WHEATON, MD. With gang violence sweeping through the former middle class communities of Silver Spring and Wheaton, Md., come stabbings, shootings and murders. The latest such murder to take place in Wheaton, came the day before Montgomery County prosecutors and police held a press conference on Reedie Drive to discuss the indictment of the accused killer of the Lyons sisters who vanished from Wheaton Plaza on March 25, 1975.
Murder USA: Lyons Sister’s Killer is Indicted
WHEATON, MD. With gang violence sweeping through the former middle class communities of Silver Spring and Wheaton, Md., come stabbings, shootings and murders. The latest such murder to take place in Wheaton, came the day before Montgomery County prosecutors and police held a press conference on Reedie Drive to discuss the indictment of the accused killer of the Lyons sisters who vanished from Wheaton Plaza on March 25, 1975.
That murder took place when Lloyd Lee Welch Jr. allegedly abducted, raped and murdered the two sisters from the Wheaton Plaza across the street from the Metro Station the scene of the area’s latest murder.
Montgomery County States Attorney John McCarthy said that when the abduction of the two girls took place he was only two blocks away teaching a seventh grade history class.
“We knew about this immediately and never forgot it,” said McCarthy at the press conference.
McCarthy said that one of Welch’s family members has already been indicted in connection with the case. The murder is believed to have been carried out in Bedford County Virginia. The two counts of murder come under the law in effect in 1975 and the penalty ranges from life in prison to death.
More information about the charges are expected to be released on July 16th in another press conference in Virginia. The murder is believed to have been committed in Bedford County and is currently in Delaware for sex offences.
In 2014, the police released this information:
The Montgomery County Police Department-Cold Case Squad and FBI Agents in the Baltimore Division have named a person of interest in the disappearance of sisters, Sheila and Katherine Lyon, from a popular suburban Washington D.C. shopping center in 1975. Investigators say Lloyd Lee Welch, dob: 12/30/1956, aka: Michael Welch, was noticed paying attention to the sisters the afternoon they disappeared.
Sheila and Katherine were last seen just after 2:00 p.m., walking between Wheaton Plaza (now Westfield Wheaton) and their home, only half a mile away. Their mother told them to be home by 4:00 that afternoon, but they never returned. They disappeared without a trace, and have not been heard from since.
Welch, a convicted sex offender, has been in prison in Delaware since 1997. He traveled extensively throughout the U.S. from the 70’s through the mid 90’s. Welch worked as a ride operator for a carnival company, often set up at malls. He was arrested in several states, charged with sexual offenses against young girls. There may be victims who have not come forward.
“We have all been haunted by the disappearance of the Lyon sisters. Even though so much time has passed, we have not forgotten that those young girls deserve justice, and their family deserves closure. We’re hoping one of you has information that will help us provide both,” said Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger.
“We understand we’re asking people to think back several decades to remember details they may not think matter. However, the information you provide could be vital in our search for evidence, and put to rest difficult questions for the Lyon family and for any other victims who may exist,” said Steve Vogt, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Maryland.
Anyone who may have encountered Michael Welch is asked to call investigators at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or they can submit a tip online at: http://tips.fbi.gov.
Below is a timeline of Welch’s known whereabouts:
Date Location
January 9, 1974 Austin, Texas
March 25, 1975 Wheaton Plaza in Wheaton, Maryland
April 1, 1975 Address of 4714 Baltimore Avenue in Hyattsville, Maryland, provided to law enforcement
April 9, 1977 Takoma Park, Maryland
November 1977 Address of 1825 Main St. in Orlando, Florida, provided to law enforcement
November 24, 1977 Montgomery County, Maryland
March 13, 1980 North Miami Beach, Florida
September 15, 1981 Hyattsville, Maryland
April 15, 1982 to September 11, 1984 Incarcerated (Maryland)
March 18, 1987 Los Angeles, California
April 27, 1987 Sioux City, Iowa
January 13, 1988 Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
February 4, 1988 Sioux City, Iowa
December 20, 1988 Horry County, South Carolina
March 17, 1989 Horry County, South Carolina
September 1992 Lockhart, South Carolina
November 16, 1992 Clover, South Carolina
May 19, 1993 Union County, South Carolina
May 31, 1994 Union County, South Carolina
June 13, 1994 Baltimore, Maryland
June 21, 1994 Address of Road 3, Box 86 in Bedford, Pennsylvania, provided to law enforcement
July 13, 1994 Address of 1800 Elmerton Avenue in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, provided for sex offender registry
1995 Prince William County, Virginia
June 1996 Address of 2242 Sussex Court in Woodbridge, Virginia, provided to law enforcement
March 1997 New Castle County, Delaware
July 1997 to Present Incarcerated (Delaware)
- WHEATON, MD. With gang violence sweeping through the former middle class communities of Silver Spring and Wheaton, Md., come stabbings, shootings and murders. The latest such murder to take place in Wheaton, came the day before Montgomery County prosecutors and police held a press conference on Reedie Drive to discuss the indictment of the accused killer of the Lyons sisters who vanished from Wheaton Plaza on March 25, 1975.
