True Crime On This Day February 20th

February 20th

On February 20th in true crime, Marybeth Tinning, macabre discovery, robbery, murder, mystery disappearance, unsolved murder.

1978

Marybeth Roe Tinning’s sixth victim was killed. Mary Frances apparently died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) at the age of three-months-old but she was the sixth of Tinning’s nine children to have died in similar circumstances.

In 1987, Tinning was arrested and convicted for the murder of her ninth child, four-month-old daughter Tami Lynne in 1985. She was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

Tinning was suspected to have killed all her children with asphyxia by suffocation. She has constantly been denied parole at every turn.

1979

In Las Vegas, three teenage boys were hiking through the desert on the western edge when they saw what looked like a wig up ahead. It turned out to be the body of 16-year-old Kim Bryant, who had been abducted in front of her Las Vegas High School on January 26^th.

The identity of her killer has remained a mystery ever since, despite being linked to numerous suspects including serial killer Stephen Peter Morin and sex offender Bobby Gene Thomas. As of 2022, the investigation is an active cold case in the State of Nevada.

1980

In Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the early hours of the afternoon, Janice Kahn was found dead in the back room of the Prism Shop. She had been shot execution-style with a bullet to the head.

Despite her clothes being ripped and semen found on her thigh, there was no sign of a sexual assault. The murder was deemed to be the result of a robbery.

Witness statements and forensics led to the arrest of Brady Goree who had been in the shop earlier in the day. He was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

1981

In Burleigh County, North Dakota, 21-year-old Marine Sergeant Bruce Falconer, vanished without a trace. He had recently been promoted to the rank of sergeant and was last seen in Bismarck before he was about to be transferred to Yuma, Arizona.

In the evening, he had gone out for drinks with friends to celebrate his promotion. After the bars closed, he and a friend named Tim Jewell went for a drive alongside the Missouri River.

A few days later, Falconer’s vehicle was discovered abandoned near the side of the river, close to Bismarck. There was no trace of Falconer or Jewell, except the remnants of a campfire nearby.

In light of his upcoming transfer, there was the suggestion that Falconer had gone AWOL from the Marines but there was no real evidence to back it up and his family stated he was enjoying life in the military.

In 1992, skeletal remains were discovered in the same area. DNA results proved they were the remains of Tim Jewell and it was concluded he had died of exposure.

Investigators believed that he would have been able to make it to back to where the vehicle was discovered and believed that death by exposure could have been the consequence of something more criminal.

No trace of Falconer has ever been discovered but the Marines declared him legally dead five years after his initial disappearance. The mystery prevails to this day.

1982

In the early hours of the morning, in Portland, Oregon, aspiring basketball player James Bradley was walking home along the sidewalk when he was shot dead.

A witness saw Bradley at the intersection of SW Park and Salmon Street when he was approached by an unidentified male before being attacked.

Bradley was rushed to hospital where he later died of his wounds. Investigators later discovered that he was associated with known drug dealers. No suspect has ever been found and the case remains unsolved.

1983

In San Diego, California, 26-year-old Patrolman Kirk Leland Johnson was shot and killed by a 17-year-old boy who had stolen his father’s sheriff’s uniform and marked patrol car.

When Johnson pulled up beside what he thought was a uniformed deputy, the suspect opened fire, killing him instantly.

The suspect was arrested one month later, after a witness identified him. The boy was subsequently convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 17 years to life in prison.

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