Statesman Journal from Salem, Oregon • Page 1

vwwvwvw ALL REGION 3 MILL'S MAGIC prnT PET CLICK! TM IB EST" SA 1C M-um fd SB SSSotos sports top gun IaS3t'J mid-valley electrifies 1 ufi of readers photos HOT JOBS IN TODAY'S CLASSIFIEDS SECTION, PAGE 1E Wednesday December 19, 2007 'tatesman ouma 50 CENTS StatesmanJournal.com SERVING SALEM, KEIZER AND THE MID-VALLEY UNSOLYECLK LUNG 1982-2007 William Scott Smith Sherry Eyerly Ml liv JVH 3 Inmate admits slaying woman in case that baffled Salem for 25 years 'W "1 ktT ITl jWlMillMHrfUllIM Cold-case squad spent two years working for a break By Ruth Liao Statesman Journal The case of Sherry Eyerly was a presumed murder investigation that lacked some important clues: no body no physical evidence, no witnesses. Plus, more than 20 years had passed. But it was what Marion County Sheriff's Cold Case Squad, a four-member team of retired law enforcement members, was designed to tackle. Led by full-time detective Mike Myers, special deputies Les Zens, Jack Janssen, Don McMullen and Larry McCloskey took on the Eyerly case in September 2005. They started with what was known: Eyerly, who worked at a Domino's Pizza on Commercial Street was sent to deliver three large pizzas to a remote area on Riverhaven Drive S.

Her car was found later near Brown Island Road driver's door open, lights on, engine running and parking brake set. Her hat and the three pizzas were on the ground. The renewed investigation began with at least 100 leads, Marion County Sheriff Russ Isham said. Hundreds more interviews were conducted, some with the cooperation of law enforcement agencies as far away as Michigan and Kansas City, Mo. Zens described the Eyerly outcome as a result of "old-fashioned detective work." For example, Zens said one lead involved a person with a fairly common name he declined to say whom.

But about 150 Oregonians had that same name, and the cold case squad tracked down all of them. The FBI's Behavorial Science Unit also contributed to the investigation, creating a profile of the case for the cold-case squad to work with, Zens said. But much of the work involved re-creating how people were connected in the case back in 1982, Zens said. "It was really a matter of ANDREA J. WRIGHT I Statesman Journal Linda Eyerly, the mother of murder victim Sherry Eyerly, wipes away tears at a press conference Tuesday in the Marion County Work Center.

It was announced that William Scott Smith, convicted in 1984 of two unrelated killings, pleaded guilty to the 1982 kidnapping and murder of Sherry Eyerly. Killer nets third life sentence for 1982 kidnap and murder By Dennis Thompson Jr. Statesman Journal A convicted serial killer serving two life sentences pleaded guilty Tuesday to murder in the 25-year-old unsolved disappearance of pizza delivery girl Sherry Eyerly William Scott Smith, 48, entered a guilty plea before Marion County Presiding Judge Paul Lipscomb in a brief hearing attended by law enforcement officials and Eyerly's family Smith killed Eyerly, 18, during a botched kidnap attempt, according to a confession he made to Marion County Sheriff's cold-case investigators. After kidnapping the wrong woman, Smith strangled his victim to death in a secluded spot along the Little Pudding River, he told police. He left her body in the river.

It has never been recovered. Under a plea deal with prosecutors, Smith immediately starts serving a third life sentence that will run alongside the two he is serving for the sex slayings of two other young Salem women in 1984. Eyerly disappeared the evening of July 4, 1982, after being sent to deliver three large pizzas to a remote location on Riverhaven Drive near Minto-Brown Island Park late at night, Deputy District Attorney Don Abar said. Her car was found near there less than a half hour later with the driver's door open, the engine running, the headlights on and the emergency brake set. The pizzas lay on the ground near her car.

Her disappearance created a sensation in Salem. Searches for the young woman proved fruitless. Thousands of dollars in reward money went unclaimed. The television show "Unsolved Mysteries" revisited the case multiple times. Psychics were quoted in the Statesman Journal as to who the killer might be.

"This is probably one of the more famous missing 10i 1L a Ws 5 1 lllalw I Country- rtixT cf KAY WORTH1NGTON Statesman Journal Disappearance Sherry Eyerly vanished July 4, 1982, while delivering pizza in South Salem. Passers-by found the delivery car still running TIMOTHY J. GONZALEZ I statesman Journal near Minto-Brown Island Park and the pizzas strewn about. A memorial for Sherry Eyerly remains on Faragate Street S. Inside See more Go to Statesman Journal.com for virlfio.

nhotos remarks Tuesday. "On behalf of the community, we're all happy to have this closure today," he said. Eyerly's family declined comment, but her mother persons cases in this area," Abar said after Tuesday's hearing. "She was just, poof, she was gone, and her family spent thousands looking for her." Lipscomb summed up the city's feelings in his closing inTU MEMORIES: Former reporter and detectives share recollections of case, Page 2A PROFILE: Sherry Eyerly was not Smith's first victim, Page and histnrinal ONI.IMt press clippings VIDEO about the case. See Break, 2A See Confession, 3A Elsewhere in the news Inside Bridge 6E Lottery 1C Business 9A Mid-Valley 2C Classified 1E Nation 4A Comics 4D Obituaries 5C Crossword Sudoku 5D Editorials 8C TV 3D Horoscope 4D World 7A Fed proposes to enact home-buyer protections The Federal Reserve moved Tuesday to protect home buyers from dubious lending practices, its most sweeping response to a mortgage meltdown that has forced record numbers of people from their homes.

The proposed rules would crack down on a range of shady lending practices, curtail misleading ads for mortgages and bolster financial disclosures to borrowers. Page 9A Oil Weather ft A Windy with rain today. Rain on 7qo Thursday. UU Full report, 6B Energy bill passes without county timber payments The House approved an energy bill Tuesday to increase fuel economy and energy efficiency but without a $1.85 billion plan to continue timber payments to rural counties. The bill, approved 314-100, now goes to President Bush for his signature.

Page 4A Proposed driver's license rule changes draw outcry State officials got an earful Tuesday about Gov. Ted Kulongoski's proposed tightening of requirements for issuing Oregon driver's licenses, permits and identification cards. The Oregon Transportation Commission will get a summary of public comments made during a four-hour hearing. The next commission meeting is tentatively set for Jan. 17.

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