Cold and Missing: The Florence Beauty Salon Murders

1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,880 The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. 2 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:18,520 All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 3 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,280 Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages. 4 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:24,640 Listener discretion is advised. 5 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,360 I'm your host, Allie McLaughlin-Solkowski. 6 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:29,760 And I'm your co-host, Eli Sulkowski. 7 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:34,520 And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases. 8 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,600 Hello everyone and welcome back to Cold and Missing. 9 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:39,200 I'm your host, Allie. 10 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:43,960 And just like before, in the past few episodes, it's just going to be me this week coming 11 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:45,000 to you. 12 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:50,080 On the date of recording, it's actually my husband's birthday, so we spent all day celebrating 13 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:52,480 Eli and what a wonderful guy he is. 14 00:00:52,480 --> 00:00:56,400 So it's actually quite late in the evening and he's already in bed. 15 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,080 So it's just me coming to you. 16 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:05,120 But this week, I found a case that, and I know I've said this before, but I was just 17 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:10,640 truly shocked that I hadn't necessarily heard of it before and was really surprised that 18 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:16,520 it's not like a more well-known case, you know, in the true crime community. 19 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:18,920 So I think we should just get right into it. 20 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:20,240 There's a lot of information. 21 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:24,760 This was covered locally quite a bit, so there were lots of resources to go through. 22 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:30,080 So I have quite a bit of a timeline to bring to you, but this week we are covering a cold 23 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:35,760 case and this week we are going to be covering the Florence Beauty Shop murders. 24 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:38,800 And this is actually a triple murder. 25 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:45,840 So we will be discussing the murders of Dorothy Harris, Brenda Patch, and Cynthia Paulus. 26 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:51,720 And this takes place in November of 2001 in Florence, Montana. 27 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:55,160 But first, a little bit about the victims. 28 00:01:55,160 --> 00:02:01,320 Dorothy is 62 years old in 2001 and she is the owner of the Hair Gallery and All About 29 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:05,760 Nails located on a busy highway in Florence, Montana. 30 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:09,280 It should be noted that Florence is a small town. 31 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:15,080 Around this time in 2001, they had a population of about 900 people, but it had been growing 32 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:16,080 recently. 33 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:22,160 There was a boom in population because of its proximity to Missoula, Montana. 34 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:26,520 Dorothy was happily married and it was not uncommon for her to show up at her neighbor's 35 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:28,800 house with a plate of cookies. 36 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:33,420 She was an artist, an incredible one according to her neighbors and loved ones. 37 00:02:33,420 --> 00:02:37,400 She always was working on a new craft or art projects. 38 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:41,960 She had painted a carousel horse on a wall in her basement just to see if she could. 39 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:46,160 Her husband, Ed Harris says, quote, she would help anybody at any time. 40 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:47,760 It didn't matter who they were. 41 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:48,760 End quote. 42 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:52,040 Brenda was 44 years old in 2001. 43 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:54,240 She was the manicurist at the salon. 44 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:58,200 She was a loving grandmother and also known to enjoy crafting as well. 45 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:02,800 Her and her best friend were taking a ceramic class and they both thoroughly enjoyed it. 46 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:07,880 Her and her husband had recently moved to nearby Stevensville, Montana to a remote area 47 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:11,480 at the end of a dirt road because they thought it would be more safe. 48 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:17,280 His best friend, Jonette says, quote, she's a wonderful, caring, loving person. 49 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:19,560 She was the most awesome lady I've ever met. 50 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:20,560 End quote. 51 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:24,240 Cindy is 71 years old in 2001. 52 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:29,040 She was a customer at the salon and had a weekly Friday nail appointment, a luxury that 53 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:31,480 she indulged in in her retirement. 54 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:36,360 Cindy loved the outdoors and according to her family was the world's biggest Grizz fan. 55 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:41,400 Her son, Jim says, quote, she loved to fish, loved her horses. 56 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:46,600 Everyone she knew she liked, everyone she met she liked, and everybody liked her. 57 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:47,600 End quote. 58 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:50,200 And now a timeline of events. 59 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:57,020 On Tuesday, November 6th, 2001, Dorothy arrives at the salon earlier than she usually did. 60 00:03:57,020 --> 00:04:00,960 She usually arrived around 9 a.m., which is when the salon opened, but a neighbor who 61 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:06,800 lived across the street, Jon, said that he saw Dorothy at around 8 a.m. moving empty 62 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:08,480 garbage cans around. 63 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:13,320 Cindy calls the salon when they open at 9 to see if she can move her usual Friday appointment 64 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:14,320 to today. 65 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:18,400 Brenda, the manicurist, had an opening, so it was no problem. 66 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:22,720 Dorothy leaves the salon a little after 10 to run to a nearby bank. 67 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:27,960 She was seen at the bank in Stevensville at 10.30 a.m., just when Cindy was arriving for 68 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:29,240 her nail appointment. 69 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:34,560 Jon, the neighbor, left his house just a little bit before 11 and he said he didn't see anything 70 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:36,160 unusual. 71 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:40,200 Right around 11 a.m., a woman arrives for her hair appointment. 72 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:45,040 Before she enters for her hair appointment, she notices an oddly dressed man in the front 73 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:47,000 yard of the salon. 74 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:53,440 He's described as being in his 20s or 30s, around 6 feet tall, about 180 pounds, but 75 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:56,920 what was most noticeable about him was what he was wearing. 76 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:03,000 He was wearing a dark suit, a duster jacket, and a hat that's been described as either 77 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,800 a top hat or a fedora. 78 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:11,600 As the customer enters the salon, she finds Dorothy near the back door, in the fetal position, 79 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:13,500 and surrounded by a pool of blood. 80 00:05:13,500 --> 00:05:18,200 The woman steps over Dorothy to get to the salon's phone to call 911. 81 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:22,000 Within minutes, firefighters arrive and know that there's nothing that can be done to 82 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:23,580 save Dorothy. 83 00:05:23,580 --> 00:05:27,680 As the police arrive and begin to take in the scene, they find the bodies of Brenda 84 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,520 and Cindy in a utility closet. 85 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:35,120 It appears that Brenda and Cindy were forced into the closet sometime during Cindy's 86 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:36,120 nail appointment. 87 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:41,160 Cindy's old nail polish had been removed, but her new color was not all the way on. 88 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:45,400 Brenda's nail drill was still running when the police arrived and her iced coffee still 89 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:46,880 had ice in it. 90 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:51,240 Each woman did have defensive wounds, but there was very little signs of struggle in 91 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:52,920 the salon. 92 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,800 Nothing was really out of place or knocked over. 93 00:05:55,800 --> 00:06:00,680 But all three women had had their throats deeply slashed according to police, so there 94 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:02,320 was a lot of blood. 95 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,560 There were no signs of sexual assault or robbery. 96 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:09,940 The only items missing from the salon were two beautician capes. 97 00:06:09,940 --> 00:06:12,640 Police quickly begin canvassing the area. 98 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:16,400 They find a footprint a few blocks from the crime scene, but they're unsure if it's 99 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:17,880 related to the murders. 100 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:21,600 And they bring in tracker dogs to try to trace the scent of the killer. 101 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:26,200 Based off of the circumstances of the scene, how far Cindy's nail appointment had got, 102 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:30,760 and knowing Dorothy was at the bank at 1030 before being discovered by her customer at 103 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:35,640 11, police believe the murders took place between 1030 and 11 a.m. 104 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:40,640 The next day, Wednesday, November 7, police start to zero in on the oddly dressed man 105 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:45,440 who was seen in front of the salon and later behind the salon, moments before Dorothy was 106 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:46,440 discovered. 107 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:51,320 The oddly dressed man had been seen by at least seven people both before and after the 108 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:52,320 murders. 109 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:56,040 After the murder, police are able to track him via witnesses through the streets and 110 00:06:56,040 --> 00:07:01,840 alleys of Florence, eventually making his way to a bus garage parking lot where he jumped 111 00:07:01,840 --> 00:07:05,800 the fence and he was later seen walking into the woods. 112 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:11,000 According to the sheriff at the time, Perry Johnson, quote, He appears to be real focused. 113 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:14,200 Obviously, it appeared he had a destination. 114 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,200 He wasn't running, but he was walking with a purpose. 115 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:22,240 The man was last seen walking into a wooded area south of Florence in the area adjacent 116 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:25,200 to one Horse Creek Road, end quote. 117 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,440 Police also begin to talk to the women's families to see if any of them could have 118 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:32,040 been the target since it was not obvious at the crime scene. 119 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:36,960 I took this as meaning that the women all had similar injuries, but no one woman had 120 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:38,920 worse injuries. 121 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:42,920 Police do not want to believe that this was just a random killing that someone just woke 122 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:46,440 up one day and decided to do serious evil. 123 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:50,000 The families of the victims are brought to the crime scene to see if there's anything 124 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:53,240 missing that police didn't notice outside of the capes. 125 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:54,880 But everything was in place. 126 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:57,040 The women's autopsies are conducted. 127 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:01,600 And while police do not give additional details, they do confirm that all the women's had 128 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:06,280 their throats cut and had trauma to their upper chest and neck area. 129 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:10,480 Police will later say that there are some additional details revealed by the autopsy 130 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,200 that to date has never been made public. 131 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,920 Thursday, November 8th, this is just two days after the murder. 132 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:21,040 Sheriff Perry Johnson is asking for help from a lot of different police agencies in the 133 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:24,480 state and as well as FBI profilers. 134 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,200 He says, quote, We don't care who solves it. 135 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:28,720 We want to solve it. 136 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:30,460 We don't care how it's solved. 137 00:08:30,460 --> 00:08:31,800 We want to solve it. 138 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:34,120 We want to bring some closure to the families. 139 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:38,760 We want to do a job that we're responsible to the community and we're invested in it. 140 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:40,480 These are our neighbors too. 141 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:41,560 End quote. 142 00:08:41,560 --> 00:08:46,520 Police are also looking into a strange classified ad that was placed by a floor resident on 143 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:47,880 October 14th. 144 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:54,120 So just a few weeks before the murder that said, quote, It is time dot dot dot to pray 145 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:56,200 for the needs of your neighbors. 146 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:57,200 End quote. 147 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:03,040 This isn't brought up again in the investigation, but still, it's just a really strange fact 148 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:04,400 of this case. 149 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:08,680 The public is very responsive and tips are being called in every day. 150 00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:14,000 On Monday, November 12th, just six days after the murder, Cindy and Dorothy's funerals 151 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:15,160 are held. 152 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:18,080 Over 800 people attend the services. 153 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,920 Police had worked through the weekend following tips and other leads. 154 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:27,280 They want to stress to the public that they are not looking for short brimmed cowboy hat, 155 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,640 but the hat is described as a fedora or top hat. 156 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:32,480 So very specific. 157 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:36,820 Later that day, police conduct a grid search about a third of a mile away from the crime 158 00:09:36,820 --> 00:09:41,760 scene where the strangely dressed man was seen by witnesses walking into the woods. 159 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:45,000 They're hoping that they can recover the murder weapon, which has not been found at 160 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:49,320 this time, but nothing is found during the grid search. 161 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:55,400 The next day, November 13th, Brenda's funeral is held and around 400 people attend the service. 162 00:09:55,400 --> 00:10:00,380 The Ravalli County police had gotten in touch with the Nez Perce Tribal Police since they 163 00:10:00,380 --> 00:10:04,200 had a forensic artist that had been trained by the FBI. 164 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:08,560 The artist was to interview witnesses and to make a sketch of the oddly dressed man 165 00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:11,360 that was seen on the day of the murders. 166 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:17,020 On Wednesday, November 14th, so this is just over a week from the murders now, police released 167 00:10:17,020 --> 00:10:19,340 the sketch created by the artist. 168 00:10:19,340 --> 00:10:23,580 Police emphasize that at this time, they do not consider him a suspect, but want to talk 169 00:10:23,580 --> 00:10:29,360 to him since he was seen so close to the murder site and are curious as to what he saw. 170 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:34,500 However, they do concede that the fact that this man has not come forward himself already 171 00:10:34,500 --> 00:10:36,260 is suspicious. 172 00:10:36,260 --> 00:10:39,160 Police still do not have any motive in the case. 173 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:45,320 However, they do release a picture of a pair of wraparound style sunglasses that was found 174 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:47,400 in the middle of the crime scene. 175 00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:52,080 None of the victims' families recognize them, so they assume that either the killer lost 176 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:57,040 them during the attack or perhaps a customer had left them there. 177 00:10:57,040 --> 00:11:01,640 They ask the public that if they recognize the sunglasses to please come forward. 178 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:06,760 Police will send the sunglasses for DNA testing, but when the results come in a few weeks later, 179 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:09,960 only the victim's DNA is found on the glasses. 180 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:11,880 There are no other contributors. 181 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:18,240 On Thursday, November 29th, this is 23 days now since the murder, a $10,000 reward is 182 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:20,880 being offered for information in the case. 183 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:25,140 The friends and families of the murder victims hope that this money motivates somebody to 184 00:11:25,140 --> 00:11:28,860 come forward with a tip that's needed to close the case. 185 00:11:28,860 --> 00:11:34,440 The police still haven't rolled out the idea that there are multiple suspects. 186 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:39,800 Detectives have also come up empty trying to find a connection between all three women. 187 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:43,900 It appears that they really only dealt with each other professionally. 188 00:11:43,900 --> 00:11:47,400 Some investigators still believe it was just a random attack. 189 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:52,600 However, others believe that since a knife was used that this was personal. 190 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:57,640 Either way, police continue to search for a motive or a link to help them close this 191 00:11:57,640 --> 00:11:59,120 case. 192 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:04,440 On December 7th, so it's just been over a month now since the triple homicide, police 193 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:10,440 say that they have entered fingerprints, DNA and hair fibers into the national databases. 194 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,760 National databases are still pretty new in 2001. 195 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:16,040 So they're not as robust as they are today. 196 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,800 And there are no hits that come from this. 197 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:25,400 And to date, I couldn't find that any hits ever come from them being entered into databases. 198 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:28,300 Police do work with producers from America's Most Wanted. 199 00:12:28,300 --> 00:12:34,400 And when that airs in December of 2001, they do get a flood of tips from across the country. 200 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:36,560 But none of them turn out. 201 00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:41,840 On December 13th, nearly five weeks after the murders, police do confirm that they have 202 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:44,820 fingerprints and palm prints from the scene. 203 00:12:44,820 --> 00:12:49,360 And they say that the palm prints is their strongest evidence at this point. 204 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:55,640 In February of 2002, so it's been over three months, and police release another sketch 205 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:57,360 of the oddly dressed man. 206 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:02,120 Typically, it's not the best practice to release multiple sketches by different artists 207 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:06,520 since it can change the perspective of the locals and who they're looking for. 208 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:11,040 However, this new sketch has more details in the face than the first sketch. 209 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:14,280 And with the release come a flood of new tips. 210 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:19,120 Police say that since the murder, they have gotten 1,300 tips in this case. 211 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:24,240 But for the rest of 2002, I really couldn't find much in the local media, which had been 212 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:28,520 covering this pretty heavily for the first three months following the murder. 213 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:34,200 The next big update comes in November of 2002, so this is one year since the murders. 214 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:39,680 And police say they are no closer to catching the killer a year after than they were the 215 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:41,280 day it happened. 216 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:46,260 They however stress that this is not a cold case and they're working on it every day. 217 00:13:46,260 --> 00:13:51,760 Police do confirm that they have some physical evidence from the scene, but it's very little. 218 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:54,400 Police still urge the public to come forward. 219 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:59,720 Detective Scott Burlingham says, quote, there's a lead out there and somebody has it. 220 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:04,680 If this was anything but random, there has to be some sort of reason why they were targeted. 221 00:14:04,680 --> 00:14:08,400 We're asking people to think who could benefit from this? 222 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:10,240 Who has the most to gain? 223 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:11,240 End quote. 224 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:17,560 In March of 2005, so it's been over three years since the murder of Dorothy, Brenda, 225 00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:18,560 and Cindy. 226 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:22,920 There's another salon murder in Belleville, Illinois. 227 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:25,560 Three people are also killed with a knife. 228 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:31,320 Ultimately, Illinois police and Montana police agree that the two are not connected. 229 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:36,920 The suspect in the Belleville case died from COVID in 2021 while awaiting trial for the 230 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:37,920 murders. 231 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:43,680 In December of 2005, so this is now over four years since the murder and police say they 232 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:45,620 have a suspect in the case. 233 00:14:45,620 --> 00:14:49,120 They named Brian Walter Weber as the murderer. 234 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:54,880 Weber in 2005 was serving time for an unrelated meth distribution charge. 235 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:59,480 From jail, he gives an interview to the local paper where he says, quote, the bottom line 236 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:03,800 is that I've done a lot of bad things, but I never did those murders. 237 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:04,880 End quote. 238 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:09,560 Police say they use jailhouse informants to really build their case against Weber. 239 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:16,200 It takes a while, but finally in April of 2008, police bring charges against Brian Weber 240 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:20,000 and another man, Lincoln Benevitis. 241 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:25,720 Police allege that Benevitis was a large meth distributor and that Weber was his enforcer 242 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:28,960 and that one of the women's relatives owed money. 243 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:34,160 They both are indicted for drug related charges and three charges of murder while engaged 244 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:35,160 in drug trafficking. 245 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:39,760 It's a federal charge that also carries the death penalty in Montana. 246 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:41,600 They both plead not guilty. 247 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:47,040 The trial date is set for 2010, so two years from the time they're indicted due to all 248 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:49,680 the discovery that the defense has to go through. 249 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:55,440 However, by October 2009, Lincoln reaches a plea deal with the government. 250 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:59,400 Because these were federal charges, the state is not prosecuting them. 251 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:00,800 The government is. 252 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:05,980 Lincoln reaches a plea deal to plead guilty to the drug charges and the murder charges 253 00:16:05,980 --> 00:16:06,980 are dropped. 254 00:16:06,980 --> 00:16:11,360 He immediately takes the deal, but the government is still pursuing Weber. 255 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:15,720 A few months later though, the defense in Weber's case are able to get the drug charges 256 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:16,720 dropped. 257 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,480 They also start to argue that the murder charges should also be dropped. 258 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:25,680 Weber's lawyer said, quote, what did these three innocent women have to do with Mr. Weber? 259 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:28,000 The government doesn't explain the connection. 260 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,400 How do you develop a defense against that? 261 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:31,400 End quote. 262 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:37,800 In January of 2010, the federal prosecutors dropped the murder charges and all of Weber's 263 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:39,300 charges are dismissed. 264 00:16:39,300 --> 00:16:45,320 The murder charges are dismissed without prejudice, so Weber could be charged again if new evidence 265 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:47,960 were to crop up in the case against him. 266 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:53,520 In the motion filed by the prosecutors, they say, quote, in preparation for trial, the 267 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:58,680 government has thoroughly reexamined the evidence upon which it will rely to prove that defendant 268 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:00,920 Weber committed the offenses. 269 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:06,400 The review has led the government to conclude, based on the evidence as it now stands, that 270 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:11,040 the government cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt all of the essential elements of these 271 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:12,040 offenses. 272 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:13,200 End quote. 273 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:18,760 The defense also claims that they are able to prove that Weber was actually in Moscow, 274 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:21,040 Idaho the day of the murders. 275 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:25,740 With these charges dropped, police announced that they are reopening the case. 276 00:17:25,740 --> 00:17:31,400 At this point in time, it's been over nine years since the murders. 277 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:35,960 And then that's truly the last update that I could find on the case. 278 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:41,120 The murders have been mentioned a lot in local media coverage, especially around the anniversary 279 00:17:41,120 --> 00:17:42,720 of the murders. 280 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:48,840 But there's no new developments or information revealed in those updates. 281 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:54,000 Usually it's just a retelling of the story and then focusing again on that oddly dressed 282 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:55,200 man. 283 00:17:55,200 --> 00:18:00,640 So with that, if you know anything about the murders of Dorothy Harris, Brenda Patch, or 284 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:08,000 Cindy Paulus in November of 2001, please call the Ravalli County Sheriff's Department at 285 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:13,120 406-363-3033. 286 00:18:13,120 --> 00:18:18,600 And the sources for the timeline today come from Great Falls Tribune, the Billings Gazette, 287 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:23,440 Ravalli Republic, the Independent Record, the Montana Standard, the News and Observer, 288 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:29,460 the Missouliian, the Town Talk, Rushville Republic, the Item, the Daily Spectrum, the Los Angeles 289 00:18:29,460 --> 00:18:32,320 Times, and Great Falls Tribune. 290 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:38,240 So that is the triple homicide of Dorothy, Brenda, and Cindy. 291 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:42,780 And as I mentioned at the top, my reaction when I first read about this case and heard 292 00:18:42,780 --> 00:18:49,440 about it was just shocked that I hadn't heard about it before, especially with this really 293 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,860 oddly dressed man associated with it. 294 00:18:52,860 --> 00:18:58,040 On our Instagram, we're going to be posting composite pictures of this man that I was 295 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:03,600 able to find during my research just because it is odd. 296 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:05,400 It's really odd. 297 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:12,360 And the brutalness of it all, these women had their throats, the police say deeply slit, 298 00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:17,160 that is a brutal murder and it's angry. 299 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,760 That just, I mean, it's evil, right? 300 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:24,920 That's the basis of it, but it's so evil and angry. 301 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:31,320 And it's just so hard to believe that it would happen in the middle of the day in a beauty 302 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,080 salon on a pretty busy highway. 303 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:38,680 I think when I was reading that this highway gets up to five lanes at times, so people 304 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,040 are constantly passing it. 305 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:47,840 And I think that speaks to the seven witnesses that also saw this oddly dressed man. 306 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:52,720 At one point when he was crossing the street, a bus driver actually had to stop to let him 307 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:54,080 cross the street. 308 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:56,840 So he was seen by a lot of people. 309 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:03,320 He wasn't necessarily trying to hide his walk away. 310 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:08,900 And again, police never publicly name him as a suspect, but they do really want to talk 311 00:20:08,900 --> 00:20:11,440 to him and identify him. 312 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:17,020 And like they mentioned, it is odd that he didn't come forward himself if he had nothing 313 00:20:17,020 --> 00:20:19,100 to do with it, right? 314 00:20:19,100 --> 00:20:26,600 So I think some questions that come up for me is obviously around this man. 315 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:29,080 They always refer to him as an oddly dressed man. 316 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:30,680 And I think that's right. 317 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:32,220 He's in a suit. 318 00:20:32,220 --> 00:20:39,080 He's wearing a duster jacket, which is like when you think of old timey Western jackets, 319 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:45,560 they're usually pretty long and almost have extra fabric around the shoulders, almost 320 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:47,640 like a small cape. 321 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:51,200 And then a top hat or fedora. 322 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:54,440 It's almost like a costume. 323 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:59,280 It's 2001, so top hats aren't really in style. 324 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:04,480 I could see maybe more of a fedora being in style, but still the whole outfit is like 325 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:06,200 a costume. 326 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:11,000 I can't think of any time I've seen a top hat casually in real life. 327 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:18,000 It's always in a theater production or carolers going around on Christmas. 328 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:25,080 It's always very purposeful a top hat is worn, not just like your casual going out hat in 329 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:26,080 the 2000s. 330 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,600 I've never seen that. 331 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:34,240 And to have that fact in this case, this man seen right at the time of the murders, it's 332 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:40,280 a very short window of time, 1030 to 11 a.m. 333 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:45,840 That's the time frame, 30 minutes essentially, because we know Dorothy is at the bank and 334 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:46,840 she comes back. 335 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:51,920 And I believe, if I remember correctly, that she had come back with a bank envelope. 336 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:56,920 So there was cash in this envelope and that was left untouched. 337 00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:00,080 None of the women's purses were gone through. 338 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:04,100 Nothing was taken except for those beautician capes. 339 00:22:04,100 --> 00:22:10,800 And people who saw this man after the murder say that he was carrying something, but it's 340 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:15,800 never really specific if it's like a fabric folded over his arms or if he's carrying like 341 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:18,840 a bag or something in his hand, just something small. 342 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:25,160 It's never really clear what the witnesses saw him carrying, but he is carrying something. 343 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:30,420 And the only thing taken from the salon are those capes that hairdressers put around you 344 00:22:30,420 --> 00:22:32,960 so you don't get hair all over your clothes. 345 00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:35,400 A black one and a gold one, if I'm not mistaken. 346 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:38,400 So why? 347 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:45,520 And that's my next biggest question to so much of this is just why these women? 348 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:46,560 Why right now? 349 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:48,560 Why did this happen? 350 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:54,540 Police to this date have never really been able to find a motive for the murders. 351 00:22:54,540 --> 00:23:01,400 When they bring these charges against Weber that he was this enforcer murdering on a drug 352 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:08,640 debt, I understand that that happens, but it just seems so far fetched in this case. 353 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:14,480 These three, in Cindy's case, older, she's in her seventies, but these three women in 354 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:18,920 the middle of the day at a beauty salon, so many people could have walked in at any time 355 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:23,160 just to get a haircut, just to see if they could get their nails done really quick or 356 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:25,280 just driving by. 357 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:27,520 There's so much at stake. 358 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:31,840 Why these three women? 359 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:34,200 Just mind boggling to me. 360 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:39,960 I will say that I was really impressed with Sheriff Perry Johnson. 361 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:42,880 He was the sheriff at the time of the murders. 362 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:46,020 And the next year he actually steps down as sheriff. 363 00:23:46,020 --> 00:23:49,640 He doesn't run again because the job was really stressful to him. 364 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:54,320 But he stays on as the lead investigator in this case because he is kind of the end all 365 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:55,320 be all for the case. 366 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:57,120 He knows everything about it. 367 00:23:57,120 --> 00:24:03,240 And I was really like impressed with how he reached out to so many other agencies so quickly 368 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:05,520 just to get as many eyes on it. 369 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:07,600 And that's something that he did throughout the years. 370 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:12,400 He would travel the country to talk to other police agencies and kind of run this case 371 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:16,600 by them because like he said, he doesn't care who solves it. 372 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:17,960 He wants it solved. 373 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:23,320 And I really commend that because that's not always the case in policing. 374 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:27,880 A lot of times what I've seen in these cases is that they don't want to reach out to the 375 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:33,340 FBI or other agencies, the state, neighboring counties, because they want to be the ones 376 00:24:33,340 --> 00:24:34,340 that solve it. 377 00:24:34,340 --> 00:24:36,840 You know, there's pride in that. 378 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:39,240 For these women, it's just like all hands on deck. 379 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:44,200 Whoever, whoever can help, whoever has a thought, whoever has experience, like get in here and 380 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:50,620 let's talk about it, which I think that should always be the attitude for murder, missing 381 00:24:50,620 --> 00:24:57,720 people is to get as many professionals looking at it as possible and to try to work every 382 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:01,320 single angle and all hands on deck. 383 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:05,040 I really think that's the way forward for everything. 384 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:09,240 I really hope that in the future there is closure for this case. 385 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:14,680 And I hope that for all the cases we cover here, but this one, you know, with the three 386 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:21,560 women who were so loved, like each one of them had like around 400 people at their funerals. 387 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:27,800 Like that is truly what a testament to their lives and the people they touched and the 388 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:29,080 people who loved them. 389 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:34,600 Like they all showed up for these women to pay their respects and the whole town was 390 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:37,040 affected by these murders. 391 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:40,680 People talked about how they never locked their doors before in Florence, Montana, but 392 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:43,240 all of a sudden they were locking doors. 393 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:48,280 People were going to get the mail, you know, with a pistol on their hip, like just scared, 394 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:53,120 scared because it really does seem random. 395 00:25:53,120 --> 00:25:58,580 And you know, without being able to find a motive, without being able to find a connection 396 00:25:58,580 --> 00:26:03,840 between these women that would lend itself to a motive, for me, it kind of leaves it 397 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:11,680 at like, this was a random act of evil, like random in the way that like maybe somebody 398 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:17,440 had wanted to do this, had wanted to commit a crime and wanted it to be a murder and had 399 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:23,400 thought about what they were going to do and went to go execute that that morning. 400 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:29,080 And Dorothy, Brenda and Cindy were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, just crossed 401 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:32,520 this guy's path or more he crossed theirs. 402 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:38,160 This oddly dressed man and you know, the costume of it all, it's like, did he want to be like 403 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:44,240 this figure, you know, he was not necessarily scared to be seen by people. 404 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:48,760 And I just I have to think that he's involved somehow because he just he was there right 405 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:53,560 at the time of the murders and then briskly walked away and disappeared into the woods 406 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:57,080 like what? 407 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:03,460 It's really hard for me not to focus on him, which I know is not a good investigative tactic, 408 00:27:03,460 --> 00:27:10,000 you know, you shouldn't just zero in on somebody, but I want to know who he is so badly and 409 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:11,940 I want to know what he saw. 410 00:27:11,940 --> 00:27:18,800 If he didn't do it, if he's not the killer, he probably saw the killer in some form. 411 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:25,080 He saw a car, he saw somebody running away, he heard something, you know, he definitely 412 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:29,040 is a witness somehow to this, if not the perpetrator. 413 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:38,800 So I hope that we can identify this man, this oddly dressed man and get justice for Dorothy, 414 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:40,720 Brenda and Cindy. 415 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:47,320 Their families are still so devastated by the loss of these lovely women that they they 416 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:51,720 deserve those answers and that closure if that's what they want, you know, I'm going 417 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:59,360 to be posting pictures on our Instagram at cold and missing of Dorothy, Brenda and Cindy, 418 00:27:59,360 --> 00:28:03,800 along with the composite sketch of this oddly dressed man. 419 00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:06,920 So please go over there and check it out. 420 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:09,520 Throughout the week, I kind of post them every couple of days. 421 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:14,680 So if you're not following us already at cold and missing, please do. 422 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:21,240 And if there's ever any updates like how we're releasing our episodes on Thursday now, that's 423 00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:28,160 all announced on Instagram, as well as our website www.coldandmissing.com. 424 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:33,320 There you can find transcripts for all our episodes and the YouTube videos. 425 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:34,320 We're also on YouTube. 426 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:38,880 If that's how you like to listen to your podcasts, you can subscribe to us over there. 427 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:40,560 That'd be really cool. 428 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:46,400 And if you could just leave us a review while you're in your podcast app, five stars, thumbs 429 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:53,360 up, rainbows and unicorns, whatever that metric is in your podcast app, it is so helpful. 430 00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:58,940 And if you can leave us a written review and Apple, I would be forever grateful. 431 00:28:58,940 --> 00:29:05,000 It is so helpful to getting this podcast out there and getting this story amongst all the 432 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:08,000 other ones that we cover out there. 433 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:11,300 But that is truly all I have. 434 00:29:11,300 --> 00:29:14,840 So thank you so much for listening to cold and missing. 435 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:17,920 I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin, Silkowski. 436 00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:44,920 Have a good week and stay safe, y'all.