Opinion ID: 1239150
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Disappearance of Tracey Campbell

Text: In the spring of 1984, Tracey Campbell, 15 years of age, moved from Montana, joining her mother, Lida Jane McCabe, who recently had rented a small studio apartment (that did not have a telephone), located on Midvale Avenue in Los Angeles. Tracey attended junior high school during the remainder of the school year. During the first part of June 1984, they were joined by Tracey's brother Derrill, sister Tanya, and cousin Todd Heidrick, all of whom soon located jobs. Tracey remained in the apartment alone during the day, putting away the bedding and cleaning the apartment after the others had gone to work, but she declined to do the dishes. It was Tracey's habit to leave the apartment door open during the day. Tracey, who smoked approximately one-half pack of cigarettes per day, always purchased them at the Arco Station located on Overland Avenue and Venice Boulevard, several blocks from the apartment. Tracey did not drive or hitchhike. At the time of her disappearance, she had no money. In early June, Tanya, Todd, and Tracey, sunbathing at the front of the apartment, met defendant, who lived upstairs in the adjacent apartment complex and was washing his motorcycle nearby. At the time, defendant told them that he was a photographer. Later in June, Todd and Tanya had drinks with defendant at Sarno's Bar. On July 1, Todd and Tanya attended the Los Angeles Gay Pride Festival, and two or three days after the festival, on the afternoon of July 3 or July 4, defendant, accompanied by Shari Miller, agreed to drive Todd to West Hollywood. On the morning of July 9, defendant saw Todd as the latter left the apartment to purchase a newspaper and cigarettes. Defendant offered to drive Todd and purchased the cigarettes for him. They drove to the One Hour Moto-Photo store on Venice Boulevard to drop off film and pick up developed photographs. Todd indicated his interest in preparing a photographic modeling portfolio. At some point, defendant and Todd returned to defendant's apartment, where, from the hall closet, defendant retrieved a number of developed photographs. He showed Todd the photographs, which depicted female models, including several photographs that proved to be of Shari Miller. Defendant and Todd had drinks at the Meat Market bar, where defendant took a photograph of a blonde woman, later identified as Schylee O'Hare. Late that afternoon, Todd agreed to have defendant photograph him at a construction site next to their apartment complex, and Todd mentioned the plan to Tracey when he returned to the apartment in order to change clothing. After shooting the photographs, Todd and defendant had them developed at the one-hour photography store and, upon returning to the apartment, showed the photographs to Tracey and other family members. Defendant and Todd spent the remainder of the night together, at one point driving to the Tennessee bar. On July 11, upon arriving home from work, Todd visited defendant at his apartment. Tracey appeared at the door to inform Todd that it was time for dinner, and in the ensuing conversation, Tracey mentioned that she wanted to become a professional model. Defendant showed her a copy of Faces International, a magazine featuring photographs of people who desired to become models, and advised Tracey to obtain a good photograph of herself and submit it to the magazine. Tracey asked if defendant would prepare a photographic portfolio of her, but he declined, stating that he did not photograph minors. Later that evening, Derrill and Tracey went to a sandwich shop, where Tracey purchased a subway sandwich and brought one-half of the sandwich home, mentioning that she would eat it for lunch the following day. On the morning of July 12, 1984, Tracey was dressed in a blue and white two-piece bathing suit, completely covered by a black, floral-patterned top and shorts outfit, and also wore an ankle bracelet with an amethyst stone and a pinkie ring that had the initial T on it. At approximately 8:00 a.m., after Todd, Tanya, and their mother left the apartment to go to work, Derrill heard a knock on the apartment door. Defendant spoke with Tracey at the door for several minutes, and Derrill heard defendant mention having a job for Tracey, and possible jobs for Todd and Derrill. Derrill approached and spoke briefly with defendant about the job, disclosing that he was about to leave for work. Approximately 15 minutes later, at 8:25 a.m., Derrill departed for his job, leaving a pack of Camel cigarettes for Tracey. At approximately 9:00 a.m., Bill Scognamillo, a neighbor in the same building who knew the family and had observed that Tracey usually left the apartment door open while she cleaned inside, walked by and noticed that the apartment door was closed. At 4:30 that afternoon, Todd returned from work to find the front door to the apartment locked and the curtains closed. At approximately 5:00 p.m., Mrs. McCabe arrived, but because she had given her keys to Tanya that morning, she and Todd had to pry open the window screen in order to gain entrance. Inside, they discovered that the mattresses were still on the floor, and the cat was inside, but there were no dirty dishes in the sink. Tracey's half-eaten sandwich still was in the refrigerator, and her purse was in the apartment. That evening, when Tracey did not return, Mrs. McCabe, Tanya, Todd, and Derrill began to ask neighbors in the apartment complex, including Bill Scognamillo, whether they had seen Tracey. Todd went to defendant's apartment, but he was not at home and his vehicle was not in the garage. Olga Talbot informed Todd that defendant was in Orange County. Todd later returned to defendant's apartment and found a note that Olga had addressed to defendant and placed on the door, indicating defendant still had not returned. Todd checked the garage several times that evening, but defendant's vehicle was not present. [5] On the morning of July 13, Mrs. McCabe filed a missing person report at the police department on Tracey's disappearance. That morning and afternoon, Todd checked again and found that defendant's automobile still was not present in the garage. At approximately 8:30 that morning, Steven Marshall, a private investigator who was an acquaintance of defendant, telephoned defendant's apartment and spoke to Olga Talbot. Talbot told him she was worried that defendant had taken the little girl next door the previous day and was not yet home. Marshall proceeded to defendant's apartment, and he observed Mrs. McCabe walking nearby. Marshall inquired whether she had seen defendant. Mrs. McCabe said she had not but was looking for him because the previous day defendant and Tracey had left together, and defendant had her daughter. Marshall offered to assist in the search and proceeded to the apartment garage, where he noticed that defendant's automobile was not present. At least five times that day Marshall telephoned defendant's apartment, and each time Talbot told him defendant had not returned. At approximately 4:00 p.m., defendant personally answered the telephone and agreed to meet with Marshall at another location. At that meeting, when Marshall inquired whether defendant had seen Tracey, he stated that he had driven her to purchase cigarettes and had dropped her off at Venice Boulevard because she wanted to hitchhike to the beach. On the same date, Bill Scognamillo observed defendant, who carried a small or medium-sized briefcase, unlocking the front door of his apartment. Scognamillo approached and asked whether defendant had seen Tracey. Defendant did not respond and entered the apartment, and Scognamillo followed him inside. Defendant, who appeared nervous, dropped the briefcase on a coffee table, grabbed a pornographic magazine, and told Scognamillo to look at some photographs. Defendant moved the briefcase first to the front door and then to the hallway. When Scognamillo again asked whether defendant had seen Tracey, he responded that he had been in the desert taking photographs and had not seen her. When Scognamillo inquired whether defendant had seen Tracey in the last two days, defendant replied that the previous day Tracey had visited his apartment to make a telephone call and then had departed. Scognamillo proceeded to the apartment's parking garage to discover whether defendant's vehicle had dust on it, but it was clean. Scognamillo then went to Tracey's apartment to inform her family of what he had learned. At approximately 5:00 on the afternoon of July 13, defendant visited Mrs. McCabe's apartment, where she, Tanya, Derrill, Todd, and Scognamillo were present. Defendant, who was trembling, appeared highly agitated, did not make eye contact, and stood in the doorway of the apartment. When asked in a nonconfrontational manner whether he had seen Tracey and where he had been, defendant stated he did not know where she was and that he had gone to Orange County. Defendant stated that Tracey, wearing a black shorts and top outfit over a blue bathing suit, had stopped by his apartment at approximately 2:30 the previous afternoon to telephone a girlfriend. Defendant subsequently had given Tracey a ride to the corner of Midvale Avenue and Venice Boulevard to purchase cigarettes at a liquor store. Tracey had told him that she was going to the beach. Following this conversation with defendant, Tanya and Todd proceeded to the parking garage. They noticed that defendant's automobile was clean and that there were water spots on the windows. When Todd saw defendant near his apartment later that evening, Todd asked why the vehicle was so clean. Defendant responded that he had had to clean the interior and exterior of the automobile because a fire had ignited in the heater or carburetor. On July 14, LAPD Officer Michael Taylor interviewed defendant at his apartment concerning the missing person report that Tracey's family had filed. Defendant informed Officer Taylor that at approximately 2:30 p.m. on July 12, Tracey, who wore a bikini covered with a wrap, had visited his apartment to use the telephone, and defendant subsequently had given her a ride to the corner of Midvale Avenue and Venice Boulevard. On July 16, LAPD Officer James Gillespie interviewed defendant at his apartment. Defendant gave a nearly identical account, this time remarking that while in the apartment, Tracey had mentioned her desire to become a model, and defendant, who had informed her that he was a photographer, had agreed to prepare a photographic portfolio for her. Following the interview, defendant consented to a search of his apartment. The police briefly looked over items on the tables in the living room and kitchen and opened a hall closet, but did not locate anything that appeared to relate to the case. After defendant executed a consent form authorizing the police to search his automobile, the police briefly examined the inside and trunk of the vehicle without finding anything significant, but they noticed that the floorboard was damp. Defendant stated he had washed the vehicle that day. The interview and searches were completed within one-half hour.