Cold and Missing: The Florence Beauty Salon Murders

100:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,880The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts.200:00:13,880 --> 00:00:18,520All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.300:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,280Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages.400:00:22,280 --> 00:00:24,640Listener discretion is advised.500:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,360I'm your host, Allie McLaughlin-Solkowski.600:00:27,360 --> 00:00:29,760And I'm your co-host, Eli Sulkowski.700:00:29,760 --> 00:00:34,520And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases.800:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,600Hello everyone and welcome back to Cold and Missing.900:00:37,600 --> 00:00:39,200I'm your host, Allie.1000:00:39,200 --> 00:00:43,960And just like before, in the past few episodes, it's just going to be me this week coming1100:00:43,960 --> 00:00:45,000to you.1200:00:45,000 --> 00:00:50,080On the date of recording, it's actually my husband's birthday, so we spent all day celebrating1300:00:50,080 --> 00:00:52,480Eli and what a wonderful guy he is.1400:00:52,480 --> 00:00:56,400So it's actually quite late in the evening and he's already in bed.1500:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,080So it's just me coming to you.1600:00:59,080 --> 00:01:05,120But this week, I found a case that, and I know I've said this before, but I was just1700:01:05,120 --> 00:01:10,640truly shocked that I hadn't necessarily heard of it before and was really surprised that1800:01:10,640 --> 00:01:16,520it's not like a more well-known case, you know, in the true crime community.1900:01:16,520 --> 00:01:18,920So I think we should just get right into it.2000:01:18,920 --> 00:01:20,240There's a lot of information.2100:01:20,240 --> 00:01:24,760This was covered locally quite a bit, so there were lots of resources to go through.2200:01:24,760 --> 00:01:30,080So I have quite a bit of a timeline to bring to you, but this week we are covering a cold2300:01:30,080 --> 00:01:35,760case and this week we are going to be covering the Florence Beauty Shop murders.2400:01:35,760 --> 00:01:38,800And this is actually a triple murder.2500:01:38,800 --> 00:01:45,840So we will be discussing the murders of Dorothy Harris, Brenda Patch, and Cynthia Paulus.2600:01:45,840 --> 00:01:51,720And this takes place in November of 2001 in Florence, Montana.2700:01:51,720 --> 00:01:55,160But first, a little bit about the victims.2800:01:55,160 --> 00:02:01,320Dorothy is 62 years old in 2001 and she is the owner of the Hair Gallery and All About2900:02:01,320 --> 00:02:05,760Nails located on a busy highway in Florence, Montana.3000:02:05,760 --> 00:02:09,280It should be noted that Florence is a small town.3100:02:09,280 --> 00:02:15,080Around this time in 2001, they had a population of about 900 people, but it had been growing3200:02:15,080 --> 00:02:16,080recently.3300:02:16,080 --> 00:02:22,160There was a boom in population because of its proximity to Missoula, Montana.3400:02:22,160 --> 00:02:26,520Dorothy was happily married and it was not uncommon for her to show up at her neighbor's3500:02:26,520 --> 00:02:28,800house with a plate of cookies.3600:02:28,800 --> 00:02:33,420She was an artist, an incredible one according to her neighbors and loved ones.3700:02:33,420 --> 00:02:37,400She always was working on a new craft or art projects.3800:02:37,400 --> 00:02:41,960She had painted a carousel horse on a wall in her basement just to see if she could.3900:02:41,960 --> 00:02:46,160Her husband, Ed Harris says, quote, she would help anybody at any time.4000:02:46,160 --> 00:02:47,760It didn't matter who they were.4100:02:47,760 --> 00:02:48,760End quote.4200:02:48,760 --> 00:02:52,040Brenda was 44 years old in 2001.4300:02:52,040 --> 00:02:54,240She was the manicurist at the salon.4400:02:54,240 --> 00:02:58,200She was a loving grandmother and also known to enjoy crafting as well.4500:02:58,200 --> 00:03:02,800Her and her best friend were taking a ceramic class and they both thoroughly enjoyed it.4600:03:02,800 --> 00:03:07,880Her and her husband had recently moved to nearby Stevensville, Montana to a remote area4700:03:07,880 --> 00:03:11,480at the end of a dirt road because they thought it would be more safe.4800:03:11,480 --> 00:03:17,280His best friend, Jonette says, quote, she's a wonderful, caring, loving person.4900:03:17,280 --> 00:03:19,560She was the most awesome lady I've ever met.5000:03:19,560 --> 00:03:20,560End quote.5100:03:20,560 --> 00:03:24,240Cindy is 71 years old in 2001.5200:03:24,240 --> 00:03:29,040She was a customer at the salon and had a weekly Friday nail appointment, a luxury that5300:03:29,040 --> 00:03:31,480she indulged in in her retirement.5400:03:31,480 --> 00:03:36,360Cindy loved the outdoors and according to her family was the world's biggest Grizz fan.5500:03:36,360 --> 00:03:41,400Her son, Jim says, quote, she loved to fish, loved her horses.5600:03:41,400 --> 00:03:46,600Everyone she knew she liked, everyone she met she liked, and everybody liked her.5700:03:46,600 --> 00:03:47,600End quote.5800:03:47,600 --> 00:03:50,200And now a timeline of events.5900:03:50,200 --> 00:03:57,020On Tuesday, November 6th, 2001, Dorothy arrives at the salon earlier than she usually did.6000:03:57,020 --> 00:04:00,960She usually arrived around 9 a.m., which is when the salon opened, but a neighbor who6100:04:00,960 --> 00:04:06,800lived across the street, Jon, said that he saw Dorothy at around 8 a.m. moving empty6200:04:06,800 --> 00:04:08,480garbage cans around.6300:04:08,480 --> 00:04:13,320Cindy calls the salon when they open at 9 to see if she can move her usual Friday appointment6400:04:13,320 --> 00:04:14,320to today.6500:04:14,320 --> 00:04:18,400Brenda, the manicurist, had an opening, so it was no problem.6600:04:18,400 --> 00:04:22,720Dorothy leaves the salon a little after 10 to run to a nearby bank.6700:04:22,720 --> 00:04:27,960She was seen at the bank in Stevensville at 10.30 a.m., just when Cindy was arriving for6800:04:27,960 --> 00:04:29,240her nail appointment.6900:04:29,240 --> 00:04:34,560Jon, the neighbor, left his house just a little bit before 11 and he said he didn't see anything7000:04:34,560 --> 00:04:36,160unusual.7100:04:36,160 --> 00:04:40,200Right around 11 a.m., a woman arrives for her hair appointment.7200:04:40,200 --> 00:04:45,040Before she enters for her hair appointment, she notices an oddly dressed man in the front7300:04:45,040 --> 00:04:47,000yard of the salon.7400:04:47,000 --> 00:04:53,440He's described as being in his 20s or 30s, around 6 feet tall, about 180 pounds, but7500:04:53,440 --> 00:04:56,920what was most noticeable about him was what he was wearing.7600:04:56,920 --> 00:05:03,000He was wearing a dark suit, a duster jacket, and a hat that's been described as either7700:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,800a top hat or a fedora.7800:05:05,800 --> 00:05:11,600As the customer enters the salon, she finds Dorothy near the back door, in the fetal position,7900:05:11,600 --> 00:05:13,500and surrounded by a pool of blood.8000:05:13,500 --> 00:05:18,200The woman steps over Dorothy to get to the salon's phone to call 911.8100:05:18,200 --> 00:05:22,000Within minutes, firefighters arrive and know that there's nothing that can be done to8200:05:22,000 --> 00:05:23,580save Dorothy.8300:05:23,580 --> 00:05:27,680As the police arrive and begin to take in the scene, they find the bodies of Brenda8400:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,520and Cindy in a utility closet.8500:05:30,520 --> 00:05:35,120It appears that Brenda and Cindy were forced into the closet sometime during Cindy's8600:05:35,120 --> 00:05:36,120nail appointment.8700:05:36,120 --> 00:05:41,160Cindy's old nail polish had been removed, but her new color was not all the way on.8800:05:41,160 --> 00:05:45,400Brenda's nail drill was still running when the police arrived and her iced coffee still8900:05:45,400 --> 00:05:46,880had ice in it.9000:05:46,880 --> 00:05:51,240Each woman did have defensive wounds, but there was very little signs of struggle in9100:05:51,240 --> 00:05:52,920the salon.9200:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,800Nothing was really out of place or knocked over.9300:05:55,800 --> 00:06:00,680But all three women had had their throats deeply slashed according to police, so there9400:06:00,680 --> 00:06:02,320was a lot of blood.9500:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,560There were no signs of sexual assault or robbery.9600:06:05,560 --> 00:06:09,940The only items missing from the salon were two beautician capes.9700:06:09,940 --> 00:06:12,640Police quickly begin canvassing the area.9800:06:12,640 --> 00:06:16,400They find a footprint a few blocks from the crime scene, but they're unsure if it's9900:06:16,400 --> 00:06:17,880related to the murders.10000:06:17,880 --> 00:06:21,600And they bring in tracker dogs to try to trace the scent of the killer.10100:06:21,600 --> 00:06:26,200Based off of the circumstances of the scene, how far Cindy's nail appointment had got,10200:06:26,200 --> 00:06:30,760and knowing Dorothy was at the bank at 1030 before being discovered by her customer at10300:06:30,760 --> 00:06:35,64011, police believe the murders took place between 1030 and 11 a.m.10400:06:35,640 --> 00:06:40,640The next day, Wednesday, November 7, police start to zero in on the oddly dressed man10500:06:40,640 --> 00:06:45,440who was seen in front of the salon and later behind the salon, moments before Dorothy was10600:06:45,440 --> 00:06:46,440discovered.10700:06:46,440 --> 00:06:51,320The oddly dressed man had been seen by at least seven people both before and after the10800:06:51,320 --> 00:06:52,320murders.10900:06:52,320 --> 00:06:56,040After the murder, police are able to track him via witnesses through the streets and11000:06:56,040 --> 00:07:01,840alleys of Florence, eventually making his way to a bus garage parking lot where he jumped11100:07:01,840 --> 00:07:05,800the fence and he was later seen walking into the woods.11200:07:05,800 --> 00:07:11,000According to the sheriff at the time, Perry Johnson, quote, He appears to be real focused.11300:07:11,000 --> 00:07:14,200Obviously, it appeared he had a destination.11400:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,200He wasn't running, but he was walking with a purpose.11500:07:17,200 --> 00:07:22,240The man was last seen walking into a wooded area south of Florence in the area adjacent11600:07:22,240 --> 00:07:25,200to one Horse Creek Road, end quote.11700:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,440Police also begin to talk to the women's families to see if any of them could have11800:07:28,440 --> 00:07:32,040been the target since it was not obvious at the crime scene.11900:07:32,040 --> 00:07:36,960I took this as meaning that the women all had similar injuries, but no one woman had12000:07:36,960 --> 00:07:38,920worse injuries.12100:07:38,920 --> 00:07:42,920Police do not want to believe that this was just a random killing that someone just woke12200:07:42,920 --> 00:07:46,440up one day and decided to do serious evil.12300:07:46,440 --> 00:07:50,000The families of the victims are brought to the crime scene to see if there's anything12400:07:50,000 --> 00:07:53,240missing that police didn't notice outside of the capes.12500:07:53,240 --> 00:07:54,880But everything was in place.12600:07:54,880 --> 00:07:57,040The women's autopsies are conducted.12700:07:57,040 --> 00:08:01,600And while police do not give additional details, they do confirm that all the women's had12800:08:01,600 --> 00:08:06,280their throats cut and had trauma to their upper chest and neck area.12900:08:06,280 --> 00:08:10,480Police will later say that there are some additional details revealed by the autopsy13000:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,200that to date has never been made public.13100:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,920Thursday, November 8th, this is just two days after the murder.13200:08:16,920 --> 00:08:21,040Sheriff Perry Johnson is asking for help from a lot of different police agencies in the13300:08:21,040 --> 00:08:24,480state and as well as FBI profilers.13400:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,200He says, quote, We don't care who solves it.13500:08:27,200 --> 00:08:28,720We want to solve it.13600:08:28,720 --> 00:08:30,460We don't care how it's solved.13700:08:30,460 --> 00:08:31,800We want to solve it.13800:08:31,800 --> 00:08:34,120We want to bring some closure to the families.13900:08:34,120 --> 00:08:38,760We want to do a job that we're responsible to the community and we're invested in it.14000:08:38,760 --> 00:08:40,480These are our neighbors too.14100:08:40,480 --> 00:08:41,560End quote.14200:08:41,560 --> 00:08:46,520Police are also looking into a strange classified ad that was placed by a floor resident on14300:08:46,520 --> 00:08:47,880October 14th.14400:08:47,880 --> 00:08:54,120So just a few weeks before the murder that said, quote, It is time dot dot dot to pray14500:08:54,120 --> 00:08:56,200for the needs of your neighbors.14600:08:56,200 --> 00:08:57,200End quote.14700:08:57,200 --> 00:09:03,040This isn't brought up again in the investigation, but still, it's just a really strange fact14800:09:03,040 --> 00:09:04,400of this case.14900:09:04,400 --> 00:09:08,680The public is very responsive and tips are being called in every day.15000:09:08,680 --> 00:09:14,000On Monday, November 12th, just six days after the murder, Cindy and Dorothy's funerals15100:09:14,000 --> 00:09:15,160are held.15200:09:15,160 --> 00:09:18,080Over 800 people attend the services.15300:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,920Police had worked through the weekend following tips and other leads.15400:09:21,920 --> 00:09:27,280They want to stress to the public that they are not looking for short brimmed cowboy hat,15500:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,640but the hat is described as a fedora or top hat.15600:09:30,640 --> 00:09:32,480So very specific.15700:09:32,480 --> 00:09:36,820Later that day, police conduct a grid search about a third of a mile away from the crime15800:09:36,820 --> 00:09:41,760scene where the strangely dressed man was seen by witnesses walking into the woods.15900:09:41,760 --> 00:09:45,000They're hoping that they can recover the murder weapon, which has not been found at16000:09:45,000 --> 00:09:49,320this time, but nothing is found during the grid search.16100:09:49,320 --> 00:09:55,400The next day, November 13th, Brenda's funeral is held and around 400 people attend the service.16200:09:55,400 --> 00:10:00,380The Ravalli County police had gotten in touch with the Nez Perce Tribal Police since they16300:10:00,380 --> 00:10:04,200had a forensic artist that had been trained by the FBI.16400:10:04,200 --> 00:10:08,560The artist was to interview witnesses and to make a sketch of the oddly dressed man16500:10:08,560 --> 00:10:11,360that was seen on the day of the murders.16600:10:11,360 --> 00:10:17,020On Wednesday, November 14th, so this is just over a week from the murders now, police released16700:10:17,020 --> 00:10:19,340the sketch created by the artist.16800:10:19,340 --> 00:10:23,580Police emphasize that at this time, they do not consider him a suspect, but want to talk16900:10:23,580 --> 00:10:29,360to him since he was seen so close to the murder site and are curious as to what he saw.17000:10:29,360 --> 00:10:34,500However, they do concede that the fact that this man has not come forward himself already17100:10:34,500 --> 00:10:36,260is suspicious.17200:10:36,260 --> 00:10:39,160Police still do not have any motive in the case.17300:10:39,160 --> 00:10:45,320However, they do release a picture of a pair of wraparound style sunglasses that was found17400:10:45,320 --> 00:10:47,400in the middle of the crime scene.17500:10:47,400 --> 00:10:52,080None of the victims' families recognize them, so they assume that either the killer lost17600:10:52,080 --> 00:10:57,040them during the attack or perhaps a customer had left them there.17700:10:57,040 --> 00:11:01,640They ask the public that if they recognize the sunglasses to please come forward.17800:11:01,640 --> 00:11:06,760Police will send the sunglasses for DNA testing, but when the results come in a few weeks later,17900:11:06,760 --> 00:11:09,960only the victim's DNA is found on the glasses.18000:11:09,960 --> 00:11:11,880There are no other contributors.18100:11:11,880 --> 00:11:18,240On Thursday, November 29th, this is 23 days now since the murder, a $10,000 reward is18200:11:18,240 --> 00:11:20,880being offered for information in the case.18300:11:20,880 --> 00:11:25,140The friends and families of the murder victims hope that this money motivates somebody to18400:11:25,140 --> 00:11:28,860come forward with a tip that's needed to close the case.18500:11:28,860 --> 00:11:34,440The police still haven't rolled out the idea that there are multiple suspects.18600:11:34,440 --> 00:11:39,800Detectives have also come up empty trying to find a connection between all three women.18700:11:39,800 --> 00:11:43,900It appears that they really only dealt with each other professionally.18800:11:43,900 --> 00:11:47,400Some investigators still believe it was just a random attack.18900:11:47,400 --> 00:11:52,600However, others believe that since a knife was used that this was personal.19000:11:52,600 --> 00:11:57,640Either way, police continue to search for a motive or a link to help them close this19100:11:57,640 --> 00:11:59,120case.19200:11:59,120 --> 00:12:04,440On December 7th, so it's just been over a month now since the triple homicide, police19300:12:04,440 --> 00:12:10,440say that they have entered fingerprints, DNA and hair fibers into the national databases.19400:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,760National databases are still pretty new in 2001.19500:12:13,760 --> 00:12:16,040So they're not as robust as they are today.19600:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,800And there are no hits that come from this.19700:12:18,800 --> 00:12:25,400And to date, I couldn't find that any hits ever come from them being entered into databases.19800:12:25,400 --> 00:12:28,300Police do work with producers from America's Most Wanted.19900:12:28,300 --> 00:12:34,400And when that airs in December of 2001, they do get a flood of tips from across the country.20000:12:34,400 --> 00:12:36,560But none of them turn out.20100:12:36,560 --> 00:12:41,840On December 13th, nearly five weeks after the murders, police do confirm that they have20200:12:41,840 --> 00:12:44,820fingerprints and palm prints from the scene.20300:12:44,820 --> 00:12:49,360And they say that the palm prints is their strongest evidence at this point.20400:12:49,360 --> 00:12:55,640In February of 2002, so it's been over three months, and police release another sketch20500:12:55,640 --> 00:12:57,360of the oddly dressed man.20600:12:57,360 --> 00:13:02,120Typically, it's not the best practice to release multiple sketches by different artists20700:13:02,120 --> 00:13:06,520since it can change the perspective of the locals and who they're looking for.20800:13:06,520 --> 00:13:11,040However, this new sketch has more details in the face than the first sketch.20900:13:11,040 --> 00:13:14,280And with the release come a flood of new tips.21000:13:14,280 --> 00:13:19,120Police say that since the murder, they have gotten 1,300 tips in this case.21100:13:19,120 --> 00:13:24,240But for the rest of 2002, I really couldn't find much in the local media, which had been21200:13:24,240 --> 00:13:28,520covering this pretty heavily for the first three months following the murder.21300:13:28,520 --> 00:13:34,200The next big update comes in November of 2002, so this is one year since the murders.21400:13:34,200 --> 00:13:39,680And police say they are no closer to catching the killer a year after than they were the21500:13:39,680 --> 00:13:41,280day it happened.21600:13:41,280 --> 00:13:46,260They however stress that this is not a cold case and they're working on it every day.21700:13:46,260 --> 00:13:51,760Police do confirm that they have some physical evidence from the scene, but it's very little.21800:13:51,760 --> 00:13:54,400Police still urge the public to come forward.21900:13:54,400 --> 00:13:59,720Detective Scott Burlingham says, quote, there's a lead out there and somebody has it.22000:13:59,720 --> 00:14:04,680If this was anything but random, there has to be some sort of reason why they were targeted.22100:14:04,680 --> 00:14:08,400We're asking people to think who could benefit from this?22200:14:08,400 --> 00:14:10,240Who has the most to gain?22300:14:10,240 --> 00:14:11,240End quote.22400:14:11,240 --> 00:14:17,560In March of 2005, so it's been over three years since the murder of Dorothy, Brenda,22500:14:17,560 --> 00:14:18,560and Cindy.22600:14:18,560 --> 00:14:22,920There's another salon murder in Belleville, Illinois.22700:14:22,920 --> 00:14:25,560Three people are also killed with a knife.22800:14:25,560 --> 00:14:31,320Ultimately, Illinois police and Montana police agree that the two are not connected.22900:14:31,320 --> 00:14:36,920The suspect in the Belleville case died from COVID in 2021 while awaiting trial for the23000:14:36,920 --> 00:14:37,920murders.23100:14:37,920 --> 00:14:43,680In December of 2005, so this is now over four years since the murder and police say they23200:14:43,680 --> 00:14:45,620have a suspect in the case.23300:14:45,620 --> 00:14:49,120They named Brian Walter Weber as the murderer.23400:14:49,120 --> 00:14:54,880Weber in 2005 was serving time for an unrelated meth distribution charge.23500:14:54,880 --> 00:14:59,480From jail, he gives an interview to the local paper where he says, quote, the bottom line23600:14:59,480 --> 00:15:03,800is that I've done a lot of bad things, but I never did those murders.23700:15:03,800 --> 00:15:04,880End quote.23800:15:04,880 --> 00:15:09,560Police say they use jailhouse informants to really build their case against Weber.23900:15:09,560 --> 00:15:16,200It takes a while, but finally in April of 2008, police bring charges against Brian Weber24000:15:16,200 --> 00:15:20,000and another man, Lincoln Benevitis.24100:15:20,000 --> 00:15:25,720Police allege that Benevitis was a large meth distributor and that Weber was his enforcer24200:15:25,720 --> 00:15:28,960and that one of the women's relatives owed money.24300:15:28,960 --> 00:15:34,160They both are indicted for drug related charges and three charges of murder while engaged24400:15:34,160 --> 00:15:35,160in drug trafficking.24500:15:35,160 --> 00:15:39,760It's a federal charge that also carries the death penalty in Montana.24600:15:39,760 --> 00:15:41,600They both plead not guilty.24700:15:41,600 --> 00:15:47,040The trial date is set for 2010, so two years from the time they're indicted due to all24800:15:47,040 --> 00:15:49,680the discovery that the defense has to go through.24900:15:49,680 --> 00:15:55,440However, by October 2009, Lincoln reaches a plea deal with the government.25000:15:55,440 --> 00:15:59,400Because these were federal charges, the state is not prosecuting them.25100:15:59,400 --> 00:16:00,800The government is.25200:16:00,800 --> 00:16:05,980Lincoln reaches a plea deal to plead guilty to the drug charges and the murder charges25300:16:05,980 --> 00:16:06,980are dropped.25400:16:06,980 --> 00:16:11,360He immediately takes the deal, but the government is still pursuing Weber.25500:16:11,360 --> 00:16:15,720A few months later though, the defense in Weber's case are able to get the drug charges25600:16:15,720 --> 00:16:16,720dropped.25700:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,480They also start to argue that the murder charges should also be dropped.25800:16:20,480 --> 00:16:25,680Weber's lawyer said, quote, what did these three innocent women have to do with Mr. Weber?25900:16:25,680 --> 00:16:28,000The government doesn't explain the connection.26000:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,400How do you develop a defense against that?26100:16:30,400 --> 00:16:31,400End quote.26200:16:31,400 --> 00:16:37,800In January of 2010, the federal prosecutors dropped the murder charges and all of Weber's26300:16:37,800 --> 00:16:39,300charges are dismissed.26400:16:39,300 --> 00:16:45,320The murder charges are dismissed without prejudice, so Weber could be charged again if new evidence26500:16:45,320 --> 00:16:47,960were to crop up in the case against him.26600:16:47,960 --> 00:16:53,520In the motion filed by the prosecutors, they say, quote, in preparation for trial, the26700:16:53,520 --> 00:16:58,680government has thoroughly reexamined the evidence upon which it will rely to prove that defendant26800:16:58,680 --> 00:17:00,920Weber committed the offenses.26900:17:00,920 --> 00:17:06,400The review has led the government to conclude, based on the evidence as it now stands, that27000:17:06,400 --> 00:17:11,040the government cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt all of the essential elements of these27100:17:11,040 --> 00:17:12,040offenses.27200:17:12,040 --> 00:17:13,200End quote.27300:17:13,200 --> 00:17:18,760The defense also claims that they are able to prove that Weber was actually in Moscow,27400:17:18,760 --> 00:17:21,040Idaho the day of the murders.27500:17:21,040 --> 00:17:25,740With these charges dropped, police announced that they are reopening the case.27600:17:25,740 --> 00:17:31,400At this point in time, it's been over nine years since the murders.27700:17:31,400 --> 00:17:35,960And then that's truly the last update that I could find on the case.27800:17:35,960 --> 00:17:41,120The murders have been mentioned a lot in local media coverage, especially around the anniversary27900:17:41,120 --> 00:17:42,720of the murders.28000:17:42,720 --> 00:17:48,840But there's no new developments or information revealed in those updates.28100:17:48,840 --> 00:17:54,000Usually it's just a retelling of the story and then focusing again on that oddly dressed28200:17:54,000 --> 00:17:55,200man.28300:17:55,200 --> 00:18:00,640So with that, if you know anything about the murders of Dorothy Harris, Brenda Patch, or28400:18:00,640 --> 00:18:08,000Cindy Paulus in November of 2001, please call the Ravalli County Sheriff's Department at28500:18:08,000 --> 00:18:13,120406-363-3033.28600:18:13,120 --> 00:18:18,600And the sources for the timeline today come from Great Falls Tribune, the Billings Gazette,28700:18:18,600 --> 00:18:23,440Ravalli Republic, the Independent Record, the Montana Standard, the News and Observer,28800:18:23,440 --> 00:18:29,460the Missouliian, the Town Talk, Rushville Republic, the Item, the Daily Spectrum, the Los Angeles28900:18:29,460 --> 00:18:32,320Times, and Great Falls Tribune.29000:18:32,320 --> 00:18:38,240So that is the triple homicide of Dorothy, Brenda, and Cindy.29100:18:38,240 --> 00:18:42,780And as I mentioned at the top, my reaction when I first read about this case and heard29200:18:42,780 --> 00:18:49,440about it was just shocked that I hadn't heard about it before, especially with this really29300:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,860oddly dressed man associated with it.29400:18:52,860 --> 00:18:58,040On our Instagram, we're going to be posting composite pictures of this man that I was29500:18:58,040 --> 00:19:03,600able to find during my research just because it is odd.29600:19:03,600 --> 00:19:05,400It's really odd.29700:19:05,400 --> 00:19:12,360And the brutalness of it all, these women had their throats, the police say deeply slit,29800:19:12,360 --> 00:19:17,160that is a brutal murder and it's angry.29900:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,760That just, I mean, it's evil, right?30000:19:20,760 --> 00:19:24,920That's the basis of it, but it's so evil and angry.30100:19:24,920 --> 00:19:31,320And it's just so hard to believe that it would happen in the middle of the day in a beauty30200:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,080salon on a pretty busy highway.30300:19:34,080 --> 00:19:38,680I think when I was reading that this highway gets up to five lanes at times, so people30400:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,040are constantly passing it.30500:19:41,040 --> 00:19:47,840And I think that speaks to the seven witnesses that also saw this oddly dressed man.30600:19:47,840 --> 00:19:52,720At one point when he was crossing the street, a bus driver actually had to stop to let him30700:19:52,720 --> 00:19:54,080cross the street.30800:19:54,080 --> 00:19:56,840So he was seen by a lot of people.30900:19:56,840 --> 00:20:03,320He wasn't necessarily trying to hide his walk away.31000:20:03,320 --> 00:20:08,900And again, police never publicly name him as a suspect, but they do really want to talk31100:20:08,900 --> 00:20:11,440to him and identify him.31200:20:11,440 --> 00:20:17,020And like they mentioned, it is odd that he didn't come forward himself if he had nothing31300:20:17,020 --> 00:20:19,100to do with it, right?31400:20:19,100 --> 00:20:26,600So I think some questions that come up for me is obviously around this man.31500:20:26,600 --> 00:20:29,080They always refer to him as an oddly dressed man.31600:20:29,080 --> 00:20:30,680And I think that's right.31700:20:30,680 --> 00:20:32,220He's in a suit.31800:20:32,220 --> 00:20:39,080He's wearing a duster jacket, which is like when you think of old timey Western jackets,31900:20:39,080 --> 00:20:45,560they're usually pretty long and almost have extra fabric around the shoulders, almost32000:20:45,560 --> 00:20:47,640like a small cape.32100:20:47,640 --> 00:20:51,200And then a top hat or fedora.32200:20:51,200 --> 00:20:54,440It's almost like a costume.32300:20:54,440 --> 00:20:59,280It's 2001, so top hats aren't really in style.32400:20:59,280 --> 00:21:04,480I could see maybe more of a fedora being in style, but still the whole outfit is like32500:21:04,480 --> 00:21:06,200a costume.32600:21:06,200 --> 00:21:11,000I can't think of any time I've seen a top hat casually in real life.32700:21:11,000 --> 00:21:18,000It's always in a theater production or carolers going around on Christmas.32800:21:18,000 --> 00:21:25,080It's always very purposeful a top hat is worn, not just like your casual going out hat in32900:21:25,080 --> 00:21:26,080the 2000s.33000:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,600I've never seen that.33100:21:28,600 --> 00:21:34,240And to have that fact in this case, this man seen right at the time of the murders, it's33200:21:34,240 --> 00:21:40,280a very short window of time, 1030 to 11 a.m.33300:21:40,280 --> 00:21:45,840That's the time frame, 30 minutes essentially, because we know Dorothy is at the bank and33400:21:45,840 --> 00:21:46,840she comes back.33500:21:46,840 --> 00:21:51,920And I believe, if I remember correctly, that she had come back with a bank envelope.33600:21:51,920 --> 00:21:56,920So there was cash in this envelope and that was left untouched.33700:21:56,920 --> 00:22:00,080None of the women's purses were gone through.33800:22:00,080 --> 00:22:04,100Nothing was taken except for those beautician capes.33900:22:04,100 --> 00:22:10,800And people who saw this man after the murder say that he was carrying something, but it's34000:22:10,800 --> 00:22:15,800never really specific if it's like a fabric folded over his arms or if he's carrying like34100:22:15,800 --> 00:22:18,840a bag or something in his hand, just something small.34200:22:18,840 --> 00:22:25,160It's never really clear what the witnesses saw him carrying, but he is carrying something.34300:22:25,160 --> 00:22:30,420And the only thing taken from the salon are those capes that hairdressers put around you34400:22:30,420 --> 00:22:32,960so you don't get hair all over your clothes.34500:22:32,960 --> 00:22:35,400A black one and a gold one, if I'm not mistaken.34600:22:35,400 --> 00:22:38,400So why?34700:22:38,400 --> 00:22:45,520And that's my next biggest question to so much of this is just why these women?34800:22:45,520 --> 00:22:46,560Why right now?34900:22:46,560 --> 00:22:48,560Why did this happen?35000:22:48,560 --> 00:22:54,540Police to this date have never really been able to find a motive for the murders.35100:22:54,540 --> 00:23:01,400When they bring these charges against Weber that he was this enforcer murdering on a drug35200:23:01,400 --> 00:23:08,640debt, I understand that that happens, but it just seems so far fetched in this case.35300:23:08,640 --> 00:23:14,480These three, in Cindy's case, older, she's in her seventies, but these three women in35400:23:14,480 --> 00:23:18,920the middle of the day at a beauty salon, so many people could have walked in at any time35500:23:18,920 --> 00:23:23,160just to get a haircut, just to see if they could get their nails done really quick or35600:23:23,160 --> 00:23:25,280just driving by.35700:23:25,280 --> 00:23:27,520There's so much at stake.35800:23:27,520 --> 00:23:31,840Why these three women?35900:23:31,840 --> 00:23:34,200Just mind boggling to me.36000:23:34,200 --> 00:23:39,960I will say that I was really impressed with Sheriff Perry Johnson.36100:23:39,960 --> 00:23:42,880He was the sheriff at the time of the murders.36200:23:42,880 --> 00:23:46,020And the next year he actually steps down as sheriff.36300:23:46,020 --> 00:23:49,640He doesn't run again because the job was really stressful to him.36400:23:49,640 --> 00:23:54,320But he stays on as the lead investigator in this case because he is kind of the end all36500:23:54,320 --> 00:23:55,320be all for the case.36600:23:55,320 --> 00:23:57,120He knows everything about it.36700:23:57,120 --> 00:24:03,240And I was really like impressed with how he reached out to so many other agencies so quickly36800:24:03,240 --> 00:24:05,520just to get as many eyes on it.36900:24:05,520 --> 00:24:07,600And that's something that he did throughout the years.37000:24:07,600 --> 00:24:12,400He would travel the country to talk to other police agencies and kind of run this case37100:24:12,400 --> 00:24:16,600by them because like he said, he doesn't care who solves it.37200:24:16,600 --> 00:24:17,960He wants it solved.37300:24:17,960 --> 00:24:23,320And I really commend that because that's not always the case in policing.37400:24:23,320 --> 00:24:27,880A lot of times what I've seen in these cases is that they don't want to reach out to the37500:24:27,880 --> 00:24:33,340FBI or other agencies, the state, neighboring counties, because they want to be the ones37600:24:33,340 --> 00:24:34,340that solve it.37700:24:34,340 --> 00:24:36,840You know, there's pride in that.37800:24:36,840 --> 00:24:39,240For these women, it's just like all hands on deck.37900:24:39,240 --> 00:24:44,200Whoever, whoever can help, whoever has a thought, whoever has experience, like get in here and38000:24:44,200 --> 00:24:50,620let's talk about it, which I think that should always be the attitude for murder, missing38100:24:50,620 --> 00:24:57,720people is to get as many professionals looking at it as possible and to try to work every38200:24:57,720 --> 00:25:01,320single angle and all hands on deck.38300:25:01,320 --> 00:25:05,040I really think that's the way forward for everything.38400:25:05,040 --> 00:25:09,240I really hope that in the future there is closure for this case.38500:25:09,240 --> 00:25:14,680And I hope that for all the cases we cover here, but this one, you know, with the three38600:25:14,680 --> 00:25:21,560women who were so loved, like each one of them had like around 400 people at their funerals.38700:25:21,560 --> 00:25:27,800Like that is truly what a testament to their lives and the people they touched and the38800:25:27,800 --> 00:25:29,080people who loved them.38900:25:29,080 --> 00:25:34,600Like they all showed up for these women to pay their respects and the whole town was39000:25:34,600 --> 00:25:37,040affected by these murders.39100:25:37,040 --> 00:25:40,680People talked about how they never locked their doors before in Florence, Montana, but39200:25:40,680 --> 00:25:43,240all of a sudden they were locking doors.39300:25:43,240 --> 00:25:48,280People were going to get the mail, you know, with a pistol on their hip, like just scared,39400:25:48,280 --> 00:25:53,120scared because it really does seem random.39500:25:53,120 --> 00:25:58,580And you know, without being able to find a motive, without being able to find a connection39600:25:58,580 --> 00:26:03,840between these women that would lend itself to a motive, for me, it kind of leaves it39700:26:03,840 --> 00:26:11,680at like, this was a random act of evil, like random in the way that like maybe somebody39800:26:11,680 --> 00:26:17,440had wanted to do this, had wanted to commit a crime and wanted it to be a murder and had39900:26:17,440 --> 00:26:23,400thought about what they were going to do and went to go execute that that morning.40000:26:23,400 --> 00:26:29,080And Dorothy, Brenda and Cindy were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, just crossed40100:26:29,080 --> 00:26:32,520this guy's path or more he crossed theirs.40200:26:32,520 --> 00:26:38,160This oddly dressed man and you know, the costume of it all, it's like, did he want to be like40300:26:38,160 --> 00:26:44,240this figure, you know, he was not necessarily scared to be seen by people.40400:26:44,240 --> 00:26:48,760And I just I have to think that he's involved somehow because he just he was there right40500:26:48,760 --> 00:26:53,560at the time of the murders and then briskly walked away and disappeared into the woods40600:26:53,560 --> 00:26:57,080like what?40700:26:57,080 --> 00:27:03,460It's really hard for me not to focus on him, which I know is not a good investigative tactic,40800:27:03,460 --> 00:27:10,000you know, you shouldn't just zero in on somebody, but I want to know who he is so badly and40900:27:10,000 --> 00:27:11,940I want to know what he saw.41000:27:11,940 --> 00:27:18,800If he didn't do it, if he's not the killer, he probably saw the killer in some form.41100:27:18,800 --> 00:27:25,080He saw a car, he saw somebody running away, he heard something, you know, he definitely41200:27:25,080 --> 00:27:29,040is a witness somehow to this, if not the perpetrator.41300:27:29,040 --> 00:27:38,800So I hope that we can identify this man, this oddly dressed man and get justice for Dorothy,41400:27:38,800 --> 00:27:40,720Brenda and Cindy.41500:27:40,720 --> 00:27:47,320Their families are still so devastated by the loss of these lovely women that they they41600:27:47,320 --> 00:27:51,720deserve those answers and that closure if that's what they want, you know, I'm going41700:27:51,720 --> 00:27:59,360to be posting pictures on our Instagram at cold and missing of Dorothy, Brenda and Cindy,41800:27:59,360 --> 00:28:03,800along with the composite sketch of this oddly dressed man.41900:28:03,800 --> 00:28:06,920So please go over there and check it out.42000:28:06,920 --> 00:28:09,520Throughout the week, I kind of post them every couple of days.42100:28:09,520 --> 00:28:14,680So if you're not following us already at cold and missing, please do.42200:28:14,680 --> 00:28:21,240And if there's ever any updates like how we're releasing our episodes on Thursday now, that's42300:28:21,240 --> 00:28:28,160all announced on Instagram, as well as our website www.coldandmissing.com.42400:28:28,160 --> 00:28:33,320There you can find transcripts for all our episodes and the YouTube videos.42500:28:33,320 --> 00:28:34,320We're also on YouTube.42600:28:34,320 --> 00:28:38,880If that's how you like to listen to your podcasts, you can subscribe to us over there.42700:28:38,880 --> 00:28:40,560That'd be really cool.42800:28:40,560 --> 00:28:46,400And if you could just leave us a review while you're in your podcast app, five stars, thumbs42900:28:46,400 --> 00:28:53,360up, rainbows and unicorns, whatever that metric is in your podcast app, it is so helpful.43000:28:53,360 --> 00:28:58,940And if you can leave us a written review and Apple, I would be forever grateful.43100:28:58,940 --> 00:29:05,000It is so helpful to getting this podcast out there and getting this story amongst all the43200:29:05,000 --> 00:29:08,000other ones that we cover out there.43300:29:08,000 --> 00:29:11,300But that is truly all I have.43400:29:11,300 --> 00:29:14,840So thank you so much for listening to cold and missing.43500:29:14,840 --> 00:29:17,920I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin, Silkowski.43600:29:17,920 --> 00:29:44,920Have a good week and stay safe, y'all.