The Prince George's County Police of Maryland
According to The Lowell Sun's report of the process used to identify
the bones discovered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts on October 24, 1998,
and from what I have been told by the Massachusetts police, police departments
do not always follow through on requests to search their missing persons
files - especially their very old missing persons files. However,
I can testify, the Prince George's County police do check their missing
persons files when requested to do so by another police department.
Over the years, I have been called 4 or 5 times about an unidentified body
discovered in various states. Without the cooperation of the Prince
George's County police, Nancy's remains would never have been identified.
Thank
you very much!
Sgt. Timothy O'Connor
Chelmsford, Massachusetts Police Department
I have never met, nor spoken to, Sgt. Timothy O'Connor. I have seen his picture in the newspaper. I e-mailed Sgt. O'Connor to ask him for the names of the local newspapers and whether they had web sites. He answered my e-mail with the information requested. Furthermore, Sgt. O'Connor stated, he would have the Chelmsford police media department make copies of all the news articles concerning Nancy from when her bones were first discovered months before. They gathered articles from The Chelmsford Independent, The Lowell Sun, The Boston Globe, and The Boston Herald. I thank you so very much. These articles helped me gain an overall view of what had happened in Nancy's case, from the day her bones were first discovered. These articles gave me a glimpse into her life in Massachusetts. These articles greatly helped me keep other family members fully informed. I never would have imagined the police would perform such a kind, but really unnecessary service. Thank you very much!
Sgt. Timothy O'Connor was the police officer who kept Arthur informed
on the progress of the criminal investigation. Arthur told me, on
more than one occasion, how much trust Sgt. O'Connor inspired in him.
Arthur said, Sgt. O'Connor listened to all his questions and concerns with
patience - no question or concern was too trivial. Then Sgt. O'Connor
answered all his questions with complete honesty. Sgt. O'Connor gave
Arthur the feeling the police really cared about solving the mystery of
his sister's death. Thank you very much!
Doctor Ann Marie Mires
Medical Examiner, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
On December 21, 1998, I was notified of the identification of Nancy's bones. The identification had been made by the comparison of bite x-rays of Nancy's teeth with the teeth discovered October 24, 1998. I believed the police must be certain of the identification, but all I thought of were all the requests for further records because of the discrepancies between the bite wing x-rays and the discovered teeth. I was told I could call Dr. Mires, herself, with any questions.
I did call Dr Ann Marie Mires. I asked my questions. Dr
Mires answered, in detail, how she made the identification. Dr Mires
stated, she never really doubted the identification because the similarities,
between the bite wing x-rays and the teeth, greatly outweighed the discrepancies..
She had asked for more x-rays just so she could account for every discrepancy
possible. Dr Mires told me everything she knew about Nancy's death,
which was precious little. Then she explained why she knew so little
about how Nancy had died. Dr. Mires took the time to describe to
me the discovery and recovery of Nancy's bones. Furthermore, Dr Mires
described the DNA process, so I would understand the next step in the identification
process. Altogether, Dr Mires took about an hour out of her busy
schedule to help me understand the identification of my daughter's bones
and to help me cope with my daughter's death. This conversation did
bring a level of peace. Thank you very much!
Trooper Lisa Butner
Massachusetts State Police
Trooper Lisa Butner of the Massachusetts State Police is assigned to the District Attorney's office of Middlesex County. She is the police officer, from Massachusetts, who first contacted me, and later notified me of the identification of Nancy's bones. Trooper Lisa Butner was always very straight forward with me. She explained how the police were proceeding and why they were proceeding in such a manner. She answered all my questions, unless the answer would jeopardize the investigation. When she could not answer, she stated she could not answer. Trooper Butner never put me off nor misled me. She was always very patient. She made me feel I could ask her any question, at any time. She convinced me I would never be bothering her nor calling her too much. Trooper Lisa Butner always returned my phone calls.
Trooper Butner, also, arranged for the DA's media department to copy newspaper articles for me. They actually came up with some articles the Chelmsford police missed. I was amazed. Furthermore, Trooper Butner even arranged to have the press conference announcing Richard Lackey's suicide video taped for me. This way I could see and hear it for myself. Thank you.
However, what I have to thank Trooper Lisa Butner for, more than anything else, was her determination to identify the bones discovered October 24, 1998, in a vacant lot next to a Chelmsford, Massachusetts car wash! The bones were very old. There were no identifying articles found. All the local missing persons were eliminated. Trooper Butner was told many times, the bones would never be identified. But she just kept thinking, these bones belonged to someone's daughter. She kept thinking, as a mother, she would want to know if these bones belonged to her daughter. Trooper Lisa Butner made the extra effort to discover the identification of these bones. She even had to make an extra effort to contact the Prince George's County Police, since their contact number was not with the contact numbers of the other police departments. Without Trooper Lisa Butner's extra determination and efforts, Nancy's remains would never have been identified.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart! You gave me back my daughter!! Thank you very, very much!!!!