The Babysitter/Snow Killer

[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]

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

[sdreid]

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

[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]

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.

[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]

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.

[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]

According to Wiki, there are at least two books on this case. Has anyone seen these? I have not.

[sdreid]

A 14-year-old girl named Sheila Srock was once thought to be a possible victim of this killer but a man named Oliver Andrews was later convicted of her slaying and he was cleared of being the Babysitter.

[sdreid]

With all the doubt about how many murders were perpetrated by this killer, I'd expect that it would be major news if there was matching DNA on two or more victims.

[sdreid]

I don't know for sure Dan but I haven't heard of any.

[dannymc]

Was there any other DNA evidence from any of the other victims?

[sdreid]

A man named David Norberg, who was killed in a 1981 traffic accident, was a suspect for a while but he was exhumed and his DNA didn't match that found at the scene of the Timothy King murder. His car was similar to the one seen at the time of the abduction.

[sdreid]

That would have been Walter Cronkite if it was CBS.

Harry Reasoner if it was ABC, John Chancellor if it was NBC and Robert MacNeil if it was PBS - probably