Holly Branagan's Murder Remains Unsolved

[I64_I83]

"He might have a sensitivity..."


I'm still laughing...

[I64_I83]

From march 1989 anniversary article:


In June 1981, Bethlehem police received a written statement from an 18-year old Lehigh COunty Prison inmate who claimed to know the killer of Miss Branagan.

In the statement, Michael Jezick claimed he was present at Miss Branagan's stabbing in a secluded woods near her home. In the three page document, Jezick claimed a 31-year old petty thief and drug dealer murdered the teen.

Police were unable to find any evidence to back up Jezick's claim.

OK, in 1981 this is probably the case. But...in 2012, they still have the three page document, right? And they have a name? And they have DNA evidence.

So in 2012, it should be easy to rule this in or out.

In 1981, a 31 yr old petty thief and drug dealer would have been born in 1950 or so, and be maybe 62 today.

Surely, this incident from 1981 was freshly checked out in the modern DNA era. Right? Leading to a PR at some point that says "The questionable 1981 accusation was freshly re-examined with the new DNA evidence and absolutely ruled out."

You know, the kinds of announcements that give the community reassurance that a thorough and competent investigation is proceeding, as opposed to a rope-a-dopehead fake.

Such as "We couldn't find any evidence to back that up, and so, it never happened and we never had to look at it ever again, because we're all certain he was just fishin' for favor using fake bait; we used our small Irish potatoes meter on this one, too, and sure 'nuf, he only kicked a 3.6."

...much less ' I think she was confirmed deceased, but I'm not sure, I have to check on that minor detail.'


June 1981? That is coincidentally right around "B"s commitment hearing, give or take. A bunch of largely bewildered yuppy a-holes, like my ex and I, plus one tiny group of biker/druggy derelicts who stood out like a sore thumb, spouting murky accusations. That was some commitment hearing.

[I64_I83]

This thread has been up for over three years. 80,000 views.

That commitment hearing was over 30 years ago. It involved a lot of people, maybe as many as 30.

Not everyone at that commitment hearing associates that odd event with the Holly Branagan murder, but the group that went to the Hotel Traylor bar afterwards certainly does, or should. At least half, maybe more.

In three years, none of them ever Googled "Holly Branagan" and ended up here, and read this thread?

None of these folks have yet come forward and even anonymously said, "I remember that commitment hearing?"

I'm still alive. Don't be afraid. Fill in some blanks. We all no doubt saw that day differently, with the exception that for all of us, it was bizarre beyond belief. Few of us knew more than a couple of each other.

If I posted "B"s name, it wouldn't help these people find this thread, because most of them knew her by a different name.

Take out an ad in the Morning Call?

"If you remember an odd commitment hearing at the Allentown Hospital 6th floor psyche ward, from 1981 in which a young twentysomething girl, who was found naked, catatonic, clutching a knife, by her bewildered live in boyfriend, ended up committed, please stop by (CCF website) and help provide details of the event, especially if you also attended the bewildering meeting afterwards at the Hotel Traylor bar."

[I64_I83]

For those wondering who Frank Rossnagle is, go to Page 1 of this thread, Post 3, here http://www.crimecasefiles.com/forum/...html#post11450

then look at the 2:05 mark in Jim Friedman's video. He is the man with the glasses, and was the BPD property officer for the last four years.

Jim reported his apparent suicide back here: http://www.crimecasefiles.com/forum/...html#post44371


'A' story here: Bethlehem police officer found dead in Mansfield Township, police say | lehighvalleylive.com

I wonder if it is 'the' story?



Authorities found a Bethlehem police officer dead Sunday in Mansfield Township, according to a statement to city employees from city police Chief Jason Schiffer.

Officer Frank A. Rossnagle, 51, was found in a wooded area near Route 31 by Washington Township, N.J., police, the statement says. Washington Township police did not immediately return calls today.

Responding to a question about whether there was any danger to the public, Mansfield Township police said the manner of the death was suicide.

...

Schiffer said Rossnagle was known for his great sense of humor, as well as his love for the New York Giants. Rossnagle's lively personality was particularly evident during football season, Schiffer said.

[Randi]

Have you talked to your ex-wife?

Care to share any of those murky accusations?

[Randi]

This officer's death is just so suspicious. The guardian of the evidence, the KNIFE, is found dead away from home, and it is a suicide? This is such a tragic story.

[I64_I83]

Have you talked to your ex-wife?

Care to share any of those murky accusations?

Haven't talked to my ex-wife, not in nearly thirty years. I did talk briefly with her husband on the phone, back in 2009, to warn him that RR had vaguely threatened to look her up again. Gave him a full description of RR, as well as his past behavior, so he'd know what to look for. That was between me and him. I don't want to cause stress in someone else's family by calling up ex wives. We married young, didn't have any children, and so, when we split, we split, and that is the way it should be, for all concerned. If authorities wanted to talk to her, they'd have every means of doing that. She isn't hiding from anybody. She was there the day the fake PI showed up, she was at the commitment hearing, she worked with "B" for years, she house sat with "B", she was at every social event with "B" that I was ever at and more. She'd have no reason at all not to talk to LE, but I seriously doubt they ever contacted her, because this whole scenario is not on their "A" list...

There have been all kinds of murky accusations, including by me.

For example, back in Nov 2011, I got a call from the woman who was the maid of honor in our wedding in 1976; she had a confused memory, which she later realized was totally wrong; she had a key date off by a whole year, which made all the difference in the world, and so, was the basis for absolutely nothing. But for about two weeks, I was wondering. It turned out to be absolutely baseless, and so, a total non starter.

The murky accusations at the hearing we all essentially have heard here. They were essentially like RickRight's claims of 'cleaning out men,' similar to the story he was selling in 1980 as the fake PI making the rounds. They were totally unlike the majority of testimony at that hearing(as well as any inkling at all that me and my ex had of her between 1975 and 1981.) And so, it is highly likely that testimony came from folks who were repeating the meme that RickRight as fake PI beating the bushes and riding shotgun on "B" and all her acquaintances had been selling in the year before.

I wish we had a transcript of the proceedings of that commitment hearing, but that is only accessible to LE by court order. A grand jury could get that transcript. By PA law, the transcript of a hearing for a 90 day commitment creates a permanent court record, which is the very basis of my original email to the BPD in January 2009.

There is a small possibility that the commitment was only for 21 days; I have no recollection of that, my memory was that it was for a longer time. But that was 30 years ago, and I could be dead wrong, but I never heard of the 21 day commitment variant until very recently, while researching this. The difference is, a 21 day commitment hearing, by law, only creates court records that need to be kept for one year. There are also the police blotter records for the state police and ambulance that were called to the address when she was found but they would only have basic information. Enough to verify that I didn't dream all this nonsense up. A human being does not get hauled off to the psyche ward and treated against her will without leaving records. I'd hope, anyway.

To this day, I've never heard any credible evidence that "B" ever defrauded anyone for money, except for claims coming from RickRight or from people who might have heard it from RickRight.

[I64_I83]

In a 1989 ten year anniversary article, it is pointed out that the last entry in the BPD file was from 1986; a FBI profile was done, an educated guess about what Holly's killer might be like.

In 1989, the case had already been ice cold for at least three years. I wonder what the entry previous to the FBI profile report was, and I wonder what the entry after the FBI profile report was...

In 2009 it wasn't the BPD who re-opened the case; it was the NC DAs office.

In theory, the BPD hadn't ever closed the case. As in, that dusty file last touched in 1986 to include the FBIs educated guess was still in a drawer somewhere, waiting to add 'new information.'

I understand that these departments don't have infinite resources. OTOH, they recently dragged 50 people in front of a Grand Jury. They put all their eggs in one basket, the unanswered question is 'why?' Let's say it was the basket with the most specificity, the highest probability(no matter how defined)of payoff. How does that translate into a blanket/shotgun march through 50 witnesses on one scenario, if there was any specificity at all in their theory?

Was a mob at the door that day?

[I64_I83]

RE:[RickRIght] I also don't believe that he had no clue about any of this because he called the Allentown Police Dept. when I repossed "B's" car for the Ford Motor Vehicle Credit company in the parking lot of his office.


"The Allentown Police Department" is a very specific detail. The APCI's offices where he worked were in Trexlertown, PA. That was also the area that Mr. APCI and "B" lived when RR was stalking her and she had her psychotic event.

It would have been nice of the APD to drive all the way out to Trexlertown to answer that call. Before the days of the regional police force(which this period was), folks in that area would have called the PA State Police, not the APD.

He was spreading BS, muddying the water with pure nonsense. Pottstown, PA eventually...

When the discussion began to focus on Sean's explosion, RR deflected the discussion with total BS. Mr. APCI didn't even come into the area until after Holly's murder, and was unaware of any of the facts of it; neither he nor any screwy plot that RR claims "B" was involved in to defraud Mr. APCI had anything at all to do with Holly's murder.

And Mr. APCI didn't even work for APCI; he worked for another company that had a joint venture with APCI; he was working -at- APCI. RR's focus on him was revealing. Of RR, not Mr. APCI...

But look at when RR introduced this complete nonsense-- it was right after someone began openly discussing Sean's explosion. And RR quickly took the discussion far away from that.


As in, that might have been his primary role in any interlocking conspiracy, the part that was long ago ruled 'an accident,' which has permitted him to lurch around as the fake PI with impunity for decades running shotgun one whoever "B" might have been talking to.

[gmt]

Where did the info about there being bloody towels found at the crime scene come from? I know the DA's office insinuated that DNA capabilities in 2010 to present would perhaps assist in solving the Holly Branagan case, but where did the specific story about bloody towels come from? Re-reading through the post & not able to find a clear explanation that points to where this information came from. Are there really towels in existence that were sent for DNA testing? Did RR state that there were bloody towels? How would he know this? Was it published somewhere for public consumption?