MI MI - Grand Rapids, Serial Killer, 1994-1996

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RuinRoad

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Hi all, long time lurker, first time thread poster. I have recently begun a YouTube documentary series focused on unsolved serial murders. Doing research I stumbled upon the Matilda thread

She is suspected to be victim 2 in a series of prostitute murders in the mid-90s which is mentioned in the thread but I figured I would give the crimes their own and see if anyone more experienced can help with some of the scarce information on these.

PART 1 (Early 90s)

Three prostitutes were murdered in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area between 1990-1991.​
  1. Denise Ruth Griffin - August 2 1990
    1. Stabbed to death and thrown from a vehicle near Rockford (just north of GR)
  2. Linda Fay Bourst - November 1990
    1. Nude and beaten body found floating near a boating ramp in Plainfield Twp (just north of GR)
  3. Kerry Mansfield - 1991
    1. She was stabbed 55 times in Trinity United Methodist parking lot.
    2. Richard Jensen Jr was convicted of this murder as well as attempted abductions of several other prostitutes.
    3. He was picked out of a lineup as a suspect for one of the previous murders but not convicted.
  4. One prostitute was abducted and managed to escape from her captors vehicle as it sped north on US 131 (same highway Griffin was dumped on)

PART 2 (The murders)
All but victim 2 were known prostitutes and most were addicted to crack or cocaine. Most worked Division Ave (aka GR's red light district)​
  1. Lesa Otberg, 25 - March 1994
    1. Discovered in wooded area near Muskegon about 3 months after last seen.
  2. 'Matilda' Jane Doe, 34-45 - November 6 1994
    1. Skeleton found in a thicket near Marne.
    2. MI - MI - Coopersville, "Matilda", Wht/Hisp/NativFem 35-45, UP9900, blue high-heels, knee surgery, Nov'94 (websleuths.com)
  3. Pamela Lynn Verile, 33 - June 1 1995
    1. Found beaten to death in a thicket near Walker.
  4. Gale Annette Cook, 37 - October 4 1995
    1. She had escaped from a prison work-release program sometime a few months previously
    2. Found strangled in a creek at end of a dirt road NE of GR
  5. Dawn Marie Shaver, 26 - August 9 1995
    1. Found 'In Grand Rapids'
    2. No C.O.D. determined
  6. Michelle Ann Becker, 36 - ????
    1. Unknown where found
  7. Sonyia Marie Campos, 27 - September 21 1996
    1. Found somewhere in Walker.
    2. No C.O.D. determined
  8. Dawn Sharlene Phillips, ?? - October 1 1996
    1. No C.O.D. determined
  9. Sharon Kay Hammack, 30 - October 3 1996
    1. Found in ditch in Caledonia Twp wearing only a necklace and bra - wrapped in a blanket.
    2. By now LE formed a 14 member task force on the killings, but were reticent to call it work of a serial killer.
  10. Cheryl Lynn Mason, 39 - October 13(?) 1996
    1. Reported missing on Oct 22. Found shortly after in a field behind a south Grand Rapids factory.
  11. Victoria Moore, 29 - October 27 1996
    1. Went missing in September shortly after testifying in an unrelated murder trial.
    2. A squirrel hunter found her remains near a rural road 20 miles north of GR
    3. Rose Haven Ministries, a nonprofit dedicated to helping prostitutes leave that life stated that of the 11 women killed, 5 of them had been in contact with Rose Haven in some capacity. Director Brenda Dalecke said it had to be the work of one person.
This is the end of the official victims. It is important to note all of these women were white. However, I found the following African-American women who, while not linked, were either murdered or disappeared under similar circumstances during that time.

12. [MISSING] Robin Scott, 37 - January 19 1995
  1. MI - MI - Robin Sue Scott, 37, Grand Rapids, Jan 18, 1995 (websleuths.com)
13. [MISSING] Fonda Lockridge, 26 - June 15 1995
  1. MI - Fonda Lockridge, 26 misisng from Grand Rapids, Michigan 1995 (websleuths.com)
14. [MISSING] Kathleen Dennis, 28 - July 10 1995
  1. MI - Kathleen Dennis, 28 missing from Grand Rapids, MI 1995 (websleuths.com)
15. Sherry Jeanne Stewart-Brown, ?? - 1996
  1. Disappeared sometime in 1996
  2. In 1998, a motorist noticed dogs playing with bones on Butterworth Dr SW near Maynard Ave in Walker. Realizing they were human, she followed the dogs up a hill to find a skull.
  3. LE first believed it to be a male, but DNA testing by the FBI proved it was Stewart-Brown in 2002.
  4. Due to decay, C.O.D. not determined.
16. Jane Doe, 20-30, ???? (possibly 1996)
  1. A park worker found skeleton of an african-american female in Ada Roadside Park on July 31 1997
  2. Ada Bones Jane Doe 1997 - DNA Doe Project Cases
17. [MISSING] Yvonne Renee Scott, 41 - Jan 3 2004
  1. Evening of Jan 3 Scott met with officers to report she was robbed on 2900 block of Clyde Park Ave SE. After giving report she was last seen walking east toward 28th street.
  2. Yvonne Renee Scott – The Charley Project
  3. The Scott case had similarities to the earlier murders and it is noted LE reopened the Sharon Hammack case.
PART 3 - SUSPECTS

There are a number of men who were listed in papers as coming under suspicion. Basically anyone who committed any violence against a prostitute during that time was looked at and seemingly ruled out. For completeness, I will include them at the end.
  1. Comstock Man
    1. With the disappearance of Yvonne Scott, detectives traveled to New York to interview a prostitute who made a report during the crime scene.
    2. An unnamed man from Comstock picked her up off Division and took her to a gravel pit off 10mile Rd NW where things went wrong. He locked her in the car with him and said "You'll never see your family again". She managed to escape.
    3. Two weeks later he tried to abduct her on Division when police nabbed him.
    4. In 2004 LE obtained DNA from the man. They refused to announce if it was a match in the Hammack case, simply saying "we've taken the investigation as far as we can."
  2. Gregory Kelly, 44
    1. Was known as being a violent pimp
    2. Convicted in 2004 for transporting prostitutes from GR to larger cities.
  3. Jimal Lacey
    1. Was a original suspect in 3 of the murders
    2. Serving life sentence for later attempted strangulation of two prostitutes.

Unlikely
  1. Jefferey Willis
    1. Convicted murderer who lived in Muskegon. Would have been in his 20s during the crimes.
    2. The crimes he was convicted of were young women but not prostitutes.
  2. James Allen Kinney
    1. Vietnam vet and drifter who checked himself into GR VA Clinic in 1997
    2. Later convicted of murdering 20yo Keri Sherlock in Virginia who was raped and strangled. He was suspected in many other murders in several states but only convicted on Kinney
    3. One such case was Billie Jo Watson, 22 - Nov 30 1997
    4. The nurses aid was raped and strangled in a GR park. A car found nearby had Kinney's fingerprints and paper from the VA clinic.
    5. This murder was later solved - Garron Leon Mason, convicted rapist.
  3. Edward Joseph Hill
    1. In 2000s arrested for stealing $43 from a prostitute and commiting 'violence against her'
  4. Troy Blake
    1. Charged with attempted murder of prostitue Mary Louise Parker on October 16 2008.
    2. Beat her and tried strangling her in a park on Burton St SE
  5. Sid Terell Jones
    1. Convicted in murder of Janeane Lusk, a prostitute, in 2008.

​
 
I remember when they found #11. At least I think it was #11. It was in october and in 1996 for sure. My friend and I were out driving around country roads at night and pulled over to pee. The next day it was on the news that they found a body in the very same area we pulled over! We were so freaked out that she could have been there or possibly dumped shortly after. I will never forget that. I always wondered if she had a name, i dont ever remember the local news reporting on it after finding her.

<modsnip>
 
Last edited by a moderator:
*UPDATE*
Matilda has been identified as Shelly Rae Christian of Minneapolis.

DNA linked her to a couple born in the 1840s in Iowa and investigators were able to trace the lineage up to Shelly. Like the other victims, she was a known prostitute who would visit the GR area to conduct her business.

Source: Matilda Ottawa Co Jane Doe 1994 - DNA Doe Project Cases
 
Kerry Mansfield - 1991--- I was just googling to find info on where Jensen is. . . and just wanted to share that I was one of the witnesses that witnessed part of the window from my bedroom window. He was only convicted for Kerry Mansfield- although he was suspected of several other murders. Hate that it still pops in my head over 30 years later.
 
Hi, I stumbled across this thread while looking for cold cases in Michigan. My maternal grandfather was notorious for paying for prostitutes and when he passed in 1997, his wife found a list of names in a cigar box. I was told she turned it into the police and it was a list of murdered prostitutes. He didn’t live in Grand Rapids but the timeline makes sense. I don’t know how to get more information on this or if I can help at all!
 
leoismydawg7789 said:
Hi, I stumbled across this thread while looking for cold cases in Michigan. My maternal grandfather was notorious for paying for prostitutes and when he passed in 1997, his wife found a list of names in a cigar box. I was told she turned it into the police and it was a list of murdered prostitutes. He didn’t live in Grand Rapids but the timeline makes sense. I don’t know how to get more information on this or if I can help at all!
Click to expand...
Holy cow. Is his wife still alive? If so, perhaps you could get more information from her. Which police department did she give the list to?
 
Oakie said:
Holy cow. Is his wife still alive? If so, perhaps you could get more information from her. Which police department did she give the list to?
Click to expand...
Seconded. Would be very interesting to know any further details if you can uncover them! Did he live anywhere at all close to Michigan? If not, I wonder if the list could be tied to another area.
 
Recently convicted serial killer Dennis Bowman could be considered as a possible suspect for some of these cases.

He murdered Kathleen O'Brien Doyle in Virginia Beach, VA in 1980, and murdered his own adopted daughter, Aundria Bowman in Holland, MI in 1989.
 
I just seen they got the guy that killed one of those girls
www.woodtv.com

‘We got him’: FL trucker arrested in 1996 rape, murder of GR-area woman

It’s been nearly 26 years since a delivery driver came upon a woman’s body rolled up in a blanket in southern Kent County. Sharon Hammack, 29, had been raped, stabbed, hogtied and dumpe…
www.woodtv.com
my old friends sister was Kerry Mansfield I think they got that guy but he has since been released after a long prison sentence , my best friends wife was Janeane Lusk, she was killed by a trik that refused to pay her for sex, they got him too and Sonia Campos was a friend of ours ,I hope that they find out who murdered her , these poor families need justice
 
Notsayin said:
Kerry Mansfield - 1991--- I was just googling to find info on where Jensen is. . . and just wanted to share that I was one of the witnesses that witnessed part of the window from my bedroom window. He was only convicted for Kerry Mansfield- although he was suspected of several other murders. Hate that it still pops in my head over 30 years later.
Click to expand...
www.wzzm13.com

Grand Rapids teacher who killed in ‘violent fit of rage’ wins release from prison

Richard Jensen Jr., who is 72 and reportedly suffering from dementia, was granted parole in a 1991 murder.
www.wzzm13.com www.wzzm13.com
 
Garry Artman, 64, listens to testimony in the 1996 killing of Sharon Kay Hammack, 30. He is accused of killing her and dumping her bound body, wrapped in a blanket, near 76th Street SE and Kraft Avenue near Grand Rapids. (John Agar | MLive)
  • After killing goes unsolved 26 years, victim’s ‘voice is being heard,’ judge says
  • ''GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A judge on Friday ordered a Florida truck driver to stand trial in the 1996 killing of Sharon Kay Hammack, 30, whose killing went unsolved until advances in DNA science led to a suspect.


    Genetic genealogists used DNA samples of semen found on the victim to narrow down potential suspects to Garry Dean Artman, 64, and his three brothers.


    Garry Artman lived in Grand Rapids when Hammack, who worked as a prostitute, was found bound and wrapped in a blanket Oct. 3, 1996, near 76th Street and Kraft Avenue.''
 
It is quite possible that some of these violent murders are connected to a single killer. However, it is also likely that multiple killers were involved in these crimes.

James Allen Kinney should indeed be considered as a potential suspect in some of these murders. Although he was only convicted of one murder and is serving a life sentence in Washington state, he very likely did kill others.

Kinney was born in Oklahoma but was adopted by a Michigan couple and raised near Lansing, Michigan. He joined the Army during the Vietnam War, but was discharged due to mental issues. He was a long time patient in VA hospitals, and visited many of them in his travels around the country. He was known to have been in Michigan in November 1997.

Because of his habitual visitation of VA hospitals, cold case investigators might find records of his presence at the VA Hospital in Ann Arbor, information which could be compared to times of unsolved murders.


James Allen Kinney
Serial Killer and Rapist
Date of Birth: 11 September 1949
Inmate 835603 Washington State DOC

LINK:

www.websleuths.com

WA/MI/IA/VA - James Allen Kinney, 1997-1998 murders

James Allen Kinney Inmate Number 835603 Washington State DOC Male White Age: 70 Ethnicity Unknown Date of Birth Sep 11, 1949 Known Aliases: JEROME ROMANO PORROVECCHIO, JAMES A KINNEY, JULIUS GOLDMAN Kinney was discharged from the US Army for mental problems and traveled all over the US visiting...
www.websleuths.com www.websleuths.com
 
Last edited:
RuinRoad said:
Hi all, long time lurker, first time thread poster. I have recently begun a YouTube documentary series focused on unsolved serial murders. Doing research I stumbled upon the Matilda thread

She is suspected to be victim 2 in a series of prostitute murders in the mid-90s which is mentioned in the thread but I figured I would give the crimes their own and see if anyone more experienced can help with some of the scarce information on these.

PART 1 (Early 90s)

Three prostitutes were murdered in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area between 1990-1991.​
  1. Denise Ruth Griffin - August 2 1990
    1. Stabbed to death and thrown from a vehicle near Rockford (just north of GR)
  2. Linda Fay Bourst - November 1990
    1. Nude and beaten body found floating near a boating ramp in Plainfield Twp (just north of GR)
  3. Kerry Mansfield - 1991
    1. She was stabbed 55 times in Trinity United Methodist parking lot.
    2. Richard Jensen Jr was convicted of this murder as well as attempted abductions of several other prostitutes.
    3. He was picked out of a lineup as a suspect for one of the previous murders but not convicted.
  4. One prostitute was abducted and managed to escape from her captors vehicle as it sped north on US 131 (same highway Griffin was dumped on)

PART 2 (The murders)
All but victim 2 were known prostitutes and most were addicted to crack or cocaine. Most worked Division Ave (aka GR's red light district)​
  1. Lesa Otberg, 25 - March 1994
    1. Discovered in wooded area near Muskegon about 3 months after last seen.
  2. 'Matilda' Jane Doe, 34-45 - November 6 1994
    1. Skeleton found in a thicket near Marne.
    2. MI - MI - Coopersville, "Matilda", Wht/Hisp/NativFem 35-45, UP9900, blue high-heels, knee surgery, Nov'94 (websleuths.com)
  3. Pamela Lynn Verile, 33 - June 1 1995
    1. Found beaten to death in a thicket near Walker.
  4. Gale Annette Cook, 37 - October 4 1995
    1. She had escaped from a prison work-release program sometime a few months previously
    2. Found strangled in a creek at end of a dirt road NE of GR
  5. Dawn Marie Shaver, 26 - August 9 1995
    1. Found 'In Grand Rapids'
    2. No C.O.D. determined
  6. Michelle Ann Becker, 36 - ????
    1. Unknown where found
  7. Sonyia Marie Campos, 27 - September 21 1996
    1. Found somewhere in Walker.
    2. No C.O.D. determined
  8. Dawn Sharlene Phillips, ?? - October 1 1996
    1. No C.O.D. determined
  9. Sharon Kay Hammack, 30 - October 3 1996
    1. Found in ditch in Caledonia Twp wearing only a necklace and bra - wrapped in a blanket.
    2. By now LE formed a 14 member task force on the killings, but were reticent to call it work of a serial killer.
  10. Cheryl Lynn Mason, 39 - October 13(?) 1996
    1. Reported missing on Oct 22. Found shortly after in a field behind a south Grand Rapids factory.
  11. Victoria Moore, 29 - October 27 1996
    1. Went missing in September shortly after testifying in an unrelated murder trial.
    2. A squirrel hunter found her remains near a rural road 20 miles north of GR
    3. Rose Haven Ministries, a nonprofit dedicated to helping prostitutes leave that life stated that of the 11 women killed, 5 of them had been in contact with Rose Haven in some capacity. Director Brenda Dalecke said it had to be the work of one person.
This is the end of the official victims. It is important to note all of these women were white. However, I found the following African-American women who, while not linked, were either murdered or disappeared under similar circumstances during that time.

12. [MISSING] Robin Scott, 37 - January 19 1995​
13. [MISSING] Fonda Lockridge, 26 - June 15 1995​
14. [MISSING] Kathleen Dennis, 28 - July 10 1995​
15. Sherry Jeanne Stewart-Brown, ?? - 1996​
  1. Disappeared sometime in 1996
  2. In 1998, a motorist noticed dogs playing with bones on Butterworth Dr SW near Maynard Ave in Walker. Realizing they were human, she followed the dogs up a hill to find a skull.
  3. LE first believed it to be a male, but DNA testing by the FBI proved it was Stewart-Brown in 2002.
  4. Due to decay, C.O.D. not determined.
16. Jane Doe, 20-30, ???? (possibly 1996)​
  1. A park worker found skeleton of an african-american female in Ada Roadside Park on July 31 1997
  2. Ada Bones Jane Doe 1997 - DNA Doe Project Cases

17. [MISSING] Yvonne Renee Scott, 41 - Jan 3 2004​
  1. Evening of Jan 3 Scott met with officers to report she was robbed on 2900 block of Clyde Park Ave SE. After giving report she was last seen walking east toward 28th street.
  2. Yvonne Renee Scott – The Charley Project
  3. The Scott case had similarities to the earlier murders and it is noted LE reopened the Sharon Hammack case.

PART 3 - SUSPECTS​
​
There are a number of men who were listed in papers as coming under suspicion. Basically anyone who committed any violence against a prostitute during that time was looked at and seemingly ruled out. For completeness, I will include them at the end.​
  1. Comstock Man
    1. With the disappearance of Yvonne Scott, detectives traveled to New York to interview a prostitute who made a report during the crime scene.
    2. An unnamed man from Comstock picked her up off Division and took her to a gravel pit off 10mile Rd NW where things went wrong. He locked her in the car with him and said "You'll never see your family again". She managed to escape.
    3. Two weeks later he tried to abduct her on Division when police nabbed him.
    4. In 2004 LE obtained DNA from the man. They refused to announce if it was a match in the Hammack case, simply saying "we've taken the investigation as far as we can."
  2. Gregory Kelly, 44
    1. Was known as being a violent pimp
    2. Convicted in 2004 for transporting prostitutes from GR to larger cities.
  3. Jimal Lacey
    1. Was a original suspect in 3 of the murders
    2. Serving life sentence for later attempted strangulation of two prostitutes.
​
Unlikely​
  1. Jefferey Willis
    1. Convicted murderer who lived in Muskegon. Would have been in his 20s during the crimes.
    2. The crimes he was convicted of were young women but not prostitutes.
  2. James Allen Kinney
    1. Vietnam vet and drifter who checked himself into GR VA Clinic in 1997
    2. Later convicted of murdering 20yo Keri Sherlock in Virginia who was raped and strangled. He was suspected in many other murders in several states but only convicted on Kinney
    3. One such case was Billie Jo Watson, 22 - Nov 30 1997
    4. The nurses aid was raped and strangled in a GR park. A car found nearby had Kinney's fingerprints and paper from the VA clinic.
    5. This murder was later solved - Garron Leon Mason, convicted rapist.
  3. Edward Joseph Hill
    1. In 2000s arrested for stealing $43 from a prostitute and commiting 'violence against her'
  4. Troy Blake
    1. Charged with attempted murder of prostitue Mary Louise Parker on October 16 2008.
    2. Beat her and tried strangling her in a park on Burton St SE
  5. Sid Terell Jones
    1. Convicted in murder of Janeane Lusk, a prostitute, in 2008.
​
​
Click to expand...
My mom was Lesa Otberg. I'm glad these cases have come back to light. My money is on DNA!!!
 
c@tw0man said:
Billy Mansfield is from Michigan, and he is sitting in Florida state prison, convicted of several murders.

www.wfla.com

Billy Mansfield | WFLA

www.wfla.com www.wfla.com
Click to expand...

A family history of violence​

Billy Mansfield had already served time in Michigan for sex crimes when he returned to the family home in March 1980, according to contemporary news accounts. A 2018 obituary for the family matriarch, Virginia Mansfield, indicates that she and her husband had at least five sons and a daughter.

www.kiro7.com

Billy Mansfield: Brother’s drug bust leads to ‘suspicious’ find on property of Florida serial killer

William “Billy” Mansfield Jr. was arrested in 1981 for the murders of five women, including a 15-year-old girl, and is serving concurrent life sentences. The arrest of Mansfield's brother, Gary Mansfield, on drug charges Tuesday has brought new searches of the property where four of the serial...
www.kiro7.com www.kiro7.com
 
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