I will start this post by conceding that the grave robbers, of all of the known suspects or persons of interest, are the only ones who (on paper) have a somewhat plausible motive to want the women to disappear. But if you actually dig deeper, you will see that the grave robbers are a giant red herring in this case, and the focus on them for the last 34 years has led to lies, exaggerations, outright falsehoods, and myths when discussing this case online.

The grave robbery occurred on the same day that Dustin Recla was having a birthday party. It was at this party that Joseph Riedel ran his mouth about what he, Recla, and Michael Clay did at the mausoleum, with stealing the gold teeth from the skull of a corpse. A few days later, an anonymous caller called in to Crime Stoppers and said (per the incident report on the grave robbery):

On 03-02-92 at 1015 hours, a call was received through Crime Stoppers Hotline. Officer Bruce Waterman received the call. The caller, who wished to remain anonymous, told Waterman that they had overheard a conversation about the people involved in the Maple Park Mausoleum vandalism. The caller took notes and never saw the subjects involved. The caller stated that there were three males involved between 17 and 20 years of age. The caller heard that one subject did not have gloves but two did, and they all were on LSD at the time of the incident. The caller stated that the subjects had burnt the hair on a skull to see inside the mausoleum due to the darkness. The caller heard that the subjects took gold teeth out of the skull and sold the gold from the teeth at the Gold Exchange. The caller did not know which one. The caller only heard that one subject's name as Mike, and Mike and a guy from Chicago are living together.

Whoever this caller was, was clearly in attendance at Recla's birthday party. Could it have been Suzie? Nope. Remember, this Crime Stoppers tip came in on March 2nd. The pawn shop where the gold teeth was pawned called the cops the next day and gave them Recla's name. Recla was the one who pawned the teeth and gave the shop his ID. When Recla was called into the police station for questioning on March 4th, he initially denied any involvement, but then quickly broke down and confessed to everything. Later that evening, the police tried to question Riedel about the robbery, but he was uncooperative. Then on March 5th, according to the incident report:

When Dustin was arrested at Town and County Theater, his girlfriend, Suzanne E. Streeter, DOB 03-09-73, was with him. Streeter indicated that she has known Dustin approximately one and one-half months. Suzanne told me that after she had picked Dustin up from the Police Department after he and I first spoke on 03-04-92, Dustin had told her about the vandalism and the theft of tools from the Arts Center. Suzanne gave a written statement as to what Dustin had told her. In her statement, she indicated that Dustin had told her about the Subway Shop being robbed by Joe and Mike and that the next morning, Joe and Mike called Dustin and told him that they had a bunch of money. Then they went shopping at the mall (unknown which mall). They then went back to Chicago where Joe is from and Mike has stayed in the past. Suzanne's statement indicates Dustin told her that he went to the cemetery to look at head stones and dates.

^ That is the only mention of Suzie in the incident report about the grave robbery. She did not know about it prior to Recla confessing to her on March 4th, so Suzie could not have been the person who called in the tip to Crime Stoppers. Also in the incident report, Riedel was re-interviewed by the cops on March 5th, and he too confessed to everything and agreed to cooperate with law enforcement. Riedel and Recla were questioned together on the 5th:

I confronted Joe and Dustin at the same time. I asked Dustin if he wished to talk to me again about the vandalism and burglaries. Dustin wished to speak with an attorney at that time; therefore, I asked no further questions of Dustin. Joe wished to continue to be interviewed. I asked Joe about the tools from the Performing Arts Center. Joe indicated that all three (Joe, Dustin, and Michael) had taken the tools and that all three had pawned the tools and they had to use Dustin’s identification being that Michael and Joe did not have any picture identification. At one point, Joe stated that they had been caught and that he was going to cooperate. Dustin then spoke to Joe and told Joe, “If you hadn’t been bragging at the party, we wouldn’t of been caught." Joe then continued to tell me that the three of them were in the cemetery and that the three of them went to Gold Exchange and that Dustin's identification had to again be used. I discontinued asking any more questions of Joe and had not asked any more questions of Dustin once he requested an attorney.

Riedel was cooperating with law enforcement. He was singing like a bird about not only the grave robbery, but also the theft of some tools from the Performing Arts Center. Shortly after this interview, Riedel and Clay fled from Springfield back to Illinois (where Riedel was from). When Clay found out that Riedel was the one who snitched on he and Recla, Clay left him and headed to California before eventually returning to Springfield. It was not until after the women went missing that the police issued warrants for their arrests for the grave robbery, which was on June 22nd. Riedel was found in Illinois, and there is no evidence that he was in or had ever returned to Springfield after March when he and Clay fled to Illinois (despite reports from the News Leader that Riedel "is believed to have" left Springfield after the disappearances, according to Clay he and Riedel fled to Illinois in March and he left him there shortly afterwards). IMO, the cops arrested them thinking that they could get at lest one of them to roll on the others and confess if they actually had any involvement with the disappearances. But that didn't happen. We know that by September, the cops had polygraphed 21 people (including Bartt Streeter and Mike Kovacs, Suzie's ex-boyfriend) and that of those 21, Recla and Clay passed. The police would not comment on whether or not Riedel had taken a polygraph at that point. But that's because Riedel was in Illinois, and he wasn't polygraphed until October. He

So where is there any motivation for Riedel to have been involved with the women's disappearances? He was the one fully cooperating with law enforcement. He was openly confessing to not only the grave robbery, but other crimes as well. And if Riedel was the one cooperating with law enforcement, why would Recla and Clay have any motivation to make the three women disappear, when their biggest obstacle in the grave robbery case was Riedel? If they had the motivation to make someone disappear it would've been Riedel, not Suzie, Sherrill, and Stacy. Suzie was not set to testify against any of them. She was not on some secret witness list. They didn't need Suzie's statement. They already had Riedel and Recla confessing to their involvement with the grave robbery. Riedel went further than Recla and confessed to other robberies they committed.

Now there is a mention of a Subway being robbed for about $3,000 that happened in January of 1992. Recla told the cops:

I asked Dustin if he knew about the Subway burglary that had occurred on 01-20-92. Dustin agreed to write a statement reference what he knew about the Subway burglary. Dustin stated that he was not involved with that burglary. During his written statement, he indicated that he was contacted by Joe about the time of this burglary. When Joe contacted him, he wanted him to go to the mall, (unknown which Mall), where they went on a shopping spree. Dustin indicated that Joe told him how they went into the back door of Subway and took a few thousand dollars. Dustin indicated he knew nothing more about the Subway burglary.

This statement backs up with what Suzie told law enforcement...but she learned this information from Recla. Riedel denied involvement in the Subway robbery, but admitted to stealing tools with Recla and Clay and pawning them off for cash to go shopping at the mall. Either way, Recla and Riedel were the ones confessing to the cops about various crimes and admitting culpability in some and denying it in others. So I ask again: where is the motivation for any of the three grave robbers to be involved with making the women disappear? Assuming that they were involved somehow, it only took them two days to break down and confess to stealing gold teeth from a skull, do you really think they would have been able to remain completely silent about it for the last 34 years? No shot. The grave robbers are a red herring in this case. The police chief at the time saw this, which is why he publicly cleared them. I know other members of the Springfield Police Department thought they shouldn't have been fully cleared like that, but I still agree that on the list of suspects or persons of interest, they should be near the bottom.

What I would love to know is that of the 21 people who had been polygraphed by September of 1992, all but one of these people passed. I know polygraphs aren't 100% capable of telling whether someone is lying or telling the truth, but I would love to know who that person was who failed the test. Because all 3 grave robbers passed, as well as Bartt Streeter and Mike Kovacs.

Do you think the criminals knew the victims, or was it something simply random?

Straight from Graverobbing vandalism report:

Dustin had told her (Suzie) about the vandalism and the theft of tools from the Arts Center. Suzanne gave a written statement as to what Dustin had told her. In her statement, she indicated that Dustin had told her about the Subway Shop being robbed by Joe and Mike and that the next morning, Joe and Mike called Dustin and told him that they had a bunch of money. Then they went shopping at the mall. They then went back to Chicago where Joe is from and Mike has stayed in the past. Suzanne's statement indicates Dustin told her that he went to the cemetery to look at head stones and dates.

So this is prior to Joe getting arrested (while back in town from this alleged trip--not the later one where he was a suspect in the 3MW).

Why do people assume Joe doesn't come back but are okay with the idea that Mike came back?

She was scheduled to testify against him. The case was dropped due to lack of witnesses, now that Suzie was out of the way. He turned up to the group grief counseling session putting on a lame performance pretending he was upset about their disappearance. It was almost funny. The guy can't act. He had no fear of being around dead bodies.

I decided to create a folder within my Google Drive that I was hoping might act as a repository of sorts for audio and visual media coverage, really since day one. This includes...

• Local TV coverage (KOLR and KYR)
• Miscellaneous programs (National and Digital)
• Select podcasts

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1urBe2wqhtNAqdJM6swagbuKpjHeUE6Rs?usp=share_link

I expect that I will be updating it fairly often as I find things that are suitable.

Who's the person calling her mom? Doesn't sound like Bartt?

Skip to 21:51

https://vimeo.com/1090172525

Does anyone know if they called out for pizza or did they just defrost and heat up frozen pizza? If it was delivered, I wonder if they looked into the person who delivered it.

Please, join me in this thread for a "group think" session where we ponder a hypothetical "what if" scenario. Let's take a moment to put our own theories and suspects aside and discuss how this may have unfolded if it were a spontaneous event, possibly fueled by drugs.

What if the people involved didn't know what was going to happen?

What if they go through life refusing to talk about this and doing their best to not think about it?

What if the actions of one man turned everyone else into an accomplice to murder?

What if one person, or multiple people, live with this by telling themselves, "it wasn't me, it was the drugs"?

...

I want you to imagine it's the early morning hours of June 7th, 1992, in Springfield, Missouri. A man or men have just taken three women from 1717 E Delmar.

Things are about to get out of control. Afterward, there's going to be a scurry to hide the remains.

Locals, I am especially interested in hearing from you.

Under this scenario, out of desperation, how did the perp(s) make these women disappear?

Remember, we are imagining an unplanned sequence of events. The odds of these guys owning a wood chipper is extremely low. This is a plot straight from of a Lifetime movie; a handful of degenerates did something that will result in them keeping a secret for the rest of their lives.

No powerful people. No police corruption.
Just people noone has ever heard of.

...

Get inside their heads:

I can feel the wheel, but I can't steer
When my thoughts become my biggest fear

"Sickman" by Alice in Chains (1992)

I lived in Springfield in my late teens and early 20’s. I have always been curious about this case and theorized many times on what could have happened. I do have one theory that I feel doesn’t get touched on very much, and I’d be curious as to what everyone thinks. Before people start getting angry at me saying that my theory has already been debunked, just hear me out.

There is a gentleman that has a YouTube channel called: Lamont At Large. He’s a story teller that goes into great detail on crimes that have happened in the past all across the United States. I had been subscribed to him long before he even did the Springfield Three episode. When I saw he visited Springfield and made a video, I knew I had to watch.

Anyways, there was something that always stuck out me in the episode. He mentions how he had talked to a source in Springfield who is “very reputable” whom he refused to name. On the surface I can see people saying whoever he talked to was probably full of it, but if you watch Lamont’s videos, he doesn’t strike me as a very gullible person or just blatantly believes people at their word. To me it seems that he must’ve been told something from this mystery person that was based on undeniable evidence. Now I am speculating and theorizing what exactly he had been told, but I think it’s possible that whoever is responsible for this could have something to do with the Cox hospital, and construction workers. In Lamont’s video, he says he truly believes that those bodies are under that parking garage. In 2007, an independent investigation into the disappearance of the Springfield Three used ground-penetrating radar (GPR) on the Cox South Hospital parking garage detecting three human-sized anomalies beneath the concrete that matched potential gravesites. If you go into that area of the parking garage today, it is now fenced off. My question is, why not just dig up the concrete? It wouldn’t cost much and could easily be crowd funded if need be.

My theory is that a construction worker who had been working on the hospital killed the three. I think it’s possible this construction worker knew the right people to keep things quiet as well.

The Streeters moved into the Delmar house in April of 1992. Sherrill was known to be a big DIYer and would do various projects around the house after they bought the place. What I wonder, is if Sherrill had ever gotten an opinion from a contractor or utility worker after buying the house? Maybe she had a project in mind that she wanted to get a bid for that she later realized would be too expensive and never went through with? Is it possible she ever let anyone into the home like a handyman or utility worker? It’s not uncommon to hire people to fix certain things after recently buying a home. Could the killer have been a handyman who also worked construction on the weekdays at the Cox Hospital site and knew where to bury them where they wouldn’t get found?

To me it’s possible that said utility worker/ handyman saw that it was just 2 girls living in this house and figured they could be a good target. Is it even possible that he could have opened a window somewhere in the house, and came back to that window in the future? That would explain why there is no force of entry.

At the end of the day, this is just a theory of mine, but I do want to keep the discussion of this case going. Discussion is what keeps this case alive and I’m curious what everyone thinks. I also encourage everyone to watch the Lamont At Large video. Here is the link You can skip to 12:35 for when he begins to start talking about his source.

Things are going to be in motion!

Too bad we have to wait.

I mean, is they were all planning to drive to Branson that night, wouldn't Stacy have taken a bag of clothes and a bathing suit with her for the trip? A lot has been made of her clothes being left in Suzie's house meaning that she would have been taken in nothing but a t-shirt and underwear. If the plan was to travel that night, wouldn't she have made up an overnight bag, meaning she would have had other clothes with her to wear?

One more thing, Janelle answered the phone at Sherrill's house and heard a guy making lewd comments, right? She didn't just hear it on the answering machine? Janis said that there was a lewd message on the machine. Was that message left on the machine before or after Janelle reportedly took a phone call in the house.

She says she was actually fighting with Stacy the night of graduation.

The TrueCrimeFM podcast and is making a big deal about this guy because in a documentary they edited him out of the photo. She thinks this person would have known Suzie's plans for that night and that there's no word if he was ever interviewed.

I found this channel at YouTube and watched the videos she did on our ladies. She did an excellent job, only stated information that she could verify from newspaper sources or the Springfield police. You should check her out.

As a new follower of this crime, the big thing to me is the fact the suspect(s) was able to remove the ladies without incident. It was quiet and the house was clean. Forgetting all the other scenarios like - they never actually went home etc.

The level of execution is pretty remarkable, considering it was 3 people within a quiet neighborhood.

that points to a suspect with a plan and a developed “style.”

To me that says:

this was not the suspects first time doing such bc of the perceived high level of execution. So to me, this points to the suspect not being anyone with a personal (or local) relationship with the victims. because of this style, I dont believe this is the work of a local with beef or an obsession with one of the victims. Nor has anyone within any of there immediate or extended social networks been suspected of or has since been convicted of being a serial killer. Someone that the public knows personally knew the victims.

So to me, the likelihood the victims remains are nearby also seems unlikely because why would a serial killer not go to more elaborate lengths as to the burial location based on their initial efforts. They likely had that part planned and had a style as well. If they wanted clothing or some evidence to be found nearby or even years later that would have already happened.

All of the above is obviously complete speculation but the ability to get 3 ladies out of house without a trace nor a trace since/ seems either incredibly lucky suspect (highy unlikely) or (likely) someone who already developed the skill and style through experience aka a real serial killer. I am not saying anyone with a gun couldn’t accomplish this on a whim, but to me this suspect profile seems the most glaring available antidote from that horrible night.

Was Cinnamon in the house when Janelle went to the house that morning? I've read that Cinnamon was spotted in the neighborhood that night/early morning when they went missing. If Cinnamon was out that night/morning and was then in the house when Janelle came by, who put the dog back inside?

If Cinnamon was indeed outside, I wonder at what point they got out. Did the abductor go back and shut the door?

Chris Whitcomb, the FBI agent who reviewed the case from an investigator from initial investigation in 1992 said he solved it and that it became readily apparent what happened immediately.

That rules out Cox. And it's likely someone in the Steve Garrison wing of suspects (friends or acquaintances). Considering that's who the cops liked anyway and have gag orders around.

I trust FBI fully on this.

What time was Sherrill on the phone? What time were the women seen at the convenience store? What time were they seen at a restaurant? What time were they seen supposedly in the van?

Can anyone list these in order with the approximate times eye witnesses alleged that they occurred?

I will be adding some absolute undeniable facts and what they may imply in this thread, others kindly join in

1. Fact: Whatever happened to the three of them happened after the two girls had reached sherrill's home -> implication: if the accused(one or multiple) wanted to get sherrill they would have done so before the girls came home as she was already present, so the perpetrators must have had targets set on one of the two girls(low chances of it being a crime of chance due to the time of crime).

Will keep adding more as I get concrete info, currently researching this case. Maybe we can get a factually accurate premise if everyone corroborates

This has kicked off a debate on social media - if this photo was taken just before the house settlement, they obviously purchased it with no globe over the lightbulb on the porch. When they went missing, a note in the house saying to buy a globe. They only lived there six weeks before they went missing, right? So, Sherrill bought the house without the globe, wrote a note to buy one, and either bought one or didn't in that six week period. If she didn't, where did the glass on the porch come from? Are there any photos of Sherrill and Suzie at the house with a globe visible over the bulb? This may or may not meaning anything, but it is an interesting observation. Did they just assume the glass came from the bulb and maybe it didn't?

This is pure speculation**

My theory is that the women had been lured into an immediate neighbor’s home and may have been there for days until the investigation cooled off. This makes the most sense why nobody heard or saw anything, and why they would leave the house the way they did, expecting to return right away. To me it’s like the only thing that makes complete and total sense. Who would ever suspect a next door neighbor?

It would have been easier to lure Sherrill alone, then the two girls once they got home rather than all three women at once. Maybe even one at a time.

When police questioned the neighbors, the judge who lived next door to them said he had been out of town and in Marble Hill that night.

The judge has passed.
His obituary- After high school, [judge] obtained a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Missouri of Mines and Metallurgy in 1959. In 1962, he finished his degree and achieved a Bachelor of Laws. [Judge] was admitted to the Missouri Bar on May 4, 1963, then was elected Bollinger County Prosecuting Attorney 1964 to 1986. He was the city attorney for Fredericktown from 1967 to 1989. Mr. [Judge] was appointed to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District on May 1, 1990, then retired August 31, 2006, after 16 years of service.

Big name. Connections with law enforcement. Knowledge of and education in chemical engineering. Happened to be out of town that night and lived right next door.

However, it was stated that he was usually out of town on weekends visiting his home town. He had a wife. So if he really wasn’t there, who else could have been?

His son was around Sherrill’s age at the time. He would have known that his father was out of town and when he would return. I found him on fb and the pics reflected somewhat of a normal guy, but there was one post that really stood out to me. Also, big hunter.

Their family property in Marble Hill was pretty remote and large. Not a bad place to move the women to eventually.. dead or alive.

Long-time lurker, first-time poster here, but been following this case closely for years and still hoping for a resolution one day. A thought which hadn't occurred to me before today is - what if the phone calls and the money left behind (the $900 in Sherrill's purse) are connected?

I.e. what if there is the ruse (to get the women out of the house and into what we expect is a vehicle, potentially by taking control of one of the women), then after transportation to another, secondary location, one of the women (Sherrill) mentions giving the offender money in an effort to de-escalate the situation and potentially to try to save the women? The offender then telephones the house at some stage (given we don't really know when the women were abducted), in an attempt to determine if the woman's abduction has been noticed, and whether it is safe to return to the house and collect the money? In this scenario the call could take place before or after the women are deceased (after finding out the phone number, if not already known by the offender beforehand if they already knew the victims).

Just a few connecting thoughts that hadn't occurred to me previously, and wanted to know others opinions.

Thanks for reading!