trtoty is correct about who investigated the case.

quote:

Originally posted by Goliath:
I have the impression this case is with the
ISP and Clark County Sheriff. I had not heard
or thought of DNR. Somebody know Mac Spainhour?
Maybe I could give him a call and see if
DNR has it. That seems unlikely to me.

As I said crime or incident on Foresty or State property DNR is to be contacted. Mac Spainhour was not around at the time but Walt Zac was and still is. He was and still Property Manager of Henryville State Forestry. Also two different counties and two different agencys. But Mac might help in getting records.

612 and all,

I also have been wondering about the victims families. I am cautious in this discussion because I do not want to bring out old hurts. I
imagine they would be pleased that people still care...but, I don't really know. Having said that, I would certainly welcome input from those who knew the victims.

I have been thinking that one approach might be
to try to figure out what these victims had in
common. Why did the killer(s) select these particular boys? Did these boys know each other?
Attend the same church? Clubs? Etc., In other words, what did they have in common besides being young males who lived in the Henryville area. Do we know?

Finally, thanks 612 for all your posts and input.I see we have had about 5,000 views since
this thread began. I am sure there are people out there who know tidbits of info up to a lot
of info. Hope they will share it.

I have some more information but I want to check
something out before I post it here.

I to have been trying to be sentive about the familys of the victims. The familes have been under a lot of stress.

quote:

Originally posted by Kingfish#2:
Pearl is right the name is Jeff Burkhead not McCain but I still think he was the third victim. He was found near his home but the secound barn had something to do with the crime or crimes. Two people I new had drivers training with him the day before ( one has sence been killed ). Will try to find out more Friday.

Did you know this fellow Burkhead?

This is why it's so hard to imagine the crimes
are unrelated.

quote:

Originally posted by 612:
I tried to post a map with 4 locations labeled to show you guys but the labels did show when I copied the link. But what I wanted to show you is the close proximity of the 4 locations in question. If the crime scenes are where we believe them to be, they happened with in a 2 1/2 mile radius.

If the Evening News picks up on this story, it may be more about how rumors mushroom than about the cold case itself. I think everybody has pure motives for being interested in murders, but it's a bit reckless repeating wild stories about satan worship and surgical incisions and the like if there's no truth to them. I'd like to see a newspaper report about the cold case, because it will separate the rumor from the urban legend from the truth. Some folks on this forum discussion are more sensitive to making that separation than others.

Based on what's been posted here the only conclusions I can reach are these: 1. The Henryville area has some horrible unsolved murders; 2. The murders were investigated at a time when forensic science wasn't as advanced as it is today; and 3. There is strong public interest in solving the murders. I don't think anybody can conclude a cover-up conspiracy or Satanic rituals. But I'd sure love to see a good, thorough, factual report in the newspaper. And I thank the folks here who legitimately want to help solve the cases.

Jitterbug, Thank you for your post. I agree that for the discussion to be meaningful it must
focus soundly on the facts. However, I also asked in my original post for people's thoughts about the 'legacy' of these unsolved crimes. It seems to me that the 'urban' (or in this case 'rural') legends are part of that legacy and do have a kind of meaning for the community.

I also want to avoid 'witchhunting' that's why
I asked that posters refrain from slander. I have been impressed by the general tone of the posters here.

I also think that we have produced more information than what you have stated...or perhaps I should say more specific information.
I certainly agree with you that we do not have
credible information that there were 'surgical'
incisions.

However, I think the posters have done a good
job of discriminating between what is fact and
what is not established fact. Like you, I think
a news story or stories that distinguished what
the facts are versus the 'rumor' would be most
helpful. I also agree with you that the response
to this thread suggests a broad interest in our
community in solving these crimes. I sure would
like to see justice for the victims even at this
late date.

You might check these links:

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/in/county/clark/cemeteries/casscem.html

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/in/county/clark/cemeteries/cemindex.html

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/in/county/clark/

quote:

Originally posted by 612:
Jitterbug, I take offense to you stating that "i think everybody has motives for for being interested in the murders". Shame on you! Can you explain what I could gain?

612,
I am the victim of my own poorly worded sentence. I did not mean that you or anyone else has an evil motive. In fact, you misquoted me. I said the people in the discussion group have PURE motives. In other words, I meant that even though everyone has pure, innocent motives in discussing the murders, they can serve as agents of rumor-spreading despite pure motives. If a person knew nothing about the murders except what is posted here, it would be easy to conclude that the police knew who the murder(s) is(are) but covered it up because he/she came from a prominent family. I don't believe that for a minute. I think we should work from the assumption that the detectives who worked the case were honorable and hard-working but didn't have the same forensic tools as are available today. In other words, we should give the police the benefit of the doubt until there's proof that they covered something up. I'm sure they were just as horrified at the time as we are today about these unsolved murders.

I remember my mother sitting down and discussing this with my brother and me when we were kids. I think we were about the same age as the kids that were killed.

quote:

Originally posted by ismileutoo:
... I'm more inclined to think that instead of a coverup, any inaccuracies or rumors are a result of police being tight lipped in order to increase the odds of catching the criminals.

I don't disagree. It may be standard investigative technique to keep detailed facts away from the public as a way to protect the integrity of the investigation. And tight-lipped investigations are the fertilizer for the rumormill. We're at the point now, though, what 30 years later, where the release of details may be just what's needed to break the case. An informed public can be a hinderance to the early stages of an investigation, but the best, last resort to a cold case.

And you are right about police detectives. They are a special breed. Very few of us could do the work they have to do without losing our minds.

I have only learned of this thread in the past 24 hours and have just finished reading the posts. While I understand and share the interest in justice, you need to also consider the individuals you have identified as possible suspects. Certainly not all of those individuals are guilty or even connected to the crimes. In repeating rumors and dragging these names onto this forum, you are also quite possibly bringing more pain to the innocent who have already been down that road.

quote:

Originally posted by one citizen:
... While I understand and share the interest in justice, you need to also consider the individuals you have identified as possible suspects. ...

Good point, OC. I was looking at rumors that seemed to impune the reputation of the police. Any person who is mistakenly labeled as a suspect, or anybody who was a legitimate suspect and later cleared can suffer from repeating these rumors, too.

And to 612, I take blame for not expressing my thoughts adequately. I can see how you first misread my intentions. If I had been more careful about the way I wrote my post we wouldn't have had a misunderstanding. So you don't owe me an apology. It's obvious that you, me and everyone else here have been drawn into the horror of this drama. It's hard to believe three murders so similar could happen right here where we live without being solved for 30 years. But thanks to you and Goliath and others maybe enough interest will be generated to flush out the missing evidence needed to solve the case(s).

I would think long and hard before contacting any family members. Even though they may feel justice was never done, after 30 years,they may not want to go through all the pain of reliving one of the most painful times of their lives. If they somehow find out about peoples interest in helping solve these crimes, and they contact someone and offer information, that's different. But I just don't know if I would contact them. Just my opinion.