Harold Lotridge's dream lead to murderer....
_ G O D _
Solved and Unsolved Murder in
Shiawassee County
MICHIGAN
Michigan averages around 900 murders per year
and about 1/3 of those go unsolved. This webpage
attempts to record murders of this county. If you
know any that should be included here, please
e-mail victims name, date and place of crime.
Solved Murder
Thomas McDonald was poisoned with strychnine
by Dennis Driscoll. McDonald died after Judge
Turner of Owosso sentenced him to life of hard
labor. His defense attorney had been Hugh McCurdy.
Rundell Merrill of Oakley was murdered and Joseph
W. Sproule, undersheriff of Shiawassee County was
given the major portion of credit and reward for the
arrest and conviction of the slayers.
Stanley Graham was an Owosso fireman and a
carpenter. He married Margaret Kelly and they
had two sons. They got a divorce and Margaret's
brother Tommy, of Eaton Rapids, was angry that
Stanley had "done his sister wrong". Tommy (age
23) walked into the National Hotel barroom (corner
of Main and Washington Streets) and shot Stanley
(age 41) to death.
The public's sympathy seemed to be with Margaret
and Tommy. Stanley had a reputation of being a
trouble maker. Tom Kelly was sentenced to 15
years, but within 5 years was living back in Owosso.
Margaret later became a laundress at the Junction
House in Westown.
Layton Leech, a Durand farmer, was murdered
on New Year's Day by Detroit resident, William
Sullivan.
As a result, Mr. Sullivan was Lynched at Corunna.
Dorothy Schneider....
Although the murder did not occur in Shiawassee
County, the murderer turned out to be Owosso
resident Adolph Hotelling. It all began when
Dorothy Schneider, 5, was walking home from
school in Mt. Morris, MI. The police were called
when she didn't come home and a search began.
In the mean time, the killer's car had become
stuck a short distance where he had disposed
of the her body in a creek three miles west of
Mt. Morris. He soon asked a nearby farmer for
assistance and quickly left the scene.
Little Dorothy's body was found later that same
day by a deputy. The farmer gave investigators
a description of the man and his light blue
Dodge sedan. Within the next few days, the
police had received many tips, however none
had seemed to pan out. But on the day of Dorothy's
funeral, Harold Lotridge's alarm clock interupped
a vivid dream. Lotridge, 24, of Owosso had seen
a man in his dream carrying a little girl who was
screaming "I want to go home!"
Mr. Lotridge later told police that he indeed knew
the man in his dream as a deacon in his church
and said he was a "pillar of the community." He
identified the man as Mr. Hotelling, who was
married with children and lived at 809 N. Hickory St.
After checking Michigan registration records, the
police found that Mr. Hotelling owned a blue Dodge
sedan and decided to question him. Officers checked
out the Dodge and were surprised to find that it had
just been painted black. A further search of the house
found clothes identical to those the Flushing farmer
had said the man in the stuck car had worn. In one
of the pockets of the grey overcoat was a blood-stained,
double edged knife. Police arrested the surprized
Hotelling and took him to Flint where he later confessed
to the murder. He died at Marquette prison. Had it
not been for Harold Lotridge's unexplainable dream,
Adolph Hotelling might have never been caught.
Virginia Bird.......7 year old was murdered at her
home on King St. in Corunna, Michigan. Her uncle
was found in an old apple orchard on Norton St.
(site of Shiawassee County Medical Care Facility)
later that day and convicted of the crime. Several
people recall the news boy calling out "Extra, Extra
read all about it" that day.
Howard Birchmeier....... was shot and killed by Carl
W. Perry Jr. on Division Street in Owosso.
Mr. Anderson ....Super Test Gas Station Attendant.....
M-21 and N. Shiawassee St. Corunna........ Young
Mr. Anderson, who had a young wife and two children
and lived just north of the station, was brutally shot and
killed for only a few dollars. His murderer, a Shiawassee
County resident, was found and convicted. His associate
was 17 yr. old Owosso resident, Mark S. Dawson. He
was convicted of murder 1st degree, even though he
was not the triggerman. Both are serving Life sentences.
The Super Test station closed shortly after the murder
and stands boarded-up as a reminder of the tragegy.
Dawn Magyar....
John Patterson.... Found on Cook Rd. William Donaldson
was convicted, but later released from prison.
Charlie Cripps... in Owosso
Mr. Sabastian.......
Henry Bird and Mr. Root....
Fred Sovis....at Vernon bar.
Timothy Kiley....pizza manager was abducted
while on his way to work downtown Owosso
and killed.
Phillis Sunday....... at Vernon
A guy was run over in Rosevear park .....anyone
remember names or dates?
Marilyn Parks.........By William McAllister from Shaftsburg,
who followed Mrs. Parks into the First Federal Bank
of Perry, Michigan. Mrs. Parks was the first bank
employee to enter the bank that morning. Soon other
employees entered the bank including Richard Church
of Owosso. When the thief left the bank, he took money
and the employees, forcing a couple of them to follow
him in their car. McAllister drove to the Hastings,
Michigan area and ordered all of them out of the cars
and then attemped to run over them. Mrs. Parks died
as the result. The others escaped into a field and McAllister
fired several shots at them to no avail. The robber was
caught and convicted of murder, kidnapping and bank
robbery.
Mark Bosom....
Nathan Nover...
John R. Espie, 16, of Owosso, Mich., was ordered
to stand trial on charges he killed Nathan Nover, an
elderly court transport officer. Mike Law, a Nover family
friend and a few other Owosso men, searched every
exit of I-69 from Perry going south and found Mr. Nover's
body beneath a pile of leaves near an exit in rural
Branch County, near the Michigan - Indiana State line.
Assistant Attorney General Mark Blumer was the lead
prosecution in the case against Espie who was a
resident of a juvenile detention center. Espie was
found guilty of strangling Mr. Nover.
Walter Ross
Larry Bellaire, 55, was arrested in California after a
routine background check on his welfare application
revealed he was sought in the bludgeoning death
of 83-year-old Walter Ross in Owosso. After the
killing, Bellaire fled Michigan for San Francisco. He
was later sentenced to prison.
Carlos Alberto Ramirez Juarez.. A Shiawassee County
jury convicted Santiago Perez, 22, an illegal Mexican
immigrant in the shotgun slaying of a fellow illegal
alien two miles west of Durand. Perez, who required
a translator during the six-day circuit court trial, was
found guilty of first-degree murder - a crime carrying
mandatory life in prison without parole. Perez also
was convicted of felony firearm use, which carries a
mandatory 2 years in prison.
Lyle Buckelew....
Buckelew's body was found along Calkins Road about
a half-mile east of Sheridan Road (M-13), the border
between Shiawassee and Genesee counties. Police
said it appeared Buckelew had been strangled. Vicki D.
Kruger, 40, who was on probation from conviction of
fleeing a police officer, was arrested and charged with
the murder. She was sentenced to 22 to 40 years on
a second-degree murder conviction.
Unsolved Murder
Murder and Counterfeiting at the old Wheeler Taven
Bruce R. Bates....Hunting Accident or Murder?...
Bruce graduated from Owosso High School. His father,
Russell taught Social Science and Photography there
for many years. The Owosso City Directory lists Bruce
as working as an assembler at Midland Ross. He was
married to Janet and they lived at 1030 1/2 E. Main St.
Bruce joined the Owosso Police Department and had
a promising career. He lived at 608 Oakwood Ave. He
went deer hunting with a small group of Owosso friends
near Tawas, Michigan. Bruce failed to return one afternoon
and was found by his companions later that day.
An investigation followed, but police could not determine
whether it was an accident or murder. It was speculated
by some, but never proven, that a teenage boy who Bruce
and his wife had taken into their home, only a month before
the hunting trip, as a foster child, was somehow involved.
Shelly or Michelle...
The Shiawassee County Sheriff's Department and the
FBI searched property on Middleton Road near Hickory St.
for the body of a woman. According to a statement
released by the sheriff's department, investigators
got the information from a convicted murderer but
had not found the body. Investigators said they are
not releasing the name of the suspect in this case,
even though he already has been convicted in one
homicide, in order to protect his family from embarrassment
and keep his cooperation.
They are looking for a white woman about 17 or 18
years old who was 5-foot-6-inches tall and weighed
140 pounds. Sheriff Jon Wilson said her name may
have been Shelly or Michelle. She had shoulder-length
sandy brown hair and wore large pink frame glasses,
according to the statement from the inmate.
She was described as having frequented the Tap
Room Bar (old Owosso Hotel) in Owosso and spent
time at Henderson Park. She may have been employed
for a time by a business in the "Dutchtown" area of
Owosso, in the neighborhood of Chipman and Stewart
streets. The victim was said to have spent time with
people who drove muscle cars or "high rise" four-wheel
drive pickups.
Anyone who has information about this case is asked to
call Detective Sgt. David Kirk at (989) 743-2202, ext. 2224.
Erica Bauchum.... Looking for more information.
Matt Leach....Looking for more info on this murder. If you
remember any details such as date or place, please
e-mail the webmaster.
Janice Podolan......killed while working at a gas station
located on the corner of M-52 and Brewer Rd. in
Bennington Township.
Rachel Mary Scott......
A possible homicide is being investigated concerning
the death of Rachael Scott. The 20 year old disappeared
from the village of Vernon on July 6th. Her body was
found by family friends on July 20th in a wooded
area, less than a mile north of the village. Community
paints different pictures of slain woman
Christine from Lennon. Looking for more information to include here.
If you have information regarding any unsolved murder,
please contact the Shiawassee County Sheriff or
Corunna State Police Post #15.
More UnSolved Crime
More Shiawassee Mystery
Shiawassee County History
Email: steves...@hotmail.com
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I intend to last long enough to put out of business all COck-suckers
and other beneficiaries of the institutionalized slavery and genocide.
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undermines military dictatorships and military lobbyists. It subverts
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