The crosses read, "mother," "sister," "daughter," "dad.". A man who was arrested on assault charges had trial today in a Marquette County district courtroom. Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com. It was discovered in the 1950s by three surveyors who found their equipment wasnt working properly. His reason for the triple homicide? If youd like to know more about the case, you can find the book The Sweater Letter, later retitled Hunt to Kill, on Amazon. Today's breaking news and more in your inbox. The next day -- April 17 -- in the late afternoon, a Manistique couple and their two sons, 8 and 14, were driving on River Road near where Aldrich and her friends had been shooting up the stolen cocaine a few days before and saw an SUV stopped in the middle of the muddy icy road. Her body was left naked,covered with bruises. This mystery involves truck driver Frank Mannor, who claimed to have seen a pyramid-like object land in a swamp in Dexter Township. Police identified the woman as Joan Elspeth Schell, a 20-year-old EMU student. Theres things that were said and things that were done. Sandra Fleszar, the first victim's sister, wrote an open letterto the Ypsilanti Press inApril 1969 asking the public to come forth with information "not only for myself but for all young girls who are forced to live in this constant fear for our very lives.". But there was no one to see it except them. murder Local color. To catch Fleszar's killer, detectives created a psychological profile. 7 Disturbing Unsolved Mysteries In Michigan - OnlyInYourState News accounts saidan unidentified man presumably the killer walked in and asked a funeral home employee if he could take pictures of the body. Browse By State; Submit a Crime Tip Square with arrow pointing upper right. And Aldrich, who sometimes slept in her car, or at a cheap motel where she traded sex for money, suddenly found herself with a free supply of drugs and a place to stay. "It was where we could all go to remember them," said Kellie Roll. Iron Mountain City Council will meet at 6 p.m. today at Iron Mountain City Hall. 4. An 82-year-old residents home was broken into, and the homeowner was assaulted. WebPaperback. Investigators couldnt find it at first. Officers said they responded to a call shortly after 2:30 p.m. in Orchidland. (Phil Gawel/WWMT) KALAMAZOO, Mich. Michigan State Police are Its still unsolved and we want it solved, Dowd said. He might have gotten away with that one. The fire had been so fierce it melted the tires off the vehicle. Police say a 28-year-old man whose pickup truck was hit Sunday night was arrested for drunken driving. From crime boss and occasional visitor Scarface Al Capone to the Upper Peninsulas own Public Enemy #1, John Red Hamilton, Up North has historic ties to organized crime and the baddies who used the area as a playground far from their normal haunts in Chicago, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland and elsewhere. By Daily News staff She had been strangled and brutally beaten. Judy Diane Blake was born to a conservative, outdoorsy family in Hancock, Michigan, on Oct. 16, 1957. After hundreds of interviews, Marquette City Police Department was able to narrow down a male suspect, but there wasnt enough evidence to charge him. There had been stretches when Aldrich thought she was going to make it. When the prosecutor in court asked whether Brunke still owed him money, Cordell said "not anymore. In fact, an Associated Press article titled Carelessness, hunters equal a deadly seasonpointed to Judys death as one of many accidental deer season tragedies around the country in 1992: Judy Moilanen, 35, was walking her dogs last weekend in a wooded area frequented by hunters when she was struck by a bullet. Both were stabbedandtheir bodies were dumpedin remote areas. Before she hitched a ride with her sister Nelson and Nelson's boyfriend Hutchinson to Brunke's house for the free drugs, Aldrich posted on her Facebook Page a song about the struggles of addiction. He said he couldnt imagine a grown woman writing something like that. To prepare for the trial, investigators had re-created the chimney block incident. This report is based on those records, along with court documents and interviews. Blank said Basom didn't look like "a typical 13-year-old," butafter her death, he started to worry about his younger sister's safety. It was a sickness.". Fleszar was last seen alive near her Ypsilanti apartment. Peter Hurkos, a Dutch-born psychic living in Los Angeles, claimed he had extrasensory perception and could use it to help find the killer. Carlson insisted at first that Brunke had strangled Aldrich in his bedroom, while she held Aldrich's legs to keep her from kicking and flailing. And in an attempt to entice Gayle that redefined the word buffoon, the writer ended the letter by noting that Bruce is incredible in the sack.. Dowd thought at this age shed have stood as maid of honor in Taylors wedding and would have watched her children grow up, she said. Both women frequented the university's McKenny Union. Check it out. One of the victims was smothered with a plastic bag taped over his head, his hands tied behind his back, as his killer smoked cocaine and watched him die. Though its been 19 years, who is responsible for Taylors death remains unsolved. Deputies carried out search warrants Saturday at a home in Wells Township and at a hotel in Escanaba. Later that evening Bruck was seen walking around in the dark with an unknown man outside with a dark-haired man. "It sounds like he was baiting her to be honest with you," said one of her friends with her when the text came through.. Aldrich, panicked about stealing the drugs, and coming down from her high, hid her car at a nearby casino, worried Brunke was looking for her. CHAPTER 3: 'Handsome' EMU student was unlikely serial killer suspect. Authorities said he was convicted of murder in the killing of 18-year-old Christina Ferrara on Long Island. It makes more sense now that they would say things the way that they did.. In 1999, they moved to Marquette and moved in together. In the cold, isolated world of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Police Chief Laura Frizzo launches an investigation into the disappearance of Chris Regan, never expecting to come face to face wit Read allIn the cold, isolated world of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Police Chief Laura Frizzo launches an investigation into the disappearance of Chris Regan, never expecting to come face to face with a possible serial killer.In the cold, isolated world of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Police Chief Laura Frizzo launches an investigation into the disappearance of Chris Regan, never expecting to come face to face with a possible serial killer. A man got close, then ran from the area. All rights reserved. She also had been slashed. Brunke was growing frustrated. But they couldnt say exactly where he was during a window of time around Judys death. And lets not forget Ronnie Joe Neal, who told police he just happened to find his victims Cadillac with all her valuables inside and the keys in the ignition. Today, Bruce is better known as inmate #235252 in Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Michigan, at security level II. Brunke arrived home from work a short time later, Cordell said. By this time, the Blakes had taken more of a liking to their son-in-law. Like many residents of Michigans rugged Upper Peninsula, the 6-foot-tall Bruce had Finnish ancestry. By then, with all the media attention, his full name John Norman Collins was infamous. We think that has a lot to do with the fascinating and at times notorious life he led: from his role as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in the 1950s-70s, his alleged ties with the mob, and his stint in prison for jury tampering. WebIn June 2016, Alfred Saario shot and killed his 29-year-old step-daughter Jamie Jame. Chasing big bucks. "To the best of our knowledge, there was no formal request for assistance from Schoolcraft County" she said. In 1979, about two years after Collins was transferred from the prison in Jackson to the old, fortress-like maximum-security prisonin Marquette, in the remote Upper Peninsula, hetried to escape by tunneling his way out. As details of the killings began to leak out, the initial shock turned into outrage. Odd present. "Look, my daughter was an addict. Thats all for this post. Dawn Basom, an eighth-grader, was dumped along a desolateYpsilanti road. "I encouraged him not to have Heather at his house, to only treat her the way she wants to be treated, but he never took my advice and let her come to his house and they began to see each other on a regular basis," Cordell would later say. The best hidden gems and little known destinations - straight to your inbox. Gayle and Judy had met each other, but they werent close friends. THE EVIDENCE LOCKER: What police discovered at 7 Michigan murder crime scenes, CHAPTER 1: Never-before-published letters, interviews offer clues in infamous Michigan murders, CHAPTER 2: Murders of Michigan women still unsolved 50 years later but cops had eye on 1 man. The motive - to punish Aldrich for the theft of the cocaine. In January 2020, a forensic sketch was released by the Marquette Police Department, regarding a second person of interest in the case. WebOn the morning of September 30, 1988, 34-year old Paul Girard was found dead near Chief Kawbawgams grave with multiple stab wounds in the back, chest and face. He was imprisoned from 1967 until 1971, when President Richard Nixon pardoned him with the understanding that Hoffa would resign from his Teamster presidency. Your email address will not be published. Paul Girard was found dead near Chief Kawbawgam's grave at Presque Isle Park. Web3:27. WebThe murder shook up the Upper Peninsula including Ontonagon, Michigan As for Judys occupation, a Battle Creek Enquirer item identified her as a nurse at the same hospital. A man has been arrested on charges relating to an incident at the Canda Manner Apartments in the City of Ishpeming. 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Someone that I cared about, you know, basically stabbing me. WebKalamazoo ; The city with highest murder rate in Michigan. The protesters, news accounts said, believed Collins and the town were being exploited. Thats why I come up here and be her voice every year because she doesnt have one. The next day, Phillips disappeared. Sholander, who grew up in Schoolcraft County and heads a drug task force based in Marquette, has seen his fair share of crime, but nothing like this. The 2000 Oldsmobile Bravada was almost too small to handle its cargo a dead man and dead woman in the back seat, another woman's body wedged behind that seat. MATURE CONTENT WARNING: This story contains descriptions of gruesome crime scenes. "She would come home to me, sometimes, mostly to rest," said her mother Kellie Roll, 51, at her small home in Germfask Township. She later said it was Cordell, who strangled Aldrich, under orders from Brunke, who couldn't do it himself but wanted her dead because of the theft of the drugs and her Facebook posting about another man. He tied the women up, then invited Hutchinson in. INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY TRAVELS TO MICHIGAN During his time at E.C. After that, he said, he became withdrawn. But, when Dorothy Kalom saw an artist's sketch of the victim, she knew who it was:Her daughter. But all agreed that Brunke had lured Aldrich to his house with the promise of free drugs. Californiaand Michigan authorities investigated Phillips' death. According to American Justice, Judys parents didnt entirely approve of the union. That one, really? She writes about Michigan for OIYS. Bruce was arrested and charged with premeditated murder. Perhaps the loudmouthed Bruce seemed too different from their quiet daughter. 47-year-old Gary Lee O'Connell was sentenced to life in prison in Marquette County Circuit Court after pleading guilty in March 2017. The sightings caught the attention of Congressman Weston Vivian. "All the cop cars, ambulances, and everything was flying by the house, so we knew something was up.". I agree: buffoon but watching the recreation of the cider block incident, he should have used two blocks instead of the one. Kenneth Brunke was a loner, divorced, with a history of depression and suicide threats, when he moved to Manistique from Illinois sometime in 2011. Because of the condition of the bodies, the medical examiner could not determine the cause of death. WebJournal photo by Trinity Carey A cross rests on the side of Marquette Country Road 492 in Negaunee Township to mark the memorial site of 24-year-old Erin Taylor who was Her family doesnt really do anything because of religious reasons, so Im kind of the only one left. May 8, 2018. Fleszar's case and the cases of five other victims, Joan Schell, Dawn Basom, Maralynn Skelton, Alice Kalom, and Roxie Phillips have remained unsolved for half a century or more, a long time to wait for families seeking justice. Collins and afriend drove to California. Keweenaw County deputies arrested 61-year-old Michael Braman Sunday after a several-months-long investigation with assistance from the Michigan State Police Computer Crimes Unit. Investigators say Steven Briggs stole tires and rims from Pomp's Tire Shop and sold them to Joseph Ellis. The man threatened Martin:"You're dead. In 1989, they had a daughter named Elise. MIO, Mich. (AP) _ Two brothers have been sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing two hunters who disappeared in 1985. ", The prosecutor continued. And Peter Hurkos, the psychic, had a part,playing himself. Dr. J. Allen Hynek was sent to the scene by the US Air Force to further examine the phenomena planation. The author was able to weave a remarkably interesting story without a lot of evidence. Beineman was the last victim. A high school senior, Phillips was in Californiaand went missing on June 30, 1969. Hesaid he got details of the slaying from his uncle, a Michigan State Police trooper. Police found one witness who saw Bruce hunting alone near the scene of the shooting. While the city with highest number of murders period? In the meantime, the authorities took the scene at face value as an accident, believing that an unknown hunters errant bullet killed Judy. Collins never showed up for his date. Authorities stoppedpursuing Collins. Crime in Michigan Somebody took her away and it needs to be solved. Buteven after the long trial, the public remained fascinated by the macabre cases. Collins' aunt,SandraLeik, discovered a few things missing and out of place. Casselman pressed the false-confession claim. The killers worried they were leaving tire tracks. A Bryan County mom and her kid are terrified after a man broke through the front window of their home in the middle of the night. Police had confessions from two of the suspects, who both named the third as the mastermind behind the killings. Charles Maynard was sentenced to 10 to 40 years for two counts: delivery of meth. They tried to set a trap. The case seemed solid. Carrie Nelson had two young sons. Dowd said one thing her friend always looked forward to was turning a quarter of a century, which she missed by just a few months before her life was cut short. She's smiling. He blamed the police and the media for his incarceration. Once facing life in prison, he will likely do less than five years, under sentencing guidelines. You are the only woman he trusts.. 46-year-old John Michael Ferry is wanted by the Columbus Police Department in Ohio on murder charges and could be dangerous. They were both named John, the cousin said, as an homage to the slain and only Catholic president John F. Kennedy. "He saw that on Facebook, and he was f-----g madder than f---," Cordell would later tell police. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Weepy woe. Go to Eighth District - Upper Peninsula Eighth District - Upper Peninsula District and Post Commander Directory Statistics and Information on Bruce Moilanen: Killer and Jackass Forensic Files Now The police investigation, several hundred pages long, paints a picture of desperate lives even among the splendor of a national forest and relative peace of a small, sleepy town -- of drug addicts living from one fix to the next, and dealers willing to kill if crossed. He left the family dog, aGerman shepherd, and gave Collins a key so he could feed it. It was significantly different from the others, and the state used new DNA evidence to convictGary Leiterman, who died in the prison system earlier this year. Then, in April, the youngest victim, a 13-year-old girl, turned up.