The Unsolved Murder of Jennifer Lynn Stone

The Unsolved Murder of Jennifer Lynn Stone
by Robert A. Waters

In 1983, I received my Master’s Degree from the University of Georgia. Even though it’s been two-and-a-half decades since I last returned, I have fond memories of the place. At the time, Athens was a beautiful city with narrow roads, centuries-old trees, and antebellum homes. Downtown had a typical collegiate flavor. I remember that there was a bookstore beneath the sidewalk on Main Street and artsy, trendy businesses all along the road. It was close to that location in 1992 that a student named Jennifer Lynn Stone was murdered. Even though police obtained a DNA profile of the killer, he has never been caught.

Jennifer Lynn Stone was a pretty advertising student at the University of Georgia. Her drive, personality, and intelligence made her a sure success in her chosen field. In the early morning hours of April 23, 1992, Jennifer stepped outside her home on North Hull Street. A few minutes later, she returned to a nightmare.

Athens-Clarke County police investigators later surmised that a burglar entered her house during the brief time she was away. When Jennifer came back inside, she was forced to her bedroom and raped. Then the rapist strangled her to death.

The assailant left Jennifer’s home, described by an Athens Banner-Herald reporter as a “carriage house,” and walked down the street to where a crack dealer waited. “We know that Jenny was...alive at 1:00 a.m.,” former investigator J. W. Smith said, “because that’s when her boyfriend called to check on her...Her cameras were being sold or traded for dope at around 3:00 a.m.”

During interrogations, local dope dealers told cops the assailant was a stranger to them. Investigators figured he was passing through. He was described as a light-skinned African-American with a thin mustache. DNA collected from the scene confirmed that he was of mixed race. Investigators later took samples from dozens of people, but none matched.

After murdering the innocent coed, the killer calmly walked down West Hancock Avenue and ended up at a pool hall “where the dopers hung out.” According to the Banner-Herald, “the man traded one of Stone’s cameras there for a rock of crack cocaine, then crossed West Broad Street to trade the other camera for more crack at the Parkview Homes housing complex.”

The next morning, Jennifer was scheduled to meet several classmates to work on a project for their advertising class. After she failed to show up, friends stopped by to investigate. They found Jennifer lying motionless on the floor in her home.

Most investigators think the killer was a transient who quickly left Athens behind in a Greyhound Bus. The depot was close by, and it would have been easy for him to catch a ride and never be seen again.

Each month, year after year, police submit the murderer’s DNA profile into the FBI’s national database, hoping for a match. Someday they might get lucky: the killer no doubt was a crackhead who has probably been arrested numerous times--that is, if he’s still alive.

The Athens Banner-Herald once sued the department to obtain files from the case under Georgia’s open records law. They lost the suit, however, so much of the information obtained by police will remain secret until the culprit is caught. Or until investigators determine that he may have died of old age.

Anyone who has information on this case should contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-597-TIPS.

Down for the count

Corbett vs. Mitchell (This inaccurate painting shows the two pugilists with bare knuckles in their championship match. Actually, they wore gloves under the recently adopted Marquess of Queensberry rules.)

Down for the count
by Robert A. Waters

The morning of January 25, 1894 broke in Jacksonville, Florida with thunderous claps of lightning and a heavy downpour. Not exactly what the members of the Duval Athletic Club had hoped for. At two-thirty that afternoon, a heavyweight title fight was scheduled. Because of the political overtones, the whole civilized world would be watching.

“Uncivilized.” The catch-phrase rang from newspaper to newspaper as editors and politicians and the intelligentsia lined up against the public in a fight to the finish. Boxing, the high-hats grumbled, is not civilized. In addition to violence, it breeds gambling and liquor. (At the time, even popular sports such as football and baseball were frowned on by many elites.)

Members of the Duval Athletic Club countered. Boxing is a sport, they contended, a “scientific glove contest.” In fact, the Marquess of Queensberry rules had been adopted a few years earlier, doing away with the brutal bare-knuckles bouts of the past. Now each fighter was required to wear five-inch boxing gloves and could no longer foul an opponent or strike him while he was down. Californian Corbett had recently defeated the venerable John L. Sullivan in a bout that lasted 26 rounds. Now he was matched against English heavyweight champ Charles Mitchell.

The Duval Athletic Club was supported by local businesses and the general public. In fact, when two militias--the Ocala Rifles and the Gates City Rifle Company of Sanford--were called in to quell an anticipated riot, they were roundly booed and pelted with eggs.

Despite the political uproar, the fight moved inexorably closer. Corbett set up training camp in nearby Mayport while Mitchell worked out in St. Augustine. Both fighters remained detached from the furor.

As soon as the match had been announced, a horrified Florida state legislature had passed a law outlawing “prizefighting, pugilistic exhibitions and kindred offenses.” The day before the match, however, the statute was struck down as unconstitutional. But that didn’t keep newspapers such as the New York Times from touting the law as a model for other states to follow.

Despite the driving rain, large crowds began to arrive at the gate. The Athletic Club charged $25.00 a head, and ended up with nearly two thousand paying customers.

At two-thirty that afternoon, the fighters stepped into the ring. While receiving instructions from the referee, the British fighter began to curse and scream at the champ. This caused great excitement--frenzied spectators cheered and hissed as tension throbbed in the throng.

Corbett was not intimidated by the tactics of his opponent. Near the end of the second round, the champ landed a series of punches that sent Mitchell reeling. The stunned fighter dropped to the canvas just before the bell sounded.

Early in the third round, Corbett continued his assault. He again knocked his opponent down, but Mitchell rose at the count of nine. Finally, a vicious right hand sent the Englishman down for the last time. When he was unable to get up, the victorious Corbett raised his gloves in victory.

State and county officials were enraged by the success of the match. Instead of accepting their loss graciously, the powers-that-be prevailed on Duval County Sheriff Napoleon Broward to arrest the two combatants. Both were charged with assault. The fighters quickly posted bail and left Jacksonville. But not before Gentleman Jim Corbett collected his $20,000 winner-takes-all purse plus an extra ten grand in bets he’d placed on himself.

In February, Corbett was hauled back to Jacksonville to stand trial for his part in the match. Once again, fight fans lined the streets leading to the courthouse. Within hours, the pugilist was once again victorious. He was acquitted.

Mitchell was never tried. After Corbett’s second victory in Jacksonville, all charges against the Englishman were dropped.

Missing in Marion County

Photos of Christine Blackburn Wiles and her daughter, Tobi Callaway

As readers of my blog know, I’m a native of Marion County, Florida. A local mystery has gone unsolved for more than two years. In the spring of 2007, Christine Blackburn Wiles left a bar near Belleview and went missing. The mother of a son and daughter, Christine has never been found.

On February 29, 2008, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement: “A search is scheduled to take place in the Ocala National Forest on Saturday, March 1 for Christine Wiles, W/F, 11-02-67. Wiles was last seen April 21, 2007 and was reported missing by her father in early May, 2007. An ongoing investigation supports the possibility of foul play in Wiles’ disappearance. DNA evidence found in the trunk of a 1995 Chrysler New Yorker, which may have been seen in the Ocala National Forest in the area of Wild Cat Lake, has led detectives to conduct the search scheduled Saturday. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office hopes to bring closure to the family of Christine Wiles and possibly locate additional evidence that may aid in the investigation of her disappearance.”

That search, as was the case with other searches, ended with no evidence being found.

Christine’s mother, Connie Blackburn, emailed me recently describing the events that occurred on the night Christine went missing. “On the evening of April 21, 2007,” she wrote, “Christine and her sister [Leah] went out together for a few drinks. Sometime during the evening they met up with Billy Ashton whom Christy was living with at the time. At one point during the evening, the girls left him at a bar just wanting to have girl time, but he ended up following them in a Chrysler New Yorker.”

Although Christine may not have known it, Ashton had a lengthy criminal history. In 1998, he’d been convicted of kidnapping and assaulting a former girlfriend and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Ashton had just been released from prison a few months before he met Christine.

“Fearing Ashton was going to run her off the road,” Christine’s mother wrote, “Christy’s sister pulled over. She begged Christy not to go with Ashton but to spend the night with her at a friend’s home. At the time, Christy had stitches in her eye where Ashton had elbowed her. Unfortunately, Christy did get in Ashton’s car and was never seen again. The car was later recovered at the home of his mother where he and Christy had been living.”

Leah believed that Ashton would have run them off the road had they not stopped. She stated that she thought he was angry because the sisters left the bar without telling him.

Marion County Homicide Detective Rhonda Stroup, who is in charge of the investigation, said, “I do believe that this is a solvable case, and we can bring this to an end.”

Anyone with information about this case should call Detective Stroup at 352-368-6845. Crime Stoppers is offering a $ 1,000 reward leading to the location of Christine Blackburn Wiles.

While Billy Ashton is a suspect in the disappearance of Christine, he has not been charged. He is currently in jail on other charges.

NOTE: On March 1, 2013, the Ocala Star Banner reported that all charges against Billy Ashton have been dropped: "The State Attorney’s Office has dropped its murder charge against Billy Joe Ashton, the man accused of killing Christine Blackburn-Wiles six years ago.

 

"State Attorney Brad King, in a three-page explanation, wrote that much of the evidence linking Ashton to the death was entirely circumstantial.

 

"'That is,' King wrote, 'there is no direct proof by either witnesses nor admissible statements of the defendant that Ashton killed the victim, and the victim’s body has never been located.'"

 

20 Years and More - Tiffany Sessions

On a cool evening in February, 1989, Tiffany Sessions stepped outside her Gainesville apartment and vanished. It is one of central Florida’s most enduring mysteries. What happened to the pretty University of Florida student?

In the 20 years since her disappearance, the world has changed. Computers and cell phones are used by nearly everyone. In fact, without these electronic marvels, the world as we know it wouldn’t exist.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has introduced many innovative measures in their attempts to deter crime and capture those who commit violent acts. One such method is to distribute playing cards to inmates in Florida’s prisons. The cards summarize cases like that of Tiffany Sessions. It is hoped that prisoners will remember something and come forward. Several cases have indeed been solved by these playing cards.

20 years later, where is Tiffany Sessions?

Recommendation: The Susan Gonzalez Story on the Biography Network

I SURVIVED—The Susan Gonzalez Story on Biography Network
Sunday, August 09 @ 9 pm ET
Rated: TVPG
Running Time: 60 Minutes

Summary: "After finishing a surveying job in a remote forest area, Brent finds himself face to face with a massive seven-foot-tall grizzly bear that begins to attack him. In a desperate attempt to save her and her husband's life, Susan grabs the .22 caliber pistol in her bedroom and engages in a gun battle with three masked men who invade their house late one night. And Denise must fight for her life when she is brutally assaulted by a man who gains entrance to her apartment by claiming to be a maintenance man."

In 1998, I published my first book, The Best Defense: True Stories of Intended Victims Who Defended Themselves with a Firearm.

My second book was a companion piece entitled Guns Save Lives: True Stories of Americans Defending Themselves with Firearms. For that book, I drove to Jacksonville, Florida to interview Susan Gonzalez. We sat on her sofa sipping sodas while my tape recorder ran and Susan told the horrific story of how she and her husband were nearly murdered by home invaders. Susan informed me that before the incident, she hated guns and didn’t even want her husband to keep one in the house. After using his Ruger .22-caliber handgun to save both their lives, now Susan never goes anywhere without her weapon.

On Sunday night, the television show “I Survived” will carry Susan’s story. I highly recommend it.

By the way, my third book, Outgunned, was published in 2004 and my fourth book, Sun Struck, will hit the book shelves in November.

It is because of stories like Susan’s that I’m a firm believer in the right to own and carry firearms. Regardless of all the arguments pro and con, the bottom line is that if I’m ever attacked, I demand the best defense available, which happens to be a gun.

Florida Cold Case Playing Cards - Eileen Gaffney

Here's another case listed on the Florida cold case playing cards. Eileen Gaffney was murdered in my hometown of Ocala. There's not much about her on the web, but I occasionally see her photo on billboards in the area. Here's hoping her murderer is found, convicted, and appropriately punished.

Cheryn McGillicuddy

Several years ago, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement began issuing Cold Case Playing Cards to prison inmates. Each card carries the picture of one or more victims of unsolved violent crimes and a brief description of the crime. I own several of these sets of cards. They're also available for viewing at the FDLE website. This card shows the picture of Cheryn Hall-McGillicuddy whose murder has gone unsolved for more than five years.

Unsolved Murder in a Small Town

It’s hard to watch the final moments of anyone’s life. That’s one reason the video of an unsolved murder stills haunts the residents of Lake City, Florida.

Nearly a year ago, on July 22, 2008, Linda Raulerson, 56, was closing Joy America Food Store for the night. It was 8:30 p.m. and no customers were in the store when a car parked just outside the front door. A man slouched in, sauntered to the counter, and pulled a handgun from the pouch of his hoodie. Without warning, he shot Raulerson in the arm. The thug yelled for her to give him the money from the register. Raulerson quickly opened the cash drawer and handed him a wad of bills. Then, to verify that she’d given him all the bills, she showed him the empty tray. This act of submission had little effect. For no apparent reason, the man fired again and she crumpled to the floor. The killer then left the store. A video monitor recorded the whole tragic episode.

Two days after the crime, the video was released to the media. The scenes and audio are chilling--they record the final terror-filled minutes of a doomed, innocent woman. What was not seen in the recording was Raulerson bleeding to death on the floor behind the counter. The coroner estimated it took as much as fifteen minutes for her to die. She was later found by customers who called authorities.

The crime shook the small town of approximately 11,000 souls. Lake City is poised between ever-expanding central Florida and the more rural panhandle. Murders in the community are rare, at least when compared to the central and southern areas of the state. In fact, Columbia County Sheriff Bill Gootee made that point. “This is a shock to the community,” he said. “It’s unbelievable. These are things that happen in [Miami], [Jacksonville], and [Tallahassee]. This is not something that happens here in our community.” The sheriff also opined that the criminal was from somewhere else and got off nearby I-10 to rob the store.

Linda Raulerson was a beloved mother and wife. In addition to enjoying outdoor activities such as fishing, boating, and swimming, Raulerson sewed Civil War-era period costumes for balls and pageants commemorating the Battle of Olustee. (In Florida’s largest Civil War battle, young children and old men from the surrounding area joined Confederate troops to beat back an attack by a larger Union force.)

A vital part of Lake City’s innocence died with Linda Susan Raulerson. The television crime show “America’s Most Wanted” profiled the case with a re-enactment of the murder and an interview with Raulerson’s husband. Unfortunately, no leads were developed that pointed cops to the murderer.

The killer is described as being a black male between 18-25; five-feet-ten to six-feet tall; wearing a dark hoodie and white sneakers as well as sunglasses and a shirt with white stripes; and driving a 1993-1995 four-door Buick Regal. Investigators think he has committed other such crimes before.

Here’s hoping he’s caught soon and stuck with a poison needle.

United Breaks Guitars -- Great Video

Anybody who’s ever tried to get some kind of satisfaction from large corporations can identify with this song. While this story isn’t about kidnapping and it’s not about murder (at least in the technical sense), it certainly qualifies as mayhem. The lo-o-ong delays faced by customers when attempting to speak with an actual person about a problem are designed to weaken resolve and cause the complainant to give up. Enjoy the video.

The Kidnapping, Rape, and Cold-Blooded Murder of Adella Simmons

John Richard Marek wants to keep living. He is one of three Florida prisoners with active execution warrants. On July 1, the Florida Supreme Court heard arguments from the convicted killer’s attorney claiming that he should be re-sentenced to life in prison. Marek alleged that his cohort, Raymond Wigley, committed the actual murder of Adella Simmons [pictured]. Wigley is conveniently dead--he was strangled to death by another inmate in 2000.

The following transcript from the initial appeal of the Florida Supreme Court summarizes the events that happened 26 years ago:

“This tragic incident began on June 16, 1983, when the victim [Adella Simmons] and her female companion were returning home from a vacation. The victim's companion testified that when the car in which the two women were riding broke down on the Florida Turnpike near Jupiter, appellant [Marek], who was driving a pickup truck, pulled over; that appellant was talkative and friendly; that he unsuccessfully attempted to fix the car and then offered to take one of the women, but not both, to a service station; that at approximately 11:30 p.m. the victim left with appellant and Raymond Wigley, who was an occupant of the pickup truck; that Wigley had been present during a part of appellant's conversation with the two women but remained silent; and that, during the five days she and the victim were together on their vacation, the victim did not have sexual intercourse.

“At approximately 3:35 a.m. the following morning, a police officer patrolling Dania Beach noticed two men walking from the vicinity of a lifeguard shack towards a Ford pickup truck. He testified that he spoke to the men, who identified themselves as Marek and Wigley, for about forty minutes. He noted that appellant was the more dominant of the two; that appellant joked with the officer and interrupted Wigley every time Wigley attempted to speak; and that appellant drove the truck away from the beach when the conversation was completed. Later that morning, the nude body of the 47-year-old victim was discovered on the observation deck of the lifeguard shack. According to medical testimony, the victim had been strangled between approximately 3:00 and 3:30 a.m., and was probably conscious for one minute after the ligature was applied to her neck. Her body was extensively bruised and her finger and pubic hairs had been burned. The medical examiner testified that he found sperm in the victim's cervix and believed she had had sexual intercourse after 11:30 p.m. on June 16. Bruises indicated that the victim had been kicked with a great deal of force. According to the examiner, some of the victim's injuries indicated she had been dragged up to the roof of the lifeguard shack and into the observation tower.

“Police issued a ‘be-on-the-lookout’ bulletin to law enforcement agencies for appellant and Wigley. On the evening of June 17, a Daytona Beach police officer, as a result of that bulletin, stopped Wigley, who was driving a truck on Daytona Beach, and found a small automatic pistol in the truck's glove compartment. Approximately one-half hour later in the same vicinity, police took appellant into custody. The victim's jewelry was later found in the truck.

“A fingerprint expert testified that six prints lifted from the lifeguard shack matched appellant's fingerprints, and one matched Wigley's. Only appellant's print was found inside the observation deck, where the body was discovered.

"The appellant testified in his own behalf that he and Wigley had traveled together from Texas to Florida for a vacation; that he had attempted to fix the victim's disabled vehicle and had offered to take the women to a filling station; that he fell asleep after the victim got into the truck and that when he awoke, she was gone; that he went back to sleep and woke up at the beach, where he found Wigley on the observation deck of the lifeguard shack; and that it was dark in the shack and he did not see the victim's body...”

Marek was sentenced to death while Wigley received life. Wigley’s prison lover eventually killed him, but before his death, several inmates claim that he took credit for the actual murder of Adella Simmons. The prosecution contended during the recent hearing that it is not unusual for prisoners to brag about crimes they did not commit to gain credibility with other inmates.

John Marek probably has a short future. The court is unlikely to reverse the original decision.

Jean Trach, Simmons' traveling companion who was left behind in the broken-down car, still grieves for her friend. She believes they both would have been murdered had Simmons not accepted the offered ride. "[She's] given her life for me," Trach said. "Because when you think about it, what if she hadn't have gone?"