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Clifford Allen Smith:1982, Jackson County, Indiana

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         Clifford A. Smith was born on October 1st, 1958, to Patricia (Welch) Smith and Clayton Smith. He had five brothers and one sister.     Clifford Allen Smith married Joyce Anderson in May of 1982.  He was employed by the city of Seymour, Indiana as a laborer.     Someone killed Clifford Allen Smith early in the morning on Halloween in 1982. He had only been married about 5 months. He had only been 24 for 31 days.    In early December some boys who were trapping in Jackson County, north of Seymour, came across Clifford’s body. He was found in Back Waters Pond which is along White Creek. He had a gunshot wound to the head. He was only wearing jeans and a t-shirt.      Clifford Allen Smith was buried in Scipio, Indiana. His 5 brothers and a good friend served as pallbearers.     Clifford’s  murder case then went cold for 41 years.   ...
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Carol Anne Gandelman:1979, Oberlin, Ohio

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       Carol Anne Gandelman was born on June 20th, 1960. She grew up in the Chicago area. She graduated from New Trier West High School in Northfield, Illinois. She was active in high school and was a dancer. She missed the picture day for her dance troupe there. But she was obviously interested in dance and music.   After high school she began college at Oberlin College and Conservatory in Oberlin, Ohio. It is a fairly prestigious music and liberal arts school. When I was in high school band in the 1980’s if you heard that someone got accepted to Oberlin you were in awe. For musicians and performers, Oberlin is a top choice. It definitely seemed way out of my reach.     Oberlin, Ohio is located west of Cleveland. It’s a small town that pretty much only exists because the college was founded there.     Oberlin College is famous for its beautiful architecture and art. People who are into medieval architecture and...
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Sharon and Eddie Herring:1973, Dayton, Ohio

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  Eddie Herring was a popular nightclub singer in Dayton in 1973. He had been a member of The Dominoes, a doo wop group. (If you’ve heard the song “Sixty Minute Man” from the 1950’s, then you’re familiar with The Dominoes.) He was married to Sharon Herring and the couple had a young daughter at home, named Denise. Eddie Herring    On February 3, 1973 someone entered the home of the Herring family during the daylight hours. They murdered Eddie Herring and his wife Sharon with a shotgun.   Sharon and her daughter were in a back bedroom. They didn’t hear any sounds of an argument or a fight. They did hear the shotgun blast that killed Eddie. Sharon attempted then to hold the bedroom door closed as the killer was trying to enter. Sharon yelled at her daughter to try to go out the window, but her daughter was curled up in a corner too terrified to move.    Denise, thankfully, was not killed in this terrible home invasion. When the killer fled the ...
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Lena Marie Phetteplace Buckles: 1977, Lebanon, Indiana

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         In late March of 1977 a high school student in rural Boone County, found the body of a young woman by the roadside about 4 miles west of Lebanon, Indiana. The woman was wearing a yellow nylon windbreaker jacket, a light colored shirt and jeans. She had been killed by shotgun wounds to the right side of her head and neck. She apparently wasn’t a local woman and had no I.D. in her pockets. Police in Indiana asked the FBI for help.     Once she was finally identified it was found that she was actually from Atlanta. How did this young woman end up murdered in rural Indiana?     Lena Marie Phetteplace was born on May 31st 1945 to Elizabeth (Gibson) Phetteplace and David M. Phetteplace. Her father, David, had joined the Navy in 1939 and served in WW2, Korea and Vietnam. She grew up in Pensacola, Florida. Lena had five brothers.     Her parent’s marriage ended at some point early on in Lena...
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