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Cold for years, murder case is solved

By TIMES WIRES
Published July 19, 2007

CLEARWATER

Investigators say a suspected serial killer who died in prison 12 years ago murdered two Pinellas County women who disappeared more than four decades ago.

The women - 21-year-old Nancy Leichner of Largo and 20-year-old Pam Nater of Clearwater - vanished Oct. 2, 1966, after a scuba trip in the Ocala National Forest.

Their bodies never were found.

A witness account and the recent discovery of long-mishandled confessions of the killer, a former Martin County sheriff's deputy, finally solved the mystery.

"To be honest, it's a bittersweet satisfaction, because you don't know where the remains are," said Lake County sheriff's Sgt. Ken Adams, the lead detective of the multicounty team responsible for solving the case.

The case baffled law enforcement for decades, and some lost hope.

"As time went by, I started to think nothing was going to happen," Tampa resident Susan Leichner-Schonder, Nancy's sister, told the Orlando Sentinel. "My father passed away not knowing, and Pam's parents both passed away not knowing." 

USF ST. PETERSBURG

Media expert chosen for graduate post

A founder of the journalism and media studies graduate program at USF St. Petersburg will be the university's new interim regional associate vice chancellor for research and graduate studies.

Robert Dardenne, 60, came to USF St. Petersburg in 1991 as the second faculty member hired in the department of journalism and media studies. A Fulbright professor, he has taught journalism in Shanghai and has lectured on American journalism practices, news and democracy in Nigeria.

Locally, he is vice president of Speak Up Tampa Bay, the board that oversees public access television in Tampa and Hillsborough County.

Dardenne's appointment begins Monday.

WIMAUMA

Post office offers fair to help with passports

People with travel plans outside the United States who don't have an up-to-date passport can attend a passport fair Saturday.

The Wimauma post office is holding its summer passport fair from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission, 16550 U.S. 301 S, a seasonal alternative to business hours.

Passport Service offices have been hit hard nationally by a record number of applications since Jan. 23, when a new rule required passports for anyone flying to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.

For more information, call the Wimauma post office, 634-4772.

LARGO

Driver dies in crash that also injured three

Rose Marie Tuttle, 61, of Largo died Tuesday after she was involved in a three-car crash that also left three others seriously injured.

Tuttle was traveling north on 101st Street in her silver 2007 Toyota Camry. As she drove through the Ulmerton Road intersection, a 2005 Mercedes-Benz driven by John S. Houts, 48, of Largo struck her car, police said.

The impact caused Tuttle's car to slide into a Mazda Miata headed south on 101st Street.

TARPON SPRINGS

Lightning ignites small fires in preserve

Firefighters were busy responding to fires caused by severe weather Tuesday and Wednesday.

Two small fires at the Brooker Creek Preserve in Tarpon Springs started after lightning storms moved through Tuesday night.

Largo fire crews doused another small brush fire Wednesday afternoon that started as lightning storms passed through the city. None of the fires caused major damage.

A funnel cloud also was seen near the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport on Wednesday afternoon. No damage was reported.

Elsewhere

CHIEF TO RETIRE: Dade City commissioners reached a retirement agreement with police Chief Phillip Thompson on Wednesday. Thompson's last day will be Aug. 1. Thompson, who turns 55 Tuesday, said he has Parkinson's disease.

BAYSHORE CLOSED: One southbound lane of S Bayshore Boulevard was closed for several hours Wednesday as the Tampa Water Department repaired a broken water line. The closure, between Inman Avenue and S Boulevard, was expected to be repaired late Wednesday. Southbound traffic was diverted into the two inside lanes. Normal traffic patterns were expected to return by this morning, officials said.

[Last modified July 18, 2007, 23:46:10]