Champa and Anita Patel. Case from Windsor, Ct from 1996.

It was a typical Thursday on 21 March 1996 when Anita Patel showed up to her parent's house at 9 Massow Dr in Windsor, Ct around 8:20 am. Champa, who is Anita's mother, had been helping her out by watching her youngest child Rohan a couple of days a week while her and her husband worked, and their daughter, Priya 4, was at school. Anita parked in the driveway and then got the kids out of their Ford Windstar. She used the garage door opener that her parents gave her to enter the house, then went to the door that lead into the house. When Anita opened the door, she could tell that something was wrong. She turned to her two kids and told them to run.

Area of Connecticut where the murders happened.

9 Massow Lane Zoomed in.

Only being 4 years old Priya didn't know what to make of her mother's demands to run. However, the tone in her mother's voice was enough to do what her mother had asked her. First, she led Rohan back to the van. She waited, hoping that her mother would return, and she would head to school.  After what seemed like a long time, Priya lead Rohan back to the house and looked in the windows. Not seeing her mother on the first floor, but then seeing her on the second floor. Her mother was with a man that was dressed in a black snowsuit and a white ski mask covering his face.

At this point, Priya lead Rohan away from the house. Walking up Massow La past a bunch of houses that were built just like her Grandmothers. She was hoping to see an adult. Someone that might help her mother. They turned left down Andrew Lane and walked until they got to Dudley Town road. 

I happen to live not far from here, and my Grandfather owned his house in the Rainbow section of Windsor from 1954 until 2009. Dudley Town Road is one of the arteries that supply's traffic to the tens if not hundreds of warehouses that occupy old farm land in Bloomfield, Ct. I would consider it a main drag, with cars doing in excess of 50 mph down that road, completely in autopilot on their way to work in the morning. 

Debbie Laramie had seen the two of them across the street from her house on Dudley town road. She had just assumed that they were playing, and that one of their parents was watching them from the house. Debbie ran a day care out of her home, and had her own kids to tend to. However, she got  concerned when they both ran across the street. Then sort of relieved when they came up to the door and knocked. 

Priya told Debbie that "a bad man" did something to Mommy. Debbie, knowing that something was off, called 911. When the police showed up, Priya repeated the story to the police. When they tried to get her to go in the police car, she refused, but agreed to walk back to her grandmothers house.

Police entered the house they found 2 small fires, so they called the fire department to extinguish the blazes. The two small fires were set on both Anita and Champa Patel. 

Windsor police said it was one of the most gruesome scenes that they had ever come across. Champa Patel was bound with duct tape behind her back, she was gagged and had plastic wrap pulled around her face. Anita was found stabbed a number of times and found with scissors still in her back.

The killer left in the Family's ford Windstar. Which was found a short time later parked at a Church. Next to exit 36 on Interstate 91.

April- May 1996.  

 

Who killed Martha Moxley?

 

Growing up in Connecticut, I have heard of this case before I can remember. Not only because it happened in an affluent town, and further more in a gated community, but it also had to do with relatives of the Kennedy's. One of the most powerful and well known families in the country. The Skakel family was related to the Kennedy's through Ethel, who was once married to RFK. RFK was the US Attorney General who appointed while his brother JFK was President of the United States. JFK was assassinated in 1963. RFK was killed while running for president in 1968. Their brother Ted Kennedy was also involved in an incident in 1969 where his car went off a bridge. While Ted lived, his passenger was killed. All that being said, in 1975 when Martha Moxley was murdered, Kennedy was more of a household name than the Obama's during Barack's tenure as president. So when it became public that a Kennedy cousin might have been involved in the murder, in the gated community of Bell Haven, which is on of the most affluent towns in the country, it became national news.

1974-1975 

Sometime during the mid 1970s, the Moxley family moved from San Francisco, California to the Bell Haven section of Greenwich, Ct. They moved to 38 Walsh Lane, which is directly across the street from the Skakel home. It was said that Martha got to know the Skakel's over the summer of 1975. While there were 7 siblings in the Skakel family that lived in Bell Haven, Martha knew Tommy 17, and Micheal 15 more than anyone. Probably because of the closeness in age. Martha was 15 at the time.

From the outside looking in, the Skakel's seemed to be having a tough time. Anne (Reynolds) Skakel died of brain cancer in 1973. The Skakels father Rushton is said to not be much of a home keeper. So after Anne passed away, he would hire live in nanny's and tutors to help with the kids and around the house. At the time that Martha was murdered, Ken Littleton was the live-in tutor. He started working for the Skakel's the day that Martha was murdered.

This in an Ariel photograph of the section of Bell Haven 
where Martha Moxley lived. Across the street is the Skakel
property. It looks as though the Skakel's property goes all
the way back to the tennis court. The tennis court and the end
of the Moxley's horseshoe shaped driveway are across the
street from each other.

October 30th, 1975. Mischief Night.

This Link will take you to a Tap talk page where someone has mapped out the details of the movements of as many people as they can the day and night Martha was murdered. While I understand the relevance of this, I chose not to include it because it strains the continuity of the post. Also, much of it doesn't seem relevant to the events that are around the time of her murder, in my opinion. 

At about 6:30 Martha left the house to meet her friend Helen. Shortly there after the met up with Jeffery Byrne 11, and Jackie Wettenhall. This group would stop by the Skakel household a few times that night. The first few times they stopped by, the Skakel children were not home. They were with Ken Littleton at the Bell Haven Club having dinner. Also at dinner at the Bell Haven club was James Terrien (Skakel cousin), and Andrea Shakespeare. 

At around 9pm, Martha, Helen and Jeffery Byrne again went to the Skakel house and met up with Michael Skakel. According to court documents, (see resources at the bottom of the page This is from Michael Skakels 2007 appeal for a new trial that was filed in Stamford.) The four of them sat in a Lincoln Continental on the side of the house, listening to music. (While I won't argue with the court documents, I also suspect the reason they sat in the car that night was because it was cold. Coldest day in October so far that year. It was 32 or so degrees, and it was 10 to 20 mph winds, and wind gusts. With the windchill, it must have seemed like it was in the 20s that night.)

According to court documents, Micheal Skakel considered this moment with Martha a "moment of closeness." Not long after, Tommy Skakel would join them in the car. At about 9:30 the elder Skakel boys Rushton Jr, John came out to the car with James Treeien. They told the teens in the car that they were taking it to give James a ride home.

When the 5 of them got out of the car so that the elder boys could give James a ride home, Helen stated that Tommy and Martha were engaged in horse play. She stated that she felt a little embarrassed about the flirting. Helen also stated that her and Jeffery Byrnes left together. 

Dorothy Moxley, Martha's mother, had been painting the trim that night in one of the rooms of the house. She stated to police that she heard a commotion around 9:30 or 10. Then decided to clean up the paint and take a shower. She was waiting up when Martha's brother came home. Then fell asleep while waiting for Martha to get home. When Dorothy woke in the middle of the night and Martha still wasn't home, she made some calls. First to the Skakel house, then to the Terrien house, and to the Byrnes house. After failing to find Martha, she called the police. After some searching, the police assured her that Martha was probably out and would come home in the morning. When morning came around and still no Martha, Dorthy knew something was really wrong.

October 31, 1975

Around 12:30 Jackie Wettenhall walked through her backyard to the Moxley's and saw Martha lying face down under a Pine tree. She wasn't moving, and her pants were around her ankles.

Jackie Wettenhalls house compared to others in
Bell Haven. If you follow the link I posted, earlier
it shows the relevance of the people who were involved
in mischief night, and where Martha went over the course
of the afternoon and into the early evening.

The Crime Scene.

Sometime after leaving the Skakel property, Martha walked back towards her house and seemingly went up the right part of her horseshoe shaped driveway. She was attacked by someone with a golf club. The person hitting her 8 or 9 times in the head. Then the killer drove the broken part of the shaft through her neck. Dr. Henry Lee would go on to say that the wound to her neck was either "in extremis" (meaning at the point of death. Clairty, for it is not my wording.) or full deceased. The club was a part of a set that had the Skakel's mother's name embroidered on it. Rushton Sr had bought the set for her, and it was the only set like it in the nieghboorhood. 

At some point, the killer dragged Martha under the pine tree where she was found. It is not know if this was before or after she was stabbed in the neck. According to investigators, she may have been dragged first by the heels, then by the shoulders. He pants were pulled down, but there were no signs of sex assault. (It is my opinion that her pants came down as she was dragged.)

The alibi 1975.

Though I was unable to find out about Ken Littleton's other job, court documents say that when Ken returned from work to the Skakel residence on October 31 it was a scene of "mayhem." Court documents state that Ken was directed by someone who seemed to be an attorney, to take Michael, John, and James Terrien to a house that the Skakels owned in Wyndham, NY.  They left on Saturday and returned on Sunday.

November 1975

On the 14th, Rushton Sr brought his children Julie, Tommy, Michael, and John to the police station to give statements about the night of October 31st. Also with them was James Terrien. 

In the statement given by Michael, he said that he remained in the Lincoln Continental that night and took the ride to bring Jame Terrien home with his brothers Rushton Jr, and John Skakel. Also, the purpose of this trip was so that they could watch "Monty Pythons Flying Circus." Michael Skakel claimed that they returned home around 10:30 and 11. Michael stated that he went to bed and never left the house again that night. 

Tommy would go on to say that Martha left to go home around 9:30 that night. At 10 Tommy was watching TV with Ken Littleton. Ken Littleton confirmed his story.

Issues with the Alibi. 

In 1991 another Kennedy relative, William Kennedy Smith, went on trial for rape. Even though he was acquitted, there surfaced a rumor during the trial that William was at the Skakel house the night that Martha was murdered. While that also proved to be untrue, it renewed interest in Martha's case. So much so that Rushton Sr hired a company called the Sutton Associates to "assess any risks," or something of that manner. 

This report was eventually leaked to the media. Whether the leak was intentional is up in the air. The significant things found in the report were that both Michael and Tommy had changed their stories about what happened the night of October 30, 1975. Tommy was now saying that he was with Martha until 10:30 that night. Michael now stating that after coming home with John and Rushton Jr, he went to bed. Then at some point he got up, snuck over to Martha's house, climbed a tree and threw rocks at her window. Failing to get her attention, he claims he masturbated in the tree. 

This is the location of Martha's bedroom on the 3rd floor of 38 Walsh La.

The window on the third floor in this picture is Maratha's bedroom.

38 Walsh Lane from another angle. The same window is hidden
in this picture, but it shows the trees in the back of the house.

May 7, 2002

Michael Skakel was put on trial for Martha's murder.

June 7, 2002.

Michael Skakel was convicted of murdering Martha Moxley.

October 23, 2013

After numerous appeals, Michael Skakel was granted a new trial based on inadequate representation. On November 21, 2013, Michael Skakel was released on a 1.2 million dollar bond. 

On October 30, 2020

The State of Connecticut publicly stated that they would not be trying Michael Skakel again for her murder, as they are unsure if the can get a conviction. 

Michael Skakel has always maintained his innocence.

As always, thank you for reading. 

Resources

https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/dcj/skakeljuly2007pdf.pdf

Where is Jenifer Dulos?

 

On March 1st of 2024, Michelle Troconis was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, hindering prosecution, and tampering with evidence in the May 24, 2019, disappearance and murder of Jenifer Dulos. What is remarkable about this case is that the State of Connecticut managed to secure a conviction without Jenifer's body (she still has never been found) and the fact that their main suspect Fotis Dulos was never convicted of murder. Fotis Dulos committed suicide on January 30th 2020. 

While there is a ton of information in this case, it is not the point of my post to go over all the details of the case. While there are still appeals, Michelle has been convicted. After going over what the state presented, I happen to agree with them. Though I will refrain from making too many comments about what I think as another defendant, Kent Mawhinney is still set to go on trial here in Connecticut. Though I will leave the fine details to be argued, I will give some of the main points of this case. Mostly because I hope that someone might give information as to where Jenifer's body might be, and to give her family closure. 

The day after the murder.

According to arrest warrants, on 25 May 2019 at 2:47pm Fotis Dulos arrived at New Cannon Police department to answer questions, somewhere around 3 hours after his scheduled arrival. It was there that police were able to seize his phone and put it into airplane mode to secure the data. 

Using the location data that was stored in the phone, police were able to ascertain that Fotis's phone had been in the area of Albany Avenue later in the day on 24 May 2019. Which is the day that Jenifer Dulos went missing. Law enforcement searched the camera footage of the Albany Avenue area of Hartford and found a vehicle that looked like Fotis's Ford Raptor, and a person that looked like Fotis disposing of black trash bags inside of trash bins along Albany Ave. Some of the bags were found and contained items that not only were covered in blood, but also were possible used to clean up a lot of blood. Testing of the bloody items deemed the blood to be that of Jenifer Dulos.

From the arrest warrant, some of the items that were found in
trash bags on Albany Avenue in Hartford. 

While I can understand why some may think differently, this is a really difficult thing to get around in this case. How did Jenifer's blood end up in a trashcan in Hartford the day that she went missing? Also, what are the chances of a woman's ex significant other disposing of trash bags in the same trash cans where they found her blood, and him having nothing at all to do with it? In any event, this that brought both Fotis and Michelle into the focus around Jenifer's disappearance. 

Both Fotis and Michelle were arrested on June1st, 2019 and charged with hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence. This was just a week or so after Jenifer went missing. They were released on bond and both rearrested on January 7th, 2020. This time, Fotis Dulos was arrested for Felony Murder, kidnapping and murder, and Michelle Trococnis for conspiracy to commit murder. (Kent Mawhinney was arrested with them also, but I will get into him in another post.) 

Fotis Dulos would commit suicide on January 30th 2020. Just a few weeks after being charged with her murder. This would also be the time that that Fotis's attorneys would get the discovery of the state's evidence against him.

The Trial.

Four years after Jenifer's murder on January 11th, 2024 the State presented its case against Michelle Troconis. While I won't go over all the details of the case, I think an overview of the State's opinion is in order to get a clear view of where Jenifer's body might be. Which is the actual point of my post. 

It seems to be the State's accretion that Fotis and Michelle had together planned to cause harm to Jenifer Dulos on May 24th, 2019. The motive for this crime being that Jenifer had moved the kids away after it became clear that Fotis was having an affair with Michelle. Other assertions have come out of their custody hearings, Jenifer had made the claim that Fotis was also pushing the kids to become professional water skiers beyond what was thought to be reasonable. While I know that there are many other factors as to the why, the fact remains that Jenifer moved the 5 children to New Canaan a couple of years before her murder. 

The State's case centers around the idea that Fotis, with the help of at least Michelle Troconis planned to use one of the Fore Groups employee's personal truck in a plot to kill Fotis Dulos's estranged wife, Jenifer Dulos. That employee being Pawel Gumienny and his truck, a 2001 Toyota Tacoma. 

In court, the state presented evidence that Pawel's Tacoma was shuttled from 4 Jefferson Crossing in Farmington Ct to 80 Mountain Spring Rd also in Farmington Ct, late in the day on May 23, 2019. The day before, Jenifer went missing. For reference, the Fore Group operated out of 4 Jefferson Crossing, where Fotis and Michelle lived. 80 Mountain Spring Road was one of the Fore Group's development properties. Which was located just a few miles away.

At the top of the page is 4 Jefferson Crossing. Home of Fotis Dulos 
and his office for the Fore Group. The end of the line at the bottom
of the page is 80 Mountain Spring Road. Just 2.12 miles apart.

The State presented in court video of that same Tacoma leaving the property of 80 Mountain Spring Road the morning that Jenifer went missing, heading in the direction of the highway at 5:30 the morning of Jenifer's disappearance. Investigators managed to obtain video footage of what looks like the same Tacoma from rest stops on the Merritt Parkway. The red 2001 Tacoma is seen in Fairfield at 6:35 am, and again at 7:05 in New Canaan. 

Though there is no definitive answer to which way he went
this gives the approximate distance between Farmington
and New Canaan. The area highlighted in Red is
Fairfield, where the Tacoma was spotted around 
6:35am on May 24th, 2019.

Using dash cam video from school buses in New Canaan, Law enforcement also found a truck matching the description of the Pawel Gumienny's 2001 Tacoma in Waveny Park in New Canaan. This Tacoma was just a few hundred feet from where Jenifer Dulos's Chevy Suburban was found.

The Tacoma, seen in Waveny Park in New Canaan on May 24th, 2019.

Investigators also obtained a short clip from a doorbell camera of a person on a bike heading towards 71 Wells Lane in New Canaan. This bike can also been seen in the back of the Tacoma in some of the surveillance video taken from the highway.

Jenifer Dulos was last seen dropping her kids off at New Canaan Country School, and then shortly after driving her Suburban back to her home on Wells lane on a neighbors' security camera at 8:05am.

Map showing how close Well's Lane is to the school
where Jenifer dropped her kids off the morning of her murder.

The Suburban is seen again leaving 71 Wells lane at 10:25 by the same camera. This is the same Suburban that would be found in Waveny Park, a few hundred feet from where the Tacoma was seen on surveillance footage.

From there the Tacoma is seen again on the Merit Parkway going in the direction of Farmington. Then seen again at about 12:30 pulling into 80 Mountain Spring Road in Farmington from the doorbell camera across the street from 80 Mountain Spring road.

Within an hour of the return of the Tacoma to 80 Mountain Spring Road, there begins a shuffling of cars back and forth between that address, and 4 Jefferson Crossing. From the doorbell camera residence across the street from 4 Jefferson Crossing, it is observed that multiple small fires are started in the home of 4 Jefferson Crossing despite it being a nice day outside. This is indicated by white smoke coming out of the chimney, sometimes coming out and sometimes not. Indicating to police that the fire was lit multiple times.

Around 4:30 Pawel Gumienny returned to 4 Jefferson crossing at the end of his work day. His plan was to take his Tacoma, and his off-road motorcycle, home for the weekend. When he showed up to Fotis's residence, no one was there and his truck was missing. Pawel then drove down to 80 Mountain Spring Road and found Fotis and Michelle with his truck. Moved from where he had parked it earlier in the week at 4 Jefferson Crossing. 

Pawel would go on to say that they (Fotis and Michelle) looked surprised to see him. At some point after showing up, Michelle left with the keys to the Tacoma. Fotis offered to lend Pawel the Fore Group truck that Pawel had been using to commute to work, but Pawel declined. Telling Fotis that he wanted to take his Dirt Bike home to go riding over the long weekend. Fotis had to call Michelle and ask her to bring the keys back to the Tacoma. 

Police obtained Ring doorbell footage of Pawel leaving in his Tacoma with his dirt bike in the back of the truck. 

Starbucks

Law Enforcement was able to obtain video of Fotis and Michelle stopping at Starbucks on Albany Ave in West Hartford going in the dircetion of Hartford where the items that had Jenfifers blood on them were found. 

The line shows the distance between 4 Jefferson Crossing
at the bottom, and ending at Starbucks on Albany Ave in West Hartford.

From the arrest warrant.

Law Enforcement observations of the movement of the Ford Raptor
and what looks like Fotis and Michelle dropping items in 
trash cans.

The area described in the Warrant The "dip" by the Walgreens is Milford Street.
The last dot to the right is Center St where the Ford Raptor turned around. The dot
to the left of that and slightly up is just marking Green St. Which is the
list of items from the warrent that I posted before.

Area's that have been searched for Jenifer's body. 

Since the information has already been collected and presented way better than I could I will just give the link to the Reddit post on r/jeniferdulos.

https://www.reddit.com/r/JenniferDulos/comments/1bn1t4r/areas_that_have_been_searched_for_jennifer/

This post covers all known areas that have been searched by both Private and Law Enforcment entities. So to bring you around to where this post started, where is Jenifer Dulos's body? Will she ever be found?

References:

https://lindyursolaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/dulos_arrest_warrant__executed_01-07-20_.pdf

https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/jennifer-dulos-how-police-tracked-alleged-killer/11/

https://www.fox61.com/article/news/local/outreach/awareness-months/ct-state-police-release-new-details-photos-in-the-arrest-of-fotis-dulos/520-4050bc08-2615-4bbd-9f60-6f8e63557111

What is big mind?

 

If I could accurately explain this in a single word, I would use interconnectedness. 

If I could help to simplify this idea more, I would say that small mind exists within Big mind, and that Big mind can not exist within small mind. 

Inside the small mind, there exists the ego. To access Big Mind, you have to let go of the ego.

This is something that I see a lot of people struggle with when trying to open themselves up to Big Mind. Trying to define your ego is like chasing a shadow. However, the answer is more simple than people make it. In ego death, you open to big mind. Ego death, is much like actual death in the sense that you can no longer implement your will.

So to lose these ideas that you are some individual person that exists in this ocean of life is to connect to the larger self. How to do so is thought…….fully. How to do that is to raise your awareness.

The next time that you sit to meditate, take the time to consider that you can not exist on this planet without the sunlight. That burning ball of gases that seems to rise and fall each day. It is the sun that grows the plants that we all depend on to live and thrive. It's light and heat so strong that it can travel millions of miles and still light and heat our planet. If the sun were to go out, we would stop existing in our human form. All the plants on the earth would die, the planet would go too cold to live on. Without the sun, plants can not turn carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen. The plants would no longer be able to feed the herbivores that help humans to sustain life.

The next time you sit down to eat a piece of bread, consider that it is part of the sunlight that traveled all these miles to give the plant energy. That the wind blew the rain over the field to water it. That its roots grew into the ground to pull the nutrients from the soil. Now that you are going to eat this, ask your self….how are you not the sun, the wind, the earth, and the rain?

Thank you for reading, Phoenix.

What is your original mind?

I think that this is something that if more people understood what it means at it’s core, that it may help with a deeper understanding of meditation. I was talking with a friend today about finally getting into a regular practice. Fore reference, I have known how to meditate for more than 10 years, and just never really did it every day. Partly because I didn’t think it was necessary. With a lot of the things that have happened in my personal life recently, I have turned to a daily practice. Even getting lost and practicing multiple times a day because it is clear how much I needed it. Since I have known for years how to meditate, it has come rather easy to me. Where my friend said that he really had to focus. Also, that he was easily distracted. I smiled and said that is because you are doing it wrong. I know this, because I used to do it wrong as well. This was the hardest part for me, and not that I can speak for everyone else, it seems like it is one of the hardest parts for everyone. This is because we are so used to ‘doing’ whereas meditation is ‘not doing.’ 

So what do I mean when I say ‘not doing.’ Not doing is stopping what you are doing, and opening to the moment. My friend pointed out to me that everyone journey or understanding is different. Which is a yes and no answer. Bird’s don’t have a word for love, but they understand it. While their experience is remarkably different, some of the things that they feel are universal. 

That being said, there is a universal understanding of our original mind. That understanding is awareness. If you were to go backwards until you were an infant and unlearned everything along the way, you would go back to the pure awareness of a newborn baby. Hearing the rain for the first time, but not knowing what that even is. Hearing the sound of a cat before you knew what a cat was. Your original mind that asked, “What was that?” Before you even knew the words, ‘what was that?’ That is your original mind. The mind you were born with. Like a blank sheet of typing paper ready to be filled. Just aware and nothing else.

Older Buddhist teaching say that our mind is a vessel, or a cup. When it is full to the brim, the more you try and pour in, the more that pours out. If that is true, that the mind is a cup, then meditation is simply emptying the cup. Reminding yourself that you are not really your job, or how much money you have in your bank account, if you want to get all Tyler Durden about life. While that may seem like a joke, when I was learning how to meditate years ago, I was reading a lot of Chuck Palanunk. It is still one of the exercises that I do when I am sitting and getting into a mindset that is conducive for letting go.

That is the last point that I want to make before I finish this post. Letting go. I want you to take this as a metaphor for your emotions. That is because the act of letting go, this non-doing, is unlike what you are used to thinking as doing something. 

Pretend that you have been carrying a 20lb weight in your hand for a few hours. After a while, your muscles start to scream and get tired. Then there is the relief of finally putting it down. Your muscles loosen, you feel relief. Your emotions are a lot of the same thing. You carry some for a long time before you finally put them down. Not knowing how much pain you were causing yourself from carrying them for so long. With meditation, this feeling of letting go of the weight of your emotions is ready at hand. You just let go of the chain of suffering. This is non-doing, this is opening. Returning to your original mind. Where the mind is empty and ready. 

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a great rest of your day.

Phoenix.

Holly Piiraninen: Missing from Sturbridge, MA 1993.

 The Murder of Holly Piiraninen.

 August 5, 1993.

While Holly Piiraninen lived in Grafton, Massachusetts, she was staying at her Grandparents' lakefront property on South shore Dr in Sturbridge, Ma in early August 1993.On August 5th, Holly, 10, had spent the morning with her father and two brothers on the lake. Returning to their South Shore Dr home sometime before noon. After changing her clothes, Holly and her brother Zack who was 5 walked down South Shore Dr towards Allen Rd to look at a littler of Collie Puppies. This was something they had done frequently while staying at their grandparents, This was around 11:45 am. Zack returned to the house on South Shore after being scared by a dog that barked at him.

 

The Intersection of Allen Road and South Shore Dr. The "farm" I believe is the property at 3 South Shore Dr. As it is the only property at that intersection.

Street View of the intersection of South Shore and Allen Rd. Looking south.

Street view of South Shore Dr from Allen Rd. Farm is to the right and used to have a wooden fence.

Around the same time, a pair of Cousins who were staying at 66 Allen Rd began walking down to their mailbox. While almost to the mailbox, they saw a brown pickup with a cap slow from about 40 mph to a crawl and was "looking at their bodies."

The mailbox at 66 Allen Rd, and a general view of the direction in which the truck was traveling. The truck would be coming towards you in this picture.

Street view looking up the driveway at 66 Allen Rd.

Street view of Allen Rd looking north. 66 Allen Rd where the girls saw the man in the brown truck is on the right. Near the van in this picture is the intersection of South Shore and Allen Rd.

The pair of girls at 66 Allen Rd went back up the driveway when they saw him get close. After waiting, they went back down to the mailbox a second time, only to find that the man had turned around, driven back by 66 Allen Rd going south, then turn around again and drove back by 66 Allen Rd going north for the second time. Causing the girls once again to run back up the driveway at 66 Allen Rd.

At this point, one of the girls went into the house and out of a second story window and saw the man had turned around again, possibly at South Shore Dr, and was now speeding past their house at 66 Allen drive again heading south, this time not looking for the girls.

When their father learned that Zack had returned to the house without Holly, he sent both brothers to the farm to bring her home for lunch. A witness that was driving by saw the brothers near the intersection, seeming to be looking around for something. Then they returned to the "camp" as they all called it and told their father that they had not been able to find Holly. Holly's father put them in his vehicle and began driving down south shore, and up and down Allen Rd looking for Holly, before calling police at 1pm.

According to The Boston Globe, 80 firefighters and members of law enforcement spent 9 hours looking for Holly on August 5th. The next day, over 500 volunteers searched for Holly, one of the largest searches to date. Holly's grandmother had even called "America's Most wanted" with John Walsh making a few short segment videos that were aired in New England within 72 hours of Holly going missing. 

Holly found.

On October 23, 1993 Holly's body was found off of 5 Ridge Rd in Brimfield, Ma less than ten miles from where she was taken. Her body was found off of the Grand Trunk Trail.

Distance from where Holly went missing to where she was found.

Parking lot for the Grand Trunk Trail as it appeared in 1993.

Grand Trunk Trail parking lot as it appears now.

 

Location where she was found.

 

 

The discovery of the body seemed to bring up few clues into who took Holly and why. Over the next few years, the case went cold. That was until 2012 when law enforcement released a picture of David Pouliot. Saying that they had definitively linked David to items found at the crime scene in Brimfield, Ma. Since Pouliot had died in 2003, police reached out for the public's help if anyone knew where he went hunting and fishing in the area.

David Pouliot,

Picture of Tank top released by law enforcement in 2023.

In February 2023 police released this image of a tank top that was found near Holly's body in Brimfield, Ma. Again asking the public where this shirt might have been made or sold. 

 Source Material and Further Reading.

 

https://rss.com/podcasts/hollysbeentaken/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-journal-holly-piirainen-10-body-fo/127512398/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-berkshire-eagle/34839256/

 

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/81100205/

The Tolland County 6

  

 

Debbie Spickler 13, missing from Rockville/Vernon, since July, 24 1968

Irene Larosa 17, Missing from Ellington, CT since March 1971

Janice Pockett 7, missing from Tolland, CT since July 26, 1973

Lisa White. 13 Missing from Rockville/Vernon, CT since Nov 1^st 1974

Susan La Rosa Missing from Rockville/Vernon, CT since June 22, 1975

Patrica Luce Missing from Rockville/Vernon, CT since July 18, 1978

Debbie Spickler and Janice Pockett.

I consider Debbie Spickler’s case and Janice Pockett’s case as the outliers in the Tolland County 6. As far as connections to the other cases that I listed, the only real connections that I have found are they all happened around the same general time and in the same general area. However, both cases seem to also have something that seems to set them apart. In the case of Debbie Spickler it seems to happen years before the others, and Janice Pockett seems too young to fit the victim profile. If not for both of the factors, I think I would be calling this post the Rockville 4. I think that you will see what I mean.

Debbie Spickler. 

 

Debbie Spickler 13, would go missing from Henry park in Vernon on July 24, 1968.

 

The area where Debbie Spickler went missing. The white dot on the lower right is 1/2 Fox hill Dr. where she was staying.

While there isn’t a lot of information on this case, Debbie was staying at a relative's house at ½ Fox Hill Dr the day that she went missing. It has been said that Debbie and her cousin were said to be looking for a friend that day. Eventually splitting up to try and find the person. Debbie was last seen walking towards the pool in Henry Park. Debbie has not been seen since.

Janice Pockett

 

janice Pockett.

Janice Pockett would go missing on July 26, 1973, not far from her home in Tolland, CT. After returning from the grocery store, Janice and her sister got into an argument over the color of toothbrushes that they had bought. Not long after that, Janice asked her mother if she could go down the street to collect a dead butterfly that she had hidden under a rock. This was near the intersection of Rhodes Rd and Anthony Rd. According to her sister, this was like a perfect butterfly. Wings and all still intact. They had found it on an earlier walk with their mother, and Jancie had placed it under a rock so that she come back and get it. Her mother told her to go and get the butterfly and come right back. Giving her a white envolpe to put the butterfly in. This was the last time that anyone would see Janice.

The intersection of Anthony and Rhodes Rd where Janice went missing. Here house is one of the first few on the right side of Anthony Rd. Brice Grove Primary school was not built until 1999

Tolland, Ct. The white dot is the intersection of Anthony and Rhodes Rd, where Janice went missing.

The two points on here show the distance between where Janice Pocket went missing and where Debbie Spickler went missing.

Janice's mother would eventually go and look for her with her sister. Finding Janice's bike laying on the ground, and no Janice. The police were called and searches began. Eventually, a witness came forward saying that they were going to the store that day. One of the neighbors, Nancy McDonald. She said she was traveling west on Rhodes road. When she came to the intersection of Anthony and Rhodes Road, there was a station wagon parked across the dirt road, so she could not continue down Rhodes road. She was forced to take a left and head to the store by going down Anthony Rd. It was a blue 4 door station wagon, and there was man about 6'2 skinny with a receding hairline near the car. The man that she saw was in a also green khaki uniform that Nancy said "workers" wore at the time. A quick google search of this type of uniform and the time period brings up a lot of military clothing. However, both protesters and active military had worn this type of clothing back then. This isn't what she describes, but it was a popular color back then.

Since I don’t live far from here, I made the half hour or so drive to Tolland so see the lay of the land for my self. The impression that I came away with was that this area was what I would call “the middle of nowhere.” Though the intersection where Janice went missing is just a little over a mile off of the main road, you have to remember that this is the main road of a farming town. If 84 even existed at this time, it was a fairly new highway. The Birch Grove Primary School near the intersection where she went missing wouldn’t be built until 1999.

Also, if you really look at the map there is only really 4 ways in and out of this area. This is why the only witness to Janice's disappearance turned and went down Anthony Rd instead of Rhodes Road. Couple that with the fact that Janice went missing around 3:30 in the afternoon and the man who was seen around the time that she went missing was wearing a uniform, it makes me wonder a few things. Did the person who took Janice get out of work, and just happen to see her on their way home? If so, is it possible that the person lived in the area, and that Janice still might not be all that far from home?

The Rockville 4.

 

I generally like to cover cases in chronological order because sometimes going over the events as they happen can revel clues. With all the odd connections between the next four cases, I decided not to cover it that way. This is also why I listed the cases at the top of the post. So you could quickly reference who went missing and when.

Lisa White.

On October 31, 1974, Lisa was picked up by her mother at the State Police station. She had been caught with her friend Maria and a couple of guys throwing pumpkins out of the window of a car on Interstate 84 near the Massachusetts border. Her mother grounded her and told her that she wasn't to see anyone that she had gotten into trouble with. On November 1st, Lisa waited for her mother to go to work before making the trip on foot from her home one Regan Rd, (Not to be confused with Regan St which is much closer) to her friend Maria's on Prospect street.

 

Approximate distance from Lisa White house on Regan Rd to her friend Maria's house on Prospect st. Note where Rockville Pharmacy is as well. It will be important in the next case.

 

According to Maria on the Paper Ghost's podcast, Lisa wanted to apologize to Maria's parents about getting her into trouble. Since Maria's mother wasn't home, and her father asleep, Lisa left a note for them. At some point that night, Lisa said goodbye to Maria and headed home. It was the last time anyone would see Lisa White.

The distance between Lisa White and Debbie Spickler's disappearances. The red boundary is Rockville, which is a section of Vernon, Ct.

Susan LaRosa.

 

Susan LaRosa.

 

Seven months after Lisa White went missing, Susan LaRosa 20, would go missing after leaving her home on Ward St in downtown Rockville on July 22, 1975. According to her husband Bob LaRosa, Susan left in the evening to go to the pharmacy. She was going to get formula and call her mother from the payphone. This is something that Susan would do every day. 

 

The distance from Ward St to the pharmacy. Walking this direction takes you past where Maria lived on Prospect St, where Lisa White was last seen. Maria, Lisa White's friend, also used to babysit for Susan LaRosa.

 

Bob Larosa was the last person to see Susan alive. Bo LaRosa also used to live next to Lisa White on Regan Rd.

Irene LaRosa.

 

Irene LaRosa missing since 1971.

 

Again, the connections to these cases can be a bit hard to follow, so reference the timeline if it gets too confusing.

Irene LaRosa is the sister of Bob LaRosa. Irene went missing sometime in 1971, and it was not reported to police for 45 years. During the research into one of the podcast's that covers these cases, Irene's niece would discover this, and finally report her missing. While there are rumors that she might have run away, her connection to Bob LaRosa, whose wife would go missing 4 years later, at least deserves a mention.

 

Patricia Luce

 

Patricia Luce went missing from 7-11 in Rockville. Just two months after Susan LaRosa's body was found on May 23, 1978. Near I86 (now I84) in Vernon.

This shows Ward St where Susan LaRosa went missing on the far right. Going down Prospect st where Lisa White went missing. Past the 7-11 where Patricia Luce was last seen. The end point on the left being the Pharmacy, where Susan LaRosa was heading.

 

Patricia Luce was dropped off at the 7-11 by her brother David Luce on July 18, 1978. thier parents were out of town, and her brother had just gotten his new Motorcycle on the road. While he was somewhat hesitant to leave her there, she said that she would be fine. He wouldn't figure out until trying to go home later that night that something was wrong. He had tried to get into the house, but it was still locked. Patti had the only key. When he had dropped her off at the 7-11, it was the last time that she was seen alive. Her body being found in Marlboro, Ct March 13, 1979.

 

One of the more interesting connections in these cases is that Lisa White and Patricia Luce were on the same Cheerleading team. 

 

Lisa White and Patricia Luce on the same cheerleading team.

Inclusion and exclusion.

There are a lot of theories about which of these cases might be connected and which might not be. The Paper Ghost's Podcast goings further into detail about these cases, including a lot of interviews with family members and witnesses from the days that this happened. It focuses a lot on the possibility of Bob LaRosa being involved in more than just the case of his wife going missing. Paper Ghost's makes a great point though about inclusion and exclusion. No matter what, you can not seem to include or exclude a case from another. Even down to Janice Pockett who was 5 miles away, in the middle of nowhere. As reported from the Paper Ghost's podcast. Bob LaRosa got rid of a station wagon, and some of his green Khaki clothes.

Patricia Luce's case was covered in the Crossing the Line podcast, which was also by M. William Phelps who also did the Paper Ghost's Podcast.

  

 Sources and further Reading.

Paper Ghosts Podcast.

Crossing the line Podcast.

News Paper Clippings.