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Coming up on the 30th anniversary of Tammy’s disappearance, July 21, 1994, it’s only fitting to examine a conversation Tammy’s mother Susan had with Tammy’s old friend Will (not his real name) in 2000, when he pestered Susan at work because he evidently had to get something off his chest. He told her that two of his buddies hated Tammy, and to take police suspicion off themselves, they made up a story that Tammy’s father Richard molested her and killed her to shut her up.
In the six years prior to this exchange, Susan had already thought that Will’s two friends might have had something to do with Tammy’s death. She couldn’t rule out Will, either. Sure enough, in this bizarre discussion, Will revealed that he himself had been an early police suspect—something that didn’t surprise Susan, because his speech and manner in the parking lot were odd, erratic, and somewhat self-incriminating.
Will seemed to have a guilty conscience for some reason, possibly because he didn’t tell his full story to police in 1994.
Fast forward to 2021, when he told other friends that his same two buddies not only hated Tammy, but they talked about “how they wanted to hurt her.”
Back in 2000, Richard wanted to inform the FBI about Susan’s conversation with Will. In 2023, he said he would contact the Massachusetts Attorney General regarding Will’s most recent admission about these guys’ intention to harm Tammy. But he did neither—and then died last December before he got the chance to tell a higher law enforcement authority.
However, I recently informed the Springfield Police Homicide Unit about Will’s 2021 revelations and the need for a detective to interview him. I exchanged emails with the same officer who had re-investigated the case in 2013, and he replied that he is “very familiar with all the names you have mentioned,” that he had read the blog, and would like to discuss this further at some point.
So stay tuned.
* * * * * * * *
On August 14, 2000, six years after Tammy’s death, Susan was working at Stop & Shop in East Longmeadow and getting ready to tally the day’s receipts from the cash registers when Tammy’s old friend Will, who was working for Arrow Security in the shopping center parking lot, walked in. “He kept trying to get my attention,” she later told her husband Richard.
“Can I speak to you for a minute?” Will asked her.
“I’m in the middle of something,” she told him. “Can you wait?”
“It’s only one thing and it won’t take but a minute,” Will insisted.
Susan was used to Will’s odd behavior—when he had hung around with Tammy, she was aware that he didn’t take visual and verbal cues very well, and conversations with him were often non-linear and sometimes very rambling. She didn’t want to deal with him, but he claimed that he had something important to say about a recent newspaper article on Tammy’s murder.
No, Will couldn’t wait. “I read the article in the paper at my mom’s after mom showed it to me, and the dates are wrong,” he blurted out in the store. “They made a mistake on the dates.”
“Are you sure about that?” asked Susan.
“Yes,” he said. “Very!”
She told him she would re-read the article about Tammy’s murder in the Valley Advocate newspaper to see what he was talking about, but right now she was busy. “Bye,” she said, waving her hand to make it clear she had to finish work.
“He then went into how he worked for Arrow Security and he usually works at another location, but they sent him tonight to our store,” she told Richard.
“I said, ‘That’s nice,’ and kept on walking,” she continued. “He followed me. Will then said he spent the night at my house a couple of days ago talking to Joshua until 4:00 a.m., and that Josh’s friend B.J. was there. Then he left so the guys could either go to bed or finish playing computer games—whichever they had planned. I told Will that I have work to do and really didn’t have time to talk.”
Will, who had been oblivious that she wanted him out of the store, finally took the “hint” and left.
“I then told my coworker Betty about the conversation,” she said. “She asked me if I thought he knew something—is he involved in Tammy’s murder in any way? I told her I believe he in some way has to know something. I just don’t know what. Amy, a girl in our neighborhood, knows Will and his family well, and she said he’s weird, and that she used to hang around with his sister years ago. She told me some personal things about him—some that I know of and some I didn’t—I’m not go into them now because they have nothing to do with my Tammy.”
Susan was referring to common neighborhood knowledge—but rarely spoken about—that years ago Will and his sister had been molested by their stepfather. It made her even more leery of Will—how could he grow up to be normal after experiencing that?
“When I got out of work I was still bothered a bit by Will’s adamant behavior,” Susan told Richard. She was annoyed that Will had been trying to get into a closer friendship her son Josh all of a sudden. “I didn’t know if he was out to find out if Josh knew anything about the case,” she said. She had her suspicions about Will’s possible involvement in the murder—or at least knew more than he was letting on. She flat out didn’t want Will in her home. “I really don’t trust him a whole lot,” she told Richard. “Put it down to a mother’s intuition.”
Richard agreed. “We definitely have to keep an eye on him,” he said. “I wonder what he knows? Has he held onto it for six years? Or did he hear something recently? We have to tell that Valley Advocate reporter that we talked to. Not only that—we have to talk to the FBI. They’re the only ones that can help us at this point.”
At the supermarket, after Susan cashed out, she headed toward her van, and came across co-workers Lindsay Kelly and Alex Gomez, and told them about Will badgering her, along with his assertion that the article supposedly had wrong dates. They wanted a copy of the article to read, so Lindsay suggested going over to the nearby Emporium newsstand to get one. However, the store had run out of the newspaper. “I told them the last chance was to look in my vehicle,” she told Richard. “We did find part of a Valley Advocate. I handed it to them and told them they could join me in my vehicle to sit and read it—all the more comfortable and private. So they did. We started to discuss the article and looked to see where the discrepancy was, when we saw that Will was observing us from the Arrow Security car. It going around in circles. Alex and Lindsay asked why he was keeping a close eye on my vehicle.”
Like a shark sizing up its prey, Will continued to circle Susan’s van.
“Knowing Will, he wants to know what we’re doing,” she told Alex and Lindsay, “and he’ll be coming over to talk to us. I just know it.”
Sure enough, within minutes he did come over. “I had hoped I would be wrong, for a change,” she said.
Will walked up to Susan’s open window, leaned in, and repeated again about the dates being wrong. “But it was a real nice story about Tammy—well done,” said Will, adding that a good point was made by the writer—that the recent disappearance of 16-year-old Molly Bish in Warren, MA, had received plenty of publicity, but Tammy’s case hadn’t. “Tammy should have received the same coverage,” said Will. He paused, his eyes scanning the parking lot—after all, he was supposed to be working, and he didn’t want someone from Arrow catching him not doing his rounds. “You know, I thought of Tammy as a sister…and I loved her as one,” he said. It was such a poignant statement, but he didn’t look her in the eye when he said this. She thought that was weird.
“Again, he repeated that the dates are wrong,” she told Richard. “I asked him to show me where the wrong dates are, because the whole time the paper was open to the article on my passenger seat. Will had been trying to pretend he didn’t notice it sitting there as soon as he came over.”
The mistake Will was talking about was indeed the article (below) having the wrong month listed—June instead of July when the date of Tammy’s disappearance was mentioned the second time. It was a small error that barely mattered, especially considering the fact that the writer, Tom Vannah, had come to the Lynds home, interviewed Richard and Susan for nearly four hours, and published a fairly long story when the rest of the media had long forgotten about Tammy. Will’s apparent obsession with the wrong month was just a way to get Susan to listen to him.
Will’s monologue went all over the place. “One minute he’d go into how he liked his job as a guard—that he now had his license where he didn’t have one until a short while ago,” said Susan, rolling her eyes. “So now he can drive his cool car for Arrow—it drives great, and so on.”
Lindsay excused herself to go to the bathroom, and called her family to pick her up. After she left the van, Will started talking about Tammy’s friend Owen (not his real name), and how this boy had wanted Tammy to go roller skating with him at Interskate 91 in Wilbraham around the time she disappeared—but not really. “Owen’s sole purpose was to get Tammy…you know…fuck her. Lay her,” said Will. “Sorry, Sue, I don’t mean to use that word, but Owen had no intention of taking your Tammy roller skating. He had only one thing in mind and that’s it—nothing else. Taking Tammy roller skating was the excuse to get her out of the house. But Sue, you stopped that—you changed that—when you would not let Tammy out. That made Owen mad—really mad.”
Sue didn’t like Will, but she disliked Owen even more, recalling Owen’s one visit to the Lynds home, when the underage driver had “borrowed” his mother’s car and roared down the street and into the driveway while drinking a beer. “My husband and I had no intention of letting her go anywhere with Owen or anyone else we don’t know anything about, especially when Owen left our driveway with a beer can in his hand, speeding down the street, hanging his body out of the driver’s side of the vehicle. That topped our decision off. And I told Tammy, along with her dad what we saw. We said, ‘No way. We’re not risking your life for anyone.’ I asked her what she knew about Owen. Will broke into what I was saying and told me Tammy met Owen at Will’s house once because Tammy had gone down there to visit his family.”
Then Will’s mind began to wander, forgetting that he was having a very serious conversation with Susan about her daughter. “With a smile on his face, went into his own story about his friendship with Owen—how they partied together at Owen’s house, drinking, smoking weed, etc. with Owen, Owen’s mom, and Owen’s friends: Jay Francis—I believe he mentioned a guy named Chris and some Black young man—can’t remember his name—and others,” said Susan. “Will mentioned how they hung around Jay Francis’s house a lot—and how Jay really hated Tammy and so did Owen. That’s when Will would say again what Owen intended to do to Tammy sexually.”
“I loved Tammy like a sister, said Will again. “She was like family to me.”
“He kept repeating this in the conversation, never looking at me during three-quarters of our talk,” said Susan.
Will grinned again when he discussed going to the skating rink around Christmas—about a month after Tammy was found murdered. “I believe that 18th of December 1994, or around there,” said Susan. “It was the weekend—a Friday or a Saturday night. We took Josh, Allison, and Allison’s friend J.R. Steele, and I remember taking photos of the kids roller skating. Will went into how Owen, Jay, and their friends, along with Will himself, were coming up with a story about how Rich did something to our Tammy, and that’s why she ran away, and to stop her from saying anything, Richie is supposed to have killed our daughter. That was their story. Will also said Owen and his friends wanted Will to go along with this story.”
Will said he refused, which was strange, because at first he had helped concoct the story. “I told them, ‘No. No way,” he said. “I stuck my middle finger up at them, and walked away.” Did Will forget that a moment ago he told Susan he was helping them dream up the tale? Maybe.
“How did you get to the rink in the first place?” Susan asked Will.
“Owen and Jay gave me a ride”
“Did you go home with them later?”
“No, because they were mad at me.”
“How did you get home?”
“Someone else.”
“He was very elusive in many of his answers,” said Susan. “It turned out that the ‘someone else’ was my family—he never mentioned this. But he still had spent most of his evening with those kids—with them giving us the evil eye and talking about us. They kept looking at us that evening—my husband and I—talking between them. Will said that Richie confronted the boys outside that night, which I know was an out-and-out lie because Rich never left the building until we took the kids home. So I knew Will made that nonsense up. Then he said Ricky usually showed up roller skating—but not that night—with Tim Gilmartin, Ricky’s cousin Joey, and Will’s friend. I believe his name was Chris. And David B. would show up there.”
Will said Owen apparently thought that Allison had long suspected Owen had murdered her sister, and was either trying to get Allison “to change her mind about him having any involvement in what happened to our Tammy,” or to intimidate her to keep quiet. “I think that’s why Owen kept following Allison around the rink—to scare her,” said Susan. “This didn’t seem to bother Will one bit as we were talking. There was no remorse through the conversation about everything that had been happening.”
Then Will started talking about the murder scene. “The first thing he said was there was a metal object found under Tammy—what I believe is called a pentagram,” said Susan. Will also mentioned that police had found a cat dead hanging, or as he put it, a cat “bagged” in a tree.
“How would he know that?” Susan wondered. “We never told him any of this. When I would ask Will how he came by this or that info, he would not look at me.”
“I can’t remember,” Will answered Susan. “That happens sometimes.” He expressed his frustration at his forgetfulness. “I hate when that happens,” he said.
“What the fuck?” thought Susan.
“Will kept repeating that Satanism was involved in Tammy’s murder,” she said. “He mentioned Ricky, Owen, David B., Joey, I believe Jay, and some Black guy. Then he went into how some of these kids went to school with him—Owen, Ricky, Joey, Jay Francis—I believe those were the names he mentioned.” Will asserted that they were the ones who penciled a drawing of Tammy’s gravestone and put it on his desk at Putnam High School to scare him.
“Will said Tammy was pregnant, and that someone also put a drawing on his desk that had something relating to a baby,” said Susan. “Will mentioned how he called the police about the threat to him, and they ignored his calls when he phoned them.”
Will was all over the place. “He went from one thing to another,” recalled Susan. “He said the Springfield Police Department had him and his stepfather for quite a while as suspects in Tammy’s murder, but not anymore, and how his ex-brother-in-law had connections in the Department and that the detectives on our Tammy’s case were fired.” Susan knew for a fact they weren’t fired. “I never said ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ to Will about that info,” she said. “I knew he was giving me baloney.”
Susan then had to put up with a small racist rant. “Will said some remarks about Blacks that I tried to ignore, because my one of my best friends for 18 years is Black,” she said. Will switched subjects, not because he could sense her discomfort—he lacked the ability to read social cues—but because he was compelled to jump around again. “He said at one point the police were paid off to drop the case, and that’s why Tammy’s death has been shelved—ignored.”
“Paid off?” wondered Susan. “What the hell is he talking about?”
The conversation continued on its wandering path. “We were at one point discussing my children Josh and Allison, and the tough decision we had to make by leaving Springfield and moving the kids to Florence to keep them safe, giving them a chance at growing up without some gang or kook trying to hurt them,” said Susan.
“I refuse to have my kids live in fear,” she told Will. “My kids are my life—I refuse to lose another of my kids to anyone or anything. We’ve had a hard enough time dealing with the loss of our Tammy. It’s been sheer hell never knowing what happened to her and why. Tammy never intentionally hurt any kids. She wasn’t mean like that.”
Will agreed, but he still had problems with eye contact. He picked up the newspaper article and started reading it again. He didn’t look up when Susan barely choked back a sob.
“I won’t lose another one of my kids, Will,” she said. “No one better mess with my kids again or God help them. My kids are my life. They’ll not put us through hell again. Once was bad enough. I won’t lose another one.”
“If anything happens to the other kids, tell me,” said Will.
Oh my God, she thought. “What a cruel and thoughtless thing to say,” she later told Richard.
She was officially done with this exchange with Will. “A few times during our conversation I had told Will I need to go—or I had to go talk to Lindsay and Alex about a few things at work,” she said. “Finally, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Will got back into the Arrow Security car to do his job. I quickly talked to Lindsay and Alex so they could get on their way.”
* * * * * * * *
Richard emailed the reporter, Tom Vannah, about his wife’s conversation with Will, who he felt knew a lot—more than he was letting on. He wanted to contact the FBI. “We feel that he was there when it happened,” Richard wrote. Vannah replied that he would be in touch, but he never followed up (below).
However, it turns out that in 2021, Will was chatty again, telling told friends a few other details about the night Tammy disappeared, including a detailed description of the possible murder weapon.
Again, Stay tuned.
* * * * * * * *
In case you’re wondering if I might have taken too many liberties in reconstructing this conversation, Alex Gomez confirmed everything that was said in the exchange:
Moreover, the following is Susan’s description of their talk, in her own handwriting. (You’ll see I added a few flourishes to keep their talk resembling a dialogue, but it’s mostly verbatim.)
40 comments:
Sounds like Will could be diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder-i.e., difficulty with initiating conversations, inability to pick up on visual cues like reading a "pissed off" or "annoyed" look on a person's face, avoidance of eye contact. In my experience working with people like this, it takes alot of effort and focus to engage in conversations like the one Will had with Susan...so this was a talk that Will really wanted to or felt like he needed to have with Susan...unfortunately,it seems that Susan kind of blew him off as being weird...and that was that. Will could very well have been giving her a quasi-confession.
He definitely sounds like he is on the spectrum. It’s really sad to read how he was treated, but this is how people with social issues and disabilities were treated back then, they’re still treated terribly these days, but the state just does a better job of covering it all up. The state would be broke if they acknowledge what’s going on in Massachusetts group homes.
If this guy cared about Tammy as much as he claimed, I’m sure he’s still willing to talk about what he knows. You need someone who’s worked with people on the spectrum. After 30 years, this guy doesn’t need to be interrogated, someone needs to interview him, allow him to tell whatever story he’s been trying to tell. If he’s trying to confess something, people did a terrible job listening.
Has anyone else shared anything else they heard this guy say? Other than Tammy’s family.
Has anyone interviewed his friends or family? Being molested doesn’t make someone a bad person, if he was taken advantage because of his perceived mental issues, that’s absolutely disgusting and it’s horrifying to think he didn’t get help, people just spoke ill about him behind his back.
The fact that this guy found a mistake and felt the need to tell people, however awkwardly it might have come out, would indicate that he would most likely have a lot to say about these blogs. There could be information in here that’s wrong. Someone really should ask him what he thinks of all these stories.
That article What About Tammy has an error in it. Richard used to drive up and down fox rd back then. He was very familiar with that area. Ask sue and the kids
I know there’s a chance this won’t get taken seriously, but I’m gonna post it anyway.
There’s been some talk about Satan, witchcraft, a pentagram under Tammy (which isn’t in the police report), a dead cat bagged in a tree (never saw that either), there’s some kind of rubber baby doll in those vines around where Tammy’s body was found, it was there today on Fox rd (it’s been there for a couple years, someone tied it up), then this same guy tells stories about getting Tammy’s friends and family all worked up at interskate, telling the same stories that Richard said got police to list him as a suspect, he was the only kid to report having a tombstone threat drawn on his desk (did anyone check to see if it matched his handwriting?), he seemed pretty confident (if Sue’s notes are accurate) about Tammy being pregnant, he’s the only one that claimed a motive for Tammy’s death( everyone else is clueless as to what happened), he has some type of family ( extended or whatever) that worked with the Springfield Police Department.
Then years later he has an uncomfortable exchange with Tammy’s mom at work and tells a wild story about some other kid being mad that Tammy wasn’t allowed out skating.
Is it just me or does this sound like he’s talking about himself in the third person. I think it sounds like he used that other kids name like an alter ego. Read this again.
Sue, you stopped that—you changed that—when you would not let Tammy out. That made Owen mad—really mad.”
Maybe you guys are all underestimating who you’re dealing with. Maybe it made him so made he killed her.
I would love to know what stories he told Tammy’s brother Josh. He could’ve said something that could blow this case wide open and no one is sharing anything.
What is his interest in satan, witchcraft or the paranormal?
This case it absolutely bonkers. Nothing makes any sense. How come there isn’t a group of people helping?
And this is almost 30 years later and that nut hasn't been cracked? Its time! I am hoping that the Attorney general reads this blog , as this is an embarrassment on the State of Massachusetts that her murder has gone unsolved with this kinda info right here floating out there and nobody has done a MF thing. Get them before another of theses dirtbags o.d. or take their own lives because they are being closed in on. Justice is 29 years 11 months too late , but lets get the fuck to it already! lock this lil bitch up and he will sing once he's in with the big boys. tell the truth or you are charged personally with hindering an investigation, perjury, and a plethora of other things.
A fed up old Friend,
Erin
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this story telling guy, the same person who claimed Jay Francis or his friend would destroy evidence of Tammy’s murder, if anyone came questioning them?
Are there any other notes on this guy?
I hope someone tries to contact that Tom Hannah, I wonder if he has a reason for not contacting the Lynds again? Did the Springfield police ask him to drop the story?
I know this won’t get answered, but I would love to know if this guy was with the Lynds when they found Tammy’s hoodie or whatever that was? I know police refused to take it cause they moved it, but could this guy have dropped it there and had them pick it up, knowing police wouldn’t be able to use it?
Did this guy take a special interest in murder cases? He asked sue to tell him if anything happens to her other kids. That’s super ominous
Thank you for keeping Tammy’s story going. Richard would be proud of your work. 💕
Theaters are doing a 40th anniversary showing of The NeverEnding Story this year July 21 & 22. Coincidence? A story of about the choices we make, the decision to move on after a terrible loss and how one simple act can change an entire world.
The Lynds went against their gut feelings and Tammy’s case paid the price. All of the bad things that happened in that movie, were because people stopped dreaming, people stopped believing.
If no one believes Tammy’s case can be solved, then no one will dream about it happening. The Nothing will spread silence throughout the land.
What a sad world we live in.
This entire blog is sad. It’s a constant reminder of how far we’ve fallen as a society.
This city and our neighborhoods used to feel so alive. Kids don’t have any exciting stories about exploring these areas you have posted about over the years.
What happened to real leaders? Why doesn’t someone take a stand for once? No one wants to do anything, it might seem like a good idea not getting involved, but what happens when someone else needs help? They won’t have anywhere to turn either. We need a big change and we need it now.
There is a group of people very much trying to help and that care a lot!
I’d have to agree thank you for staying with this .
Bingo!
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
Can you feel it coming in the air tonight? Oh Lord, oh Lord
Well, if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand
I've seen your face before, my friend, but I don't know if you know who I am
Well, I was there and I saw what you did, I saw it with my own two eyes
So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been
It's all been a pack of lies
And I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
Well, I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
Well, I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord, oh Lord
Well, I remember, I remember, don't worry, how could I ever forget?
It's the first time, the last time we ever met
But I know the reason why you keep your silence up, no, you don't fool me
Well, the hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows
It's no stranger to you and me
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
Well, I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
I can feel it in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord
I've heard this song, " in the air tonight ' by Phil Collins on three different stations at once ( 3), this happened on 3 different occasions, a 40 year old song on three stations at the same time? what is the likelihood? 3X, & each time i was thinking of this situation at that moment. I'm not here to let her down. My god it's time !
This doesn’t make any sense, where is the information that Richard claimed “came at Susan”? The stuff she didn’t have to go looking for?
Are there any other notes about this specific information, from someone other than this one mentally challenged boy? Did any of Tammy’s other friends or classmates have anything to say? It seems like Susan was the type of person to keep track of every little thing, regardless of how important it may or may not have seemed at the time. If people were talking, Susan was writing.
I’d be very curious to learn “who” told this friend of Tammy’s to share all of these bizarre stories with Susan?
It honestly just sounds like rumors designed to get the police involved. There are zero facts or evidence to support any of this guys stories.
How do Susan’s notes about Tammy’s other friends read? Did she write something negative about each of Tammy’s friends? Did she feel everyone knew more than they were telling?
You’re never going to solve this case by sharing bits and pieces, over the course of years no less. You can either share it all and try to sort fact from fiction or you give up. There is no half-assed way to solve this case.
Someone may cave in and admit to what happened to Tammy, but I highly doubt it, considering the only family member who cared enough to put some effort into her case has died.
Hell’s Acres, a lie by omission is a way to manipulate stories and try to force certain outcomes, that wouldn’t have been possible if all the facts were available to every reader.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy your work and understand that sorting through this file is probably stressful. I have to say that focusing on one person, who people seem to agree has a diagnosis-able condition, who has themselves been abused and taken advantage of, seem irresponsible to me.
Investigators need to focus on who told this person these stories in the first place and why he feels they’re so important. Was someone trying to mislead this investigation by using this guy as a puppet?
As Heartbreaking and Disappointing as it is with so many people choosing to stay Silent. I am Very Happy that there hasn’t been any new rumors spreading around and most of the talk about them has stopped.
Which begs the question, Why? What changed?
There’s a real possibility that the Lynds themselves could have asked this mentally handicapped person to spread their stories, since the Springfield Police and Youth Aide Bureau left them stranded. I highly doubt any of those neighborhood kids would’ve trusted this kid enough to share anything they knew about Tammy’s case. Plus it was known that he was molested and had families ties to the Springfield Police.
I could be wrong, but now that you’ve gained access to all the Lynds files, everyone else that was helping has scattered. There’s a real possibility that all the stories you’re sharing are fallacies made up by a desperate family without any other options.
Not to be rude, but that entire interskate story sounds staged. Of course kids from Tammy’s neighborhood would stare at the Lynds family, when they ALL showed up skating, that wasn’t something they EVER did and Tammy had just been buried a month prior. They weren’t out to have a relaxing evening with the kids, the Lynds were out looking for answers. I’m surprised Ricky wasn’t around for that event, he was there all the time with this family and friends.
Then Susan asked that coworker to write about the incident with this guy, even though she made it clear she was busy at times and then tried to dismiss him, it really seems like she said come pester me in front of my coworkers, that will help get police involved,
Why would she waste that kids time and have him write a story that’s basically worthless, if she wasn’t up to something?
I feel like it was easy for her to dismiss everything he said to her, in front of other people, because she already knew it was all lies, she didn’t have to wonder where he heard it. She was hoping people would care and try to help figure out what happened to Tammy, but all of their efforts were wasted on people that don’t even care about themselves.
If these stories are all fantasy, it would be helpful to know. I wouldn’t paint the Lynds in a bad light, in fact it would make them look better if they cleared up any inconsistencies.
Everyone makes mistakes, the true measure of a person is in their ability to correct those mistakes.
There is a solution to every problem, does anyone have what it takes to fix this and set investigators on the right course?
I know the Lynds are telling the truth when they contacted news agencies and only one agreed to share their story. I wonder why news 40 tried hiding this from the public.
I can see why Ricky is pushing so hard for answers. All those claims that Tammy wrote about him in her dairy and said she was headed to his house the night she disappeared were untrue.
I would like to know if David B experienced any type of harassment after Tammy was found dead on the side of Fox rd?
Someone had to have said something to DB, Tammy’s dairy said she was pregnant with his baby a month before she went missing. Tammy’s parents wouldn’t have missed an entry like that.
At least we now know for a fact where those pregnancy rumors started . In Tammy’s own diary. Which is probably why none of Tammy’s old friends and family are willing to share what they remember. Telling the truth after all this time would start a family fight, so better to just pretend it never happened and never talk about Tammy again. Ignoring problems always makes them go away.
All this silence makes the Lynds look guilty. They had Bob Ward from Boston 25 news helping and he also decided to stop helping them, just like that Tom Vannah you just made readers aware of. Why would anyone stop helping? Unless something didn’t add up.
It makes more sense that the Lynds were spreading the pregnancy rumors, then asking kids where they heard it from.
Just like those paranormal videos and they were spreading rumors Tammy was playing a game between Rick and David, but didn’t provide any evidence of this game.
How did the Lynds learn about all these rumors, if no one told them?
I wonder if Tammy did kill herself? She was clearly dealing with a lot of serious issues that weren’t common knowledge 29 years ago.
School fights and court.
Sexually active and trying to get pregnant.
Family fights and possible abortion.
She wrote about feeling used by one guy and about having questions that no one seems to have been able to answer. This is a heavy load for a 15 year old girl, most adults would have trouble dealing with all that.
How depressed was she towards the end? Does anyone actually know how she was feeling? Did anyone care enough to ask her how she was doing? Let’s be honest, Tammy was never going to be an astronaut, so whoever came up with that story clearly knew nothing about her. She was struggling in school, struggling in her social life, struggling with her family life. Pretending Tammy was a happy teenage girl who was totally fine with catching ass beatings at home seems pretty outlandish. She seems like one of those kids who would get blamed for everything and probably felt she couldn’t do anything right:
I wonder how Tammy would feel about all of the enthusiastic support her case has received in the last 29 years?
I saw that comment on Facebook. I’m sorry people are getting frustrated and you’re left to deal with it alone. You can’t please everyone.
If only I were a fly on the wall when people were reading your blog. I wonder how many people consider sending an anonymous tip or clue, then stop themselves? I doubt very many people care, but I always hope to see something worth reading, you never know if someone will surprise you.
Tammy’s case suffers from a terrible lack of communication. There’s no way to verify any of the rumors being told behind closed doors or in texts. I was really hoping someone would remind you about the other incidents this OWEN was allegedly involved in.
Owen hanging out of a car, while holding a beer seems like pretty small fries when there’s a claim that he got some younger kid to smoke uncut heroine around this same time period.
Owen is currently a drug addict and has a weapons conviction, he was also best friends with Jay Lumpy Francis, who just happened to die from a drug overdose. If rumors are correct.
What if that story about Tammy being over Owen’s house was true? They could have purposely given outlandish details about their activities to get people to dismiss their stories.
This Mike guy never mentions anyone using hard core drugs. Has anyone considered that he might also be a drug addict or that his mental issues are a result of past drug use?
Correct me if I’m wrong about any of this. I could be mistaken.
I’m also really interested in learning how easy or hard it is to die from a drug overdose. Is this theory even possible? Could Tammy have been overdosing and these kids decided to dump her on the side of Fox rd?
It also seems like bad timing that Lumpy happens to die after saying he didn’t want to talk about Tammy’s death anymore. Taking whatever secrets with him to the grave.
It just seems strange to me that there’s all these heroin addicts running around. Whenever they tell stories, there’s only mention of smoking pot or weed. No one acknowledges anyone dancing with Mr. Brownstone.
What about that comment that someone was paid to drop the investigation? I can’t imagine Tammy’s death was good for anyone’s drug business in that neighborhood, if these heroin stories are true. Spreading stories about Mr Lynds touching Tammy seems like something a drug dealer would do to get cops off his back.
Anyone remember the basketball player from springfield central high class of 2013? His intials are C.T. he was a AllStar, now he wanders up and down Boston rd swearing and spitting at everyone that walks by. He suffered some irreversible brain damage due to ingesting some unknown substance. He once said that he was poisoned because someone was jealous of his skills, I believe it after reading about all the excitement surround his high school career.
Tammy’s neighborhood was filled with horrible monsters. There were rapists, child molesters, alcoholics, drugs addicts, drug dealers and probably a communist or two.
What if Tammy’s killer is already known? It kinda seems like a lot of people would rather cover her death up- than suffer the consequences of allowing the truth to get out. What does this Owen know about these Mike and Lumpy characters? These guys list each other as contacts on job applications?
I love a good conspiracy. I wonder if Tammy’s case was forced aside to make sure the local drug trade was business as usual. Police are aware of a lot of more things than they’re capable of dealing with. Whether it be legal technicalities or lack of cooperation from those involved. There are even dirty cops that get paid to turn a blind eye. Drug dealers and prostitutes are getting arrested all the time in Springfield these days, this type of news used to be shocking, now it’s just another day in the city.
Who had the most to lose if Tammy’s case was solved? Did this Mike ever try to get Tammy’s sibling to smoke anything funky?
They ever see him with any needles?
Two or three people could’ve had something to hide and wanted Tammy out of the picture.
What did she know about all the horrors in that neighborhood? Why are people so afraid to talk about her?
What about that Treasure that was recently found? Have you reached out to Lou Rock?
Hell’s Acres have you seen all of the messages that Lumpy sent? Where did you get those screen shoots from blog 14? It would be helpful to have some sort of idea of how that conversation started.
Did anyone else note that Lumpy said Tammy went out a window or a door? Then he says he remembers in his head that she jumped out the window, then that night they smoked a bunch of weed and played guitars. Like he needed to stick to a story, even though it didn’t make sense. Just say she went out the window, sound really dumb when you say it, people will pay less attention to you.
I’d be very interested in learning when Lumpy sent those messages. Can anyone confirm a date?
I didn’t know that you could smoke heroin, I’m not sure of the effects of using it either. Has anyone considered that maybe this Owen character got Lumpy hooked on heroin in the first place? He could have easily slipped it in his joints.
It’s to bad police didn’t test Tammy’s hair for drug use. That alone wouldn’t indicate cause of death, but it would give people an idea of what she was up to in her final weeks and months.
Someone said that Tammy smoked a cigarette with her little brother Josh shortly before she went missing. This was in a Lou Rock paranormal investigator video comment section.
It’s not that hard to believe she tried smoking weed or that her heroin dealing friends slipped her something.
You guy have said shes was known for her mouth. Big mouths are usually bad for illegal businesses.
It would be greatly appreciated if someone would confirm or deny these Heroin rumors.
Can you imagine how Mr Lynds would have responded if it was determined back in 1994 that Tammy did in fact die from a drug overdose? He was already known for voicing his concerns about public safety. He would’ve caused a shit storm for all the local dealers. Terrifying fact, the price of heroin has dropped over 80% since the 1980’s. Users say today’s prices are comparable to a Starbucks coffee.
It’s been mentioned that Fox rd, especially the area that Tammy was found, is a known dumping ground.
Why isn’t there a list of all the items found under, on top of or around her body? What happened to that hubcap?
Would police have even given a second thought to finding needles in the area of Tammy’s body? From local stories, those woods have always been a haven for drug addicts. Maybe someone was told not to connect the dots?
No one else thinks it’s kinda strange that the only thing that was noted being found with Tammy was a knife and her clothes?
All of this is totally fascinating to me. The public’s lack of interest. Her family’s current silence. Her friends reluctance to share or correct these stories. What does it all mean? Are people still in shock from all of these revelations, too stunned to speak?
What is the paranormal connection with all her old classmates? Old Facebook comments from years ago allude to spiritual activity, Lou Rock has claimed contact with Tammy, Tammy’s old boy friend got a visit from the grim reaper. There’s a rumor some girl had a vision of Tammy’s death. Is there any connection between these people other than they knew Tammy? Is this paranormal stuff just a coincidence? Didn’t one of these guys say he heard a voice saying find my killer while walking near the spot Tammy’s body was found? It just seems odd to me that people would choose to go that route. I know there are stories of psychics solving cases, I’m not going to get into those. I am curious if any of Tammy’s family, friends or these local paranormal investigators have ever been led to evidence through spiritual means. Is there a common element to all of these gut feelings or readings? I say it’s worth thinking about, why would these people choose to go this route knowing there a better chance of being dismissed or ridiculed behind their backs by saying this type of stuff.
To be honest, a lot of these paranormal sessions don’t seem like they’re well planned.
What type of result would you get if everyone took that stuff seriously and actually planned things out ahead of time? I know nothing about contacting the dead, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. What type of feelings to people get when they walk in that area? Can anyone describe any impressions they’ve had, any gut feelings about what happened to Tammy or any message you believe her spirit is trying to convey? Evil triumphs when good people do nothing.
Apparently that Facebook page Massachusetts Missing and Unsolved has started a little buzz among some people who graduated central in 1997. Just search Tammy Lynds and you can read for yourself.
Maybe you guys should leave a comment, can’t hurt to remind people that you still need their help and anything they have to offer could be useful.
Can’t hurt to let these people know you appreciate them sharing your hard work either. Also remind them they can send anonymous comments.
I don’t know why I thought this, but I assumed there was gossip around Central high school after Tammy was found. But apparently that wasn’t the case, there was no grief counseling, no candle light vigil, people weren’t even sure when exactly she was found.
Now today there’s a ton of Molly Bish stories, encouraging people to share anything they remember.
Why don’t our local news agencies or law enforcement encourage people to share what they remember about Tammy? What secrets are they worried about the public discovering?
This entire situation is totally bonkers.
If Springfield police along with our own district attorneys office and judges were willing to cover up a girl driving without car insurance. What do you think they’d be willing to do to cover up a murder? Especially if it related to any of their drug activities.
They’re covering up the abuse of mentally challenged children and adults. Violating their rights and people don’t care cause it doesn’t affect them. People would be shocked at how much money these programs get, hundreds of thousands of dollars a year per child and they drug them, restrain them and rob them of their independence.
There’s audio and transcripts that show how corrupt our legal system is and no one cares, they don’t even care if someone wants to do something about it. People must believe that ignoring problems helps them go away.
No one is ever going to learn what happened to Tammy as long as the springfield police have control of her case.
Our government has people so brainwashed, no one cares about anything, no one is willing to fight for what’s right anymore.
What are some other ways to bring attention to all these issues?
Tammy’s case hasn’t been completely ignored over the years. The Republican, the Valley Advocate, Boston 25 and News 22 all once took the time to look into her case. Has anyone reached back out to them about all of this new information?
We all know news organizations have agendas and reporters have no choice but to abide by their company rules. We as citizens need to force these people to start taking our issues seriously. Our local news is constantly filled with stories from other states, we rely on these people to keep us informed, if things happen in our area, we need to to be told about all the issues that effect our communities, we need to keep reminding our local news agencies of that.
Has anyone tried calling the Mayors office? You can also stop by and speak with the aides who work in his office. They’re there to answer questions, within reason of course.
People can also file complaints at the Mayors office. I’m sure how they’re handled, but they do have some sort of process to deal with city issues.
I know that paranormal stuff isn’t for everyone, but videos do tend to get more attention than written material these days, has anyone considered doing their own series on Tammy? A YouTube movie or series with all of this evidence in chronological order, plus which ever friend is brave enough to do this would be more interesting to people who aren’t familiar with the case. Plus it might help encourage her other friends to reach out.
People are already copying and pasting stuff from this blog. These navigating advocacy chicks that said they mailed little info packets out got a ton of views because of their short video.
It sounds like a lot of work, but if it pays off, it would be worth it.
That Turtle Boy news guy said he’s signed an agreement to green light a Hollywood movie about his involvement the Karen Read trial.
Why don’t you guys try reaching out to some movie makers? Or you can start filming your own videos like the kardashians. People like to watch videos more than reading these days. You could even do your own series if you took it seriously. You could blur out faces and hide identities of anyone who wanted to talk, but felt uncomfortable showing their face. Your blog has tons of content that people would also listen to if you put it to audio. Not sure if you’re into reading out loud, but it would hit a new audience.
You guys gotta pull at peoples heart strings. Keep pumping positivity into your search. What haven’t you tried yet?
It’s really strange that news agencies haven’t reached out to you, they wouldn’t have to do any real work, you guys have done it all. They’d just have to share what you’ve gathered. All our local news agencies constantly share stories from across the county, yet they neglect to share stories about things that happen on our own backyard.
Do you think the springfield police department or district attorneys office could have asked these news outlets not to run stories on Tammy?
Does anyone know how to get on the speaking list for the next city council meeting? July 8th there’s a 6pm meeting for public safety and 7pm regular meeting. People can’t solve problems, if they don’t know they even exist.
There must be at least one of you willing to stand up in front of these people and express all of these concerns
You don’t even need to make these issues that you bring up personal, the problem with our system is this- when there is a problem, our leaders don’t address it, in fact there is no one to call or no agency that actually solves problems. God forbid the problem is someone in charge, citizens have no method of voting these people out of office or holding them accountable for any crimes, they’re above regular people laws. This sounds absolutely stupid to me, but we accept it as if it’s a law of nature.
When did people forget that this is our country? This is our city, these are our neighborhoods. You already took the first step, you’re talking about a problem. Now you need to start talking about how to prevent this from ever happening again. Asking the public for help with searches when kids go missing is healthy. The majority of citizens would help if they felt their help was appreciated. It might. It get written a lot, but any help people have offered in this case and others is greatly appreciated. Peoples voices matter, please share anything you think will help.
That might seem like a ramble, so I’ll make it quick and all about Tammy.
1. Tammy was reported missing, not runaway, by her parents. This didn’t become part of any neighborhood watch, they didn’t have anywhere to turn. They were basically left in the dark
2. You have comments about there being a horrible smell, along with comments about a dog coming home smelling like death.
And still there’s no community response.
3. After Tammy was found, there was no community response, the Lynds from all appearances were left in limbo without any hope of learning what happen to her. No emotional support. Grieving is hard enough as it is, it’s even worse when you feel alone in your suffering, they said it themselves, they wanted to scream and they should have.
How do we as a community prevent this type of tragedy again?
People are out walking, jogging, exploring our streets and neighborhoods everyday. How do we as a community report and address these issues together? It seems like a lot of these issues would be simple to solve, if people were aware of them in the first place.
We kids go missing, it is literally parents worst nightmare, they should never feel like they’re alone, what can we do to improve the system we have now? I see all these repost of missing kids, but I never see community searches being planned. What difference does it make if they’re missing or if they ran away? If my child is supposed to be home and they’re not, I find it disturbing that our community leaders don’t ask more of us.
It can be as easy as educating those who have lost their way. This bothers me, but I don’t feel comfortable addressing it alone and police intervention seems overkill these days.
There’s a person camping in the woods when you walk east on Grayson dr from Slater rd towards Lucerne rd. I’m all for people camping in our local woods, honestly all of the encounters I’ve had have been friendly. But lately the trash issue has been getting way out of hand, I also haven’t noticed any drug issues.
It would be nice if there was a way to offer this person some trash bags, the need for any sharps containers. I assume they’re hydrated by all the plastic bottles around their site. How can we as a community do something to help this person, teach them a better, cleaner, more legal way to camp if that’s simply their intention or get them help if their down on their luck?
There was a group of people camping west of fox rd as well, the trash there is also unacceptable. Calling the cops again is to much, how can we get people together to check on those in these situations? We can handle things far more gently than the law.
How many of these campers are kids? I don’t feel comfortable enough to go poking around alone.
Auto correct gets me every time. I meant, it might not get written a lot.
Funny how people are, they might not feel comfortable talking or writing about a problem, but if you point them in the right direction, give them the information they need, that’s when people shine.
So Hell’s Acres, why don’t we as a community know what’s in these woods that you have spoken so fondly of over the years?
Breckwood park is a disgrace, the city needs to do better. This isn’t a new issue, things never should have been allowed to get as bad as they have there. The smell keeps the public away. We should be able to enjoy all of these areas, we should be encouraging our kids to to fight for these areas as well. We need to teach them how important it is to preserve these areas. If you don’t talk about what’s important to you, how important can it really be?
If people don’t feel comfortable talking about Tammy’s death, they can always talk about her life.
Does anyone have pictures or maybe someone saved old letters you wrote each other. Did Tammy sign anyones yearbooks? Most schools offered them for every year back then.
Someone had to have brought a camera to the ROTC dance and school picnics that year.
I know it is said that police lost Tammy’s murder file, but what happened to the case file and pictures from the assault at central? They should still be a part of the district attorneys office records.
What happened to that Tammy Lynds memorial page on Facebook? Why aren’t they sharing links to these blog posts?
That saying “fact is stranger than fiction” fits this case perfectly. So many things could have and should have been done differently. All these bizarre rumors with no facts to back them up.
Is anyone going to step up and tell people what the hell is really going on here?
We need to find a true crime detective, someone who does this because they care. This entire case is fascinating and horrifying on so many levels.
Who would be allowed to search for Tammy’s file and catalog the mess they find along the way? It would make sense to try helping in every way, if you’re going to help at all, right?
Sometimes things get so out of control, people just leave things a mess, they don’t know where to start fixing things, so things never get fixed at all.
How hard is it to offer ideas? You don’t have to fix something yourself, but maybe your idea would make all the difference. Whatever happened to people brainstorming?
Someone should reach out to Crash Berry, maybe he will have some ideas you guys haven’t thought of.
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