Post by Joanna on Oct 20, 2014 21:29:27 GMT -5
1974 Murder of Nanuet Teen Still Unsolved
NANUET, N.Y. – On October 7, 1974, Lisa Thomas came home from school, spent time with her mother and then walked to the Nanuet Mall at 3:30 p.m., intending to buy a blouse with her baby-sitting money. When the 15-year-old didn't come home for dinner, her parents called her friends before eventually contacting police. The next morning her father discovered Lisa's body in the woods behind the mall, about 700 feet from their Nanuet home. Her head was bludgeoned and the teenager had been blindfolded with a red cloth that had been tied to her purse. The girl was not sexually assaulted. Clarkstown police say there's never been a definitive answer as to where exactly she was killed.
The investigation. No one has been arrested or charged in Lisa’s slaying, but police say the field of suspects has narrowed over the years through interviews and reviews of case files. Detectives also submitted evidence for DNA testing to help identify a suspect – a science not available in 1974 – but Clarkstown Detective Christopher Maloney would not comment on the results. "We took a look through the whole case and continue to do so," said Maloney, who started working on the investigation in 2009. "I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a child like that. It must be worse to not know what exactly happened. Their daughter can never be brought back but it would be nice to give them some closure."
Over the years, police have theorized that the Nanuet High School sophomore was killed by someone she knew from school or the neighborhood in some sort of dispute. There's also been talk of the slaying being carried out by a stranger. "Most homicides are committed by people who know the victim or are familiar with the victim," Maloney said. "The fact that she was murdered so close to her house, you can assume it was somebody else who was familiar with neighborhood."
A mother searching for answers. Barbara Thomas hasn't moved since her daughter's murder, preserving Lisa's room as it was in 1974. Despite health problems, Thomas is still pushing for a resolution to the case, with the 40-year anniversary of her daughter's this year. (Her husband, Stanley, died in 1987.) Aided by a team of confidantes, Thomas posts on a Facebook page – “Justice for Lisa Thomas” – including a letter published this summer on the day Lisa would have turned 55.
"One of the many things this investigation has revealed to me is just how many of you know what happened to Lisa that day," she wrote. "As her mother, I cannot tell you what this does to my heart. So many are walking around with information that could have solved this case 40 years ago. ... How I wish I knew what was stopping you from coming forward. I would imagine it must be fear of some kind. Unless you were the person who inflicted those fatal blows upon my daughter, you should not be afraid to come forward."
Thomas is also asking police to seek outside assistance, including from the Vidocq Society, a crime-solving club of law enforcement officials that meets every month in Philadelphia. She says police aren't taking her request seriously. "All I'm asking for is to have a new set of eyes look at this case," Thomas said.
Maloney says he's open to the suggestion, adding that the FBI and state police have also been part of the investigation into the crime, which captured massive media attention in the 1970s.
Status. Anyone with information that could be helpful about Lisa Thomas' case is encouraged to call Maloney at 845-639-5865.
Source: Greg Shillinglaw, The Journal News, October 2, 2014.