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Ex-officers warm to cold cases

By JOHN FRANK
Published December 11, 2006

	Tape marks off the scene where Howard Eugene Smith was found dead outside VFW Post 4337 in Inverness.
[Times file (1989)]

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Stephen J. Coddington] Citrus County Sheriff's Office cold case investigator Manny Perez, talks with fellow investigator Frank Rabena, center, as Rabena and partner Rick Sigurdsen, left, work on leads at the Cirtus County Sheriff's Office headquarters in Inverness.

Howard Eugene Smith died lying facedown in the parking lot of the VFW Post 4337 he often visited. He was stabbed to death after leaving the night of Feb. 8, 1989.

Debra Sue Owens' bullet-riddled body was dumped in the Withlacoochee State Forest. She was found near a clump of trees by hikers on Sept. 28, 2002.

Both murders remain unsolved. But even years later, the Citrus County Sheriff's Office wants to bring resolution to these cold cases.

Four retired law enforcement agents, with a combined 111 years of sworn service, began delving into the Smith and Owens cases last month as part of a volunteer Cold Case Unit at the Sheriff's Office.

It's a starting point for the volunteers, who were broken up into two teams and assigned cases to work on for two days a week. Smith and Owens are just two of the 13 unsolved murders in Citrus County.

Investigators have pored over the thick case files for years, but the trail went cold long ago in many instances. The oldest case dates back to 1973, when deputies found the skeletal remains of Susan Smith along Rock Crusher Road in Crystal River.

For these retired police officers and FBI agents, it's a pleasure to get back in the squad room.

"I have 27 years of active law enforcement," said William Schaffer Sr., a retired police officer from New York. "I figured I may be able to help. You just can't take away your retirement from the community you're in. There comes a point when you give back."

Same for Manny Perez, a retired FBI agent from the Tampa area.

"I'm probably the last person I thought would be coming back into some type of law enforcement," he said. "But when you spend that much time in law enforcement it's a pretty big part of your life.

"For me, the first day we walked back in the squad room, I thought, 'Boy, I feel like I'm back home,' " he said.

The four investigators said they are looking forward to dedicating themselves to a specific case, which full-time deputies can't do, said Detective Lee Alexander, the unit's supervisor.

"That's the exact purpose of why we formed this team," he said. "The detectives in the major crimes unit had this daily pressure. And you work on these cases when you have time. Well, with our daily caseload, that time didn't come often."

Using volunteers to revive these forgotten cases is a model that has worked across the country. The Hernando County Sheriff's Office employs a similar concept with volunteers, drawing from an equally rich base of retirees with valuable skills.

The unit hopes to break new leads in the cases by using new technologies, such as DNA evidence, and by capitalizing on the time factor, re-interviewing witnesses who may be more willing to talk now.

Alexander said the volunteers have already made progress in their first two weeks. "My personal opinion is that they've made some great headway in the cases they are dealing with," he said. "Almost to the point, in my opinion, of 'wow.' I don't know how else better to say it."

Still, solving cold cases is a long shot at best. They acknowledge this, but it doesn't deter them.

Rick Sigurdsen, a former Washington, D.C., police officer, is the only one of the four to break a cold case in the past. He remembers it well: A drug deal gone wrong, and years later, a witness came forward to rat out the shooter.

He said the feeling of solving a cold case motivates him in this new venture. "It's a high like you can't imagine," he said. "It's a very, very exciting thing to go through."

John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or 860-7312.

SUSAN SMITH

Nov. 3, 1973

The woman's skeletal remains were found along Rock Crusher Road. Investigators know she was stabbed to death, but they have no suspects in the case.

ETHEL LYNCH REYNOLDS AND FREDA LYNCH DEMOUGIN

Dec. 31, 1983

Reynolds' daughter discovered the elderly sisters dead in their small brick home in Crystal River on New Year's Eve. Reynolds, 86, and DeMougin, 84, both had their throats slashed. One of the women had been sexually assaulted.

UNKNOWN MAN

June 14,1985

The body of a 60-year-old man who was doused in gasoline was burning on the side of County Road 490 in Homosassa Springs. The man also suffered a head wound. He was never identified.

DENNIS OWEN BAKER

Dec. 24, 1985

A traveler discovered the 30-year-old Crystal River man's body on County Road 480 on Christmas Eve. He was dragged behind a vehicle for more than half a mile and died of asphyxiation. Investigators first thought it was a drug deal gone wrong and once had a suspect in the case.

MATE JOHN CRAWFORD

May 5, 1986

The 49-year-old Crystal River man was pulled from a roadside ditch off Ozello Trail. He died of two gunshot wounds to the chest. He was last seen leaving the Crystal Lounge in Crystal River.

TINA ANN SHAUKAT

Jan. 1, 1989

The 21-year-old store clerk at the Texaco Food Mart at U.S. 41 and County Road 491 in Holder was shot in the head. Shaukat fell into a coma and never awoke. Authorities held a suspect for several months but later released him.

HOWARD EUGENE SMITH

Feb. 9, 1989

A passer-by discovered the 48-year-old Inverness man stabbed to death and lying facedown in the VFW Post 4337 parking lot. The now-defunct Inverness Police Department made an arrest but charges were later dropped because of mishandled evidence.

JAMES JOSEPH DORE

June 17, 1995

Found at the end of a road in Floral City, the 29-year-old man suffered trauma to his head, neck and chest. He was last seen leaving an Inverness bar at 2 a.m. and then stopping by his father's home nearby to get gas money. His truck was found stuck in a culvert three miles away.

RENEE ROSITA HARRIS

May 20, 2000

The Ocala woman's naked body was discovered in the Cross Florida Barge Canal near U.S. 19 by fishermen. Investigators questioned a man in the 24-year-old prostitute's death but no arrests were made.

NATHANIEL "NAT" R. THOMAS

Dec. 2, 2000

The 81-year-old Dunnellon man was found bludgeoned to death in his home.

DEBRA SUE OWENS

Sept. 28, 2002

The 41-year-old Homosassa Springs woman's body was discovered by hikers in the Withlacoochee State Forest near the Hernando County line a day after she went missing. Her body was riddled with bullets and investigators think it was dumped there.

JORDYN BRUNO

Nov. 25, 2002

The toddler was found dead in her playpen at her Beverly Hills home in the early morning. The 22-month-old died from asphyxiation and blunt trauma. Her mother and grandparents were home at the time.

The investigators

Age: 60

Background: Retired in 1997 after 29 years in law enforcement. He was a homicide detective in Washington, D.C., an internal affairs investigator for the Internal Revenue Service tracking white-collar crimes, and set up the IRS computer crime division.

Age: 70

Background: Spent 26 years with the FBI working organized crime, white-collar crimes mostly in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area.

Age: 63

Background: Started as foot patrol for police department in Schenectady, N.Y., before becoming an investigator in major crimes and later in narcotics. Also, worked with a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration task force in Albany, N.Y. Retired in 1995 with 27 years in law enforcement.

Age: 61

Background: Worked 29 years for the FBI in Connecticut, New York City and Tampa before retiring in 2000. He investigated organized crime for 10 years, narcotics for 10 years and international terrorism for nine years.

[Last modified December 11, 2006, 06:26:55]