TX - Thomas Clancy Sr. Found Shot In Trunk of Car Parked at Anatole Hotel in Dallas - Nov'83

[barbear]

Do you have anything you could offer information wise? Anyone they looked into? Last contacts? Anyone he was with close to the date he went missing?

Also thank you for your family’s service. My spouse is active duty and a criminal investigator for a branch of the military. I hope one day your dad will get justice for what happened to him. I can tell your dad must have been an honorable man. Your dad was a hero!

I don't find anything else about this!

Cold Case Tuesday – Thomas Clancy

The Dallas Police Department continues investigating the 1983 homicide of 60-year-old Thomas Clancy. Mr. Clancy was reported missing on November 11, 1983. He was found dead in his vehicle at 2201 N…

dpdbeat.com

Do you have any other LE reports or newspaper articles to link?

Wondering about those brothers....

 

[barbear]

I’m so sorry, @barbear. Your dad had such a nice smile. I’m just a couple of years older than you are so I understand the urgency you feel. Big hugs! I hope we can at least point you in some new directions. Welcome!

Here are a few of my thoughts/questions. Please don’t feel you have to answer personal questions I pose. They are mainly to get you thinking and answering some of them may break Websleuths rules (see below):

Have you approached the Rangers about their investigation in the past 20 years? If you can, I’d meet with them in person. I would do that before posting a reward. Quite honestly, we rarely see rewards do much good in cases here. Just check with the Rangers to see how far they’ve gotten first. Play the “I’m almost 75 card” if necessary.

Who reported your Dad missing on Nov 11? How long had he been missing? Back in those days, police often wouldn’t take a report for 24-72 hours.

Your Dad was last seen alive by staff at a local hospital where a daughter was a patient. What date and time was that? I assume it was after he met with his administrative assistant, since she is not mentioned as the one who last saw him. Or was that for the sake of discretion?

Am I understanding you correctly that whichever brother found your Dad took/cut his jewelry from his body? How do you feel about that? Do the police know about this?

Was your Dad’s divorce from your Mom acrimonious, if I may ask? How did your brothers feel about your Dad? Don’t feel you have to answer.

How cooperative with the police investigation was his second wife? Did she have any family who would want your father dead so she could collect an inheritance before the divorce?

Who did inherit and/or collect life insurance, etc.

Since his wife wouldn’t leave their home, did he move out? If so, was he staying at the Anatole Hotel where his car was found? From his sleep attire, it appears that he was in bed asleep when he was abducted and murdered. It would have been easier to do that if he was still living at home than at a hotel.

I’m curious about the mud on the car. I don’t suppose a sample was kept for testing to try to determine the location. I checked the Dallas weather for Nov 12-15 and there wasn’t the kind of rain that would produce mud (drizzle at most). So I wonder where the mud came from.
Scroll down the page at the link.

Dallas November 1983 Historical Weather Data (Texas, United States) - Weather Spark

weatherspark.com

That’s all I can think of for now. Before you post the rest of your info or answers, re-read the Rules so you comply. The biggest one I can think of is that we can’t sleuth anyone who has not been named a person-of-interest or suspect. So this would keep you from answering some of my questions. These are best addressed with the Rangers.

The Rules

Terms of Service, rules and forum etiquette

www.websleuths.com

Hang in there. We’re here to help.

 

[barbear]

Thank you for the great questions! here are some answers

Who reported your Dad missing on Nov 11? How long had he been missing? Back in those days, police often wouldn’t take a report for 24-72 hours.

I reported my dad missing to Carrollton Tx police (he lived in Carrollton) on Nov 13, since his wife had not. They said they would investigate, and given the circumstances they would have taken a missing persons report when he was first missing on Saturday, but I had believed that I needed to wait. The Carrollton police were at his house talking to his wife Jonneth later that same day when the Dallas police came to the house to tell her he had been found. We learned later that Jonneth would have already known his car was found because after he found the car, but before calling the police, my brother Tommy had driven several places, including driving to her and my dads house.


Your Dad was last seen alive by staff at a local hospital where a daughter was a patient. What date and time was that?
My sister had been transferred from Brookhaven Hospital to Medical City hospital on Friday Nov 11. She was in a diabetic coma, and having seizures. Several of the family were with her that night, including our dad, although my brother Tommy was not. My dad left the hospital with me when visiting hours were over, but hospital workers said that he came back late that evening to check on her - somewhere around 1 am.

I assume it was after he met with his administrative assistant, since she is not mentioned as the one who last saw him. Or was that for the sake of discretion?
We learned later that after leaving the hospital our dad met his assistant at Clancy’s Saloon on Industrial Blvd. My dad frequently went to this restaurant/bar in the Marriott Hotel as it had the same name (Clancy) and was less than a mile from the family business (the Salvage Center) although he had recently sold that business to my brothers. The assistant said they were leaving about 9:30 pm, when his wife Jonneth showed up in the parking lot and accused them of having an affair. Jonneth said that she was going to kill the assistant, so my dad restrained Jonneth while she drove away. He called his assistant from a payphone at 10:40 pm to see if she was all right, and told her that after she left, Jonneth had scratched his face, and rammed her car into my dad’s car. He told her not to come to work on Monday unless she heard from him first. Jonneth said they then both drove home in their separate cars. (The assistant told me she was not having an affair with my dad. My dad had told me a few weeks before that he really liked her.)

Jonneth later told the police that she and my dad argued again when they got home, but despite the late hour he asked her to drive him to the hospital because he didn’t want to use his now damaged car. However she said they stopped at a gas station at the corner of LBJ and Webb’s Chapel, but she walked across the street to the bathroom at the IHOP (the IHOP was actually ½ mile away at the corner of LBJ and Josey Lane). Jonneth said they argued again, and she drove off for home and left him at the gas station. Jonneth said he must have received a ride from someone to their house, as he arrived again later. Then they argued again, and Jonneth said he left again about 1 am. The Medical examiner puts his time of death around this hour.

Am I understanding you correctly that whichever brother found your Dad took/cut his jewelry from his body?
Actually, we don't know who took his watch and jewelry. But in the days after my dad’s murder, one brother started saying our Dad had told him he thought Jonneth might try to take them, so he said our dad sometimes buried his money, Rolex and other valuables in a bag in a field. He wanted me to go out to the field and look for the jewelry with him. It was simply a preposterous idea that our dad buried money and jewelry, and I dismissed it as stress related. He had never mentioned that when our dad was missing. And while he was missing, my brothers were ridiculing my sisters and me for being suspicious of Jonneth. Now it seems possible he had some of dad’s missing items and wanted someone there when he “found” them.

And the brother who found my dad's car had asked my sisters and me more than once what we would say if he did have Dad’s jewelry. He said he wanted to give dad’s jewelry to his son. Another brother said something similar - that our dad had always wanted him to have it. It seems possible they were trying to account for having it, even though it was supposedly stolen when our dad was murdered.

How do you feel about that? Do the police know about this?
I've begged the police to follow up on this, but they do not seem interested.
I regret every day I did not go with my brother and pretend to look for the jewelry.

Was your Dad’s divorce from your Mom acrimonious, if I may ask? How did your brothers feel about your Dad? Don’t feel you have to answer.
The divorce was very hard on everyone, but I don't think my brothers were angry at him about that. One did seem angry that my dad had sold them the family business. He had sold it to them when he found out there was some embezzlement going on - he told me he wasn't going to report the missing money to the police, but instead sell it to them and let them steal from each other.

How cooperative with the police investigation was his second wife? Did she have any family who would want your father dead so she could collect an inheritance before the divorce?
She did let them search their house, and the police say they have dismissed it as the crime scene. But later both my brother and my dad's wife initially refused to take polygraphs. Several years later, when the Dallas district attorney presented this to the grand jury, both my brother and Jonneth invoked their 5th amendment rights. There were no indictments, and as far as I know, no follow up.

Who did inherit and/or collect life insurance, etc.
His wife eventually collected, but my brothers appeared stunned to learn that she was the beneficiary.

Since his wife wouldn’t leave their home, did he move out?
My dad said he wanted her to move out, but they both lived in the house at the time.

If so, was he staying at the Anatole Hotel where his car was found?
He was not registered there.

From his sleep attire, it appears that he was in bed asleep when he was abducted and murdered. It would have been easier to do that if he was still living at home than at a hotel.
Yes, I have always thought he must have been staying somewhere else, and Jonneth did tell the police that he showed up after she left him at the gas station earlier.

I’m curious about the mud on the car. I don’t suppose a sample was kept for testing to try to determine the location.
A sample was taken, but it seems to have been lost early in the investigation. But the Anatole, the bar where my dad was with his assistant, the family business, and the Trinity River are all within a mile. And the brother who found the car owned a cabin at Lake Tawakoni.

I checked the Dallas weather for Nov 12-15 and there wasn’t the kind of rain that would produce mud (drizzle at most).
Thank you very much!

 

[loveplace]

Thank you for the great questions! here are some answers

Who reported your Dad missing on Nov 11? How long had he been missing? Back in those days, police often wouldn’t take a report for 24-72 hours.

I reported my dad missing to Carrollton Tx police (he lived in Carrollton) on Nov 13, since his wife had not. They said they would investigate, and given the circumstances they would have taken a missing persons report when he was first missing on Saturday, but I had believed that I needed to wait. The Carrollton police were at his house talking to his wife Jonneth later that same day when the Dallas police came to the house to tell her he had been found. We learned later that Jonneth would have already known his car was found because after he found the car, but before calling the police, my brother Tommy had driven several places, including driving to her and my dads house.


Your Dad was last seen alive by staff at a local hospital where a daughter was a patient. What date and time was that?
My sister had been transferred from Brookhaven Hospital to Medical City hospital on Friday Nov 11. She was in a diabetic coma, and having seizures. Several of the family were with her that night, including our dad, although my brother Tommy was not. My dad left the hospital with me when visiting hours were over, but hospital workers said that he came back late that evening to check on her - somewhere around 1 am.

I assume it was after he met with his administrative assistant, since she is not mentioned as the one who last saw him. Or was that for the sake of discretion?
We learned later that after leaving the hospital our dad met his assistant at Clancy’s Saloon on Industrial Blvd. My dad frequently went to this restaurant/bar in the Marriott Hotel as it had the same name (Clancy) and was less than a mile from the family business (the Salvage Center) although he had recently sold that business to my brothers. The assistant said they were leaving about 9:30 pm, when his wife Jonneth showed up in the parking lot and accused them of having an affair. Jonneth said that she was going to kill the assistant, so my dad restrained Jonneth while she drove away. He called his assistant from a payphone at 10:40 pm to see if she was all right, and told her that after she left, Jonneth had scratched his face, and rammed her car into my dad’s car. He told her not to come to work on Monday unless she heard from him first. Jonneth said they then both drove home in their separate cars. (The assistant told me she was not having an affair with my dad. My dad had told me a few weeks before that he really liked her.)

Jonneth later told the police that she and my dad argued again when they got home, but despite the late hour he asked her to drive him to the hospital because he didn’t want to use his now damaged car. However she said they stopped at a gas station at the corner of LBJ and Webb’s Chapel, but she walked across the street to the bathroom at the IHOP (the IHOP was actually ½ mile away at the corner of LBJ and Josey Lane). Jonneth said they argued again, and she drove off for home and left him at the gas station. Jonneth said he must have received a ride from someone to their house, as he arrived again later. Then they argued again, and Jonneth said he left again about 1 am. The Medical examiner puts his time of death around this hour.

Am I understanding you correctly that whichever brother found your Dad took/cut his jewelry from his body?
Actually, we don't know who took his watch and jewelry. But in the days after my dad’s murder, one brother started saying our Dad had told him he thought Jonneth might try to take them, so he said our dad sometimes buried his money, Rolex and other valuables in a bag in a field. He wanted me to go out to the field and look for the jewelry with him. It was simply a preposterous idea that our dad buried money and jewelry, and I dismissed it as stress related. He had never mentioned that when our dad was missing. And while he was missing, my brothers were ridiculing my sisters and me for being suspicious of Jonneth. Now it seems possible he had some of dad’s missing items and wanted someone there when he “found” them.

And the brother who found my dad's car had asked my sisters and me more than once what we would say if he did have Dad’s jewelry. He said he wanted to give dad’s jewelry to his son. Another brother said something similar - that our dad had always wanted him to have it. It seems possible they were trying to account for having it, even though it was supposedly stolen when our dad was murdered.

How do you feel about that? Do the police know about this?
I've begged the police to follow up on this, but they do not seem interested.
I regret every day I did not go with my brother and pretend to look for the jewelry.

Was your Dad’s divorce from your Mom acrimonious, if I may ask? How did your brothers feel about your Dad? Don’t feel you have to answer.
The divorce was very hard on everyone, but I don't think my brothers were angry at him about that. One did seem angry that my dad had sold them the family business. He had sold it to them when he found out there was some embezzlement going on - he told me he wasn't going to report the missing money to the police, but instead sell it to them and let them steal from each other.

How cooperative with the police investigation was his second wife? Did she have any family who would want your father dead so she could collect an inheritance before the divorce?
She did let them search their house, and the police say they have dismissed it as the crime scene. But later both my brother and my dad's wife initially refused to take polygraphs. Several years later, when the Dallas district attorney presented this to the grand jury, both my brother and Jonneth invoked their 5th amendment rights. There were no indictments, and as far as I know, no follow up.

Who did inherit and/or collect life insurance, etc.
His wife eventually collected, but my brothers appeared stunned to learn that she was the beneficiary.

Since his wife wouldn’t leave their home, did he move out?
My dad said he wanted her to move out, but they both lived in the house at the time.

If so, was he staying at the Anatole Hotel where his car was found?
He was not registered there.

From his sleep attire, it appears that he was in bed asleep when he was abducted and murdered. It would have been easier to do that if he was still living at home than at a hotel.
Yes, I have always thought he must have been staying somewhere else, and Jonneth did tell the police that he showed up after she left him at the gas station earlier.

I’m curious about the mud on the car. I don’t suppose a sample was kept for testing to try to determine the location.
A sample was taken, but it seems to have been lost early in the investigation. But the Anatole, the bar where my dad was with his assistant, the family business, and the Trinity River are all within a mile. And the brother who found the car owned a cabin at Lake Tawakoni.

I checked the Dallas weather for Nov 12-15 and there wasn’t the kind of rain that would produce mud (drizzle at most).
Thank you very much!

Thank you for such great clear answers to everyone's questions. I'm so sorry you're having to go through all of this.

 

[barbear]

Here is some information thats goes with it. I'm sorry that until I understood how this works, I put these in "replies" earlier instead of in a post. But I think I've got it now.

 

[?!?]

Have you contacted:

https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/divisions/vs/index.html

Texas Victim Services Association - Home

txvsa.org

Any progress?

 

[barbear]

Thank you for checking! I've been following up on some of the great suggestions. I found out the recent Cold Case bill only applies to federal cold case crimes
And I tried to establish a reward, but the Dallas detective told me Dallas doesn't really have a cold case squad, and sent me to the people who established a "Cold Case Tuesdays" website. But they just sent me an email saying to call 911 if I have been the victim of a crime.

It sure gets pretty discouraging, so I sure appreciate the people on this site.

I like the idea of the Texas Victims Association - thank you! I thought that was just for people whose cases had gotten as far as the justice system, but I'll sure give them a try.

 

[vls12345]

Barbear, I am sorry to hear about your dad and sorry that you are still trying to find info about his murderer(s) decades later.

I find it strange that this long after the fact LE still don't want to release records/info about their investigation. Do you have any guesses why that would be the case? The only thing that comes to mind for me is -- are they covering themselves? Was the investigation shoddy or did it implicate someone or something that they didn't want exposed for some reason?

I noticed the written report you posted listed both wife #2 and the son (your brother?) as potential suspects. Do you agree with that? Why or how would your brother have gotten your dad's jewelry? Could the second wife and your brother have collaborated against you dad? If so, what did either or both stand to gain? Are there other suspects, either officially or ones you suspected for various reasons?

Do you have an autopsy report? Was it confirmed to be a bullet wound or was it listed just as blunt force trauma?

As has been stated previously, please feel free to answer or ignore anything I ask. I am just thinking aloud at this point. Everything is imo and MOO only. And, again, I am sorry for you loss and for dealing with so many years of not knowing....

 

[barbear]

Thank you for your time, and excellent questions! Ill try to answer, but please let me know if I'm not being very clear.

I find it strange that this long after the fact LE still don't want to release records/info about their investigation. Do you have any guesses why that would be the case?
I think it might be because my sisters and I were pretty sure if we read the police reports we could tell them if there were differences in what the people they were investigating (#2wife and son) had told the family, and what they had told the police. So we kept asking questions, and eventually, we tried to obtain the records under the Texas Open records act. It seems to me they did not like that. Then one sister convinced the Vidocq Society to help investigate - we were very happy because they only take on cases they think they can solve. So when the Dallas Police rejected the extra help, we were upset, and it made the newspapers. It seems to me they did not like that either. (I'll attach a figure below).

The only thing that comes to mind for me is -- are they covering themselves? Was the investigation shoddy or did it implicate someone or something that they didn't want exposed for some reason?
I've considered the same thing. We hired a private investigator when the police seemed to have come up with no answers, and the PI actually looked into it and returned our money. He said usually he could get some answers, but the police were being exceptionally tight-lipped about my dads investigation.

I noticed the written report you posted listed both wife #2 and the son (your brother?) as potential suspects. Do you agree with that?
Yes.

Why or how would your brother have gotten your dad's jewelry?
I know my dad would never have buried it in a field like one brother still is trying to say, but I have considered the brother who found the car might have taken it before he called the police. He did wait several hours after finding my dad before he reported it.
But earlier, my dad had a second Rolex that had disappeared from his car trunk after one of my brothers borrowed his car. He told me he didn't want to think his son might have taken it, but he had reluctantly come to that conclusion.

Could the second wife and your brother have collaborated against you dad? If so, what did either or both stand to gain?
That used to seem very unlikely to me, but probably it shouldn't have. My brothers thought they were in my dad's will, but his second wife knew she was the sole beneficiary. After he was killed my brothers learned they still would owe my dad's estate money for the family business he had sold to them. They worked out a deal with his wife so that she forgave them the debt.

Are there other suspects, either officially or ones you suspected for various reasons?
The brother who found my dad told the police my dad frequented some bars that prostitutes also frequented, and the police have mentioned that off and on as a possibility. I am not ruling out that he might have because I have always wanted to keep an open mind. But he was 60 years old, had been told that a daughter he dearly loved was dying that night, and had been up almost 19 hours that day, so I think that might be unlikely.

Do you have an autopsy report? Was it confirmed to be a bullet wound or was it listed just as blunt force trauma?
Yes, a bullet wound. I'll attach the reports I have below.

 

[?!?]

It seems (from the 'net) that cold cases are handled by the "Special Investigations Unit" - the cold case unit having been abandoned due to budget cuts.

You might consider starting over with them -- time passing since your prior attempt may mean a sufficient change of personnel that you get a better response on another try: if they were covering for their own incompetence or protecting someone, those may no longer be in the picture (includes trying Vidocq).

If they still turn you away, consider finding a local media outlet that will give you some exposure -- that may attract more local support, or even make LE decide they don't want to deal with public pressure.

PRESS ON!

 

[Lilibet]

It seems (from the 'net) that cold cases are handled by the "Special Investigations Unit" - the cold case unit having been abandoned due to budget cuts.

You might consider starting over with them -- time passing since your prior attempt may mean a sufficient change of personnel that you get a better response on another try: if they were covering for their own incompetence or protecting someone, those may no longer be in the picture (includes trying Vidocq).

If they still turn you away, consider finding a local media outlet that will give you some exposure -- that may attract more local support, or even make LE decide they don't want to deal with public pressure.

PRESS ON!

Excellent suggestions! I wonder if contacting the current State Attorney General directly might help light a fire under LE if the Special Investigations Unit can’t/won’t help. In the meantime, in addition to getting exposure in local media, look around beyond locally in MSM for a responsible crime-oriented investigative reporter to befriend.

 

[?!?]

Thank you for your time, and excellent questions! Ill try to answer, but please let me know if I'm not being very clear.

I find it strange that this long after the fact LE still don't want to release records/info about their investigation. Do you have any guesses why that would be the case?
I think it might be because my sisters and I were pretty sure if we read the police reports we could tell them if there were differences in what the people they were investigating (#2wife and son) had told the family, and what they had told the police. So we kept asking questions, and eventually, we tried to obtain the records under the Texas Open records act. It seems to me they did not like that. Then one sister convinced the Vidocq Society to help investigate - we were very happy because they only take on cases they think they can solve. So when the Dallas Police rejected the extra help, we were upset, and it made the newspapers. It seems to me they did not like that either. (I'll attach a figure below).

The only thing that comes to mind for me is -- are they covering themselves? Was the investigation shoddy or did it implicate someone or something that they didn't want exposed for some reason?
I've considered the same thing. We hired a private investigator when the police seemed to have come up with no answers, and the PI actually looked into it and returned our money. He said usually he could get some answers, but the police were being exceptionally tight-lipped about my dads investigation.

I noticed the written report you posted listed both wife #2 and the son (your brother?) as potential suspects. Do you agree with that?
Yes.

Why or how would your brother have gotten your dad's jewelry?
I know my dad would never have buried it in a field like one brother still is trying to say, but I have considered the brother who found the car might have taken it before he called the police. He did wait several hours after finding my dad before he reported it.
But earlier, my dad had a second Rolex that had disappeared from his car trunk after one of my brothers borrowed his car. He told me he didn't want to think his son might have taken it, but he had reluctantly come to that conclusion.

Could the second wife and your brother have collaborated against you dad? If so, what did either or both stand to gain?
That used to seem very unlikely to me, but probably it shouldn't have. My brothers thought they were in my dad's will, but his second wife knew she was the sole beneficiary. After he was killed my brothers learned they still would owe my dad's estate money for the family business he had sold to them. They worked out a deal with his wife so that she forgave them the debt.

Are there other suspects, either officially or ones you suspected for various reasons?
The brother who found my dad told the police my dad frequented some bars that prostitutes also frequented, and the police have mentioned that off and on as a possibility. I am not ruling out that he might have because I have always wanted to keep an open mind. But he was 60 years old, had been told that a daughter he dearly loved was dying that night, and had been up almost 19 hours that day, so I think that might be unlikely.

Do you have an autopsy report? Was it confirmed to be a bullet wound or was it listed just as blunt force trauma?
Yes, a bullet wound. I'll attach the reports I have below.

Were the Texas Rangers of any help (give you any feedback)?

 

[Laughing]

The H.R 3359 bill is a homicide victims families rights act. This gives the immediate family members of a victim of murder to request a review of the victims case file if the murder was committed more than 3 years prior
If the murder was investigated by federal law enforcement enity, or all probative investigative leads were exhausted and no likely perpetrator has been identified. To me it sounds like from what information you gathered he was killed somewhere else ND body placed in the trunk and they drove the car and possibly got stuck in the mud maybe but trinity river and we're able to get it out and place the car where it was found. I would request an application for HR 3359 bill by your local police department because it states in the bill that each agencies will develop an application for the designated family member can use to file a case review. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...6sMDegQICxAB&usg=AOvVaw0fUOKLAgFPlhlhgJgbEqTe

Did anything come of this one?

 

[?!?]

Did anything come of this one?

See post #47:

" I found out the recent Cold Case bill only applies to federal cold case crimes "