The Case (from the unsolved mysteries wiki):
Molly Bish is a Detroit, Michigan native, but her family moved to Warren, Massachusetts to, ironically, escape the urban violence. Fifteen years later, she had a job as a lifeguard at Warren Pond, but on June 27, 2000, she vanished three hours after being dropped off by her mother, Magi. Her belongings were left behind, and a thorough search was made with no success. Magi now believes that she had come face-to-face with Molly's abductor the day before her disappearance. Magi had seen a mustached man parked at the lake and smoking a cigarette in a late model white car. A sand truck driver reported seeing this same motorist parked at a nearby cemetery connected to the lake by a path. Famous sketch artist Jeanne Boylan helped her make a composite of him, which has been circulating every since. Three years later, Molly's body was found dumped five miles from the pond at a place called Whiskey Hill. Her killer has not yet been apprehended.

In 2007, a man named Robert R. Burno Jr. was named a person of interest in the case, and Magi confirmed that the man looked very much like her composite sketch. Beyond that, we have no information on Burno as a suspect.

In 2009, Rodney Stanger was named a suspect in her murder. He had lived in the area that the Bish family had lived in during the time of her disappearance. He was also known to frequent the area where her body was found, and he resembled the composite of the man seen by Magi the day before Molly disappeared.


My View:
I'd like to know what made the authorities drop Burno as their number one suspect in favor of Stanger aside form the fact that he had access to a vehicle that resembles the one the suspect was in, as well as the information stated above. It just seemed that once Stanger made his appearance they all but forgot Burno even existed. Even on this forum all the topics that pertain to this case mention Stanger, but not Burno. Personally, I think that Robert R. Burno Jr. is a much better resemblance to the composite sketch of the suspect in the case then Rodney Stanger is, in a number of aspects:

Burno:
http://www.telegram.com/storyimage/WT/20070809/NEWS/708090796/AR/0/AR-708090796.jpg&MaxH=225&MaxW=225

Stanger:
http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/ht_stanger_sketch_bish_090203_mn.jpg

A few things to notice:

1. Weight: While Stanger is a fairly thin man with an oval shaped face, Burno is about the same weight and face shape (perhaps minus a few pounds or so) as the man in the sketch.

2. Eye Shape: Stangers eyes are a little more rounded, while Burno's eyes almost perfectly match the sketch.

3. Chin: Stangers chin sort of juts out with the shadow being just below his lower lip, while Burno's chin shadow is more of a U shape, which can also been seen on the sketch.

4. Nose: After taking a closer look I realized that even with the more bulbous feature, Stangers nose shape (going up by the eyes) is a much better match for the sketch then Burno's is. (Originally: As TracyLynnS said in another thread, Stangers nose is a little bulbous on the end. Burno's nose is smaller, with a shape that again almost exactly matches the sketch)

5. Mustache: Not much to say...IF you judge by our photos alone Stangers is much too bushy, and the shape isn't the same, while Burno's is much more of a match in shape and thickness...HOWEVER, since facial hair can change all the time I more or less discount this entirely.


I have to run now, but I may add more to this later.

I've found that composites based on eyewitness accounts accentuate certain aspects. Based on the skill of the artist (we all know the proficiency and expertise of the artist of this sketch) as well as the memory of the witness. If someone's eyes are bushy, in a sketch they become heavily bushy. If someone has a scar, it becomes a significant scar, etc.

I think that is an important factor in noting composite man's hair, both in how it's done and the salt & pepper color.

The composite sketch features a man with his slightly greyed hair slicked back and combed flat. While we have no idea how Stanger may have combed his hair that particular day he seems as if he did slick back his receding hairline it would not match the sketch. He also couldn't have gone THAT white in the years between Molly's kidnapping and murder and that booking photo.

It's hard to compare pictures without knowing when those shots were taken. Burno Jr.'s name came up in 2007 and Stanger wasn't a suspect until 2009. Molly was killed in 2000. The appearances of both men could have changed quite a bit over several years.

Pictures aside, we don't have as much information on Robert Burno Jr. as we do on Rodney Stanger. Stanger has a ton of things that cast him in a negative or at the very least, suspicious light.

1. Stanger had access to a white car. The man Molly's mother saw staring at Molly the day before her murder was driving a white car.

2. Stanger lived down the street from Comins Pond. He lived in the area for 2 decades before leaving a little less than a year after the murder.

3. Stanger was obviously very familiar with the area. He was known to fish in Comins Pond quite often. He was also known to hunt in the woods surrounding the pond. He knew those woods backwards and forwards.

I posted this in another thread but it's a good map that outlines the areas of interest in this case. Bloodhounds tracked Molly's scent leading from her lifeguard chair back into the woods and into St. Pauls Cemetery. That's the fastest way to exit the beach without going through the beach entrance because there's less trees to travel through.

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad64/andy80_bucket/Bish2.jpg

Once Molly was abducted, she was dragged to the the cemetery. Most likely, the killer had his car waiting there to make his escape. Had he parked at the entrance, he risks easily being spotted by Molly's mother when she dropped her off or any other people that could have been walking towards the beach.

Molly's mother dropped her off at 10:00. A mother and her two young children walked on the beach to find Molly's lifeguard chair already abandoned at 10:08. This murder was very calculated and quick. The killer knew Molly's routine and he knew the perfect place to hide so he could strike and not be detected. He pulled it off. Stanger proved to be a murderer several years later so it's not out of the question that he could have killed before.

I truly feel that was Stanger in the white car the day before the murder. He was there to watch Molly to know when she usually arrived and who dropped her off. He also would have have known from that visit alone that the beach would be dead at that time of morning. The day before the murder, the white car was the only one in the parking lot when Molly was dropped off and the following morning, there were no cars when Molly was dropped off. Again, with nobody around at that time of day, it's the perfect time to strike. And Stanger knew that.

Wouldn't this all be moot if they just went to Molly's mother whom had a prolonged moment with the perp? I always wondered what her opinion was after Stanger's mugshot came out. This was the first time I have seen the other guys, how it can be even more of a dead ringer than Stanger is beyond me.

I suppose even if the mother had an opinion about if either of these guys were in the car, it would be withheld due to the ongoing investigation?

I certainly hope they've shown the mother the photographs and let her have a say;even so, they need more concrete evidence so I hope they're looking out for it. Justice is long overdue.

I certainly hope they've shown the mother the photographs and let her have a say;even so, they need more concrete evidence so I hope they're looking out for it. Justice is long overdue.


I believe I read somewhere, forgive me for not being able to link it, that she thought Burno was a very likely match until she saw color footage of him. Her comment was that he wasn’t salt & pepper, rather he was more of a blonde. The way it read to me was that she eliminated him once she noticed that.


@ernmerica: I agree. Its bananas how much both of those phtos resemble the sketch yet don't necessarily resemble each other. The sketch looks as if someone studied either one of those pictures for a while and then described what they saw...and they could both be right. :confused:

All signs point to Stanger in my opinion.

I'll say one thing though, if my daughter was doing a job like that at 16 years old (or any age) I'd be a little weary. That aerial shot looks a lot like a very secluded area. Now, I realize you wouldn't think anything of it at 10 in the morning because people would be coming to the beach right then but if there is a place where you can get lured away without anyone noticing, its that pond area. Too bad she couldn't have gotten a job at a local pool or something

Burno looks most like the sketch to me, right down to the round area on his chin that's a dimple.

All signs point to Stanger in my opinion.

I'll say one thing though, if my daughter was doing a job like that at 16 years old (or any age) I'd be a little weary. That aerial shot looks a lot like a very secluded area. Now, I realize you wouldn't think anything of it at 10 in the morning because people would be coming to the beach right then but if there is a place where you can get lured away without anyone noticing, its that pond area. Too bad she couldn't have gotten a job at a local pool or something
I was under the impression that the family assumed the area was really safe, the reason for moving there from the city and raising their kids there. I know that sounds moot and they should've kept an eye, but I guess kidnapping is the last thing on anyone's mind. She probably thought there would be more people nearby and the truck there with workers from the local company eased her mind.

I bet the creep in the car parked on the other side so the mother wouldn't be suspicious like the day before. It really sucks and is unfortunate that no one was there.

Burno looks more like the killer. I wish they'd hurry and find out which one did it so the Bish family has some closure.

Bruno looks almost exactly like the composite. Anyone know if the pond is still a popular spot?

Does anyone think there could have been two suspects? Her mom dropped her off at 10 AM and she's already missing at 10:08. Whoever did this could have had an accomplice. With all the woods that surround the pond, there are plenty of places to hide, it is more than possible. It is also possible a second suspect could have been waiting at the cemetery. It is either Stanger or Burno that did it. All of the other suspects police had thought of, forget it. One of those two men are the killer.