Tag Archive for: unsolved crime

A Baffling Mystery

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If there was every to be a strange and baffling mystery going on in the here and now, it would have to be the case of the two young Indiana sisters who ended up dead less than a week apart earlier this year. I’ve written about it before here.

The two sisters, Erin (19) and Kelly (18) Stanley, were young, vibrant and healthy. Yet sadly, on September 1, 2007, Erin’s body was found lifeless at her family home by her boyfriend in the middle of the night. Erin and her boyfriend, James McFarland, had just recently moved home to her family’s house with their young daughter.

At first, police didn’t release any details. Then, rumor abounded that Erin died of strangulation — which the police later confirmed.

When Erin’s sister, Kelly, ended up dead six days later, it was widely reported that she, too, died from homicide, and again, indications were that it was from strangulation as well. Obviously, there was a murderer among them.

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As reported by the Palladium-Item, “The affidavit for the search warrant said that both deaths appeared to be caused by “similar action on the part of another party.“

During all of this, I looked to see if I could find any red flags. The only thing I could find to review was the 911 call made by the girls’ mother, Lonny Stanley.

Lonny Stanley’s behavior was strange during the 911 call. It was odd, and the first thing I questioned was if the mother was on drugs, because her behavior was not normal. She acted weird and strangely disconnected.

I wrote this story on Crimeblog.US., which has now moved and been renamed to TrueCrimeWeblog.com. With that, while the post is up, the comments have not been transferred by the site editor over to the new site. However, I do have a copy of what I wrote on September 23:

I heard a segment of the 911 tape here:
http://www.wishtv.com/global/story.asp?s=7086963

I found the mom’s behavior exceptionally STRANGE!! Something isn’t right here.

Why isn’t this mother concerned?!!!! Is she high as a kite on drugs? You sure do wonder, because her reactions aren’t normal.

911 SNIPPET:

“Is she breathing,” the operator asked.

“I don’t know. Is she breathing, dad? …She’s trying,” Mrs. Stanley said.

This is just WEIRD! It was like she was asking if there was tea or coffee being served — not if her daughter was facing life or death!!

I’d like to hear more of this, and the other 911 call.

On September 25th, here is an excerpt of another comment I wrote:

But when I listen to the entire 911 call, there are inconsistencies that cannot be ignored. Emerson, you are right on the money, and I completely concur!

When a child is near death, either the mother is right there doing all she can, or she is in hysterics because she can’t cope—in another room, unable to deal with it. I’ll accept either, but I can’t accept this middle ground of running to and from, yet offering no help. It does not fit.

I also find it extremely odd how she conveniently finds time to pick up the cell phone when the EMT arrives, but didn’t find it important enough to grab it when her daughter was in the throes of death. There (sic) This is a huge red flag. The only thing that makes sense here is when the EMT got there, she wanted to see if they were going to revive her daughter. She didn’t seem to care to help her when her daughter needed it most, but she sure was curious if someone else was going to help her. This gives me the creeps!!!

And it still does give me the creeps. If we knew that Lonny Stanley was on drugs or medication, it could explain her strange behavior. I could at least live with the fact she was subdued and not thinking clearly, but we do not know this for sure. So, for me, it will remain a big red flag.

Then on October 2, 2007, I wrote the following in the comments section (which is not online at this time):

Apparently, James McFarland is making statements (to the media?) stating his innocence.

http://tinyurl.com/2r5uzf

I looked around hoping to find video of him, but I haven’t been able to.

From what the media has quoted, nothing raises my suspicion, but without reading an entire transcript, it’s not conclusive in any way.

Next, on October 10, news came out that Erin’s boyfriend, James McFarland, who openly admitted to finding her unresponsive, was arrested and charged with her murder. While I found that odd, it could be plausible, but how would that explain the fact that Kelly ended up dead six days later?? After Erin’s death, James McFarland moved out of the house. Did he break back in, do they have the wrong suspect, or did something else happen?

I was waiting and wondering what would develop when I saw more news come out about Lonny Stanley again that raised the hairs on my neck. On October 11, police release a few more details of the case, and a comment made by Lonny stopped me dead in my tracks again (in bold below). I wrote about it here:

“Lonny Stanley…called for an ambulance for Erin about 5:15 a.m. Sept. 1. Although she suggested during the 911 call that her daughter was still trying to breathe, court documents filed Wednesday indicate Stanley likely was dead before a police officer arrived.

Lonny Stanley later told investigators that “was more of a hope than an observation,” according to a probable cause affidavit.” Indy Star

This statement is flat out STRANGE again. It’s odd, and it is not normal whatsoever. Either Lonny couldn’t cope or she could, but she keeps playing this middle ground and waffling, which people don’t do in situations like this. In high-stress environments, people tend to be very black and white. Her behaviors are not–they are gray and inconsistent–that is all I can say. I am not comfortable with them.

With all of the news that has broken, I have not seen anywhere where the Stanleys have come forward and spoken about their daughters’ deaths. I would find it valuable to see them speak, as they leave me with lots of questions.

And now, yesterday, more news has developed. According to the coroner, the second sister’s death is being ruled death by natural causes. Apparently, they are saying she died of a stress-induced seizure, or a psychogenic seizure (what are the odds?). Just a few weeks ago, reports were suggesting that she died of homicide (see above).

This is one mystery to say the least. The odds are very unusual here — one-in-a-million — or higher, and while freaky things happen, until I see James McFarland and Lonny Stanley speak, I won’t be at peace.

Update February 2009:
http://eyesforlies.blogspot.com/2009/02/stanley-sisters-mystery-update.html

Ellen-Beth Fullwood Cleared

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Every now and then, I go back through cases that I have reviewed to see where things stand. I reviewed the case of the Coral Rose Fullwood back in June of this year. I specifically was asked to look at Dale Fullwood by a reader of my blog, and I didn’t like what I saw.

I had major concerns and saw many, many red flags even though police have DNA from the crime scene that doesn’t match Dale Fullwood. I do not trust Dale Fullwood’s story at all.

People were also looking at Dale Fullwood’s wife, Ellen-Beth Fullwood at the time.

After I gave my opinion on Dale, I was then asked by a reader in the comments section to share my insight about Ellen-Beth Fullwood as well –which I did here in the comments section as well.

I am happy to report that the Naples Daily News is reporting as of September 17, 2007, that Beth-Ellen Fullwood has been cleared by police. The same, however, cannot be said about Dale Fullwood though he has never been formally declared a suspect in this case.

Howard (Ron) Beigler Cleared

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News reports from October 3, 2007, are now reporting that both ex-husbands of Paige Birgfeld have been cleared by police as persons-of-interest in her missing person case — even though Beigler was the last person to see Birgfeld before she disappeared.

If you aren’t familiar with the story, you can read my first post about it here.

Back in August, when Beigler was still considered a person-of-interest in this case, I wrote that I believed Beigler on ABC’s Family Secrets series when he said “I’m not the least bit worried about them coming after me for this.”

Police have now identified a formal suspect, Ralph Lester Jones. You can read details here. Unfortunately, Mr. Jones has not come forward and spoken publicly. If anyone sees him speak, please feel free to contact me.

Wachovia Bank Robbery

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There is an interesting story coming out of Hollywood, Florida. Have you heard about the bomb-strapping bandits, again? No, I am not talking about the Brian Wells story — where unfortunately, Wells paid the ultimate price.

I am speaking about Christopher W. Ferreira, and his girlfriend Cindy Wade. Ferreira says three people came to his home, strapped a bomb on him — and made him rob the Wachovia Bank where he works as a teller.

Read moreWhen I saw the story break, I was able to see Ferreira on video as he sat waiting for the bomb squad to dismantle him. I write about the story in more detail at The True Crime Weblog –formerly CrimeBlog.US.

Several things struck me as odd right off the bat:

  1. Why was Ferreira wearing work-type clothes on his day off — while he was at home? This may be explainable or it may not.
  2. While I can’t see for sure, I don’t clearly see a bomb strapped to Ferreira. I wondered if perhaps the bomb is strapped under his shirt? If that is true, it makes absolutely no sense. Why would a robber take the time to strap a bomb under someone’s shirt? What purpose would that serve?
  3. Look at Ferreira’s body language as he sits waiting for the bomb squad. Remember Brian Wells? He was tense, afraid and nervous. Do you see that with Ferreira?
  4. I find it strange that the robbers who put Ferreira up to the robbery stayed at his home two hours before robbing the bank– planning it all out. Most professional robbers have a plan. They don’t create one at someone’s house, or depend solely on the insight of a teller — that’s way too risky.
  5. I also found it odd that the robbers depended on Ferreira to drive to the bank in his car. They had to be sure he had keys, gas, etc. I thought that was odd.
  6. I also find it interesting how Ferreira’s girlfriend comes home in the middle of all of this, and is just gets included in. Wouldn’t you expect that instead of hauling her with them that they would have simply tied her up and taped her mouth shut to get her out of the way? Wouldn’t she be a liability going with them?

As the story continues to unfold, it appears that after being questioned by police, Ferreira didn’t show up for another interview police scheduled with him. Instead, he hired an attorney and from what news reports say, now he isn’t speaking to the police anymore.

One of his co-workers said she believed Ferreira was a nice guy — but when you watch this video, you see Ferreira giving the media the finger. If you were innocent of a crime such as this — wouldn’t the media be your friend and not an enemy? If you spoke, don’t you think you could help bring witnesses forward to help in the search for these robbers? Why isn’t Ferreira using the media to help him? Why does he see them as his enemy?

While I can’t come to any conclusions, my eyebrows are arched up and high. This behavior is certainly odd and not what I would expect from a victim. Developments can still emerge, and put a new light on the situation.

If only Ferreira would speak. If you see him make a statement which I don’t suspect he will do, let me know.

Mystery Plagues Indiana Town

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There is a sad story that is slowly emerging out of Indiana. I wrote about it on CrimeBlog.US which is now moved and redirecting to TrueCrimeWeblog.com.

I am keeping my eyes on Lonny Stanley at this point after listening to her 911 call. Her behavior is odd and definitely has peaked my interest.

Update 10-10-2007:
News has come out today that Erin Stanley’s boyfriend has been arrested and charged with her murder and her murder alone (at this point).

I sure do wonder if Lonny was on drugs during that 911 call. Her behavior was just plain weird but of course weird behavior is not conclusive to anything by itself. As I commented on CrimeBlog.US, drugs could explain her odd behavior.

If anyone sees any video of Lonny Stanley speak about the murders of her two daughters, please let me know.

Update 10-11-2007:
Police released a few more details of this case, and a comment made by Erin Stanley’s mother, Lonny. The statement in bold raises my hairs again. This woman is strange.

“Lonny Stanley, the sisters’ mother, called for an ambulance for Erin about 5:15 a.m. Sept. 1. Although she suggested during the 911 call that her daughter was still trying to breathe, court documents filed Wednesday indicate Stanley likely was dead before a police officer arrived.

Lonny Stanley later told investigators that “was more of a hope than an observation,” according to a probable cause affidavit.” Indy Star

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I wonder what the police have that points directly to MacFarland, and why Lonny isn’t nor has been a person-of-interest as her behavior is just strange to me. Maybe they know she was on medication or drugs that night. Or, they have finger prints of MacFarland all over Erin’s neck (is that possible?), or the window to the house after Kelly’s death? I hope they have something substantial at this point.

Of course without watching either of them speak, I have very little to go on — so right now I can’t see anything conclusive — but Lonny keeps raising these red flags with what little she says. If she was on medication or drugs that night, and her probable cause affidavit was made during the same night– it could, again, all be explainable (due to drugs or meds).

What a mystery!