The 1994 Fox Road Murder Mystery, Part 3: The Code of Silence

Who would have wanted to harm Tammy Lynds?

 

Let’s be perfectly clear: in a murder investigation, motive can never be more important than reliable evidence. Still, motive has to be considered, especially when there is a lack of evidence in a case such as this one, in which a 15-year-old’s skeletal remains were found in the woods.

 

I’ve been in contact with several of Tammy’s friends, who can’t imagine her angering anyone enough to leave her lying in the brush 10 feet off of Fox Road like a discarded fast food soda cup.

 

“She didn't haven't a mean bone in her body,” said Tara, a woman who was friends with Tammy as kid, and then had resumed their friendship when they both hung out with the same group of teenagers. 

 

As children, Tammy and Tara did all the ordinary things kids did. “We would play on the swing set at my house, go swimming in my pool, or go down to her house play Barbies, and play with her pet rabbit.”

 

She said that years later, Tammy was a typical teenager, with no enemies. Yet, when Tammy’s mother put up “missing” signs in Pine Point after the night she didn’t come home (July 21, 1994), “someone was ripping the posters down as fast as she was putting them up,” said Tara. Who could possibly have had anything against her?

 

Then again, there was the night of the stolen bike.

 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

 

In the early summer of 1994, Tammy’s friend was in her yard, and he looked around, and couldn’t believe his eyes. His bicycle was gone—snatched from right under their noses!

 

“Fuck!” he screamed.

 

Searching the neighborhood, he, Tammy, and one of her friends walked north on Gilbert Avenue, looking for his bike, and then Tammy suddenly called out to someone a block away. “The guy was on my bike, and I started running at him,” he said. He was catching up with the thief, who had lost valuable seconds slowing down to turn around, and he was trying to pick up speed to get away. They were both approaching a dead end at the end of Gilbert.

 

Bam! 

 

Tammy’s friend ran right into a metal cable that was blocking a dirt trail leading to a small patch of woods that bordered Boston Road and the Kmart parking lot. “It hit me right across the stomach,” he said. It was enough of a delay for the thief to get away.  “He went around one of posts holding the cable, and he rode off into the night,” he said. “The police were called, and Tammy identified the kid. She was positive it was him—she named him and directed police to his house.” Police questioned a woman there. “We weren’t allowed to get to close while they talked,” he said. “My father showed up at some point and we drove around after, we didn’t see any more activity at that house. I wonder if police reports from back then would have any of that information.”

 

The alleged thief, Andy (not his real name), lived in the house of a large, notorious family in the Fargo Street neighborhood. Andy’s uncles, who had also resided there, had been in jail at one time or another for a multitude of crimes: rape, kidnapping, assault  with a dangerous weapon, car theft, drug dealing, prison escape, B&E, burglary, robbery, OUI—you name it. Did Tammy anger a violent family by fingering its youngest member? Was Tammy’s “meeting” the night she went missing a ruse to supposedly return the bike—or to “clear up” what Andy might have called a false accusation? People are rarely killed over a bicycle, but incidents sometimes escalate.

 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

 

And then there was the guy on the school bus who announced, shortly after Tammy was found, to anyone listening, “She got what she deserved!” It could have been nothing but just some 15-year-old talking tough (that’s what police investigators thought in 1994 when they were told about this statement), but this guy did go on to rack up a bunch of charges as he grew up, including being involved in an animal cruelty case as a teen, as well as assault, larceny, reckless driving, and weapons charges as an adult—including assault and battery on a police officer.

 

This youth isn’t one of the teens who had assaulted Tammy on in school (which I had reported in Part 2), kicking her repeatedly, and prompting a court hearing. But it’s unknown if he knew her attackers.

 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

 

Tammy was by all accounts nice to people and didn’t seek out conflict, but she was no shrinking violet—she could be vocal when it came to standing up for someone else, according to her friend Ricky (last name withheld by request). “There was a time two boys were saying something inappropriate about her sister, Allison, and Tammy chewed them a new asshole,” he said. “It was a ‘Don’t fuck with my little sister’ kind of conversation.”

 

Shortly before she disappeared, Tammy was also involved in a fight in which she was defending her brother Josh. Ricky has vivid memories of their mother asking him to train Josh how to defend himself. For years, Ricky had taken taekwondo with his neighbor, Chang Choi (the guy who taught the martial art at his Boston Road studio).

 

“There were obviously some issues going on with Josh, and they were concerned enough to talk about it openly and to think that fighting was the answer,” said Ricky. “I never trained him—Tammy disappeared around this time.”

 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

 

Ricky has lately been a man on mission, determined to shed some light on this murder mystery, asking people from his old neighborhood countless questions, trying to create a buzz about this cold case, and getting increasingly frustrated in the process. “I can’t even get them to write anonymous comments on the blog posts,” he said. “Most people won’t text or email me—they only talk face-to-face. They all want nothing to do with this case, and said they would deny ever talking to me. They say, ‘Oh, you’re the guy talking to Hell’s Acres.’”

 

So, what’s with code of silence?

 

Because people aren’t willing talk, there seems to be little traction on the case. There have been exceptions; in 2005, someone from the neighborhood texted a tip to police that in 1994 Tammy told a teen relative of his that she was pregnant, and was upset about it. In 2018, a woman texted to investigators that she suspects that her now-dead father, who had molested dozens of children, might have been involved in Tammy’s murder. But for the most part, there has been radio silence.

 

The question is, why?

 

I’m not entirely surprised that Tammy’s friends aren’t dying to talk to ME, the Sixteen Acres blogger. I’m a snooping old man—15 years older than these youngsters. And I’m not from their neighborhood.

 

But the disturbing thing is that they’re not talking to ANYONE. What are they afraid of? Ricky has one possible answer: “Everyone seems to know a guy who could have killed Tammy, and they’re all worried that person didn’t act alone.”

 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

 

One day, in 1994, Tammy and a friend made plans to ride bikes with other friends, but she had yard work to finish first. She was out back raking leaves with her mom, so he started helping. “I remember thinking I was so cool back then,” he said. “I had my Huffy ‘white heat” 12-speed and Orlando Magic jacket, and I was ready to ride around and impress everyone. I was such a dork.”

But Tammy wasn’t very happy that day. She had just changed her hairstyle and didn’t like the way it looked. “Someone had told her it looked like a Q-tip,” he said. “I couldn’t relate. My hair at that time looked absolutely amazing. I no longer had a mullet. We called my hairstyle ‘the horse’s ass.’ I had a two-inch-by-four-inch patch of longer hair above/across my forehead, and shorter spiked hair behind that slop, with faded shaved sides. I also used enough hairspray and gel to create a rock-hard, hurricane-resistant wave of hair that appeared to flow effortlessly from the front towards the back of my head.”

So being the supportive friend, always knowing the right things to say (not), he decided he was going to cheer Tammy up. “It’s not that bad,” he said. “It looks nice. It reminds me of my grandma.”

Tammy stared at him in disbelief. “I tried to explain that’s not what I meant—I really meant it looked like a perm or reminded me of a perm, not that she actually looked like my grandma,” he said. 

But it was too late. She said, “You little bitch!” Then, she pointed the rake handle at him and said, “You better watch it or grandma’s gonna shove this rake up your ass.”

At that point he totally lost it and burst out laughing. She swung the rake at him a few times and he fended it off. “Then, she did the thinkable,” he said. “She reached out and messed my hair up. I was mortified. She knew it took me 20 to 40 minutes to place every hair in the perfect location. She looked so happy after that—so proud of herself.”

He told her he had to leave. “I couldn’t believe what she did,” he said. “I let her know my life was officially ruined.” She said, “You poor baby. Does grandma need to give you a hug?”

He told her, “Yes I do need a hug and I’m going to tell my mom,” he said. She kept laughing. When he saw her mother towards the front of the house, he called out, “Tammy messed up my hair.”

Sue yelled back, “Tammy knock it off.” After cleaning up the yard, he and Tammy rode their bikes to some friends of hers on Rosewell Street. All was forgiven.

 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

 

I related the above story to show the humanness of Tammy, which had been lacking in past reports about her murder. Tammy was not exactly a saint. I know from several accounts that she was sexually active—not exactly promiscuous, but let’s just say she had friends with benefits. She had a good personality, but if you got her dander up, you definitely knew it.

 

I had figured that the raking story might prompt someone might step up with information—that a friend or acquaintance might say, “You know what? Fuck it. I’m coming forward. I’m doing the right thing.”

 

But who am I kidding? The code of silence seems to be an impossible one to break in this case.

 

I can write about Tammy’s personality to no end—and I should, because it gets lost in the narrative. Still, it has been nearly 30 years—and not only will no one come provide any relevant information, but also no one from the neighborhood is even willing to discuss the case—at all. And that is really weird.

 

“It’s almost like she’s a forbidden subject,” said Ricky.

 

Again, I ask, why?

 

Well, it could be that the last person to see her probably didn’t want to get involved in the case in 1994 because he was a scared kid—and now is a nervous adult with a family who doesn’t want to get pulled into an investigation. He or she might have confided in friends back then, but now none of them will touch this case with a 10-foot pole.

In 2019, when Ricky was contacting people about the case, a detective (at least he identified himself as a detective) appeared at his door and asked him to stop—to let him and his colleagues do their job. “He hinted that something was going to happen with her case,” said Ricky. “I took it to mean that Tammy’s case was either going to be solved or some new information was going to be released soon.” The man cited Massachusetts General Law Chapter 286, Section 13B, which prohibits intimidation or harassment of witnesses and persons furnishing information in connection with criminal proceedings—anything that would impede or interfere with an investigation. This prompted Ricky to cease and desist. That was four years ago—as far as we can tell, there has been no earth-shattering break in the investigation. So Ricky has recently resumed his inquiries.

 

And why not? Now is the time to shatter the code of silence. If not now, when? The Lynds family deserves an answer. If you—or one of your friends or family members—saw something, say something. If you know something—ANYTHING—text an anonymous tip: text the word CRIMES (2-7-4-6-3-7) and type the word SOLVE followed by the information. Or call the Springfield Police Homicide Unit at 413-787-6355.

 

Silence, in this case, is not golden. Silence is fear and complacency. Don’t be silent when people are desperate to hear from you.

 

Read Part 1

Read Part 2

Read Part 3

Read Part 4

Read Part 5

Read Part 6

Read Part 7

Read Part 8

Read Part 9

Read Part 10

Read Part 11

Read Part 12

Read Part 13

Read Part 14

Read Part 15

Read Part 16

Read Part 17

Read Part 18

Read Part 19