This was unsolved as of March 2008 (according to an Oklahoma newspaper article, which mentioned other cold cases). Here is the Cold Cases page: http://www.ok.gov/osbi/Investigative/Unsolved_Cases/

"On Saturday, November 12, 1988, around 6:00 p.m., Dwayne McCorkendale, 27 years of age, was found dead of a gunshot wound at a rest stop on the Turner Turnpike or Highway I-44 near Chandler, Oklahoma. Dwayne had been shot in the back and was lying near a telephone booth. He was a driver for the Contract Freighter, Inc. (CFI) and his truck was at the rest stop. Dwayne was en route from Joplin to Oklahoma City with a load of auto parts. This homicide case has been highlighted on Unsolved Mysteries."

Sad this case is unsolved, I didn't think it would be when I first watched it.

This case really, really bothers me. It really saddens me everytime I watch it; it's such a senseless, stupid crime.

But I have a hard time believing that the suspects (despite hearsay that they may have been drug users) murdered McCorkendale for the little amount investigators speculated he was carrying at the time. I don't know the ins-and-outs of the trucking industry, but in the past, weren't truck drivers known to actually carry large amounts of money for fuel? I'm not sure what it was like in 1988, but I have heard from older truckers that their transpo firms actually gave them cash for fuel before they went out on a run. It would make more sense, it seems, for the suspects to have shot Dwayne because they believed he was carrying far more money than what was initially believed. I wonder if his truck was searched, and if it was, was there was anything like a money sleeve missing?



And that still doesn't explain why the suspects behaved as they did earlier on I-44, cutting vehicles off and driving dangerously. One would think they wouldn't want to draw attention to themselves. A lot of things that don't make sense here. I wish it could be solved.

Meg,

My dad was a trucker for over 40 years. I think there's been the general assumption on the part of the public that truckers carry large sums of cash, whether or not they really do.

In reality, the amount they carried back then depended on what type of work they were doing. My dad has done everything from local jobs (completely broke and just carrying a brown bag lunch) to long distance work where he was gone for 4 weeks or more at a time.

It also depends on if they are an independent contractor of if they are an employee of a large or small company.

By the 80s and 90s, my dad was an independent contractor and was doing the long trips hauling specialty cars and robotics. Since he basically was working for himself, he carried a minimum of $1,000 cash, even back then, and that was on his days off. Carrying $3,000 was not unheard of.

I forgot how many gallons of fuel the tanks hold, but I remember him mentioning filling up for $500.

One reason he used cash instead of credit cards was to hide some transactions from the tax man. If he didn't keep some stuff on the down low, he wouldn't have been profitable. His truck cost $125,000 in the early 90s and half of his income went directly back into the business. I'm guessing that a lot of independents did the same thing.

Also, I think that for big transactions of a few hundred dollars like that at the fuel stations, credit cost more per gallon than cash (like gas did for cars in the 70s and 80s - remember when they started saying "cash or credit, same low price"?) So truckers carried the cash to save a ton of money on filling up those huge tanks.

BTW, in all those years on the road, my dad has been held up, but not by an armed robber. The one I remember the best was when he was in NYC in the 70s. It was summer and he had the window down. The thief jumped up on the running board and started crawling into the window. My dad had his loaded pistol in his lap and held the guy at gun point. As soon as the guy saw the gun, he said, "Man, I don't want no trouble." And my dad said, "I know you don't, that's why you're going to stand still until I stop at this next light. Then you're gonna step off my truck or I'm gonna hafta shoot you."

Oh, and I just remembered, my dad never carried his wallet in his back pocket either. A regular thief or pickpocket wouldn't be able to find his cash. If a thief wanted his money bad enough, he'd have to kill him and search for it. I bet that's what happened to Dwayne McCorkendale. I wouldn't be surprised if they planned on killing him from the very beginning, just to get the money and leave no witness.

There's some speculation that the killers may have been after drugs. It's rumored that many truckers use speed or something else to keep them awake on the long trips. If these people were after a quick fix, that might have been part of the motive.

But I still can't believe they could never find the Pinto. I mean, how many were even in existence at that time? Didn't they all blow up because of poor placement of the gas tank?

But I still can't believe they could never find the Pinto. I mean, how many were even in existence at that time? Didn't they all blow up because of poor placement of the gas tank?

Actually that has been proven wrong. A Pinto is no more likely to explode than with any other American car. :lol:

Because of the bad rap of the Pinto, it's became very popular amongs low income individuals who bought them second hand. So it's not unusually for a lot of them to be around down south back then.

There were numerous reports of the Pinto. Did they ever get a license plate? If I was a big rig trucker and a car was driving erratically (and potentially blow up from it), I'd be calling that in to the cops right away.

MissFit,

Regarding truckers taking speed to stay awake....

I can only speak from my own experience. My dad drank lots of coffee to stay awake, plus he's naturally a night owl and doesn't need a lot of sleep to function.

Back in the 60s and 70s, he took over the counter type stuff that was like "stay awake" or something like that. I think it's just caffeine pills.

But since at least the 90s, long haul truckers (at least the ones with reputable companies) get randomly drug tested, so I don't know if they'd be willing to risk losing their job over using a street drug type of speed.

MissFit,

Regarding truckers taking speed to stay awake....

I can only speak from my own experience. My dad drank lots of coffee to stay awake, plus he's naturally a night owl and doesn't need a lot of sleep to function.

Back in the 60s and 70s, he took over the counter type stuff that was like "stay awake" or something like that. I think it's just caffeine pills.

But since at least the 90s, long haul truckers (at least the ones with reputable companies) get randomly drug tested, so I don't know if they'd be willing to risk losing their job over using a street drug type of speed.

Absolutely. However, it might have been an assumption of the part of the killers. The interview in the segment with the trucker who had the encounter with the woman looking for a fix showed how desperate they were to find someone with drugs or money they could give them. It could have been a motive. They wanted their drug no matter what they had to do to get it.

There were two assumptions made: one, that the trucker possessed some drug; and two, that the trucker was carrying a large amount of money. Both were probably false in this case.

That's the problem with killers. They're usually too stupid for everybody's own good.

I was just watching the Clutter case from the 50s. That whole family was murdered because some idiot in jail was bragging to his buddies that he used to work for a farmer who kept a safe full of money in his lonely old out of the way farm house. Turns out it was all just a big story.

When the buddy got out of jail, he actually went to the house to rob the safe, and ended up killing everyone. Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood about that case.

Then, there was a case here in holly michigan, where some drunks/druggies, were talking about how some relative or guy they had worked for kept huge sums of money in his house. One of the guys hearing the story believed it, and went and killed the whole family by attacking them with a hammer as they slept. He wanted drug money, I think.

Stupid murderers never stop to think that farmers aren't secretly rich and that it would be shocking if back in 1990, someone living in Holly, MI was secretly stashing huge sums of cash in their house while working regular blue collar jobs.

One of more senseless killings on UM. RS mentioned the total take for the robbbers, no more than $25.00. Sad to see there has been no update.

That's the problem with killers. They're usually too stupid for everybody's own good.

I was just watching the Clutter case from the 50s. That whole family was murdered because some idiot in jail was bragging to his buddies that he used to work for a farmer who kept a safe full of money in his lonely old out of the way farm house. Turns out it was all just a big story.

When the buddy got out of jail, he actually went to the house to rob the safe, and ended up killing everyone. Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood about that case.

Then, there was a case here in holly michigan, where some drunks/druggies, were talking about how some relative or guy they had worked for kept huge sums of money in his house. One of the guys hearing the story believed it, and went and killed the whole family by attacking them with a hammer as they slept. He wanted drug money, I think.

Stupid murderers never stop to think that farmers aren't secretly rich and that it would be shocking if back in 1990, someone living in Holly, MI was secretly stashing huge sums of cash in their house while working regular blue collar jobs.


This is also why one of the great Grand Ole Opry performers and an original cast member on Hee-Haw, David "Stringbean" Akeman and his wife were murdered.

This case and the hit and run in North Carolina are two that will be especially difficult to solve.

This gets my vote for one of the saddest cases ever profiled on UM. I tend to think the killers thought McCorkendale had more money on him than he actually did, and unfortunately shot him for nothing more than petty drug money.

It made me sad to hear Stack say "Dwayne McCorkendale was murdered doing the thing he loved best. For him, the freedom of the road ended in one senseless and violent split second", and to think his kids grew up without their father. I wonder if they can still catch who did this to him?

Ever watch the tv series Dexter? I'd love to unleash Dexter Morgan on the drivers of the pinto. The sight of all of them shrink wrapped to his table would be awesome!

That's the problem with killers. They're usually too stupid for everybody's own good.

I was just watching the Clutter case from the 50s. That whole family was murdered because some idiot in jail was bragging to his buddies that he used to work for a farmer who kept a safe full of money in his lonely old out of the way farm house. Turns out it was all just a big story.

When the buddy got out of jail, he actually went to the house to rob the safe, and ended up killing everyone. Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood about that case.

Then, there was a case here in holly michigan, where some drunks/druggies, were talking about how some relative or guy they had worked for kept huge sums of money in his house. One of the guys hearing the story believed it, and went and killed the whole family by attacking them with a hammer as they slept. He wanted drug money, I think.

Stupid murderers never stop to think that farmers aren't secretly rich and that it would be shocking if back in 1990, someone living in Holly, MI was secretly stashing huge sums of cash in their house while working regular blue collar jobs.

I grew up not far from where the murders of the Clutters happened. It's not quite an accurate description you give of the Clutter home. It's actually a fairly large house, particularly for that time. Nor is it all that isolated, as it's not located all that far from town, the drive down to the house is right on the edge of town actually. While I wouldn't describe Mr. Clutter as "rich" he was more of what I wold describe as "well to do". He had a university education, had once served as the county agent, was involved in local politics, had travelled to DC in regards to farming related political activities. He was a prominent citizen in his community. His farm was quite a large spread and the Clutter family did quite well for themselves. However, Mr. Clutter, like the majority of people, regardless if they have money, don't typically keep large sums of cash in their house. According to the confessions of the two killers, when they became angry after learning there was no safe with hoards of cash in the house, Mr. Clutter offered to write them a check, which of course they laughed at and became angrier. There was an interesting interview with on of the surviving Clutter daughters in the local paper a few years ago. (They had two older daughters who had already moved from the home at the time of the murders).

I grew up not far from where the murders of the Clutters happened. It's not quite an accurate description you give of the Clutter home. It's actually a fairly large house, particularly for that time. Nor is it all that isolated, as it's not located all that far from town, the drive down to the house is right on the edge of town actually. While I wouldn't describe Mr. Clutter as "rich" he was more of what I wold describe as "well to do". He had a university education, had once served as the county agent, was involved in local politics, had travelled to DC in regards to farming related political activities. He was a prominent citizen in his community. His farm was quite a large spread and the Clutter family did quite well for themselves. However, Mr. Clutter, like the majority of people, regardless if they have money, don't typically keep large sums of cash in their house. According to the confessions of the two killers, when they became angry after learning there was no safe with hoards of cash in the house, Mr. Clutter offered to write them a check, which of course they laughed at and became angrier. There was an interesting interview with on of the surviving Clutter daughters in the local paper a few years ago. (They had two older daughters who had already moved from the home at the time of the murders).

Thanks for that extra information. :) I don't know very much about the crime against the Clutters beyond what a short article or tv crime show might provide, which often isn't completely accurate and doesn't provide all the facts that would really help us understand cases they cover.

I think this Segment may hold some key elements in solving this case. I think the pinto was doing trail runs on different ways to get money from the truckers. When Dwayne only yielded the little amount of cash, they needed to either "coax" it out of them or find a way for them to reveal where its at.I believe personally that either one of them grew up in a trucker family or were at one point truckers themselves. I believe they knew of the amounts of cash that trucker potentially carried for gas and food, etc. They tried the girl way first. Maybe someone would want company and or fall for the damsel in distress. Also is there a picture out there of the girl from the pinto? I mean if some one stuck half their body in my car I would be able to give a pretty darn good description! Also what of the car and the CB handler name from the pinto? None were mentioned in the UM Segment. Again, as always hoping to meet up with someone on here who has more information on this heartless crime. I feel like the answer is there, we just have to look.

I'd like to think that whoever murdered McCorkendale are either dead or incarcerated for an unrelated crime. I doubt this was their first crime, nor their last.

With this having happened in 1988, I suppose there wasn't a whole lot of surveillance cameras and such at rest stops like there are today. :(

One of more senseless killings on UM. RS mentioned the total take for the robbbers, no more than $25.00. Sad to see there has been no update.

Today is the anniversary of this terrible perplexing crime and considering that the culprits no more than $25 its just awfull what happened - if the culprits were after money for drugs or drugs then it really illustrates how the most dangerous thing in this world is a junkie desperately after a fix ......

The segment said truckers never carried large amounts of cash and on here people said they do. I assume the killer thought he carried a lot. Wasn't he on the cb saying he was pulling over? Wonder if they had one and listened or were just lying in wait. I would love this to be solved. I wonder how his wife and twins are..

The segment said truckers never carried large amounts of cash and on here people said they do. I assume the killer thought he carried a lot. Wasn't he on the cb saying he was pulling over? Wonder if they had one and listened or were just lying in wait. I would love this to be solved. I wonder how his wife and twins are..

Could be. Those CB radios didn't have a very long range. Maybe ten miles at the most. Could have been something involving CB pranks/meetings/hook ups that led to his murder.

I'd like to think that whoever murdered McCorkendale are either dead or incarcerated for an unrelated crime. I doubt this was their first crime, nor their last.

Exactly.

I never understood why the perps driving so erratically. Especialy for them to get on the CB radio and say "we'll drive anyway we want to". Like that is suppossed make them such baddies.

I never understood why the perps driving so erratically. Especialy for them to get on the CB radio and say "we'll drive anyway we want to". Like that is suppossed make them such baddies.

I had a little idea once that maybe the individuals in the Pinto were aiming to get those truck drivers to tap or scrape their vehicle in order to warrant both parties pulling over. From there, the two or three of them could attempt to coax the driver out of money, or simply rob him.

I had a little idea once that maybe the individuals in the Pinto were aiming to get those truck drivers to tap or scrape their vehicle in order to warrant both parties pulling over. From there, the two or three of them could attempt to coax the driver out of money, or simply rob him.

You know, I think you're on to something there.

I don’t know if any of you guys are familiar with the "El Dorado Jane Doe" case, about a woman who was murdered by her pimp boyfriend James McAlphin in 1991. She lived under many different aliases, so her true identity has never been established:
http://doenetwork.org/cases/81ufar.html

Well, this extensive article about her was recently published and apparently, McAlphin and Jane Doe were both considered persons of interest in the Dwayne McCorkendale murder! In the UM segment, they said they were looking for a brown Pinto containing a white male, black male and white female, so it’s possible they could have been McAlphin (who’s black) and Jane Doe. Which means this mysterious Jane Doe might have been the suspicious woman who tried to climb inside that other truck driver’s cab at the rest stop:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/eldorado-jane-doe_us_56e6d679e4b0b25c918276a3

I recently recorded a podcast about the “Fort Worth Three” disappearance, so it was a shock to see that case also get mentioned in this article! Apparently, McAlphin has claimed that Jane Doe raised in captivity alongside the kidnapped girls from the Fort Worth Three case, but he’s also a known pathological liar and detectives say not to believe everything he says.

It’s a long shot, but it would be pretty amazing if these three cold cases were all connected and somehow got solved in one shot.

I don’t know if any of you guys are familiar with the "El Dorado Jane Doe" case, about a woman who was murdered by her pimp boyfriend James McAlphin in 1991. She lived under many different aliases, so her true identity has never been established:
http://doenetwork.org/cases/81ufar.html

Well, this extensive article about her was recently published and apparently, McAlphin and Jane Doe were both considered persons of interest in the Dwayne McCorkendale murder! In the UM segment, they said they were looking for a brown Pinto containing a white male, black male and white female, so it’s possible they could have been McAlphin (who’s black) and Jane Doe. Which means this mysterious Jane Doe might have been the suspicious woman who tried to climb inside that other truck driver’s cab at the rest stop:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/eldorado-jane-doe_us_56e6d679e4b0b25c918276a3

I recently recorded a podcast about the “Fort Worth Three” disappearance, so it was a shock to see that case also get mentioned in this article! Apparently, McAlphin has claimed that Jane Doe raised in captivity alongside the kidnapped girls from the Fort Worth Three case, but he’s also a known pathological liar and detectives say not to believe everything he says.

It’s a long shot, but it would be pretty amazing if these three cold cases were all connected and somehow got solved in one shot.

Wow! That's a heck of a find, Robin!

This is such a sad case. A totally pointless murder.
Sadly I doubt it will ever get solved.
It's lucky cold blooded random murders are rare because unless they are seen at the time it's really hard to actually find the culprit.

I watched the segment tonight and while googling I saw a massive update on El Dorado Jane Doe case just announced literally in last 6 hours
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5c48cc72e4b025aa26bf852d
They found a distant family member who doesn't remember her using same DNA method that caught Golden State killer. From there hopefully they can finally figure out her identity.

Wow! That's amazing. I am surprised the El Dorado Jane Doe has been a Doe so long! She is one of the most recognizable and (IMO) identifiable Does I've ever seen. So many pictures. I look forward to hearing what goes on with that.

Someone else mentioned the hit and run in N. Carolina... is that the one with the "ugly" "stringy haired" "redneck" from GA who ran the 4 black men off the road? I thought that these 2 would be hard to solve as well. I wish their families could get answers though.

I'd bet real money the person(s) responsible OD'd randomly and is laying in some pauper's grave as a John (or Jane) Doe.

Back in the 60s and 70s, he took over the counter type stuff that was like "stay awake" or something like that. I think it's just caffeine pills.

Back in those days, the over-the-counter stimulant was Ephedrine, and it was also used in Dexatrim, and other "lose weight fast" drugs.

Ephedrine is also one of the main ingredients in the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine, which is why Ephedrine is currently illegal as an OTC in the U.S.

I read somewhere about hard-up speed users drinking "Trucker Bombs" in a feeble attempt to get high. Kind of stupid, considering you could just buy the stuff from a gas station in them days...

DM is yet another extremely tragic case. Being killed over $25 while making a call on a payphone is completely random & unexpected - what a horrible way to die. And, it's especially tragic since he left a wife & small children behind.

I agree that this was a completely random crime of opportunity - almost certainly by some scum-bag junkies out to get money for a fix. Here's hoping it will get solved at some point.

I always find this case fascinating and sad because they haven't caught the killer (or killers). I wonder what became of his two daughters.