List of few solved cases
2003 Michael Butterfield Murder
46-year-old Butterfield was murdered in the
La Petite Rouge Motel on El Cajon Blvd. Crime Stoppers released
a picture of all three suspects in the case to the local media.
A tipster recognized the suspects as three people staying in
a motel in Mexico. Mexican Authorities were notified and subsequently
arrested all three suspects within ten hours of Crime Stoppers
releasing their pictures.
2003 Stephen Brucker Murder
On, Monday, April 14, 2003, Cajon Speedway
Promoter Stephen Brucker was shot when he answered a knock on
the front door of his East County home; Brucker later died as
a result of the shooting. Approximately one month later, tipsters
called Crime Stoppers and identified Brandon Handshoe and Eric
Anderson as the suspects. Both suspects were subsequently arrested
and are awaiting trial.
2004 Tecolote Golf Course Murder
On Monday, April 12, 2004, William Overson
was shot and killed as he left the Tecolote Golf Course in San
Diego, CA. Approximately two weeks after the murder, Crime Stoppers
received a tip identifying the suspects as Jimmy Derieux and
Montgomery Bruce. With the suspects identified, the SDPD homicide
team focused the investigation on both individuals. After an
extensive investigation, Derieux and Bruce were arrested for
the murder of William Overson.
2005 (2000 Case) North Park Produce
On Tuesday, January 27, 2000 Abdullah Nehme
was shot and killed at his North Park Produce store on El Cajon
Blvd. In San Diego. Approximately one week later, Crime Stoppers
received information identifying one of the two suspects in
the case. Unfortunately at the time, there wasn’t enough evidence
to make an arrest. Detectives reopened the case in 2004 and
were able to use the initial Crime Stoppers information and
couple it with new leads they developed. In March of 2005, the
SDPD homicide unit arrested two people (one of which was the
original suspect identified in the 2000 tip) for the murder
of Nehme.
1988 The Kurt Meyering Assault
Kurt Meyering and his girlfriend were driving
north on Interstate 5 in a newly purchased 1984 Corvette, As
they drove under the Pershing Road overpass, a chunk of concrete
was thrown from the overpass, hitting Mr. Meyering in the head
and paralyzing him.
Stephanie Slater and Julie Dart
In 1992 estate agent Stephanie Slater was showing
a potential buyer around a house when he attacked and forcibly
abducted her. She was held in a makeshift coffin for eight days.
Stephanie's evidence had given the police a good start but it
was the Crimewatch appeal that led them to the suspect.
The programmed transmitted in February 1992 brought together
a wealth of minor clues as well as a tape recording of the suspect's
voice. Watching that night with mounting horror was his ex-wife
Susan Oake. After the main programme she telephoned her son
who then saw the Crimewatch Update. Both of them knew only too
well the identity of the voice on the tape. As a result of Susan's
call, Michael Sams is serving four life sentences for the kidnap
of Stephanie Slater, and the murder of 18-year-old Julie Dart.
Enid Poole and Mair Lougher
In March 1996, the brutal robbery and beating
of pensioners Enid Poole and Mair Lougher in Barry provoked
outcry in South Wales. Having little success within the principality,
police decided to go nationwide with an appeal on Crimewatch
the following month.
DS Eric Williams from West Mercia police rang in after seeing
the film and named the attacker as Leslie Salter. Later that
year one of his victims died from her injuries. Leslie Salter
was given five life sentences for murder, GBH and aggravated
burglary.
Mabel Leyshon
In November 2001, 90 year old Mabel Leyshon
was found stabbed to death in her own home, in Anglesey. Her
heart had been cut out and two pokers were placed in an "X"
on the floor. An appeal on Crimewatch in December led to a viewer
calling in, linking local teenager Matthew Hardman to acts of
vampirism. This led the police to a previous case where Hardman
had tried to bite a girl's neck. Matthew Hardman was arrested
and in August 2002 was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.
Lin and Megan Russell
In July 1996, Lin Russell collected her two
daughters from school and walked them home along a quiet country
lane in Kent. There, Lin and her 6-year-old daughter Megan were
bludgeoned to death, viciously attacked by a man wielding a
hammer. 9-year-old Josie was left for dead.These chilling murders
became part of a massive police investigation and Crimewatch
ran two reconstructions: one in 1996, which featured an E-fit
and footage of Josie Russell, and the second in 1997 targeted
specifically at psychiatrists and mental health workers. The
public response was phenomenal, with more than 600 calls, including
one from a psychiatrist, which proved to be crucial. Michael
Stone was sentenced in 2001 to life imprisonment.
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