Angela Hammond - Girl abducted from phone booth

[Sundance]

All of that screaming and struggling in the car, and she was still able to spot the boyfriend by just bright headlights and yell his name to him...Not one bit of this story sounds real...

[chacha6581]

Originally Posted by Sundance

All of that screaming and struggling in the car, and she was still able to spot the boyfriend by just bright headlights and yell his name to him...Not one bit of this story sounds real...

He passed the lie detector test. He was very genuine. People saw the man and the truck around the phone booth before she was abducted.

[CuriousMind90]

Originally Posted by chacha6581

Awesome job!!
They didn't say if the abductor had a weapon right? Because the way that Angela was hollering in the car, if he had a gun or a knife lunging at her, she would be more likely to be silent, agree? My point is, how far do you think that the creep could drive and keep Angela from getting out of the truck?

The actual circumstances of the abduction himself--How he got her, if he had a weapon--are unknown as far as I can tell. He could've had a knife, maybe he stabbed her--That might account for the supposed DNA evidence that the police department over there said they found back in 2009...Or he could've dropped something in the struggle, or something of his could've fallen out of his pocket. Or in the struggle, she could've scratched or bit him heavily, perhaps drawing enough blood to collect DNA from.

Or, perhaps there were hair follicles on the ground--his during the struggle. I mean I read they took the phone book itself physically as evidence. Remember, he picked up the phone next to hers. If he wasn't wearing gloves, there's a good chance he left a set of prints on that phone, or a hair follicle fell on to it while trying to use it.

Also, he hung up her phone (Remember he creepily said into the phone, "I didn't need to use the phone anyway"), which again, raises the possibility of there being even more prints if he didn't wear gloves. So there's potential for there to be prints on both telephones.

Also--he could've flicked a cigarette out of his truck or spit it out or something after he stopped his truck. That could account for the alleged DNA evidence they said they had

Angela said she saw him with a flashlight, looking in the cabin of his pickup for something in the minutes before the adbctuion. Perhaps he used the flashlight as a blunt weapon and hit her with it to subdue her while her back was turned (talking to Rob), and that's how he was able to get hold of her, or perhaps he was using the flashlight to find his weapon. We don't know how big this guy was; we do know that Angie was a small woman, like 5 feet tall of slim to average build. For all we know, this guy could've been 6 feet tall and a hundred pounds heavier; he'd have easily subdued her.

As to your last comment, not necessarily...In a life or death, like hers was, situation, if you see someone who can possibly save your life, and is probably the only person who can do so, a gut reaction will be to yell for that person, regardless of the more immediate danger. Rob was her only hope, I'm sure she knew that, so no matter what might've been pointed at her, as soon as she saw his car approaching, she screamed. It was a move of utter desperation.

This is the view from inside the phone booth as it was in 1991:


The area now:



The phone booth was right on the corner--not part of the parking lot, which did exist in 1991. It was right by where the light pole is now.

[Sundance]

To know it was the boyfriend driving up seems almost impossible to me...I'm getting conflicting information on whether there were witnesses or not. Unsolved.com says "The police had based their investigation on Rob Shafer's testimony. And when no witnesses could back up his story, Rob himself became a suspect", but I have read on this page that there might have been a witness, or maybe that's an aspect that is unknown to the public but has evolved over the years...I'm very interested to know what this DNA evidence is. You would think after 2 years the police would have said something...There are just to many "if's" and "maybe this" and "maybe that" for me in this story. We have zero eveidence except for a story from a guy who could have a good motive...

[chacha6581]

Originally Posted by Sundance

To know it was the boyfriend driving up seems almost impossible to me...I'm getting conflicting information on whether there were witnesses or not. Unsolved.com says "The police had based their investigation on Rob Shafer's testimony. And when no witnesses could back up his story, Rob himself became a suspect", but I have read on this page that there might have been a witness, or maybe that's an aspect that is unknown to the public but has evolved over the years...I'm very interested to know what this DNA evidence is. You would think after 2 years the police would have said something...There are just to many "if's" and "maybe this" and "maybe that" for me in this story. We have zero eveidence except for a story from a guy who could have a good motive...

Sundance, may I politely remind you of the Jaycee Duggard kidnapping? Remember how her stepfather witnessed her getting snatched and he biked after the car to try to save her? He was considered a suspect,his story called unbelievable, and his marriage ended. Remember his story was confirmed, when they found Jaycee with that psycho?

[chacha6581]

Curious, you are right, I forgot about the flashlight. You made great points and I applaud your research. You are amazing!

[Sundance]

Yep, random and terrifying, however, that happening compared to most cases of murder happening by someone who knows the victim (spouse possibly here) and that percentage going up even higher when that spouse is pregnant, I will take those numbers any day over some one in a million situation with a one-sided Hollywood story...When killings or abductions happen, it is very rarely people who don't know each other...It happens, yes, but not often.

[mwcarolina]

Originally Posted by Sundance

What are you going to do? Yell, scream, run to every car and house you can find nearby, that's what you're going to do...People mention this timeline a lot, I might be missing something but what timeline? The only timeline I see is once again, his story...

the timeline doesnt fit, i dont know how many times people have to say this, but he had to report this to the police all the while before the police reporting, he had to kill his girlfriend AFTER they left the party and i am sure the police checked the phone records (bet even then they could do that) and saw the call, but anyways, this is a young guy and the body has NOT been found. So Rob (a guy who never killed) has killed his girlfriend, hid the body so it wont be found for 20 years and pass a lie detector test AND also keep a good face on while telling the story and of course there's his car and do NOT tell me that he damaged his transmission on purpose because as i said, that makes NO sense. Rob's story may not sound possible, but neither does the fact that a young man can kill his girlfriend and not be caught for years, if Rob did this there would be more clues to be found and the body would be found.

[CuriousMind90]

I have a theory....

What if it wasn't Rob himself, but someone who knew Rob? Not hired by Rob, but there are several possible motives....

We must bear in mind a few key facts:
-Angela and Rob were an unmarried, teenage couple
-Angela was about 3 months pregnant at the time of her abduction. She lived in a very small town in the early 1990s; Word of her being pregnant would travel fast through gossip and hearsay, and in such areas, an unwed teenage mother is seen as a grave embarrassment to a family--A sin. Rumors about her would unfairly spread as so often happens in the case of in the event of unwed, teenage motherhood.

While Angela may have been a great person, one can only imagine what her pregnancy probably did to her reputation. I know someone who is the same age, unmarried and pregnant living in a small town and even in 2011 she has basically become ostracized.

-Rob had a seeming promising military career ahead of him and a (presumably) impressive athletic record. All hopes for his future could easily be dashed by this (likely unplanned) pregnancy. He'd have to give up his education to raise this child and be a family man, or, if not give it up, his prospects could be severely compromised. Most attractive young men don't want to settle down and be family men at 19 or 20 years old. Most parents and families of such young men wouldn't want a promising future for their son to be destroyed by an accidental pregnancy, to put it bluntly as some might.

A few other things:
-We don't know what Rob or Angie were like as people, or what their family dynamics were like. Were they in with a bad crowd? I doubt it, but it's possible. We're only given tidbits and UM tends to focus on the positive attributes of a victim and tends not to mention negative but perhaps important details about the person.
-In my experience, a girl who gets pregnant in her teenage years while unwed usually comes from a trouble background, or a dysfunctional family. Perhaps Rob's family was the opposite--and she might've been seen as dragging Rob down.

There are people other than Rob, but connected to him or connected to Angela (jealous ex-boyfriend? a former stalker maybe?) who would've had a motive to want Angela gone. Rob himself may not have known ANYTHING about it, and the events may have played out exactly as he said they did.

But somethings to be looked at are:

1) How was Rob and Angela's relationship going as of March/April 1991? Were they fighting, or on good terms? How did the news of her pregnancy affect their relationship? How did their parents react to her being pregnant?

2) What was Angela like as a person? What kind of crowd did she associate with? Her personal characteristics--personality, etc?

3) Was there anyone who knew of Angela's plans for the evening after she and Rob left the BBQ that afternoon? Perhaps someone--the abductor--was following her without her even knowing it. Perhaps she had been stalked for quite some time by this person.

4) The abductor seems to have hesitated--Perhaps he was unsure of whether he wanted to do it or not? That doesn't seem to be very characteristic of a serial killer. He waited sometime, waiting for as she talked on the phone and even spoke to her, only to suddenly attack. I'm sure she wasn't facing him the entire duration of the phone call--He could've waited till she got off the phone, but chose not to, yet he waited.

5) How long after Angie got on the phone did she notice the truck? If it was almost immediately--within say 5 minutes--that would, to me, point to her being followed by the abductor prior to stopping at the parking lot. Perhaps he followed her for quite some time, circled the parking lot to ensure he was in the clear--like a hawk who has now got it's prey in a vulnerable spot--and then parked.

But maybe he had second thoughts about it, either for moral reasons, or for fear of being caught, or because she wasn't exactly his "type", which explains his hesitation--Why not just grab her as soon as he pulled up and got out of the truck? Fast, unexpected, without any chance to have her describe him to whoever she was on the phone with. Instead he waited and lingered long enough to both creep Angela out and long enough for her to give a description to the person on the other end of the phone.

Why did he attempt to use the other phone? Was it an attempt to distract her? Was it simply a demented, unfocused mind just working?

He didn't seem to be stoned, drunk or high, according to what Angela said. In a good enough state of mind to plan out the abduction. Rob said the truck's front bumper may have had a dent--perhaps the result of a drunken accident?

6) Why did Angela feel the need to describe the man and his truck in detail? That's one piece of this puzzle which has always left me wondering. Wasn't the guy standing right next to her, or not far from her? Was she whispering into the phone? Wouldn't it seem kind of rude to be describing a guy to the person you're on the phone with as they stood next to you?

Why didn't the abductor strike as soon as he realized his description and vehicle were being given over a phone line.


I say we have several possibilities:

1) The abductor was what most suspect--an unknown serial killer who simply picked Angela randomly and it was a truly a nightmarish and tragic 'wrong place, wrong time' scenario as is very common in cases like this. But that possibility opens up many questions in and of itself.

2) The abductor was someone perhaps hired by people who knew Angela and had a motive to want her dead, Hired would be the right word here because it'd remove any formal--well known--affiliation with the person who hired him, and would explain his hesitation. Someone without any known ties to the people who hired him.

Or perhaps, the abductor was a stalker--someone who had seen Angela somewhere once (at her job at the Bank, maybe, who knows), and began to follow her, wanting her, and decided to make his move that night--the opportunity presented itself perfectly. Perhaps Angela had been followed for days or weeks even without noticing--if you're an unsuspecting, happy teenage person in a small town, you wouldn't expect to be followed and wouldn't be looking over your shoulder.

3) This is unlikely, but perhaps the abductor is younger than we think and was part of a gang, or cult. There are many youth gangs whose initiation rite requires harming or murdering a random person; Usually women are the victims of such attacks. Again unlikely, but possible.

4) Perhaps Angela was unhappy with her life--she was a teenage pregnant girl with separate parents. Maybe this guy was someone she hooked up with whom she thought was a good guy, and she decided to make a clean break with everyone--family, friends, etc--and begin a new life. There were sightings of her in other states and even in Canada into early 1992--nearly a year later. Maybe she staged her abduction, and moved somewhere far away. Perhaps the guy she hooked up with turned out to be bad, or she split from him. Highly unlikely in my opinion, but we don't know what Angie was like thus it can't be ruled out as an impossibility.

If this scenario is true, why hasn't she contacted her family you might ask? There are many reasons for this--Guilt for leaving, regret for it, wanting a clean break, shame, etc, being happy in their new life--A whole variety of reasons why someone who staged such a thing would never even consider revisiting their old life. This is the most positive theory because it'd mean she and her baby are still alive.

5) Of course, the Rob did it theory. He doesn't have to have done the deed himself--He could've had someone do most of the dirty work for him, while he concocted the story. The "bearded, filthy man" who drove a truck that just happened to be just like Rob's own truck may never have existed, and is a great red herring. Perhaps he hired someone to do it, who knows. Motives? Plenty. An attractive man with lots of options in life not wanting to be tied down with a baby and wife at 19 years old; Tensions in the relationship; A desire to please his family (his family may not have liked, accepted or appreciated Angela or their relationship or the pregnancy).


All of these theories have greater or lesser merit. I personally choose theory number 1--the most popular theory--the unknown creepy serial killer theory. The Rob did it angle, which is the second most popular theory, gets too convoluted for it to be fact in my opinion.

The "Angie ran away, started a new life" theory is just a theory thrown in the air as a potential possibility; Without any knowledge of WHO Angela was as a person (her character, sense of morals, etc) or what her home life or background was like, or how she felt about her pregnancy, we have no way to prove or disprove it. The fact that she hasn't been heard from by those who knew her in 20 years is neutral--the clean break element. But it does make this theory seem unlikely compared to the more popular theories.

Things that would really help this case are:
-Knowing what Angela was like as a person. Her personality, the type of people she hung out with, whether she partied or engage in drugs or drinking. Her background--was she a generally happy person? Her family?

-What was/is Rob like as a person? No offense to jocks here, but Rob seemed to be a jock (and this is purely bias) but I've noted jocks to be possessive boyfriends, bad boy types, etc. What was his family like? Their circle? Did he run with a bad crowd or engage in any drugs/alcohol, etc?

-Was Rob and Angie's relationship good? Did the pregnancy affect their relationship for the negative? Did they only get engaged because of the pregnancy; Perhaps their relationship wasn't very committed, but had to become a committed relationship for the sake of the child. How long were they together before she got pregnant?

-How did Angie, Rob, and their respective families feel about the pregnancy?

-Some good info about what the Clinton, MO of 1991 was like--who lived there, etc--would be helpful. Stuff about the rural areas. Any local creeps--every small town has it's share of the local creeps and weirdos. The rural areas--were there any weird, strange mountain type men reported or spoken of in the area in 1991?

-Were there any similar murders or abductions in a 100 mile radius in the period 1990 to 1993? Within say the bordering states? Or in Canada?

-All men arrested for rapes and/or stalking in the several years prior to and after the abduction. Limit it to the surrounding states.

-A comprehensive list of everyone who bought or owned a truck similar to the one described, with a 7 year production range (let's say 1966 to 1973 Model Ford 150) in the 5 years prior to and after the abduction. A simple list of owners of such trucks in 1991 would be helpful by itself.

A lot of this stuff would have to touch on what would be very sensitive ground--the character, nature, and morals of the victim. Some would take investigating into who the victim was as an attack on the victim and say, "Oh, you're blaming the victim, or saying she was a bad person." Victims after being murdered tend to become sacred in a sense; their negative traits or associations glossed over because they are a victim, and this can harm an investigation. It's not an attack on the victim or their character, simply an examination of the case from every possible angle. Such information, about who she was, her bad habits if she had any, any nefarious associations, etc may be helpful.

[mwcarolina]

Curious, you wrote alot of ideas and theories and i tend to agree with what you wrote and still do, i agree with theory number one, BUT you raised a good point on the stalker issue and i could see this guy being a guy who seen her one day and thought that he wanted her and planned it, BUT as of now i still think that this guy was an out of town loner who saw an opportunity and took it, i cant agree with the Rob did it theory because all he has is motive. there's alot that doesnt make sense though if Rob did it like his damaged car, how a young man committing his first murder can be so perfect at it and how he did this unnoticed.

[chacha6581]

I think that he was spending so long looking around his truck and walking by the phone, because he was waiting for Angela to hang up with Rob.... When he saw she was not going to hang up soon, he pounced.

[Corky Kneivel]

Originally Posted by chacha6581

I think that he was spending so long looking around his truck and walking by the phone, because he was waiting for Angela to hang up with Rob.... When he saw she was not going to hang up soon, he pounced.

YUUUUPP!!!

[mwcarolina]

Originally Posted by chacha6581

I think that he was spending so long looking around his truck and walking by the phone, because he was waiting for Angela to hang up with Rob.... When he saw she was not going to hang up soon, he pounced.

i agree, he was likely waiting for her to hang up and she wouldnt so he just said, oh well, let's get her.

[chacha6581]

Look, another creeper in an old truck with a fish decal in the back window:
http://www.gainesville.com/article/2...CLES/110119907

[chacha6581]

Also, does anyone have any pictures of the half brothers and possible suspects jesse rush & marvin chaney ?