Link: https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/14315444/
A little over two years ago, I posted an amazing visual, interactive link analysis incorporating a vast amount of data and information in this case. It was prepared by Dr. Kathleen Moore, professor at Penn State and Oakland County native.
The platform used to create this work was part of an app that was sold to another company. During the transition, this work was lost and hundreds and hundreds of hours of her work disappeared into the ether. A devastating loss which we weren’t even aware of until a reader tried to access the link from my May 2023 post.
Dr. Moore recreated her work–hundreds more hours, with the help of a reader (G-Man) who has come through on many issues over the years. The level of attention to detail and work these two did cannot be quantified. I am deeply grateful. When I despair over the gaslighting by law enforcement in this case, people I’ve met only through this tragic case step up. We all hope this updated link chart will result in new angles of analysis that might yield new leads.
*For viewing: Expand the browser window to as big as possible, and if needed, increase the zoom on the window tab. Next, the chart is interactive, so hover your mouse over nodes for popup information (we will continue to add information over time), and click on nodes of interest to freeze a subnetwork so you can look at it more closely. You can use the control-F shortcut to highlight a particular cell that you are looking for, and make it easier to find.
The May 28, 2023 post:
Discover more from The Oakland County Child Killer
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This is freakin’ brilliant! Thanks for all of the work you’ve put in, Kathleen and G-Man. It makes navigating this complicated case that much easier!
That’s very comprehensive. It’s nice that you have readers dedicated enough to take the time to create this. Unfortunately it raises more questions than answers . If you look into a lot of these creeps it leads to dead ends for the casual researcher.
Apparently for the cops, too.
You are correct Reader, it is comprehensive. It is the 50,000 foot view of this case, and it is a lot to look at. The good news is that you can zoom in to a lower level very quickly. Quicker than reading 100,000 or more pages of documents, or trying to remember years later what you had read.
I personally find it easier to start at the “Investigation” cell, and drilldown to a specific area or cell I am seeking. Or I can start at the bottom, use the find feature (Control-F) for a specific entity (person, organization, location, etc.), and climb up to how it fits into the investigation and it’s relationships.
You are also correct that it raises more questions than answers. That is because the chart is not complete. And that is because the investigation is not complete.
I too would like to see this story completed just like in a movie. But that could only have happened if Cory was allowed to finish his work. A majority of this information is what Cory discovered.
If this case investigation was a movie, the sequel was definitely better than the original. And in an interesting comparison, the original 1977 investigation also kept a leading investigator, Flint Police Officer Tom Waldron, from completing his work.
G-dude. Very high praise. Excellent work by both of you!
This is all Kathleen. I just filled in some open holes, and was another set of eyes for accuracy. And it still needs more eyes. I hope anyone who finds anything that needs to be corrected will make a comment. Same for any enhancements.
This is excellent. A few thoughts to add:
1. Steve Duncan could be listed with the polygraphers
2. Maybe add the year of suicide (1978) for Chris Flynn to show timing
3. I noticed Gunnels is listed as a victim but didn’t see him listed as a suspect?
4. For Bowman, should it be added that he stated he was in a car with Tim King (or who he believed to be Tim King). I can’t remember if he was with Busch or he was with when that happened.
1. Great point on Duncan. It will be added.
2. Another good point. November 15, 1978 will be added to Flynn, and that it is days apart from the Busch suicide.
3. Good catch on Gunnels. But is he really a suspect or a person of interest? He did have his own binder with MSP as a suspect. I keep thinking about the question Cathy asked many times. Just how exactly did Gunnels become a suspect? It was also my opinion that no tips were called in on him. Anyone have any thoughts?
4. Bowman is similar and trickier. I do agree that the fact he identified Tim should be added in the note. This makes him an informant as well. He is also linked to Lamborgine because Bowman said he was picked up hitchhiking from Ohio by Lamborgine, and dropped off at 6 Mile and Woodward. Then I thought I also read that this story was then deemed unreliable. Am I wrong?
https://catherinebroad.blog/2022/12/29/update-on-james-vincent-gunnels/
Thank you! I remembered it wrong. A great example of how handy this chart will be.
I just assumed that Gunnels became a ‘person of interest’ because of the mt-DNA hit in CODIS- I didn’t think he was identified as connected to the case before that time, was he?
I never got a straight story on this.
KP, I think between the mt-DNA hit, the failed polygraph, and his constant lying, it does make sense that he should be considered a suspect.
As for Gunnels being identified as connected to the case before this, I’m glad you mentioned it. A couple of weeks ago I would have said the same as you. Now I am not so sure. And not only Gunnels, but Busch.
I found nothing in The Snow Killings, and do not recall this in any of the FOIA documents, indicating that Gunnels was known during the Lawson investigation. But there were many redactions. However, I recently re-read Portraits in the Snow, and I also read a new book that came out this year, Depraved Obsession.
Portraits in the Snow (page 248) indicates Gunnels “was taken very young and brutally trained to do whatever he was told to by the Cass Corridor Crew; which is where he was from. In fact, one of the kids (now an adult) that was held captive at Bobby Moore’s apartment house, remembers him well. By the time he was taken by Busch’s crew he would have been around 16-years-old”. So if this is true, it has me curious to know more about Gunnels life in Detroit, not just Flint. If he grew up in the Cass Corridor, someone would have discussed him.
The new book, Depraved Obsession, is the story of the hunt for Ronald Lloyd Bailey. Bailey, if you recall, was one of the last people looked at by the Task Force. The last chapter briefly summarizes Cory’s path as described in The Snow Killings. It makes an interesting statement when describing how Lawson did his job to assist the OCCK investigators.
“In his own way, Lawson would pick up juvenile boys up and down Woodward Avenue, have sex with them, then try to get information regarding the Oakland County Child Killings. Some of the information he provided about his associates was valuable, and it included the names of other pedophiles in the Detroit area who became prime suspects in the Oakland County unsolved murders. They included Ted Lamborgine, Bob Moore, Chris Busch and Gregory Greene.
No mention of Gunnels, but he mentions Busch and Greene. A mistake perhaps by the author? Hard to say.
Thank you for such dedicated work. I’m convinced there’s a link between Dyer Grossman and Jeffrey Epstein, given how close their parents’ homes were in NJ. Also, how did Epstein even hear about Interlochen as a child?
Interlochen has always been a draw for the children of wealthy parents. You would be surprised how many east coast children attend the camp and the school.