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Crime Wire Examines Two Cold Cases: Do YOU Have a Clue?

FILED UNDER  COLD CASES, CRIME WIRE, DANIEL UNDERWOOD, DENNIS GRIFFIN, HOMICIDE, JOAN BUTTERBACH, MISSING PERSONS, SUSAN MURPHY MILANO,UNSOLVED MURDERS

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Segment 1:

In 1971 Joan Butterbach vanished and for almost 6 years her family had no idea where she was, or why she was gone.  In 1977, Mark Van Osdale, 16 at the time, was fishing on Lake Tainter when he saw something strange protruding through the surface of the water.  What he saw ended up being Joan Butterbach’s car, with her body in the trunk.  According to the Dunn County Medical Examiner, Chris Kruse, ”The car was rigged to propel itself into the water without a driver.”

Guests include Christopher Kruse, Chief Medical Examiner for Dunn County Wisconsin, and family spokesperson and Crime Wire Director of Research, Kim Kolton.  Questions have been raised about the fact that some individuals knew about the submerged car, and what went wrong in the original investigation.

Segment 2:

On September 4, 2008, 33-year-old Daniel Ray Underwood, his girlfriend Rebecca Nelson, and a friend, Maria Harvick, were at a bar in East Fork, Texas. The three then went back to the home Daniel and Rebecca shared in Springs, Texas. According to Maria, once there, Daniel and Rebecca got into an argument and Maria left the room. A short time later she went back into the room and saw Daniel holding a shotgun in his right hand and accusing Rebecca of taking all his money and burying him in debt. Rebecca grabbed the gun and a struggle ensued. Maria again left the room, and a few seconds later she heard the gun go off. When she stepped back into the hallway she saw Daniel fall to the floor, mortally wounded.

Was Daniel’s death an accident, a suicide, or a homicide? The answer might depend on who you talk to and when.

Daniel’s mother,Donna Underwood, and Maria Harvick bring listeners the latest updates about Daniel’s case and where it stands today.

State of Texas: Failing Grade in the Murder of Daniel Underwood

The State of Texas refuses to re-open and investigate a murder case in which the coroner stamped the death certificate as a suicide when new evidence and other information points to a calculated cold blooded murder.

On September 4, 2008, Daniel Underwood, 33, of Sulfur Springs, TX was murdered during an argument which took place with his live-in-girlfriend, Rebecca Nelson. According to witness Maria Harvick, Rebecca Nelson had her hand on the trigger and the sawed off shotgun went off. The bullet struck Daniel through chin up to his face and his head.

Does the girlfriend Rebecca Nelson immediately render aide to Daniel?

Does the girlfriend Rebecca Nelson immediately call 911?

Does the girlfriend Rebecca Nelson assist Daniel as he is chocking on his own blood?

The answer to all three questions is NO!

Does the girlfriend Rebecca Nelson cover and smear her own arms, face and clothing with Daniel's blood?

Does the girlfriend Rebecca Nelson tell the other person in the room when she pulled the trigger

to tell police Daniel shot his self?

Does the girlfriend Rebecca Nelson instruct the other person in the room to say to the police that she and Daniel were not arguing or in a struggle and that she was not near the gun when it fired?

The answer to all three questions is YES!

The evening of the shooting Rebecca Nelson was interviewed by police. Notice that in the video below she asksed the police for Daniel Underwood's wallet. First, they are not married. Second, the credit cards in Daniel's wallet are in his name only, not hers. He was her sole support. She never even owned a credit card. When she was denied the wallet, Rebecca Nelson asked again and they told her it would be up to his parents to return or work that out. Her tactics, for the momen, fail.

After she left the police station, she returned back to the home, while Daniel was being given his last rites and took everything from a laptop, pool sticks, and other items that could be pawned.

Listen to the interview on The Roth Show from August, 2011 featuring the witness Maria Harvick  and Daniel's's mother Donna Underwood. http://www.therothshow.com/demos/recent/hour2Aug2411.mp3

Because the Underwood family is unable to obtain assistance from the Sulphur Springs police department, Texas Rangers or the county, we ask for assistance from the Texas Attorney General's office.

Several months ago Statement Analysis Expert and Crime Wire consultant, Peter Hyatt, did a complete work-up on the case that also applies to the pattern of conduct in cases of intimate partner homicide. http://www.crimewiresite.com/danielunderwood.htm

With new information, and a witness who has come forward, herself attempting to meet with police and being denied, theAttorney General's office seems the best route to go for the case.

Daniel Underwood did not commit suicide, he was in my opinion, murdered!

Susan Murphy Milano is a staff member of the Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education as a educator and specialist with intimate partner violence prevention strategies directing prevention for high risk situations and cases.

 A national trainer to law enforcement, training officers, prosecutors, judges, legislators, social service providers, healthcare professionals, victim advocates and the faith based community and author.. In partnership with Management Resources Ltd. of New York addressing prevention and solutions within the community to the workplace. Host of The Susan Murphy Milano Show,"Time'sUp!" . She is a regular contributor to the nationally syndicated "The Roth Show" with Dr Laurie Roth and a co-host onCrime Wire. Online contributions: Forbes : Crime, She Writes providing commentary about the hottest topics on crime, justice, and law from a woman’s perspective, as well as Time's Up! a blog which searches for solutions (SOS) for victims of crime Susan is also the daughter of a Chicago Violent Crimes detective who murdered her mother before committing suicide.