Potential Suspects and Persons of Interest

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Richard said:
Over the years there have been several different case officers assigned to the Lyon Case. If you were to ask each one candidly who they thought was the best possible suspect, you would probably get many different answers. Some might think that one or another potential suspect or person of interest discussed here was involved, while others might have an entirely different person pegged for it.

In reality, probably NONE of those officers would offer their own theory, but would go with the official answer for the last 34 years - that no one was ever positively identified or charged.

All that aside, I really do not think that there is one such a person who could be described by police as "the suspect".

The closest that I have seen them come was in March of 1987, when officer Caswell stated in a press conference that Fred Howard Coffey, Jr. seemed to be the strongest lead in the case since it began. He stated this in various ways three separate times in the same interview.
In that interview he stated that police DID NOT think that Coffey was the Tape Recorder Man, but he did not state why they thought this.

After two weeks of intensive investigation, police announced that they could not tie Coffey to the disappearance of the Lyon girls.

Police did look into Coffey very closely and while they could not definitely link him to the girls disappearance, they also did not in any way prove that he did NOT abduct them. They simply could not state positively that he was at Wheaton Plaza or vicinity on 25 March 1975. Whether or not they ever interviewed Coffey in North Carolina is questionable. I do not think that they did.

In the minds of some Montgomery County Policemen (past and present) Coffey may be "the suspect", but that was not the impression that I got when speaking with the current case officers. They seem to be open to any and all possible solutions.

As to forensic evidence, Police have no bodies in this case, no blood, no dropped items, no bits of clothing, jewelry, etc. At least if they do, they have never stated such.

They have reports that dogs picked up the girls' scents along the route between Plaza and home, but could not state definitely that it was going or coming, or what day the scent was left. But then, we know that they walked through that area to get to the Plaza that day, so of course their scent should have been there.

There was no communication from the abductor or from the girls after they disappeared. There was an extortion attempt, but police decided that it was a hoax separate from any abduction.

They have eyewitness testimony about the Tape Recorder Man, but that same witness stated that they went their separate ways, and no eyewitness ever stated that he or she saw the girls getting into a vehicle of any kind - either voluntarily or involuntarily.

There has been some eyewitness testimony (mostly secondhand) about persons suspected of having abucted the girls. But evidently none which caused any arrests.

The naming of a suspect is a specific legal action. The reasons that I stated above are my opinion as to why police have not named one. They are not inside knowledge of police or prosecutor decisions in this case.
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Richard,do you have the article that Officer Caswell's interview was in? Thank you for always being so helpful,your thoughts and theories are appeciated.
 
Richard said:
<snip>
The closest that I have seen them come was in March of 1987, when officer Caswell stated in a press conference that Fred Howard Coffey, Jr. seemed to be the strongest lead in the case since it began. He stated this in various ways three separate times in the same interview.

In that interview he stated that police DID NOT think that Coffey was the Tape Recorder Man, but he did not state why they thought this.

After two weeks of intensive investigation, police announced that they could not tie Coffey to the disappearance of the Lyon girls.
<snip>
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Snipped by me for space. Bolded by me for reference.

I think a good reason they may have considered Coffey involved but NOT the TRM is because they knew who the TRM was.
And determined he was not involved in the disappearance.

I believe a TRM did exist. He was a man with a tape recorder.
What his intentions were, no one really knows. Was he trolling? Was he a perv that liked little girls voices? What he an innocent someone who just wasn't totally together mentally?
So this man exists, he was around PG and Montgomery County during 2/75, and 3/75.
The chances of him being involved are just as good as the Easter bunny being involved. In fact they had more contact with the bunny.

The police dropped mention of TRM after one month. 34 years have passed. There has to be a reason LE isn't mentioning TRM.
My theory is they know he wasn't involved.
 
Motherof5 said:
Richard,do you have the article that Officer Caswell's interview was in? Thank you for always being so helpful,your thoughts and theories are appeciated.
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The article is posted in its entierty on the "News Reports, Articles, and Links..." Thread, Page 2, post number 35, titled:

Fred Coffey and the Lyon Case: 1987 News Article

I mistakenly identified the Montgomery County Police officer who gave the press briefing as Officer Caswell. Caswell was an earlier Press Briefer of the case, but the actual officer who made the 1987 statements about Fred Coffey was Detective William C. Campbell. Sorry for the mistake.
 
I just want to put out there, that there are people other than the girls' family that could/would know that they were going to the mall that day. Kate's friend Melanie Ganas knew and so could anyone at her house.Any of brother Jays friends that he spoke to before heading up to the mall that day. Where ever brother Joe went that day,people could know of the girls' mall trip, as well as anyone Mary Lyon talked to at bowling.
 
I just want to put out there that cab drivers and school bus drivers would know there way around the neighborhood and both could have been in the neighborhood that day,the cab driver for work and the bus driver would be off work due to spring break.Just some thoughts.
 
Richard said:
Michael Edward PEARCH

Michael Edward Pearch, born 20 April 1945 was shot dead by Montgomery County Police in the streets of Wheaton, Maryland on 13 April 1975. His death ended a shooting spree which he began at Wheaton Plaza Shopping Center during which he murdered two people and wounded five others. Could he have been involved in the abduction of the Lyon sisters from that same mall 19 days earlier?
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~ Snipped to save space ~

Pearch may have known the girls by sight and vice versa for the girls. Some where it was stated that Pearch never really recovered from the death of his girlfriend. I wonder if Shelia or Kate reminded him, look wise, of his girlfriend. By this point it would seem like he was already a loose cannon and considering that he went in a shooting spree 19 days after the girls went missing could be an indicator that he took them.

This could also be why nothing has ever been found in relation to the girls. That the abductor died. Also I believe that Richard had stated that the farm was searched however most likely not in the same manner that it would have been if they were looking for a body.

I realize that this is very far fetched but you just never know.

M ~
 
mnegri1973 said:
~ Snipped to save space ~

Pearch may have known the girls by sight and vice versa for the girls. Some where it was stated that Pearch never really recovered from the death of his girlfriend. I wonder if Shelia or Kate reminded him, look wise, of his girlfriend. By this point it would seem like he was already a loose cannon and considering that he went in a shooting spree 19 days after the girls went missing could be an indicator that he took them.

This could also be why nothing has ever been found in relation to the girls. That the abductor died. Also I believe that Richard had stated that the farm was searched however most likely not in the same manner that it would have been if they were looking for a body.

I realize that this is very far fetched but you just never know.

M ~
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Pearch is a very interesting possibility.He had a vehicle,guns,the ability to disguise himself or someone else and a remote area to take the girls to. He seemed to target black adults on his shooting spree and didn't seem to have a record of harming kids.This doesn't mean that he had never harmed a child,only that there is no record of it. I'm not sure what made him go on this killing spree or why he targeted black people though. He lived near the girls and knew the area.Good thoughts!! I'm just trying to figure out how to tie him into this.
 
Motherof5 said:
Pearch is a very interesting possibility.He had a vehicle,guns,the ability to disguise himself or someone else and a remote area to take the girls to. He seemed to target black adults on his shooting spree and didn't seem to have a record of harming kids.This doesn't mean that he had never harmed a child,only that there is no record of it. I'm not sure what made him go on this killing spree or why he targeted black people though. He lived near the girls and knew the area.Good thoughts!! I'm just trying to figure out how to tie him into this.
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That was the one part that bothered me, is that yes, he ONLY targeted black people. Other then that I wish that LE would at least do a search of the farm that he was taking care of.

I watched a show on Discovery ID a few months ago about Barker Ranch. This was the ranch where Charles Manson holed up at for a while, anyway they took cadaver dogs to the ranch to see if they could get any hits. The dogs alerted a few times so samples were sent to find out if it was human decomp or plant decomp. From what I gathered from the show, there are some plants that put off the same smell as a decomposing body. I never saw any conclusions so not too sure what the results were.

However to get to my point, the Manson Family lived on the ranch back in the 60's, so it would be possible that IF Pearch was the abductor AND he buried the girls on the farm, the dogs MIGHT be able to still find them.

Hope my rambling made sense.

M ~
 
mnegri1973 said:
That was the one part that bothered me, is that yes, he ONLY targeted black people. Other then that I wish that LE would at least do a search of the farm that he was taking care of.

I watched a show on Discovery ID a few months ago about Barker Ranch. This was the ranch where Charles Manson holed up at for a while, anyway they took cadaver dogs to the ranch to see if they could get any hits. The dogs alerted a few times so samples were sent to find out if it was human decomp or plant decomp. From what I gathered from the show, there are some plants that put off the same smell as a decomposing body. I never saw any conclusions so not too sure what the results were.

However to get to my point, the Manson Family lived on the ranch back in the 60's, so it would be possible that IF Pearch was the abductor AND he buried the girls on the farm, the dogs MIGHT be able to still find them.

Hope my rambling made sense.

M ~
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These are very good and helpful thoughts.Thanks for posting!!!:)
 
Motherof5 said:
I have a question about where Pearch lived.It's been stated in this forum that he lived on a farm.I found these articles that state that he lived in Silver Spring with his mother. Does anyone have the articles stating that he lived at the Garrett County farm?
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The mother of Michael Pearch lived in a small brick house on Dennis Ave. in Kensington. When Pearch was discharged from the Army, he lived with her for some time and had a bedroom in that house. For at least a year prior to his Wheaton shooting spree, Pearch had been living in a farmhouse or cabin in Friendsville, MD, which is in Garrett County about as far West as you can travel in Maryland before entering West Virginia.

Articles in both the Washington Star and the Washington Post talk about the Friendsville farm, with the Star's article containing the most information about it. The Star went out of business in 1982, so to read the article, you will have to go to a library and look in their microfilm files. The date of the article would have been a day or two after the shootings took place.
 
Richard said:
The mother of Michael Pearch lived in a small brick house on Dennis Ave. in Kensington. When Pearch was discharged from the Army, he lived with her for some time and had a bedroom in that house. For at least a year prior to his Wheaton shooting spree, Pearch had been living in a farmhouse or cabin in Friendsville, MD, which is in Garrett County about as far West as you can travel in Maryland before entering West Virginia.

Articles in both the Washington Star and the Washington Post talk about the Friendsville farm, with the Star's article containing the most information about it. The Star went out of business in 1982, so to read the article, you will have to go to a library and look in their microfilm files. The date of the article would have been a day or two after the shootings took place.
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Do you know if Pearch was ever looked at or if any searches were ever done concerning the sisters?

TIA!

M ~
 
I just found this article that talks about the fight that Mileski had with his wife that came before the shootings. This is part of that article-

Washington Post, The (DC) - November 20, 1977

Suitland Man Surrenders In 2 Slayings
A 41-year-old Suitland man shot his wife and 17-year-old son to death and wounded his 7-year-old son yesterday in a quarrel over the use of a car, according to Prince George's County Police.Police spokesman Sgt. Robert Law said the man, Raymond R. Mileski Sr. of 5816 Suitland Rd. argued with his wife, Delores Marie, 37, over the use of her car to pick up their 15-year-old son, who had spent the night at a friend's house.

bolded by me.
 
That is just odd that Mileski and his wife were arguing over the use of HER car just prior to Mileski shooting his older son and wife and injuring his youngest son.
Did he want to use it, did she want to use it, did the son want to use it??
This is a bizarre argument to lead up to a double homicide.
 
I think you guys have recently brought up some really interesting ideas with the theory of a possible male and female crime duo. I started thinking about this a little more this weekend because MSNBC Investigates re-aired the special about Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo. There was another "duo" of sorts that was believed to be kidnapping young girls in California in the 1980s. And, of course, there was that nutcase combo that kidnapped Elizabeth Smart.

Anyway, I'm not naming all these names as having any specific connection to the Lyon sisters. I just started mentally listing all the different examples of kidnapping duos and wanted to share that I also believe this scenario could be possible in the Lyon sisters' disappearance. I mean, you just never know. It would certainly make a lot of sense, considering the fact that it would have made it easier to kidnap two people at the same time.
 
LillyRush said:
I think you guys have recently brought up some really interesting ideas with the theory of a possible male and female crime duo. I started thinking about this a little more this weekend because MSNBC Investigates re-aired the special about Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo. There was another "duo" of sorts that was believed to be kidnapping young girls in California in the 1980s. And, of course, there was that nutcase combo that kidnapped Elizabeth Smart.

Anyway, I'm not naming all these names as having any specific connection to the Lyon sisters. I just started mentally listing all the different examples of kidnapping duos and wanted to share that I also believe this scenario could be possible in the Lyon sisters' disappearance. I mean, you just never know. It would certainly make a lot of sense, considering the fact that it would have made it easier to kidnap two people at the same time.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this post. I didn't realize there were so many other male/female "teams" out there. I agree that it would be easier and I think the girls would be more trusting of a woman. So they'd be easier to lure with a woman.
 
mnegri1973 said:
Do you know if Pearch was ever looked at or if any searches were ever done concerning the sisters?

TIA!

M ~
Click to expand...

No and Yes.

Pearch was never considered as a suspect in the disappearance of the Lyon sisters by Montgomery County Police, and the search of the two homes - one in Kensington and one in Friendsville - were rather cursory and focussed only on the shootings which took place in April 1975.

About ten years ago, I wrote up a point paper suggesting that Pearch MIGHT have been involved in the girls' disappearance and forwarded it to the Chief of Police (Montgomery County). He forwarded it to the case officers in charge of the Lyon investigation, and they spoke with me about it over the phone. So, yes, in their file is a paper suggesting Pearch as a possible suspect, but to my knowledge no specific search for the girls was ever conducted at either of Pearch's residences.
 
Motherof5 said:
I just found this article that talks about the fight that Mileski had with his wife that came before the shootings. ...Raymond R. Mileski Sr. of 5816 Suitland Rd. argued with his wife, Delores Marie, 37, over the use of her car to pick up their 15-year-old son, who had spent the night at a friend's house....
Click to expand...

It was also reported that Mileski and his wife had argued about a "boarder" who resided at their home. And Mileski had evidently argued with his oldest son about things. It was an argument with the boy which escalated into a fight between the two.

Mileski stated that the boy had thrown something at him or attacked him with a large item, and that he shot him in self defense. A rather lame defense, since he next turned the gun on his wife and youngest son when they rushed down the stairs to see what was going on.

Mileski was convicted of 2nd degree murder for killing his son, and of 1st degree murder for murdering his wife.

Mileski used the car in question to transport his wounded son (youngest) to Andrews AFB hospital, then drove to where his 15 year old son was to tell him what had happened and for him to remain at his friend's house. He next turned himself into police.

Mileski also owned a work van which he used in his cabinet business.
 
Richard said:
It was also reported that Mileski and his wife had argued about a "boarder" who resided at their home. And Mileski had evidently argued with his oldest son about things. It was an argument with the boy which escalated into a fight between the two.

Mileski stated that the boy had thrown something at him or attacked him with a large item, and that he shot him in self defense. A rather lame defense, since he next turned the gun on his wife and youngest son when they rushed down the stairs to see what was going on.

Mileski was convicted of 2nd degree murder for killing his son, and of 1st degree murder for murdering his wife.

Mileski used the car in question to transport his wounded son (youngest) to Andrews AFB hospital, then drove to where his 15 year old son was to tell him what had happened and for him to remain at his friend's house. He next turned himself into police.

Mileski also owned a work van which he used in his cabinet business.
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Richard,it's so nice to have you back!!:) Is it possible for you to post the articles that you have? I think it would really help us to be able to see what you have unearthed.
 
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