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Post by Helen Dagner on Dec 19, 2011 2:19:15 GMT -5
With the law it is often rare to find a done deal that closes and shuts a case. That is unless you have genetic or DNA proof. Science is one of the few definitive forms of defense or proof that can either put a criminal behind bars or set him free. A cold case is law enforcement jargon for an unsolved mystery—a case that has since been closed due to a lack of leads or substantial evidence. Kristine disappearance 300x225 DNA Links to Cold Case Sex Crimes and Killings
Newspaper clipping from Mihelich Disappearance
kristine mihelich 110x140 custom DNA Links to Cold Case Sex Crimes and KillingsIn Detroit, a 34 yr-old cold case file was reopened due to new DNA data indicating a recently released felon as a suspect. There was a case of child abductions and murders in Oakland County from February 1976 to February 1977. One of the victims, Kristine Mihelich was found dead at the age of 10. She was missing for 19 days before police found her body. Officials found mitochondrial DNA on her shirt that has recently been matched to James Vincent Gunnel. Gunnel had been best friends with a nephew of a suspected pedophile in the Flint neighborhood. The pedophile, Christopher Busch, had been charged but never convicted of his crimes until he committed suicide in 1978. Shortly after his death the disappearances and murders also stopped. Oakland Kids 330x121 custom DNA Links to Cold Case Sex Crimes and Killings
None of the families of these children have given up. Haunted for many years now, this is the first break the police have gotten in years. With this new found evidence, the family of Kristine Mihelich is demanding answers. Maybe this young girl will finally get justice.
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Post by Helen Dagner on Dec 20, 2011 3:47:44 GMT -5
"One of these days someone is going to pick up a telephone and call one of the victim's parents and say 'I have some news for you.' " said Anger. "I hope that person to make that call is me. It would be a comfort to the family and certainly a highlight to a career." One thing investigators agree upon is that the killer, or someone who witnessed or knew something about the crimes, could still be alive and eager to clear their conscience before they die. Not content with waiting for that one break, they will continue to run down leads, both new and old, said Detective Sgt. Dave Robertson, whose father, retired State Police Capt. Robert Robertson, headed the original task force in the 1970s.
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Post by Helen Dagner on Dec 21, 2011 3:08:05 GMT -5
ARCHIVES
Old murder case revived
By Steve Zucker News-Review staff writer Tuesday, February 22, 2005 3:11 PM EST
and The Associated Press
When the Michigan State Police and a host of other police agencies announced last week that they are blowing the dust off of four 30-year-old unsolved murder files from Oakland County, one Northern Michigan resident took more than a passing interest.
Petoskey resident Deb Jarvis, who works in the News-Review's circulation department, is the mother of one of the four children who were abducted and slain in Oakland County between February 1976 and March 1977.
The bodies of two boys and two girls were found suffocated after they were missing for a period ranging from three to 19 days. Two had been raped and one was also shot in the face with a shotgun.
The victims included 11-year-old Timothy King, 12-year-old Mark Stebbins, 12-year-old Jill Robinson and Jarvis' daughter, 10-year-old Kristine Mihelich.
Kristine was last seen on Jan. 2, 1977, at a 7-Eleven store near 12 Mile and Oakshire, three blocks from her home where she had walked to buy a magazine. Her body was found at noon on Jan. 21 on a rural road near Telegraph and 12 Mile Road in Franklin Village.
Police have long believed that the killings, that drew much media attention, swarms of investigators and terrified suburban Detroit residents for years, are connected.
Police asked Friday for anyone with information on the deaths to report it to police, and said they would begin reanalyzing evidence and leads from thousands of tips using more advanced computer databases and forensic techniques that are now available.
"It's now time to double our efforts and we need your help," state police Detective Sgt. Garry Gray said.
Investigators' last big lead fell apart in November 2000, when DNA from the exhumed body of a suspect failed to match the genetic material in a hair found on one of the suffocated children.
Investigators moved the five file cabinets and 15 boxes containing the case files to Oak Park from state police 2nd District Headquarters in Northville so detectives and forensics experts can go back and review evidence.
What has become known as the "Oakland County Child Killer" case horrified the area, where parents feared to let their children out of their sight. All the children were abducted from suburban business areas.
Investigators have said the exhumed man, David Norbert of Wyoming, was not ruled out as a suspect. He had a necklace inscribed with the first name of Jarvis' daughter, Kristine, and his wife, who provided his alibis, later recanted.
Jarvis said she first learned of the renewed investigation efforts when she received a phone call from Berkeley Police Department Sgt. Ray Anger a week ago.
"He's been with us since day one," Jarvis said of Anger, who still works for the police department and still regularly checks in with the family on the status of the case.
Jarvis said she views the news of the renewed investigation with mixed feelings. On one hand, she said, she's encouraged that the case might yet be solved, but the renewed interest brings back a host of horrible memories.
But those memories are never far from her mind anyway.
"I know for a lot of people closure is important, but for me there was closure in the incident itself," Jarvis said. "There isn't a day that's gone by that Kris hasn't been in my thoughts, but you do learn to accept it and you do go on."
Jarvis said she believes that, despite the amount of time that has passed, "somebody out there does know something, it's just a matter of whether they would come forward."
While Jarvis, along with police, believe the murderer could be dead or in prison, she said she hopes the case can eventually be closed.
"I would love it, if for nothing else, for the sake of the police officers who have been involved over the years," she said.
Jarvis, since divorced and re-married, moved to Northern Michigan about 10 years ago when her current husband retired.
She said seeing the "wonderful people" her three other children have grown into, she often wonders what kind of person Kristine, who was the oldest of her children, might have become as an adult.
Jarvis, who until now has told very few people about her daughter's death, said it has been the support of friends, family and the community at large - both at the time of the incident and since - that has sustained her.
"The support of the community was unbelievable - how everybody pulled together," she said. "We've tried to live one day at a time. You do the best that you can. I guess we are all survivors."
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Post by Helen Dagner on Dec 21, 2011 3:19:58 GMT -5
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Post by Helen Dagner on Dec 22, 2011 0:36:00 GMT -5
The Profile of a Killer
The suspect’s geographic region seems to be the affluent areas of Michigan in the areas that the children lived and their families worked. This tells me that the murderer lived with in that area and that he either knew or stalked both the families and the victims. He would have stalked the families to gather information on the family and on the children themselves. Information, if obtained, he used to get the children to go with him. This is excluding the area known as Cass Corridor. The suspect’s motive does not include pedophilia which seems to the motive of these predators in that area.
The suspect’s ethnic group is a white male with trappings of upper middle class. The term trappings is used because it appeared that he was affluent in society but in truth his family was struggling to make ends meat. This is evident from his testimony that he thought his father was rich but he never shared it with the family and that his mother had to take in laundry so that the family could make it from day to day, or month to month.
The murderer feels that society itself has made him inadequate. That it is society’s fault that he can not hold down a job and that he was denied the life that he saw and thought he was entitled too.
Also, in the suspect’s early years there is a history of mental illness and child abuse. As evidenced by the apathetic and lethargic state that he goes into when he sees it snowing. Further, there appears to be mental illness in his family with his mother in particular hiding in bushes and jumping out and scaring the neighborhood children. This all appears to be symptoms of/ or maniac depressive or schizophrenia.
The murderer’s spiritual orientation appears to be Roman Catholic. To which might be a tie to a couple of the victims.
There is a definite history of violent and victimization in the suspects early part of his life. It is believed that the suspect was molested at school and/ or maybe his father at least 3-4 times during his life between the ages of 10 to 14 years of age around the age groups of the victims that he chose.
Though, his father admitted that he took his children to the park during the snow that they seemed to enjoy the time. I believe it was these times that the suspect was victimized by his father.
The suspect’s attitude about the Law enforcement is one of mockery. He feels the he will never be caught and that they are inadequate to catch him.
On several occasions the suspect has called law enforcement to provide information and he has even tried to contact victim’s families.
His profession or work consists of various seasonal jobs that would have allowed him to commit the murders with in the time frame that they have occurred.
The suspect is a male who appears to be in the age range of early twenties to early thirties.
The suspect appears to be delusional, his delusion is that society has destroyed his potential to be wealthy and well educated and he is going to save his victim’s from the same fate while dealing a blow to that society that has corrupted and denied him his chance at a happy and productive life.
Mo: The suspect takes the children from their neighborhoods, holds for a period of time. Feeding them and when he kills them clinically cleans their bodies to leave no trace evidence. Suspect also feeds the children their favorite foods. It is this type of behavior that has the media dubbing him “The Babysitter.”
These types of murders are a crime of passion. In both the motive for the killings and how he cared for the children before he killed them.
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Post by Helen Dagner on Dec 23, 2011 4:54:39 GMT -5
Accuracy of warrant debated in '70s cases September 2, 1999 BY HUGH McDIARMID JR. FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER The suspect in the four Oakland County child killings whose body was exhumed Tuesday in Wyoming may be linked to a fifth murder and a child who has been missing for 20 years. According to a search warrant unsealed Wednesday in Campbell County, Wyo., Oakland County investigators believe David Norberg was involved in the murder of a Royal Oak girl whose body was found in an Ohio river in 1976, and a Warren girl who disappeared in 1979 and was never found. The warrant also says Norberg may have possessed three pieces of jewelry similar to those owned by three of the victims, and says Norberg sexually and physically abused his wife and sister -- sometimes in ways mimicking the abuse inflicted on some murder victims. Bone and tissue samples from Norberg were taken during Tuesday's exhumation in hopes of linking him through DNA testing to a strand of hair found on victim Timothy King. Two additional pieces of hair were found inside another victim's mouth, and sperm was recovered from another body, according to the warrant. But investigators said Wednesday that there was no such evidence. "The warrant may say that, but it's not correct," said Berkley Detective Ray Anger, who has led the exhumation and testing. The warrant says Jane Louise Allen, 13 at the time, disappeared in August 1976 after leaving her boyfriend's Pontiac house intending to hitchhike back to Royal Oak. Her body was found four days later in the Greater Miami River in Ohio. Her hands were tied behind her back with torn pieces of a T-shirt in a method identical to the way Norberg occasionally bound his wife, Sharon Norberg, the warrant says. "The T-shirt was torn into strips of cloth tied together to form a rope with knots tied every few inches along its length," states the warrant. "Sharon Norberg also said that David Norberg had, on occasion, bound her hands behind her back using a rope with knots tied every few inches." Norberg also abused his sister and wife, according to the warrant. He "would pinch their noses and cover their mouths with his hands until they almost lost consciousness," states the warrant -- a method likely used to kill 10-year-old Kristine Mihelich, one of the child killer's victims, according to the autopsy report. Kimberly King, a Warren 12-year-old who disappeared while walking in her neighborhood in September 1979, also could be linked to Norberg, according to the warrant. Norberg lived two streets from her. Sharon Norberg also told investigators that Norberg quit driving his blue Opel after investigators questioned him in the child killings. The Opel, like the blue Gremlin identified by a witness as possibly belonging to the killer, is a compact car. Norberg resumed driving the Opel after moving to sparsely populated Recluse, Wyo., in 1980. He was killed in a car wreck less than a year later. Sharon Norberg also recalled three pieces of jewelry in his belongings that she gave away after his 1981 death: A silver cross inscribed "Kristine" that has been identified by Mihelich's aunt as identical to one owned by Kristine Mihelich. Police recovered the cross from Norberg's sister. A St. Christopher's medal similar to one owned by victim Timothy King that hasn't been seen by his family since his murder. A green worm pin similar to one owned by victim Jill Robinson that hasn't been seen by her family since her killing. The ex-wife said she forgot to whom she gave the medal and the pin, the warrant said. Reference to the sperm and additional hair samples in the warrant came directly from original investigative documents, said Jim Halushka, chief of warrants for the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office. He said that if that evidence doesn't exist -- as Anger contends -- it's news to him. "Either Ray was confused or in error when he told you that," Halushka said Wednesday. The sperm reference "was directly written on the autopsy report," and transferred to the warrant request that Anger reviewed and approved, he said. Anger said he was unaware of errors in the warrant. Investigators have said the presence of sperm noted in the original autopsy report on the killer's first known victim, Mark Stebbins, was later determined to be incorrect. The hairs in Kristine Mihelich's mouth were eventually identified as her own, and an animal's, Anger said. Steven Lorch, laboratory director for the State Police Northville Forensic Laboratory that is preparing the evidence to be sent to the FBI lab in Washington, said he's unaware of DNA evidence other than the one hair. "That's all there is," he said. HUGH McDIARMID Jr. can be reached at 248-
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Post by Helen Dagner on Dec 23, 2011 7:59:17 GMT -5
The Detroit Free Press article on September 8, 1978, appears to be
the last public word on the possible involvement of a Pontiac in these crimes. I believe this information was both inaccurate and incomplete.
The most critical part of the car information came from Kristine's
crime scene. The mailman who found her was bored and was driving along following in some fresh tire tracks that had been left in the powdery snow on secluded Bruce Lane. He followed these tracks until they came to a point where they swerved across the road. At this point, he saw Kristine's body. The imprints in the snow indicated that the car had swerved to turn around at the crest of a hill, at the point where the driver would have first seen the houses down below in a cul de sac. As it turned around, the front left side of the car left a mark in the snow. The car backed up and struck the opposite snow bank, leaving an impression of not only the bumper, but the rear undercarriage of the car. The car then completed the turn and footprints were left in the snow leading to the body.
The bumper/car imprints were photographed but not actually measured
at the scene. Police took these photos to car manufacturers in an effort to identify the car. The only positive response was from GM, who provided the names of several models which could have left the impressions, but without more specific measurements, they could not make further identification. LE then took the photos to an trained photo interpreter who was ultimately able to figure the measurements within 1/32 of an inch. The interpreter also noted that there was a trailer hitch on the car and that it had been pulled to the left, as in an accident. There was obviously a lag time between the first go- round with the car manufacturers and the subsequent GM inquiry after measurements had been figured. GM reviewed the more specific measurements and reported that the car involved was a 1971 or 1972 Pontiac LeMans. I believe the police and the FBI know exactly which year--1971 or 1972. An FBI agent worked on this project along with local LE.
I believe, but I cannot prove, that this much more specific determination of car model was made in June 1978. If that is the case, I have no explanation why the press release is issued three months later or why it inaccurately states that the vehicle in question was a 1964-1967 Pontiac Tempest or Buick Skylark. Wikipedia describes the 1971 LeMans as an upscale Tempest, and states that all three of these GM cars in fact shared what was known as a "Y" body"-- a semi-universal car body that was then modified according to model. It would make sense that the initial response might mention these three vehicles as possibilities, since no actual measurements were provided, but the second response was quite specific--a 1971 or 1972 Pontiac LeMans with a V-8 engine. Again, I have been unable to find any indication that this more specific information was ever provided to the public. The task force ran out of funds and was dissolved some three months after this Free Press article ran.
Why else is this so relevant and disturbing? Because the man who saw the car on the left side of the shoulder of N.B. I-75 at 3:30 a.m., near where Jill's body was found hours later told police he thought the car was LEMANS because he had owned a LeMans in the past and recognized the make/model. This witness also described primer spots on the left side of the vehicle. I believe this same witness stated that the left taillight was broken. (Damage to left side of vehicle--consistent with the much later observation by the photo interpreter that the car had a trailer hitch that had been pulled an inch or so to the left.)
Furthermore, as stated in the 1978 article, which was based on a press release from the task force, a small, shiny Pontiac or Buick was seen near where Mark's body was found. No color could be given-- just that it was "shiny." A lot of Pontiacs and Buicks from that era look very similar, but this seems very relevant in light of the car seen on I-75 and the car impressions left at Bruce Lane.
The color blue is mentioned in the article, but I cannot determine
where this description came from, nor can I determine if they are talking dark blue, light blue, shiny blue. I don't know how "blue" figures in, just that this color is referenced .
Attempts to have this information about the LeMans released by LE post-2005 have been rejected. I have reason to believe that two Detroit-area press reporters learned of this information at some point in the last two years, but they either did not follow up or were somehow convinced the story had no merit or would not be helpful in solving these crimes.
All of this being said, the world does not need to know about every
creep who drove or could have borrowed a 5 or 6-year-old LeMans in 1977 in Oakland County. But if someone knows about a 1971 or 1972 LEMANS WHICH IN LATE 1976 HAD PRIMER SPOTS ON THE LEFT SIDE, A BROKEN LEFT TAILLIGHT AND A TRAILER HITCH THAT WAS PULLED TO THE LEFT IN SOME TOWING-RELATED ACCIDENT, THAT WOULD BE EXTREMELY RELEVANT. These specific markers could have been noticed by a neighbor, gas station attendant or mechanic. Someone could have been a passenger in such a car when there was an accident that damaged the left side of the car, probably while it was towing something. Poke holes in my statements and assumptions all you want, but I would bet my life that if this guy is ever caught, he drove or had access to this car.
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Post by Helen Dagner on Dec 26, 2011 15:19:35 GMT -5
Distance From The Killers Lair~ Victim Kristine: Distance from where taken: 12 mile and Greenfield Rd: 6.2 miles, 13 mins, Berkley Police Distance to drop: Bruce Lane, 13 mile and Telegraph Rd: 3 miles, 6 mins, Franklin Police
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Post by Helen Dagner on Dec 27, 2011 0:12:31 GMT -5
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Post by Helen Dagner on Dec 28, 2011 2:21:39 GMT -5
FOIA~Great minds think alike-BLK-01612-March 11,1992-Don Studt- Spoke by phone for a very long time with retired Lt' Robertson who was the original Occk Task Force Commander -Robertson said there is no specific eliminator list that he could,with any confidence,give Don.Some of the questions that have always been in his mind,however,was an orange mark on the ankle of Timmy King,how carbon monoxide was in the lungs of Kristine. He also wondered the significance of a pair of wet panties in Jill backpack.He also said that there were fibers from Jill,which tied her to the other incidents.He was not comfortable saying there was any information that only the police had after this length of time and the number of people that have worked on the case,and the number of news reports.
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Post by Helen Dagner on Dec 28, 2011 16:48:36 GMT -5
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Post by Helen Dagner on Dec 29, 2011 0:03:16 GMT -5
Name: Kristine Mihelich Birth Date: 25 Apr 1966 Death Date: 21 Jan 1977 Gender: Female Residence: Berkley, Oakland, Michigan Place of Death: Franklin, Oakland, Michigan/{the Michigan death record dates }
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Post by Helen Dagner on Dec 30, 2011 1:59:29 GMT -5
Psychic report~I haven't been talking to Kris very much, or I should say she hasn't been coming forward to talk to me. Except for telling me the killer touched her shoes, she has been pretty silent and preoccupied. In her own little world.
Last night I asked her to come and talk. She said that she is busy. I asked what she is doing. She said she is getting ready to come back to earth for a new life. I wasn't expecting her to say anything like that. I was silent.
She said she is going to born into a military family in Guam. That it is part of her soul's lessons to learn why the killer did the things he did. Being that his father had been in the military, and was so abusive. She needs to experience that, in order to fully understand, forgive him and move on. And she needs to come back far away from where her death occured.
HeIen, I don't know what to make of any of this. Reincarnation isn't one of my areas of knowledge. I do know, if this is true, I may not be able to reach her. I am going to start working with her right away. I have no idea about any of this.
I have heard, that there is something called The Akashic Records. It is supposed to be, where every thought, word and deed of each person is recorded. A universal memory, so to speak. I have read of people being able to go into these records and getting information. I think it is through meditation. I don't know. You may need another psychic that can do this. If this is the case, be assured, one will show up in your life.
My sister-in-law is getting here in a few hours, and I had better get running. She is the one who had the dream about the corduroy pants, the small boy and the name Claire. I'm sure we will be talking about our dreams while she is here. As she knows nothing about these cases, there may be other dreams, she has had, that are connected. She would have no idea.
Will try to stay in touch with you the next few weeks, and keep up with reading the site.
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Post by Helen Dagner on Dec 31, 2011 1:11:11 GMT -5
1977- "Berkley police refused the offer of assistance of the State Police and Sheriff's Department after the dissapearence [sic] of 10-year-old Kristine Mihelich of Berkley and only after her body was found in Franklin . . . did the Franklin chief turn the investigation over to the state police, Spreen said." The News reported that according to Spreen, "[t]hat afternoon, 30 investigators committed themselves to find the murderer of Kristine Mihelich" and "[t]he Oakland County Task Force was implemented. The work of the task force was hampered from the start by many problems. It was discovered that one jurisdiction charged with the investigation had virtually no report and in another jurisdiction, evidence had been misplaced and mishandled. The investigative team was forced to investigate one of the slayings from the very beginning. Another agency was reluctant to submit their report to the task force."
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Post by Helen Dagner on Jan 1, 2012 17:35:06 GMT -5
Posted at Topix-Kristine Mihelich's funeral WAS NOT held at the Shrine of the Little Flower Church. Trust me I was there.....at the funeral. It was held at the Sullivan Funeral Home in Royal Oak.
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