Hi everyone....I just found this on my hometown news website in Portland, OR. It states that William Scott Smith confessed in jail to Sherry Eyerly's kidnap and murder. His original plan was to hold her for ransom, and he actually called her pizza company with a ransom! Very weird...

Now my question is, who was the guy that committed suicide once he was suspected of being involved in the crime by that psychic who was on UM? Was he involved at all? He obviously must have had something to do with it, otherwise why would he have committed suicide hours after speaking with police.


http://www.katu.com/news/12597251.html

Hi everyone....I just found this on my hometown news website in Portland, OR. It states that William Scott Smith confessed in jail to Sherry Eyerly's kidnap and murder. His original plan was to hold her for ransom, and he actually called her pizza company with a ransom! Very weird...

Now my question is, who was the guy that committed suicide once he was suspected of being involved in the crime by that psychic who was on UM? Was he involved at all? He obviously must have had something to do with it, otherwise why would he have committed suicide hours after speaking with police.


http://www.katu.com/news/12597251.html

That's incredible!!!!! Maybe the "accomplice" the article talks about was the man who commited suicide. I'm so glad to see another one solved. It gives me faith that even if it takes half a century, we may eventually find out what happened to the Gordon Pages and Tammy Lepperts of the world.

Well, my thinking is that Darrell J. Wilson either was an accomplice or perhaps he was already having some serious depression unrelated to this case and his being thought of as the murderer simply tipped him over the edge to suicide? My guess is that Wilson was involved in one way or another and he knew that the gig was up and he decided to take the easy way out. That is great that the case was finally solved though after all these years.

I'll add it to the Update/Case list.

Thanks for the update sugarbaby! Yes I wonder why that guy committed suicide as well. Its possible that he had some mental issues and was afraid he'd be wrongly accused of her murder or possibly he knew who had killed her. I'll post this to the update thread.

Whoa! I've only been awake for 40 minutes, and I've already had 2 huge surprises today. It's great to know that the killer is behind bars and will remain there. Glad to see another case solved.

Here's another article with a little more info:

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071219/NEWS/712190431/1001

Here's another article with a little more info:

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071219/NEWS/712190431/1001

Well, after reading that article, I am really peeved at the Domino's restaurant for sending Sherry out on that order in the first place. That was a very suspicious call: asking for someone driving a certain kind of car. I wouldn't have sent Sherry or anyone else out on that order. :mad:

I also want to know why nothing was done about the ransom call.

Boy, now I'm hopping mad at the Domino's restaurant.

Since the caller asked for another clerk, that should have prompted investigators to ask that clerk if she had any enemies or anything of that nature. Instead they investigated people Sherry knew, even thought that it's obvious now that it was a mistake hit.

:angryfire

Here's another article with a little more info:

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071219/NEWS/712190431/1001


So the guy who committed suicide after that psychic and the cop came by asking questions in the UM segment WASN'T the accomplice? Then...that doesn't make any sense at all!

As if the call to Domino's wasn't suspcious enough, it was to a remote location. They shouldn't have sent anyone out on that call, and had they not sent someone out, Sherry would still be alive.

Furthermore, had the investigators examined people that knew this other clerk, like they were supposed to, perhaps Smith would have been off the streets by the time he killed those other two girls, and they would still be alive.

:livid:

Where does Darrel J Wilson add up in all this?
:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

Where does Darrel J Wilson add up in all this?
:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

Darrel Wilson was named by a psychic the police had brought in on the case. The psychic had a vision of Wilson's house, and when he met Wilson, he said he knew he was the killer. Hope this helps...

Darrel Wilson was named by a psychic the police had brought in on the case. The psychic had a vision of Wilson's house, and when he met Wilson, he said he knew he was the killer. Hope this helps...

I remember that but I'm wondering what part did he have in her disappearance and death since he was not named by convict.

Just saw this one on....it has the update on it...the guy that committed suicide was merely "troubled" as they put it...and also gives the names of the two men that actually killed her.

That statesmanjournal link is dead, but this page has that article along with some other ones in it:

http://s2.excoboard.com/exco/thread.php?forumid=124822&threadid=1755433

The physic probably had a heart attack when he found out he was wrong.

I believe it's possible that Wilson simply was "troubled" by the fact that he lied to police about knowing Sherry, and when they found out he painted his truck 8 days after her disappearance (which I think was just a coincidence) he figured an immense amount of heat would be put on him so he unfortunately killed himself. I don't think Wilson had anything to do with her disappearance, or he would have been named by the man who admitted to killing her. I do find it odd that Wilson said he wanted to talk to a psychic, though.

I knew that he knew that I knew...

I knew that he knew that I knew...

:lol:

I've only seen one or two female pizza delivery people in my life- and this case is a perfect reminder of why. (Of course, it's a dangerous profession for either gender). There's just so much WTFery in this case. First of all, Dominos got a ransom call? Why wasn't this in the segment and more importantly, why didn't they do anything about it? Second, why send a driver to such a rural area late at night? Third, why did Wilson want to speak to a psychic and why did he kill himself if not involved? (Sounds like mental illness).

It's horrid that it's been over thirty years and Sherry's family still has to sit and wait without her. They know who did it now but they can't even lay her to rest. It's just awful. I highly doubt they'll ever find her. Also, if Wilson was completely innocent, that's also tragic.

I knew that he knew that I knew...

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!

So does everyone believe that William Scott Smith's confession was/is legit?

I'm kind of on-the-fence about it because it didn't seem like he was very detailed in describing how he kidnapped and murdered her. If he really did it, he would probably be able to describe it better.

I've only seen one or two female pizza delivery people in my life- and this case is a perfect reminder of why. (Of course, it's a dangerous profession for either gender). There's just so much WTFery in this case. First of all, Dominos got a ransom call? Why wasn't this in the segment and more importantly, why didn't they do anything about it? Second, why send a driver to such a rural area late at night?

It was just a matter of this being a different time. There was no caller ID in 1982 and no technology to check on a specific address. If you wanted to make up a fake name, fake order and fake address to lure someone, it wouldn't have been a problem, as this case shows.

When I was growing up in the 80's and 90's, pizza places in my city would only deliver if you lived close in the neighborhood. If you were more than a mile or two away, they wouldn't drive to your house. Ironically, Dominoes is the only pizza place I know of in my neighborhood that still delivers today. If you want a pizza from Little Caesars or Pizza Hut, you have to pick it up yourself.

Again, it's just a different time now. I can't imagine a killer being able to pull off a crime like this today.

So does everyone believe that William Scott Smith's confession was/is legit?

I'm kind of on-the-fence about it because it didn't seem like he was very detailed in describing how he kidnapped and murdered her. If he really did it, he would probably be able to describe it better.

I honestly don't think it was him personally. I think he made that story up about how the whole thing went down, and it seems a little too convenient to me that his supposed accomplice died several years before. I don't think Darrell J. Wilson had anything to do with it, either.

So does everyone believe that William Scott Smith's confession was/is legit?

I'm kind of on-the-fence about it because it didn't seem like he was very detailed in describing how he kidnapped and murdered her. If he really did it, he would probably be able to describe it better.

I think that while he could be culpable, he may have cleaned up his confession, as far as his motives for abducting Eyerly. Far better to admit that he kidnapped her for ransom, rather than sexual motives.

It's also possible that he enjoys the benefits that he gets from confessing to murders that he had no involvement in. Some of these deals involve the prisoner requesting transfers to another facility in return for a confession. Either way, plenty of serial murderers are serial liars as well.

Again, it's just a different time now.

And that's due to changing demographics. Not that I want to derail this thread but it's important to address exactly what is making things so unsafe, whether it is "politically correct" or not. When I was growing up in St. John's, Newfoundland, things like this never happened and since the demographics of the province have remained largely unchanged in the 23 years since I have left, they still never happen.

And if anyone doesn't believe me, please feel free to post the news articles of pizza deliverers who have been attacked or murdered. Of course, no one will do that because it proves me right.

It was just a matter of this being a different time. There was no caller ID in 1982 and no technology to check on a specific address. If you wanted to make up a fake name, fake order and fake address to lure someone, it wouldn't have been a problem, as this case shows.

When I was growing up in the 80's and 90's, pizza places in my city would only deliver if you lived close in the neighborhood. If you were more than a mile or two away, they wouldn't drive to your house. Ironically, Dominoes is the only pizza place I know of in my neighborhood that still delivers today. If you want a pizza from Little Caesars or Pizza Hut, you have to pick it up yourself.

Again, it's just a different time now. I can't imagine a killer being able to pull off a crime like this today.
Yes, it's true. But I'm wondering if they reported the call immediately and what action they took?

Plenty of places in my hometown still deliver, but thanks to cell phones, carrying less than $20 in change, etc. it seems it's harder to pull off these types of crimes. Unfortunately, I still have heard about plenty of robberies and crimes against delivery drivers, not in my area, but in other places.

And that's due to changing demographics. Not that I want to derail this thread but it's important to address exactly what is making things so unsafe, whether it is "politically correct" or not. When I was growing up in St. John's, Newfoundland, things like this never happened and since the demographics of the province have remained largely unchanged in the 23 years since I have left, they still never happen.

And if anyone doesn't believe me, please feel free to post the news articles of pizza deliverers who have been attacked or murdered. Of course, no one will do that because it proves me right.

The reason why no one is likely to post "news articles of pizza deliverers who have been attacked or murdered" is not because you're correct and we unenlightened simpletons are afraid of being turned out, but because this is an Unsolved Mysteries board. To discuss Unsolved Mysteries. Isn't there like a Politics board here on SO? It seems posting there would be more appropriate for some of the things you've brought up on here before.

Let it go, dude.

I know this is an older thread. Just watched this episode. When I worked at Dominos back in 1994, they started having security measures in place, possibly from this or other similar minor incidents of robberies. I was not a delivery driver but I would take phone orders. This was before the age of cell phones. You had to give a phone number... And prior to leaving for delivery, the number was called back to verify. I guess this was prevent people calling from bogus numbers. In addition I think there was a way to look up whether the address was valid.

I think this is such a sad case. I still feel Daryl was involved, especially since he painted his truck, and it was seen in the area, time frame he was away from his camp site, etc.

Sorry folks, I havent talked about this for over 30 yrs but Im an old man now and I dont believe half of whats in here and Ill tell you why and why not. I dont know who is responsible, Smith or Wilson, or both but I have my own reasonings on this old case. In my younger years i was a hunter and had several hunting partners. Decades ago, and I just cant remember when, one of my partners told me he found a possible shallow grave in a section of woods betwteen Salem and Elkhorn Valley, that we had hunted frequently near Frank Lumber Co forestry property. So after work one day we drove up there and there was a young tree farm with 15' seedlings all bunched close together but you could walk through under them. We walked probably 100 yards or so, and on the way there was a plastic or vinyl womans shoe, later an old small handbag, then a compact, and hair clasps here and there, and then finally it ended with the ground somewhat torn up, didnt really look like a grave but it had been several years since the disappearance. I told him we shouldnt touch anything and he needed to go to the authorities. And we backed out of there carefully. The next day he went to the Salem Police Dept thinking that the crime scene was in the city limits. They told him to go to Marion Cty Sheriffs Office so he did and waited for a couple of hours before he could talk to anyone. They didnt take him serious and told him to go to Oregon State Police so he did. He waited there for a couple of hours and they said they werent interested in the case since Marion County Sheriff was in charge of the investigation, and brushed him off. He went back to Marion County the next day and once again waited several hours, and then told them he had been there forever and would someone please talk to him about his finding some possible evidence in the case. She said most everyone is out of the office and come back in the afternoon. By now he was thinking he had met every Keystone Cop in Salem and was ready to give up, but he thought he would give it one more chance and came back 90 minutes later and sat for another couple of hours. He said he really thought that someone would have been interested in this possible murder or disappearance but at this point he began to be scared a little bit. He knew about the Wilson story, and the confession of Smith but at this time he figured that the police seemed so inept that if he did show them the scene they might even try to pin it on him and it frightened him deeply so he left. He figured that at least he could do is contact the police and at the least if it was her remains or someone elses it could give some family members some closure but he was just to afraid to deal with these seemingly uninterested clowns. This was after the Michael Franke murder and the murmurings of criminal activity in the Oregon Government and Prison system that was so reported on and trust was not given easily in the State of Oregon nor Salem and the local and state government. So we just dropped it. That was years ago. And as the years went by, we would occasionally go up there and now the tree farm is a forest and you cant even find where we were, any of the private stuff that was strewn around or anything. Im sure its lost forever now. And the folks are dead, the police are satisfied that the body disappeared along with the skeleton and remains from the Pudding River and are satisfied that Smith did it and that Wilson was a suicidal nut that didnt do anything and that it was just a coincidence that he had a truck like the one seen in that area and that he had it repainted recently and that he had been camping a few miles from this forest where some female had lost all her personal belongings. In other words they just rolled over and accepted it because it was the least amount of effort they had to go through.....how sad! Maybe it wasnt her, maybe a couple were getting frisky in the woods, but why leave her purse and belongings behind? At least an investigation way back then might have shown some light on the case, maybe not, but they didnt even try, they were totally uninterested. Maybe we should have left a dozen Crispy Cremes up there, maybe that would have done something. This has been weighing on our mind for 30 yrs or so........now Im old, and just feeling terrible about it all. But I think we did the right thing in not continuing to convince someone cause they began to become irritated and they might have tried to pin it on a couple of innocent deer hunters who got in their way of a lazy afternoon. Again I say, how sad.......

Sorry folks, I havent talked about this for over 30 yrs but Im an old man now and I dont believe half of whats in here and Ill tell you why and why not. I dont know who is responsible, Smith or Wilson, or both but I have my own reasonings on this old case. In my younger years i was a hunter and had several hunting partners. Decades ago, and I just cant remember when, one of my partners told me he found a possible shallow grave in a section of woods betwteen Salem and Elkhorn Valley, that we had hunted frequently near Frank Lumber Co forestry property. So after work one day we drove up there and there was a young tree farm with 15' seedlings all bunched close together but you could walk through under them. We walked probably 100 yards or so, and on the way there was a plastic or vinyl womans shoe, later an old small handbag, then a compact, and hair clasps here and there, and then finally it ended with the ground somewhat torn up, didnt really look like a grave but it had been several years since the disappearance. I told him we shouldnt touch anything and he needed to go to the authorities. And we backed out of there carefully. The next day he went to the Salem Police Dept thinking that the crime scene was in the city limits. They told him to go to Marion Cty Sheriffs Office so he did and waited for a couple of hours before he could talk to anyone. They didnt take him serious and told him to go to Oregon State Police so he did. He waited there for a couple of hours and they said they werent interested in the case since Marion County Sheriff was in charge of the investigation, and brushed him off. He went back to Marion County the next day and once again waited several hours, and then told them he had been there forever and would someone please talk to him about his finding some possible evidence in the case. She said most everyone is out of the office and come back in the afternoon. By now he was thinking he had met every Keystone Cop in Salem and was ready to give up, but he thought he would give it one more chance and came back 90 minutes later and sat for another couple of hours. He said he really thought that someone would have been interested in this possible murder or disappearance but at this point he began to be scared a little bit. He knew about the Wilson story, and the confession of Smith but at this time he figured that the police seemed so inept that if he did show them the scene they might even try to pin it on him and it frightened him deeply so he left. He figured that at least he could do is contact the police and at the least if it was her remains or someone elses it could give some family members some closure but he was just to afraid to deal with these seemingly uninterested clowns. This was after the Michael Franke murder and the murmurings of criminal activity in the Oregon Government and Prison system that was so reported on and trust was not given easily in the State of Oregon nor Salem and the local and state government. So we just dropped it. That was years ago. And as the years went by, we would occasionally go up there and now the tree farm is a forest and you cant even find where we were, any of the private stuff that was strewn around or anything. Im sure its lost forever now. And the folks are dead, the police are satisfied that the body disappeared along with the skeleton and remains from the Pudding River and are satisfied that Smith did it and that Wilson was a suicidal nut that didnt do anything and that it was just a coincidence that he had a truck like the one seen in that area and that he had it repainted recently and that he had been camping a few miles from this forest where some female had lost all her personal belongings. In other words they just rolled over and accepted it because it was the least amount of effort they had to go through.....how sad! Maybe it wasnt her, maybe a couple were getting frisky in the woods, but why leave her purse and belongings behind? At least an investigation way back then might have shown some light on the case, maybe not, but they didnt even try, they were totally uninterested. Maybe we should have left a dozen Crispy Cremes up there, maybe that would have done something. This has been weighing on our mind for 30 yrs or so........now Im old, and just feeling terrible about it all. But I think we did the right thing in not continuing to convince someone cause they began to become irritated and they might have tried to pin it on a couple of innocent deer hunters who got in their way of a lazy afternoon. Again I say, how sad.......

Welcome to the forums. Thanks for posting. And wow.

But who was paragraph breaks?

But who was paragraph breaks?

What??

James T. is referring to H.Tunney.Bruce's detailed message above here.

I still think Darrell Wilson was responsible for Sherry Eyerly's disappearance and murder. Why else would he kill himself shortly after being questioned by police, regarding her disappearance?

I'm not sure how involved (if at all) William Scott Smith and a supposed accomplice were in this case. The "confession" could have been motivated by possibly being rewarded with more privileges in prison.

James T. is referring to H.Tunney.Bruce's detailed message above here.

I still think Darrell Wilson was responsible for Sherry Eyerly's disappearance and murder. Why else would he kill himself shortly after being questioned by police, regarding her disappearance?

I'm not sure how involved (if at all) William Scott Smith and a supposed accomplice were in this case. The "confession" could have been motivated by possibly being rewarded with more privileges in prison.

This is just another example, of a long list of cases, where Unsolved Mysteries could not care less about the facts of the case, and wanted to make the segment more appealing to viewers.

William Scott Smith was a serial killer in Salem, and was responsible for at least four homicides of young women in the area. Since 1984, Scott has always been their #1 suspect in the case. Smith denied having anything to do with Eyerly's disappearance, for years until authorities had iron clad evidence they confronted him with in 2007. He then confessed Darrell Wilson was cleared as a suspect long before the UM segment aired. The Police did not consider the so-called psychic credible either.

I personally feel sorry for Darrell Wilson. He was a very troubled young man, with a history of mental illness. There is no evidence to suggest Smith and Wilson had ever met. Just because one commits suicide, does not mean he is somehow "guilty" of a crime. If anything, the interrogation may have pushed an already troubled man over the edge.

The case is closed. William Scott Smith, and his accomplice Roger Noseff (who died in 2004), ordered the pizza from a motel pay phone, using a phoney phone number and address. When Sherry Eyerly went to the street, in a heavily remote area, and could not find the address, they flagged her down on the pretence of helping her find the location. They then kidnapped her, brought her back to Smith's parents house, raped her, then strangled her.

Sorry folks, I havent talked about this for over 30 yrs but Im an old man now and I dont believe half of whats in here and Ill tell you why and why not. I dont know who is responsible, Smith or Wilson, or both but I have my own reasonings on this old case. In my younger years i was a hunter and had several hunting partners. Decades ago, and I just cant remember when, one of my partners told me he found a possible shallow grave in a section of woods betwteen Salem and Elkhorn Valley, that we had hunted frequently near Frank Lumber Co forestry property. So after work one day we drove up there and there was a young tree farm with 15' seedlings all bunched close together but you could walk through under them. We walked probably 100 yards or so, and on the way there was a plastic or vinyl womans shoe, later an old small handbag, then a compact, and hair clasps here and there, and then finally it ended with the ground somewhat torn up, didnt really look like a grave but it had been several years since the disappearance. I told him we shouldnt touch anything and he needed to go to the authorities. And we backed out of there carefully. The next day he went to the Salem Police Dept thinking that the crime scene was in the city limits. They told him to go to Marion Cty Sheriffs Office so he did and waited for a couple of hours before he could talk to anyone. They didnt take him serious and told him to go to Oregon State Police so he did. He waited there for a couple of hours and they said they werent interested in the case since Marion County Sheriff was in charge of the investigation, and brushed him off. He went back to Marion County the next day and once again waited several hours, and then told them he had been there forever and would someone please talk to him about his finding some possible evidence in the case. She said most everyone is out of the office and come back in the afternoon. By now he was thinking he had met every Keystone Cop in Salem and was ready to give up, but he thought he would give it one more chance and came back 90 minutes later and sat for another couple of hours. He said he really thought that someone would have been interested in this possible murder or disappearance but at this point he began to be scared a little bit. He knew about the Wilson story, and the confession of Smith but at this time he figured that the police seemed so inept that if he did show them the scene they might even try to pin it on him and it frightened him deeply so he left. He figured that at least he could do is contact the police and at the least if it was her remains or someone elses it could give some family members some closure but he was just to afraid to deal with these seemingly uninterested clowns. This was after the Michael Franke murder and the murmurings of criminal activity in the Oregon Government and Prison system that was so reported on and trust was not given easily in the State of Oregon nor Salem and the local and state government. So we just dropped it. That was years ago. And as the years went by, we would occasionally go up there and now the tree farm is a forest and you cant even find where we were, any of the private stuff that was strewn around or anything. Im sure its lost forever now. And the folks are dead, the police are satisfied that the body disappeared along with the skeleton and remains from the Pudding River and are satisfied that Smith did it and that Wilson was a suicidal nut that didnt do anything and that it was just a coincidence that he had a truck like the one seen in that area and that he had it repainted recently and that he had been camping a few miles from this forest where some female had lost all her personal belongings. In other words they just rolled over and accepted it because it was the least amount of effort they had to go through.....how sad! Maybe it wasnt her, maybe a couple were getting frisky in the woods, but why leave her purse and belongings behind? At least an investigation way back then might have shown some light on the case, maybe not, but they didnt even try, they were totally uninterested. Maybe we should have left a dozen Crispy Cremes up there, maybe that would have done something. This has been weighing on our mind for 30 yrs or so........now Im old, and just feeling terrible about it all. But I think we did the right thing in not continuing to convince someone cause they began to become irritated and they might have tried to pin it on a couple of innocent deer hunters who got in their way of a lazy afternoon. Again I say, how sad.......

With all due respect, the story does not add up.

For starters, the timeline is impossible. Supposedly your friend went hunting over 30 years ago (considering this was posted in 2017, the earliest date would be 1987). The Smith confession did not take place until 2007, and Wilson was not known to the public as a suspect, until Unsolved Mysteries aired the case in the early 90s. In other words, your friend could not have known this in 1987.

Also worth noting, is that if your friend considered the Police so "incompetent and corrupt" that he thought they would pin any supposed evidence against him, then why did he bother to contact authorities in the first place? Wilson was actually one of several potential suspects the Police were looking at. The only reason Wilson stands out at all, is that he committed suicide after being questioned. There was no physical evidence connecting Wilson to Eyerly, despite a search of his vehicle.

From my research, Wilson was 35 miles away camping (but had left the campsite for several hours). On the same note, when Smith was questioned, he claimed he was nowhere near the area (which was a lie, as he was placed by witnesses in the area on July 4, 1982). It should also be noted that when Smith had confessed to Sherry Eyerly's murder, he mentioned that his accomplice had called Dominoes, and demanded a $50,000 ransom for Eyerly's return (despite her being deceased). This is something that was never released to the public.

Four young women were murdered in Salem, Oregon between 1981-84. Eyerly was the second women to be murdered. The third and fourth victims were killed in 1984. Physical evidence linked Smith to the murders. Upon conviction, Smith was now the prime suspect in Eyerly's disappearance, considering the circumstances surrounding the women's disappearances were remarkably similar. The serial killings actually sent Salem,Oregon into a state of panic at the time, considering it is a relatively small city. Sales of mace and handguns increased dramatically, and young women were advised to walk in groups, and try to avoid walking alone at night, if possible.

I cannot understand why people keep going on about Darrell Wilson, who had nothing to do with the murder. Why not stop accusing an innocent man over something he had no involvement in? It's not a crime to suffer from mental health problems. If it were not for that idiot psychic, he never would have been mentioned in the first place.

If anyone was not doing well in life and learned that their life was about to get infinitely worse, with a good chance of only life in prison to look forward to, it only seems like a very understandable action, at least to me.

If anyone was not doing well in life and learned that their life was about to get infinitely worse, with a good chance of only life in prison to look forward to, it only seems like a very understandable action, at least to me.

You may not understand the developments, in regards to the case that have occurred in the past 20 years. I actually feel sorry for Wilson, as it seems his only crime was being a sketchy and evasive person. In any case, Wilson was cleared of any wrong doing decades ago.

https://www.oregonlive.com/resizer/EMdAn9zkVdXkp_oNqB9DiIsEh8g=/800x0/smart/advancelocal-adapter-image-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/image.oregonlive.com/home/olive-media/width2048/img/pacific-northwest-news/photo/william-scott-smith-fce2161b3a7fee22.jpg

William Scott Smith confessed to the murder, and gave intimate details in regards to the crime that only the Police would have known. Furthermore Smith was the prime suspect from 1984, onwards considering there was a serial killer in Salem, Oregon, and he had just been convicted of two of the killings. Smith and Wilson were unknown to each other.

Wilson was just a troubled young man, with mental health problems, and issues with substance abuse. Police investigated him, as well as dozens of others. The only thing that stood out, is that Wilson had taken his life shortly after Police questioned him.

Psychics are notoriously unreliable, when it comes to Police investigations. They are often hired by family members out of desperation. Look no further than Sylvia Browne, who was perhaps the most infamous psychic in America from the late 90s, until her death in 2013. Nearly all of her predictions about unsolved cases were proven false.

Unsolved Mysteries was a great show, and during my childhood, I was a regular viewer. It is just so disappointing to know that later in life I discovered that UM had either glossed over facts of cases, or omitted them entirely. UM often did this to make the case more appealing to the viewer. As many of us have found out, the facts of the investigation do not correlate to what is shown on Unsolved Mysteries.

The physic probably had a heart attack when he found out he was wrong.

John Catchings, the psychic, died shortly after the episode aired in the fall of 1992. It should be noted that, like most psychics, Catchings had a history of being incorrect about his predictions.

source: https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/John_Catchings

It was just a matter of this being a different time. There was no caller ID in 1982 and no technology to check on a specific address. If you wanted to make up a fake name, fake order and fake address to lure someone, it wouldn't have been a problem, as this case shows.

When I was growing up in the 80's and 90's, pizza places in my city would only deliver if you lived close in the neighborhood. If you were more than a mile or two away, they wouldn't drive to your house. Ironically, Dominoes is the only pizza place I know of in my neighborhood that still delivers today. If you want a pizza from Little Caesars or Pizza Hut, you have to pick it up yourself.

Again, it's just a different time now. I can't imagine a killer being able to pull off a crime like this today.

I am not sure how it was in the early 80s, but when I have ordered any food in my life (beginning in the mid 90s), it has nearly always been a male delivery driver. I worked for several months at a Pizza Place call centre 20 years ago, and we usually only hired male delivery drivers. There was even a small area of the city, which was notorious for gangs and drugs that we did not deliver to.

When we placed the orders, the customer would be asked to provide the number they called from. If the number did not match what was on call display or if it was a blocked call, we would not deliver to them. In the case of hotel guests, we would ask for the room number, and confirm with the hotel.

I watched the 'On the Case with Paula Zahn' episode about this case yesterday. The episode originally aired in 2014.

Never once was John Catchings' name and his psychic visions mentioned in the entire episode, not surprisingly. With that said, looking back, I can still see why Darrell Jay Wilson was considered the main suspect for so many years.

1. He lived in the area and was clearly deeply disturbed.

2. He had actually interacted with Sherry at a BBQ about ten days before her abduction. It was small talk but after she left, he couldn't stop talking about her to other people present.

3. Police had concluded that Sherry's abductor was driving a truck. Wilson owned a truck and painted it a different color just 5 days after Sherry's abduction.

4. Wilson did not have an alibi for the time of the abduction. They discovered he was camping that weekend, however after talking to other people he was camping with, they said there was a 9-hour window on the day and night of the abduction where he wasn't accounted for.

5. After being questioned multiple times by police, Wilson had withheld and lied about ever meeting Sherry and why he painted his car.

All of those facts look really bad on his part. It's actually amazing that he didn't turn out to be the killer.

The only reason this case ever got solved was because police compared notes with other possible abductions for that time and area and discovered Katie Redmond; a college student who was leaving a party and was abducted in the same manner just two years after Sherry's abduction. Police were able to get a confession but with the passage of 25 years, Sherry's remains were too difficult to locate in the lake where William Scott Smith said he had thrown her body.

The one thing that still nags at me about this case is that Sherry was never the target. Smith was after another girl who had worked at that Domino's Pizza. He ordered the pizzas with the intent of luring HER out on that road. He even realized immediately this was not the right girl when he came across Sherry...yet he decided to kidnap and kill her anyway. 'On the Case' never mentions any sexual assault after the abduction. Just that Sherry was driven straight to the lake, strangled to death and then dumped in the water. This seems pretty extreme for a killer who went through all this work to lure a different girl out in the middle of nowhere only to kill someone else. This girl's name has never been released to the public but I'd like to know the backstory with her. Why was she even a target in the first place?