1986 hanging of Keith Warren still not solved

[Mr.Clairvoyant]

This one is a difficult one for me, Now it has been about 19 years and this case still has no new leads. no suspects **** no cooperation from the authorities, there needs to be a renewed interest in this case. I am not sure if many of you remember this case.. I have noticed that there is not one single thread on it or mention of it on this forum.. It is featured on Unsolved Mysteries every now and again..

It is the Case of Keith Warren he was a 19-year-old Black high school graduate in Maryland's wealthiest county. In July of 1986, the body of 19-year-old Warren was found hanging from a sapling in a wooded area adjacent to his Aspen Hill neighborhood. According to the family, the case was never fully investigated, and despite the suspicious evidence, it was dismissed by local authorities as a suicide. The family was not notified of the death until after the body had been turned over to a funeral home for embalming. now this is really strange because these decisions are left up to the family to make unless things were different back then.. I am not sure I was only 6 but damn that is enough to say that the authorities were up to no good. Despite the efforts of his mother, Mary Couey, and his sister, Sherri Warren, no action has been taken during the past ten years to solve the chilling crime my every instinct tells me this was cold blooded murder!!! I believe one year after the murder the family gets sent police photos of Keith Hanging in the tree but no police official will go on record and say where these photos came from. But the odd part is they depict Keith Hanging in the tree but the clothes he had on in the photo where different then what he had on that day and different then what the family received back as the personal affects. Really odd Again another clue that the police was somehow involved. then there is the witness also was found dead under peculiar circumstances. He told neighbors that he had information about the crime. The family had the remains exhumed and autopsied, which revealed high levels of lethal toxicants not used during the normal embalming process. A forensic pathologist disputed the claim that the death was a suicide in that the chemicals would have deprived Warren of the ability to hang himself in the tree.. This case gets no exposure not the exposure it deserves!!!

[Kane]

Originally Posted by Mr.Clairvoyant

This case gets no exposure not the exposure it deserves!!!

Mr. Clairvoyant, you are not alone in the belief that any given case gets little or no exposure. I have heard of other situations in which someone was angry or frustrated about the media's inability or (more than likely) unwillingness to present an important case.

One such example is America's Most Wanted host John Walsh. He was frustrated when national media outlets initially refused to air the story of his son Adam's disappearance (before his remains were found), dismissing such a case as "local". (Ultimately, the ABC show Good Morning America agreed to do the story, and a few hours after he appeared on that show, his son was confirmed dead.) This would not be the only time he experienced such a frustrating situation.

As he discussed in his book Public Enemies, he spent months trying to get as many national media outlets as possible to help track a serial killer known as the Railroad Killer (who was later identified as Angel Maturino Resendez). But everyone turned him down, saying that the case was local...even though the killer had already committed murders in at least two states (including Texas and Kentucky). They eventually reconsidered, and featured the story, and the killer was finally caught. But if they had agreed to do the story when they were first asked, the killer would probably have been caught sooner.

While the media can be an effective tool in situations like this, there are, unfortunately, people in the industry who try to find an excuse not to do such important or urgent stories. Such people can be apathetic and/or one-sided. In fact, they can be one-sided enough to glorify murderers, and step on the rights and feelings of the victims and victims' surviving loved ones. Such backward behavior is bound to anger you, but it is an appalling fact. It's also the kind of behavior that you have to watch out for.

[Mr.Clairvoyant]

yeah I guess you are right but a case likes this should gather some attention from the FBI don't you think there are a lot of strange circumstances surrounding this case!

[Kane]

Originally Posted by Mr.Clairvoyant

yeah I guess you are right but a case likes this should gather some attention from the FBI don't you think there are a lot of strange circumstances surrounding this case!

I agree with you 100%. There are cases (including the Keith Warren case)that need more media exposure. That would be using common sense. And it gets very frustrating when common sense is not used when it should be.

[dynoguy88]

This case always seemed so sad besides the obvious case of Keith's death but the refusal of the cooperation from the police to investigate it. Like Keith's mother said at the end of the segment, they are still being faught to reopen the case. All the time is being spent on that instead of trying to find out what really happened to Keith.

I can't imagine the pain the Warren family has to go through every day knowing that they are pretty much on their own in this tragedy and will get no help from the authorities.

[cuba_libre]

This case has always bugged me. First and foremost, the ending of a young person's life is never easy. The whole odd death of his friend, the one with some sort of information to tell Keith's mom, was a little too suspicious and "convenient." Luckily, UM chose to air the story. Hopefully the Waren Family will one day get answers to the case and find an ounce of closure....

[Mr.Clairvoyant]

I truly believe the hanging was done by a police official and there is reason to believe that it may have something to do with it being a hate crime!!

[Awsi Dooger]

That's a case where you need a local investigative reporter, preferably on television, who is willing to put his career (and perhaps life) on the line and make a persistent pest of himself/herself. Get that case in the local spotlight and don't let go. Eventually that forces the police involved to confront and answer the tough questions they obviously want to avoid.

[Mr.Clairvoyant]

Perhaps that is not a bad Idea.. infact that is a great idea

[nohwheregirl]

I noticed something while watching the Keith Warren case on UM today. When the mother and sister receive the mysterious packet of photos, it has a note attached saying that Keith's acquaintance Mark Findley was next. However, when they show the dramatization of finding the note, it has another name written on it as well, just partially covered. So the note says some thing like, "Don't worry, Mark Findley and Le...... are next."

So my question is, who is "Le....", is he still alive, how is he attached to the case, and why didn't they mention him? One guess is that he/she is still alive and they're protecting his/her identity.

The other thing if find strange is that it could not have been a helpful person inside the police department who sent the packet. It was probably somebody who was involved in the alleged murders. But how would they get ahold of official police crime scene photos?? This is truly one of the strangest cases featured on UM, and it's obvious there are people out there who know the entire truth.

[Mr.Clairvoyant]

You are so right nohwjeregirl.. it is rather a strange one which why I don't understand why it did not make the box set for Bizarre Murders.. Second you are right about the name thing I noticed that too and yet Unsolved Mysteries never really elaborated on this other person is.. that could have been for legal reasons, maybe they were able to get in touch with the person to get there consent on naming them as a potential victim of a crime.. Then again maybe the person is some type of witness program and there identity can't be revealed! either way this case really does not get the exposure it deserves!!!

[crystaldawn]

Yes I was thinking about the third unnamed individual as well today when I watched. I wonder if any harm has ever came to him.

What do you guys make of the toxic chemicals in his system? Do you think it was something he inhaled intentionally (you hear about kids doing that in the news sometimes) or do you think someone made him inhale or injest it to render him unconscious so they could hang him in the tree?

[Mr.Clairvoyant]

My thoughts are that he was made to injest the chemicals to either kill him or knock him out to put him in the tree.. that is my theory too Crys

[nohwheregirl]

If he had just been huffing glue and accidentally died, I don't think there would be any reason for a cover-up or any kind of sinister packages mailed to his family.

There have to be rumors that went around about shady people Keith might have been involved with. I just feel like so much was left out of the segment either on purpose or otherwise. It's hard to really get a feel for what went on. As frustrated as I am, I can't even imagine what Keith's family is going through.

I'm just going to throw this out there....
What if Keith was some kind of informant? Would the police have any reason to cover up his murder or sabotage the investigation?

[Kane]

Originally Posted by nohwheregirl

There have to be rumors that went around about shady people Keith might have been involved with. I just feel like so much was left out of the segment either on purpose or otherwise. ?

I would bet that the investigators working on the case were too one-sided to share additional (and potentially contradictory) info with either UM or any other media outlet.

As for the unknown person that was being targeted, I think the name was kept from the public for security purposes. Otherwise, he might have been put in more danger than he was already in. I guess it was a situation where it was better to be safe than sorry.