Labor Day weekend of 1979, the body of Monica Hockey is discovered by the side of the road in Clarkston, Michigan. She’s been beaten, stabbed and her killers attempted to break both of her legs.
A murder so disturbing, so violent, that prosecutors lobby for the return of the death penalty.
**listener discretion advised**
Additional Reading:
May, 1975, two cousins, Scott Hardy and Mark Mellendorf walk from Mellendorf’s home in Lapeer County Michigan to Tody Lake for some fishing.
When the boys don’t return home, their parents raise the alarm and searchers scour the woods for hours trying to find the young boys. The next morning, a tracking dog makes a horrific discovery on the southern end of the lake. Both boys are dead and there is a killer on the loose in this idyllic community.
Days later a second boy, Willie Walters, takes his fishing gear to Kearsley Creek, he too doesn’t return. His battered body is discovered the next morning.
These horrific crimes happened just a few miles north of the hunting grounds favored by the Oakland County Child Killer in 1976-1977.
This is the second episode in a series about the Oakland County Child Killer.
Between 1976 and 1977 four children were abducted and murdered. Mark Stebbins, Jill Robinson, Kristine Mihelich and Timothy King. They were held from 3.5 – 19 days. Their deaths were considered the work of a killer or perhaps a team of killers working together.
Forty years later and law enforcement is no closer to closing the case. We look at the victims, the crimes, the investigators and the families left behind.
If you would like to take a closer look at happenings around the periphery of the case:
North Fox Island – When history turns out to be not so nice
Catherine Broad – A blog run by the sister of Timothy King
A father’s story – Written by Barry King, father of Timothy King
Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper holds a press conference in response to $100M lawsuit.
Listen to PART TWO
Or, for a deep dive into this case, check out Don’t Talk to Strangers, also hosted by Nina Innsted.
Music: Luke Superior https://soundcloud.com/lukesuperior