Delayed Justice

Keeping the images and names of the murdered or disappeared before the pubic is a very good idea. Grand Rapids’ Silent Observer has now posted seven large reminders that the murderers of Christopher “Joel” Battaglia, 23, Patricia Glass, 39, Bonita Oom, 34, Brian Martinez, 22, Terrance L. Stokes Jr., 20, Khiry Jalon Walker, 17, and Alan Wayne Foster, 41, have so far eluded the punishment that’s owing them for their crimes.

You can read the first story from MLive by Andrew Krietz here in “Billboards to feature four of Grand Rapids’ unsolved murders,” and the second, “Silent Observer places three more billboards in attempt to solve Grand Rapids’ cold cases.”

This is a great way to apply and keep up the pressure that is now needed to solve these crimes. We’re certain that someone knows something; the need is for that someone to come forward, even if anonymously. Silent Observer…emphasis if needed on the S-I-L-E-N-T….616-774-2345 or toll free at 1-866-774-2345.

Oh, my. So much for the stereotype of the sweet, gentle, and understanding grandmother. Seventy-four-year-old Lois Arlene Janish has been charged with open murder related to the 1998 disappearance of her granddaughter, 14-year-old Coral Hall. Here’s the story from WNEM TV, Channel 5 in Saginaw.

Carefully and thoroughly.

Those are the watchwords for the investigation of the 1989 murder of Newaygo’s Shannon Marie Siders. The 18 year old was abducted overnight July 17-18, 1989, and her remains were found Oct. 15 of that year.

In late 2011 a cold case team picked up on the still unsolved crime. The team was led by Michigan State Police D/Sgt. Scott Rios.  He was joined by Newaygo Chief of Police Pat Hedlund, D/Sgt. Adam Mercer of the Newaygo County Sheriff’s Department, and D/Sgt. John Forner and D/Trooper Mike Stephens, both of the Michigan State Police.

At the start of their work the complaint was more than 1200 pages. You can imagine the size of it now with more than a year’s full-time investigation added to it.

“The unit did a phenomenal job. They literally left no stone unturned.” That’s the assessment of Newaygo County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Springstead.

And their work, while not entirely finished, is no longer consuming all their days. “New information does come in and the members of the team respond, but they no longer work on this case full time,” Springstead said.

In fact, their work is now awaiting the assessment of the state’s Attorney General.

Springstead and the team have met with members of the AG’s office several times, the first to present the case.

“The investigative team and I met with personnel from the Attorney General’s office and did a file review,” said Springstead. “We’ve met once or twice since then, and we’re still in the process of review; the file is still under review for bringing potential charges. (…) Now we’re looking at whether we can prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”

That’s what it takes: beyond a reasonable doubt.

And that’s why it needs to be careful and thorough.

The video hosting service we used–BlipTV–has let us know that we are not the clients it wants. BlipTV is interested in episodic television and that isn’t us. We’re grateful that we’ve been able to pay to use that service for the last seven years, but things change. So, July 15, all our video will be non-functional until we are able to devote the several hundred hours to uploading all of it again to a different host service.  At this point we’re looking at Vimeo, but I need to make sure we can have a long run with that service.

Meanwhile, we are looking for more information, still, concerning Ann Maria McCorvey. We’ve come up with zip so far…no newspaper articles about her murder. Is it possible that we have a wrong death date? Perhaps. Or could this murder just have slipped through the cracks of the reporting system? Doesn’t seem likely. Newspapers then did a pretty thorough job of getting everything.

Too, we’ve been doing some groundwork on what might be the next case we investigate for a film. We thought we had one pretty well lined up and then it seemed to grow hot again…it was being worked. That’s the best of all outcomes; that something develops and investigators follow leads. We’re standing by.

Ana Maria MCorvey went missing in Detroit June 21, 1981. Her body was found June 26 in the trunk of her car. According to her sister, she had been stabbed multiple times with an ice-pick and her purse was never found.

Ann Maria Calvey was born in Scotland, Nov. 17, 1948.  She married John Preston McCorvey in England Sept. 2, 1971. McCorvey had left the U.S. Air Force after 20 years of service and the couple returned to John’s hometown, Detroit, in 1972. Evidently John died in 1989. He may have moved to Oakland County and been remarried.

We do not know where she worked. We do not know any motive for the crime. We do not know, we do not know…. Do  you?

We have an associate researcher in Detroit who is going to try to find out more. Anything you can add will be greatly appreciated.