It's been nearly 50 years since the horrific murders of 4 innocent children shocked Oakland County, Michigan. The four children who are confirmed to be the victims of the same perpetrator (or perpetrators) were 12 year old, Mark Douglas Stebbins, Jill Robinson (also 12), Kristine Marie Mihelich (aged just 10 years old) and 11 year old Timothy John King. Snow was heavy on the ground at the time each of the children's bodies were found, each had been abducted, held, either strangled, suffocated or shot. The boys had been sexually assaulted and the children had been cleaned thoroughly (investigators believe the children were bathed to remove evidence) before being disposed of in similar poses and patterns in the snow within 19 days of their abduction.
It was a terrifying time in the late 70s where parents were on tenderhooks wondering what was going to happen next. Each of the cases had startling similarities that were impossible to ignore and took place from February 1976 to March 1977. After March of 1977 everything seemed to have all of a sudden ceased. The case was one of the most covered and highly investigated at the time. In an effort to help find the killer, public appeals were made and a psychologist (Bruce Danto) published an open letter to the killer which was shared in the local media. There was an overwhelming response to the letter but most of the leads were useless until one particular informant raised some eyebrows. A man calling himself 'Allen' and identifying himself as a Vietnam war veteran, claimed that had been a roommate of the killer that the press were now referring to as 'The Babysitter'. The killer was given this nickname because of how he carefully abducted his victims then kept them in captivity in a manner which saw him feeding and washing the victims before disposing of their bodies.
'Allen' told Bruce Danto that the murders were an act of revenge for the war and that 'The Babysitter' wanted to teach wealthy parents a lesson by targeting children from well to do backgrounds in an effort to bring war on home soil. At the time it was hard to know if this 'Allen' character was legit but with investigators being desperate to get to the bottom of the case they couldn't afford to not pay attention to every little thing they could get. 'Allen' mentioned the snow and even told Bruce not to hope for more snow as if to indicate that more murders would happen.
Communication between 'Allen' and Bruce continued for some time before Bruce suggested that they meet. Everything seemed to be on track and 'Allen' seemed to be on board for the meeting but all of a sudden he vanished, no letters, no phone calls, not a word and there hasn't been a word from 'Allen' since. Who was this man? Was he really the killer or was he some loner who realised that the trail back to him was getting too hot so he decided to stop lying and just fade into the darkness? who knows, the real identity of 'Allen' remains a mystery to this day.
So much had been going on around the time that each of the bodies were found that investigators originally suspected 'The Babysitter' to have been responsible for a lot more murders and incidences that had been going on at the time. Some of these suspected murders have since been disproved and there is still a big question mark hanging around the others.
One of the facts that investigators found was that the killer not only had a thing for cleanliness, but was also obsessed with snow. Parents were fearful every time the winter weather would roll around in case the murderer struck again but things continued to be silent.
As well as 'The Babysitter', the serial killer is also known by the nickname 'The Oakland County Serial Killer' and 'The Snow Murderer'. This case has remained unsolved for decades and it's heartbreaking after so long you try to keep hopeful that a new lead will come but there is nothing to go on.
The case remains open to this day and one of the sad facts of the case was that the heartbroken father of Timothy John King, passed away a few years ago never finding justice for his son. Timothy's father, Barry had spent decades trying to keep the case alive and did everything he could to find information. He dedicated his life to finding his son's killer and never got that moment of justice and glory. Bruce reminds me a lot of Winnie Johnson (the devoted and late mother of 'Moors Murders' victim, Keith who was murdered by Ian Brady & Myra Hindley in 1964. I wrote about this horrendous case last year, you can find the post here) who never gave up looking for Keith's remains, she may have seen the day her son's killers were brought to justice but she did not have the closure of being given that last bit of comfort to have her son's remains for herself and her family to pay tribute and give a meaningful burial or cremation. Brady and Hindley were so evil to the core that they denied giving Winnie that information about where keith was.
I've written about cases that have been solved decades later but a case that is nearly 50 years old? Could it be possible a miracle could happen and we could still get some sort of closure for these poor families who've been through hell for decades? I can never imagine the pain of losing a child and then not knowing where they were or that the murderer has escaped justice for decades.
It brings to mind another case from my home town in Scotland which was finally solved last year after 27 years!! The Caroline Glachan murder shocked my home town for years and rumours were rife but nobody spoke up. Caroline's mother Margaret went through hell for years not knowing if the person she passed on the street was responsible for her daughter's murder. It was a case that never went away for us, every chance that Margaret could get she was looking for her daughter's killer. Regular updates and reports on the case were shared nationwide along with newspaper articles appealing for information and the case featured on many true crime documentaries. I seemed to be the only one in the true crime community who had written about the case back in 2019 but that might have been down to the fact that it was a murder that happened in a small town who knows? But when the three murderers were finally caught the news went world wide! Everyone was elated and astonished that after all this time that a case could be solved and justice finally done.
One of the sad facts about cases such as Caroline's and others that I have covered on this blog, is that by the time these cases are solved the celebration is bittersweet because the person is still no longer with us plus the years of anguish and hell that their loved ones have gone through, years wasted. It is like a torture for the families of the victims and it's another heartbreaking aspect of unsolved cases.
So there are a lot of broken hearts in the Oakland County case, innocent children being murdered, taken from their families with nobody facing justice for these horrendous crimes. Investigators still suspecting there could be more victims tied to the same killer. I guess all we can do is hope and pray that someone, somewhere comes forward and that this case (for the sake of the victims and their remaining loved ones who are still alive) will finally be closed.
RIP to the little angels (who are confirmed to be victims of this unidentified monster. We can but hope that one day all of this will be solved, it's important to never give up) Jill Robinson, Kristine Mihelich, Timothy King & Mark Stebbins. Thinking also of the other potential victims, survivors and their families.
If you have any information or could pass the phone number/email on to someone who does, please get in touch with the Oakland County Police Dept on 248 858 5000 or email osco@oakgov.com
Further Reading & Sources:
- The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes | Book by Michael Newton
- The Snow Killings | Book by Marney Rich Keenan
- Oakland County Child Killer | Wikipedia
- Oakland County Child Killer Case : Article | Click On Detroit
- Oakland County Child Killer: Article | Fox 2 Detroit
- Oakland County Child Killer: Case Discussion | Reddit
- Children of The Snow | TV Mini Series
- Oakland County Michigan | Wikipedia
Well, this heartbreaking story was the first instalment of my Unsolved series here on my blog. I will be covering five more cases in the coming weeks that you may not have heard about before and I hope that you will join me for them. Just a reminder that I publish a new post every Sunday evening, to keep up to date with when i share my latest content, check out my Linktree for all of my social media platforms.
Take care & I hope you will join me next time x
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