Friends of Debbie Key first appeared on the Internet on June 1st, 2007.
The first website about Debbie was called "Debbie Key - Murder Victim" and was done by Jackie Helvey in 2006. Jackie is probably known by every musician and artist in the Chapel Hill/ Carrboro area, but is best known for the website Carrboro.Com.
http://www.carrboro.com/
I thought Debbie's story deserved more than one page, and so in May of 2007 I bought the URL and hired Judith Gadd of Star WebWorks to create FDK.
http://www.starwebworks.com/
I am very grateful to Judith for all the support and encouragement she has given me.
Our first year got off to a very good start with the news coverage of NC Wanted, and the 10-year anniversary candlelight vigil. But more than anything else, it was the blog "Who Killed Theresa?' by John Allore that really got it off the ground. There is a rather uncanny parallel between the stories of Debbie Key and Theresa Allore that got everyone's attention. From there the website seemed to take off on its own momentum.
The most rewarding thing for me about doing this was connecting with people like John Allore, Todd Matthews, Doreen Prior, Monica Caison, and our special friend 'Anon', who have each been a blessing to me. Through these new friends I have become more aware of the plight of missing persons, the heartbreak of victim's families, the people who are doing something about it, and the insane laws that fail to keep dangerous people locked up.
I really hate it whenever I hear people say, "I don't think there's anything we can do about it." before they even try. If I can make a positive example to anyone, I will consider it karma payed forward for all I have received.
Special thanks to everyone who has helped me along. I hope you know who you are.
Showing posts with label Theresa Allore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Theresa Allore. Show all posts
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Thursday, November 05, 2009
To Solve a Cold Case
John Allore has written this up, with some input from me and Doreen Prior, and suggested that we all post this in our blogs.
Naturally, I agreed.
----------------------------------------------------------
How To run your own Cold-Case – Top Ten
Doreen Prior made an interesting comment recently that she was equally dialed in to unsolved cases in the Montreal region from the 70s. If you don’t know Doreen, she has been advocating longer than me for a resolution to the unsolved death of her sister, Sharron, http://www.sharronprior.com/ who was murdered in 1975. Doreen knows this process better than anyone. As well, Bill Widman has been actively seeking to solve the murder of his friend, Debbie Key. In the interest of helping other families who may be trying to conduct their own investigations, Doreen, Bill and I offer these top ten suggestions for conducting your own cold-case investigation:
1. Information Management – The Internet: If you can afford it, get a subscription to Lexis-Nexis. http://www.lexisnexis.com/
This will allow you to data mine old newspapers back to the early 80s. There’s gold in them hills.
2. Information Management – Your local library: Most major libraries keep copies of all regional newspapers on microfiche. For Theresa’s case I was able to have the Provincial Library in Quebec mail me microfiche of old newspapers like the Montreal Star, Photo Police, Allo Police to my local library in North Carolina! I know Doreen Prior also accessed local libraries for Sharron’s case. Newspapers offer you good information about activities in the area of investigation leading up to, and immediately after any murder.
3. Google is your best friend: http://www.google.com/alerts
I have Google Alerts set up for all key words associated with my sister’s death (names of regional towns, suspects’ names, the name of each regional police force). This is a good way to stay a step ahead of anything that may be relevant to your investigation.
4. Accessing public records: Things like medical records and autopsy reports… these are public information and readily available from your local medical examiner or coroner.
5. Makes friends with the appropriate law enforcement agency: In many circumstances a case grows cold due to perceived ineptitudes of the investigating police force. Despite the frustration you must ultimately make peace with the investigating force. Ultimately they are the only body that can bring the case to justice. Despite friction, you must work to find an understanding. This doesn’t mean you can’t continue to challenge the force, just realize that you must retain balance. Crime scene reports? Evidence? Primary information? All of this is in the hands of the investigating force. You must make amends if you hope to gain access to this information.
6. Psychics: Useful? As secondary evidence, possibly. Just realize that anything psychic / medium offers is not admissible as evidence. It can be a great resource (myself and Bill have used them), but be aware of their limitations. And don’t get strayed into kooky theories: you can see patterns in any amount of randomness. Remember that some things are a coincidence.
7. Network: Read everything. The internet is an incredible resource. Become familiar with advocacy and justice initiatives. Make friends, get educated, attend conferences.
8. Publicity: The media can be a great tool to get your story out. Remember one thing: ultimately they are exploiting you, so feel free to exploit them. “If it bleeds it leads”… and the stories the media usually are attracted to in cold cases are something gruesome or something very personal ( perhaps too personal for a crime victim… I always hated when they asked me about “closure”). Be professional, cautious and guarded. Don’t offer up anything you feel is crossing a line. You have a right to say, “no, that’s too far” with these people. Also, don’t feel bad if they don’t want to cover your story. I have spent many hours offering up angles to media (suspects, new information, a personal-interest moment, a tidbit that is relevant to a current case), if they aren’t interested, don’t take it personally. Move on. It’s a business. One of the main reasons myself, Doreen and Bill started blogs was to control the distribution of information. So you can start one too! That too is media attention!
9. Get support: Guess what? You’re only human. And very quickly you will reach a burnout threshold. Get help. Find something positive other than this cold-case that gives you energy ( a hobby, your family, a sport, your shrink). We’ve all been to the bottom. It’s no fun, but we will support you on your journey back up. One of the best things I did? Made friends with fellow victims and investigating colleagues on Facebook. At first this seemed counter-intuitive: I wanted to isolate my personal life from my cold-case life. In the end it was the right decision because it was healthy to see these people without the victim stigma, in a normal light: families, loves, interests.
10. If all else fails: Contact the Vidocq Society, http://www.vidocq.org/ a group out of the Washington area comprised of retired forensic and investigative experts dedicated to solving old cases. Slightly pretentious, but if you’ve exhausted numbers 1 – 9 at this point you have nothing to lose. A word of caution: Vidocq will only consider your case if you have support from your local police jurisdiction (so no coming here if you’ve got a beef with how the police screwed up your case).
Go forth and solve!
Naturally, I agreed.
----------------------------------------------------------
How To run your own Cold-Case – Top Ten
Doreen Prior made an interesting comment recently that she was equally dialed in to unsolved cases in the Montreal region from the 70s. If you don’t know Doreen, she has been advocating longer than me for a resolution to the unsolved death of her sister, Sharron, http://www.sharronprior.com/ who was murdered in 1975. Doreen knows this process better than anyone. As well, Bill Widman has been actively seeking to solve the murder of his friend, Debbie Key. In the interest of helping other families who may be trying to conduct their own investigations, Doreen, Bill and I offer these top ten suggestions for conducting your own cold-case investigation:
1. Information Management – The Internet: If you can afford it, get a subscription to Lexis-Nexis. http://www.lexisnexis.com/
This will allow you to data mine old newspapers back to the early 80s. There’s gold in them hills.
2. Information Management – Your local library: Most major libraries keep copies of all regional newspapers on microfiche. For Theresa’s case I was able to have the Provincial Library in Quebec mail me microfiche of old newspapers like the Montreal Star, Photo Police, Allo Police to my local library in North Carolina! I know Doreen Prior also accessed local libraries for Sharron’s case. Newspapers offer you good information about activities in the area of investigation leading up to, and immediately after any murder.
3. Google is your best friend: http://www.google.com/alerts
I have Google Alerts set up for all key words associated with my sister’s death (names of regional towns, suspects’ names, the name of each regional police force). This is a good way to stay a step ahead of anything that may be relevant to your investigation.
4. Accessing public records: Things like medical records and autopsy reports… these are public information and readily available from your local medical examiner or coroner.
5. Makes friends with the appropriate law enforcement agency: In many circumstances a case grows cold due to perceived ineptitudes of the investigating police force. Despite the frustration you must ultimately make peace with the investigating force. Ultimately they are the only body that can bring the case to justice. Despite friction, you must work to find an understanding. This doesn’t mean you can’t continue to challenge the force, just realize that you must retain balance. Crime scene reports? Evidence? Primary information? All of this is in the hands of the investigating force. You must make amends if you hope to gain access to this information.
6. Psychics: Useful? As secondary evidence, possibly. Just realize that anything psychic / medium offers is not admissible as evidence. It can be a great resource (myself and Bill have used them), but be aware of their limitations. And don’t get strayed into kooky theories: you can see patterns in any amount of randomness. Remember that some things are a coincidence.
7. Network: Read everything. The internet is an incredible resource. Become familiar with advocacy and justice initiatives. Make friends, get educated, attend conferences.
8. Publicity: The media can be a great tool to get your story out. Remember one thing: ultimately they are exploiting you, so feel free to exploit them. “If it bleeds it leads”… and the stories the media usually are attracted to in cold cases are something gruesome or something very personal ( perhaps too personal for a crime victim… I always hated when they asked me about “closure”). Be professional, cautious and guarded. Don’t offer up anything you feel is crossing a line. You have a right to say, “no, that’s too far” with these people. Also, don’t feel bad if they don’t want to cover your story. I have spent many hours offering up angles to media (suspects, new information, a personal-interest moment, a tidbit that is relevant to a current case), if they aren’t interested, don’t take it personally. Move on. It’s a business. One of the main reasons myself, Doreen and Bill started blogs was to control the distribution of information. So you can start one too! That too is media attention!
9. Get support: Guess what? You’re only human. And very quickly you will reach a burnout threshold. Get help. Find something positive other than this cold-case that gives you energy ( a hobby, your family, a sport, your shrink). We’ve all been to the bottom. It’s no fun, but we will support you on your journey back up. One of the best things I did? Made friends with fellow victims and investigating colleagues on Facebook. At first this seemed counter-intuitive: I wanted to isolate my personal life from my cold-case life. In the end it was the right decision because it was healthy to see these people without the victim stigma, in a normal light: families, loves, interests.
10. If all else fails: Contact the Vidocq Society, http://www.vidocq.org/ a group out of the Washington area comprised of retired forensic and investigative experts dedicated to solving old cases. Slightly pretentious, but if you’ve exhausted numbers 1 – 9 at this point you have nothing to lose. A word of caution: Vidocq will only consider your case if you have support from your local police jurisdiction (so no coming here if you’ve got a beef with how the police screwed up your case).
Go forth and solve!
Monday, November 02, 2009
Beyond This Place
My favorite story about what happened to Debbie Key is "Bad Dream House" by John Allore. During our Halloween weekend I have learned that John had written a sequel to the story. It is called "Beyond This Place," and the first chapter now appears in his WKT? blog.
http://theresaallore.com/?bloggerURL=/.com/
Below is a sample of the first chapter, edited by me.
(...) indicates where I left out sentences.
(You don't have to tell me I'm biased because I already know that, but I also want to make it shorter for this post)
------------------------------------------------------------
I live in a house once inhabited by a psychopath. (...) Each day there are a dozen little things reminding me that Deborah Key – the young woman who was most likely murdered by the former owner of our home – is still missing. Working in the garden, I’ll unearth some artifact belonging to the former owners. Inevitably, it will be some weapon or instrument of torture – an arrow, a spear, the broken blade from a sword. One time I found a gigantic hunting knife with brown stains on the blade. (...) Another time I found the remains of a dismembered Barbie doll.
Last year my wife started a business; a children’s resale shop in downtown Carrboro. Carrboro is a little bedroom community of Chapel Hill in North Carolina. My wife’s shop is cute. She has a lot of nice stuff. (...) As fate would have it, my wife rented the space where the bar Sticks and Stones was formerly located. The same Sticks and Stones where Deborah Key was last seen alive. Every day after work I pull into the parking lot to pick up the kids. I always park in the spot where Deborah was last seen kissing Andrew Dalzell against the hood of her car. Deborah’s mother placed a small memorial on the spot with flowers and a plaque. It’s nice that it’s there to remind me. Just in case I forgot.
Not long ago I got another call from our local police. Deborah Key’s body still had not been recovered. Chief Henderson wanted to return and search our property. This time they weren’t bringing a cadaver dog; they were bringing a psychic.
I don’t understand this “psychic” business. They always seem to be able to see everything that is totally extraneous. They do everything but the one thing police ask them to do: solve the crime. (...)
“She had a vision that Deborah’s body was in a place with woods and a lake.”
(...) That was the thing, it wasn’t a gimmick; my friend had done it. It was amazing. She had a conversation through the medium with her dead relatives. It was creepy. There were details this medium knew about my friend’s life that only people who had “passed” could have known – little pieces of knowledge that no one could find through deception. My friend came to a conclusion. Either the medium was really a psychic and she was reading your mind; or it was for real, and she talked to the dead. My friend suggested I arrange for a consultation with my sister. The medium charged two hundred dollars an hour. I said I’d think about it.
On the weekend I phone my parents and ask them about the medium. They say, why not? I talk with my brother. He can’t think of a reason not to do it either. Curious. I was hoping one of them would stop me. At Barnes & Noble I “inadvertently” wind up in front of the New Age section. My medium’s staring at me from the cover of her book. What’s going on here?
--------------------------------------------------------------
IN OTHER NEWS:
Today is the day the trial begins for Curtis Lavelle Vance, who last year murdered TV news anchor Anne Pressly in Little Rock, Arkansas. I plan to keep up with this case.
Here is some more news on the prison release issue.
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/6304543/
Tomorrow will be the 31-year anniversary of the murder of Theresa Allore - November 3, 1978.
Also on this day, 3 years ago, Michelle Young was killed near Raleigh, NC - November 3, 2006.
http://theresaallore.com/?bloggerURL=/.com/
Below is a sample of the first chapter, edited by me.
(...) indicates where I left out sentences.
(You don't have to tell me I'm biased because I already know that, but I also want to make it shorter for this post)
------------------------------------------------------------
I live in a house once inhabited by a psychopath. (...) Each day there are a dozen little things reminding me that Deborah Key – the young woman who was most likely murdered by the former owner of our home – is still missing. Working in the garden, I’ll unearth some artifact belonging to the former owners. Inevitably, it will be some weapon or instrument of torture – an arrow, a spear, the broken blade from a sword. One time I found a gigantic hunting knife with brown stains on the blade. (...) Another time I found the remains of a dismembered Barbie doll.
Last year my wife started a business; a children’s resale shop in downtown Carrboro. Carrboro is a little bedroom community of Chapel Hill in North Carolina. My wife’s shop is cute. She has a lot of nice stuff. (...) As fate would have it, my wife rented the space where the bar Sticks and Stones was formerly located. The same Sticks and Stones where Deborah Key was last seen alive. Every day after work I pull into the parking lot to pick up the kids. I always park in the spot where Deborah was last seen kissing Andrew Dalzell against the hood of her car. Deborah’s mother placed a small memorial on the spot with flowers and a plaque. It’s nice that it’s there to remind me. Just in case I forgot.
Not long ago I got another call from our local police. Deborah Key’s body still had not been recovered. Chief Henderson wanted to return and search our property. This time they weren’t bringing a cadaver dog; they were bringing a psychic.
I don’t understand this “psychic” business. They always seem to be able to see everything that is totally extraneous. They do everything but the one thing police ask them to do: solve the crime. (...)
“She had a vision that Deborah’s body was in a place with woods and a lake.”
(...) That was the thing, it wasn’t a gimmick; my friend had done it. It was amazing. She had a conversation through the medium with her dead relatives. It was creepy. There were details this medium knew about my friend’s life that only people who had “passed” could have known – little pieces of knowledge that no one could find through deception. My friend came to a conclusion. Either the medium was really a psychic and she was reading your mind; or it was for real, and she talked to the dead. My friend suggested I arrange for a consultation with my sister. The medium charged two hundred dollars an hour. I said I’d think about it.
On the weekend I phone my parents and ask them about the medium. They say, why not? I talk with my brother. He can’t think of a reason not to do it either. Curious. I was hoping one of them would stop me. At Barnes & Noble I “inadvertently” wind up in front of the New Age section. My medium’s staring at me from the cover of her book. What’s going on here?
--------------------------------------------------------------
IN OTHER NEWS:
Today is the day the trial begins for Curtis Lavelle Vance, who last year murdered TV news anchor Anne Pressly in Little Rock, Arkansas. I plan to keep up with this case.
Here is some more news on the prison release issue.
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/6304543/
Tomorrow will be the 31-year anniversary of the murder of Theresa Allore - November 3, 1978.
Also on this day, 3 years ago, Michelle Young was killed near Raleigh, NC - November 3, 2006.
Monday, August 31, 2009
New Theresa Allore Blog
John Allore has created a new blog as we await restoration of "Who Killed Theresa?" This includes old and new material, and also the petition. While Google/Blogger has provided such good service for so many of us, it is sad to find they are not working so well for the best crime blog I know of today. We always find, however, that there is a "never surrender" attitude among advocates of victim's rights, and WKT? is no exception.
So Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you the new "Who Killed Theresa's Blog?"
http://www.theresakilledagain.blogspot.com/
Fighting the never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way! Hey hey hey! What can I say?
So Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you the new "Who Killed Theresa's Blog?"
http://www.theresakilledagain.blogspot.com/
Fighting the never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way! Hey hey hey! What can I say?
Friday, August 14, 2009
Who Killed Theresa's Blog?
If you go to visit Who Killed Theresa today, you may be in for a surprise. It seems the blog has come under a spam attack, making it disappear.
John Allore informs me he has appealed to Google to restore WKT. In the meantime, he has temporarily moved to this location.
http://cultvulture.blogspot.com/
Topics currently being discussed shall continue here, until WKT has been restored.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE August 30 -- SIGN THE PETITION TO BRING BACK WKT?
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/google-blogger-please-restore-who-killed-theresa
John Allore informs me he has appealed to Google to restore WKT. In the meantime, he has temporarily moved to this location.
http://cultvulture.blogspot.com/
Topics currently being discussed shall continue here, until WKT has been restored.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE August 30 -- SIGN THE PETITION TO BRING BACK WKT?
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/google-blogger-please-restore-who-killed-theresa
Friday, January 30, 2009
Everyone Knows Something
In the field of astronomy, more new discoveries have been made in the last century by amateur, rather than by professional astronomers. This is due partly because professional astronomers have a schedule made out in advance of celestial bodies expected to appear. The amateur, however, would be more likely to set up and point his telescope at whatever catches his attention. The sky is a big place, and if you were looking at any given constellation, you might miss something that becomes visible in another part of the sky. It is surprising how many times an observatory hears from a casual stargazer, calling to report something that hasn't been seen before.
The same occurs in other fields of science, including forensics and criminology.
A case in point is Todd Matthews and the mystery of the Tent Girl. Human remains found in Kentucky during the 1960's have gone unidentified for 30 years, in spite of great efforts. It was a man with no formal training or prior experience (this was his first case) who solved the mystery of this person's identity. He had to come up with a method of his own, and it worked.
Often a murder or missing persons case goes unsolved because police follow a prescribed procedure. Even worse is when they already have a theory they are trying to prove, and disregard visible clues they find, because these aren't the clues they're looking for.
Read any book about a serial killer, and chances are that you will be surprised how many clues have been ignored. The author, writing in retrospect, (hindsight is always 20/20) describes in detail the killer's activities, from his first victim to his final arrest, and he doesn't always do a good job of covering his tracks. Before you finish the book, you may find yourself wondering why they haven't caught him yet.
Among the police in my locality, there are those I sometimes have long conversations with, and those who won't talk to me at all. I was told, by a police officer I do converse with, that perhaps it is because bloggers have such limited credibility with law enforcement. Granted, there is a lot of BS out there in the blogging world, but still this is unfortunate.
The most dramatic case of investigative failure I've read about is the case of Theresa Allore. The Surete du Quebec, being the provincial police of that area, have overlooked so many clues it inspires us to make fun of them. (Perhaps me more than anyone else) There were two other young females who were murdered in the same general area and time that were not connected, except by Theresa's brothers who continued the investigation, (if not started it) and a detective from Vancouver named Kim Rossmo.
Rossmo came up with a formula called "Geographic Profiling," and has also designed a computer program for it.
It was found that if you take a map of that area in Quebec and mark all the places where the bodies were found, along with where they were last seen, and where their possessions were found, you come up with a consistent pattern. The killer's stalking route becomes clearly visible. One begins to wonder why the cases were not connected.
Rossmo's program was initially scoffed at by his fellow officers, but today it is widely used by the RCMP, the FBI, and Scotland Yard.
In the case of Ira Yarmolenko, it was the bloggers, not the police, who first presented the possibility that Ira's murder may be connected with the two missing persons cases that took place in the same county in NC, and very close to the same time. There may or may not be a connection, but the question needs to be asked.
It is likely that Ira Yarmolenko and Debbie Key never knew each other. The Yarmolenko family moved to Greensboro, NC from the Ukraine in 1996, and to Chapel Hill in 1998. Debbie Key went missing in 1997. Still, both lived in the Chapel Hill area and had a lot of friends around here. There are people I've met who knew both of them, though not at the same time. I have talked with some of these people, and have learned some interesting things from them. There are also people I've talked to who are quite young, having been students at CHHS when Ira was there. When I tried to share some of this info with people in my age group, most of them said things like:
"You gotta consider the source."
"These are just kids."
"What do they know?"
To that, let me say this:
If you think young people don't know very much, you must not be spending much time around them.
When Debbie went missing, the Carrboro Police went around talking to nearly every one of her friends. Carrboro is a fairly small town where everyone knows each other. Word got around fast. By the time the news reached my ears, I was surprised by how many people already knew about it.
The Mt. Holly Police have not been talking to anyone except Ira's immediate family, as far as I know, and have been very tight-lipped about the investigation. There are those who believe they have arrested the wrong people. (Would you sit down and go fishing by the river where you just got finished killing someone?) The trial will be on Feb 2nd, last I heard, and I am curious as to how it will end up. I am willing to bet at this point that this case will be solved by the friends and family of the victim, rather than by law enforcement.
As my Scarecrow says in "the Wizard of Blogs,"
"No one knows everything, but everyone knows something that others do not."
The same occurs in other fields of science, including forensics and criminology.
A case in point is Todd Matthews and the mystery of the Tent Girl. Human remains found in Kentucky during the 1960's have gone unidentified for 30 years, in spite of great efforts. It was a man with no formal training or prior experience (this was his first case) who solved the mystery of this person's identity. He had to come up with a method of his own, and it worked.
Often a murder or missing persons case goes unsolved because police follow a prescribed procedure. Even worse is when they already have a theory they are trying to prove, and disregard visible clues they find, because these aren't the clues they're looking for.
Read any book about a serial killer, and chances are that you will be surprised how many clues have been ignored. The author, writing in retrospect, (hindsight is always 20/20) describes in detail the killer's activities, from his first victim to his final arrest, and he doesn't always do a good job of covering his tracks. Before you finish the book, you may find yourself wondering why they haven't caught him yet.
Among the police in my locality, there are those I sometimes have long conversations with, and those who won't talk to me at all. I was told, by a police officer I do converse with, that perhaps it is because bloggers have such limited credibility with law enforcement. Granted, there is a lot of BS out there in the blogging world, but still this is unfortunate.
The most dramatic case of investigative failure I've read about is the case of Theresa Allore. The Surete du Quebec, being the provincial police of that area, have overlooked so many clues it inspires us to make fun of them. (Perhaps me more than anyone else) There were two other young females who were murdered in the same general area and time that were not connected, except by Theresa's brothers who continued the investigation, (if not started it) and a detective from Vancouver named Kim Rossmo.
Rossmo came up with a formula called "Geographic Profiling," and has also designed a computer program for it.
It was found that if you take a map of that area in Quebec and mark all the places where the bodies were found, along with where they were last seen, and where their possessions were found, you come up with a consistent pattern. The killer's stalking route becomes clearly visible. One begins to wonder why the cases were not connected.
Rossmo's program was initially scoffed at by his fellow officers, but today it is widely used by the RCMP, the FBI, and Scotland Yard.
In the case of Ira Yarmolenko, it was the bloggers, not the police, who first presented the possibility that Ira's murder may be connected with the two missing persons cases that took place in the same county in NC, and very close to the same time. There may or may not be a connection, but the question needs to be asked.
It is likely that Ira Yarmolenko and Debbie Key never knew each other. The Yarmolenko family moved to Greensboro, NC from the Ukraine in 1996, and to Chapel Hill in 1998. Debbie Key went missing in 1997. Still, both lived in the Chapel Hill area and had a lot of friends around here. There are people I've met who knew both of them, though not at the same time. I have talked with some of these people, and have learned some interesting things from them. There are also people I've talked to who are quite young, having been students at CHHS when Ira was there. When I tried to share some of this info with people in my age group, most of them said things like:
"You gotta consider the source."
"These are just kids."
"What do they know?"
To that, let me say this:
If you think young people don't know very much, you must not be spending much time around them.
When Debbie went missing, the Carrboro Police went around talking to nearly every one of her friends. Carrboro is a fairly small town where everyone knows each other. Word got around fast. By the time the news reached my ears, I was surprised by how many people already knew about it.
The Mt. Holly Police have not been talking to anyone except Ira's immediate family, as far as I know, and have been very tight-lipped about the investigation. There are those who believe they have arrested the wrong people. (Would you sit down and go fishing by the river where you just got finished killing someone?) The trial will be on Feb 2nd, last I heard, and I am curious as to how it will end up. I am willing to bet at this point that this case will be solved by the friends and family of the victim, rather than by law enforcement.
As my Scarecrow says in "the Wizard of Blogs,"
"No one knows everything, but everyone knows something that others do not."
Monday, November 03, 2008
Theresa Allore - 30 years
Today is the 30-year anniversary of the death of Theresa Allore.
Theresa was a spunky and lovable teenager who loved David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Archie comics.
When she went missing from her school on November 3, 1978, neither the school, nor the police, thought there was any need to look for her.
Murder was so uncommon in that part of Canada at that time, that even after Theresa's body was found, they still didn't think that's what happened to her.
John Allore is a man who has worked very hard since then to find out what really happened to his older sister, and now lives in Chapel Hill, NC. By a strange twist of fate, John and his family bought the house that Debbie Key's suspected killer once lived in. His story has brought us together.
Today I wish to honor the memory of Theresa Allore.
The blogging team of "Who Killed Theresa?" has been very kind and supportive of my efforts to put this website together. Without such encouragement, I might have given up.
I ask my readers to visit WKT?, and to check out the videos about Theresa on YouTube today. Let us remember this person who has brought us together in this unusual, but very meaningful way.
I suggest you start here:
http://whokilledtheresa.blogspot.com/2008/11/theresa-allore-october-12-1959-november.html
To everyone at WKT?, I thank you for your support, and I value the friendships we have made.
Wishing you peace and many blessings;
The Wildman
Theresa was a spunky and lovable teenager who loved David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Archie comics.
When she went missing from her school on November 3, 1978, neither the school, nor the police, thought there was any need to look for her.
Murder was so uncommon in that part of Canada at that time, that even after Theresa's body was found, they still didn't think that's what happened to her.
John Allore is a man who has worked very hard since then to find out what really happened to his older sister, and now lives in Chapel Hill, NC. By a strange twist of fate, John and his family bought the house that Debbie Key's suspected killer once lived in. His story has brought us together.
Today I wish to honor the memory of Theresa Allore.
The blogging team of "Who Killed Theresa?" has been very kind and supportive of my efforts to put this website together. Without such encouragement, I might have given up.
I ask my readers to visit WKT?, and to check out the videos about Theresa on YouTube today. Let us remember this person who has brought us together in this unusual, but very meaningful way.
I suggest you start here:
http://whokilledtheresa.blogspot.com/2008/11/theresa-allore-october-12-1959-november.html
To everyone at WKT?, I thank you for your support, and I value the friendships we have made.
Wishing you peace and many blessings;
The Wildman
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Theresa Allore Video
This is Part 3 of 5 in a series of videos made by John Allore about Theresa, using news footage by W-5 in Quebec. I have selected this part for posting here, because this is the part where Debbie, and the "Bad Dream House," are mentioned.
We will soon be observing the 30-year anniversary of Theresa's death, which was on November 3, 1978.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Message from Terry Roth
Terry Roth is a person living in Quebec who has known the Allore family since when Theresa was still alive, and has been following her murder case ever since. He was kind enough to offer me feedback and corrections on my criticism of the Surete du Quebec.
Terry writes;
The SQ is to blame for a few things - but not everything. You have to understand that in 1979, there was no SQ - there was the provoncial police and local authorities involved. The locals were the ones investigating these cases (with the help of provincial coroner who did the autopsy and reported results.)
But there were 3 police "entities" involved - the local police (led by Leo Hamel), the provincial police (albeit distant) and a "detective" named Roch Gaudrault.
This is the crux of this case. Roch Gaudrault. (pronounced Rock Good-row) - this guy was a blithering fool who had no desire in solving murder cases as much as he wanted to just close files. At the time of the disapparance he deduced a drug-overdose theory - and went with that theory through the finding of the body 5 months later. The autopsy showed NO traces of any drugs in her body - which Roch explained that it was due to the body being in water and ice for 5 months. We bought that. What could we do. We were young and the police said thats the way it was.
I never believed that myself- Theresa did not do drugs...and why she would decide to take drugs (she was an honor role student who had early-semester good marks and no problems) want to OD and kill herself 3 miles from her dorm....well it was just a crazy reason.
A few years ago, John decided to look into this case further and found the following:
-There were TWO other girls whose bodies were found around the same time - similar origins, paths roads - in an area which is a quiet rural college town...they had like 1 murder every 20 years in that area - all of a sudden 3 at once. But why didn't we hear about it at the time? Because all 3 fell into different local jurisdictions (police forces) - there was no SQ to tie them together.
But there WAS a common denominator. Roch Gaudrault was the detective in all 3.
As a matter of fact, he was the main murder detective of the entire area. In his career - thats all he dealt with - 3 murders of young girls. How many did he solve? zero.
Now lets look a little closer at this guy...and his so-called "investigations" at the time.....yup you got it - all 3 cases were scant investigations ...poor evidence retrieval....poor interviewing...unexplainable lost time ...useless travelling to places which had nothing to do with the case, etc.
So lets go back and look at the evidence and re-examine it ....okay ? we have forensics today...DNA...etc. Oh my ...look what happened - all the evidence was destroyed 5 years after the crimes!!!
Hmm now why would the coroner destroy evidence of unsolved crimes? Maybe a lack of space? (You should see their building - no lack of space there!)
...but look...there was a signature to have the evidence destroyed...and it was by none other than ...Roch Gaudrault
Now I am not saying that Roch had anything direct to do with these crimes...but I do say that he is:
a) Too stupid to have carried out proper investigations or
b) he knew the killer and was covering up for him
Now it could be a) but also personally I think b)
We bring that to the SQ and they do not want to re-open this up UNLESS we have DIRECT evidence to support any of it AND the main reason? If we bring an ex-detective under investigation due to botched work or corruption....EVERY case that existed at the time that he investigated (break-ins, assaults, attacks, etc) or people who were sent to jail, would be coming out of the woodwork
See our point?
Terry Roth
After reading this, I conclude that I have chosen the wrong target of ridicule in my SQ / Frankensten story, and sent this reply to Terry;
Hey Terry - Thanks again!
This is a good history lesson for me. I should be blaming this Roch guy instead of the SQ. Perhaps he should be the Constable in my story. This is a very good account you have given me. I appreciate how well you have explained all the circumstances. Now I have an idea of the political situation. It is regrettable that the family and friends of Theresa have been the victims of such politics.
I could never get over the sheer stupidity it must take to not recognize a murder when it is obviously so. (Oh yeah, people who OD always do that. Take off their clothes and go crawling through the snow to die.) I sure had fun making fun of that!
I was so outraged when I read the part about John and Theresa's father being told to "Go home and forget about it." What a cruel thing to say to a man who just identified his daughter's remains. (Hey, I was pissed!) I had to work that quote into the story.
Thanks again, Terry. You have been very helpful to me. I owe you big time!
And so I stand corrected. My apologies to any good citizens of Quebec I may have offended by making fun of your police force. It looks like a case of one bad apple spoiling the whole bunch.
Terry writes;
The SQ is to blame for a few things - but not everything. You have to understand that in 1979, there was no SQ - there was the provoncial police and local authorities involved. The locals were the ones investigating these cases (with the help of provincial coroner who did the autopsy and reported results.)
But there were 3 police "entities" involved - the local police (led by Leo Hamel), the provincial police (albeit distant) and a "detective" named Roch Gaudrault.
This is the crux of this case. Roch Gaudrault. (pronounced Rock Good-row) - this guy was a blithering fool who had no desire in solving murder cases as much as he wanted to just close files. At the time of the disapparance he deduced a drug-overdose theory - and went with that theory through the finding of the body 5 months later. The autopsy showed NO traces of any drugs in her body - which Roch explained that it was due to the body being in water and ice for 5 months. We bought that. What could we do. We were young and the police said thats the way it was.
I never believed that myself- Theresa did not do drugs...and why she would decide to take drugs (she was an honor role student who had early-semester good marks and no problems) want to OD and kill herself 3 miles from her dorm....well it was just a crazy reason.
A few years ago, John decided to look into this case further and found the following:
-There were TWO other girls whose bodies were found around the same time - similar origins, paths roads - in an area which is a quiet rural college town...they had like 1 murder every 20 years in that area - all of a sudden 3 at once. But why didn't we hear about it at the time? Because all 3 fell into different local jurisdictions (police forces) - there was no SQ to tie them together.
But there WAS a common denominator. Roch Gaudrault was the detective in all 3.
As a matter of fact, he was the main murder detective of the entire area. In his career - thats all he dealt with - 3 murders of young girls. How many did he solve? zero.
Now lets look a little closer at this guy...and his so-called "investigations" at the time.....yup you got it - all 3 cases were scant investigations ...poor evidence retrieval....poor interviewing...unexplainable lost time ...useless travelling to places which had nothing to do with the case, etc.
So lets go back and look at the evidence and re-examine it ....okay ? we have forensics today...DNA...etc. Oh my ...look what happened - all the evidence was destroyed 5 years after the crimes!!!
Hmm now why would the coroner destroy evidence of unsolved crimes? Maybe a lack of space? (You should see their building - no lack of space there!)
...but look...there was a signature to have the evidence destroyed...and it was by none other than ...Roch Gaudrault
Now I am not saying that Roch had anything direct to do with these crimes...but I do say that he is:
a) Too stupid to have carried out proper investigations or
b) he knew the killer and was covering up for him
Now it could be a) but also personally I think b)
We bring that to the SQ and they do not want to re-open this up UNLESS we have DIRECT evidence to support any of it AND the main reason? If we bring an ex-detective under investigation due to botched work or corruption....EVERY case that existed at the time that he investigated (break-ins, assaults, attacks, etc) or people who were sent to jail, would be coming out of the woodwork
See our point?
Terry Roth
After reading this, I conclude that I have chosen the wrong target of ridicule in my SQ / Frankensten story, and sent this reply to Terry;
Hey Terry - Thanks again!
This is a good history lesson for me. I should be blaming this Roch guy instead of the SQ. Perhaps he should be the Constable in my story. This is a very good account you have given me. I appreciate how well you have explained all the circumstances. Now I have an idea of the political situation. It is regrettable that the family and friends of Theresa have been the victims of such politics.
I could never get over the sheer stupidity it must take to not recognize a murder when it is obviously so. (Oh yeah, people who OD always do that. Take off their clothes and go crawling through the snow to die.) I sure had fun making fun of that!
I was so outraged when I read the part about John and Theresa's father being told to "Go home and forget about it." What a cruel thing to say to a man who just identified his daughter's remains. (Hey, I was pissed!) I had to work that quote into the story.
Thanks again, Terry. You have been very helpful to me. I owe you big time!
And so I stand corrected. My apologies to any good citizens of Quebec I may have offended by making fun of your police force. It looks like a case of one bad apple spoiling the whole bunch.
Monday, June 04, 2007
If the SQ were in a Frankenstein Movie
Bill Widman said...
For those who are familiar with the work of John Allore (of "Who Killed Theresa?" fame) I want to share a story I wrote for him.
I call it--
"If the Surete du Quebec were in a Frankenstein Movie"
Although this story takes place in a village in Germany in the 19th century, the police speak in an accent curiously resembling French Canadian.
A grief stricken man with tears in his eyes carries the lifeless body of a little girl into the village square, followed by villagers murmering to one another. The man walks directly to the police station, where he lays down the dead child and pleads with the Constable, who just happens to be standing outside.
"My little girl, she's been murdered!" cries the father.
"Oh I don't know about that." says the Constable, "Could be suicide. Maybe she was taking drugs."
"MURDERER! MURRR-DER-ER!" screams the crazy old lady we see in every Frankenstein movie. "It's that wicked Dr. Frankenstein and his evil experiments! He's the one who brought this upon us!"
"Lets all get our torches and pitchforks and find the monster who did this!" shouts the village drunkard.
"Now hold on there!" shouts the Constable. "We can't be sure if any of this has really happened!"
"What about all them graves that were dug up in the cemetery?" demands the drunkard.
"We don't know anything about that either!" says the Constable.
"FIND THE MONSTER! KILL THE MONSTER!" everyone shouts.
"Listen good people!" the Constable shouts. "If you must go running off into the hills with your torches and farming implements with the intention of klling some monster you hope to find out there, then I'm afraid I will have no choice but to look the other way!"
The angry mob storms off into the hills.
Up in the hills a big ugly monster is seen running for his life by two hunters carrying rifles. One of them shoots him, only to get his neck broken by the monster who continues to run. The other hunter decides not to do the same thing himself, but runs likity-split to the village instead.
Outside the police station two officers see a madman with a rifle running and screaming toward the entrance. "I'm afraid it will become very hard to ignore this." says the first officer. "Then we must make extra effort to do so." says the second officer.
Inside the station, the hunter meets the Constable, huffing and puffing from the long run. "Well, what is it, Man?" says the Constable.
"Aurgh! Monster! Big! Horrible! Aurgh! Killed my friend! Aurgh! Shared the scit out of me! Aurgh!"
"Don't know what you're talking about." says the constable. "I suggest you go home and try to forget about it!"
The villagers arrive brandishing their torches at the top of the hill, with their pitchforks, axes, and other implements of destruction, just in time to see the monster duck inside the windmill, which they proceed to set on fire. They gather around to watch it burn down, making sure the monster does not escape.
In the morning the police are there among the smoking remains of the windmill, where they find the body of the Frankenstein Monster.
"Looks like they killed him, Sir." an officer reports.
"Oh I don't know about that." the Constable says. "Could be suicide. Maybe he was taking drugs."
For those who are familiar with the work of John Allore (of "Who Killed Theresa?" fame) I want to share a story I wrote for him.
I call it--
"If the Surete du Quebec were in a Frankenstein Movie"
Although this story takes place in a village in Germany in the 19th century, the police speak in an accent curiously resembling French Canadian.
A grief stricken man with tears in his eyes carries the lifeless body of a little girl into the village square, followed by villagers murmering to one another. The man walks directly to the police station, where he lays down the dead child and pleads with the Constable, who just happens to be standing outside.
"My little girl, she's been murdered!" cries the father.
"Oh I don't know about that." says the Constable, "Could be suicide. Maybe she was taking drugs."
"MURDERER! MURRR-DER-ER!" screams the crazy old lady we see in every Frankenstein movie. "It's that wicked Dr. Frankenstein and his evil experiments! He's the one who brought this upon us!"
"Lets all get our torches and pitchforks and find the monster who did this!" shouts the village drunkard.
"Now hold on there!" shouts the Constable. "We can't be sure if any of this has really happened!"
"What about all them graves that were dug up in the cemetery?" demands the drunkard.
"We don't know anything about that either!" says the Constable.
"FIND THE MONSTER! KILL THE MONSTER!" everyone shouts.
"Listen good people!" the Constable shouts. "If you must go running off into the hills with your torches and farming implements with the intention of klling some monster you hope to find out there, then I'm afraid I will have no choice but to look the other way!"
The angry mob storms off into the hills.
Up in the hills a big ugly monster is seen running for his life by two hunters carrying rifles. One of them shoots him, only to get his neck broken by the monster who continues to run. The other hunter decides not to do the same thing himself, but runs likity-split to the village instead.
Outside the police station two officers see a madman with a rifle running and screaming toward the entrance. "I'm afraid it will become very hard to ignore this." says the first officer. "Then we must make extra effort to do so." says the second officer.
Inside the station, the hunter meets the Constable, huffing and puffing from the long run. "Well, what is it, Man?" says the Constable.
"Aurgh! Monster! Big! Horrible! Aurgh! Killed my friend! Aurgh! Shared the scit out of me! Aurgh!"
"Don't know what you're talking about." says the constable. "I suggest you go home and try to forget about it!"
The villagers arrive brandishing their torches at the top of the hill, with their pitchforks, axes, and other implements of destruction, just in time to see the monster duck inside the windmill, which they proceed to set on fire. They gather around to watch it burn down, making sure the monster does not escape.
In the morning the police are there among the smoking remains of the windmill, where they find the body of the Frankenstein Monster.
"Looks like they killed him, Sir." an officer reports.
"Oh I don't know about that." the Constable says. "Could be suicide. Maybe he was taking drugs."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
