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.
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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mosaic:
Your concern about the lack of evidence without a body is shared by so many, BUT I remind you of the case of Gina Hall from 1980, a Radford University coed. M. Stephen Epperly is serving a life sentence for her murder and her body was never found. Her sister was a classmate of mine, and Gina came as a freshman just as I graduated and left Radford. The case still haunts many of us.
There are some young producers out there working on a movie about the Gina Hall case called Hazel Hollow. or something similar. They won some sort of film awards last year for it. The details are quite intriguing. I read recently that Epperly is still claiming his innocence and championing his cause from behind bars. Meanwhile, over 30 years later, Gina’s family still does not know what he did with her body. My heart aches for them every time I hear mention of this tragedy.
I wonder if Alexis threw out the phone somehow? She was tech savvy and would know that she might be located through her phone.
It seems a reasonable possibility that she and Clarke have been abducted and sold–it certainly happens, and with no bodies found it makes some sense. BUT it’s hard to believe that, sleazy as RAT seems to be, he would have connections to major prostitution/slavery rings; he appears to be a small-town loner.
Keeping her and Samantha in my prayers.
Dear Messimamm,
You are so right about the Gina Renee Hall case-it still haunts me too. Although I did not know her, many friends and classmates helped search for her. I graduated in 1982 and majored in Sociology but I took a lot of Criminology classes and we often discussed the case and so, so sad.
Is Randy Snead related to the Snead girl who was a friend of Morgan Harrington’s? Not that I’m saying he’d handle the case any differently either way.
Also, another news article said that Taylor was in jail at the time of the Alicia Reynolds abduction.
HELP SAVE THE NEXT GIRL, an org. founded by Dan and Gil Harrington after the murder of their daughter in October 2009, is holding an awareness event at Chandler’s bakery tomorrow 10a-2p. The bakery is located near where Alexis’ car was found – great location to raise awareness in the community. Locals come on out!
Has anyone noticed one of Saturdays articles on Scared Monkeys about the young woman taken from Mass. to R.I. by a guy from Georgia? They caught him and recovered the young woman. He will be charged with taking her across the state line for purposes of prostitution.
This is the second case recently where young women were taken from Mass. to Rhode Island for prostitution.
RI has the lamest sex offence/offender laws in the country. I won’t tell you what Red and I refer to that state as in conversation as I would not want to offend any of it’s residents.
B
Now we know the reason for taking the young women to that state. The predators know where they can be reasonably safe and if caught, will get a light sentence. How many other states fit that pattern?
Criminals are not all dumb or ignorant. Some use their smarts to operate for years without being caught. I think there are some smart ones in this case with Alexis. Taylor is not the whole story. If he is, there would not be the FBI involvement.
Families of Alexis Murphy & Morgan Harrington Meet, Share Grief
“My daughter was not misplaced, Alexis was not misplaced. They were stolen; they were ripped from their lives,” Harrington said.
http://www.nbc29.com/story/23433560/families-of-alexis-murphy-morgan-harrington-meet-share-grief
This thread has been so quiet. I will post a comment here as a placeholder for Alexis: You have not been forgotten.
Thanks mosaic. She has not been of course.
B
Saw this on HSTNG
Man in unmarked car stops female driver in Floyd,VA
http://www.tricities.com/swvatoday/news/floyd/article_d0616978-2096-11e3-94c2-001a4bcf6878.html
http://www.wsls.com/story/23497229/new-person-of-interest-in-alexis-murphy-case
Did not realize this “person of interest” was “new”.
Somebody must be talking:
http://www.wset.com/story/23497382/investigators-in-alexis-murphy-case-announce-new-person-of-interest
Now investigators are saying they located and questioned another ‘person of interest’.
http://www.wset.com/story/23497382/investigators-in-alexis-murphy-case-announce-new-person-of-interest
Of course, instead of being the person that supposedly left Taylor’s place with her could it be someone who gave Taylor a ride back from Charlottesville where Alexis Murphy’s car was found?
Blink – would it have been wise, from an investigative perspective, to just watch Randy Taylor instead of arrest him. I understand they might not have been able to search as freely, but if he was under surveillance and didn’t know it, what are the chances he would have led LE to Alexis or other victims,if he is guilty of course?
I believe they likely did that initially, but in the interest of the emergent situation and the fact that he just skated on other charges stemming from an illegal search and GPS tracking he himself found-
Honestly a lifelong criminal like Taylor knows the drill better than some LE-
B
The days and weeks go by and Alexis does not return.
Taylor has to be involved in this. He is not the “unluckiest” guy around–to have been near both Samantha and Alexis before their disappearances.
http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/grand-jury-to-consider-abduction-charges-against-accused-kidnapper-randy-taylor/-/20128466/22089738/-/1ctsck/-/index.
Argg..this guy drives me nuts. Another person of interest found and no arrest. So, it appears nothing on him. Apparently grand jury felt there is enough evidence on RAT. Just glad he is staying behind bars, but wish we knew where Alexis is.
Prayers for Alexis and her family, friends and loved ones. I hope she comes home soon.
Thinking of Alexis and her family and also shiny Morgan Harrington.
Prayers and love for all.
http://www.nbc29.com/story/23561484/investigators-conduct-more-searches-in-nelson-for-alexis-murphy
Blink – (or someone who knows) Pls. answer a couple of questions for me… if the records are “sealed,” does that mean we will never hear the information? At the trial? I don’t understand that. Also, what would be a likely reason to “seal the records” in this case?
Following up on a Texas Grandfather’s comments about a sex trafficking scenario, I just finished listening to the Dianne Rehm show on WAMU.org which covered that exact subject. There are transcripts available from the station for this particular program. What I was able to hear, from a rescued victim, was alarming. The woman said that she was trafficked by her boyfriend. He took her on a romantic, dream trip to Italy and about three days into the trip, the boyfriend became a monster. She said that he made threats to her family as leverage ultimately forcing her into prostitution for several years where she said he had contacts with local, Italian police and other public servants normally entrusted to prevent and fight such crimes.
My point is: I don’t think it would be difficult at all for Alexis to be duped into such a scenario. Even if Taylor is a bottom level criminal, it doesn’t take much sophistication to get a girl, hand her over and be rewarded for it. I think a plausible scenario would be that Alexis was approached with flattery due to her looks, interest in fashion and expressing her style freely, and these individuals were likely aware of her Twitter activity/ profile (mind you this is all hypothetical). I think that it could have been facilitated by a woman, Taylor being an intermediary/ runner. He can’t talk because he has threats against him- they know that he has a son.
Nonetheless, there is a hotline for the Polaris Project posted on the WAMU.org site. If I were the Taylor family, I would contact them and start dialogue so that they can compare notes and try to connect the dots if such a scenario happened.
I think that his patronage of the adult store in Cville is key: 1.) he may have contacts at least peripherally connected to the store and the industry 2.) it could be that porn is his trigger and that he is alone in this. Of course, the former scenario, albeit horrifying, is the best scenario for Alexis to still be alive.
Interesting tidbit: I missed this portion, but Fairfax County PD had a representative on the show; however, that may have been to speak to the labor/ human trafficking aspect of the segment as there are known cases of egregious abuses, often by foreign diplomats with immunity, who commit these acts. I was thinking bigger and more conspiratorially with respect to the sex trafficking issue and cases featured on Blinkoncrime.com.
Correction: I meant to write Murphy family above not Taylor.
The trial will not be closed to the public, so the information will come pout then. There could be several reasons for sealing evidence in the case so far — keeping other potentially involved people unaware of what is going on (the most optimistic view) and minimizing the odds of Taylor being able to claim he cannot get a fair trial in the county because of media reports about the evidence against him being two of the strongest.
The grand jury process is always going to be confidential in just about every case. Witnesses before a grand jury in many states can talk about their testimony to the media but are not supposed to talk about anything else they learned from the process.
CentVa Native Away
Both Maryland and Virgina have a great many foreign diplomats in their population. The only immunity that these people should have is perhaps a parking ticket. They should obey all the laws that our citizens have to obey with the same penalties for breaking them. Doing a crime and running back to an embassy for protection should not be allowed.
Young women who make contact with a boyfriend of unknown background or others of unknown background are putting themselves at risk. They all need to learn to check out the guys prior to inviting them into their lives.
The only hope the family can have at this late date of Alexis being alive is she is being held somewhere. Will LE be able to break this case? IDK.
Families of Alexis Murphy, Morgan Harrington to appear at Lovingston event Friday:
http://tinyurl.com/mnfh5kz
HelpSaveTheNextGirl @SaveTheNextGirl 18 Aug
Co-Ed Nightmare featuring #MorganHarrington’s Story Set your DVR Thur 8/22 10pm E! Channel #helpsavethenextgirl (snipped from twitter)
Prayers for Alexis’ family today; for Morgan’s family; for Samantha’s family; and for Dashad’s family. October 17, 2013.
It’s hard to accept that there are three psychopath perpetrators in one small area in four years.
he’s in court todsy for a trial date ,hope it starts sooner rather than later. http://www.nbc29.com/story/23768403/alexis-murphy-abduction-suspect-in-court
its amazing their not putting an elephant on his chest and making him cough up the locations of samantha and alexis ,promise him a helicopter ride if he’ll point out the spots.prayers and blessings to the families.
This guy is a seasoned criminal. He is not about to give up anything that would incriminate him unless LE and the DA present him with evidence that would put him behind bars for life without a body being found. Then he would probably try to bargain for a lessor charge in exchange for his information.
In our local newspaper today there was a story about a woman who was arrested for the 2001 murder of an elderly woman. The police department credited the “relentless pursuit” that is part of their internal culture.
I really like those words–relentless pursuit. It gives me hope that even after months and years, someone might still be on the trail looking for answers.
“Relentless pursuit” is what is needed by the “other” victims, the families. Unfortunately, cases get lost/forgotten/cold if the family does not keep the case alive through their own relentless pursuit. The family is left to keep LE interested. It is not easy, and frankly, it is subliminally frowned upon from a community that doesn’t want to keep talking about “old news.” In some cases, the community seems to be satisfied if the body is found and not the killer, or vice-versa.
May Alexis’ family find the resources they need for relentless pursuit.
http://www.wset.com/story/23764240/randy-taylor-abduction-trial-scheduled-to-begin-february-3
That’s right, many times it’s the family’s persistence that keeps things going.
I don’t know the inner workings of a police department or how they prioritize their work but I imagine if a particular case is getting a lot of press or pressure from the family I feel sure it affects how much they put into the effort.
where are the three (2 guys & girl),from samantha case. they just disappered , one’s mother said she hasnt seen him and he doesnt have a phone.they are alive arent they,are they going to come forward now ,that’s he in jail? but oops he’ll be out in 10 years ,unless they find more evidence.are people scared of this guy.whats his power, informer?surely if he has ever raped before ,now is the time ,for victims to come forward.he is a manipulator ,i am not sure women are his specialty ,but he manipulated the hook ,was it courtney he sought out there?he wants attention. he thinks those bangs make him look young ,i am not surprised he’s after younger girls .but did he cause her car to disable down the road or did he manipulated her to go to his camper willingly,cause i think he manipulated (not lured),samantha, first he tried a lure ,she hedged ,so he manipulated her ,into willingly going with him that night.which means i dont think he knew he would kill her.rape gone wrong? i am not sure abduction(alexis) will stick, hoping those 50 witness saw alot.i hope he towed her car ,and someone saw him.
This is dragging on and on. I can only begin to imagine what the Murphy family is going through, they have a “suspect”, but nothing more. The Harringtons have found their baby in the most horrible unimaginable way ever, but no “suspect” really…at least not in custody or an identity. I could not imagine either way. How does one just disappear like that? A victim or a suspect? I am in the Richmond area and just filled 22 lawn bags full of leaves today, just from my front yard…the blankets of leaves in the mountains worries me that if Alexis is out there she will not be found soon. I have lost hope that she will be found alive and my heart breaks for her momma. We need to show our teens these stories and educate them. We sometimes want to shield them, but they need to know they are not “invincible”. I tell my 13 year old all the time and she just thinks I am overprotective. I don’t care. She thinks she can just kick someone in their “junk” and take care of herself. Arrgg…
Chuck Norris is writing three articles on sex trafficking in the USA for the web site WND. The second article is posted currently.
One of the stories he relates is that of a young Asian woman who met a guy that convinced her that he wanted to take her to meet his parents in Oklahoma. She lived in Dallas. The Oklahoma state line is about an hour and twenty-five minutes from Dallas up I-35.
She went with him and he took her to an abandoned farm house in Oklahoma where he chained her to a door for two days while waiting for the traffickers to arrive. He sold her and they took her to Nevada. Prostitution is legal in Nevada. It took her two years to get away from sex slavery. She was very determined and lucky that she succeeded.
If Taylor didn’t keep Alexis or take her life, then it is likely that he kept her captive until the real traffickers picked her up. This could very well explain the reason for FBI involvement and the low level of information to the public.
ATG: I truly hope the human trafficking is the story behind the disappearance of these two girls, and I’ve often wondered the same about FBI involvement. Even if they “smelled” it, maybe they jumped on board for that reason. I find it very interesting that FBI was involved so early. There has to be a good reason for that. Someone pointed out earlier (whether this blog or another,) that the Samantha Clarke case and Alexis Murphy’s are not the same “preference type” for a serial killer. Many serial killers will stick with one race, (of course that is a huge generalization.) Gives me a moment of pause to wonder if perhaps RAT is not a murderer, but is abducting girls for sex trafficking.
With your vast knowledge, sir, I wonder if you have any idea what kind of profit a person like RAT could make from such an abduction? That is, how much would a person receive for providing an abducted young woman?
Also, Blink and/or ATG: Any perceptions as to WHY this guy went to The Hook with his story? I know the reason he gives is to expose LE for their false accusations and poor detective work, but what do you suppose was his real motive? Whether a murderer or sex traffic supplier, why would he not want to remain under the radar if he intended to continue his misdeeds?
ATG: I am unable to find a Chuck Norris article on WND’s website. Can you direct me?
messimamm
To answer your question about what RAT may have received as compensation for an abduction and sale; it would depend on the age and appearance of the person to be sold. It would also be dependent on the particular group that was buying. My guess is that it could be between ten and fifty thousand dollars. These young women can generate about ten or more thousand per week for the organization holding them.
RAT or any of the abductor types are taking the greatest risk of being caught. If a guy was in the business of taking young women for that purpose, they would move around a lot and have a list of aliases that they would use. Or, if they were not caught or made a person of interest, they just could wait a sufficient amount of time before repeating the crime.
I think RAT has enough experience with LE to know that sometimes an attack on LE can prevent a charge from being prosecuted or can be plead down. That is what I think he was doing with the Hook interview. He would be known, but would be in a position to bargain for a lessor charge.
Messimamm
The WND site has a group of writers on the right side of the page. There
are four or five of them shown when the page loads. At the bottom of this group is a link to more. Choose more and the larger list is shown on the page. Chuck Norriss will then be visible. This is a second article in a series of three. There is a link to the first.
I need to add some more information Messimamm
The WND site is a news and opinion site that gets changed daily. Today, they are not showing Chuck’s work as a feature. Instead they are just listing the title. It is a listing about sex trafficking of minors.
messimamm
I checked the WND site earlier today and found the Chuck Norris part two article on sex trafficking as a listing on the first page of the older opinions. Tonight it seems to have disappeared. However, I did find the first part near the bottom of page six.
This is a push down storage system that stores the article on page 1 and when that fills it is pushed down to page two etc.. That keeps the latest material towards the top.
TY, ATG for your insight. I always enjoy reading your posts. (Read all through Morgan Harrington’s case.)
$10-50g sounds like a lot of money for RAT, but I suppose he could have used it to purchase a trailer or vehicle. From what I’ve read, it doesn’t seem like he’s had much income since he has been out of jail.
When I said I ‘hoped’ sex trafficking was the methodology in this case, I meant I hope the girls are still alive. Of course, I do not wish that nightmare on anyone. A concerned friend recently mentioned that death might be preferable for these victims. I can’t help but feel the parents/families deserve one more chance to see their beloved.
We don’t know the real total effects of an abduction and trafficking on a young person. This happens to boys as well as girls.
IMO it is better if they are trafficked rather than killed. As horrible as it is to contemplate, there is always the possibility of recovery and then they can continue their lives.
This is the thing that makes Chuck Norris write about the subject and work to prevent it happening. Arn’t all of us who post on this site after the same goal. Looking for ways to help others and prevent as much future crime as we are able.
Here is another feature regarding the predatory practices of gangs involved in sex trafficking- look where it’s happening and how they do it:
http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=16046155&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fsearch%2F%3Fq%3Dsex%2Btrafficking%2Bcrips%26a%3Dresults%26MID%3D2500
AND good news on the funding front:
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Northern-Va-County-Gets-Human-Trafficking-Grant-227458191.html
Dr. and Mrs. Harrington and Alex…..Your beautiful, special Morgan will NEVER be forgotten.
Sending you peace and love to let you know how very often you are thought of.
RAT may be a trafficker but his lifestyle suggests that he is mostly a loner–hence not working with others but a serial violent offender. I suspect that he put the girls (alive or dead) somewhere out in the boonies off of 29 far from Nelson or Orange (Samantha’s county). He seems to go for very young and attractive women, black or white, perhaps within his socioeconomic comfort zone. Does he not have a son with an African-American woman? I may be off on that, but it might suggest that he is not confined by race considerations. I hate that this is dragging on and on.
Chuck Norris has another article on WND today. If you click on the article it will bring it up. Once the complete article is on the page, there is an archives link to the right. Click on that link to bring up a list of his articles. The 2nd and 4th articles in the list are about human trafficking of Americans and others.