True Crime thread

[MichaelWinicki]

A new old case for you to chew on...

Don't think it these 5 gentlemen died to nefarious reasons, but their case is full of questions:

"February 24, 1978. Chico, California. After embarking on a road trip to attend a basketball game, five mentally disabled young men – 24-year old Jackie Huett, 29-year old Bill Sterling, 30-year old Jack Madruga, 32-year old Ted Weiher, and 25-year old Gary Mathias – begin the 50-mile drive back to their homes in Yuba County, but never arrive. Four days later, their abandoned car is found in some snow on an isolated mountain road, but the five men, a.k.a. “The Yuba County Five”, have gone missing. After the spring thaw hits, the remains of four of the victims are discovered at different locations throughout the area, but Gary Mathias is never found. While the cause of death is determined to be exposure, there are many unanswered questions. Why did they drive over 35 miles off the highway to such an isolated location? What prompted them to abandon their vehicle? Did an eyewitness see other people with the five men on the road that night?"

https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/2017/12/7/mathias-group-from-yuba-city

https://charleyproject.org/case/gary-dale-mathias

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...me-back/f8b30b11-baeb-4351-89f3-26456a76a4fb/

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

A new old case for you to chew on...

Don't think it these 5 gentlemen died to nefarious reasons, but their case is full of questions:

"February 24, 1978. Chico, California. After embarking on a road trip to attend a basketball game, five mentally disabled young men – 24-year old Jackie Huett, 29-year old Bill Sterling, 30-year old Jack Madruga, 32-year old Ted Weiher, and 25-year old Gary Mathias – begin the 50-mile drive back to their homes in Yuba County, but never arrive. Four days later, their abandoned car is found in some snow on an isolated mountain road, but the five men, a.k.a. “The Yuba County Five”, have gone missing. After the spring thaw hits, the remains of four of the victims are discovered at different locations throughout the area, but Gary Mathias is never found. While the cause of death is determined to be exposure, there are many unanswered questions. Why did they drive over 35 miles off the highway to such an isolated location? What prompted them to abandon their vehicle? Did an eyewitness see other people with the five men on the road that night?"

https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/2017/12/7/mathias-group-from-yuba-city

https://charleyproject.org/case/gary-dale-mathias

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...me-back/f8b30b11-baeb-4351-89f3-26456a76a4fb/

Wow, what a fascinating, sad and strange tale. My first thought was Mathias was responsible somehow. And why would they drive 35 miles off the highway? Maybe this is a "death by misadventure" kinda thing and the body of Mathias has never been found, who knows.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Wow, what a fascinating, sad and strange tale. My first thought was Mathias was responsible somehow. And why would they drive 35 miles off the highway? Maybe this is a "death by misadventure" kinda thing and the body of Mathias has never been found, who knows.

I think Mathias' involvement began and ended at simply contributing to the number of bad decisions made by the group. He most likely died out in the wilderness and his body scattered by animals.

But so many questionable and outright bad decisions made.

I mean the car they were riding in wasn't even stuck. It had a 1/4 of a tank of gas still in it. And this is on top of driving off the main route onto a service road and sticking to that road for mile after mile.

Then they went walked uphill through the snow to where they finally ended up... Instead of down hill (towards where they came), which would make far more sense.

And yes, while none of them were candidates for "Jeopardy", two of them had served in the military and had driver's licenses.

Such a strange and tragic story.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

May 22, 1982. Hamersville, Ohio. 46-year old appliance repairman Permon Gilbert leaves his family’s home to perform some service calls. He never returns and his nude body is found in a ditch the following day (two bullet holes in his chest). Investigators fail to turn up any strong leads, but numerous theories surround Permon’s murder.

Theory #1-He owned his own plane and told his wife once that he was asked to smuggle drugs into the area– Was this a drug deal gone bad?

Theory #2-His younger brother had a very seedy reputation and was supposedly involved with organized crime– Was this payback for something his brother did?

Theory #3-He was caught with his pants down–literally. He was having an affair and a jealous boyfriend/husband caught him in a compromising position and killed him.

https://unsolved.com/gallery/permon-gilbert/

http://www.maysville-online.com/new...cle_7fe31cc0-93ef-5368-a534-ffeb277f87d6.html

http://www.maysville-online.com/new...cle_f073c630-0f73-53cd-b489-0e8fc016c46e.html

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

May 22, 1982. Hamersville, Ohio. 46-year old appliance repairman Permon Gilbert leaves his family’s home to perform some service calls. He never returns and his nude body is found in a ditch the following day (two bullet holes in his chest). Investigators fail to turn up any strong leads, but numerous theories surround Permon’s murder.

Theory #1-He owned his own plane and told his wife once that he was asked to smuggle drugs into the area– Was this a drug deal gone bad?

Theory #2-His younger brother had a very seedy reputation and was supposedly involved with organized crime– Was this payback for something his brother did?

Theory #3-He was caught with his pants down–literally. He was having an affair and a jealous boyfriend/husband caught him in a compromising position and killed him.

https://unsolved.com/gallery/permon-gilbert/

http://www.maysville-online.com/new...cle_7fe31cc0-93ef-5368-a534-ffeb277f87d6.html

http://www.maysville-online.com/new...cle_f073c630-0f73-53cd-b489-0e8fc016c46e.html

Another head scratcher for me, i was initially going to go with #3 but if it was indeed a crime of passion why would whomever take his wallet and belt buckle?

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Another head scratcher for me, i was initially going to go with #3 but if it was indeed a crime of passion why would whomever take his wallet and belt buckle?

I'm going with #3 also.

My guess on the wallet and belt buckle is "Hey I've killed him... Why not take the money?" And probably just like the belt buckle. I see in the image the guy is wearing an L&N hat... Railroad stuff. Maybe the belt buckle was RR themed also.

The person could have also taken the wallet to make it look like a robbery.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

An article from April talking about one of the parents who's daughter was killed in the 1977 Oklahoma Girl Scout murders...

https://www.newson6.com/story/607f8...oma-mother-keeps-fighting-for-victims-rights-

 

[timb2]

May 22, 1982. Hamersville, Ohio. 46-year old appliance repairman Permon Gilbert leaves his family’s home to perform some service calls. He never returns and his nude body is found in a ditch the following day (two bullet holes in his chest). Investigators fail to turn up any strong leads, but numerous theories surround Permon’s murder.

Theory #1-He owned his own plane and told his wife once that he was asked to smuggle drugs into the area– Was this a drug deal gone bad?

Theory #2-His younger brother had a very seedy reputation and was supposedly involved with organized crime– Was this payback for something his brother did?

Theory #3-He was caught with his pants down–literally. He was having an affair and a jealous boyfriend/husband caught him in a compromising position and killed him.

https://unsolved.com/gallery/permon-gilbert/

http://www.maysville-online.com/new...cle_7fe31cc0-93ef-5368-a534-ffeb277f87d6.html

http://www.maysville-online.com/new...cle_f073c630-0f73-53cd-b489-0e8fc016c46e.html

Where was Aileen Wuornos?

 

[MichaelWinicki]

The "Dating Game Killer" meets his demise...

https://news.yahoo.com/imprisoned-dating-game-killer-alcala-192232768.html

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

The "Dating Game Killer" meets his demise...

https://news.yahoo.com/imprisoned-dating-game-killer-alcala-192232768.html

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

 

[timb2]

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Absolutely!! Truthfully I hate Serial Killers, these jerks kill all the pretty girls!!!

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Absolutely!! Truthfully I hate Serial Killers, these jerks kill all the pretty girls!!!

A lot of truth in that...

I remember watching a TV show on Rodney Alcala and they flashed the pic of one of his victims (Charlotte Lamb) and thought "Wow!" She was a very attractive woman.

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

‘Candy Man’ Dean Corll was shot dead 48 years ago. Texas EquuSearch will soon begin searching for the remains of any additional victims (click2houston.com)

"48 years ago, Dean Corll, one of the country’s most prolific serial killers, was shot dead at his home in Pasadena, Texas. Texas EquuSearch announced Sunday it will soon begin searching for the remains of any additional victims.

Between 1970 and 1973, Dean Corll, murdered at least 28 young boys in the Houston area. The killings were dubbed the Houston Mass Murders, and at the time, they were considered the worst serial murders in U.S. history"

 

[Mannix]

Holy S....was he the ONLY employee at the Lomas Fargo facility....how could the security be that lax???

 

[MichaelWinicki]

‘Candy Man’ Dean Corll was shot dead 48 years ago. Texas EquuSearch will soon begin searching for the remains of any additional victims (click2houston.com)

"48 years ago, Dean Corll, one of the country’s most prolific serial killers, was shot dead at his home in Pasadena, Texas. Texas EquuSearch announced Sunday it will soon begin searching for the remains of any additional victims.

Between 1970 and 1973, Dean Corll, murdered at least 28 young boys in the Houston area. The killings were dubbed the Houston Mass Murders, and at the time, they were considered the worst serial murders in U.S. history"

I was disappointed in the latest A&E series on serial killers... They covered Bundy, Gacy, Dahmer, BTK and Gary Ridgeway but no coverage of Corll even though he was before all of them and influenced Gacy.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Certainly one of the earlier serial killers who preyed on children...

The Moors Murders (in the UK)– Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in 1963 & '64.

(From a 2017 New York Times article) "Ian Brady, a slender 27-year-old stock clerk with sharp features and a pompadour, and his girlfriend, Myra Hindley, a 23-year-old typist with dyed blond hair, were suspected of killing five children. Grisly details of abduction, torture, beatings and sexual abuse were disclosed in court, turning the couple into the most hated in Britain.

Mr. Brady died on Monday at Ashworth Hospital, a high-security psychiatric hospital in Liverpool, England, at the age of 79. Here are details about the case and the couple’s victims.

Background
Five children were reported missing, but the bodies of just three were found by the time the couple were arrested in 1965. The killings were called the Moors murders because of the couple’s practice of burying victims on the desolate Saddleworth Moor in northwestern England."

Britons were horrified by revelations that some of the children had been tortured and molested before they were killed, and that in one instance, the couple had made a tape recording of a victim pleading for her life."


There are just so many ugly things about this case...

One oddity is that these murders were done by a male & female... The first serial killer couple of the modern crime.

Later on Myra Hindley tried to beg off her involvement by saying she was coerced into these killings but there is overwhelming proof of her involvement, including her voice appearing on a 16 minute audio recording taken while they were stripping, abusing and soon to be killing the 10 year-old 4th victim of the killers.

For those interested here is a transcript of the audio recording (this is bad):

https://lostmediaarchive.fandom.com/wiki/Moors_Murderers'_Torture_Audio_(Recorded_in_1964)

3 victims were found before the trial.

1 of the victim was found in the late 1980's.

1 has not been found.

 

[HungryLion]

I was disappointed in the latest A&E series on serial killers... They covered Bundy, Gacy, Dahmer, BTK and Gary Ridgeway but no coverage of Corll even though he was before all of them and influenced Gacy.

Dude. I didn’t even know about Corll until reading the link posted on this thread. Which shows a lack of coverage because I’ve heard of the others and seen shows and stuff about them dozens of times.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Family murders just gut me... Especially if they involve children.

Anyway that's what happened in Aurora, Colorado in 1984.

The suspect murdered (with a hammer of all things) a man, his wife, and their 7 yo daughter (who was also sexually assaulted). A 3 yo daughter survived.

It took several decades but a suspect was found (who was serving a prison sentence in another state) through DNA testing.

The suspect was just found guilty of 3 counts of murder:

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/na...0210818-c4lpcqzeavgundlwiwlcneqlna-story.html

This is a pic of the suspect Alex Ewing:

I think a lot of folks would like to have about 5 minutes with this guy to wipe the smirk off his face.

It's a horrid crime.

And it doesn't end here...

Ewing is going on trial soon for another hammer killing that occurred during the same time period not far from this murder.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Dude. I didn’t even know about Corll until reading the link posted on this thread. Which shows a lack of coverage because I’ve heard of the others and seen shows and stuff about them dozens of times.

You ask a person who doesn't follow true crime if they've heard of Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy or Jeffrey Dahmer and they'll know who they are.

But Corll has been greatly lost to time, even with the Internet.

I can tell you that Corll's crimes did get epic coverage at the time... I was only 10 at the time but it shook my world. You probably remember the pics of folks carrying bodies out of Gacy's house a few years later, but the same thing happened during the Corll thing, but this time with bodies carted out off a boathouse he was renting.

However not having a trial and the city of Houston authorities pushing to cover-up the whole thing Corrll's crimes were quickly forgotten.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Dude. I didn’t even know about Corll until reading the link posted on this thread. Which shows a lack of coverage because I’ve heard of the others and seen shows and stuff about them dozens of times.

One of the stunning things about this case is that at about the same time someone was killing teenage girls in the nearby Galveston area ("The Galveston 11").