|
 The abduction and murder of Mary Lloyd 23 years ago still remains an unsolvable mystery to homicide detectives and a lasting horrible memory to Lloyd’s family.
The disappearance of the popular woman also sent a chill through the community that reverberated for months. The finding of her body near Applegate also revived the tragedy, shaking the soul and heart of the community once again. Police detectives remain baffled about the case, and never were able to positively identify a suspect. They theorize that the kidnapping and murder suspect may have died in a western prison or fled the country.
The small, friendly woman had just attended mass at St. Joseph
Catholic Church on June 25, 1985 and stopped by the Safeway Store at
Highway 49 and Elm Street to purchase a quart of milk. It was a
quiet, warm Tuesday morning, and no one would have thought any harm
would have come to the small, blonde lady, who was respected throughout
the town as a caring, personable woman. She never had a clue that day
that her life was in peril, not in the quiet foothill town where
vicious crimes were almost unknown. When the diminutive
68-year-old mother of four left the store to get in her 1984 white
Mercury Cougar to drive to her Bowman home, an unidentified man waited
in or near her car. Witnesses reported they saw the man striking Lloyd
in the car and observed a struggle going between the two. Several
persons rushed to her aid and there were unconfirmed reports the man
had a gun before he took control of her car and drove toward Interstate
80. Authorities said the four-foot eight-inch tall woman was no
match for her assailant who witnesses described as about a 200-pound
mustachioed man, 35 to 40 years of age, with curly graying black hair.
Mrs. Lloyd’s body was found eight days later along an isolated road
near Applegate. Mrs. Lloyd’s car was found 12 days later parked
along Victory Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in North Hollywood.
Police Chief Nick Willick, and investigators James Weldon and Scott
Burns, joined in the hunt for the suspect. An FBI agent also
participated in the event the suspect had crossed state lines with
Lloyd. They reported that full fingerprints and other possible
evidence had been wiped clean from the car, and detectives found no
clues to the man who kidnapped and killed her. Willick, who knew
the Lloyd family well, commented about the abduction and murder
saying, “This is probably my worst day in law enforcement. It is a
very sorrowful day when anyone could have assaulted a person like that
anywhere in the U.S., particularly in Auburn.” Although there
were witnesses to the assault and kidnapping of Mrs. Lloyd, no one was
ever arrested or considered a prime suspect. Edward Leighton, a
truck driver at the time and now a deputy sheriff, saw the attacker and
helped provide a description of the man for a composite drawing of the
suspect. The kidnapping and murder drew wide media attention, and
A&E cable produced a video about the crime that was aired
throughout the country. Tim Lloyd, the victim’s son, said
Leighton reportedly scanned through a sheriff’s mugshot book and
identified an inmate who died in a West Coast prison as the person who
he saw kidnapping Mrs. Lloyd. Auburn police investigators
doggedly pursued any lead they had in an attempt to solve the murder,
but all leads, some of them considered relevant to the case, did not
lead to an arrest. They traveled to various locations in the West to
follow up and question potential suspects. Heart Federal and
Loan Association, where her husband Richard Lloyd worked, offered a
$10,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the suspect. It was
never was claimed. Burns, along with other police investigators,
now believes that the kidnapper and murderer is deceased. Other
theories are that the suspect may have fled to Mexico or other
out-of-country places. Leo Lee of San Francisco, where he had
been a night editor for the San Francisco Examiner, described his
sister as, “One of the, most loving persons I ever knew. She was the
type of person who would help anyone. She just had that instinct for
doing good things. If something was needed to be done she would to it.” Since
the murder of Lloyd, her husband, brother and a son, David, have died,
but the two daughters and son, Tim Lloyd, still grieve the loss of
their mother with hopes that the man who murdered her, if alive, is
brought to justice. Tim believes that the man who died in prison
was the person who kidnapped and killed his mother. “I’m convinced of
that,” he said. * * * Unsolved murders in Placer County, no matter how long ago they occurred, remain active in law enforcement case files. There are a number of vicious murders still being investigated since there is no statute of limitation for a homicide. These cold case files remain open and detectives continue to look for clues and information that could lead to solving the crimes. The Sentinel will be revisiting some of those brutal, unsolved slayings, and the progress in bringing the murderer or murderers to justice, in future editions.
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed