Lyon Sisters kidnapped to exploit : Police

Suspect says lyon sisters kidnapped in 1975 to ‘sexually exploit’ them.

Lloyd Lee “Michael” Welch Jr., 58, was indicted July 10 by a Bedford County grand jury on two counts of first-degree felony murder stemming from the disappearance of two Maryland girls in 1975. The indictments were unsealed Wednesday.

Authorities wrote in recently unsealed search-warrant applications that they believe Welch, who has ties to family on Taylors Mountain in Bedford County, visited the area in March 1975 to dispose of the bodies of Sheila and Katherine Lyon.

The 12- and 10-year-old Lyon sisters went to a mall in Wheaton, Maryland, on March 25, 1975, and didn’t return home. Their bodies were never found.

Authorities from Montgomery County, Maryland, and Bedford County announced Welch’s indictment at a press conference in Wheaton on Wednesday and gave a more detailed picture of the case Thursday.

Bedford County Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Krantz said that he started the process of extraditing Welch from Delaware, where he is serving a lengthy sentence for child sex crimes, on Thursday morning.

“Because that Mr. Welch is an inmate of a Delaware state prison, we have to go through the process of having him transported and turned over to Bedford County authorities. This morning, prior to coming here, I submitted the initial documents entering them into the system so that what we call ‘detainers’ may be filed against him in Delaware,” Krantz said.

He estimates it will take between 30 and 60 days for Welch to arrive in Bedford County, where he’ll face a trial. No trial date has been set.

Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown said Welch’s indictment is a significant milestone for the case, which has gone decades without any substantial leads.

“They were killed in order for their captors to escape detection. The motive for the abduction of the Lyon sisters was to sexually exploit, abuse and defile them,” Brown said.

He and other authorities noted the investigation is ongoing, and warned against withholding information from officials.

“As we go forward in preparing for the trial of Lloyd Welch, the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office will also continue to focus its investigative efforts on identifying and bringing to justice those individuals that added or assisted in this horrible crime,” Brown said.

At Thursday’s conference, police and prosecutors said they believe 70-year-old Richard Welch, Lloyd Welch’s uncle, sexually abused at least one of the Lyon sisters.

Richard Welch remains a person of interest in the case but has not been charged. His wife, Patricia Welch, has been charged with perjury.

According to a police affidavit, Lloyd Welch has told investigators that he saw his uncle raping one of the girls at his home the day after they were kidnapped, and investigators are continuing to build a case against Richard Welch, authorities said Thursday.

“There is other evidence out there besides what Lloyd Welch has said,” said Capt. Darren Francke, commander of the major crimes division of the Montgomery County, Maryland, police department.

A call to Richard and Patricia Welch’s home in Hyattsville, Maryland, was referred to Richard Welch’s attorney, Carter Garrett, who was in court Thursday and did not immediately return a message.

Newly unsealed police affidavits also provided chilling details about what may have befallen the girls, whose disappearance haunted the suburban Washington community for decades and made parents question whether their children were safe unsupervised.

According to the documents, Henry Parker, another relative of the Welches, told investigators that Lloyd Welch arrived at the family’s Bedford County property in 1975 with two Army-style duffel bags that were covered in red stains. The bags, Parker told police, weighed 60 to 70 pounds each and smelled like “death.”

Parker told police that the bags were thrown onto a fire on the property, according to the documents. During their search of the site, police found possible bone fragments, the documents show.

Francke said Thursday that Parker was another person investigators are focused on, although he did not categorize Parker as a person of interest.

Francke also described an “ongoing conspiracy” to conceal what happened to the girls. Police documents describe numerous conversations between Richard Welch, his wife and other relatives that occurred after Lloyd Welch was identified as a person of interest last year.

Lloyd Welch is charged with two counts of felony murder during an abduction with intent to defile.

Police have not said who they believe killed the girls, but the felony murder statute allows Lloyd Welch to be charged with murder because of his alleged involvement in the kidnappings.

Authorities said they believe people are still withholding information about the slayings.

“Those that have been involved in the actual crimes or in the recent cover-ups, obstruction, non-cooperation, here’s what I would say: Examine your conscience,” said Krantz, the Bedford County commonwealth’s attorney.

Agencies/Canadajournal