Omaha World-Herald from Omaha, Nebraska • 37

State Lawmen Pin 3 Slayings on Mass Killer By David Thompson World Herald Staff Writer Confessed mass slayer Henry Lee Lucas was responsible for three mur ders investigated by Nebraska author ities law enforcement officers saidThursday said Lt Bobby Clinkenbeard State Patrol Chn kenbeard and other investigators said Lucas told them enough details about the three playings to convince them that he and his partner Ottis Toole were responsible for the deaths The authorities said that during in terviews last fall at Georgetown Texas Lucas Lucas admitted that he and Toole killed: McLean 45 a former Gering elementary school teacher who disap peared eb 7 1978 Her decapitated body was found north of Wheatland Wyo two months later but it was not identified until April 1983 Callies 40 of Grand Island abducted Nov 15 1978 and allegedly strangled by Toole Her body was buried in Hall County but has not been found Lee Byrum 22 a former Io wan who was hitchhiking back to Cali fornia His partly decomposed body was found in tall weeds along Interstate 80 Oct 5 1979 Investigators said he had died about one month earlier from a of the Nebraska blow to the skull His body had been hacked with what appeared to be a machete Doubt in My no doubt in my mind the Scotts Bluff County Sheriff David Schleve said of the death of Mrs McLean told us the body was face down that there was a barbed wire fence near the body and some other details that only someone involved in the crime could have known about fed him some bad information on purpose and he corrected us We a re convinced the one only puzzling thing is why he is denying what he said Clinkenbeard offered this explana tion: playing mind games with us The publicity had died down on these cases and now he is cranking it up again to get He was one of several Nebraska of ficers who interviewed Lucas last year about the Callies and Byrum slayings Another investigator Grand Island Police Lt CP Ward said he was thoroughly convinced after a three hour interview that Toole killed Mrs Callies after Toole and Lucas met her in the Grand Island area recalled that he met her that she drove a Dodge Dart and that she had three Ward said also told us some other things that only someone close to the case could know like she was having marital Had Been Lucas also recounted picking up a hitchhiker near Omaha about the time Byrum was killed Ward said told us they drove at high speeds for abbut Blue Cross Contracts Affect Benefits By Mary McGrath World Herald Medical Writer Some Iowa Blue Cross members may find they have reduced benefits if they are admitted to Nebraska hospitals that did not sign contracts this year with Nebraska Blue Cross told Nebraska Blue Cross they will be putting reduced payment provisions into effect at non participating hospitals in Nebraska Humpal said He estimated that no more than 200 people would be affected l'2 hours then stopped along Interstate 80 said Toole went down in the weeds with the hitchhiker and later Toole came back alone Toole used a machete and there was no way for Lu cas to know that the hitchhiker was killed with a machete unless he had been Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox said this week that Lucas may have confessed to murders he did not com mit after investigators gave him many details of the slayings while they in terviewed him Schleve Clinkenbeard and Ward all said they were careful to give Lucas only enough details to jog his memory All said that he provided minute details that he could not have known unless he had been there "He said there was a house that looked down on the place where he killed Mrs McLean but I recall a house" Schleve said was about a year since I had been at the scene and when I got back I checked an aerial photo and he was Clinkenbeard said that although Lu cas has recanted and is admitting to only three slayings Lucas went to Cali fornia last year and led investigators there to the graves of a number of peo ple who had been listed as missing He also said that Lucas did not admit to every killing he was questioned about Clinkenbeard said he quizzed Lu cas about the death of a woman in Lincoln whose body was found in an alley near downtown but Lucas denied having anything to do with that death MONEY EVERYTHING but why give it to your landlord monthly when YOU could be buying your home at Twin Towers for about the same amount? 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Henry Diazinon Reg $1099 Covers 5000 Square eet Effective control of grubs sod webworm and bill bugs Price good through April 22nd 1985 GARDEN CENTERSXJ BW jit The two Blue Cross plans that op erate in Iowa have provisions that re duce payments to 75 percent of normalcoverage if members go to non con tracting hospitals spokesmen for the two plans said It is difficult to estimate how many people might be affected the officials jsald Groups or individuals may have 1 elected to tarry additional Blue Cross I fbverage that would bring payments up I to 100 percent at non contracting hospi tals they said Nebraska Blue Cross this year switched to a new prospective payment mechanism as a way to reimburse the largest hospitals in Nebraska Seven have signed: St Elizabeth Community Health Center Bryan Hos pital and Lincoln General Hospital all In Lincoln and Immanuel Medical Cen ftdr Midlands Hospital St Joseph Hos pital and the University of NebraskaMedical Center in the Omaha area 4 Some hospitals that did not sign ob jected to payment and review provi sions in the new contracts and the length of time the hospitals were given to consider the new plan hlf a hospital contracts with a Blue (Cross plan in one state it is viewed as a hospital by Blue Cross Dylans in other states Happe president of Blue Cross of Western Iowa and South Dakotasaid: have not gotten any feedback to know if this (reduced coverage) is (posing a Blue Cross of Western Iowa sent let ters to its members and groups within60 miles of Omaha Council Bluffs to ijalert them to the situation and advise them to check their coverage People in that area are most likely Omaha hospitals Happe said The fioux City based plan covers ail of South Dakota and 26 western Iowa Counties as far south as Mills County Zy we suspect will happen is that members will try to go to hospitals that are (Blue Cross) members We are not rving to take sides but our benefits are vj what the contract he said 'He said he hoped Nebraska Blue and the Omaha hospitals would Jjget together soon on a contract Blue Cross of Iowa is evaluating because of the number of Omaha hospitals that did not sign con tracts this year said Molly Kurtz pub lie relations specialist for the Des Moines based plan She said she did not know when offi cials of Iowa Blue Cross would decide whether they should its payment policy i Payments will be made under ex 15 isting contracts with groups and individ uals she said Blue Cross of Iowa cov £ers 73 counties including some southwest Iowa Members of Nebraska Blue Cross S' have the same coverage regardless of whether they go to a contracting hospi tal said John Humpal senior vice pres fjjdent "We do not have a 75 in our contracts" he said He said there are some national Blue Cross accounts with reduced payment ''provisions that cover people living in Nebraska So far two national accounts have Social Services Picks Top Volunteer of The Nebraska Department of Social4 Services has chosen Elwin Taylor4 Jr of Omaha as its 1985 outstanding volunteer in Omaha Taylor is responsible for coordinating J' the shipment of surplus butter and cheese from the Douglas County warehouse to the distribution sites in the Omaha area Volunteers work in various parts of ir the food distribution program and in Uothtr Department of Social Services programs I lit" HIGHTAILK OUTOfTOWN If be hitting the trail soon pardner got some mighty good news Starting May 1 Eastern will be flying four daily nonstops to Kansas City So be able to change planes in Kansas City and fly Eastern to more places than ever before So when time to leave town on business hitch up with Eastern ormore information call your Accredited Travel Agent or Eastern Airlines at 422 6500 in Omaha LY TO KANSAS CITY AND CONNECT TO: Albuquerque Atlanta Boston Chicago Cleveland Columbus 19Eastcm Air Lines Inc Detroit Milwaukee Philadelphia San rancisco Hartford New York Phoenix San Jose Indianapolis Newark Portland SeattleTacoma Las Vegas Oklahoma City Reno Tucson Los Angeles Ontario CA St Louis Tulsa Miami San Diego Washington DC EASTERN WE EARN OUR WINGS EVERY Club the Grub!.