Missouri - The Springfield Three--missing since June 1992 - #16

[eyeseestars]

We know that Suzi and Stacy didn't go inside Janelle's house at all when they went back to their cars, because Appleby says he dropped them off and watches them proceed to drive off, correct? He also tells police he dropped them at their cars, not that he dropped them at Janelle's house to spend the night.

So let's back up. At least until around 2:00am, the girls weren't staying at Janelles, they were staying at Brian Joy's. BJ's house is maybe 5 minutes from JKs. We have no testimony that JK/MH were ever in Appleby's car with them. No testimony that there was any sort of get together outside of JK's house. He drops them "at their cars" and "watches them drive off" and Suzie "had a little stomachache and wanted to go home."

I don't believe Suzi or Stacy EVER planned to stay at Janelle's house with a house full of family members. Ever. Only my opinion of course but I see zero evidence supporting that assertion by JK/KK that is repeated ad nauseam in the newspaper time and time again starting on June 10. Also note that in the article from June 10th, KK implies that she actually spoke to the girls herself saying "2am Kathy Kirby offers to let them spend the night but not wanting to impose they decline" this is repeated again on June 12th in the NL. This story by KK changes on June 14th. Now KK says she didn't talk to the girls but instead overheard their conversation outside.

Also note this: Although Mike is present and accounted for in the initial police report, KK/JK appear to have been consciously editing him out of the story in the first few newspaper articles. This can't be coincidence. I haven't seen any media that includes Mike in the story AT ALL until June 19th. He is clearly an integral part of this story so the question is why? Why are JK/KK intentionally leaving out his name?

 

[Bartt Streeter]

Like I said last night, I was just mulling things around in my mind and today I find this:

"By the time police were called, 18 friends and family members of the three women had entered the unlocked house, some unwittingly interfering with potential evidence. Investigators say they can't determine how far the interference may have set back their case. They have called the people back several times to help reconstruct the crime scene."

Sourced below

Tulsa World
June 28, 1992
Edition: FINAL HOME EDITION
Section: NEWS
Page: A8

Investigators Remain Clueless in Case Of Missing Women
Author: AP
Article Text:
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - Investigators wonder if some tiny, overlooked clue is buried in thousand of pages of police reports, or in fibers drawn from carpeting at the home where three women vanished.

Three weeks of round-the-clock investigating have produced a few sketchy leads. But police say there's still no trace of what - or who - made Sherrill Levitt, her daughter, Suzie Streeter, and Stacy McCall disappear on June 7.
"There are no theories that have been totally eliminated," said Capt. Tony Glenn, commander of the criminal investigations unit.

Each woman's car remains parked outside Ms. Levitt's home. Inside, police found everything the women likely would have taken if they left town willingly: purses, cash, makeup, keys, identification, cigarettes and medication.

Within a day of the June 8 missing-persons report, the Springfield Police Department threw about 30 officers onto the case.
Still, investigators initially said there was no evidence of a crime.

After three weeks, however, officers from Chief Terry Knowles down believe the women almost certainly were abducted. But they don't have enough evidence to focus on any one suspect, motive, theory or lead.
Investigators theorize an abductor as an acquaintance or a stranger, a planner or an opportunist, one person or two.

"To me, that's the most disconcerting thing about this case," detective Doug Thomas said. "In most cases we know what happened and why. We might not know who did it. But in this case, we don't even know why."

A detective is assigned to study each victim, searching for anybody who might have a motive to harm one or more of them.
Investigators continue to develop information, but nothing indicating trouble has been found so far, Glenn said.

Ms. McCall, 18, and Ms. Streeter, 19, graduated from Kickapoo High School the night before they disappeared. They visited a few parties with friends, then left a friend's home in nearby Battlefield about 2:20 a.m., driving separate cars to the home of Ms. Levitt, a 47-year-old beautician.

Friends who called the home got no answer at 7:30 a.m.

By the time police were called, 18 friends and family members of the three women had entered the unlocked house, some unwittingly interfering with potential evidence. Investigators say they can't determine how far the interference may have set back their case. They have called the people back several times to help reconstruct the crime scene.

A forensics team spent much of last week sifting through the house for fibers or other evidence that might prove valuable.

Leads began to dwindle toward the end of the week. Crime analysts began poring page by page over reports stacked more than two feet thick. Analysts supervisor Sue Schofield said the team will look for inconsistencies and unanswered questions in interviews with more than 300 people.

 

[Seeker994]

Thanks for the info about the clinic. I just can’t understand how so many people went in and didn’t think something was off.

 

[redeemer]

Do people really think kids could conspire and keep a secret this long? And evade the cops? I understand Janelle acted weird, but she's insanely stupid and no way she pulled off this crime. Just my opinion...as a long time reader of these Missing Women forums here and Reddit.

There's no reason to wait until they go to Delmar to commit the crime. Why go after Sherrill? And if they wanted to kill Sherrill why not go after Janis and Stu too? So you're telling me they wait for Stacy and Suzie to enter a populated urban area instead of doing the deed out in Battlefield? Makes zero sense.

And what would be Mike Henson's motive? And what's his motive to go hunt down Sherrill? Another one that makes no sense. So you're telling me some argument or jealousy of some Stacy love interest is why someone with a wild hair up their *advertiser censored* commits the perfect triple abduction and murder that still remains unsolved? I don't buy it.

 

[vike16]

Hi! I haven't posted much but have been reading the last couple days and putting things together to the best of my ability. People have commented how much Suzie and Stacy's plans changed and to me that is one of the biggest keys to solving things. Why? Because the perp knew the truth when so many other people didn't about their whereabouts. At first I thought maybe someone tapped the McCalls' line but if they did, they would have gotten that the girls were staying at Janelle's and attacked them there. But that didn't happen.

To me, this case rests on two big things: the delay in attacking the ladies and the knowledge that Stacy and Suzie were staying at Suzie's place. I don't subscribe to the lone outsider for a couple reasons, the main one being the delay in attacking them once they were at Delmar. I don't believe someone was going after Sherrill alone, she could easily have been killed anytime that night but the killer waited until the girls were home. Now, an outsider COULD have followed the girls from the party at 2 am, but here's the thing. The girls leave in separate cars, not the same car. How would an outside stranger know that they are going to the same place? He wouldn't. And now we get to the delay. Suppose an outside perp spots the girls at the house and decides then and there to take them. Why the delay in taking them? Why even let the girls enter the house? A stranger might have realized with 3 card in the driveway there might be a dad with a shotgun at home to protect them and attacked the girls with a gun in the driveway. But he let them get into the house, talk with Sherrill presumably, and then take off their makeup and at least in Stacy's case, partially disrobe. Every moment that the killer waits ups his chances of being caught, either by one of the ladies looking out the window or a cop or neighbor being by. Also, the neighbor was out of town, which an outsider wouldn't know either. No, the picture I get is of the perp calmly watching and waiting for the lights to go out in the house before putting the plan into action. Why the waiting for the lights to go out? Because then presumably everyone is in bed and not close to the phone. If you go for the house when all the lights are on and presumably the blinds are pulled due to Stacy's attire, and maybe the others too, you don't know the relation of anyone to the phone and they might get a phone call off to 911 before the perp can get to them. That can't happen and with everyone in their beds, it makes the attack much safer. My guess is that if Sherrill's window was open, the killer went in that way, held a gun to Sherrill's head, and used her as a weapon against the others. Given that absolutely nothing was taken other than the women, the whole thing probably took a couple minutes max. Probably the women took nothing with them in the belief and hope that if they just followed orders, they would be ok.

Now, we get to me one of the most important parts. Why the disappearance? Presumably someone wanted them dead, but why not just shoot them in the house, leave the bodies, and be done with it? If sexual assault is the only motive, why not just shoot two and take the third? But nothing like that happened. The answer I come up with is to avoid proof of a crime having occurred. Why? Because if the bodies were discovered at the house, there would be clear evidence pointing at the guilty culprit. This way, with the bodies gone, even if the cops suspect it, they won't have any proof. Again, this points to a planned attack as with the ladies gone for 28 years, a spot must have been devised for the final murders and hiding of the bodies that was so good that no one could find it. That was not done on the spur of the moment.

Now we get to to me the most important thing: the constantly changing plans. The original plan was Branson overnight in a hotel. Then Janelle's and Mike's and so on before the final decision was made to stay at Suzie's. Now, that means that at least one perp had to be at that last party and knew the final decision. And that's where at least one culprit has to be. Now, this was in an era before cell phones. If the killer was watching the house waiting for the girls to come back, he had to be reachable. The problem of course, is always motive and without further knowledge of the people involved, I have no idea on that one. But the way I outlined it is the way I'm pretty sure it happened.

And that gets me to the final point of 18 people entering the house the day after. I have a suspicion that at least one perp was in the house that day to make sure no evidence was left behind pointing to the real culprit. The overall picture I get is maybe two people, one watching the house and committing the crime and the other at the party alerting the criminal as to what was happening. If there was only one, then the perp has to have been at the party to know the final destination of the girls. Possibly the delay in attacking them was to coordinate information. This is one reason I am wondering where the nearest pay phone was back then. Also, there must have been a good spot to watch the house and wait for the lights to go off without being spotted by either the cops, a passerby, or the women from the windows (or the dog). Where would such a place be? I can't envision the killer leaving their own vehicle parked in the driveway waiting for the lights to go off, too risky. And the getaway vehicle has to be parked somewhere close and readily able to move into the driveway. What surveillance video is available of the nearby area at that time?

Stuff like this is why I think the police know who did it but without the bodies have no proof. I could be way off on all of this, but it's my best theory after looking at the facts.

 

[eyeseestars]

Do people really think kids could conspire and keep a secret this long? And evade the cops? I understand Janelle acted weird, but she's insanely stupid and no way she pulled off this crime. Just my opinion...as a long time reader of these Missing Women forums here and Reddit.

There's no reason to wait until they go to Delmar to commit the crime. Why go after Sherrill? And if they wanted to kill Sherrill why not go after Janis and Stu too? So you're telling me they wait for Stacy and Suzie to enter a populated urban area instead of doing the deed out in Battlefield? Makes zero sense.

And what would be Mike Henson's motive? And what's his motive to go hunt down Sherrill? Another one that makes no sense. So you're telling me some argument or jealousy of some Stacy love interest is why someone with a wild hair up their *advertiser censored* commits the perfect triple abduction and murder that still remains unsolved? I don't buy it.

I don't think the kids committed this crime. I actually believe Larry/Gary Hall and another perp did it. But I think starting at the beginning is the best place to start and I think you have to look at all the discrepancies and lies to separate the facts and fiction of the "evidence" we're left with today. I'm starting to believe that Janelle/Mike talked to the perp(s) that day on the phone and were instructed to do the things they did. Just my current opinion.

 

[Hobgoblinmarket]

I don't think the kids committed this crime. I actually believe Larry/Gary Hall and another perp did it. But I think starting at the beginning is the best place to start and I think you have to look at all the discrepancies and lies to separate the facts and fiction of the "evidence" we're left with today. I'm starting to believe that Janelle/Mike talked to the perp(s) that day on the phone and were instructed to do the things they did. Just my current opinion.

I suspect the Halls are much more likely here than Cox.

 

[redeemer]

I don't think the kids committed this crime. I actually believe Larry/Gary Hall and another perp did it. But I think starting at the beginning is the best place to start and I think you have to look at all the discrepancies and lies to separate the facts and fiction of the "evidence" we're left with today. I'm starting to believe that Janelle/Mike talked to the perp(s) that day on the phone and were instructed to do the things they did. Just my current opinion.

Hall was ruled out in 2012 tho.

I lean towards Garrison buddies being mad about Suzie testifying in court for the grave robbing vandalism. Only because of the evidence given and the motive being the most plausible. But I'm all ears on other theories if they fit.

 

[eyeseestars]

Hall was ruled out on the basis of a polygraph, which for multiple reasons I don't trust in his case.

When I look at the evidence in favor of him, he 1) matches almost precisely the early composite drawing, 2) he drove a van of the same rare model as the van noted by multiple witnesses, 3) he was in town for a civil war reenactment 4) he was known to stalk his victims, 5) he wasn't afraid to go into homes to commit his crimes, 6) He used chloroform 7) He was extremely careful not to leave any evidence anywhere during the commission of crimes 8) he confessed to taking them with two other perp(s) which would explain how the crime was carried out, 9) Stacy McCall looks extremely similar to Tricia Reitler who disappeared from another college campus one year later. 10) Tricia Reitlers clothing was also found "neatly folded" after she disappeared 11) He confessed to killing Michelle Dewey in 1991 and her son was found unharmed in a closet 12) no history of harming animals ....I could go on. There are just too many matches for me to dismiss him based on a poly. Exploring the contradictions in Janelle/Mike/KK's testimony may eventually lead me in another direction, but for now, I personally think he is by far the most likely. Just my opinion.

The Grave robbing theory looks good at first, but it falls apart in my mind once you realize how little her testimony added to the case and how others with much more information went on unharmed. Additionally, taking Stacy and Sherrill would make this a MUCH more difficult crime to perpetuate. Finally, I don't think the grave robbers could have done this without leaving tons of evidence. They were far from criminal masterminds.

 

[Hobgoblinmarket]

Hall was ruled out on the basis of a polygraph, which for multiple reasons I don't trust in his case.

When I look at the evidence in favor of him, he 1) matches almost precisely the early composite drawing, 2) he drove a van of the same rare model as the van noted by multiple witnesses, 3) he was in town for a civil war reenactment 4) he was known to stalk his victims, 5) he wasn't afraid to go into homes to commit his crimes, 6) He used chloroform 7) He was extremely careful not to leave any evidence anywhere during the commission of crimes 8) he confessed to taking them with two other perp(s) which would explain how the crime was carried out, 9) Stacy McCall looks extremely similar to Tricia Reitler who disappeared from another college campus one year later. 10) Tricia Reitlers clothing was also found "neatly folded" after she disappeared 11) He confessed to killing Michelle Dewey in 1991 and her son was found unharmed in a closet 12) no history of harming animals ....I could go on. There are just too many matches for me to dismiss him based on a poly. Exploring the contradictions in Janelle/Mike/KK's testimony may eventually lead me in another direction, but for now, I personally think he is by far the most likely. Just my opinion.

The Grave robbing theory looks good at first, but it falls apart in my mind once you realize how little her testimony added to the case and how others with much more information went on unharmed. Additionally, taking Stacy and Sherrill would make this a MUCH more difficult crime to perpetuate. Finally, I don't think the grave robbers could have done this without leaving tons of evidence. They were far from criminal masterminds.

How did they get a sketch? From the woman who said the van almost crashed into her?

Today is the first time ive ever seen it. Interesting.

 

[Bartt Streeter]

Do people really think kids could conspire and keep a secret this long? And evade the cops? I understand Janelle acted weird, but she's insanely stupid and no way she pulled off this crime. Just my opinion...as a long time reader of these Missing Women forums here and Reddit.

There's no reason to wait until they go to Delmar to commit the crime. Why go after Sherrill? And if they wanted to kill Sherrill why not go after Janis and Stu too? So you're telling me they wait for Stacy and Suzie to enter a populated urban area instead of doing the deed out in Battlefield? Makes zero sense.

And what would be Mike Henson's motive? And what's his motive to go hunt down Sherrill? Another one that makes no sense. So you're telling me some argument or jealousy of some Stacy love interest is why someone with a wild hair up their *advertiser censored* commits the perfect triple abduction and murder that still remains unsolved? I don't buy it.

That's an interesting take on the information you've been reading but I don't believe anybody here is trying to convince y"you" of anything.

I'm not accusing any teenagers of abductions or committing murders in our case. (However, teenagers commit crimes, horrible crimes and jealousy would fall very high on the list of why they commit those crimes)

The last verifiable sighting of Suzie and Stacy before the abductions are some of the same teenagers and their parents that are the first (post abductions) that are camped out at my mother's home.

As far as Stacy having a boyfriend.

1) She was 18 years old, IMO she had a boyfriend and in all likelihood, past boyfriends.

2) For that information to be withheld by Janis, LE, friends and classmates from the public is a strategic choice and it subverts the investigation without that information being made public people don't know that they should come forward with information about that person, their acquaintances and where they were that evening. Past or present boyfriends could have been at those graduation parties etc.

3) From the very beginning certain people were protected from LE, public and media scrutiny while others have been shoved out there like sacrificial lambs. That process is just wrong and has resulted in absolutely no conviction and no justice for 28 + years.

4) Those teenagers are adults now, have you seen them posting online or doing any media or talking about this case in any way, at all, even to clarify some of the simplest things about the graduation parties that night ?

The police know who was at the parties that night, yet they've kept that information from ever becoming public...three women abducted and murdered no answers for 28+ years and smallest amount of transparency and accountability is wrapped up perceived social standings as I've said before disgusting.

Sorry number 4 was hypocritical on my part, because to be perfectly honestt, I would never advise people to speak to the media without total and complete contract signed anonymity, then still don't do it.

But they sure as hell could have and still can anonymously contact any of the family members or the FBI with information.

 

[Seeker994]

Very nice post Bartt. I agree.

I’d also like to add that young people do commit/ cover crimes. Lauren Agee’s case is a good example. I am clueless to how the friends weren’t prosecuted.

People did camp out there, and waited all day to contact Janis. IMO Janis is more worried about keeping Stacy’s image pristine. I’d like to know who was at the parties and what people saw.

 

[arc anjil]

A per Bartt Streeter's post #131:

I really am warming up to Stacy having a BF her mother was not aware of (or maybe she suspected). Somewhere, probably the N-L, I read where it is stated the girls went to prom... So who did Stacy go with? For that matter, who did Suzie go with?

Then there is rumor that Stacy sneaked out of the house to go to an apartment and her mother caught her. Who was she going to see?

It just makes me think about the Branson trip: were the girls going there to spend the night in a hotel with their boyfriends? Janelle with Mike, and Stacy with ???
The A-mart sighting of Sherill has been debunked, but what about the sighting of Suzie, another girl, and Stacy with a guy who "looked 30-ish with a mustache"?

As to social media postings, I've seen a few from Janelle asking for someone to come forward - that someone knows something. I think I actually happened on Adina's FB page once, but there was nothing about Stacy or Suzie, so IDK...

 

[Bartt Streeter]

A per Bartt Streeter's post #131:

I really am warming up to Stacy having a BF her mother was not aware of (or maybe she suspected). Somewhere, probably the N-L, I read where it is stated the girls went to prom... So who did Stacy go with? For that matter, who did Suzie go with?

Then there is rumor that Stacy sneaked out of the house to go to an apartment and her mother caught her. Who was she going to see?

It just makes me think about the Branson trip: were the girls going there to spend the night in a hotel with their boyfriends? Janelle with Mike, and Stacy with ???
The A-mart sighting of Sherill has been debunked, but what about the sighting of Suzie, another girl, and Stacy with a guy who "looked 30-ish with a mustache"?

As to social media postings, I've seen a few from Janelle asking for someone to come forward - that someone knows something. I think I actually happened on Adina's FB page once, but there was nothing about Stacy or Suzie, so IDK...

Yes, the A-Mart "sighting"was found to be another person very early in the investigation but for some reason there are still people who want to refer to it as valid.

And as I've stated many times George's steak house was NOT a fav restaurants of my mothers and that sighting was in all likelihood some other people.

However, a certain long time poster who is incapable or unwilling to source disputable claims. as in the George's sighting, has consistently brought up the subject, as possible, then probable and most recently posted that it was confirmed as an indisputable fact, yet once again, a claim without a verifiable referenced source.

The Suzie, another girl and Stacy with a guy who "looked 30-ish with a mustache"?
Never heard that one before.


I've been researching and posting on our case to much lately. It's time to step away from it for a while.

Y'all, stay safe, wear your mask and practice social distancing when your on adventures.

 

[arc anjil]

For anyone interested in the mustache guy, it is in the N-L of June 19, 1992 headlined Authorities Concentrate on Clerk's Information :

"...McCall was with a white man. He was in his early thirties with dark, stringy, thin hair and a mustache."

 

[Hobgoblinmarket]

A Quarter Century of Questions: Detectives Consumed by the 3 Missing Women

Interesting.

Each investigator has their own theories, only parts of which they are willing to share.

“I firmly believe one of them was being stalked for sometime before the crime was ever committed,” Worsham said.

“I personally believe we have talked to that person or persons responsible,” Asher said.

 

[Missouri Mule]

For anyone interested in the mustache guy, it is in the N-L of June 19, 1992 headlined Authorities Concentrate on Clerk's Information :

"...McCall was with a white man. He was in his early thirties with dark, stringy, thin hair and a mustache."

If this is referencing the discredited APCO sighting it confuses me. It says “McCall.” I’m unaware of another clerk being discussed.

 

[Woofbark]

The 3 purses together, IN BEDROOM leads me to think (MOO)

-multiple perps
-perps in Streeters room for a specific reason
-they were going to grab the purses but didn’t...I.e perp 1 had purses and was scanning room for anything else to grab and perp 2 “we gotta go!” (Possibly even tells other to drop the as that could be evidence / leave a trail). Perp 1 drops the purses and possibly helps perp 2 and maybe even 3 with the girls. Thoughts?

It's another possible theory. With these unsolved cases many people will be right until it's solved and many people will be wrong until it's solved.

 

[Woofbark]

If this is referencing the discredited APCO sighting it confuses me. It says “McCall.” I’m unaware of another clerk being discussed.

Does that description match any of the previously mentioned people?

 

[Woofbark]

Sorry about the typos, I was attempting to write this post on my phone while eating pizza. My bad.

It could just be your phone messing with you. When my phone starts doing odd things, I have a couple shots of something called Hennessy. Then it seems like my phone works a whole lot better.