New article about the unidentified couple murdered in South Carolina - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Kane · 04-05-2008, 02:49 PM

Remember the 1995 segment that included a profile of a unidentified couple found murdered in South Carolina in 1976? There is a new article about the case. The article is titled "The couple nobody claimed."

It briefly mentions the fact that Unsolved Mysteries featured the case, and that the broadcast of the segment resulted in 200 calls. But those calls were pursued to no avail. The article also mentions that the investigators now believe the couple may have been from Canada.

Beneath this post is a link to the article. It also has a link to a photo gallery. This includes pictures of jewelery they had in their possession, a watch (one of them was wearing an Accutron watch), and the victims themselves. But I should warn you that the pictures of the murder victims may be difficult to look at.

http://www.nationalpost.com/national...html?id=420192

pardilia · 04-05-2008, 05:21 PM

I've been reading about the Canadian possibility on forums and websites for *years* now. Its appalling to me that they "now" believe a fact that has been around for years. Yay.

I'm thrilled its in the news, but I've had a passing interest in this case and knew everything in the article already...so its not like some "oh wow, we just discovered all this a week or two back". It's more of "oh wow, we just decided maybe we should notify the public and not just the few curious who care enough and know enough to search out the information."

The information in the article I found out through doenetwork and posts/links from websleuths.com...

nohwheregirl · 04-05-2008, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by idyla

I've been reading about the Canadian possibility on forums and websites for *years* now. Its appalling to me that they "now" believe a fact that has been around for years. Yay.

I'm thrilled its in the news, but I've had a passing interest in this case and knew everything in the article already...so its not like some "oh wow, we just discovered all this a week or two back". It's more of "oh wow, we just decided maybe we should notify the public and not just the few curious who care enough and know enough to search out the information."

The information in the article I found out through doenetwork and posts/links from websleuths.com...

I agree. None of the info in the article is really new, although I thank Kane for posting the link. The photos are new to me, though. Those were really tough to look at. I'm not sure who's to blame, if anyone, but I wish LE would be a little more savvy about using the media in cases like these. I'm glad they at least gave credit to the online community for there tireless efforts in publicizing and discussing this case.

This is another frustrating case of, "Why isn't anybody looking for them?" coupled with a murder mystery. I wonder if they will update the case on the new version of UM?

Tighthead · 04-06-2008, 06:11 PM

The DNA testing will determine if they were siblings. That is critical.

This has always struck me as one of the most solvable unsolved mysteries. By publishing this in the National Post, more Canadians will be aware of the couple, which may help.

pardilia · 04-07-2008, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tighthead

The DNA testing will determine if they were siblings. That is critical.

This has always struck me as one of the most solvable unsolved mysteries. By publishing this in the National Post, more Canadians will be aware of the couple, which may help.

I agree - it seems very solvable.

Well, what concerns me is the time/age that they went missing, it wasn't uncommon/unheard of that a son choosing not to follow in his father's footsteps to be disowned. I would not be surprised if at least the family of the man (assuming that they aren't related. :P) already knows that he is dead and feel that it is what can happen to someone when they don't do what their parents think is best. Or they could be grieving tremendously, but do not want to claim the victim because then 'everyone will know what happened.' While I *truly* hope that is not the case, I don't think it is outside the realm of possibilities.

So...perhaps its already 'solved', and nobody knows except the family/ies.

Drakken · 04-08-2008, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tighthead

The DNA testing will determine if they were siblings. That is critical.

Hadn't it already been ruled out that they were siblings? I thought I had read somewhere that DNA testing determined that they were not blood-related.

Drakken · 04-08-2008, 12:09 PM

EDIT: Nevermind, the article mentions the couple being killed with a bullet under the chin.

Tighthead · 04-09-2008, 04:58 PM

The general impression I get of this one is that the victims seemed reasonably well to do - the sort of people who would ordinarily be missed, unlike some who exist on the margins. Even if disowned, I would suspect that someone in the family (sibling, cousin, who knows) would step forward. Since that hasn't happened, I wonder if a family member was directly involved, and then told a lie about the disappearance to the rest of the family - i.e. stated they were killed in a car accident or plane crash. Sort of like how we believe our childhood dogs were taken to a "farm" instead of the vets to be gassed.

Corky Kneivel · 04-10-2008, 04:00 PM

This case has always intrigues me, ever since I read about it on the AMW website many years ago. At the time I was unaware UM ever did a segment on them.

Two comments:

1. I read the article but I failed to notice if there was a specific mention as to what this "new evidence" that they came from Canada is. Unless they only recently discovered the testimony from that campground runner who played pool with the "Jock" guy.

2. And this is really kinda dark, but...isn't it weird how different people look after they've been autopsied? To me it was obvious that the photos of the man and woman were pre and post autopsy with the post-autopsy photos being the ones with the dried hair. I understand the process of pulling someones face off their skull and stretching it back into place would cause some distortion but I think its done a great disservice that they've only released drawings based on the post-autopsy photos. To me they look like two different people. However i do understand the reticency in releasing the more unsettling morgue photos.

johnnyangel · 04-12-2008, 07:07 PM

Here's a question, though:

Couldnt they have compared the DNA of both of them to each other to see if they are/were related as brother and sister??

Tighthead · 04-27-2008, 01:48 PM

I think that I read somewhere that they were doing DNA testing in Texas to determine if they are siblings. It is low priority, due to the passage of time. I would suspect that the massive DNA testing relating to the polygamy compound will put the testing even further on the back burner...

04-05-2008, 02:49 PM	#1
Kane Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 07, 2001 Location: MA, United States Posts: 3,367	New article about the unidentified couple murdered in South Carolina Remember the 1995 segment that included a profile of a unidentified couple found murdered in South Carolina in 1976? There is a new article about the case. The article is titled "The couple nobody claimed." It briefly mentions the fact that Unsolved Mysteries featured the case, and that the broadcast of the segment resulted in 200 calls. But those calls were pursued to no avail. The article also mentions that the investigators now believe the couple may have been from Canada. Beneath this post is a link to the article. It also has a link to a photo gallery. This includes pictures of jewelery they had in their possession, a watch (one of them was wearing an Accutron watch), and the victims themselves. But I should warn you that the pictures of the murder victims may be difficult to look at. http://www.nationalpost.com/national...html?id=420192

04-05-2008, 05:21 PM	#2
pardilia Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 09, 2007 Posts: 170	I've been reading about the Canadian possibility on forums and websites for years now. Its appalling to me that they "now" believe a fact that has been around for years. Yay. I'm thrilled its in the news, but I've had a passing interest in this case and knew everything in the article already...so its not like some "oh wow, we just discovered all this a week or two back". It's more of "oh wow, we just decided maybe we should notify the public and not just the few curious who care enough and know enough to search out the information." The information in the article I found out through doenetwork and posts/links from websleuths.com...

04-06-2008, 06:11 PM	#4
Tighthead Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 15, 2006 Posts: 199	The DNA testing will determine if they were siblings. That is critical. This has always struck me as one of the most solvable unsolved mysteries. By publishing this in the National Post, more Canadians will be aware of the couple, which may help.

04-08-2008, 12:09 PM	#7
Drakken Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 21, 2007 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 364	EDIT: Nevermind, the article mentions the couple being killed with a bullet under the chin.

04-09-2008, 04:58 PM	#8
Tighthead Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 15, 2006 Posts: 199	The general impression I get of this one is that the victims seemed reasonably well to do - the sort of people who would ordinarily be missed, unlike some who exist on the margins. Even if disowned, I would suspect that someone in the family (sibling, cousin, who knows) would step forward. Since that hasn't happened, I wonder if a family member was directly involved, and then told a lie about the disappearance to the rest of the family - i.e. stated they were killed in a car accident or plane crash. Sort of like how we believe our childhood dogs were taken to a "farm" instead of the vets to be gassed.

04-10-2008, 04:00 PM	#9
Corky Kneivel Member Forum Regular Join Date: Feb 12, 2007 Location: Sacratomato Posts: 570	This case has always intrigues me, ever since I read about it on the AMW website many years ago. At the time I was unaware UM ever did a segment on them. Two comments: 1. I read the article but I failed to notice if there was a specific mention as to what this "new evidence" that they came from Canada is. Unless they only recently discovered the testimony from that campground runner who played pool with the "Jock" guy. 2. And this is really kinda dark, but...isn't it weird how different people look after they've been autopsied? To me it was obvious that the photos of the man and woman were pre and post autopsy with the post-autopsy photos being the ones with the dried hair. I understand the process of pulling someones face off their skull and stretching it back into place would cause some distortion but I think its done a great disservice that they've only released drawings based on the post-autopsy photos. To me they look like two different people. However i do understand the reticency in releasing the more unsettling morgue photos.

04-12-2008, 07:07 PM	#10
johnnyangel Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 08, 2002 Posts: 329	Here's a question, though: Couldnt they have compared the DNA of both of them to each other to see if they are/were related as brother and sister??

04-27-2008, 01:48 PM	#11
Tighthead Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 15, 2006 Posts: 199	I think that I read somewhere that they were doing DNA testing in Texas to determine if they are siblings. It is low priority, due to the passage of time. I would suspect that the massive DNA testing relating to the polygamy compound will put the testing even further on the back burner...