The murders shocked the area and although the . In 2000, the Smiths met with FBI agents and pleaded with them to reopen the case, but were told all leads had been exhausted. "I went to visit him in the nursing home before he died and he said he wasn't afraid to die and he couldn't wait to see Carrie," Kubiszyn said. Registration Opens For Hospice Of West Alabama's 13th Annual 5K, Teen Victim Identified After Fatal Crash On 15th Street Tuesday, UWA's Woodruff Earns Back-To-Back GSC Coach Of The Year Honors, Commission Considers New Storm Shelter For Jerusalem Heights Community, Commission Moves Forward On New Fosters Farmers Market, Tuscaloosa Public Library To Kick Off Summer With Free Northport Event. Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect, Pence won't commit to supporting Trump if he's the nominee, 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story". While never closed, the case went cold without new evidence. It adjusts for the number of visitors and daily workers commuting into cities. "It's stuff like that that gets you through. Hes a stalker; he gets excited about his victims. But in the early morning hours of Oct. 13, a gunshot split the quiet night outside of a now-closed Tuscaloosa bar and left a young man bleeding on the pavement with a bullet in his head. Authorities got a major break when Bland was identified as a suspect. Keiths wife, 30-year-old Ruby Elaine Dardeen, was found dead alongside the couples three-year-old son Peter. First published on November 20, 2020 / 6:33 AM. It has also plagued the family of a woman who has been behind bars for 25 years in connection with the crime. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Bland, once successful in businesses of coal mining and land reclamation, had fallen on hard times and was desperate for money, according to investigators and family members. The kidnapping happened about 3 a.m. at the home Lawson, 25, shared with her husband, 26-year-old Earl Lawson, also an attorney. "But that call just never came.". With that in mind, Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit (VCU) is once again reminding the public that Wednesday marks the 25th anniversary of the seemingly unprovoked killing. ", In that same interview, Frank Evans, a supervisory special agent, said, "It is so patently inaccurate, we felt an obligation to say wait a minute. Jack Kelly, Charles Magarian, Peter Meroth, Freddie Delavega, and Vincent Solmonte were shot several times by a 12-gauge shotgun and a .25-caliber automatic in what appeared to be a robbery gone wrong.[11]. Others suggested that drug addicts had killed the Dardeen family in order to hock their possessions for drug money. Your family?. "Most of those people didn't know us at all," he said. On Sept. 19, 2005, Melvin Keeling, 43, Loveland, Ohio, shot and killed Family Express employees Lisa Kendall, 29, and Kendora Furr, 38, at the gas station, located on U.S. 24 and Interstate 65. 1 song on U.S. charts the night of Saturday, Oct. 12, 1996, when a Gene Stallings-led Crimson Tide football team won a road game 24-19 over North Carolina State in Raleigh to move to 6-0. It was like the movies," Kubiszyn said. Mitchell says hes seen a steady increase in murders since he started working in law enforcement in the Lowcountry in 2005, adding theyve just started to see a decrease this year. Indeed, believe it or not, American citizens are currently living in a time of unprecedented peace.[1]. A month later, an anonymous tip led searchers to Lake Tuscaloosa near the Alabama 69 bridge about 10 miles north of Northport. "I fully expected when we got down there, they would have found her and it would be over. "Thousands of people sympathized, empathized with their family. I always felt like he had this deep-seated feeling that he failed Carrie because he couldn't protect her," she said. Uland had taken out a life insurance policy on both Gierse and Hinson worth $150,000. On December 1, 1971, three corpses were found at a house located on North LaSalle Street in Indianapolis. This would prompt an investigation that has yet to see a single suspect charged with the murder. Johnny Swinten, Vietnam Vet. John Sharp was found face-up and with bloody hands near the front door. "They had searched his house, and questioned him and left him in the house with a bunch of guns," Kubiszyn said. if (document.referrer) document.write ("&referer=" + escape(document.referrer)); His wife, Sheila, who has since moved out of Alabama, was McPherson's cousin. The other three were so badly burned that further examination was almost impossible.[9]. The motive appeared to be robbery, as a trunk which was rumored to contain around 1500 dollars was missing. Whited's lawyer in the drug case, Griff Belser, said he was unaware of the arrest in the slaying until after it was announced by police. Carrie was declared legally dead two years after her disappearance. Earl Lawson was bound, and Carrie Lawson was never seen again. McPhersons cousin, Jerry Bland, was identified as the main suspect and committed suicide as lawmen surrounded his home. I remember someone saying he could kill himself.". Hell talk about killing a person like its a 10-point buck.. Jones, a drifter from Oklahoma, was convicted in Mobile County for the Sept. 2004 murder of 45-year-old Lisa Marie Nichols. All three women had been attacked with a knife; the killer had slashed each of their throats. Simpson had just ended in early October 1996, but remained fresh in the public psyche and dominated headlines. The Meeks were tenants on land owned by the Taylors. The victim, 32-year-old Joseph Todd Jowers of 103 Hargrove Rd. But it was a ruse. Carrie's parents took up residence in a Jasper motel. "I couldn't help but think that anybody would tell, or leave a note, about where she was," Lawson said. "I was talking on a payphone. Sadly, Senac died in 1999 due to complications from the shooting. You'd go to location A, and then he'd call you on that payphone and tell you to go to location B, which might be 20 miles down the road," Lawson said. I couldn't believe this was happening. }else{ She will be eligible for parole consideration again in five years. The victims included 34-year-old manager Stephanie Senac, who was in her office with her 12-year-old daughter Melissa Repass, and 13-year-old babysitter Amy Houser. The murders were carried out for a variety of apparent reasons, ranging from greed to bloodlust. They cared, and tried their very hardest. The newborn girl was pulled into the world and then summarily beaten to death. "And her lawyers called that night and said she was taking her story back. document.write (document.charset ? Bland left behind a suicide note of which the full contents have never been released. The voice on the tape, investigators said, matched that of the man making the ransom calls to Lawson. . document.write ("&loc=" + escape(window.location)); At some point, Bland's wife and the girls left the home. Whited, 53, of Trinity, was charged with murder after providing details that matched evidence and information collected after Dailey's death, police said in a statement. Other clues at the crime scene included the position of the bodies. Concealed in the ransom bag was another beeper, which would allow agents to follow the kidnapper. All four were brought into Senacs office by the two gunmen, who told the women to lie facedown. The whole Jerry Bland suicide is very suspicious, and it's very possible somebody else killed him. I think probably in the last 10 years, he's more resigned to the fact that we probably won't find her, but if anybody calls him and says they know something, he's going to follow up on it. Churches would cook for all of the search groups," Kubiszyn said. The Walker family of Osprey, Florida, included father Cliff (25 years old), mother Christine (24 years old), a son named Jimmie (three years old), and a daughter named Debbie (two years old). Sheriff Granthum is convinced science will end up playing a huge role in solving the remaining cases. His penis had also been removed. On that night, Glenna Sharp, members of her family, and a family friend were bludgeoned to death while they slept the night away at Cabin 28, which they had been renting from the Keddie Resort since November 1980. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. "And when we woke up the next morning, he was dead. Read about more disturbing unsolved murders on 10 Unsolved Murders Linked To Organized Crime and 10 Unsolved Murders With Strange Links To The Occult. Shaquille Granta football star at the school, somebody killed him, said Detective Charles Mitchell with the Hardeeville Police Department. No, I don't. "I have no idea how he picked our family next," Lawson said. Garland testifies before Senate panel amid ongoing special counsel probes, Colon cancer rates rising in younger age group, study finds, Firefighter dies battling blaze in downtown Buffalo, mayor says, 20,000 people may have been exposed to measles at Asbury University revival, Prosecution wraps its case at Alex Murdaugh murder trial, Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads, Ex-Georgia star Jalen Carter was racing in deadly crash, arrest warrants allege, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students. Unsolved murders of Alabama Erin Edgemon | eedgemon@al.com Charles R. "Dick" Salmon Charles R. "Dick" Salmon, 72, of Auburn was found dead of a gunshot wound at the service station he owned and. On Saturday, Sept. 28, 1991, federal agents searched Bland's home.