A Note to Our Readers

I have been ill for the last two weeks that is why I haven't finished the entries for "Terror in Kansas." I hope that I will have another entry up by August 1st.

Thanks for your patience!

Tezi

Terror In Kansas--Part II

Less than one week after Terry Maness was murdered another young woman was living her own nightmare in Kansas City, Kansas. Her name was Michelle Katf.

Michelle had bid her boyfriend good night, took a shower, and went to bed. But, before going to bed, she made sure her apartment was secure, she even double-checked her deadbolt to make sure it was locked. The time was just after midnight when Michelle went to bed. About two hours later, she woke up to find her bedroom light on and a strange man in her bedroom! Michelle had no clue who this stranger was or what he was doing in her bedroom. However, she was about to find out exactly what he had planned for her.

He jumped on Michelle who at first struggled with him. However, he told her he had a gun, so Michelle decided not to struggle with him. She relaxed and thought about how she could get away from him. He loosened his hold on her after she relaxed and she caught her breath and tried to escape him again. But, she couldn't get away from him, plus she was nude. They fell to the floor, where Michelle's assailant told her to put some clothes on because they were leaving her apartment. He also told Michelle NOT to get in her closet to get her clothes, but to put something on that was on the floor. Michelle felt a bit better, she felt like he wasn't planning to rape her, if he was allowing her to put some clothes on. Her assailant told her to hurry. Michelle's only thought was if she left with him, she wouldn't make it back alive. She frantically thought of a way to get free of him.

As they were walking out of Michelle's apartment, she noticed her attacker did NOT unlock the deadbolt, it was already unlocked. Michelle knew she locked the deadbolt before going to bed. After shutting the door, he assailant told her to come along quietly, because he had a gun. As they were going down the last flight of stairs, Michelle knew this was her last chance to get away from him. She decided to take a huge risk. Michelle started screaming!

As Michelle was screaming, her attacker started yelling at her to be quiet, but Michelle wasn't about to be quiet. She kept screaming. Finally, her attacker told her he was going to shoot her. He pointed the gun at her, pulled the trigger, but Michelle didn't feel anything. In fact, the gun sounded like a plastic pellet gun. He pulled the trigger again, and when that didn't phase Michelle, he hit her over the head repeatedly. The gun broke and Michelle started bleeding. Her assailant walked away, and then came back and picked the plastic pieces of the gun up off the stairs, and calmly walked to the parking lot. He walked to a car that was parked next to a dumpster and got in, and drove away.

Michelle got up and watched him leave. She then noticed she was bleeding. She went back up the stairs to her apartment, where she put on some jeans and a shirt and called the police for help. She also wondered if anyone in the apartment complex heard her scream.

When the police came, they didn't seem to take her seriously, despite her wounds. She showed the officer the flashlight her assailant left behind and told him that the flashlight didn't belong to her. The officer reluctantly took the flashlight, not seeming to care if it might have valuable fingerprints on it. Michelle also explained to the officer that she made sure her deadbolt was locked before she went to bed, but when her assailant opened the door for them to leave, the deadbolt was already unlocked. She could not understand the officer's indifferent attitude. She barely escaped with her life, and he didn't seem to care or even believe her. Michelle made the decision that she would NOT spend another night in her apartment.

Michelle had her boyfriend come and get her and she left her apartment never to return, except to get her belongings. The next day, while picking up her blankets and sheets off of the floor where they fell when she was struggling with her assailant, she discovered a knife. She knew the knife didn't belong to her, so she called the police again. Their response was to tell her to bring the knife by when she had the chance. By now, Michelle was thoroughly frustrated by the police department's indifference and their lack of understanding for her situation. She was beaten by a strange man, whom she didn't know, who broke into her apartment, and the police didn't seem to care.

Early Sunday morning, June 18, 1989, Michelle's attacker struck again. His name was Richard Grissom JR. He had a lengthy adult criminal record, as well as a conviction for murder as a juvenile. If the police would have done their jobs properly when Michelle's attack happened, maybe three innocent lives would have been saved. Maybe, if the police would have tried to take fingerprints off of the knife and flashlight, the next two attacks and three murders could have been prevented.

Who were the three final victims of Richard Grissom? What other crimes did he commit during this time? Is he really just another misunderstood killer who had a terrible childhood? Come back tomorrow for Part III. It will be worth your time!

Thanks for reading. All comments (bad or good) are welcome.

(Source material: "Suddenly Gone" by Dan Mitrione, 1995)

The unsolved case of Sandra Kerby

It's one of our city's most high profile and unsolved cases.

There's no factual proof, but Sandra Kerby is presumed dead and in fact her husband had her declared legally dead in February of 2006.
She was last seen alive leaving her daughter's home ten years ago.
Police have never found her body or made any arrests in the case.
The only person who may have had means, motive and opportunity?

Her husband Frank Kerby.

Fresno Police only named Frank Kerby a person of interest, not a suspect...although I don't know why not. He is not cooperating with investigators and hasn't since almost the moment Sandra went missing. Police have said that Frank had given them conflicting statements of his movements for the day Sandra went missing . He claimed he was in Fresno on the day Sandra disappeared, but cell phone records show he was in Reedley at least at some point on that day. There is a lot of open and accessible territory still in Reedley...and there was a lot of new construction not far from where she disappeared as well.

6 months after Sandra's disappearance police obtained a search warrant seizing a computer, files, and personal records including Sandra's diary where she wrote she knew Frank was having an affair.

Just a few days after Sandra mysteriously disappeared Frank proposed marriage to his girlfriend...something that immediatly sets my "hinky meter" into the red zone and off the charts.

Bette Shearman, Sandra's mother, once enjoyed painting but says her artistic inspiration vanished when her daughter disappeared ten years ago. She continues to call Sandra's former husband Frank Kerby a killer. Shearman said, "I know he did it. He was mean ... When she comes with fat lips and black eyes, wouldn't you think that guy is the one who killed her."

Detectives found Sandra's white Ford Explorer parked at the River Park Shopping Center in front of Target with her purse and keys locked inside 2 days after she was reported missing. What woman goes to a shopping center and leaves her purse and keys in the car? A shopping center which happens to be within walking distance to her home...in the Woodward Park area.

The seat of the car was adjusted to accomodate someone much taller than the 5' 5" Sandra. Other than her car, nothing else has been found to tell what happened to her. Maybe with current foresnic technology they can retest and find something from evidence submitted to the crime lab just 6 months ago. Results of those tests are still pending...
10 years ago when Sandra went missing ribbons covered the fence line at the school Sandra taught hoping for her safe return. Parents and teachers passed out flyers asking for the community's help. But on this past Friday, there were none of those same efforts to mark the 10 year annivesary, just a quiet school.
Sue Smits was principal at Gibson when Sandra vanished. Smits said, "Sandy will never be forgotten as an educator ... Sandy was a unique teacher. She had the ability to nurture students at whatever level they were performing."

A Fresno judge declared Sandra legally dead nearly three years ago even though her body was never been found. Her mother still hopes someone will unravel the mystery. Shearman said, "Maybe she disappeared, well I never had that in mind that maybe she got mad and just went off. To me, she is dead. I've just accepted it." She further stated that she felt her daughter would not have abandoned her children and that soon before she disappeared she had told her that she was "finally going to get a divorce" from Frank.
Frank refused to speak with any media on this last Friday. Once again, he is, unfortunatley only a person of interest. Fresno Police are not optimistic the DNA testing will even be completed soon because of the state budget crisis.

Do I think there is any chance of them finding Sandra's body now?

Well let's just say I hope that Scott Peterson will have a new neighbor in San Quentin one of these days very soon.

June 1989--A Month of Terror in Kansas

June 1989 was not a good month for young women in Kansas. One would die in her apartment, one would escape with her life, thanks to her quick thinking and survival skills. And three others would be kidnapped and presumed murdered. Who was responsible for this reign of terror in Kansas? Was it the BTK serial killer reemerging?

On June 7, 1989, Terri Maness didn't make it to work. That in itself was unusual. Terri was known to be prompt, and if she was going to be late she always called her employer. However, she didn't call in, and most importantly if she was was ill or she was going to miss work for any other reason, she always called her parents to let them know. Her co-workers were worried. They repeatedly called Terri's home, to no avail. Finally, they called Terri's parents. Of course, Terri's parents were worried. They tried to call her home also, but the answering machine didn't pick up their calls. Finally, Terri's parents called her neighbor, Wichita Police Officer, J.C. Stevenson.

Officer Stevenson was off duty at the time the call came from Terri's parents, but he went to check if Terri was home or if her car was parked in her usual spot. He called her parents to report that Terri wasn't home and her car was not parked in her spot. He told her parents that he left a note for Terri to call them as soon as she arrived home. More time went by, but Terri still didn't call her parents. So, Terri's parents called J.C. again. This time they asked him to please enter Terri's apartment, and take a look around to make sure Terri wasn't inside injured or ill. J.C. said he would go right over and call them back as soon as he was finished.

J.C. climbed in an open window after repeatedly knocking on Terri's door, and he searched the ground level and the upstairs bedroom and bathroom. He didn't find anything that looked out of order in those two levels, so he went downstairs to the basement where the recreation room was located. There he found something he wished he would have never found. Terri was laying on the floor in a pool of her own blood, stabbed repeatedly. J.C. knew he had to get help.

J.C. called 9-11. Then, he realized that he needed to call Terri's parents, but he couldn't bear to tell them that Terri was dead. He called them and told them they needed to come to Terri's apartment, that it was an emergency. Terri's parents didn't ask any questions, they just agreed to come. In the meantime, Terri's employer and a secretary that worked with Terri decided to come to her apartment to check on her. They were met with the sight of seeing crime scene tape around Terri's apartment and LE officials all over the scene. The secretary asked what was going on. The answer, the woman that lived in the apartment was apparently murdered. Terri's employer had the unenviable task of comforting Terri's parents after they found out the grim news.

Who could have done this to Terri? She worked in a small law firm that handled civil cases, she had no enemies, but yet she was dead. There was no sign of forced entry into her apartment and her car was missing.

Detective Ken Landwehr of the Wichita Police Department caught the case to investigate Terri's murder. When he looked at the scene, he thought that maybe the BTK serial killer had reappeared (BTK was later identified, arrested, and convicted in 2005). Landwehr's first order of business was to see if any witnesses had seen anything unusual around Terri's apartment. A witness was located that said that Terri's car had left the apartment at around 5:30 a.m. that morning, but she couldn't tell who was driving, but she assumed Terri was. Terri's car was located two blocks away at another apartment complex. Inside the car, items including Terri's answering machine were recovered. The police believed these items were stolen from Terri's apartment at the time of her murder.

It seemed there were no easy answers about Terri's murder. Whoever killed Terri seemed to come in her apartment and disappear, leaving no trace of himself. Who was this monster? Was it really BTK? Or was it someone else?

Read here tomorrow and find out who this terrible monster was and see what other terrible crimes against young women like Terri he committed.

(Source Material: "Suddenly Gone" By Dan Mitrione, 1995)

Seeker's Board Is Up!

Hi everyone. I just want everyone to know that Seeker's board is back up and running great. Everything has been fixed. I also want everyone to know that I am working on a blog entry, I should have it up by tomorrow evening. I have been really busy with "real life," meaning I've had my granddaughter to watch. Hopefully, I will be able to work on it uninterrupted tonight.

Here is the link to Seeker's board, and if you aren't a member, all you need to do is hit the "Contact Us" button on the forum to let Seeker know you want to join. And she will get you registered~

http://www.cyber-villa.org/forums/index.php