goblue
06-13-2010, 01:48 AM
Anyone remember these unsolved killings in Oakland County in the 1970's? I remember as a kid growing up and living in the area where these murders were taking place. The fear in the atmosphere was like none I've ever seen. It literally changed people's lives. Kids in nice suburbs were afraid to go outside alone. Four homicides were linked to the Oakland County child killer. The amazing and baffling part was that somehow the killer was never found.
To rehash what happened: Feb 15, 1976. Sunday, the day after Valentine's Day. Mark Stebbins, 12, was walking home in the afternoon from an American Legion Hall near Nine Mile Road in Ferndale when he turned up missing. His body was discovered four days later near a shopping mall at 10 Mile and Greenfield.
He was fully clothed and the cleanliness of his clothing indicated he had been dressed after he had been killed. He had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
Ten months later, on Dec 22, 1976, Jill Robinson, 12, ran away from her home in Royal Oak following an argument with her mother. Her bike was found the next day behind a hobby shop in Royal Oak. Her body was discovered Dec 26 near I-75 and 16 Mile, next to the Troy police station. She was fully clothed and bathed. The cause of death was a shotgun blast to the face.
The abduction was quickly followed by another. Kristine Mihelich, 10, of Berkley, was last seen buying a magazine in the middle of the day at a 7-Eleven store off 12 Mile and Oakshire when she disappeared on Jan 2, 1977. Her clothed body was discovered 18 days later on a rural road in Franklin Village.
The bodies of all three children were neatly laid out in the snow in plain view of the public. The lack of solid leads, coupled by the similarities of the murders and the fear of a serial killer - all of it helped to fuel a brush fire of panic and suspicion across the suburbs.
March 16, 1977, Timothy King, 11, from Birmingham, grabbed his skateboard and left his house on Yorkshire to buy some candy at the Hunter Maple pharmacy, where a Kroger store is now located at Maple/Woodward. His parents were having dinner at the nearby Peabody's Restaurant and the young boy was watched by his older siblings. He left home at 8:15pm and never returned.
Barry King, Tim's father, remembers telling Tim if anyone approached him under those circumstances to drop everything he had and run as fast as he could. Fearing the boy's disappearance was linked to the other murders, police quickly amassed a huge search party to scour the adjacent neighborhoods for possible clues. That morning when the sun came up there must have been hundreds of police officers in Poppleton Park and they coordinated a neighborhood canvass the likes of which you've never seen before. Houses, dumpsters, alleys - everything.
Timothy King was found March 22, 1977, in a shallow ditch off Eight Mile Road in Lavonia. He was fully clothed and the body was still warm. He had been sexually assaulted and died of suffocation. His skateboard was placed next to him.
Christopher Brian Busch was a convicted pedophile living in Bloomfield Township at the time of the murders. He killed himself in his bedroom with a shotgun on Nov 20, 1978. Investigators found a drawing in his room that closely resembled one of the victims. Frustrated they're not getting the answers they want from the authorities, the King family has filed separate lawsuits against the Oakland County prosecutor and the Michigan State police. The family wants the two agencies to turn over everything they have on Busch.
Barry King, Tim's father and now 78, recently met with family members of the three other victims and said they also believe the case is being stalled. He's granted numerous interviews and makes it clear he plans to pursue the case until he's satisfied every possible lead involving Busch has been examined.
Could you imagine the agony the family members must be going through after all these years and the killer never found?
Does anyone remember the Oakland County child killer?
To rehash what happened: Feb 15, 1976. Sunday, the day after Valentine's Day. Mark Stebbins, 12, was walking home in the afternoon from an American Legion Hall near Nine Mile Road in Ferndale when he turned up missing. His body was discovered four days later near a shopping mall at 10 Mile and Greenfield.
He was fully clothed and the cleanliness of his clothing indicated he had been dressed after he had been killed. He had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
Ten months later, on Dec 22, 1976, Jill Robinson, 12, ran away from her home in Royal Oak following an argument with her mother. Her bike was found the next day behind a hobby shop in Royal Oak. Her body was discovered Dec 26 near I-75 and 16 Mile, next to the Troy police station. She was fully clothed and bathed. The cause of death was a shotgun blast to the face.
The abduction was quickly followed by another. Kristine Mihelich, 10, of Berkley, was last seen buying a magazine in the middle of the day at a 7-Eleven store off 12 Mile and Oakshire when she disappeared on Jan 2, 1977. Her clothed body was discovered 18 days later on a rural road in Franklin Village.
The bodies of all three children were neatly laid out in the snow in plain view of the public. The lack of solid leads, coupled by the similarities of the murders and the fear of a serial killer - all of it helped to fuel a brush fire of panic and suspicion across the suburbs.
March 16, 1977, Timothy King, 11, from Birmingham, grabbed his skateboard and left his house on Yorkshire to buy some candy at the Hunter Maple pharmacy, where a Kroger store is now located at Maple/Woodward. His parents were having dinner at the nearby Peabody's Restaurant and the young boy was watched by his older siblings. He left home at 8:15pm and never returned.
Barry King, Tim's father, remembers telling Tim if anyone approached him under those circumstances to drop everything he had and run as fast as he could. Fearing the boy's disappearance was linked to the other murders, police quickly amassed a huge search party to scour the adjacent neighborhoods for possible clues. That morning when the sun came up there must have been hundreds of police officers in Poppleton Park and they coordinated a neighborhood canvass the likes of which you've never seen before. Houses, dumpsters, alleys - everything.
Timothy King was found March 22, 1977, in a shallow ditch off Eight Mile Road in Lavonia. He was fully clothed and the body was still warm. He had been sexually assaulted and died of suffocation. His skateboard was placed next to him.
Christopher Brian Busch was a convicted pedophile living in Bloomfield Township at the time of the murders. He killed himself in his bedroom with a shotgun on Nov 20, 1978. Investigators found a drawing in his room that closely resembled one of the victims. Frustrated they're not getting the answers they want from the authorities, the King family has filed separate lawsuits against the Oakland County prosecutor and the Michigan State police. The family wants the two agencies to turn over everything they have on Busch.
Barry King, Tim's father and now 78, recently met with family members of the three other victims and said they also believe the case is being stalled. He's granted numerous interviews and makes it clear he plans to pursue the case until he's satisfied every possible lead involving Busch has been examined.
Could you imagine the agony the family members must be going through after all these years and the killer never found?
Does anyone remember the Oakland County child killer?