In 1970, 11-year-old Terrence Bowers was on a camping trip with Boy Scout Troop 275 in Chester
Apr 7, 2019 18:36:21 GMT
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Post by hi224 on Apr 7, 2019 18:36:21 GMT
On April 26, 1970, at approximately 7:30 AM, 11-year-old Terrence “Terry” Bowers was found deceased, suffering from multiple stab wounds, in his sleeping bag while on a Boy Scout’s camping trip in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The camping trip began on Friday, April 24, when Boy Scout Troop 275 traveled from Upper Darby to St. Basil the Great Church, East Pikeland Township, Chester County. Twenty three scouts and their six adult leaders set up camp on an open field near a creek about 200 yards from the church building, just beginning their much anticipated trip.
After setting up the camp site, the scouts spent their day engaging in typical Boy Scout activities. Nobody noticed anything strange about any of the children’s behavior, including Terrence. The children rolled out their sleeping bags and went to sleep in a circular fashion around the campfire. Tents were pitched, but some scouts only slept in their tents if they had gotten cold from sleeping outside. It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning when fellow scouts discovered Terrence, motionless in his green sleeping bag, surrounded by a pool of his own blood. The medical examiner determined that Terrence was likely murdered just an hour prior to his discovery, about 6:30 AM. Terrence suffered stab wounds to his back, right arm, and chest. There was no indication that Terrence had been sexually assaulted. The medical examiner believed that the knife used to murder Terrence was a small blade. Though twenty two other scouts and two adult leaders were only feet away from Terrence at the time of his murder, there were no witnesses. Nobody had even heard anything unusual.
The investigation was hexed from the beginning. By the time the authorities arrived, Terrence’s body had been moved and patents were on the scene. In the days and weeks after the murder, hundreds of people in northern Chester County were questioned by a six-man police investigation team. Boy Scouts were hooked up to polygraph machines and had their knives confiscated for evidence. The murder weapon was never recovered, despite three searches with metal detectors. There were no witnesses, no suspects, no motive, and no murder weapon. Investigators were dumbfounded by the random and brutal attack. Just days after the murder occurred, investigators already found themselves facing a dead end.
All scouts and leaders were questioned extensively. Their stories of their whereabouts at the time of the murder were all verified. Authorities investigated patients from the nearby mental facilities, Pennhurst State Hospital and Valley Forge Military Hospital, who were AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) or out on passes. Each Sunday around sunrise, police set up a checkpoint near the church to ask drivers if they had seen anything unusual on the morning of the murder. Still, there were no viable suspects that could be linked to Terrence. The only leads investigators would have wouldn’t emerge until 1972 and 1983. In 1972, investigators questioned a man who had newspaper clippings about Terrence’s case in his apartment. In 1983, an inmate reportedly claimed to have information about the case. Unfortunately, both leads went nowhere.
In a short amount of time, the case went cold. It wasn’t until 2012 that the freshest lead would emerge. In The Boy Scouts’ “perversion files,” records that name pedophiles and others that the Scouts want to keep out of the organization, there were documents that included letters a Boy Scout wrote in 1971 referring to Lawrence Wakely, a former Scout who is currently serving time at a state prison for rape. These records indicated that Wakely once admitted to stabbing Terrence in retaliation for being kicked out of the Scouts. The confession was never reported in the news at the time, but James Wenner, a state police investigator, said he had interviewed a man who fit Wakely’s description around the time of the murder. Wenner said that Wakely’s confession lacked details that only the murderer would know, and though its known to be inaccurate and oftentimes inadmissible in court, Wakely failed a polygraph test.
Though Terrence’s father passed away of a heart attack at the 48 in 1978, Terrence’s mother and siblings still seek justice for their son and brother. Terrence’s family struggle to comprehend who could have murdered their loved one. Terrence’s brother, Chris, who has a tattoo of Terrence’s portrait on his bicep, speculated, "These are some of the biggest organizations in the world [Roman Catholic Church & Boy Scouts]. If they wanted to find out where a bunch of young boys were hanging out, they were privy to that information. If they wanted this thing shut down, they'd shut it down real fast. I think they did. But if this happened today, it would have been solved."
Maureen, Terrence’s sister, suspects that someone from Troop 275 knows something. She said, “They were scared little boys then who are men now with children of their own. They might say, 'Yeah, I did hear something or see something.’ Anything is possible. I'd like to give my mother some closure in this lifetime. It haunts her every day.”
Almost 50 years later, the murder of Terence Bowers remains unsolved.
Links:
Photo of Terrence
Philly
Penn Live
NBC Philadelphia
PressReader
After setting up the camp site, the scouts spent their day engaging in typical Boy Scout activities. Nobody noticed anything strange about any of the children’s behavior, including Terrence. The children rolled out their sleeping bags and went to sleep in a circular fashion around the campfire. Tents were pitched, but some scouts only slept in their tents if they had gotten cold from sleeping outside. It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning when fellow scouts discovered Terrence, motionless in his green sleeping bag, surrounded by a pool of his own blood. The medical examiner determined that Terrence was likely murdered just an hour prior to his discovery, about 6:30 AM. Terrence suffered stab wounds to his back, right arm, and chest. There was no indication that Terrence had been sexually assaulted. The medical examiner believed that the knife used to murder Terrence was a small blade. Though twenty two other scouts and two adult leaders were only feet away from Terrence at the time of his murder, there were no witnesses. Nobody had even heard anything unusual.
The investigation was hexed from the beginning. By the time the authorities arrived, Terrence’s body had been moved and patents were on the scene. In the days and weeks after the murder, hundreds of people in northern Chester County were questioned by a six-man police investigation team. Boy Scouts were hooked up to polygraph machines and had their knives confiscated for evidence. The murder weapon was never recovered, despite three searches with metal detectors. There were no witnesses, no suspects, no motive, and no murder weapon. Investigators were dumbfounded by the random and brutal attack. Just days after the murder occurred, investigators already found themselves facing a dead end.
All scouts and leaders were questioned extensively. Their stories of their whereabouts at the time of the murder were all verified. Authorities investigated patients from the nearby mental facilities, Pennhurst State Hospital and Valley Forge Military Hospital, who were AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) or out on passes. Each Sunday around sunrise, police set up a checkpoint near the church to ask drivers if they had seen anything unusual on the morning of the murder. Still, there were no viable suspects that could be linked to Terrence. The only leads investigators would have wouldn’t emerge until 1972 and 1983. In 1972, investigators questioned a man who had newspaper clippings about Terrence’s case in his apartment. In 1983, an inmate reportedly claimed to have information about the case. Unfortunately, both leads went nowhere.
In a short amount of time, the case went cold. It wasn’t until 2012 that the freshest lead would emerge. In The Boy Scouts’ “perversion files,” records that name pedophiles and others that the Scouts want to keep out of the organization, there were documents that included letters a Boy Scout wrote in 1971 referring to Lawrence Wakely, a former Scout who is currently serving time at a state prison for rape. These records indicated that Wakely once admitted to stabbing Terrence in retaliation for being kicked out of the Scouts. The confession was never reported in the news at the time, but James Wenner, a state police investigator, said he had interviewed a man who fit Wakely’s description around the time of the murder. Wenner said that Wakely’s confession lacked details that only the murderer would know, and though its known to be inaccurate and oftentimes inadmissible in court, Wakely failed a polygraph test.
Though Terrence’s father passed away of a heart attack at the 48 in 1978, Terrence’s mother and siblings still seek justice for their son and brother. Terrence’s family struggle to comprehend who could have murdered their loved one. Terrence’s brother, Chris, who has a tattoo of Terrence’s portrait on his bicep, speculated, "These are some of the biggest organizations in the world [Roman Catholic Church & Boy Scouts]. If they wanted to find out where a bunch of young boys were hanging out, they were privy to that information. If they wanted this thing shut down, they'd shut it down real fast. I think they did. But if this happened today, it would have been solved."
Maureen, Terrence’s sister, suspects that someone from Troop 275 knows something. She said, “They were scared little boys then who are men now with children of their own. They might say, 'Yeah, I did hear something or see something.’ Anything is possible. I'd like to give my mother some closure in this lifetime. It haunts her every day.”
Almost 50 years later, the murder of Terence Bowers remains unsolved.
Links:
Photo of Terrence
Philly
Penn Live
NBC Philadelphia
PressReader