neighbor claimed to have seen a nude man on the playground the week before.
Harriet Forrest, the manager of the nearby 7-Eleven, viewed the composite and called in saying that a man who matched it had been at the store at 10:30 A.M . on the 25th. A store videotape of the subject was played, revealing a white male appearing to be twenty-five to thirty years old, six feet tall, of medium build, wearing a white T-shirt and tennis shoes, but without a mustache. Since he lacked a mustache, the lead was dropped.
On August 1, Gloria Curtis told an investigator that the composite looked like the resident of 8864 Trimbleway, Garvin L.Porter. Porter turned out to be only five feet seven inches tall and weighed 170 pounds. He was dismissed as a suspect. Considerable weight was being placed on the descriptions given by the two little boys.
Later, on August 1, Jim Greeley and Robert Fertig of Pennsbury Place reported that their neighbor, Mr. King, looked like the composite. It was determined that Mr. King was driving his tractor-trailer all day on July 25.
The composite sketch, it seemed, favored a lot of people.
That same day, a Mr. Constantine of Pennsbury Place, advised police that the picture of the suspect was similar to a man wanted in the Fells Point area of Baltimore for a series of child rapes. This particular lead was never pursued.
A married couple from Orion Court told police that Clarence Conroy, who lived three doors down, had been previously arrested for child molesting, and except for his heightâhe was only five feet four inches tallâmet the description. Conroy went by the nickname Popeye and always wore a Pittsburgh Pirates hat. Police pulled Conroyâs record. They later established that on the day of the crime heâd been mowing grass all morning and into the early afternoon at a distant location.
Detective Milton Duckworth, on July 31, tracked down Arnold Sanders after learning that Sanders had been fired from delivering the
Sun
newspapers because he often delivered them in a bikini bathing suit. Sanders had been taking classes at Essex Community College during the entire morning of July 25. His alibi checked out.
Detectives Capel and Ramsey had to sift through all these leads and see to it that each was adequately followed up. It was their responsibility to separate the wheat from the chaff. This was no easy chore. Interestingly, though, given what was eventually to happen, none of these reports suggested anything about a man with reddish or auburn hair or a man with mutton chop sideburns.
When a telephone tip came in suggesting that a W. F. Johnson of Spangler Way should be investigated, that he met the general description of the assailant and had spent two and a half years at the Clifton Perkins State Mental Hospital after being charged with child molestation, it was Detective Duckworth who was again assigned to track him down. Duckworth interviewed Johnson on July 27. He had already learned that Johnson was known to distribute sweets to the children at the Calvary Baptist Church, where heâd earned the nickname the Candy Man. Johnson came across as a creepy guy. He claimed that on July 25 heâd spent the day looking for work, as heâd been doing since losing his job eight months earlier. He admitted that heâd seen Dawnâs picture on TV and knew her from church. He admitted giving candy to kids and said he did it because he loved children. Under no circumstances would he hurt one, he said. Detective Duckworth also interviewed the minister of the church who said Johnson was a constant source of concern as he liked to pick the little girls up and put them on his lap. Several mothers had complained about him touching their children. Detective Duckworth felt uneasy about Johnson. Johnson did not match the composite sketch. He was six feet six inches tall, weighed 215 pounds, and had brown hair. Still, Johnson had no verifiable alibi, and Duckworth believed that he should not
Harriet Forrest, the manager of the nearby 7-Eleven, viewed the composite and called in saying that a man who matched it had been at the store at 10:30 A.M . on the 25th. A store videotape of the subject was played, revealing a white male appearing to be twenty-five to thirty years old, six feet tall, of medium build, wearing a white T-shirt and tennis shoes, but without a mustache. Since he lacked a mustache, the lead was dropped.
On August 1, Gloria Curtis told an investigator that the composite looked like the resident of 8864 Trimbleway, Garvin L.Porter. Porter turned out to be only five feet seven inches tall and weighed 170 pounds. He was dismissed as a suspect. Considerable weight was being placed on the descriptions given by the two little boys.
Later, on August 1, Jim Greeley and Robert Fertig of Pennsbury Place reported that their neighbor, Mr. King, looked like the composite. It was determined that Mr. King was driving his tractor-trailer all day on July 25.
The composite sketch, it seemed, favored a lot of people.
That same day, a Mr. Constantine of Pennsbury Place, advised police that the picture of the suspect was similar to a man wanted in the Fells Point area of Baltimore for a series of child rapes. This particular lead was never pursued.
A married couple from Orion Court told police that Clarence Conroy, who lived three doors down, had been previously arrested for child molesting, and except for his heightâhe was only five feet four inches tallâmet the description. Conroy went by the nickname Popeye and always wore a Pittsburgh Pirates hat. Police pulled Conroyâs record. They later established that on the day of the crime heâd been mowing grass all morning and into the early afternoon at a distant location.
Detective Milton Duckworth, on July 31, tracked down Arnold Sanders after learning that Sanders had been fired from delivering the
Sun
newspapers because he often delivered them in a bikini bathing suit. Sanders had been taking classes at Essex Community College during the entire morning of July 25. His alibi checked out.
Detectives Capel and Ramsey had to sift through all these leads and see to it that each was adequately followed up. It was their responsibility to separate the wheat from the chaff. This was no easy chore. Interestingly, though, given what was eventually to happen, none of these reports suggested anything about a man with reddish or auburn hair or a man with mutton chop sideburns.
When a telephone tip came in suggesting that a W. F. Johnson of Spangler Way should be investigated, that he met the general description of the assailant and had spent two and a half years at the Clifton Perkins State Mental Hospital after being charged with child molestation, it was Detective Duckworth who was again assigned to track him down. Duckworth interviewed Johnson on July 27. He had already learned that Johnson was known to distribute sweets to the children at the Calvary Baptist Church, where heâd earned the nickname the Candy Man. Johnson came across as a creepy guy. He claimed that on July 25 heâd spent the day looking for work, as heâd been doing since losing his job eight months earlier. He admitted that heâd seen Dawnâs picture on TV and knew her from church. He admitted giving candy to kids and said he did it because he loved children. Under no circumstances would he hurt one, he said. Detective Duckworth also interviewed the minister of the church who said Johnson was a constant source of concern as he liked to pick the little girls up and put them on his lap. Several mothers had complained about him touching their children. Detective Duckworth felt uneasy about Johnson. Johnson did not match the composite sketch. He was six feet six inches tall, weighed 215 pounds, and had brown hair. Still, Johnson had no verifiable alibi, and Duckworth believed that he should not
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