 1997

THE HOMICIDES

Authorities in Utah, Wyoming, Nevada and Idaho are investigating the deaths of at least nine women as serial crimes, according to Lt. Mike King of the Utah attorney general's office. King and Provo Police Department Chief Greg Cooper, a former FBI profiling expert, are co-coordinators of Utah Criminal Tracking Analysis Project (UTAP), a project that brings together separate agencies investigating these cases.

The majority of the women were killed within the last 10 years, however one case dates to 1983. Investigators believe there are at least two killers responsible.

Some investigators involved believed that the same person was responsible for killing three of the victims between 1990 and 1993. These slayings occurred in Millard and Juab counties in Utah, and in Elko, Nev. There was also a killing in St. George, Utah, in 1991 that was thought to also be linked to this sub-cluster. However, in March 1999 police arrested the husband of the Juab County victim and charged him with her murder. It's unknown how this links to the other cases, according to authorities.

VICTIMS At least four of the victims have still not been identified. All of the victims were women. Some were hitchhikers, prostitutes or women who frequented truck stops. However, at least one victim was described by police as "an all-American girl."
......
More at link:

http://www.iois.net/media.htm#Great%20Basin%20Murders
 
A DESOLATE DUMPING GROUND FOR KILLERS Unknown Victims, Unsolved Murders Plague Great Basin
Sept. 7, 1999

NEW YORK (APBnews.com) -- The Great Basin, a vast, arid bowl sprawling between the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada, gets its name from an odd geographical trait: Its few rivers find no outlet to the sea. Instead, they dribble into the basin's low spots and evaporate.

Water isn't the only thing that collects in the empty expanses of the Great Basin. Since 1983, killers have found the region's lonely highway interchanges the perfect dumping grounds for corpses.

In the Great Basin states of Wyoming, Nevada, Utah and Idaho, authorities are investigating the deaths of nine women whose bodies turned up near highways that cross the empty scrub land.

Vestiges of deadly violence

The women were strangled, shot, stabbed. Many were stripped nude, aggressively sexually abused and assaulted beyond what would be necessary to kill them.

Their bodies were found on hilltops, in snowbanks, rivers or desolate expanses of desert. Some were purposefully posed on their backs, arms spread in the shape of a cross, decomposing faces scanning the sky for weeks or months until found by a deer hunter or trucker.

Years after the crimes, identities of three of the slain women are still unknown.

.....
More at link:
http://www.iois.net/media.htm#A%20DESOLATE%20DUMPING%20GROUND%20FOR%20KILLERS
 
The following are female victims in Elko County that might be victims of this murderer. The murderer is likely Dale Wayne Eaton. Note that a victim was found as early as 1972 matching the victim profile of the Great Basin Murder victims (which, per Dr.Strangelove who got this ball rollings, would make Eaton 26 when the 72 murder ocurred):

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...em-125UFNV-25-27-blonde-may-be-from-WY-Nov-93

^^^^ possibly from Wyoming. Eaton resided in Wyoming.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...m-UP8358-20-25-posed-in-cross-position-Jan-72

victim found in july 1972 also in a cross position.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...urned-in-desert-off-Hwy-93-no-adrenals-Jul-74

victim found in july 1974 murdered and then burned in Elko County. Maybe she is also related?
 
In all of the articles I have seen about the Great Basin Murders it will highlight a particular case or two and then say that they are linked to 7 or 8 other murders with the total typically being 9. That still leaves me still questioning if there is a comprehensive list. I have not found one but if someone has I would really appreciate a link to it. I have attempted to start my own here and would appreciate any input/corrections anyone could give:

1) Star Valley Jane Doe, Elko County, NV 1972 (not typically included but as DaisyChains and Drstrangelove have demonstrated it is a related case) http://http://www.websleuths.com/fo...ty-NV-Body-posed-in-cross-position&styleid=21
2.) Arroyo Grande Jane Doe, Henderson, NV 1980 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...4-25-Oct-80-*GRAPHIC*&highlight=arroyo+grande
3.) Lisa Marie Kimmel, CO, MT, WY 1988
4.) Barbara Kaye Williams 1991, Salt Lake City, UT (sometimes included but I'm unsure why) http://www.deseretnews.com/article/684134/Florida-man-charged-in-91-slaying.html?pg=all
5.) Woman Found Dead, St. George, UT 1991 (I confirmed with NamUs that she was identified but I haven't found a name) http://www.deseretnews.com/article/...-SLAYING-OF-WOMAN-FOUND-ON-ISOLATED-ROAD.html
6.) Fox Park Jane Doe, Sheridan County, WY 1992 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...16-21-dumped-along-I-90-Apr-92&highlight=8894
7.) Bittercreek Betty, Sweetwater County, WY 1992 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ose-tattoo-Mar-92&highlight=bittercreek+betty
8.) Shafter Jane Doe, Elko County, NV 1993 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...7-blonde-may-be-from-WY-Nov-93&highlight=elko
9.) Amy Wroe Bechtel, Lander, WY 1997 http://trib.com/news/state-and-regi...cle_5048323d-d60c-5e4f-ba60-e3536f0701b1.html
10.) Tonya Teske, Ucon, ID, 1997 http://eastidahocoldcasesinc.com/attention-hunters-and-outdoorsman/tonya-k-teske/
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.co...cle_e4666bfd-2a81-5fda-8636-a77bbf795f8b.html

So, did I find all of them here but just need to exclude Barbara Kaye Williams but then I'm missing one because Star Valley Jane Doe isn't typically included? Who was the woman found in St. George, UT in 1991?
 
In sleuthing to develop this list I found some other interesting info ...at one point, Utah launched a website, UTAP, to try to help track and solve these sort of cases. I found an article containing the actual link but it didn't work. Another potentially great resource that didn't last :(
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/break-in-great-basin-murders-
http://universe.byu.edu/2000/07/18/utah-launches-new-web-site-to-help-catch-criminals/

In Wyoming there is apparently no legislation requiring coroners to enter UID's into NamUs or other databases. I suspect this is actually fairly common because I read an article about NY passing legislation to require it in 2016 and it sounded like they were progressive in that. This 2012 article said that there are 11 total confirmed UID cases found from making contact with 21 of the 23 coroner's offices however only 5 cases are in NamUs. Checking NamUs today there are 8 for WY. Were 3 solved in the last 5 years? If not, what are these other WY cases?
http://trib.com/news/local/casper/j...cle_5c344f71-66d7-5270-ae0a-ef2a350dd56d.html
 
I'm wondering if this case could be connected too: Warning *GRAPHIC* postmortem photos https://www.identifyus.org/en/cases/159

Her circumstances and demographics seem very similar to Arroyo Grande Jane Doe (both very young and found only a year apart in Clark County) -5'6" 17-25 yrs found in Las Vegas in 1979.
 
Updated list (thanks to help from wordsick)
This list is of all possibly related cases, including any not typically in this list where the victim was found naked and/or dumped in a remote area near highway.

1.) Johanna Leatherbury, Salt Lake County, UT 1971 http://www.good4utah.com/news/catch...ases-who-killed-johanna-leatherbury/217586047
2.) Star Valley Jane Doe, Elko County, NV 1972 http://http://www.websleuths.com/for...ion&styleid=21
3.) Valaine Briggs, Salt Lake County, UT 1977 http://www.good4utah.com/news/catch-a-criminal-unsolved-cases-/who-killed-valaine-briggs/217597459
4.) Marilee Lee Bruszer, Juab County, UT 1978 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?112507-CA-Marilee-Bruszer-33-Long-Beach-22-Aug-1978
5.) Unidentified Woman Found, Las Vegas, NV 1979 Warning *GRAPHIC* https://www.identifyus.org/en/cases/159
6.) Arroyo Grande Jane Doe, Henderson, NV 1980 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sho...=arroyo+grande
7.) Julie March, Salt Lake County, UT 1982 http://saltlakeupd.businesscatalyst.com/cold-cases/march-julie-ann
8.) Carrie Wayne, Salt Lake County, UT 1983 http://saltlakeupd.businesscatalyst.com/cold-cases/wayne-carrie http://www.deseretnews.com/article/76228/GETTING-AWAY-WITH-MURDER.html
9.) Lisa Marie Kimmell, CO, MT, WY 1988 Dale Wayne Eaton charged 2002, sentenced 2004 http://www.thedenverchannel.com/new...n-in-murder-of-denver-teen-lisa-marie-kimmell
10.) Vikki Lynn Perkins, Emery County, UT 1989 http://www.deseretnews.com/article/102805/SERIAL-KILLER-MAY-HAVE-SLAIN-HITCHHIKER.html?pg=all
11.) Felicia Pappas, Salt Lake County, UT 1989 Thomas Evan Noffsinger pleaded guilty in 2014
 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...aped-amp-murdered-Salt-Lake-City-6-April-1989 http://www.deseretnews.com/article/...-murder-then-confesses-to-a-third.html?pg=all
12.) Patricia Candace Walsh, Millard County, UT 1990 Robert Ben Rhoades pleaded guilty in 2012
 http://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-trucker-traveling-torture-chamber-admits-murders/story?id=16037743
13.) Ermelinda Garza, Saint George, UT 1991 http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1...ATED-ROAD.html https://web-beta.archive.org/web/20030428174424/http://www.utap.org:80/garza.htm
14.) Fox Park Jane Doe, Sheridan County, WY 1992 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sho...highlight=8894
15.) Bittercreek Betty, Sweetwater County, WY 1992 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sho...tercreek+betty
16.) Shafter Jane Doe, Elko County, NV 1993 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sho...highlight=elko
17.) Amy Wroe Bechtel, Lander, WY 1997 http://trib.com/news/state-and-regio...36f0701b1.html
18.) Tonya Teske, Ucon, ID, 1997 http://eastidahocoldcasesinc.com/att...tonya-k-teske/
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com...bbf795f8b.html
19.) Nikole Bakoles, Salt Lake County, UT 2000 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...-Sally-17-23-Oct-00-Nikole-Bakoles&styleid=21
 
I made a working map of the Great Basin Murders. I will continue to refine it. The points are color coded as a timeline 70's yellow, 80's orange, 90's red, 00's purple...
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1bIjft7wJ_pBWmiQSJbiJDY1YAPM&usp=sharing
(especially with the older cases, the map points are just based on the best info I could find and not GPS accurate).

I can see a pattern: the 70's cases are concentrated in the Salt Lake area, 80's extending from Wyoming to Las Vegas, 90's continuing the pattern plus scattering north to include Idaho and Montana.

None of the identified victims were from the Eastern US; they were all either from the Great Basin area or the West Coast. Maybe this can help to ID some of the UID's.
 
I'm wondering if the Chong Suk Allen case could also be related to some of these others? Her ex, Seong Cheol "James" Chung was charged but acquitted. If he was truly innocent she could also be a victim of one of these SKs who was active in the Great Basin. Although this woman was later identified as Allen, this earlier news article before the positive ID has more info about how her body was found which may be more helpful in determining if the case is related.

Body Found Outside Wendover
Curreri, Frank. The Salt Lake Tribune; Salt Lake City, Utah [Salt Lake City, Utah]28 Feb 2002: D2.

  • When Copperton store owner Chong Suk Allen vanished in December, police suspected foul play.
    Click to expand...
Now authorities must determine whether a body found Sunday off Interstate 80 near Wendover is Allen's.
Two rabbit hunters discovered a decaying corpse, still clothed, amid tall sagebrush near highway exit 49 in Tooele County.
An autopsy revealed that the dark-haired, still unidentified woman had been murdered, probably within the past few months, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Peggy Faulkner.
But investigators are not saying how the woman died. "The only people that know," Faulkner said, "are us and the bad guy."
Homicide detectives on the case will use dental records and fingerprints to identify the body, Faulkner said.
If those searches yield no matches, Faulkner said, then authorities will turn to DNA testing for answers.
Allen, 43, was last seen leaving her Copperton-based convenience store, Country Market, on Dec. 7.
Allen, who had black hair and lived alone in Copperton, was divorced and a mother of two, Faulkner said. Her ex-husband and children live out-of-state.
Police found Allen's car on Dec. 20 in Magna, but it provided no clues about her disappearance, Faulkner said.
Authorities did not find anything suspicious at her home, she said.
The homicide is being handled primarily by Salt Lake County sheriff's deputies, not police in Tooele County, suggesting investigators suspect the victim is from Salt Lake County.
Click to expand...

 
WesternArtist said:
In all of the articles I have seen about the Great Basin Murders it will highlight a particular case or two and then say that they are linked to 7 or 8 other murders with the total typically being 9. That still leaves me still questioning if there is a comprehensive list. I have not found one but if someone has I would really appreciate a link to it. I have attempted to start my own here and would appreciate any input/corrections anyone could give:

So, did I find all of them here but just need to exclude Barbara Kaye Williams but then I'm missing one because Star Valley Jane Doe isn't typically included? Who was the woman found in St. George, UT in 1991?
Click to expand...
The 9 cases originally linked were:

- Janelle Johnson WY 1983
- Lisa Marie Kimmel WY 1988
- Vikki Lynn Perkins UT 1989
- Barbara Kay Williams (previously Jane Doe) UT 1991
- Patricia Candice Walsh (previously Jane Doe) UT 1990
- Ermelinda Garza UT 1991
- Bitter Creek Betty WY 1992
- Shafter Jane Doe NV 1993
- Tonya Teske ID 1997

The cases were collated in a series of articles on the long since defunct apbnews website that anthrobones cited in the initial posts of the thread.

An archived version (sadly with none of the media available) can be found at:

Wayback Machine

There are potentially a few other cases worthy of consideration, based on location and offender behaviours:

- Stella Ellen McClean WY 1978:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjABegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw09JVZA6O95yXb5lPrbku4A
- Naomi Lee Kidder WY 1982:
Naomi Kidder
- Belinda Mae Grantham WY 1981:
Murderous Musings: A Family Murder
- Denise Lynn Russell MT 1997:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...Vaw1n_vHj4uL0hvUKpTzi4yDH&cshid=1555365314875

Similar to UTAP, there appears to be an initiative in Nevada looking at similar cases, several of which could also be potentially linked:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjAAegQIBxAC&usg=AOvVaw0uJf-KFzi5qCsBMvxWrbjI
 
WesternArtist said:
Updated list (thanks to help from wordsick)
This list is of all possibly related cases, including any not typically in this list where the victim was found naked and/or dumped in a remote area near highway.

1.) Johanna Leatherbury, Salt Lake County, UT 1971 http://www.good4utah.com/news/catch...ases-who-killed-johanna-leatherbury/217586047
2.) Star Valley Jane Doe, Elko County, NV 1972 http://http://www.websleuths.com/for...ion&styleid=21
3.) Valaine Briggs, Salt Lake County, UT 1977 http://www.good4utah.com/news/catch-a-criminal-unsolved-cases-/who-killed-valaine-briggs/217597459
4.) Marilee Lee Bruszer, Juab County, UT 1978 CA - CA - Marilee Bruszer, 33, Long Beach, 22 Aug 1978
5.) Unidentified Woman Found, Las Vegas, NV 1979 Warning *GRAPHIC* The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
6.) Arroyo Grande Jane Doe, Henderson, NV 1980 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sho...=arroyo+grande
7.) Julie March, Salt Lake County, UT 1982 http://saltlakeupd.businesscatalyst.com/cold-cases/march-julie-ann
8.) Carrie Wayne, Salt Lake County, UT 1983 http://saltlakeupd.businesscatalyst.com/cold-cases/wayne-carrie GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER
9.) Lisa Marie Kimmell, CO, MT, WY 1988 Dale Wayne Eaton charged 2002, sentenced 2004 http://www.thedenverchannel.com/new...n-in-murder-of-denver-teen-lisa-marie-kimmell
10.) Vikki Lynn Perkins, Emery County, UT 1989 SERIAL KILLER MAY HAVE SLAIN HITCHHIKER
11.) Felicia Pappas, Salt Lake County, UT 1989 Thomas Evan Noffsinger pleaded guilty in 2014
GUILTY - UT - Felicia 'Lisa' Pappas, 17, raped & murdered, Salt Lake City, 6 April 1989 Utah killer pleads guilty to second murder, then confesses to a third
12.) Patricia Candace Walsh, Millard County, UT 1990 Robert Ben Rhoades pleaded guilty in 2012
Trucker With Traveling Torture Chamber Admits to More Murders
13.) Ermelinda Garza, Saint George, UT 1991 http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1...ATED-ROAD.html https://web-beta.archive.org/web/20030428174424/http://www.utap.org:80/garza.htm
14.) Fox Park Jane Doe, Sheridan County, WY 1992 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sho...highlight=8894
15.) Bittercreek Betty, Sweetwater County, WY 1992 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sho...tercreek+betty
16.) Shafter Jane Doe, Elko County, NV 1993 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sho...highlight=elko
17.) Amy Wroe Bechtel, Lander, WY 1997 http://trib.com/news/state-and-regio...36f0701b1.html
18.) Tonya Teske, Ucon, ID, 1997 http://eastidahocoldcasesinc.com/att...tonya-k-teske/
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com...bbf795f8b.html
19.) Nikole Bakoles, Salt Lake County, UT 2000 Identified! - UT - Salt Lake Co., WhtFem 200UFUT 'Saltair Sally', 17-23, Oct'00 - Nikole Bakoles
Click to expand...

I'm new to this website and still learning how to find information and the get back to it. I found another list posted with only nine names but I didn't notice the date it was posted. I had been attempting to match a couple Jane Does that turned out to be on that list when I found the list and then researched the Great Basin Murders. I found a potential match for Sweetwater WY Jane Doe estimated date of death between October 1991 to March 1 1992 when her body was found (Doe Network 213UFWY) and I'm wondering how to find out if the match has already been ruled out. Dawn Rene Silvernail (Doe Network 2998DFMI was last heard from in November 1991 but her disappearance wasn't reported until 13 years later. Her discription matches she even has a scar on her abdomen. Has this match been investigated?
 
Thank you for this link. It helps a lot. I had been trying to find missing persons to match a couple unidentified bodies and had no idea they were possibly related until I stubbled into a couple posts about the Great Basin Murders. At this time I've made a list more than 19 potential related victims from several other posts. I don't think Wayne Eaton committed all the murders though, but I'm just beginning my research. The main reason is that two of the Does in the list (Doe Network 390UFWY and 213UFWY) are definitely related based on DNA evidence. Since Eaton's DNA is available I would think the DNA from these cases would have already been compared to his and he'd have been charged...
 
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