General questions

Was the tape on the note covering the hole in the window ever checked for finger prints? Does this note and possibly adhesive tape still exist today? With more advanced technology it would seem possible to lift a print from the tape.

Total number of shots fired from inside? From outside? How many holes were in the window glass?

Any information the families house in Lathrup village was ransacked during the month prior to the crime being discovered?

Fact or fiction that Scolaro and Dick argued outside the cabin the night of the murders?

Who is Roebert? fake person made up by Dick? Natural Father?

Mr Noggle must have a great win loss ratio in court if he treated other suspects with the same respect as he did with Scolaro. Probably never lost a case!

Rambling letter by Dick with Roeberts name?

Why did Roebert not try to contact Dick during the month before the bodies were discovered if they were to do business together?

What about the necklace with Roeberts name on it?

Why the dragging and piling of the bodies? Was someone getting ready to load them up and move them? Did the girl make some sort of noise, then attacked with the hammer, then instead of moving the bodies the culprits got sacred and ran?

Was there any indication from the neighbors that thought they heard gunshots, that they may have gone outside, or did something else that would have scared the culprits off?

How did Scolaro act during the month before the bodies were found? Demeanor?

Did Scolaro cover/field calls suspiciously during the month before the bodies were found?

What about the call from Duff to the cottage and Dick about the 5? With Scolaros instructions?

Was Scolaro asked if it was strange he was not contacted, or made contact with Dick for a month? He supposedly was always in contact.

Scolaros wet clothes, any blood found by wife? Were they pre-washed by Joe in the early A.M.?

Any identification of the shoe type and size that made the blood print? What size and type of shoe did Scolaros usually wear?

Did Scolaros wife notice any new shoes bought around that time?

What about the Leavenworth link, has merit? Weapon destruction, briefcase, names. Dates, money involved, etc.

If Scolaros was involved, and either went to Good Hart alone or with accomplices that day, wouldn’t he have been smart enough to create a solid alibi?

What gun did Scolaro use on himself?

Was it determined the hammer came from the cottage? Was it possibly out in the open and easily used by the killer, or was it obtained by someone who knew where it was?

Any indication if the light were found on or off in the cottage? Off might indicate re-entry later or just mean the killers turned them off when they left.

Any indication that the cottage was re-entered after the murders by someone re-arranging or removing things? Might also explain the hammer being used if the girl was not dead and the killer either did not want to make noise again or did not have a gun with them the second time.

Were there any records of phone calls from somewhere in northern Michigan, other than Dicks cabin, to or from Scolaros's house or office phone 48 hour prior to or after the crime was assumed to be committed? This might help my theory of Scolaros having to go north after getting a call from the hitmen if they were unable to find the cabin

The slugs found on the private shooting range proved Scolaros's gun was involved, and much of his alibi was suspect.

Shirley's luggage tag was probably on luggage bought at a yard sale or estate auction, and pulled off by someone not wanting it on luggage they now owned, and just tossed in the glove box.

I think I read somewhere one of the boys appeared to be shot while reaching for a gun on a closet shelf, I didn’t see anywhere in the book that the Robisons owned a gun, further I think I read in the book that they didn’t own any guns?

I would agree with the assumption that it might have been only one shooter, due to someone usually talking before 40 years have passed, and with Scolaro out of the picture and no one else talking it makes sense. But don't forget that Bloxom did talk, and the man he fingered Brock was an old man at the time, and did not cooperate much with investigators. How long did Brock live? is he possibly still alive?

Bloxom did have a very intersting and accurate story, but it have a couple of hole in it. Why did they go to Toledo for guns if Scolaros were used? The story of faking a heart attack doesn't seem to fit real well either, wasn't Dick shot first in his chair? wouln't he have gotten up to see what the commotion was at the door if someone was faking a heart attack?

My theories

My first impression is that Scolaro hired the job done by the people connected with the Leavenworth link, and that he had to travel north either with the killers, or in a separate vehicle, to show them where the cottage was. This might help explain a possible sexual assault due to more hardened criminal types, and the possibility of more than one shooter. It would also explain his shaky alibi. The weapons might have been ditched anywhere on the route back south, or as the Leavenworth people said was taken care of in Alabama. Scolaro would later destroy the business, put himself in debt, and commit suicide claiming he did not kill the Robison's, which was somewhat truthful if he hired it done.

Maybe Scolaro had hired some hitmen to do the job on June 24th, and being a calculating and fairly smart man had an alibi set up for June 24th since he apparently had lunch with someone, and visited people at the Cobo convention. My theory is that the hitmen might not have been able to find the cabin, and Scolaro had to go up there the next day June 25th to show them, he then had to stick with his original alibis even though they were thin

Of course Bloxom disappeared since being released, he is involved in some way and went into hiding.

Info from topix posts

Post #26 Mardi e-maill address

Post #62 police report from Laura on discovery of the crime

Post #64 info from Laura on freedom of information act

Post #279 Mardis report on bloody footprint, and note over hole in glass

Questions for Mardi at Topix

Great book Mardi, very complete and full of facts. I read it in two days, and am going back through it now to fully understand all of the events more clearly. I do have some questions that you or someone else who has read all of the police reports might be able to answer.

The note covering the hole in the window was likely moved from somewhere else by the shooter, do you know if the tape on the note was ever checked for finger prints? Does this note and possibly adhesive tape still exist today? With more advanced technology now than police had in 1968 it would seem possible to lift a print from the tape.

Did the neighbors at the cabin say how long the gunshots they heard lasted? a shorter assault might point to more than one gunman, where a longer assault with lengths of time between shots might point more to a single gunman

When they were interviewed, did police ask Scolaro's wife or any employees how he acted during the month before the bodies were found?

Was it ever determined where the hammer came from?

Was there enough information in print about the murders at the time Bloxom gave his statement, that might have given him the ability to give such an accurate story and not be involved in some way?

The gun Scolaro used on himself was a 25 caliber, I am sure it was tested to see if it was used in the murders but didn't read anything to confirm this, do the police reports show if the gun was tested?

Bloxom seemed to disappear since being released from prison, he most likely went into hiding to keep himself from going back to jail due to his involvement with the murders. With the ability we now have with the internet to find people, and the ability to access information through acts like the freedom of information act, I would not be surprised if someone with some of time would be able to locate Bloxom if he were still alive, or possibly a relative that might have some new information.

I think I read somewhere one of the boys appeared to be shot while reaching for a gun on a closet shelf, I didn't see anywhere in the book that the Robisons owned a gun, did they own a gun? was it at the cabin? if so was it recovered?