When I was a little girl, I was told a story about a horrible crime someone had committed outside a little town not very far from where we lived.
It seems two boys went out fishing one day and never went home again. Their bodies were found mutilated and tied to a tree. Their killers were never found.
The story always came with the spoken (or unspoken) reminder: And this is why we don't talk to strangers.
The rumor was never confirmed, but I grew up knowing it as truth. Researching it now, I wonder if there was any fact behind the rumor, or if someone had picked up the story of the Oakland County Child Killer, and morphed it into something more grisly and dramatic and local. (As rumors and myths will often morph - especially in the days before internet.)
I know it sounds awful to tell a little girl a story like that, but honestly, I wasn't scarred by it. Unless you count my fascination with true crime stories and fictional suspense. ;o)
Have you ever had someone tell you a story about the area where you live that you think might not be true? Have you ever tried to research it online?
(BTW, my parents weren't the ones who told me this story. I'll have to ask my mother if she remembers ever hearing it and who might've told it to me. Probably one of my older siblings trying to scare me into being more careful about who I talked to. Lord knows, I talked to everyone when I was a kid.)
Updated: I talked to Mom and she confirmed that this did happen, gave me a last name of one of the victims, and I found a write up of it online. The killer(s) were, in fact, caught and they all pointed the finger at the one 'slow' kid in their midst, so he was the one tried for it. (Although how one teenager did all those things to those two boys is beyond me. Methinks justice wasn't quite served in this case.) And although it happened around the same time as the Oakland County Child Killings, and it happened just north of Oakland County, this crime was unrelated to those.
How cool you found the truth behind the story.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young I was told about chainsaw murders at the river not very far from our house. Within walking distance, if you didn't mind walking an hour or so. (Well, the river was that close; don't know about the murders.) I'll have to ask Mom if she remembers them.
I try to do that when I can, Deb. It helps keep things straight in my head.
ReplyDeleteEww, chainsaw murders. You definitely need to look into that and let me know. Moms are great for dredging up old stuff. We started talking about this and then another multiple murder nearby, which reminded her of this other murder not far from our house. And we lived in a very rural area. (Between Flint and Detroit, but still, it was corn and cows and horse farms.)
I still remember the basic details of an unsolved crime from my hometown. The victim was a high school friend of my brother's. She was assaulted, stabbed, and left for dead in her car. The traumatic brain injury left her unable to remember and pretty much incapacitated. Her first name was Tamra (I think--it's been 50 years!) and all the boys in school were interviewed. I was in grade school but it was pretty crazy for awhile.
ReplyDeleteOh man, Silver, that's awful. Someone needs to get the Cold Justice crew on that one.
DeleteI was a "military brat" and remember living in Germany from 6-9 years old. The "scare" there was a chow dog who lived in the house adjoining our housing area. We called him "Tiggy" and he scared the **** out of every kid on the block. Back in the UK it was always a house which was haunted that scared the kids, but no-one ever said how it came to be haunted or why. I've never tried to research any of them as we moved so often it's hard to remember which house was where! Ah the joys of military life.
ReplyDeleteAll my siblings are military brats, Fran. Dad got out before I was born. I think we all had that one dog and that one house somewhere in our childhoods.
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