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E020 Owensboro Mystery
2.1k Plays6 years ago
When three young adults go missing in the same small Kentucky town, people start asking questions. The problem is that there are too MANY answers-- all of which are plausible but none of which are fully proven-- in this story in which truth and deception are nearly indistinguishable.
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Transcript
Introduction and Current Events
00:00:00
Speaker
If you're new to coffee and cases, welcome. If you are returning, we're so glad you're back. As you all know, our world has been turned upside down, and as bad as Maggie and I hate it, our podcasting world has changed as well.
00:00:16
Speaker
Sadly, Sluthounds, Maggie and I cannot be together during this time to record for you all. So, for the foreseeable future, we are flying solo. While we are being asked to keep our distance from others, to stay inside when possible, and to not gather in large groups, we ask that you bear with us as our podcast changes a little as well.
00:00:37
Speaker
We are keeping faith that all of this will end soon, I hope, and life will slowly start returning to normal.
Commitment to Case Awareness
00:00:46
Speaker
We appreciate you, Sleuthhounds, so much, and want to continue to provide you with cases. After all, our goal is continued hope and closure for these cases, and especially in times like these, we want to continue in our small way of helping these families to keep their family member in our hearts and minds.
00:01:07
Speaker
Thank you for bearing with us and for understanding we care about you. Stay together, united in the human spirit, even if not physically, and stay safe. Now, onto this week's episode.
Personal Reflection on Challenger Explosion
00:01:20
Speaker
It was 1986.
00:01:23
Speaker
As a seven-year-old child myself, I have two distinct memories, as do likely most Americans. As a Girl Scout, I remember staying up late to catch, for likely the only time in my lifetime, Haley's Comet passed through the night sky, and I was so excited to earn my badge for staying up late enough to see it. The second memory is much more tragic.
00:01:51
Speaker
I can recall my entire second-grade classroom buzzing with excitement. We were about to watch a teacher go into outer space. At the time, we all wanted to be astronauts and had dreams of the fun we would have had if our parents were only wealthy enough to send us to space camp.
00:02:13
Speaker
The commercials of the anti-gravity machines were a dream of mine. And this, a teacher, going into the great beyond, was about as close as any of us would get. When our own teacher wheeled the television in on the cart, we were all quiet. We counted down along with the CNN announcer at Kennedy Space Center. We cheered at liftoff.
00:02:40
Speaker
Then, barely over a minute later, we saw in terror when that space shuttle exploded and all seven aboard perished. For those in the northwestern part of Kentucky, they would likely add another memory, another terrifying one.
The 1986 Owensboro Disappearances
00:03:03
Speaker
They would also likely recall the three and a half week period from June 17th to July 11th, when three young adults disappeared from Owensboro, Kentucky. I mean, one disappearance is hard to make sense of, but three, that invokes dread.
00:03:28
Speaker
This is the story of the 1986 Owensboro mystery that left three families grieving and many others wondering how something like this could happen in a town like theirs.
Podcast's Mission and Listener Engagement
00:04:00
Speaker
Yeah.
00:04:20
Speaker
Welcome to Coffee and Cases where we like our coffee hot and our cases cold. My name is Allison Williams. And my name is Maggie Dameron. We will be telling stories each week in the hopes that someone out there with any information concerning the cases will take those tips to law enforcement.
00:04:36
Speaker
so justice and closure can be brought to these families. With each case, we encourage you to continue in the conversation on our Facebook page, Coffee and Cases podcast, because, as we all know, conversation helps to keep the missing person in the public consciousness, helping keep their memories alive. So sit back, sip your coffee, and listen to what's brewing this week.
Listener Challenge for Ratings
00:04:57
Speaker
Before we begin our show today, I want to remind you about our challenge. You guys were so awesome for getting us to our 15 written comment goals so quickly, so we thought we would up the ante. I know we say this each week because it is a lofty goal, so if you're sick of us repeating it, help us meet that goal you guys.
00:05:17
Speaker
We decided to set our sights high. We did. But we want to get to 150 ratings on iTunes. We currently have 82, so we're creeping up there, but really help get us there, guys. I'd really appreciate it. It only takes a split second if you're listening to us on iTunes to click for that 5-star rating.
00:05:37
Speaker
We do realize that this is gonna take a little bit longer, as I said, but I'm really looking forward to that bonus episode that Maggie and I have planned for you once we reach that goal. Just make sure that you follow us on social media, Coffee and Cases podcast on Facebook, or at Coffee Cases podcast on Instagram, or as always, listen in each week to know when that bonus episode will air. Now, let's really this time get into our show.
Disappearance of Shannon Green
00:06:06
Speaker
16-year-old Shannon Rena Green walked from 2nd Street and Poplar Street to 12th and Haynes Street to visit a friend of hers to babysit.
00:06:17
Speaker
Her brown hair brushed her cheek as she walked and her blue eyes looked steadily forward. It was 1230 in the afternoon and she had a 40 to 45 minute walk ahead of her since her friend lived two miles away from Shannon's location. It was July 6th, 1986. And that was the last time Shannon was seen alive.
00:06:43
Speaker
When she didn't return home, Shannon's mother reported her missing on the following day, July 7th. One day later, the Owensboro Police Department got another missing persons report.
Disappearance of Mary Angie Dickens
00:06:58
Speaker
The second report to come in on July 8th was actually the first disappearance chronologically.
00:07:07
Speaker
It was a report from Mary Angie Dickens, age 23, who was last seen during the early hours of June 17th when two friends drove her home.
00:07:20
Speaker
The last they saw Angie, she was standing outside of her home speaking with two men, one of whom had an older model car. The delay in reporting her missing had to do with the fact that she lived alone and not with her parents. So it actually took longer before anyone realized that they hadn't seen Angie and made a report.
00:07:42
Speaker
Then, three days after that report, yet another young person disappeared.
Disappearance of David DeWayne Bell
00:07:51
Speaker
18-year-old David DeWayne Bell, who was last seen on July 11th.
00:08:00
Speaker
Duane's family knew something was wrong when his prized possession, his blue bike, was found abandoned either at his house or at his sister's house, reports Ferry. Information that didn't vary was that the three who disappeared ran in the same circles, knew the same people.
00:08:22
Speaker
especially with the number of and the timing of the disappearances, the police believes that the three were likely connected. As we see with a lot of teen disappearances, the initial conclusion is that the teen is run away of his or her own accord. Initially adding credence to this theory, a few days after the 16-year-old Shannon Green disappeared, a call came in to Shannon's mom.
00:08:51
Speaker
The person on the other end identified himself as Dwayne, as in potentially the 18 year old, right? The 18 year old teen who was also missing. The caller said that he and Shannon loved each other very much and were running away to get married.
00:09:09
Speaker
But Shannon's uncle, Ray Scara, told reporters for an article published on August 27th, 2005 that the family never believed that theory and said Shannon would never have voluntarily left her family like that. Besides, Shannon was a student at Owensboro High School where she made amazing grades and she had a steady boyfriend. Nothing in her life would indicate someone was something to run away from.
00:09:40
Speaker
Law enforcement now also believe that the phone call that her family received was not legitimate and was merely an attempt to throw the investigators off track.
Connections Among the Missing
00:09:52
Speaker
But because of that phone call, Duane Bell's family paid careful attention to the investigation surrounding Shannon Green, hoping by association to find out something about where their son might be.
00:10:08
Speaker
Likewise, Duane's sister, Nonny Henderson, told the same reporter, quote, he loved his family and his family loved him. We're hoping that maybe we'll find closure for all of us, end quote. Police began to wonder, did Duane have knowledge of what happened to Shannon or to Angie and was now missing as well because he knew too much? Police pieced together another testimony.
00:10:37
Speaker
that Duane and Shannon had both been at a mutual friend's home on the day before Shannon disappeared. When, in October 1986, the remains of 23-year-old Angie Dickens were found in a cornfield, everyone began to question, would we find the bodies of the other two as well?
00:11:01
Speaker
Due to the condition of Angie's body, the cause of death could not be determined, but as you can imagine, the hope for the fate of the other two missing, Shannon and Dwayne, grew grim as well. Could they have all been murdered? Who would be capable of such a crime?
00:11:22
Speaker
The list of suspects quickly narrowed until there was only one. An acquaintance of Angie's, a friend of Duane's, and the very friend whose house Shannon was walking to the last day she was seen.
John Renier's Suspicion
00:11:39
Speaker
A man by the name of John Renier.
00:11:44
Speaker
The police seemed convinced. After all, they cited the fact that Renier had murdered before. He was a registered sex offender. County Sheriff Keith Kane also said of Renier that he had, quote, been a suspect and a number of felony offenses, and he found himself running afoul of the law pretty much all of his life, end quote. He seemed the most likely suspect.
00:12:12
Speaker
If you, my sleuthounds, have ever seen the movie Ma, that is exactly what came to my mind when I read the research for this cold case. According to one article I read, Rainier's son was around the same age as Shannon and Dwayne, and all the kids would gather at John Rainier's house to drink and to party. Dwayne and his father, David Bell, would have trusted Rainier as well, since they also both worked for him.
00:12:39
Speaker
And I will go ahead and tell you, Sleuthhounds, quite a few of the quotes that I'm going to give in this week's episode come from Stephanie Sylvie. Many of the articles that I read seem to indicate that she was the best acquainted with this particular case.
00:12:56
Speaker
Well, in an article by reporter Stephanie Sylvie, Sheriff Kane stated the following, quote, so when an individual like that has known connections to all three of the victims, some of those connections and at least two of the cases were very, very close. I think the investigators would have been negligent if they had not pursued that potential lead.
00:13:23
Speaker
I can tell you this definitively. He was capable of doing any one of the three, if not all three at the same time. Very capable. And I think he'll tell you that." End quote.
00:13:41
Speaker
What if Renier took a liking to Shannon? What if he hurt her or Angie or Dwayne intentionally or unintentionally? What if any of the others saw it happen? Those are the hypotheticals the police were dwelling on. But I have another question. What if they were wrong?
00:14:08
Speaker
Renier had continually maintained his innocence from 1986 until most of the interviews that I read over 20 years later.
00:14:21
Speaker
When in 2005 there was renewed interest in the case, investigators began searching in earnest again for Shannon Greene's body, believing it to be buried in a field near the railroad tracks off of Kentucky 279, a spot less than two miles from where a hunter had located Angie Dickens' body.
The Alleged Confession Tape
00:14:44
Speaker
When reporter Stephanie Sylvie contacted Renier for a comment in 2005, Renier's story had not changed, that he had nothing to do with the disappearances. But this time, reporter Stephanie Sylvie also heard a bombshell. Renier said that he knew who was responsible.
00:15:09
Speaker
Renier told Sylvie something even more important, that there was proof. He stated that back in 1986, he had given police a tape. He had secretly recorded a conversation with Duane Bell only a few days before Duane disappeared.
00:15:33
Speaker
Per Renier, the tape contained a conversation in which Duane Bell confessed to killing several people and to strangling Shannon specifically. He then said that Bell had taken him to the places where Shannon Green and Angie Dickens had been disposed.
00:16:00
Speaker
And in this conversation, Renier stated that Duane Bell also implicated his own father, David Bell, in Shannon Green's death as well. And here's the thing, my sleuth hounds, there is documentation in police records that a tape was submitted to police as evidence. The problem? It was never saved.
00:16:28
Speaker
The documentation of it wasn't even discovered in police notes until the renewed interest in 2005. Renier even admitted to both police at the time and to the reporter in 2005 that he had full intention of killing Duane and David Bell because of that confession of killing Shannon.
00:16:55
Speaker
But that Renier never got the chance because Duane disappeared and his father, David, moved to Arizona soon after his son's disappearance.
00:17:08
Speaker
I will say, in my mind at least, if you were guilty of a murder, I would think that the last thing you would want to do is to admit to wanting to murder someone else. The fact that Renier admits that he wanted to kill Dwayne and David and had intentions to kill them, as ironic as this comment is going to seem, it actually makes me feel like he is innocent.
00:17:38
Speaker
and the murders of Angie, Shannon, and Dwayne.
00:17:43
Speaker
And while I realize that this doesn't prove honesty, Renier did pass a polygraph when asked about the role he played in Shannon and Duane's disappearances. At the same time, it does seem odd to me that Renier would record this particular conversation with Duane Bell, the very one that just happens to contain his confession.
00:18:11
Speaker
And that tape eventually surfaced. So if Renier is innocent, how does he explain why Shannon was headed to his house on the day she disappeared?
00:18:28
Speaker
He told Stephanie Sylvie, quote, I told her we were having a barbecue down at my mother's and I wouldn't be there. And she said maybe she would come by or call back later that night. She thought she would get out and move around a little bit and thought she would come over to Dwayne's, end quote. Renier felt like the investigation went off track before it began. Not because he became a lead suspect,
00:18:55
Speaker
but because of the way the inquiry was framed. Quote, no one set out to find what happened to Shannon. They set out to find what I did to Shannon. There's a big difference. End quote.
00:19:12
Speaker
The problem with our ability to come to any sort of consensus is that this has ended up being just a big version of the blame game.
Doubts About the Tape's Authenticity
00:19:22
Speaker
That's why I called this episode the Owensboro Mystery. There's no clear path. There's no clear answer. The accusations fly and there's no evidence to prove any of them.
00:19:38
Speaker
Some may argue that the existence of the tape proves Renier's innocence.
00:19:44
Speaker
However, several members of Duane's family refused to acknowledge that the voice on the tape was in fact Duane's. What's more, David Bell, Duane's father, says that the current tape in police custody is not the same tape he heard back in 1986.
00:20:09
Speaker
And David Bell feels like this new tape was doctored. As cited in the article, 14 news investigates killer confession. The taped conversation goes like this. And what I'm getting ready to read to you, Sleuthhounds, is verbatim from the article other than the curse words, which I will alter. Reneer, what's going on?
00:20:36
Speaker
Dwayne, on nothing. Got any money I can borrow? Rainier. How much? I might have a few dollars. Dwayne.
00:20:46
Speaker
About a couple hundred anyway. Renier, I ain't got no $200. I wish I did have. Duane, I need it pretty bad. I need to get out of town. Renier, why is that? Duane, I done something the other day. I need to get out of town for a while. Me and her been into it for a while and I just got mad. Renier, did you beat her up? Duane, yeah. Renier,
00:21:15
Speaker
That's the other day. Apparently she ain't gonna tell on you or you'd done be in trouble. Dwayne, it's worse than that. I mean, I hurt her real bad. Hurt some others too. I need to get out of town pretty bad. Reneer, who all did you hurt? Dwayne, it's a girl and a kid. Reneer, a kid? Dwayne, yeah.
00:21:41
Speaker
Rainier. Hadn't nobody called the police on you yet? Dwayne. Nah, there's another girl. I hurt her pretty bad too. Rainier. Well, how come ain't nobody gone to the police on you? What are you trying to do? Just get ahold of a little money? Trying to talk me out of it? Dwayne, no, no, I'm telling you the truth. Well, I'm going to tell you the truth. They can't go to the police.
00:22:10
Speaker
Renier, why can't they? Duane, because I killed one of, I killed them. Renier, where did you kill them at? How come there ain't no body showed up or nothing? Duane, well, I hid them pretty good. Renier, you hid them good? Duane, yeah. Renier, hid them where? You ain't going to tell me where you hid them?
00:22:38
Speaker
I don't blame you. I wouldn't tell either. Dwayne, I put them in a cornfield. Rainier, man, you're scary. If you're telling the truth, I don't know what to tell you. If you're lying, I don't know about no lie like that either. I don't want to be involved in it. How come you come to me with this anyway? Dwayne, I don't know. I needed some money." End quote.
00:23:04
Speaker
Renier then admits that he threatened Duane that he wanted to see if Duane were lying. He said that Duane had better show him where the bodies were or else he would leave Duane's body in a cornfield. Upon the threat, Renier says that Duane not only took him to the bodies, but also described in detail how both Shannon and Angie were killed and admitted that his father had helped him.
00:23:33
Speaker
It was the way Duane responded that led Renier to believe him. He said that Duane knew how mad he would be about Shannon's death, so he reasoned if Duane weren't going to lie, wouldn't he have said that his father David made him kill Shannon and the others? But he didn't. Just that his father helped him. That's why Renier believed what Duane said.
00:24:00
Speaker
Not being a man who backs away from confrontation and knowing Duane's father David himself, Renier says he played the tape for David Bell, who basically blew it off. That same article, 14 News Investigates Killer Confession, had this to say, quote, he was looking out over the steering wheel when the tape ended and he cut his eyes over to me and he said, is that all he had to say?
00:24:30
Speaker
And I, Renier and the assistant said, what are you talking about? Don't you think that's enough? He says he killed four people. He, David Bell said, you're right, that's enough. I need to go find Dwayne and talk to him. Renier says he never saw Dwayne again. End quote.
00:24:53
Speaker
Even officers found it odd that within days of his son going missing, David Bell left for Arizona and it took Dwayne's mother longer than a week to report him missing.
00:25:07
Speaker
As a seeming follow up to the reported conversation between Renier and David Bell, David Bell said in one of his last interrogations with police that the day before Duane went missing, it was just like a normal day during which he and his son had worked side by side. David Bell said, quote, I asked him if he had a problem that I could help him with and he said, no, end quote.
00:25:34
Speaker
And then he stated that he saw Duane ride off on his bike away from his sister's house. Now, if you recall, Duane's bike was found abandoned, either at his own house, in which case his father David would have seen it, or at his sister's house, in which case his father wouldn't have really seen him riding away on it.
00:25:56
Speaker
But David Bell, just like Renier, maintains his own innocence as well. And he states that he went to Arizona so soon after because he honestly felt like Dwayne had merely run away of his own volition. He argues that Renier had something to do with Shannon's disappearance and that his son Dwayne knew too much and was a loose end.
David Bell's Denial and Questions
00:26:22
Speaker
If the original tape had valid evidence, David reasons, and were really the voice of his son, why was his son not arrested before disappearing himself? Is this back and forth between Renier and Bell that was recorded directly by Stephanie Sylvie and her article, Stephanie Sylvie Investigates the Other Side?
00:26:47
Speaker
In her interview with David Bell, he recalls Renier's claims and he calls them, quote, outrageous and says he should, quote, be in the movies, end quote, because of his dramatics. And according to Sylvie, it angers David that his son would be portrayed as a monster. David Bell even admits to Sylvie that he heard a tape.
00:27:13
Speaker
just not the one currently in police custody. The following is the conversation between Sylvie and David Bell in her article, and this is a long quote, Bell
00:27:27
Speaker
The tapes that I heard, Johnny called me the night that Duane disappeared, and the tape I heard stated on it, and I don't know what conditions it was under, that Duane sounded like Duane, said, I hit Shannon. And that was all the tape was that I was played. Stephanie Sylvie. He didn't say, you need to take care of this, or David Bell, no.
00:27:56
Speaker
Sylvie he just called you up and said hi. I need you to hear this and then talk to you later David Bell will know I'm sure I said well I'm going to talk to him, and he said well you probably need to and so I went Sylvie, but you never found him David Bell no Sylvie did you tell police about the tape you heard? David Bell no
00:28:25
Speaker
Sylvie, why? Belle, well for two reasons. One was because I didn't want my son being portrayed as a murderer and the other is because I might get in trouble for knowing about it. But Belle said the tape he heard back then isn't the same tape police have now.
00:28:45
Speaker
Bell. Did anywhere on that tape did it state that he hit Shannon? Sylvie. It talked about him beating her up. Yeah, it did. David Bell. No, that's not what it said. He said, I hit Shannon. That was the exact words. It's not the same tape and it's not my son. I'm telling you. His mother agrees with me and so does his sister." End quote.
00:29:12
Speaker
because several other family members told police it was Duane's voice. Police wonder to what extent his parents would be likely to protect Duane or David, who Renier argues killed his son to protect himself.
00:29:29
Speaker
But to me, it's that part of Renier's argument that takes it too far for me to believe. Parents often go to great extents to protect their children, but to kill your child to protect yourself? That, I wouldn't think, is a step many parents would take.
00:29:50
Speaker
Both men, Reneer and David Bell, argue that they're telling the truth. Both maintain their innocence. But unfortunately, in this world, innocence is a rare commodity. And just when it looks like we can cheer for justice, we realize that truth and deceit are indistinguishable. And we're right back to the drawing board.
00:30:18
Speaker
when we don't know who to trust. Perhaps it's easier to doubt both. At least, that seems to be the current consensus.
Ongoing Uncertainty and Lack of Evidence
00:30:31
Speaker
According to the Charlie Project entry for Duane Bell, Renier is still suspected to have been complicit in Shannon Green's disappearance, but David Bell is also noted to have conflicting accounts concerning his own son's disappearance.
00:30:49
Speaker
Given the suspicion of guilt, Renier asked an interesting question in an interview with Stephanie Sylvie. Quote, here's what I've consistently said over all the years. Out of every interview they took and all the evidence they have, if there is one shred or even one hint of evidence that I did it, then where's it at for Pete's sake? End quote.
00:31:14
Speaker
Her response, in a separate article, my sleuth hounds, is what tangles the web, though. In an article from November 3rd, 2005, Sylvie confronted Renier with the following dilemma. Quote, do you understand, though, why it looks strange that there's this tape that's been here for virtually 20 years that has a guy confessing to killing four people and the police say they don't remember that tape?
00:31:44
Speaker
It seems like that's a tape that would stick in your mind. It's a tape law enforcement swore didn't exist, but 20 years later, it resurfaced." End of quote. So which is the lie, my sleuth hounds? Which is the truth?
00:32:07
Speaker
If you have any information about any of these cases, Angie Dickens, Shannon Green, or Dwayne Bell, please contact the Owensboro Police Department at 270-687-8888.
00:32:26
Speaker
In 2005, when investigators began again to look for Shannon Green's body, her uncle, Randy Scaras said, quote, it's been long enough and I think the good Lord might let us know something. End quote. That was 15 years ago.
00:32:44
Speaker
My prayer is that someone listening knows someone who has insight into any or all of these cases, so that Skara and all of the families, including Renier and David Bell, can find closure soon. Even though 1986 brought tragedy to many, and particularly poignant tragedy to Owensboro and the families who reside there,
00:33:14
Speaker
I hope that despite the negative in so many lives so far in 2020, we can all continue to help others, to pray with them and for them, to show kindness and gratitude, and to do our small part to help those most in need to finally find peace.
Call to Action for Listeners
00:33:40
Speaker
Again, please like and join our Facebook page, Coffee and Cases podcast to continue the conversation and see images related to this episode. As always, follow us on Twitter, at casescoffee, on Instagram, at coffee cases podcast, or you can always email us suggestions to coffeeandcasespodcastatgmail.com. Please tell your friends about our podcast so more people can be reached to possibly help bring some closure to these families. Don't forget to rate our show and leave us a comment as well. We hope to hear from you soon.
00:34:09
Speaker
Stay together. Stay safe. We'll see you next week.