Daily Herald
Families of men believed to be victims of the Smiley Face serial killers are gathering signatures to pressure the FBI to investigate the string of deaths and working to raise money so a private investigation may continue. “The goal is to make sure there’s not another family that will go through what we want through,” said Bill Szostak, who founded the Smiley Face Victims Investigation fund after his son, Josh, 21, was found drowned this spring in the Hudson River in New York. Elgin resident Stephany Welzien also plans to help. Her 21-year-old son Brian, disappeared on Jan. 1, 2000 in downtown Chicago and was later found in Lake Michigan.
“Somehow they do need to get the FBI involved,” said Welzien, who doesn’t believe her son accidentally fell in the icy waters. “That’s a lot more manpower. They can cover a lot of territory.” Two private detectives believe a serial killer or killers have been preying on young, college men who usually visiting an area and are out late at night after parties or visiting a bar. The men turn up in a river or lake, with authorities usually ruling their drowning deaths accidents. But the detectives determined in May that Chris Jenkins, a 21-year-old student at the University of Minnesota who disappeared on Halloween 2002, was abducted and tortured in a cargo van before being dumped in the Mississippi River.
His case was reclassified as a homicide. The detectives, Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte, also found “smiley faces” spray-painted at points where each man went into the water in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa and Ohio. They believe Brian Welzien was targeted; Chicago police have ruled his death accidental and have refused to discuss the case. Gannon began investigating these deaths in 1997, but now he’s out of money. That’s where Szostak comes in. He hopes to raise money so Gannon and Duarte can continue. He want to use the petitions to pressure lawmakers to get the FBI involved. Tax-deductible donations can be made at www.smileyfacevictimsfund.com. Petitions also may be downloaded there.
Szostak hopes to have signatures by mid-September and then make a large announcement in New York with other families in mid-October. “The way the game is played, it puts it closer to election time,” he said. “I want to make a statement. I want a lot of family members there. I want a lot of signatures.” So far, Szostak has raised about $1,000 - which covered the cost of applying for official not-for-profit status. “Obviously, the more (money) you bring in, the more you can do,” Bill said. “(Gannon and Duarte) are not ones to stay in five-star hotels and eat in five-star restaurants. They want to stretch the money as far as they can go.” More
Source: kstp.com
Albany, NY is the location of the latest Smiley Face controversy. Again, it’s the police against the parents. As I reported in an earlier blog, Bill Szostak believes that he knows what happened to his son Josh. Albany Police closed the case hours after Josh’s body was found drowned. Bill has been working with retired NY Detective, Kevin Gannon. As you first read here, they believe that there is enough evidence to tie Josh’s drowning to the Smiley Face Killers and dozens of other drownings across the country. Bill won’t reveal all the evidence, but a smiley face was found spray painted on a tree near the river.
In past and current newspaper articles and radio interviews, the local investigators have accused Bill of painting the graffiti himself. The Medical Examiner ruled Josh’s death accidental with no signs of foul play. The Police say they are confident in that ruling and their own work. They’ve also said that if there is new information or evidence, they would like to see it. To date, the Albany investigators say they’ve never been given anything new in the case from Bill or Kevin Gannon. Bottom line: the official investigation into Josh Szostak’s death is closed while the unofficial one is wide open, active and (I’m told) gaining ground.
ALBANY — A retired detective says Joshua Szostak, whose body was found in the Hudson River four months after he was last seen leaving a downtown bar, was abducted and murdered by the “Smiley Face” killer. Kevin Gannon, a retired New York Police Department detective who has tracked the case through his company, Nationwide Investigations, said his assertion is based on markings found in the Albany area as well as the circumstances surrounding Szostak’s Dec. 23 disappearance. “We have a cumulative amount of evidence to substantiate that Josh was probably drugged, abducted and murdered,” Gannon said by phone last week. “I can’t tell you exactly what it is, because it would warn the Smiley Face if he knew anything about us.” More
The emails keep coming and many of you are finding unsolved or closed cases that fit the pattern. Individually, these accounts got a blurb in a newspaper or a mention on the evening news. Now that the NYPD Detectives theory about a connection with drownings is out there, you’re taking another look at these cases. In most cases, the young man was last seen with friends at a bar. After an exhaustive search, his body is found in a river and his identification and wallet are in his pocket. The Medical Examiner finds no signs of foul play and the case is either closed or goes cold.
Many of you have asked for a list of the 40 men that NYPD Detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte claim are victims of the Smiley Faced Killers. At their New York news conference, a spokesperson for their company agreed to release a list. To my knowledge, this has not been made public. It’s unfortunate, because it leaves many families wondering if their child’s drowning was investigated. During my interviews with the Detectives, they discussed many names and cases. The majority of these have been included in my stories or have been intentionally excluded because the family does not want more publicity. From the emails that I’m receiving, there are many people out there doing their own investigations because they are frustrated that law enforcement appears to be uninterested. Here are a few men who’s cases I hadn’t heard about until they were emailed to KSTP this week. More
KSTP.com
One mother, who I’ve been emailing, is allowing me to share the first email she sent me and photos she’s sent me since. She is now trying to get investigators to take another look at her son’s case and is talking with another mother who’s son drowned earlier this year. While the FBI and many local law enforcement agencies are discounting the Smiley Face Killer possibility, the parents of the men who have drowned should not be discounted. They are passionate, diligent and will do almost anything to find the truth.
“Hi,
I have been living in pure hell for over 10 years, since my son disappeared from a bar in PA, and his body was found 2 days later in the water. I just found out about these young men yesterday, and about the men investigating the possible links. Is there any way you can put me in touch with these men. I don’t know the time frame they have on the young men found, but my son went missing on April 4, 1998, and was found on April 6, 1998.
Please I beg of you help me find out more information on this investigation. I am living a nightmare!
Source: KSTP.com
A 2005 disappearance is getting new attention because of the Smiley Face Killer theory. It’s a story of another college-aged man walking out of a bar and vanishing. Unlike many of these missing person cases that I’ve been reporting on and blogging about, this man’s body has never been recovered. Keith Ryan a 22-year-old from Springfield, Illinois was last seen on April 12, 2005. After a night of drinking in Peoria, Ryan told his friends that he needed some fresh air. He never returned. According to reports, surveillance cameras captured him walking alone on city streets.
His father, a retired Decatur Police Department Detective, has always suspected foul play. He is now considering that his son’s disappearance is connected to 40 others across the country. Ryan heard about the Smiley Face Killer Theory that we first reported in a 5 Eyewitness News Investigation in April. Since then, he’s searched along the river for signs of a smiley face.
According to a new article in a Peoria newspaper, retired New York Detective, Kevin Gannon is now working with Ryan. The two are trying to gather police reports to piece together new evidence. In the article, Roger Ryan says, “I sent (Gannon) an e-mail the day I saw an article about the ‘Smiley’ case murders. He’s interested in it and is going to try and connect” his son’s case with the others. Peoria detectives also heard about the Smiley Face Killer theory and considered it in the Ryan case. The newspaper reports that the Peoria detectives determined that there is no evidence to suggest a connection. Also See: Does man’s vanishing act have ‘Smiley’ connection? Criminologist Jack Levin on Smiley Face Serial Killers
Source: Kstp.com
It’s been two months since we aired the Smiley Face Killer investigation and questions from people around the world keep coming. I’ve received news clippings, pictures and letters from people all over the country and emails from interested folks in Canada and Europe. The Canadian emails are actually quite frequent. There are many people there who have wondered about a string of drownings that have a lot in common with the U.S. cases. Because of the attention our investigation got in the States, many amateur sleuths are hard at work in Canada.
The FBI still, to my understanding, is not launching a new investigation into the drownings of 40 college male students. The parents of the drowning victims have teamed up and are circulating a petition. This has only been distributed by the families for the last week and one father has already collected over 8,000 signatures! Steve Jenkins in the Twin Cities has received several petitions signed by strangers sent to his house. The families plan to spend the summer collecting the signatures hoping a groundswell of support could sway the FBI.
A couple cases of interest:
TOMMY BOOTH:
He’s the young man who was found drowned in a creek behind a bar in Ridley Township, PA earlier this year. The Detectives working the case in PA feel his death may not be an accident. The Medical Examiner has done new tests to see if foul play was involved. His mother is anxiously waiting for results.
BRANDON SWANSON:
There is no reason to include him in this case except that so many of you have emailed me about his case. Since his body hasn’t been recovered and the Police aren’t sure what happened to him, his disappearance is still a mystery. Swanson went missing in western MN earlier this summer. Extensive searches have been done and there has been no sign of him. The searching is now focusing on a nearby creek.
This case seems to have come and gone. I think it’s worth renewed interest. The father of homicide victim Matt Kruziki speaks out against the inaction of police to investigate the Smiley Face Killers. Kristi Piehl (Investigative Reporter KSTP-TV) broke the story on the Smiley Face Serial Killers’ investigation being conducted by retired NYPD detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte (www.nationwideinvestigations.us), who are now confident they’ve discovered a nationwide criminal network, concluding that a large, organized group with a hierarchical structure is responsible for the killings.
In May 2008, CNN’s Anderson Cooper interviewed criminologist Jack Levin about the Smiley Face Serial Killers, who are being investigated by retired NYPD detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte (www.nationwideinvestigations.us), who are now confident they’ve discovered a nationwide criminal enterprise, concluding that a large, organized group with a hierarchical structure is responsible for the killings.
Kristi Piehl Kaaltv.com
A second congressman has called on the FBI to take another look at the case of the so-called ‘Smiley-Face’ killers after a 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS investigation revealed new details about the case late last month. “It has come to my attention that recent press reports indicate new evidence linking the drowning deaths of a large number of college-aged men across the country,” Rep. Michael R. McNulty, D-NY, wrote in a letter to the FBI earlier this month.
“I am aware that the FBI investigated this matter previously, but it appears that some of these cases may be linked. In light of this new evidence, I respectfully request that the FBI re-open its investigation.” McNulty is the second member of congress to contact the FBI regarding the case. At the beginning of May, Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., R-Wisconsin, made a similar request of the FBI after seeing our investigation on the national news. Read more
See VIDEO
The official police position is that the story has no foundation, yet two retired detectives, a professor, and the families of the victims believe that 40 deaths, dating back to 1997, spanning 11 states, are linked to not one, but a group of serial killers. Wow!
“Could a national gang of killers that leaves smiley-face calling cards be getting away with murdering dozens of male college students by making all the deaths look like accidents? That’s what two retired New York police detectives think, after spending their own money to link as many as 40 drowning deaths of otherwise healthy young men, many of them athletes.”
Read more
Alos see: Second congressman asks FBI to investigate ‘Smiley-Face’ killers case
