Murder USA: Lyons Sister’s Killer is Indicted; traveled as carnival ride operator trolling for kids

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  • 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

MURDER USAWHEATON, 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.

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“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.

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