Oakland County Child Killer
Encyclopedia
The Oakland County Child Killer was an unidentified serial killer
responsible for the murders of four or more children in Oakland County, Michigan
, United States in 1976 and 1977. The killer was also nicknamed "The Babysitter", as all four victims had been recently bathed.
Fear and near mass hysteria swept southeastern Michigan as young people were inundated with information on "stranger danger
", and parents clogged streets around schools dropping off and picking up their children. The few who did walk, walked in groups and under the watchful eyes of parents in "safe houses", where children could go if they felt uncomfortable. Children even avoided using a playground directly behind the Birmingham
police station. One incident in Livonia
involved a tow-truck driver who assaulted a man he had seen asking two boys on the street for directions. He turned out to be a tire salesman on a business trip from Akron, Ohio
, who had gotten lost with no knowledge of the slayings. The Detroit News offered a $100,000 reward for the killer's apprehension.
Detroit's two daily newspapers, as well as the area's numerous radio and television stations, aggressively covered the case. A presentation on WXYZ, entitled Winter's Fear: The Children, the Killer, the Search, won a 1977 Peabody Award
.
led a group of law-enforcement officials from 13 communities in the formation of a task force
, devoted solely to the investigation.
Soon after Timothy King was abducted, a composite drawing of the suspected kidnapper and his vehicle was released. A woman claimed she had seen a boy with a skateboard talking to a man in a parking lot of the drugstore that Timothy had told his parents he was going to ride his skateboard to. The vehicle was reportedly a blue AMC Gremlin
with a white side stripe. Authorities would eventually question every Gremlin owner in Oakland County.
Investigators put together a profile
of the killer based on witnesses' descriptions of the man seen talking to Timothy King the night he disappeared—a white male with a dark complexion, 25 to 35 years old with shaggy hair and sideburns. Authorities believed that the killer had a job that gave him freedom of movement and may have appeared to be someone that a child might trust, such as a police officer, clergyman or a doctor. He was also believed to be familiar with the area and had the ability to keep children for long periods of time without rousing neighbors' suspicions.
Detroit psychiatrist Dr. Bruce Danto, who worked with the task force, received a letter several weeks after Timothy King's body was found from a man named "Allen", who claimed that he was the killer's roommate and even helped look after the victims. Allen said his roommate had been traumatized by killing children in the Vietnam War
and was taking revenge out on more affluent citizens, which Allen says his roommate blamed for sending him to war. Soon after, Danto got a phone call from Allen, who offered to provide photographic evidence in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Under police surveillance, the psychiatrist arranged to meet Allen at a gay bar near Detroit's exclusive Palmer Woods
neighborhood. Allen did not show, and was never heard from again.
The task force checked out more than 18,000 tips, which resulted in about two dozen arrests on unrelated charges and the busting of a multi-state child pornography
ring. However, task force members were unable to make much headway in the investigation. The task force disbanded in December 1978 and the investigation was turned over to the State Police. The killer never struck again.
arrested Ted Lamborgine, a retired auto worker believed to have been involved in a child porn ring in the 1970s. On March 27, 2007, investigators told Detroit television station WXYZ
that Lamborgine was considered the top suspect in this case. Lamborgine pleaded guilty to 15 sex-related counts involving young boys rather than accept a plea bargain that would have required him to take a polygraph test on the Oakland County child killings. Lamborgine also rejected an offer of a reduced sentence in exchange for a polygraph on the case.
In October 2007, the family of Mark Stebbins filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Lamborgine seeking $25,000. The lawsuit alleges Lamborgine, who lived in Metro Detroit in the late 1970s, abducted Mark and held him captive in a Royal Oak house for four days in February 1976 before smothering him to death during a sex assault. Lamborgine has never been formally linked nor charged in the death of Mark Stebbins. Attorney David A. Binkley seeks compensation, including funeral costs, for Stebbins' brother, Michael, but stressed money is secondary.
executive. Chris Busch had been in police custody shortly before Timmy's abduction for suspected involvement in child pornography. He committed suicide in 1978. There has been no confirmed activity of the Oakland County Child Killer since his death.
The Michigan State Police have now released 3400 pages of investigative records to Barry King.
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
responsible for the murders of four or more children in Oakland County, Michigan
Oakland County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the 2010 Census, there were 1,202,362 people, 471,115 households, and 315,175 families residing in the county. The population density as of the 2000 census was 1,369 people per square mile . There were 492,006 housing units at an average density of 564 per square mile...
, United States in 1976 and 1977. The killer was also nicknamed "The Babysitter", as all four victims had been recently bathed.
Case background
During a 13-month period, four children were abducted and murdered with their bodies left in various locations within the county. The children were each held from 4 to 19 days before being killed. Their deaths triggered a murder investigation which at the time was the largest in US history. The murders are still unsolved.Fear and near mass hysteria swept southeastern Michigan as young people were inundated with information on "stranger danger
Stranger danger
Stranger danger describes the danger to children presented by strangers. The phrase is intended to sum up the danger associated with adults who children do not know. The phrase has found widespread usage and many children will hear it during their childhood lives...
", and parents clogged streets around schools dropping off and picking up their children. The few who did walk, walked in groups and under the watchful eyes of parents in "safe houses", where children could go if they felt uncomfortable. Children even avoided using a playground directly behind the Birmingham
Birmingham, Michigan
Birmingham is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan and an affluent suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103...
police station. One incident in Livonia
Livonia, Michigan
Livonia is a city in the northwest part of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Livonia is a very large suburb with an array of traditional neighborhoods connected to the metropolitan area by freeways. The population was 96,942 at the 2010 census, making it Michigan's 9th largest...
involved a tow-truck driver who assaulted a man he had seen asking two boys on the street for directions. He turned out to be a tire salesman on a business trip from Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, who had gotten lost with no knowledge of the slayings. The Detroit News offered a $100,000 reward for the killer's apprehension.
Detroit's two daily newspapers, as well as the area's numerous radio and television stations, aggressively covered the case. A presentation on WXYZ, entitled Winter's Fear: The Children, the Killer, the Search, won a 1977 Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
.
Confirmed
- Mark Stebbins, 12, of FerndaleFerndale, MichiganFerndale is adjacent to the cities of Detroit to the south, Oak Park to the west, Hazel Park to the east, Pleasant Ridge to the north, Royal Oak Township to the southwest, and Royal Oak to the north....
, was last seen leaving an American LegionAmerican LegionThe American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
Hall on Sunday afternoon, February 15, 1976. He had told his mother he was going home to watch television. His body was found on February 19, neatly laid out in a snowbank in the parking lot of an office building at Ten Mile Road and Greenfield in SouthfieldSouthfield, MichiganAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which 0.04% is water. The main branch of the River Rouge runs through Southfield. The city is bounded to the south by Eight Mile Road, its western border is Inkster Road, and to the east it is bounded by Greenfield Road...
(some reports claim Oak ParkOak Park, MichiganAs of the census of 2000, there were 29,793 people, 11,104 households, and 7,595 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,863.8 persons per square mile . There were 11,370 housing units at an average density of 2,263.9 per square mile...
; Greenfield is the boundary between the two cities). He had been strangled and sexually assaulted with an object. Rope marks were seen on his wrists. He was fully clothed in the outfit he was wearing when last seen alive. - Jill Robinson, 12, of Royal OakRoyal Oak, MichiganRoyal Oak is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 57,236. It should not be confused with Royal Oak Charter Township, a separate community located nearby....
, packed a backpack and ran away from her home on Wednesday, December 22, 1976, following an argument with her mother over dinner preparations. The day after her disappearance, her bicycle was found behind a hobby store on Main Street in that city. Her body was found on the morning of December 26, along the side of Interstate 75 near Big Beaver Road in TroyTroy, MichiganTroy is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan, and is a suburb of Detroit. The population was 80,980 at the 2010 census, making it the 11th-largest city in Michigan by population, and the largest city in Oakland County...
. She was killed by a single shotgun blast to the face. She was fully clothed and still wearing her backpack. The body was placed within sight of the Troy police station, once again, laid out neatly in the snow. - Kristine Mihelich, 10, of BerkleyBerkley, MichiganBerkley is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is an inner suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the total population was 14,970.-Downtown, Dream Cruise, etc.:...
, was last seen Sunday, January 2, 1977 at 3:00 p.m. at a 7-Eleven store on Twelve Mile Road at Oakshire in BerkleyBerkley, MichiganBerkley is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is an inner suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the total population was 14,970.-Downtown, Dream Cruise, etc.:...
, purchasing a magazine. A mail carrier spotted her fully clothed body 19 days later on the side of a rural road in Franklin VillageFranklin, MichiganFranklin is a village in Southfield Township, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,150 at the 2010 census. The community is known for large, estate-style homes situated on ravines, as well as its vintage downtown and cider mill....
. She had been smothered. The body was laid within view of nearby homes, eyes closed and arms folded across the chest, once again in the snow. - Timothy King, 11, borrowed 30 cents from his older sister and left his home in Birmingham, skateboard in hand, to buy candy at a drugstore on nearby Maple Road on Wednesday, March 16, 1977, at about 8:30 p.m. He left the store by the rear entrance, which opened to a parking lot shared with a supermarket, and vanished. An intensive search was executed that covered the entire Detroit metropolitanMetro DetroitThe Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is the metropolitan area located in Southeast Michigan centered on the city of Detroit which shares an international border with Windsor, Ontario. The Detroit metropolitan area is the second largest U.S. metropolitan area...
area, and there was widespread media coverage, already heavy with coverage of the previous three slayings. In an emotional television appeal, Timothy's father, Barry King, begged the abductor to release his son unharmed. In a letter printed in the Detroit News, Marion King wrote that she hoped Timothy could come home soon so she could serve him his favorite meal, Kentucky Fried Chicken. In the late evening hours of March 22, 1977, two teenagers in a car spotted his body in a shallow ditch alongside Gill Road, about 300 feet south of Eight Mile Road in LivoniaLivonia, MichiganLivonia is a city in the northwest part of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Livonia is a very large suburb with an array of traditional neighborhoods connected to the metropolitan area by freeways. The population was 96,942 at the 2010 census, making it Michigan's 9th largest...
, just across the county line in Wayne CountyWayne County, Michigan-History:Wayne County was one of the first counties formed when the Northwest Territory was organized. It was named for the American general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. It originally encompassed the entire area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, as well as small sections that are now part of northern...
. His skateboard was placed next to his body. His clothing had been neatly pressed and washed. He had been suffocated and sexually assaulted with an object. The postmortem showed that Timothy had eaten fried chicken before he was slain.
Suspected
There were other abductions and murders around the Oakland County area within the same period. These are not specifically tied to the four victims above due to variations in the cases.- Cynthia Cadieux, 16, was abducted and bludgeoned to death on the evening of January 15, 1976. Missing from RosevilleRoseville, MichiganRoseville is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan, and is a part of the Metro Detroit area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 47,299...
, she was discovered nude and battered in Bloomfield TownshipBloomfield Township, Oakland County, MichiganBloomfield Charter Township, known officially as The Charter Township of Bloomfield, is a charter township of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the township population was 41,070....
in the early morning hours of January 16.
Disproved
- Sheila Srock, 14, was raped and shot dead while babysitting in a home on Villa Street in Birmingham on January 20, 1976. Her assailant had burglarized several homes in the neighborhood earlier in the evening. A neighbor had watched the entire attack in horror from his roof, where he was shoveling snow. Oliver Rhodes Andrews confessed to, and was convicted of the murder of Srock, and is serving a life sentence in prison.
Investigation
After the discovery of Kristine Mihelich's body, authorities quickly realized they were dealing with three cases and evidence that were closely similar. Reports were released publicly of the possibility a serial killer was operating in the Oakland County area. The Michigan State PoliceMichigan State Police
The Michigan State Police is the state police agency for the state of Michigan. The MSP is a full service law enforcement agency with its sworn members having full police powers statewide....
led a group of law-enforcement officials from 13 communities in the formation of a task force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
, devoted solely to the investigation.
Soon after Timothy King was abducted, a composite drawing of the suspected kidnapper and his vehicle was released. A woman claimed she had seen a boy with a skateboard talking to a man in a parking lot of the drugstore that Timothy had told his parents he was going to ride his skateboard to. The vehicle was reportedly a blue AMC Gremlin
AMC Gremlin
The AMC Gremlin is a two-door subcompact car produced in the United States and Canada by the American Motors Corporation between 1970 and 1978. AMC reduced its development and manufacturing costs by adapting a shortened Hornet platform with a Kammback-type tail...
with a white side stripe. Authorities would eventually question every Gremlin owner in Oakland County.
Investigators put together a profile
Offender profiling
Offender profiling, also known as criminal profiling, is a behavioral and investigative tool that is intended to help investigators to profile unknown criminal subjects or offenders. Offender profiling is also known as criminal profiling, criminal personality profiling, criminological profiling,...
of the killer based on witnesses' descriptions of the man seen talking to Timothy King the night he disappeared—a white male with a dark complexion, 25 to 35 years old with shaggy hair and sideburns. Authorities believed that the killer had a job that gave him freedom of movement and may have appeared to be someone that a child might trust, such as a police officer, clergyman or a doctor. He was also believed to be familiar with the area and had the ability to keep children for long periods of time without rousing neighbors' suspicions.
Detroit psychiatrist Dr. Bruce Danto, who worked with the task force, received a letter several weeks after Timothy King's body was found from a man named "Allen", who claimed that he was the killer's roommate and even helped look after the victims. Allen said his roommate had been traumatized by killing children in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and was taking revenge out on more affluent citizens, which Allen says his roommate blamed for sending him to war. Soon after, Danto got a phone call from Allen, who offered to provide photographic evidence in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Under police surveillance, the psychiatrist arranged to meet Allen at a gay bar near Detroit's exclusive Palmer Woods
Palmer Woods Historic District
The Palmer Woods Historic District is a residential historic district bounded by Seven Mile Road, Woodward Avenue, and Strathcona Drive in Detroit, Michigan. There are approximately 289 homes in the district. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The Detroit Golf Club...
neighborhood. Allen did not show, and was never heard from again.
The task force checked out more than 18,000 tips, which resulted in about two dozen arrests on unrelated charges and the busting of a multi-state child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
ring. However, task force members were unable to make much headway in the investigation. The task force disbanded in December 1978 and the investigation was turned over to the State Police. The killer never struck again.
Theodore Lamborgine
Police in Parma Heights, OhioParma Heights, Ohio
There are seven council members serving at large. Every two years there is an election. Four positions are open. The top three candidates are each elected for a four-year term. The fourth candidate is awarded a two-year term.[Effective January 2008]...
arrested Ted Lamborgine, a retired auto worker believed to have been involved in a child porn ring in the 1970s. On March 27, 2007, investigators told Detroit television station WXYZ
WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...
that Lamborgine was considered the top suspect in this case. Lamborgine pleaded guilty to 15 sex-related counts involving young boys rather than accept a plea bargain that would have required him to take a polygraph test on the Oakland County child killings. Lamborgine also rejected an offer of a reduced sentence in exchange for a polygraph on the case.
In October 2007, the family of Mark Stebbins filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Lamborgine seeking $25,000. The lawsuit alleges Lamborgine, who lived in Metro Detroit in the late 1970s, abducted Mark and held him captive in a Royal Oak house for four days in February 1976 before smothering him to death during a sex assault. Lamborgine has never been formally linked nor charged in the death of Mark Stebbins. Attorney David A. Binkley seeks compensation, including funeral costs, for Stebbins' brother, Michael, but stressed money is secondary.
Chris Busch
The case has recently sparked new interest. Timmy King's father, Barry, and brother, Chris, have been trying to get the Michigan State Police to release information about Chris Busch, the son of Harold Lee Busch, a high level General MotorsGM
- Business and industry :* General manager* General merchandise* General Mills* General Motors, an automobile manufacturing company* Gold Master, an original recording from which copies may be made* Gross margin, profit as a percentage of sales price...
executive. Chris Busch had been in police custody shortly before Timmy's abduction for suspected involvement in child pornography. He committed suicide in 1978. There has been no confirmed activity of the Oakland County Child Killer since his death.
The Michigan State Police have now released 3400 pages of investigative records to Barry King.