The Oakland County Child Killer entry I did back on July 20, 2005 remains a popular entry. (If you are not familiar with this case, you can find the entry in the archives.)
I don't think it remained popular because it is so light and heartwarming but because it not only remains an unsolved mystery, it created a real live bogeyman for those of us who grew up in Southeast Michigan at the time.
Recently, there has been a lot of buzz on the case and it is being revisited by the investigators in an active way. In August of 2005, four DNA samples were sent to the FBI lab in Quantico; two of deceased potential suspects and two specimens from live suspects who's identities were not being disclosed so as not to hinder the investigation.
Some viable suspects have been considered recently. Among them are a priest who eventually was sent back to Sweden. Investigators tried to link him to the killings and even requested help from Interpol, but there was no evidence he was involved in the OCCK. Since he was under suspicion and was sent back to Sweden, I have to imagine he was up to something nefarious somehow.
Richard Lawson, another potential suspect, had worked with the police back when the OCCK case was active as a sort of liaison between the sleazy pedophile world and the gay community and the police. You have to realize, back then, people were not so enlightened to understand that pedophiles weren't gay or straight; pedophiles like kids of whatever sex they happen to like. It's the kid thing, not the sexual orientation. Lawson was recently convicted for a long ago murder and was offered a plea bargain in which he would give information about the OCCK in return for the opportunity to choose where he would serve his life sentence. He declined the offer but it should be noted that I couldn't find any reference as to why he declined the offer; did he just not have any useful information or was he not willing to share that information?
Another potential suspect is a lovely guy by the name of Grant. Grant's son found a trunk of his father's that was filled with an amazing array of bizarre shit. Children's baby teeth, locks of hair, newspaper clippings of Michigan's Most Wanted, several papers referring to the son that were obviously fake, pictures with the son's name on the back that don't appear to be the son. In addition, Grant is a convicted child killer. In 1970, he was living with a girlfriend in Indiana and one of her sons died while Grant was bathing both sons. He was convicted of that charge and sentenced to an Indiana prison, which he escaped from in 1973. He was in Michigan in 1976 and 1977, when the OCCK occurred, living under an alias. He sexually and physically abused his son and indeed, was sent back to prison in Indiana after being arrested for domestic violence against one of his sons and his true identity was revealed.
The most compelling suspect, however, is James Donald Moore. I know I tend to overuse this word to describe these criminals, but Moore is a monster. Thankfully, he is safely locked away in the lovely Gus Harrison Correctional Center in Adrian, Michigan. For life.
Some of Moore's past convictions include child molestation in 1968 in Mt. Clemons, Michigan; sexual battery of a minor in 1978 in Southfield, Michigan, which was dismissed although I can't find any documentation as to the reason is was dismissed; and in 1987, child molestation in Lakewood, Ohio. Between the dismissed charges in Michigan in '78 and the charge in Ohio in '87, he moved to Cleveland and married a woman with children. She owned a blue Gremlin, long believed to be the car involved in the OCCK. He used it for frequent trips to Michigan to allegedly visit family.
At the time the OCCK were occurring, from February of 1976 until March of 1977, Moore was single. He met and married a woman from Ohio in August of 1977. This was an obvious ploy to conceal his true proclivities since he was a closeted gay who also happened to be a pedophile. He was not interested in sex with consenting adult males,although he thought he was, he was interested in sex with male children. So I guess that makes him just a pedophile, since gay males don't pursue children as sexual partners.
Other compelling facts: Moore was a neat freak. People seeing his house would have guessed he had a very thorough paid cleaning lady but he in fact cleaned himself and was obsessive about it. All of the victims of the OCCK had been well cared for and kept for a period before being found. They showed signs of bathing, nail clipping, and attention to personal cleanliness.
Moore was raised by very strict, very strange parents.
Moore was a truck driver. Itinerant lifestyle. Moore was also convicted of assaulting DJ Dempsey in Michigan. He is in prison for the particularly heinous death of Justin Bogdanik, who was found, barely alive, eyes Krazy Glued shut and horribly beaten, sexually assaulted, right here in Livingston County. Moore had lured Bogdanik by offering him money to help unload Moore's semi.
The similarities are striking. Moore preyed on victims who were vulnerable. Some were young, some were vulnerable in other ways, as in being homeless or drug addicts who were hustling for their next fix. Only the boys in the OCCK were sexually molested, the girls were not, as Amy Mihaljevic in Ohio was not sexually assaulted. All of the victims were also left near major roadways, so they were found very easily, as if the killer was giving himself a trophy for his handiwork.
According to an article in the Detroit Free Press, one of the suspects being investigated is from Cleveland. I hope it is Moore. He has left a devastating trail of victims who have a lot in common in with OCCK's victims.
According to Detective Anger, the cop who is revisiting the OCCK, Someone knows Something.
very interesting blog concerning the occk. i was 10 at the time of the abductions, and even though we lived in saline, just outside of ann arbor, my mother was paranoid about my safety. she had experience with serial killers as my sister was a teen running around ann arbor during the John Norman Collins years.....just a side note: my sister drove a blue gremlin with a black stripe along the bottom from 74-77. i was with her on more than one occasion when she was pulled over by police and questioned about the vehicle and who had access to the car. if you were in elementary school in michigan during this time, you'll probably remember patch the pony and his moto...nea nea from strangers stay away!
Posted by: ann | January 05, 2008 at 10:05 PM