Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 29, 1990 TAG: 9003290570
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
But the credit card bill that arrived this month in their slain daughter's name was just that.
Like the other mail that comes in her name to their home in Northwest Roanoke, it reminded them that their grief is fresh and that the wounds they feel run deep.
But this letter was worse than the others because it included a credit card charge from Virginia Beach, a place that Leann Whitlock didn't visit during the last weeks of her life.
The Whitlocks don't know exactly how the charge got there, but they know enough.
They know that Virginia Beach was one stop on the joy ride her accused kidnappers are said to have taken after stealing the car she was last seen driving.
As the Whitlocks continue to cope with their loss, one suspect in her abduction, Ronald Lee Henderson, remains at large. Authorities say they have no leads to his whereabouts.
Meanwhile, the other suspect, Tommy David Strickler, still is being held at the Augusta County Jail. He faces trial on abduction and robbery charges May 30 in Staunton.
But neither Strickler, of New Market, nor Henderson, of Frost, W.Va., has been indicted on murder charges in connection with Leann Whitlock's death.
Whitlock, a James Madison University sophomore and graduate of William Fleming High School in Roanoke, was found dead Jan. 13 in a wooded area of Augusta County five miles north of Waynesboro.
Augusta County Commonwealth's Attorney A. Lee Ervin said he is awaiting results of forensics tests before making a decision on any additional charges against Strickler or Henderson.
A third person arrested in connection with the case, Donna Kay Maddox Tudor of Craigsville, faces robbery charges, but she apparently is not a suspect in Whitlock's slaying, authorities have said.
Ervin said the long wait for the forensics results is not unusual. "It's routine procedure for these kinds of tests," he said. "These things take time."
Ervin wouldn't specify in detail what tests are being conducted. "In a homicide case like this there are a normal set of tests that are usually performed," he said.
He said he is not allowed to discuss details of pending cases.
The next meeting of the Augusta County grand jury is scheduled April 23. Ervin said that if the lab reports are completed, it is possible that additional charges could be issued then.
"It just depends on when we get the stuff back from the lab," he said. "I doubt if it will be done by then, but that's a possibility. Really, I don't have any estimates on when they'll be finished."
Until the results are complete, he said, he'll wait because he doesn't want to take any premature action.
"We're just trying to cover all the bases, and in a homicide case you don't want to miss anything at all," he said.
Steve Sigel, regional director for the Bureau of Forensic Science in Roanoke, also couldn't predict when the tests might be completed. He, too, said it is not unusual for forensics investigations to drag on for several months.
"This is typical of forensic science laboratories across the country," he said.
Often, Sigel said, an investigation can be prolonged even further if toxicology, bodily fluid, DNA matching, drug analysis or other chemical tests are involved.
Pieces of evidence sometimes must be tested and examined by several different investigators and that can add to the delay, he said.
Detective Don Farley of the Harrisonburg Police Department agreed that it is not unusual for a long delay in forensics tests. He said it's always better to be safe than sorry.
"Besides, Strickler is in jail. So he's not going anywhere, and hopefully we'll have Henderson soon," Farley said. "Whether we place the charges today or next week, we don't see that it makes any difference."
Friends and family disagree. Although they understand the prosecution's position, they are impatient with the delay.
"I'm forced to be patient. I'm really not, but I'm forced to be," said Esther Whitlock. "Murder is what somebody did and I think murder charges should be brought."
"It's kind of frustrating that you don't know what's going on," added John Dean, Whitlock's boyfriend in Harrisonburg. "The authorities are vague. They don't want to get into too much detail until they're sure of everything. I guess they're waiting until it all comes out in the trial."
Ed Whitlock agreed. "This is not going to be your everyday trial," he said. "They've got to be careful. A smart lawyer might get around some things."
The Whitlocks, Dean and Whitlock's former roommates in Harrisonburg all said that the waiting is difficult.
"I'm not accustomed to the waiting, but it's something you have to accept and deal with," Dean said. "We know how the legal system is. It's supposed to be good, but it just takes a little while to get started."
Whitlock was last seen driving Dean's car, which was stolen at the time of her disappearance.
Ervin said it appears that the car was driven to Virginia Beach and back to Harrisonburg the week after Whitlock disappeared.
It was recovered outside Harrisonburg and then impounded by police as evidence for several months. Dean said he finally has the car back.
He said the people who took the car drove it between 500 and 1,000 miles and added transmission fluid to the oil.
The Whitlocks also are frustrated, not only by the fact that it has been nearly three months without anyone having been charged in her death, but because they feel uninformed about the status of the investigation.
They said that no Augusta County official has contacted them since the charges against Strickler were moved from Rockingham County a month ago. The case was moved because Whitlock's body was found in Augusta County.
"If there is anything new, they should be more in touch with us," Esther Whitlock said. "They could at least notify us by letter or something."
She also wonders why the investigation is taking so long and why the forensics lab needs so much time.
"What are they looking for?" she said. "What is it in particular that they are trying to find out? We don't know."
Ervin said that he was unaware of the Whitlocks' concerns and would be willing to update them on the investigation.
"The normal procedure is that once the investigation is completely done, then we sit down with the family and tell them just what we have," he said. "But of course, we'll talk to them anytime."
The Whitlocks said they had not informed Ervin or any other authorities about receiving their daughter's credit card bill with the charge from Virginia Beach.
When told by a reporter of the bill, Ervin said he would be interested in it as possible evidence and that an investigator probably would call the Whitlocks today.
Although they want to be informed about the investigation, Esther Whitlock said a part of her is reluctant to learn more details.
"The grief is still new," she said. "Every time I find out something new, it hurts a little bit more."
by CNB