The Babysitter/Snow Killer

[cappuccina]

I haven't either, but this was in the Detroit papers today:

http://www.freep.com/article/20110714/NEWS03/110714008/Oakland-County-child-killer-case-reviewed-by-grand-jury

[sdreid]

The status of the case doesn't really seem to have changed much from the first time I saw it reported on the TV news in the late 70s.

[Ausgirl]

Here's an article that paints a pretty damning picture of Lamborgine:

http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/the-babysitter-killer/Content?oid=1498422

The writer makes a point to emphasise that Lamborgine was:

- A self-confessed and convicted paedophile.
- A neat freak (to maybe explain the ritual cleansing).
- A nervous type (to maybe explain why he stopped).
- Religious (to maybe further explain the ritual cleansing).


Linked to Lamborgine and also spoken of as a suspect is Bob Moore, the guy who was eaten by his pitbulls. Here's an interesting thread from a Detroit discussion forum, in which locals discuss him, and other suspects:

http://atdetroit.net/forum/messages/148145/176142.html?1234479414

I suppose any rampant paedo with neat habits in the area at the time could look likely,though.

[sdreid]

One recent account says that there has been imperfect DNA "match" to a guy named James Vincent Gunnels who would have only been in his mid-teens at the time of the murders. He also supposedly has some indirect connection to Chris Bush, another suspect. I don't believe Gunnels was even old enough to have a driver's license when the murders started and where would a 14-15 year-old keep victims? Anyway that's what they have at present. Perhaps someone else has an update after May of this year.

[sdreid]

The writer makes a point to emphasise that Lamborgine was:

- A self-confessed and convicted paedophile.
- A neat freak (to maybe explain the ritual cleansing).
- A nervous type (to maybe explain why he stopped).
- Religious (to maybe further explain the ritual cleansing).

I'm not all that convinced about this guy but I do believe the killer, whoever he was, could have been scared into stopping by a close call.

[sdreid]

Does anyone know if the old $100,000 reward is extant?

[sdreid]

If it has been adjusted for inflation, the reward should be something like $300,000 now.

[sdreid]

Regarding the four canonical murders, all the abductions occurred during the winter. Could this mean that the killer had a job where he was laid off during the winter, like construction?

All the four core disappearances happened on either a Sunday afternoon (first and third) or Wednesday evening (second and fourth) as well. At first, I thought there might be a tie to either a Pistons or Red Wings game but they don't always match up. My next guess was religious services since some churches have meetings on both Sunday and Wednesday. The Sunday services are usually in the morning and the Wednesday gatherings in the evenings. Could he have gone out on the hunt right after attending a church event?

[sdreid]

I can't think of many other occupations that have the winter off - baseball - lawn care?

Or many other activities that would have a Wednesday/Sunday connection other than maybe a semiweekly publication like an advertiser.

[sdreid]

Media coverage of this case seems a little light. There was a WXYZ radio program about the events entitled Winter's Fear: The Children, the Killer, the Search. It won a 1977 Peabody Award.

[sdreid]

WXYZ has since changed its call letters to WXYT.

[sdreid]

The Wiki article names Cynthia Cadieux, 16, as the most likely 5th victim. It looks like a very different murder to me but it would have been likely his first murder if he did it so perhaps he hadn't fully established his pattern yet.

[sdreid]

Age difference being the first thing that stands out.

[sdreid]

Media coverage of this case seems a little light. There was a WXYZ radio program about the events entitled Winter's Fear: The Children, the Killer, the Search. It won a 1977 Peabody Award.

WXYZ was one of the anchor stations for the old Mutual Broadcasting System; one of the four major radio networks from the 1930s to the 1990s.

[sdreid]

There has reportedly been a 99% DNA "match" of some hairs found on one of the victims to a property criminal who has no record of sex or violent crimes. The man's name is James Vincent Gunnels.