The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 8

A A8 SUNDAY NEWS JOURNAL NOV. 21, 1999 List compiled by Esteban Parra and Terri Sanginnti Design and graphics by Dan Garrow 4" 11 nnD AWA Edward Shumaker, 40s, Baltimore Aug. 4, 1946: Described at the time as one of the most brutal crimes police had seen in years, Shu-maker's body was found on a Lewes beach about 20 feet from a road that led to fisheries. He If nearby may have died of strangulation before his face, forehead and skull were clubbed. Lewes police said it was impossible to distinguish the man's features.

Last lead: Four people were arrested, but charges were dropped. Lewis W.Harper, 54, Miliviiie March 31,1969: Harper was found in woods off Sussex 350 north of Miliviiie. He had been shot four times in the chest with a revolver. His jacket and a discarded holster were nearby. The weapon and bullet casing were not found.

Police were told he was despondent before he vanished. Last lead: Police recently received new information about the gun. Ruby Mae Jennings, SO, Lincoln Dec. 25, 1972: Jennings was found Dec. 28 beaten to death with her own shotgun inside her ransacked mobile home.

She died of severe blows to the head. Police said Jennings, whom they described as a bootlegger, was known to keep large sums of cash and whiskey in her house. Last lead: Suspects were released when a witness MM) 5 I See A7 for full profiles of 7 other victims At least 141 killings in Delaware remain unsolved. In compiling this list of unsolved homicides through Oct. 31, 1999, The News Journal checked with the state's 39 police agencies and searched through newspaper records.

The list includes the victim's name, age and hometown; the date the homicide investigation started; a brief synopsis; and, where applicable, the last lead police have. Three teen-agers found her body Sept. 11 on the edge of Mud Millpond, south of Marydel. Weckerly was stabbed four times, and her foot was cut off. Her jewelry and pocketbook were never found.

Last lead: Investigators recently identified a possible suspect. Gordon A. Hemple 21, Harrington Nov. 27, 1985: Hemple, a laborer, was found shot twice in the neck with a 12-gauge shotgun inside a poultry barn at Carroll's Auction north of Felton. Police believe he may have been trying to burglarize the property when he was shot.

Last lead: Suspects have been uncooperative, police said. Lonnie Hill 23, Dover Oct. 1, 1986: A motorist found Hill's body on Rose Dale Lane north of Dover. Police said Hill was on his way to sell 1 5 pounds of marijuana and had a large amount of cash when he was shot. Russell C.

LeGates, 70, Felton July 14, 1989: The retired railroad conductor was stabbed to death in the bathroom of his locked mobile home. Legates had recently come into money and might have been robbed, police said. Last lead: Detectives developed two suspects and have done recent work on the case. Lena L. Thomas, 27, Dover June 10, 1990: A farmer found Thomas' body in a barley field two miles east of Magnolia.

She had been stabbed several times. Friends told police Thomas went with a male acquaintance to buy marijuana. Her missing car turned up in Dover a month later. Last lead: Detectives developed a couple of suspects in the past year. Dorothy May Donovan, 70, Harrington $Jp June 24, 1991: Donovan was stabbed more than two dozen times in her bed in her farmhouse.

Police released a composite of a hitchhiker who coinci-dentally attacked Donovan's son, Charles Holden, 41, a half-mile away. Last lead: The story appeared on the television series "Unsolved Mysteries," and detectives get several calls every time the episode is with her 16-month-old son and 21 -year-old boyfriend. Three men in ski masks burst into the house trailer during the early-morning robbery. Last lead: Authorities are studying similar attacks in Maryland. Charles L.

Heppard, 66, Andrewsville Feb. 19, 1949: The dairy farmer was bludgeoned and shot in the neck. Police think he was murdered in his farmhouse two days earlier. A trail of blood led to the barn where he was found in a pile of hay. Last lead: A suspect refused to take a polygraph in 1953.

Police said they never had enough evidence to bring the case to trial. White male baby, 3 weeks June 3, 1964: A highway crew found the body stuffed in an Air Force duffel bag in woods off Lafferty Lane in Dover. There were no obvious signs of trauma. Last lead: Police suspect the baby died at home. Nathan Rogers, 54, Tbrshes Camp, Milford July 10, 1971: A small boy found the body floating face down in Swan Creek near Wharf Road, a mile north of Milford.

Rogers was beaten, robbed and then dumped in the creek. Last lead: Police have done recent work on the case hoping to identity a suspect. Hazel Mae Mason, 48, Milford Jan. 16, 1975: Mason, a hospital cafeteria worker, was found dead in her living room. She was strangled and her skull crushed.

Neighbors think voodoo might have been involved. A pork chop with needles in it was left on her step days before she died. Friends didn't think Mason dealt in voodoo. Last lead: Police are following up new information. -t Maryland Keeling, 66, Milford Nov.

8, 1978: Keeling was found beaten to death in his home. His pockets were turned inside out. Police believe he was robbed. suspects in hthm Sheree Lynn Wilson, 17, Laurel May 29,1973: Wilson's body was found in brush at West Seventh Street and Webb Avenue in Laurel. Someone beat her with their fists and then with an iron standard from a street sign.

Three years later, her cousin, Linda Lou Cooper, told police she killed Wilson. Cooper later recanted, saying she confessed to flush out the real murderer and ensure the case would remain open. Psychiatric tests indicated Cooper was not involved in the killing. Last lead: None available. Uhland T.

Davidson, 80, Milton Dec. 14, 1974: The retired ship carpenter's body was found in the den of his isolated two-story farmhouse. He was shot three times at close range and robbed. Police said it might have taken him two days to die. His home was ransacked and a considerable amount of money taken.

Last lead: Police have two suspects, one of whom is still in the area. Eleanor Robinson Taylor, 41, Philadelphia Dec. 11, 1976: A man walking his dog found Taylor's body bound in a cardboard box in the bushes of Seashore State Park. She was strangled by a rope or cord. Police think she was killed elsewhere and her body dumped near Dewey Beach.

Last lead: Police identified three suspects, all from Philadelphia. Investigators traced the box to a store in Delaware County, Pa. Joseph Sanders, 45, Lincoln July 19, 1977: Sanders and Robert Burns, 38, both of Lincoln, were walking on a dirt path near Lincoln when they were felled by shotgun blasts, police said. Burns was shot in the buttocks and fled. Sanders' body was found a day later.

He died of a shotgun blast to the upper right body and legs. Last lead: Detectives have tried to reinterview someone they think holds the key to solving the crime. Wilbur Jackson, 62, Milton Nov. 29, 1978: Hunters found Jackson's bullet-riddled and bludgeoned body in a wooded area east of Laurel. The farm worker had been shot five times in the chest with a handgun and hit in the head four times with a blunt object.

Last lead: Informants identified the people who killed Jackson. The suspects have died, police said. (gh Aurelio "Reds" Maestri, 77, Lewes gj March 17, 1989: Maestri was found dead of a broken neck and severe beating in the bedroom of his Lewes home, which was set on fire to cover the crime. The arson fire destroyed Maestri's three-room bungalow. Police suspect the slaying was part of a robbery.

Last lead: Police have several suspects; none has been charged. Gladys M.Ellis, 74, Millsboro March 25, 1990: Ellis was found bludgeoned to death inside her mobile home about 5 p.m. by relatives who had last spoken to her five hours earlier. Highway maintenance workers later found No Ellis cane along bussex Jao a mile south ot Frankford Last lead: Police think Ellis was killed ed death n-h. of Loves man, 77 ZXPX Wy.

Smyrna baby boy, newborn June 28, 1998: The newborn was found wrapped in a faded pink towel stuffed in a plastic bag in a trash can at the Regal Car Wash on West Glenwood Avenue. Police believe he was left between 5 p.m. June 27 and the morning of June 28. He died of abandonment Last lead: Investigators are waiting for DNA results on an individual recently tested. "1 Alfred Lee Orrell, 67, Odessa July 13, 1949: The one-armed truck driver was shot twice in the head by shotgun blasts as he lay in bed reading.

Rain washed away possible footprints. Last lead: Police checked a similar case in California. No arrests have been made. Alberta Cousins, 22, Greenville Aug. 23, 1956: Cousins was sunbathing in Greenville's Garden Valley Park when a bullet pierced her heart and a lung.

Police were told a suspicious man was seen walking along the train tracks behind the complex. Last lead: Police said a prisoner later claimed his cellmate had killed Cousins. But that suspect had died in a Florida prison. Pauline F. Money, 62 Middletown area Nov.

13, 1960: Money was shot several times in the heart and abdomen with a 1 2-gauge shotgun while peeling vegetables at her kitchen sink. Police believe the killer set fire to two barns behind the woman's home. She was found alive but died soon after murmuring a nearby resident's name. The neighbor was cleared of any wrongdoing. Her grandson's bedroom was ransacked and a bag of pennies taken.

Police said telephone lines to the victim's house were neatly cut the day before the murder. Last lead: Police had two suspects; both now dead. Daniel R. Ulinski, 47, Near Newark Aug. 17, 1966: Ulinski walked in on an armed robbery at the Glasgow Arms Liquor Store at U.S.

40 and Del. 896 and argued with one of two assailants. He was shot once with a revolver. Last lead: Detectives did a photo line-up in 1967, but no one was ever identified. Miss 18 to 25, Residence unknown March 18, 1967: The unidentified young woman's body was found in a laundry bag near Porter Road in Glasgow.

She was the victim ot a botched abortion. Police believe she came to Delaware from New England to have an abortion while three months pregnant. Last lead: Everyone connected with the case is dead, police say. No charges were filed. The case will remain open until Miss is identified.

Donald R. Reid, 33, March 20, 1968: Reid was shot in the head and robbed of $94 while he worked alone at Bi Lo Service Station near Tybouts Corner. The murderer did not take the $1 52 that was in the cash register. Last lead: Investigators believe the killer is dead. TINGLE June 27, 1968: Birdwatchers found a decomposed body with a gunshot wound to the head in a clearing along Brandywine Creek in Rockland.

Twenty-one years later, police ran the man's fingerprints through the state's new Automated Fingerprint Identification System and found they belonged to Richard Rineer, a car thief who had escaped with two other inmates from Maryland Correctional Institute in Hagerstown in 1968. Last lead: Police believe there are people alive who know what happened. fl William B. Murphy, 56, New Castle April 9, 1971: Murphy left a residence in the 300 block of Sheridan Drive and drove home. Police said a family member saw Murphy get out of his car about 20 minutes later.

The family member saw another person about 20 feet away fire three shots. Last lead: Police have no new leads. Troy K. Lindsey, 38, Delaware City April 22, 1970: A bullet ripped through the back of Lindsey's head as he was fishing with his wife on the south side of the Chesapeake Delaware Canal-near the St. George's Bridge.

Last lead: Police said a juvenile had been target shooting nearby. Sandra Batten, 31, Red Lion Nov. 8, 1971: Batten was bludgeoned to death by a blunt instrument in the early morning while her 1-and 5-year-old sons slept in the Church Road home. Her husband was out duck hunting. A neighbor discovered Batten's body in the basement after Batten's oldest son told him his mother was missing.

Last lead: Police said they have two suspects. William Collins, 29, Wilmington June 11, 1972: Two New Castle County police officers found Collins on his stomach with a bullet hole in his right temple. Collins was shot four times. He died where he was found on Pigeon Point Road in front of a Minerals Inc. chemical plant.

Last lead: Police have no leads. Larry C. Embert 26, Bear Nov. 15, 1972: Embert ing to his wite on the phone while working at the Bi Lo Service Station on at Tybouts Corner. Honey, I II be right back customer," he said.

He never returned. Embert's frozen body was found Thanksgiving morning afc the Chesapeake a ueiaware uanai witn a snotgu wound to the chest. Last lead: Police questioned an escapee from a mum-security area at Delaware Correctional Cent! because he had a sawed-off shotgun when he wa; rested. Four years ago, detectives attempted to re- terview him, out ne would not cooperate. Odell White 50, Philadelphia Maw 4.

1974: White's decomDOsed bodv was fo mi bound in the back of his truck near the fri-State Police said a rope was wrapped around his neck 3' stretched down his back to his ankles. He slowly strangled to death while struggling to free himself White, who owned three used furniture businesse! the Philadelphia area, had been dead about three months. Police believe robbery was the motive be cause White wallet containing $300 was missm Last lead: Police have no leads. Mary Amelia Allen, 73, Claymont July 23, 1975: Co-workers called family when failed to show up to work at the now-closed LeR Feminine Fashions in Wilmington. Relatives four body in her bedroom.

She had been stabbed 77 times. There were no signs of robbery. Last lead: In August 1976, state police were sea- ing for a couple who might have information. Sir then, additional information has been developed another possible suspect, police said. Margaret Johnson, 82, Near Odessa Jan.

6, 1976: A neighbor reported Johnson mis: State police found her lying on the kitchen floor pool of blood at her home. She had been hit sev times in the head with a machete. Police think rot bery was the motive. Five people were arrested bi charges were dropped. Last lead: Police believe as many as six people involved, borne suspects have since died.

Thomas Radick 44, Landenberg, Pa Feb. 7, 1977: A firefighter found Radick while sea' ing the charred remains of his Belvedere repair sr Kadick, whose burned body was found in his oni had been shot once in the abdomen. Police said was dead before the fire started. Last lead: Radick's uncle, Nick, was murdered in 1968. An arsonist burned Radick's home in 1975.

fl Unidentified woman, mid-40s June 22, 1977: A bicyclist discovered the body in a trench off Old Union Church Road. She was white, 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 6 inches tall and had light brown hair with some gray. She had 1 2 missing teeth, had given birth and may have had dentures in the past. Last lead: A nearby resident told police a well-dressed man in a 1967 to 1968 blue Chevrolet Impala with Maryland license plates was stuck in a nearby ditch three weeks before the body was found. The resident said the man seemed very nervous.

Theodore "Ted" E. House, 56, Brandywine Hundred Sept. 1,1977: House, a corporate officer of Christiana Securities Co. and The News Journal was having a cocktail at ms home when he was clubbed to death. Police said his skull was fractured by several blows to the head, possibly by a heavy wine bottle.

House had alone. Last lead: Police have no new leads. Spencer P. Malcom, 40, Bear Feb. 16, 1978: Malcom's bullet-riddled body was found in the snow behind an office he rented in the Wrangle Hill Industrial Park.

His briefcase, with the handle ripped off, was lying next to him. Malcom v. about to be questioned about drug trafficking between Mexico and the East Coast. Last lead: Police believe this was an organized dru hit. Joanne R.

Mitchell, 27, Wilmington June 75 1Q7R- PrinnHc rimnnnH nthor nf mviivw uiuyycu UN UIG I HUU It' I two at the Elks Club, 1 1th and Poplar streets, WiM ington on June 25. Her decomposed bpdy was fort about three weeks later by a woman riding a horse near Townsend. She died of a fractured skull. Last lead: Two Wilmington men were charged, but 1 the charges were later dropped. William W.

Mathies, 19, Wilmington Nov. 9, 1978: Mathies, a kitchen worker at Hotel duj Pont, vanished Nov. 9. A hunter discovered his beati body Thanksgiving Day in a gully near Red Lion. Ha had been stabbed.

Police believe the body was dumped there. Two years earlier, Mathies was charged with stabbing a 23-year-old man four times Those charges were dropped after Mathies claimed he acted in self-defense. Last lead: Police have one suspect. Grace E. Harmon, 52, New Castle Oct.

3, 1979: Harmon's husband told New Castle County investigators his wife was dead when he got home from working the midnight shift. A ladder leaf ing to an open window was found. She was killed blunt-force wounds to the head, probably from a rx I 45v I been I rerun. A bloody palm print found at the scene was sent to the FBI for DNA testing. Margaret M.

Stallings, .7 50, Dover I w1 May 4, 1995: Stallings was shot during a break-in of her home in the heart of Dover's historic dis i trict. Her purse was gone; her gun was not recov- tfV i. i 1 "could hardly toll it who ii nciRnoor the grisly diov; t.t was uiwm Wad and hady-N KALISHA ered. Last lead: Police have a suspect but continue to search for more people who have information on the murder. Dennis C.

Young, 22, Dover May 23, 1996: Young was found lying face down in a pool of blood next to i lT his Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck on Kent 176. He had been shot once in the head. Last lead: Police have a suspect. Kenneth Warren, 27, Kenton Nov. 4, 1996: Warren, a cattle breeder, was shot and killed in his kitchen in front of his wife and 19-month-old son.

Two masked men burst into the couple's home. Both were dressed in dark camouflage, hunting-type clothing. Warren's wife's stolen handbag was found three weeks later, 25 miles away. Last lead: Detectives never established a good motive or suspect. Jane Doe, over 40, unknown residence July 20, 1997: A hiker found the skeletal remains scattered in a ravine near Kent County's Sandtown.

The woman's skull was smashed with a blunt object. Police said the body had been in the ravine for two years. Last lead: Police attempted to match the victim's DNA with that of another missing woman, but the test was negative. wan a maim i 1 fc, SS Mid lrt You "-v niu m4 in hi i a made "7 fl James L. Young 60, Canterbury Sept.

20, 1980: Young was a clerk at Adult World south of Dover when he was shot in the head during a robbery. Last lead: Police believe their suspect is jailed in another state. Waverly T. Gause, 56, Dover Feb. 12, 1981: Gause was last seen alive Dec.

13, 1980. He had recently been charged with stabbing someone over a bag of chips. His decomposed body was found Feb. 12 in a Milford field. Last lead: Milford police are investigating new information.

Anthony Blake, 36, Smyrna Aug. 21, 1982: Blake's beaten body was found on Commerce Street about 3 a.m. He died of head injuries. Nine days later, Timothy A. Pendracky told police he saw a man beat Blake with his fist and a soda bottle.

Both men were indicted on manslaughter charges. The charges were dropped in 1984 when it was determined Pendracky had fabricated the story. Last lead: Police have new information but not enough to make an arrest. Shirley L. Weckerly, 58, Dover Sept.

11 1983: Weckerly left her mobile home Sept. 1 to visit friends south of Frederica, but she never arrived. Her car was found a week later in Harrington. 4 during a robbery. They are still working the case.

George I. Balderson 25, Milford Aug. 16, 1990: Balderson was shot to death in the front seat of his 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix in a dirt pit four miles west of Milford. Police said Balderson died of a sin gle gunshot wound to the mouth. The gun wasn't found.

Last lead: Police suspect suicide but have classified the case as a homicide investigation. 0. Kalisha A. Tingle, 15, Frankford Dec. 11, 1991: Tingle, who had staved home sink from school the day she was last seen, was later found bludgeoned to death.

Her body was stuffed in a crawl space of a vacant house next door to her home. She died of several blows to the head after fighting off the sexual advances of her attacker, police said. Last lead: Police said the suspect has since died. Helen C. Tubbs, 88, Seaford Jan.

30, 1992: Police believe someone entered Tubbs' home through a ground-floor window and beat her head and face with a vase. Tubbs, who was nearly blind, lived alone. A 19-year-old suspect was arrested but later freed when his girlfriend recanted her statement. Police have not released a motive. Last lead: No new leads.

Michael E. Kennedy, 33, Lewes Feb. 11, 1992: Kennedy was last seen May 27, 1990, at his home. His skeletal remains were found two years later in a briar patch about 75 feet from a Pilot-town Village home. He died from a blow to the head.

Last lead: Police believe the killing was drug-related. Keith Monroe Haynes, 36, Selbyville June 23, 1994: Haynes was shot five times inside the cab of his tractor-trailer just south of Frankford. Police think he was sitting in the cab when the assailant entered the passenger side and started shooting. The rig was parked at the Lazy Lagoon Trailer Park. Police think the killing was drug-related or over a debt.

Last lead: Investigators are pursuing leads. Fred M. Richardson, 42, Frankford April 27, 1996: The woman died of severe head trauma. Police said her husband found her in their living room. There was no sign of forced entry, but $300 was reported stolen from a bank bag hidden in the closet.

Last lead: Police have identified a suspect. They are waiting for FBI test results. Lannetta R. Mills, 26, Delmar Nov. 11, 1996: Mills was three months pregnant when she was shot in the abdomen as she lay in bed.