Alexis Murphy Missing: Suspect Randy Allen Taylor Arrested For Abduction Under Investigation For Possible Serial Abduction and Murder With Ties Also To Samantha Clarke and Alicia Showalter Reynolds
Nelson County, VA-
Randolph Taylor
Announced this morning by Virginia Commonwealth Attorney an arrest has been made in the abduction of missing Lovington woman Alexis Murphy.
Randolph Allen Taylor, is being held in Albemarle County Jail on a kidnapping charge.
Murphy’s vehicle was found over the weekend in a Charlottesville Carmike parking lot near her job at a consignment boutique, Murphy has not been located and was last seen at a gas station approximately 39 miles away.
Taylor was the recent recipient of vacated charges when Green County, VA Major Randy Snead authorized the placement of a GPS, without a warrant, under Taylor’s 1993 Gran Marquis while investigating his association to another missing woman- Samantha Clarke. Â
Snead was exonerated in any wrongdoing after he chased a 19 year old man who had stolen a deputies vehicle out of his jurisdiction and was part of over twenty officer’s responsible for shooting the suspect, Colby Eppard.
The FBI is also looking for a GMC Suburban which is also associated with Randy Taylor.
During today’s press conference, Richmond FBI Chief announced that law enforcement will not be commenting on reports of Taylor’s suspect status in other possibly related unsolved cases, however, www.blinkoncrime has learned that at the top of the possible case list is the unsolved abduction and murder of Alicia Showalter Reynolds. Taylor bears a strikingly similar resemblance to the sketch generated in Reynolds disappearance and murder.
1996 Showalter Suspect
Two unsolved murders in 1996 Shenandoah National Park, Julianne Williams and Lollie Winans which resulted in a 2002 indictment against Darrell Rice ended in the withdrawal of same in 2004 due to a DNA profile found that did not match Rice. It is not known if police are investigating any potential involvement by Taylor in that case.
Although Virginia State Police and the FBI have a DNA match to whom they believe is responsible for the assault and murder of Morgan Harrington after she was denied re-entry into a Metallica concert at John Paul Jones arena- which matches a composite sketch of an African American man also wanted for a sexual assault in 2005 in Fairfax, sources inside Harrington’s unsolved murder case have confirmed that they have been asked to look into any similarities.
This is a developing story, please check back to blinkoncrime.com as more details become available.
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Blink, something huge is about to happen in Virginia…I just feel it to the core. What puzzle pieces are going to start falling into place. I can not step away from my computer because I know something is about to happen. Alexis’ mother ripped my heart…Between her and thoughts back to Morgan I am a wreck.
I can tell you that I think the FBI leading this case speaks volumes.
B
I thought of Alicia Reynolds right away. A while back that killer was chalked up to be the deviant that killed the Lisk girls but I was sure it wasn’t. In 1996, I was commuting back and forth on 29 in northern/central Virginia, and some idiot flashed his lights at me just like the Route 29 stalker—scared me to death but I had a cell phone even back then so I would never have pulled over. Anyway, in my gut, I know so many of these cases have to be related. It would be nice for everyone here to have closure after all these years of wondering.
If he is responsible for Showalter, imo, his profile is going to net more victims than we know, and in different states.
Right now, with him behind bars, I think the focus should be on releasing the deets on the 2 men Clarke was last seen with.
Too young for other crimes, yes, but I could curl your hair with the apprentice scenarios.
B
They aren’t looking for his suburban. They have it but have asked the public to report if they saw it anywhere.
Yes, thanks, that updated on the wire just after I posted. redly, I would respectfully call you one of the house skeptics, or cynics- and I mean that respectfully and with admiration- so I ask what your gut says about Showalter?
B
Also — he was apparently in prison for 5 years after a conviction for being an accessory to burglary in the 1990s. Not sure when the prison term started but that may exclude him from the 1996 killings.
he has a lengthy arrest record, not sure why the Hook only published that info, I intend to update my piece once I can confirm a few things, but they include ID fraud, and changing a name illegally.
B
Blink,
I can only imagine the scenarios—like Ode, I am having trouble not being on the computer following this. I was just sitting here thinking that in all the years that have gone by, this guy cannot have been idle. I have a feeling that if this all comes to light, it will be twisted beyond words. I almost don’t want to know.
His arrest record, to include a suspended sentence, is absolutely unreal.
B
Fertile grounds here.
The Redrock of few words has spoken, lol.
(blink bows at waist to sen sai)
B
I think there is a real shot he is responsible for the earlier crimes against young women, but I am concerned about when he was in prison and if that would exclude him as a suspect in the 96 murders. I looked in the most likely counties and saw, as you did, that he has a lot of offenses and is a career criminal. I hope they have the goods on him this time, but it may not be easy if they don’t find Alexis.
The Hook fairly often has an anti establishment angle, and I think that samantha clarke article was written more sympathetically towards him than current events indicate it should have been. The US Supreme Court didn’t decide warrantless GPS tracking of cars was unconstitutional until 2012 and various police departments were doing it until then, so I don’t think their attempt to track him was as outrageous as the Hook painted it.
Agreed as to the legal standard, however, a move like that can render a case unprosecutable. Hasn’t that agency had enough hot mess to go around without polluting that water?
On The Hook piece, agreed as well, especially since they did not publish the names of the other 2. They have warrants, hello?
He is also apparently an arsonist, so as I review his record I am seeing possible deviances I would expect.
B
I am struck by the similarity between Showalter sketch and Randy Taylor’s photos. The sketch certainly could be a younger version of current Taylor photos. Eyes, nose, hair color, sunken areas between nose and cheeks. Eyebrows are different. I have wondered about Samantha Clarke since she went missing, and any connection to other area disappearances. This guy clearly tracks very young women.
YES!
I was so hoping you would be on this case.
Thanks a much Blink
Guys like this with a rap sheet this long, including incarceration, have accomplices. This case is about to explode. # birdsofafeather
Nice work by investigators. In saddened to think that another victim is the cost of this possible breakthrough in these old cases. I would bet at least a wooden nickel that R Taylor sported a mullet per the Sketch in the Showalter case.
I know 2 peeps that used the expression wooden nickel- my Grands. Before bed when saying goodnight they would say don’t take any wooden nickles and see you in the wash. My point is, I like you, ( duh, you knew that) and connections for advocacy matter.
And I lol at your hashtag. That is a bit of a thing in our house. #hangyourtowelup, #makeyourlaundrybasketorweardirtyclothes, #washyourhandsfordin… it goes on.
B
This may turn out to be a connection that solves a lot of crime. There are a lot of smart criminals who can go undetected for a long time or they get caught for petty things and the big ones remain unknown.
The FBI may be in the process of connecting the dots to find several criminals. This is also going to reveal some things that LE do not want revealed. (Last sentence is from my gut)
While it makes us hurt for the families and victims, we all know that there is a criminal element that preys on the population for various reasons. The more we can do to identify and apprehend them, the safer society will be.
VP- your gut is right.
B
They have to have more on this Guy than just cell phone pings near his home. Also, how do you charge for kidnapping when there is no presence of the kidnapped?
Yes ma’am. My sources say their is a DNA link to the car.
B
I don’t believe that they could considering LE is alerted prior to a repo.
*****
You stated this in the previous post today on the other “Morgan” page. Is there a way to get any alerts given to LE from the repo companies for the night Morgan was abducted?
Yes, a LEA would simply subpoena them. I will say it is sort of LE 101 like emerg rooms, LE stops etc.
B
On The Hook piece, agreed as well, especially since they did not publish the names of the other 2. They have warrants, hello?
He is also apparently an arsonist, so as I review his record I am seeing possible deviances I would expect.
B
******
On The Hook piece, agreed as well, especially since they did not publish the names of the other 2. They have warrants, hello?
He is also apparently an arsonist, so as I review his record I am seeing possible deviances I would expect.
B
Blink..dumb question…are the other “2″ last seen with Samantha and the girlfriend of the second “2″ man gone missing? Do you know if they have warrants and if they have been served? I have to wonder if Lt. Radar’s letter could have been to one of these people? I am thrown by an Arsonist considering the fire the night before Morgan was found on the Anchorage Farm.
Typically, if one has a warrant for arrest (bench) then if it is served, that person is arrested. Fleeing a warrant means they are a fugitive, but we have the names of the men, working to vett as we speak.
B
I keep thinking about Cassandra Morton too.
An arsonist? Good Lord!
More info about his prior arrests. Seems like a failure of the judicial system. The jails are too crowded with relatively victimless (other than themselves) drug offenders that these incurable criminal types don’t get put away.
http://ht.ly/nRH36
I warned you. And that is not all. From a profiling perspective, this should have meant something to someone.
A suspended sentence for probation- who gets a 2 year suspended sentence with that criminal quiver???
I will tell you. An informant.
B
Some of the tweets this morning also mentioned the disappearance of Dashad Smith aka Sage, missing from Charlottesville since November 2012.
As I am sure you know Daisha’s was a cross dresser and it seemed like they have a pretty good suspect in his disappearance.
I will be surprised if this guy hasn’t been all over the southeast. The Route 29 cases always reminded me of the Dale Dinwiddie case which took place while I lived in Columbia (like many others I was at the U2 concert that night and Jungle Jim’s was my favorite place but I didn’t go that night—there but for the grace of God). I know LE claim to have solved that crime with the death of another serial killer and they probably did but it makes me wonder where this guy has been and how many victims there really are:(
@Tango–you are right about Cassandra Morton and Dashad Sage Smith as possible victims as well. I don’t think this guy has one set MO—I think he is an opportunistic offender who probably has multiple ways of luring people.
Dail Dinwiddie has been my research target all day.
1992 in S. Carolina- and she is a ringer for Showalter. I mean, textbook. Means nothing investigatively however without appropriate connections, but has my immediate interest until it can be excluded.
B
Orange county court system shows his drivers license is suspended currently. I do not understand how an investogation was ot prompted with as many traffic tickets, arson, assault charges and etc throughout the state of virginia to prompt investigation.
I apologize for my errors in typing. Keyboard sticking and requires desperate need to proofread!
Blink, I like the way the use of a has tag can just some what you’ve just written or are thinking in a couple of bytes. I don’t think I’ll ever be Tweeter but I’ll abscond with the hashtag.
I wonder who was Taylor’s bail bondsman? #CvilleConfidential
#lookpastmytyposfriends
LOL
B
Wow! My auto correct didn’t do me any favors with my last entry.
We are laughing about wooden nickels. Have any one of you actually held a real wooden nickel that was legal tender? I have!
A funny story. In 1947 the Commandant of Barksdale AFB issued government script complete with balsa wood coins of nickels, dimes, quarters and half dollars. This was in response to a group of people that didn’t like the military and were complaining that the military didn’t contribute to the local economy. They soon found out when this authorized script was circulated all over the area. Government script is legal tender and the banks with federal charters are the ones who must finally collect it.
Fwiw, when my Poppa said don’t take any wooden nickles I said why would I not take money and put it in my bank? Money and something to burn in the fireplace sounds like I should take it.
B
http://www.nbc29.com/story/23118650/tracking-down-abduction-suspect-randy-taylor
Arson too.? Odd that in the Morgan Harrington case, I seem to recall arson connected to a lead around her disappearance, no?
Oh no, are we talking the next Scott kimball?
CentVA Native Away:
Omg I didn’t even think about the bail bondsman stuff Blink brought to light…. That would be crazy
Jmo
I’m reading so fast that I may have missed something. Have the FBI searched his home. Curious if they found any belongings from this long list of the missing young ladies. Also, I was curious what those tattoos are on the neck.
Blink — please let me add that Alexis Murphy is only 17 years old. To describe her as a woman may be a bit misleading. She is someone’s missing child. I’m dismayed that there was no mention of the search for this girl. While the arrest of this man may signal a break in other cases we have a missing girl right now.
How many times have abductions and murders been committed on women of similar structure by a serial killer? Same hair,similar eyes, body build etc..
dda’s post and Blink’s reply make this a distinct possibility. The travel time through the Eastern coastal states is not that long with the good roadways of today.
A good story here on Taylor: http://www.roanoke.com/news/2144920-12/officials-id-man-arrested-in-connection-to-case.html
The story indicates that Taylor “was convicted of statutory burglary and grand larceny in 1992 and sentenced to 10 years behind bars, with all but four and a half years suspended.”
Wouldn’t that mean he was incarcerated at the time of the Showalter-Reynolds case? Her body was found on May 2nd 1996; if Taylor was incarcerated for “four and a half years” beginning in 1992, he wouldn’t have been released until mid-1997 or so.
However, there may well be other disappearances that should be looked at.
@CentVA Native Away: The hashtags are the funniest part of twitter IMO!
@redly: No I haven’t really been following anything but Morgan’s thread lately so I didn’t know they had a potential suspect in Dashad’s disappearance but I did know he/she was a cross-dresser.
Y’ALL: I remember a post WAAAAAYYYY back that mentioned something about someone seeing Morgan at the 7-11 in a truck/van with somebody who had a bunch of tattoos – but I thought at the time it was his arms.
Whoaa….bail bondsman – I did think about him in regard to repo work though….with all the little companies he had I wouldn’t be a bit surprised….
Taylor seemed to be all over the place geographically and I guess that’s the nature of the predatory beast. When I read that he was harrassing Samantha Clarke in Orange County and has possible ties to Alicia Showalter Reynolds, it makes me think that he could have taken Alexis anywhere. I hope that camper yields a mountain of forensic evidence that provides clues of potential whereabouts through soil samples, etc. This investigative crew has done a fantastic job thus far; I hope that they get the breakthrough that they need for a homecoming AND a conviction. A chronic, career criminal like this will not bend or yield anything willingly.
Not to derail the thread, but, despite my alias, I have lived most of my life in South Carolina and actively followed the Dail Dinwiddie case at the time.
What stood out for me at the time, was that I had just finished reading the supposed autobiography of Pee Wee Gaskins (“Final Truth: The Autobiography of a Serial Killer : Donald H. Gaskins”), a book somewhat popular in South Carolina at the time, in which Gaskins describes in detail how he abducted, raped, and murdered young women. The book is a chilling insight into the mind of a psychopath, but also goes into enough detail of his crimes, that it could almost function as a how-to manual. I have always suspected that her abductor had recently read, and possibly been inspired by, that book.
The book is interesting reading, but definitely not for the squeamish.
South Carolina has lots of swamps and national forests, and people who disappear are frequently never found. (Gaskins claims he weighted his victims down and tossed them, still alive, into swamps.)
@Jester
A four and a half year sentence does not necessarily mean that someone spent all of that time behind bars. There are credits that can be taken into account that reduce the amount of time served, and back then, I am not sure what the calculation would have been.
Mosaic, good point. Let’s find this girl! Okay farmers, check your fields and outbuildings! And those who believe in it PRAY!
I just got back from Columbia, South Carolina after picking up my husband from his drill sargeant duties down there. when there I was talking to a lady on the base about her fears of me driving down i95 to get to SC with my two kids in the car all alone and how naive i was (she is right but i had no other option, plus my tahoe resembles what i call an “FBI” mobile and has police plates so i figured i’d be ok). during our conversation, she told me about the Dail Dinwiddie case and it gave me goosebumps. I paid it forward by trying to give her one of my copies of “Gift of Fear” but she told me she had already read it, I wasn’t suprised!
I followed Morgan’s case very closely to the point that I became so frustrated I had to step away. I think its important that they do look for a nexus here to Morgan’s case as I agree that there were two people responsible. What if Randy Taylor and the suspect from the fairfax composite in Morgan’s case knew eachother through drug use or other nefarious means? The old saying “birds of a feather flock together” comes to mind and IMO, I believe that Randy Taylor was into drugs based on his apperance and his lengthy criminal record. I keep thinking of this current season of “Dexter” not sure if anyone here watches but he is in the process of grooming a younger person to be somewhat of an accomplice. I’m not an expert in any of this but it’s possible that Randy Taylor could be involved in Morgan’s case along with the man in the composite drawing. I also think that because Randy Taylor knows this part of Virginia so well, he could be likely to have knowledge of Anchorage farm.
In regards to the DNA issue in morgan’s case, I know the victim in fairfax was able to help develop a composite of her attacker, and to me, he definitely does look to be of african descent so I’m not trying to debate that but I did want to add that when I was in college, I took an amazing race relations class in which the professor had those who wanted to find out how much of the sub-saharan DNA we all carried. I was shocked to find out that basically everyone has some. I forget what my percentage was exactly but I was shocked because I always figured I was 10000000000% irish.
Starsky, I do remember there being a fire in North Garden around the time MH was discovered on Anchorage Farm. What is interesting to me is that RAT has lived all along the Route 29 corridor and would likely know how to get in and out of the rural terrain. Does anyone remember getting a vehicle description from the trail cameras that were suppositly on Anchorage Farm?? Question for someone who knows more than me about DNA (which could be almost anyone)…Aren’t we all of Sub-Saharan African descent if you go back far enough? The suspect in the MH case was said to be of that descent. I guess I may be reaching hoping that the perp in the AM case is somehow connected to MH.
Long time no post here….but…what better job for a rapist/murderer than to be a repo guy? (I assume he was.) Think of what he could have gotten away with all these years and those cars are long gone along with the girls’ dna. And yes, the Sutherland fire comes to mind but also the car that was driven to NJ and left there on the same day in a whirlwind trip.Hhmmmmm…
Thanks Jester. I had been trying to find some info about when he was incarcerated as I had a feeling it might exclude him from the 1996 murders given the quote from the Hook piece about being in jail for 5 years for a 90s conviction. If true, I doubt the FBI is looking at a connection to the 96 murders as they would know for sure when he was locked up. I do suspect they will look hard at the samantha disappearance and likely morgan also though. However, I expect almost all their immediate efforts are aimed at finding alexis.
I am not comfortable yet we know what facility he was located in, his term date, whether or not he was on work release or spent the last months in a halfway house. He has multiple alias’s and records containing different DOB’s. It would seem the most consistent arrest across at least 3 states is ID change, failure to produce ID, expired registrations and things that are common when folks do not want a paper trail of them, or fear their are outstanding warrants.
Think about this- who abducts a woman while he narrowly dodges a bullet and is the chief suspect in a different mp case.
I have other cases near his prior addy’s that I have turned over to LE that I think need a look.
B
to add, the online court records show he was arrested for burglary and grand larceny on 10/2/92 and pled guilty on 5/24/93. They do not reflect the jail time though.
Cat on 8/12, 4:40 asks how can you charge with a kidnapping when you don’t have the person who was kidnapped. Charlottesville has a murder conviction where no body was ever found, a case that will always haunt me, Katie Worsky. About 30 years ago, Glenn Barker was convicted and served time for her murder, and her body has never been found. As I recall, the evidence was almost all circumstantial.
@J.Me–
You are so right about a repo man. I think access to tow trucks, access to the things that unlock cars (oh, you are locked out of your car, let me help you) and a certain creepy, criminal mindset (I know that is stereotyping but I can’t help it).
I cannot post that until when/if I confirm that nexus.
Quit freaking me out with your prowess.
Kidding, kinda, and heart u
B
This man is a serial predator, plain and simple. He can’t contain his sick urges and I am happy he is off the streets. Is it SOP for his next hearing to be in january 2013? or is the fact that’s so far from now indicative that the fbi is just scratching the surface
Agreed Blink. We don’t know when he was actually in prison. I am sure the FBI does though.
I understand Taylor has a (biracial) son. There is a swing set in the picture of his house. How old is this child and where is he now. Has the mother of the child been questioned? Are there other children besides the son? Children often know and see more than we give them credit for.
Native, excellent question but I am not going to answer it due to the nature of the child’s status while possible accessories are on the lam.
B
The story below, about Taylor being connected to Samantha Clarke, states that “Taylor called Clarke’s cell phone several times the night she went missing…” but it doesn’t expand on their relationship. Do you know any more about it?
http://www.wset.com/story/23119051/suspect-connected-to-the-samantha-clarke-case
Yes Jack- in a hyperlink in this piece is a Hook article. In short, he was a new acquaintance and friend of a new possible romantic interest of Samantha’s. He alleges he was trying to warn her about an ambush of a love triangle.
B
How many halfway houses are located along the hwy 29 corridor in Virginia? How public are the records regarding those assigned to a particular house?
Remember, the two worthless thugs that attacked the family, raping and killing all three women, in Conn. were on a release to a halfway house. IMO halfway houses should never be used to release people with multiple records. They should be made to serve all of the assigned time with no time for “good” behavior in a secure prison environment.
Career criminals often have multiple aliases. Unless DNA is taken and compared to an up to date data base, they will be able to get away with this.