Julissa Thaler, was found guilty of first degree murder of her own son Eli Hart.

This is a very sad case, Thaler had reportedly just regained full custody of her son after a tumultuous year that saw Eli taken out of her custody for almost a year.  According to the go fund me page:

Due to several false Orders of Protection filed by Eli’s mother, Tory could not have a relationship with Eli. In January 2021, Eli was placed in foster. Eli spent 11 months living in my home at that time. During that time, Eli and Tory were able to start a relationship, and their bond was powerful from the start. Eli fell in love with his father and loved spending time with him. Tory was excited to make up for all the lost years and was thrilled to start teaching his son how to fish and ride a bike with no training wheels.

At the end of December 2021, Eli returned to his mother’s house for a home trial. Due to many red flags, Eli’s mother was showing, Tory tried extremely hard to get custody of Eli. Unfortunately, more false Orders of Protection were filed, which postponed custody hearings. Numerous parties made many statements to CPS, fearing that mom would harm Eli if full custody were returned. Sadly full custody was returned on May 10, 2022.

The Orono Police press release from 20 May 2022:

On May 20, 2022 at 7:09 am officers received a call of a suspicious vehicle. Caller reported a silver car driving on its rim with the back window smashed out. Within two minutes of the call Orono officers located the silver car and conducted a traffic stop. While speaking to the female driver, officers noticed blood inside the car. Upon further checking officers located a body in the trunk of the vehicle. Hennepin County Sheriffs and Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office is assisting with the investigation. This is an active investigation, multiple scenes are being processed, there is no risk to the public and two individuals are in custody at this time.

More information will be available on Monday May 23.
*** UPDATE 5/20/22 AT 2:15PM ***
The vehicle was stopped at Shoreline Dr. & Bartlett Blvd, in the city of Mound.

Authorities said Thaler shot Eli up to nine times with a shotgun in her vehicle and then hid his body in the trunk. Orono Police pulled Thaler over on May 20, 2022, after she was spotted driving on the rim of her car and had a window smashed out. Officers drove Thaler home and discovered Eli’s body in the trunk. She was then arrested.

Jurors briefly deliberated before finding Thaler guilty.
Rest easy Eli, justice has been served!

Here is Eli’s coroner report!

Views: 10

SENTENCE DETAILS:
Report on April 28, 2023.
Commit to Commissioner of Corrections at the MN Correctional Facility – months.
Credit for time served amount is 52 days.
This sentence consists of a minimum term of imprisonment equal to two-thirds of the total executed sentence, and a maximum supervised release term equal to one-third of the total executed sentence, unless the sentence is life or life without the possibility of release.
Time to Serve: 326 months

Goodhue County Sheriff Kelly has the following remarks

Today marks the day, after a long 24-years, where justice has been served. Two newborn-babies never had an opportunity to speak, to grow, to learn, to love, and to make an impact in whatever they chose to do. As a parent, the number one unwritten rule of parenthood is to protect your children at all costs. The defendant, the mother of these newborn-babies, betrayed their trust. This betrayal cost two souls from flourishing and a great deal of pain in our community.

Now that the court has spoken, it is important to reflect on how we got here. Law enforcement, those here with us today and others that have retired, are the reason we are here. The tenacity to never quit, to work against all odds, to think outside the box, to sacrifice days, nights, weekends so justice could one day be served. To all of those, as your elected sheriff and community resident, THANK YOU. These babies can now rest in peace and our community can now begin to the long road to heal. PARABON, gave these children a voice. This cutting-edge DNA technology is the reason we can reflect today.

There is no amount of time that the Court can impose on the defendant that will bring back the lives lost.
We are pleased today that the Court imposed a sentence that is fair, just and impactful. The defendant must now not only live with her decisions for 27 years, she will have to reflect on her actions while incarcerated.

Jennifer Lynn Matter has plead guilty to the murder of her baby boy from 2003.  The baby was found at Lake Pepin Methodist Campus Beach.  Matter’s dna also comes back to a baby girl found in 1999 at Lower Boat Harbor of the Mississippi River near Red Wing.  She has not yet been charged in the death from 1999.

When arrested and interviewed, matters denied any connection to the baby.  After another interview Matter told police that she was in and out of jail, drinking too much, doing a lot of stupid things, back in 1999 and admitted that she was pregnant. She said she didn’t know about the pregnancy until she started bleeding one day as she was dropping off two other children at their school and daycare.

She delivered at home in the bathroom. She said she freaked out when the baby was blue and not breathing, not crying. She wrapped the baby and left the baby’s body at Bay Point Park in Red Wing in the middle of the night.

She told investigators she didn’t remember a second baby, but later said it was in Frontenac, and said she was almost positive she was at a public beach alone when she went into labor. She was trying to lay low because she had an arrest warrant and believed cops were looking for her.  She said she didn’t remember if the baby was crying, but said it was breathing fine.

She said she left the baby on the beach before driving away, and said she did not have a plan about leaving the baby in a safe place, but hoped that someone in the nearby houses would find the baby.

Genetic genealogy and rapid DNA testing were both employed to develop a break in the case and then quickly confirm the identity of the babies’ mother, Minnesota BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said. These kinds of scientific advances that can aid investigations are happening all the time. That is why it is so important to never give up on any unsolved case.

It’s not known if or when Matter will be charged with the 1999 murder.

NEWS RELEASE
May 09, 2022
Office of Communications

Red Wing Woman Arrested for 2003 Death of Baby Found in Lake Pepin
Woman Also Identified Through DNA as Mother of Baby Found in Mississippi River in 1999

ST. PAUL — The Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) today announced an arrest in the 2003 death of a newborn baby boy discovered deceased in Lake Pepin in 2003.

The woman, Jennifer Lynn Matter, 50, of Belvidere Township, was recently identified through DNA as the child’s mother.

Goodhue County deputies and BCA agents took Matter into custody at 6:38 a.m. Monday at her Belvidere Township home without incident. She has been charged via complaint with Second Degree Murder – With Intent – Not Premeditated and Second Degree Murder – Without Intent. Matter is currently in the Goodhue County Jail. Matter is scheduled to appear in Goodhue County District Court on Tuesday. Additional information about the charges is available in the criminal complaint. Her booking photo is provided here on behalf of the Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office.

The baby boy was discovered deceased on December 7, 2003, in Lake Pepin at the Methodist Campus Beach in Frontenac. A second child, a newborn baby girl found deceased on November 4, 1999, in the Lower Boat Harbor of the Mississippi River near Red Wing, was also determined through DNA to be Matter’s child.

While exhaustive investigative efforts over the years did not lead to a suspect, a recent effort to learn about the babies’ parentage through genetic genealogy resulted in a lead that ultimately led investigators to Matter. Investigators obtained a court order to obtain a DNA sample from Matter and BCA forensic scientists confirmed the match to both children using Rapid DNA technology.

“The tenacity of several investigators in our office to obtain justice for these babies and the perseverance by our community who assisted us in finding answers have led us here today,” Goodhue County Sheriff Marty Kelly said. “We pray today’s arrest and charges provide some closure to all of those effected.”

“Genetic genealogy and Rapid DNA testing were both employed to develop a break in the case and then ​quickly confirm the identity of the babies’ mother,” BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said. “These kinds of scientific advances that can aid investigations are happening all the time. That is why it is so important to never give up on any unsolved case.”

“I want to recognize the persistence, hard work, and dedication of our law enforcement professionals who have put so much of themselves into solving this case,” Goodhue County Attorney Stephen O’Keefe said.

The genetic genealogy work was completed by Parabon NanoLabs. Learn more about genetic genealogy testing. This testing was funded by donations from the people of Goodhue County. All agencies involved in this investigation and prosecution are appreciative of the community for their contribution that ultimately led to a break in this case.

###​

Views: 60

Minneapolis Minnesota
Ladavionne Garrett Jr., 10 years old was shot on 30 April 2021 while riding in a car with his mother and father on a visit to North Minneapolis when a gunman opened fire with a bullet striking Ladavionne in the head.  He remains in the hospital. Ladavionne’s GoFundMe

Trinity Ottoson-Smith, 9 was shot on 15 May 2021 in the head while playing on a trampoline at a friend’s birthday party in north Minneapolis. She was taken to North Memorial Hospital in critical condition. The shooter was in a red 4-door Ford vehicle. She died 27 May 2021. Trinity’s GoFundMe

Aniya Allen, 6 was shot 17 May 2021. She was with her mother and had just left a McDonald’s the shooting happened shortly after 11 p.m. on 3500 block of Penn Avenue North, in the city’s Folwell neighborhood. It’s said they were caught in the crossfire between rival gangs. Aniya passed away 19 May 2021. Aniya Allen‘s GoFundMe has been removed!

If you have any information please call the Crime Stoppers anonymous tipline at 1-800-222-8477.  You can also submit an anonymous tips online at the Minnesota Crime Stoppers website.

Views: 7

The Sullivan County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Megan Boswell with 2 counts of Felony Murder, 1 count of Aggravated Child Abuse, 1 count of Aggravated Child Neglect, 1 count of Tampering with Evidence, 1 count of Abuse of a Corpse, 1 count of Failure to Report a Death Under Suspicious, Unusual, or Unnatural Circumstances, and 12 counts of False Reports. Boswell was served in the Sullivan County Jail, where she was already being held on False Report charges placed in connection to this case.

Views: 29

Here is the post about AJ being found

Cunningham pled guilty to the death of AJ in December 2019 and was sentenced on 17 July 2020. She is sentenced to 35 years, which she HAS to do the whole 35! She cannot get out early! She also will have to do 3 years supervised upon her release! She will be 72 years old when she’s released.

Here is a link to the video of the sentencing hearing: FOX23Chicago

The step-father goes on trial 30 July 2020.

Here is part of Cunningham’s statement: (she really is a sick person)

“I’ve had the privilege of having AJ as a son and when I had him those were the happiest days of my life. I loved him, I miss him and there’s nothing that I wouldn’t do to bring him back.”

“My children are the greatest gift God has ever given me. They are my whole world. The reason they are the reason I breathe. Anyone who truly knows me can say how much I love being a mother, more than anything in the world. Being a mother defines me.”

“My children gave me a singleness of purpose. A love and a joy that can never be replaced. My heart belongs entirely to them. All of my children are sacred and my most precious treasures. I miss all of them so much. Words cannot describe it.”

“AJ is remembered as brilliant, handsome, funny, loving, special, beautiful, courageous, driven, talented and absolutely loved. AJ carried a briefcase around every day because he was going to be a lawyer, he also wanted to be a garbage man gas station attendant doctor, and to work at the local doughnut shop. And he was convinced along with all of us that he could be anything that he wanted to be. I raised all my children to everything with love and joy. AJ’s favorite doughnut was chocolate sprinkles. His favorite color is green. His favorite food is all the food. He could never pick a favorite because he loved to eat everything. His favorite toys are Legos.”

Read the rest of her statement: NBC Chicago 5

Apparently there were numerous videos on the mother’s phone! The torture this boy received is said to be unbearable! One of the videos showed A.J. saying that he wanted “bad people” to hurt Cunningham.

AJ’s last words to his mother “So I don’t ever see you again.”

Rest easy AJ! Your murderer is now in jail for 35 years!

Cunningham’s plea of guilt document:

Views: 16

→ Megan Boswell was indicted by a grand jury on 11 counts of false reporting! Charges are below.

→ A judge has rejected to lower Boswell’s bail. It’s still set at $150k.

→ A petition has been started to build a play ground in Blountville in Evelyn Boswell’s name. There are 8,330+ signatures! Sign the petition!

→ Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office released information stating “Megan Boswell is NOT pregnant” like she said in February.

→ Megan’s next court date is 31 July 2020.

Megan Boswell’s charges:

Count 1: Charge: False Report

False statement concerning Evelyn Boswell and the Defendant’s claim that her infant child was with the child’s father, Ethan Perry.

Count 2: Charge: False Report

False statement concerning the Defendant’s alleged lack of knowledge of the whereabouts of her infant daughter and her alleged efforts to locate her daughter.

Count 3: Charge: False Report

False statement concerning the alleged last physical contact that the Defendant had with her infant daughter and Ethan Perry’s alleged refusal to respond to her texts and voicemails regarding her daughter!

Count 4: Charge: False Report

False statement concerning the Defendant’s alleged last physical contact with her infant daughter and the defendant’s alleged lack of knowledge of the whereabouts of her infant even though she had concerns that her daughter was possibly injured.

Count 5: Charge: False Report

Ffalse statement concerning the alleged time-frame of when the Defendant fave her infant daughter to Ethan Perry to keep since she could not handle her daughter anymore and Ethan Perry’s alleged threats to take the Defendant to court to address the custody of their daughter.

Count 6: Charge: False Report

False statement concerning the Defendant’s alleged claim that she last saw her infant daughter in the custody of Ethan Perry on December 26, 2019 and that she had not contacted the police to report her missing child on the advice of Angela Boswell, the Defendant’s mother.

Count 7: Charge: False Report

False statement concerning the Defendant’s mother possibly having her infant daughter but refusing to share with the Defendant the location of her daughter and whether she had custody of the Defendant’s daughter.

Count 8: Charge: False Report

False statement concerning the Defendant’s mother allegedly having taken her infant daughter in mid-December of 2019 and refusing to tell the defendant of her daughter’s location and that she allegedly did not call the police to report her infant daughter missing out of fear that her mother would harm Evelyn Boswell.

Count 9: Charge: False Report

False statement concerning the Defendant’s mother having allegedly taken her infant daughter because her mother believed that the Defendant owed her money and that the Defendant’s mother had allegedly told her that Evelyn Boswell would not be returned to the Defendant until the money was paid.

Count 10: Charge: False Report

False statement concerning her mother allegedly having Evelyn Boswell at an unknown location and that despite the efforts of the Defendant to find her infant daughter, she allegedly did not know the whereabouts of her infant daughter and did not have any additional information to provide to law enforcement in their attempts to find the missing child.

Count 11: Charge: False Report

Megan Boswell, on or about February 23, 2020, in the State and County aforesaid and before the finding of this Presentment did unlawfully and feloniously make a statement in response to a legitimate inquiry by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Assistant Agent In Charge, Chris Wilhoit, a law enforcement officer, concerning her mother allegedly having given the Defendant’s infant daughter, Evelyn Boswell, to another person who Angela Boswell refused to name and that her infant child was safe and would have a better life with the unknown person than with the Defendant.

Grandma Angela Boswell and boyfriend William McCloud have been in some trouble since they were arrested in connection to Evelyn’s amber alert! Authorities were searching for a stolen silver BMW in connection with missing Evelyn. Angie and Billy were caught in the stolen car. They were caught stealing from a Walmart and are banned got life from all Walmart’s! Their next court date is 14 August 2020.

Here is granny’s court hearing from 9 June 2020.

Views: 241

The case against Megan Boswell has not gone to the grand jury yet!  There are 25 hours of interviews of Boswell that have not been viewed yet.  It was said that 1 hour of interviews takes several hours to get through.

A bond hearing is set for May 15th at 9am.  A decision on the bond hearing is set for May 28th at 9am.

May 20th is the next grand jury hearing, it’s unknown if the Boswell case will be heard at that time or if it will be presented in June.

As of right now, Boswell is charged with filing a false police report. Sullivan county law enforcement have started they have identified a person of interest in Evelyn’s case but refused to name the suspected individual due to the ongoing investigation.

Officials in Sullivan county are looking to pass Evelyn Boswell law which would require parents to verbally report their child as missing, abducted, or as a runaway within 48 hours of the child’s disappearance. Failure to do so would be a class C felony.

Views: 24

Positive identification:

WATCH: We have a sad update to pass along in our ongoing search for answers in the death of 15-month-old Evelyn Boswell. Remains found on Friday evening have been confirmed to be those of the little girl.

Thank you for your continued support in this difficult case. pic.twitter.com/C0ooJdBdMz

— Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (@TBInvestigation) March 11, 2020

The district attorney raised Boswell’s bond to $150,000. The DA was concerned She would be a flight risk. Boswell’s initial bond was set at $25,000.

Views: 23

“The immediate Boswell family (excluding Angela Jones Boswell) of Evelyn are in anguish and grief over their loss. It has been a very rough and trying time for everyone. At this time they do not want to speak publicly in regards to the tragedy. They are still trying to process what has happened. They ask for media and the public to respect their wishes. They need more time to grieve, privately.

The show of love and support does not go unnoticed. The family appreciates the prayers, memorials, and love that has been shown for Evelyn. In such a dark time, it shows there are loving people out there. All we want is justice for Evelyn and whoever is responsible to pay for the crime.

The family would also like everyone to know there has not been any fundraisers or donations for funeral arrangements approved by the Boswell Family.

The Boswell Family would like to reach out to Ethan Perry and family to come together for all arrangements for sweet Evelyn. There has been a lot of hate, threats, and lies thrown at members of the family not involved in the disappearance of Evelyn.

The family would like to keep the ceremony private for family and close friends, due to that. Please try to show respect to those that are grieving and experiencing a heartbreaking loss.”

Be cautious of fundraisers as the family has not started one, and respect the family’s privacy as they grieve!

Views: 16

AMBER Alert: Evelyn Mae Boswell

*Updated on 3/6/20 at 10:10 (ET) to reflect the following new developments in the investigation.

This evening, as part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Evelyn Mae Boswell, and acting on new information developed in the case, TBI Agents and Detectives with the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office searched a property belonging to a family member of Evelyn’s mother, Megan Boswell, in the 500 block of Muddy Creek Road in Blountville. During the search, investigators discovered human remains believed to be those of the missing 15-month-old girl. The remains will be sent for an autopsy and a positive identification.

The TBI, Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI would like to thank the public for their support during the two-week AMBER Alert search for Evelyn Boswell.

The investigation remains active and ongoing at this time.

Note: TBI has state that the child found is wearing the same clothes that her mother said she was wearing!  The property where the body was found, Boswell’s father, brother and grandmother all live on the property.

Views: 45

So did the mother killed Evelyn?  She is the last one to have seen her!

Authorities in Tennessee say they have found human remains that they believe belong to 15-month-old Evelyn Boswell.

The remains were located on a property belonging to a relative of Evelyn’s mother in Blountville.

This evening, as part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Evelyn Mae Boswell, and acting on new information developed in the case, TBI Agents and Detectives with the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office searched a property belonging to a family member of Evelyn’s mother, Megan Boswell, in the 500 block of Muddy Creek Road in Blountville. During the search, investigators discovered human remains believed to be those of the missing 15-month-old girl. The remains will be sent for an autopsy and a positive identification.

The TBI, Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI would like to thank the public for their support during the two-week AMBER Alert search for Evelyn Boswell.

The investigation remains active and ongoing at this time.

Views: 38

Brianna Williams was in court and her attorneys asked for more time to review the evidence.  Her next court appearance is [PRETRIAL] 03 March 2020 9:00 AM – 508 5TH FLOOR, 501 W ADAMS ST JACKSONVILLE FL 32202.

Incase you were wondering: red jumpsuit means possible self-harm, high escape risk, or medical transport.

Here’s the document of States evidence:

Views: 16

A memorial marker sits near the location where the remains of Taylor Williams were found on 12 November 2019, in a wooded area between Linden and Demopolis.Jackie Pruitt shared her photo with First Coast New. It reads in part, “in loving memory … safe in the arms of God.” The bottom reads: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. John 5:8.  Jackie doesn’t know who put the marker there.

Williams sits in a jail on $1.1m bail for 2-counts of child neglect and giving false information to police. Her next court date is 4 February 2020.

Views: 48

Brianna Williams was in court this morning and plead not guilty to 2-counts of child neglect and giving false information to police.  Her next court date is 4 February 2020.

This is Williams first appearance since she was arrested on 12 November 2019! Williams was hospitalized for injecting an unknown substance. She was moved to jail on 21 November 2019 and held on bail of $1.1 million.

Williams reported 5 year old Taylor Rose missing on 6 November 2019. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said the mom woke up and found the girl missing from her room at 7:22 am and the back door of the home on Ivy Street unlocked. Taylor was put to bed at midnight by her mom.

Taylor’s remains were found between Demopolis and Linden Alabama on 12 November 2019 and were confirmed as Taylor Rose Williams on 25 November 2019.

Views: 53

Please help bring closure to the family and friends of Kevin Brewer, and bring his killer to justice.

Anyone with information about this case is requested to contact:
Minneapolis Police Department at 612-673-3786 or 612-673-2358 or the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Cold Case Homicide Unit at 651-793-7000

This is all the info I can find on Kevin’s murder. I will update when I find anything!

Views: 93

Sisters, Mary and Susan Reker, left their St. Cloud home at 11:30 a.m. on September 2, 1974 (Labor Day) to walk to a local store. They were last seen at the store at 1:30 p.m. and never returned home. Their bodies were found 26 days later, on September 28th, 1974, two teenagers discovered the decomposing body of 12 year old Susanne in the tall grasses on the edge of a rock quarry at the outskirts of town. She had been stabbed 12 or 13 times. Her sister, 15 year old Mary, was found thrown over the side of the quarry, 40 feet below the surface of the water. She had been stabbed 5 or 6 times, and her clothes had been thrown into the quarry after her. Police have reason to believe the killer or killers may be from the local area.

KARE 11 Investigates: New lead in Minnesota cold case double murder

A carnival worker convicted of murdering two Maryland sisters in 1975 may be connected to the 1974 unsolved murders of the Reker sisters in Minnesota.

Author: A.J. Lagoe, Steve Eckert
Published: 7:33 PM CST November 18, 2020
Updated: 10:26 PM CST November 18, 2020

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — “It’s like you do it – or you die,” said Georgianne Dreher. “That was the choice.”
Georgianne says she was sexually assaulted 46-years ago near St. Cloud. The face of her attacker is still seared in her memory.

“He had a scar on his left eyebrow,” she remembered.
And she remembers him saying, “My name is Lloyd.”

Although local authorities doubt there’s a connection, decades later Dreher is haunted by her belief that the same ‘Lloyd’ may have been involved in a mysterious Minnesota double murder that happened just days after she was attacked.

Reker sisters cold case
Missing posters went up just after Labor Day 1974.

The Reker sisters – Mary, 15, and Susanne, just 12 – went missing. They were last seen walking to what was, back then, the Zayre’s Shopping Center in St. Cloud.

The bodies of the sisters were found almost a month later at a nearby quarry. They had been stabbed repeatedly, authorities said.

Days before the Reker sisters disappeared, Georgianne says she was also attacked at knifepoint.

“He sliced up my pants,” she recalled. “That knife was sharp, it was like a razor.”

The story Dreher tells has striking similarities to the Reker case. She took KARE 11 back to the spot where she says she first met her attacker, a young man apparently in his late teens.

“He was coming across the parking lot on a bike,” Dreher said, pointing across the street to the shopping center where the Reker girls were last seen.

“Zayre’s shopping center was right over there,” she said.

It was a hot summer day. Georgianne says he was new in town, interested in making friends.

“And I asked him, ‘Do you know any good swimming spots?’ And he said, ‘Yes, the Quarry, it’s a beautiful place.’”

The Quarry. That’s the same place the sisters’ bodies would be found.
‘He pulled a knife’

Dreher says they biked off together, stopping along the way on the bank of the Sauk River.

At first, she says they shared stories about their lives. When she asked what he did, he said he was a traveling a carnival worker.

“I know him as Lloyd, the carnival worker,” she said.

As they talked, Georgianne says his mood suddenly changed.

“He reached back, and he was fiddling around with his left hand – and he pulled out a knife,” she remembered. “And that’s when I just started doing everything he said.”

As he assaulted her, she says he talked about his fantasies – including a fascination with sisters.

Dreher’s nightmare did not end until a car pulled up just above them. Enough of a distraction, she says, that she was able to escape.

She even showed KARE 11’s A. J. Lagoe how she wrote about it at the time in her scrapbook.
“You wrote his name?” Lagoe asked.

“Yes, Lloyd!” she said, pointing to his name and the words she wrote: “then tried to kill me.”

Remember, her assault was just days before the Reker sisters disappeared.

“So, I want to make sure I have this straight,” asked Lagoe. “You met the man who assaulted you across the street from the Zayres?”

“That’s correct,” Georgianne said.

“And where you were sexually assaulted was less than three-quarters of a mile from where the sisters’ bodies were found?” he asked.

“That’s correct,” she replied.

Georgianne says she reported her attack to authorities back in 1974. But she says Lawrence Kritzeck, an investigator for the Stearns County Sheriff at the time, told her they didn’t think there was a connection to the Reker murders.

Her attacker was never located.

Lloyd the carnival worker

Georgianne says a family acquaintance – former deputy U. S. Marshal Henry ‘Bud’ Carlson – told her the man who attacked her would likely attack again.

So, years later, after the arrival of the internet, she set up an alert on her computer for news stories including the name “Lloyd” and the words “carnival worker.”

Six years ago, she got a hit.

It was a report that Lloyd Welch, a one-time traveling carnival worker, had been named a “person of interest” in another notorious cold case involving young girls.

The Lyon sisters – Sheila, 12, and Katherine, 10 – had disappeared from the Wheaton Plaza shopping center just outside Washington, DC, in March of 1975, less than a year after the Reker sisters were murdered.

As part of their investigation, authorities in Montgomery County, Maryland, released a 1977 mug shot of Welch to show what he looked like around the same time.

“It was mind-blowing,” Georgianne said.

“When you saw this photo did you have any doubt this was the man who sexually assaulted you?” KARE 11’s Lagoe asked.

“Absolutely not. That was the man that assaulted me,” she replied.

East Coast investigation

By 2014, when Lloyd Welch was named in connection with the Lyon sisters case, he was already a convicted sex offender and a suspect in other crimes across the country.

Georgianne reached out to the East Coast detectives investigating the case.

Two of the lead investigators from Montgomery County Maryland – Detectives Mark Janney and Katie Leggett – traveled to St. Cloud to interview her in person.

KARE 11 reviewed a recording the detectives made of their interview, as Georgianne described details about things she remembered her attacker telling her.

One of those details involved the name of a girlfriend he said was traveling with him.

“He talked a lot about Helen,” she told them. “He really loved Helen.”

“He called her Helen by name?” Detective Leggett asked.

“Yes,” Georgianne said.

Turns out Lloyd Welch had been crisscrossing the country with his girlfriend Helen Craver.

A host of tiny details like that convinced East Coast authorities that Georgianne had been attacked by Lloyd Welch.

They were so convinced that when Welch was ultimately charged in connection with the kidnapping and murder of the Lyon sisters, they subpoenaed Georgianne to testify as a pattern witness.
But her testimony wasn’t necessary.

“I plead guilty to felony first degree murder,” Lloyd Welch told a judge in 2017. He was sentenced to 48 years in prison as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

‘I want answers’
Even though she was going to be a witness in the Lyon sisters case, Georgianne says authorities in Stearns County still refuse to consider Lloyd Welch a serious suspect in the Reker sisters murders.

“That’s a guy that’s a serial killer. You got two girls on the East Coast, two girls out here. And he’s got a fantasy about sisters!” she said.
She has written to Welch in prison and even visited him once, hoping to get a confession that still hasn’t come.

“I want answers,” she said.

Wes Nance, prosecutor in the Lyon sisters murder case, said investigators spoke to Welch about the letters Georgianne had written to him. He said Welch acknowledged that “she said some things about him that were accurate that few people would know.”

Even so, Stearns County Sheriff’s investigators have not interviewed Welch about the Reker murders. They say some of Georgianne’s physical descriptions of her attacker don’t match Welch.

In an email dated August 1, 2020, an investigator told her “The investigation of the Reker homicides points in a different direction than Mr. Welch.”

Although they don’t consider Lloyd Welch a prime suspect, Stearns County Sheriff Steve Soyka says the Reker case is still open.

Authorities continue to ask for the public’s help in solving the case.

Anyone having information is asked to email their tip to sheriffinfo@co.stearns.mn.us or call the department at 320-259-3701.

Mother of Murdered Girls Confronts Suspected Killer on His Death Bed
FOX 9 KMSP
January 5, 2018 by staff

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – A mother from St. Cloud whose two daughters were mysteriously murdered in 1974 now believes she knows who killed them.

The two girls, 15-year-old Mary Reker and her 12-year-old sister Susie, disappeared while out shopping for school supplies on Labor Day in 1974, their bodies discovered riddled with stab wounds in a quarry outside St. Cloud.

Despite the efforts of law enforcement and intense media coverage over several decades, no one’s ever been charged with the murders of the sisters.

“I felt my only hope was that there would be a death bed confession,” said the girls’ mother, Rita Reker. “That’s honestly how I felt. That’s where it was all going to end. I just hoped that I would live long enough to see that.”

Then several months ago, her phone rang. It was a tip about a 58-year old man admitted to St. Cloud hospital. He was in room 549 south, dying from liver failure after years of heavy drinking. The name was a familiar one to the Reker family and law enforcement.

“I wanted to confront him,” she said. “I knew I had to do that.”

Over the years, Herb Notch was questioned, and even polygraphed on two occasions, about the deaths.

SIMILAR CASE TO REKERS

Cops zeroed in on Notch two years after the murders when he was arrested for a crime with striking similarities to the Reker case. He was 17.

“It makes him somebody that we really are interested in,” said Lt. Victor Weiss from the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department. “He’s been on our radar since at least 1976.”

Notch and another boy kidnapped 14-year old Sue Dukowitz while she was working at a St. Cloud convenience store, took her out to a gravel pit outside of town and sexually assaulted her.

Then, to the surprise of his accomplice, Notch pulled out a knife and stabbed Dukowitz. They left her for dead, but she survived.

“He had no remorse at all,” Notch’s accomplice said. “None. Like hitting a bug on your windshield.”

He agreed to an audio-only interview with The Fox 9 Investigators as long as his voice was disguised, saying he’ll never forget the last time he spoke with Notch.

It was in the 1980’s, while they were both still in prison for the Dukowitz attack.

“The guy was hissing like a snake and talking about he wants to kill everybody,” he said.

MAN WHO FOUND REKER BODIES TALKS TO THE FOX 9 INVESTIGATORS

Another man shared a similar “hissing” encounter with Notch. It happened years earlier, right after the Reker murders.

In 1974, Russ Platz attended an alternative high school with Notch. They also worked together bagging groceries at the Zayre discount store–the same store where the Reker girls went shopping the day they disappeared.

26 days after they went missing, it was Platz and another friend who discovered their bodies while rock climbing at the quarry. He described the crime scenes as “pretty gruesome”.

Platz said that even early on he had suspicions Notch might have been involved.

He remembers Notch always playing with a knife. He’d sit in his car in the Zayre’s parking lot on his days off and just stare at people. One day he said his gut told him to ask Notch about the Reker girls.

“I said, ‘Herb did you know about this or have anything to do with that?’” Platz said. “I don’t remember which way I worded it, but he went, ‘hissssssss’ and that was the only response I got out of him.”

Platz said he contacted law enforcement about his bizarre encounter with Notch, with police confirming that they remembered the account as well.

In 2016, the Fox 9 Investigators tried to interview Notch for a story about the Reker case. When reached, all Notch said was “don’t bother me any f***ing more.” and hung up.

“Your program last fall just opened up a whole area,” Reker said. “We found out a lot of new things we hadn’t known before.”

The Fox 9 Investigators sifted through old police and court records and found similarities between the Reker and Dukowitz cases not made public before. Notch was also accused of attacks on two other women in the 80’s and 90’s.

There was a psychiatric evaluation in the files which described him as having “a fearlessly savage quality about him. He was also described as “a very dangerous person …In the right situation a homicidal individual.”

After the story aired something strange happened.

A woman who knew Notch through one of his relatives said he started to call her, asking for bathing suit pictures. He said he wanted them to go away on a trip together.

He also rambled, she said, about the Fox 9 story–never denying involvement in the Reker murders but insisting he passed a polygraph test.

She was so traumatized by his calls that she reached out to law enforcement. The Sheriff’s Department confirmed her account of Notch’s overtures.

“I would tell you the lie detector test was more inconclusive than anything,” Weiss said.

So far, there’s no physical evidence linking Notch to the Reker murders.

WIRED UP MOTHER CONFRONTS NOTCH

Reker decided to visit Notch in person after learning he had been admitted to the hospital, wearing a hidden microphone to record their conversation.

Deputies and her son waited nearby as she went into Notch’s room by herself.

“I walked in and I told him I was the mother of Mary and Suzanne and that I had waited 42 years for this,” she said. “I needed some answers.”

She said it took a few moments for Notch to realize who was confronting him.

“He just pointed right at me and said ‘I give you my word I didn’t do it,’” she recalled. “He was totally in denial. I found him to be very angry, a very hard and very bitter person. There was no sense of remorse at all.”

She continued to try and make conversation with him, hoping he might offer some clues about the murders.

“Another thing that he said to me that I thought was really strange: ‘Why can’t you just put it behind you?’” Reker said. ‘I told him, ‘Because they were my children, and as long as I was alive I was going to be searching for their killer.”

And then he said something which might be interpreted as a hint of a confession.

“I’m going to hell.”

She responded by telling Notch she’s been praying for him over the past four decades.

“I said, ‘You’ve got a few days left. You can make your peace with God before you die,’” Reker said. “He just said, ‘I’m going to hell and I don’t do church.’ After that he got really angry with me and he said, ‘You’re starting to piss me off.’”

CONVINCED NOTCH IS THE KILLER

The confrontation between the 82-year old mother and the suspected killer of her two girls lasted all of 21 minutes.

“I came out of there just numb,” she said. “For me, my search is over. I have no doubt that he was the person who killed them.”

Notch died a week later, but the Reker case remains open as investigators try to find more evidence to connect him to the crime.

“It’s not all done–it’s getting closer, but if there isn’t any more after this that would be okay,” said Marty Reker, the brother of the murdered girls.

MOVING ON, NOT GIVING UP

Rita and her husband Fred, who has passed away, made the most of their lives after the deaths of Mary and Susie. They raised four other children, were active in their church and founded a support group for parents of murdered children.

Rita says a strong faith is the rudder that’s guided her through a decades long storm of emotions.

But at last, after looking into Notch’s eyes, she’s found her peace.

“I guess I had to see who my children faced in the last moments of their life,” she said. “There was nothing left of him to be fearful of.”  More on Notch

From WJON
Sheriff’s Office still looking for tips on unsolved Reker case
September 1, 2016, by Dan DeBaun

ST. CLOUD – Friday will mark the 42nd anniversary of Mary and Susanne Reker going missing from St. Cloud.

It was Labor Day: September 2nd, 1974, when Mary and Susanne left home a little after 11:00 a.m. to go shopping at the nearby Zayre Discount Store. They never returned and were missing for nearly a month. Both were later found on September 28th murdered in Quarry Park, they were stabbed multiple times.

Authorities are still searching for who’s responsible for their murders.

Stearns County Chief Deputy Bruce Bechtold says the recent media coverage has led to more interest and tips from the public. He urges anyone with information to continue calling the Sheriff’s Office.

“I think the media coverage brought in more interest and we got more calls. It’s always good to hear from people if they have thoughts of things they’re thinking about. We’ve always said: somebody knows something and we need to hear what it is.”

Bechtold wouldn’t comment on specific suspects or persons of interest in the case, but does say they’re looking into several people.

“We have a few that we’re interested in and the ones that we are interested in are alive.”

Bechtold also can’t comment on any recent progress in the case, but says it’s been good to see increased awareness and tips from the public. A new investigator was assigned to look at the case earlier this year and authorities continue to voice the need for a crucial witness to come forward.

“If they saw anything or heard people talking about being affiliated. Sometimes if you heard something and you didn’t come forward, it might be what we’re looking for,” Bechtold says.

If you know something about this case, you should contact the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office at 320-251-4240 or the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Cold Case Homicide Unit at 1-888-234-3692

There’s still a reward of up to $50,000 being offered for information on the murders.

From WJON
WJON Cold cases: 1974 Reker Murders still a mystery
August 1, 2016, by Dan DeBaun

ST. CLOUD – It’s been nearly 42 years since Susanne and Mary Reker went missing in St. Cloud. They were found nearly a month later murdered in Quarry Park, both were stabbed multiple times.

Authorities still haven’t determined who murdered the girls, but signs indicate they’re getting closer with the suspects they’re looking into. They could be a few witness accounts away from a breakthrough in the case.

Someone just needs to step forward with the last crucial bits of information they need.

“Somebody knows something that they’re either hiding on purpose or are just afraid to say what they knew at the time,” Stearns County Chief Deputy Bruce Bechtold says.

“There are people out there who have never come forward that know what happened, know who did it and are not telling what they know. People who have never come forward before,” Rita Reker, the mother of the two girls, says.

It was Labor Day: September 2nd, 1974, when Mary (15-years-old) and Susanne (12-years-old) left home around 11:00 a.m. to go shopping at the nearby Zayre Discount Store (now currently home to Save-a-Lot Grocery and Liquor). Rita recalls it being a beautiful summer day after a big family reunion the day before.

“I didn’t want them to go very badly but they needed some school supplies. They were going to be back quickly.”

They were last seen at the store at 1:30 p.m. When they didn’t come home for dinner, their parents contacted police. It started a search for the girls that lasted 26 days.

“I remember fixing supper that evening and we generally ate around 5 o’clock and when they weren’t there we knew something was wrong.”

The search quickly became nationwide in scope. Old WJON files say bulletins and photographs of the girls were sent to all major cities in five upper midwest states and to every state crime bureau. Mary was wearing green wire rim glasses, a green army fatigue shirt with “Reker” on the front pockets and blue jeans. Susanne was wearing gold wire rimmed glasses, a white cotton short jacket and blue corduroy jeans.

On September 28th, two teenagers who were walking on the edge of a rock quarry on the western outskirts of town, found Susanne in the tall grass nearby at about 2:00 p.m. She was stabbed 13 times.

Mary was found unclothed 40 feet below the surface of the water. She had been stabbed six times and her clothes had been thrown into the quarry after her. Her body was recovered by divers at about 6:00 p.m.

The murders shook the community. To this day: Rita still can’t comprehend why such a horrible thing happened to her daughters.

“Mary had planned to become a teacher when she got older and Susanne planned to become a doctor and she was a violinist. They had hopes and dreams for themselves and somebody just chose to kill them.”

What Are Authorities Looking For?

After talking with the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, Rita and looking through old WJON files, here’s the common threads we’ve found for who may be responsible:

Both the Sheriff’s Office and Rita believe the suspect is a man who’s likely from the St. Cloud area.
Rita thinks the man had an accomplice. The Sheriff’s Office can’t confirm this, but Bechtold says they aren’t ruling out the possibility.
Profilers in the case believe the person was young at the time of the murder.
Bechtold confirmed that some of the suspect(s) they are looking at are still alive.
Bechtold says it’s possible they haven’t heard from a key witness because they felt what they saw “wasn’t important”. The Sheriff’s Department urges anyone who saw something to contact them.
Perhaps the most mysterious part of the case is a page from Mary’s diary that investigators found. It seems to show that she had reason to fear for her life. It reads:

“Should I die, I ask that my stuffed animals be given to [my sister] and if I am murdered, see that justice wins over. I have a few reasons to fear for my life. What I ask is important.”

Bechtold confirms the diary entry is still a big piece in their investigation.

“It’s pretty significant to look at that, you certainly can’t rule that out because what 15-year-old girl writes that?”

Authorities seem content with the physical evidence they have for the investigation. The missing pieces are witness accounts from a crucial time: after the girls were at the Zayre store.

“We’d like to know what happened from the time they left the store until they were murdered: if [someone] saw certain people together…and I can’t say who those certain people would be, but we have witnesses who saw the girls at the store, we have witnesses who saw them in different places.” Bechtold says.

Authorities still have the girls clothing and there’s the possibility they could bring the items back for further DNA testing if scientific advancements in the field are made. DNA testing on the clothes in 2006 revealed no clues.

Another interesting development with the case happened in 2005, when it was presented to the Vidocq Society: a members only crime solving club of detectives, FBI agents, psychologists and scientists who hear cold cases in Philadelphia. After hearing this case: they confirmed to the Sheriff’s Office that they were on the right track.

“Their opinion at the time that we presented it to them is that the person or persons we are looking at, look like they would be viable suspects,” Bechtold says.

Rita says this helped confirm in her mind who was responsible. She isn’t able to comment on names.

“That was a breakthrough for us.”

A new investigator was also assigned to the case recently. Bechtold says John Niemi has been with the department for about 10 years. He met with Rita in Mid-July to keep her informed on what they were doing to try and solve the case. The Sheriff’s Office hopes he will give them a fresh perspective.

In 2013, Fred Reker, the girls father, died at the age of 84. Rita is now 80-years-old but still hasn’t given up on finding closure.

“We had four other children and they had to grow up with the mystery of this: that was hard for them. Our family bares the scars of this yet and I guess before I die I’d like to see it solved.”

If you know something (especially if you saw the girls after they went to the Zayre store), you should contact the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office at 320-251-4240 or the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Cold Case Homicide Unit at 1-888-234-3692

There’s still a reward of up to $50,000 being offered for information on the murders.

[It’s been said that Lloyd Welsh could possible be connected to this murder.  He killed 2 sisters in March 1975.  Welsh was a carnival worker.  Here’s a link: Lyon Sisters’ Murder: How Did They Die? Who Killed Them?
And: Where Is Lloyd Lee Welch Now? ]

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