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This is Jessica Knoll, host of the new series Back in Crime. If you're a follower of true crime, you're probably familiar with some of the most shocking stories from our history. Horrific tragedies like the Columbine Massacre. He turned the gun straight at us and shot. Oh my God, the window went out. And the kid standing there with me, I think he got hit. Okay. Oh God. And notorious criminals like cult leader Charles Manson.
In a scene described by one investigator as reminiscent of a weird religious rite, five persons, including actress Sharon Tate, were found dead at the home of Miss Tate and her husband, screen director Roman Poliansky. But what if we were to turn back the hands of time and relive these events as they unfolded? Follow along each week as we take a fresh look at crimes from the past. Back in Crime is available now.
My name is Sarah Turney, and this is Voices for Justice.
Today, I'm discussing the disappearances of Stacey McCall, Susie Streeter, and Cheryl Levitt, also known as the Springfield Three. On June 6, 1992, Susie and Stacey graduated from high school. That evening, they attended a few parties, then went back to Susie's house to spend the night.
The next day, the girls planned to meet up with their friend Janelle so that they could go to a water park in Branson. But when Janelle called Susie's house in the morning, no one answered. Hours later, Janelle went to Susie's house to see if everything was okay. When she pulled up, she saw three cars parked outside, Susie's, Stacey's, and Cheryl's. Janelle looked around the property and didn't see any sign of forced entry. The only thing that really seemed out of place was a broken porch light.
Inside, the house looked just as tidy as ever. All three of their purses and sets of keys were found, but no one was in the home. Soon, more concerned friends and relatives, including Stacy's mom, showed up at the house. Eventually, they realized something was very wrong. They called police to report all three women missing. This is the case of the Springfield Three. Cheryl Elizabeth Williams-Levitt was born on November 1st, 1944, in Los Angeles, California.
She and her sister Debra were raised in Bellevue, Washington, and they loved it there. The endless outdoor activities were pretty much a dream for them. Even as adults, Cheryl and Debra were incredibly close. Debra told Crime Watch Daily that Cheryl, quote, didn't do a lot of half measures in her life. She was known to be fierce, but also a caretaker.
In 1964, when Cheryl was 20 years old, she met a man named Brent Streeter. That year, they welcomed a son they named Bart. Nearly 10 years later, in March 1973, Cheryl gave birth to a daughter. Not long after, Cheryl and Brent divorced. Susie never lived with her father. But she was very close to her mother. They were basically best friends. In 1980, Cheryl married Don Leavitt. That same year, Cheryl's sister Debra and her husband moved to Springfield, Missouri for work.
Cheryl didn't want to be that far away from her beloved sister, so she, Dawn, and the kids moved to Springfield as well. There, Susie started the second grade. She had previously been held back, so she was a year older than her classmates. She wasn't diagnosed back then, but it's possible Susie was dyslexic and had trouble reading.
Although she was older, the outgoing, fun, and happy Susie didn't have any trouble making friends. She quickly became close with two girls in particular, Stacey and Janelle. Born on April 23, 1974, Stacey Kathleen McCall was the youngest of three daughters. Stacey had actually known Janelle since they were toddlers. They grew up near each other, and Janelle's mom used to watch Stacey.
Even though Stacey and Janelle were close, they didn't mind letting Susie join them. But then, a few years later, Stacey's family moved out of state. Janelle and Susie remained friends. Within a few years, Stacey and her family moved back, but things were different between Stacey, Susie, and Janelle. The three girls didn't really hang out as a trio anymore. It would be Janelle and Stacey or Janelle and Susie, but not the three of them.
Once the girls got to Kickapoo High School, Janelle and Stacey remained close friends and did everything together. They became a part of the popular group, while Susie hung out with what was considered to be the rowdy group.
Meanwhile, Cheryl, a cosmetologist, got to work building up her client base at New Attitudes Hair Salon. By the time of her disappearance, Cheryl had more than 250 loyal clients. But things weren't so great with her husband, Don. In 1989, he and Cheryl divorced.
Her sister told Dateline that Cheryl struggled at first. She lost a really great house and she was now a single mother. But Cheryl worked hard and saved her money to buy another house for her and Susie. At this point, Cheryl's son Bart was older and living outside the family home. In the summer of 1991, Susie, who was now 18 years old, moved in with her boyfriend Mike.
Unfortunately, according to Susie, Mike was quite abusive, so by September, she moved back home. A month later, in October, Susie filed for a restraining order against Mike. She said that he beat her, slashed one of the tires on her car, threatened her on the phone, and harassed her at home, school, and work. On the same day the restraining order was filed, Susie and Cheryl also filed a police report accusing Mike and another woman of threatening Susie and slashing her tires twice.
Now, I couldn't find out why, but Susie never showed up for the court hearing on the protection order, and Mike denied all the allegations. This seems to be the end of their dealings with each other. In early spring 1992, Susie moved in with her brother Bart, but within two weeks, the siblings had a fight, and Susie moved back in with her mom.
Cheryl had recently purchased a home on East Del Mar Street in Springfield. She immediately started remodeling the home. One of her first projects was installing deadbolts. Now, at this time, many people kept their doors unlocked in Springfield, but not Cheryl. She was known to be extra careful.
By the time she moved in with her mom, Susie had reconnected with Stacey and Janelle, and they were all hanging out again as a trio. They only had a few months left until graduation. Stacey and Janelle planned to attend the same college, Southwest Missouri State University. They had dreams of joining a sorority together. Sadly, Stacey disappeared before her acceptance letter even arrived.
Susie was not planning on going to the same school as her childhood friends. Instead, she wanted to attend cosmetology school just like her mom. As graduation day approached, Susie, Stacey, and Janelle made plans to celebrate.
After the ceremony, they would hang out with their families for a few hours. Then, at around 8pm, Stacey and Susie would go to Janelle's house. Next, they had two parties to attend. After the last party of the night, the trio would drive less than an hour to Branson and get a hotel room for the night. When they woke up, the plan was to head to the Whitewater Park. Now, this was apparently just a very large water park in the area.
Then the day came. On June 6, 1992, the girls officially graduated from high school. The ceremony ended at 6 p.m. Then Stacey informed her mom, Janice, about the girls' plans for the night. Janice was a little sad. She really did want to celebrate Stacey's graduation with her that night.
But she could tell that Stacey really wanted to go hang out with her friends. So Janice eventually gave in and said that they could finish celebrating as a family the next day. Before Stacey left, she let her mom take a few photos. Over at Susie's place, she and her mom ate pizza and spent time together before it was time for Susie to meet up with her friends. Cheryl had plans of her own that night. She was going to refurbish furniture and hang up wallpaper.
She didn't mind that Susie wanted to go out because she knew that they had plans to celebrate the next day. At around 8 p.m., Susie drove off in her car and went to Janelle's house in nearby Battlefield. As soon as Stacey showed up, the trio went to a party next door.
Two hours later, at around 10.30pm, Stacey called home and told her mom that the girls weren't going to Branson that evening after all. The new plan was to stay at Janelle's house, then they'd go to Branson in the morning. Janice tells Stacey, okay, just make sure you call me before you leave for the drive in the morning. Then the girls went to another party, this one in Springfield.
At about 11.15 p.m., Cheryl spoke to a friend on the phone about refurbishing some furniture. This would be the last time anyone ever heard from her. At 1.40 a.m., on what was now June 7th, police showed up at the party in Springfield after receiving some noise complaints. They broke up the party, and the girls rode back to Janelle's where they'd planned on staying the night. But when they got there, they found that Janelle had family members sleeping in her bedroom.
So, instead of sleeping on the floor, Susie and Stacey decided that they would just go back to Susie's and stay there. They were actually kind of excited that they could sleep on the brand new king-size waterbed Cheryl bought Susie as a graduation present. It would obviously be way more comfortable than the floor. Janelle stayed home while Susie and Stacey promised they would go back for her in the morning.
Then they could head to Branson and go to the water park. At around 2 a.m., Janelle's mother, Kathy, woke up and heard the girls discussing their plans. She heard Susie tell Stacy, follow me to my house. Stacy replied, okay, I will. This was the last confirmed sighting of the girls before they went missing.
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About six hours later, around 8am, Janelle called Susie's house to figure out what time they were meeting up to go to the water park. No one answered the phone, so Janelle left a message. At around 12.30pm, Janelle was getting really concerned that she hadn't heard from her friends. It just wasn't like them at all. So Janelle asked her boyfriend Mike to go with her to Susie's to make sure everything was okay. When they got there, they noticed that Stacey, Susie, and Cheryl's cars were all parked outside.
Cheryl's Corsica was in the carport, Susie's Ford Escort was in the Circle Drive, and Stacey's Toyota Corolla was right behind.
Janelle and Mike approached the house, and Janelle quickly noticed broken glass on the front steps. The glass covering the porch light was broken, but the bulb was intact and working. Janelle figured someone or something just bumped into it, and they hadn't had a chance to clean it up yet. So Mike grabbed a broom, swept up the glass, and dumped it in the trash. He thought he was just doing them a favor, not cleaning up evidence.
Meanwhile, Janelle looked in the windows. Everything inside seemed perfectly normal. There were no immediate signs of a struggle. So Janelle went into the backyard, but there was nothing there either.
At this point, Janelle and Mike decide that they should check inside the home, thinking maybe they left a note explaining where they went. When Janelle cracked open the front door, Susie's Yorkie Cinnamon was acting crazy, which was apparently very unlike him. He even apparently just jumped into Janelle's arms. She proceeded to carry him around the completely still house as she yelled out for Susie and Stacey.
Janelle went into Susie's room and found that the television was on and the bed was unmade. Two slats in the window blinds had also been kind of pulled apart as if someone had been looking out. Then, Janelle found all three of the women's purses piled in front of Susie's bedroom door. Cheryl's purse still had $900 in cash inside of it.
Janelle also noticed that Susie and Cheryl left their cigarettes behind. This was obviously a strange move for two chain smokers. Where would they have gone without their purses, money, cigarettes, or vehicles? While Janelle was still looking around, the phone rang. She answered and heard a man on the other end. He started making sexual innuendos. Janelle hung up. But soon after, another call came in. It was the same man, and Janelle hung up again.
Janelle and Mike left the house and checked a few places they thought Susie and Stacey could be, their friend's house and a nearby sub shop. But they were nowhere to be found.
Janelle and Mike thought that maybe Stacey's mom, Janice, knew where the women were, so they got in touch with her. But Janice was also trying to get a hold of Stacey and Susie. She'd actually called Janelle's house earlier in the day looking for Stacey. Janelle's sister answered the phone and told Janice that Stacey wasn't there, she'd gone to Susie's. Janice called Susie's but got no reply, so she left a message telling Stacey to call her back. Eventually, Janelle called Janice and they discussed how neither of them could find the women.
When they got off the phone, Janice continued calling Susie's house. As time went on, her messages got more frantic. Stacey knew how important it was to tell her parents where she was at all times. It just wasn't like her to not tell them. Janice knew something was wrong, so she drove to Susie's house. Once there, she went inside and looked around. That's when she saw the light blinking on the answering machine.
So she hit play. Unfortunately, the machine erased messages automatically after they were played, so no one knows exactly what was said. Janice could only recall that the message was strange. As Janice looked around, she realized Stacy left her migraine medication behind, something she would never do. Janice was more worried than ever.
It wasn't long before even more people showed up at the house, wondering where the three women were. While everyone looked around for clues, the phone rang. Someone answered the phone, only to hear the voice of a stranger who was spouting off, quote, lewd sexual content.
Later, another call came, and they let the answering machine pick it up. Again, it was a stranger spouting off lewd sexual content. But everyone figured this was just a post-graduation prank call, so this message was also erased. Everyone decided to wait around the house for the women to show up. To keep their minds busy, some cleaned up the house. They emptied ashtrays, washed coffee mugs, and even repaired a quote, awkwardly bent window blind.
Then, Janice and the others started calling people in Cheryl's personal phone book, hoping maybe one of them could help. But no one knew where the women were. Janice then called her husband, Stu. At this point, they both agreed that something was really wrong, and the police needed to be notified.
After officers arrived at Susie and Cheryl's house, they interviewed everyone and looked over the house. Based on their car keys and purses being inside the house, the police knew Stacey and Susie at least made it back to the house after leaving Janelle's. In addition to the purses and keys, there were also three dirty washcloths in the bathroom clothes hamper. This led them to believe that each one of the women had washed off their makeup before going to bed.
Susie and Cheryl left their jewelry in the wash basin. It appeared that Stacey had neatly folded her shorts, tucked jewelry into the pockets, then placed the shorts on her sandals, which were beside Susie's new waterbed. All of this led officers to theorize that the women had been abducted after getting ready for bed. Missing person reports were filed for all three women, and foul play was immediately suspected. Soon, an officer asked Janice if she could obtain dental records for Stacey.
That's when Janice first realized her daughter could be dead. She knew that everything left behind in the house meant that something bad had happened.
The next day, the investigation officially began. Pretty much every other case was put on the back burner while detectives searched for the Springfield Three. Later, a detective told the Springfield Newsleader, quote, End quote.
Their first move was to obtain a search warrant for Cheryl and Susie's house. Investigators knew that they potentially faced major setbacks.
Prior to the conclusion that the women were missing, 18 friends and family members had been inside of the house at some point or another. Furthermore, many of them had cleaned up evidence they could have been left behind. It was a nightmare situation for these investigators to deal with, as obviously the scene was incredibly compromised. Once the search warrant was obtained, investigators searched the house and realized their worst fear had come true. There wasn't much of a crime scene.
There was no hair, blood, DNA, or fingerprints. Nothing at all. The Springfield PD called in the FBI, Missouri State Highway Patrol, and other agencies to help them investigate the disappearances. Law enforcement agents and volunteers rode horses as they scoured fields of tall grass, wooded areas, and streams. Searches were also conducted by air and water. A
According to the Springfield News Leader, police were so desperate to find answers that they, quote, dug up anthills that callers thought could be fresh graves. They chased circling buzzards, hoping to find a clue. Within days, more than 20,000 posters of Cheryl, Susie, and Stacey were put up around town. Investigators retraced the women's steps and contacted the people who had attended the same graduation parties as Stacey, Susie, and Janelle.
Partygoers were asked if they heard, saw, or noticed anything unusual, but none of them had.
And of course, investigators interviewed the victim's friends and family. This led them to two possible suspects, Cheryl's son and Susie's brother, Bart Streeter, and Susie's ex, Mike Kovacs, the one she requested a restraining order against. But both men were eventually cleared after passing polygraph tests. With no other suspects, investigators kept digging into each woman's background.
At this point, they started to focus on something they found on a bookshelf in Susie's room. Stacey's mom Janice later told Crimewatch Daily, "...it turned out there were a lot of things about devil worship and satanic things that she was looking into."
Investigators followed this lead and found that Susie had been dating a person named Dusty Redclaw, who had recently been arrested for being a part of a grave-robbing gang. Other members included Michael Clay and Joseph Rydell. On February 21, 1992, the three men broke into a mausoleum in Maple Park Cemetery.
After breaking a window, Joseph and Michael went inside, while Dusty waited outside to keep watch. Once Joseph and Michael were in the mausoleum, they set a corpse's hair on fire so they could, quote, have some light. Before leaving, the men stole a skull from a different body. They later removed the gold fillings from the skull's teeth and sold them for $30 at a pawn shop.
Susie was so grossed out by the grave robbery that she broke up with Dusty. Then, on March 5th, she went to the police to report what Dusty had done. She agreed to testify at the trial, which was scheduled to take place just a few months after she disappeared. Of course, after gathering this information, investigators looking into Susie's disappearance questioned if the gang figured out she turned them in, and if they had, did that lead them to kidnap and kill her?
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Investigators tracked Dusty down and questioned him about the disappearances, but he denied being involved. After Dusty passed a polygraph, the Springfield police chief cleared him as a suspect. Michael was brought in for questioning. He, too, said that he didn't have anything to do with the disappearances. However, he did state that he wished the three women were dead. Michael was cleared as a suspect after he passed a polygraph.
Investigators also wanted to speak with Joseph, but he'd skipped bail and fled Springfield.
He was eventually captured in Illinois and extradited back to Springfield to face the grave robbing charges. The police wouldn't comment if Joseph was ever questioned about the disappearances. The grave robbers were no longer strong persons of interest. Luckily, investigators had other leads to look into. A few days after the disappearances, they received a call from a Florida woman named Dorothy Zellers.
She told Springfield Police that while watching a news story about the Springfield Three on TV, she couldn't help but think about one man in particular, Robert Craig Cox. She knew he had to be involved. Dorothy told the Springfield Police all about Robert and how he raped and murdered her 19-year-old daughter, Sharon.
On December 30th, 1978, Sharon was supposed to have the day off from Disney World, but someone called in sick, so Sharon said she'd go in and cover for them. Sharon worked the shift and got off at 10pm, but she never made it home. Five days later, her body was found stuffed in a sewer. She'd been badly beaten.
At the time of Sharon's murder, Robert, a highly regarded army ranger and combat expert, was on vacation with his parents. They were staying in a motel that was only 350 feet away from the sewer Sharon's body was found in. Within days of finding Sharon's body, Robert was interviewed. He denied any involvement, but investigators felt he was a strong suspect. They just didn't have enough evidence to arrest Robert, so they continued building a case against him.
During that time, Robert remained in the military and was actually named Soldier of the Year. By the mid-1980s, Robert was stationed at Fort Ord in California. He still hadn't been arrested for the murder of Sharon. He also hadn't stopped being violent toward women. On August 11th, 1985, Robert followed a young woman named Kathleen to her house. As soon as she got out of the car, Robert jumped from his car, grabbed Kathleen, and threw her to the ground.
He thrusted a 7-inch blade against Kathleen's throat and told her, quote,
and the knife sliced through Kathleen's hand. Somehow, she managed to talk Robert into taking her to the hospital. When doctors removed the glove from Kathleen's right hand, they found that three fingers were slashed to the bone. There was enough blood to fill two coffee cups. Police were notified and Robert fled. Later, he was arrested and his house was searched.
Officers found handcuffs and a quote, arsenal of weapons. Robert pleaded not guilty to the charges and was for some reason released on bond. This allowed him to attack yet another innocent person. In December 1985, Robert was at a California airport when he approached a young woman named Gidget.
Robert asked for a ride to the base, and she agreed. He grabbed his duffel bag, filled with automatic weapons and survival gear, and hopped into Gidget's car. While driving, Robert pulled a gun on Gidget and told her that they were going to the mountains. Gidget disobeyed him and drove to a friend's house instead. Once there, Robert held the friend hostage. He threatened to kill the friend and himself with the gun. Luckily, Gidget was able to escape and notify the police.
Robert was taken into custody without incident. Robert ended up pleading guilty to assaulting Kathleen with a deadly weapon and kidnapping and assaulting Gidget. He was given a nine-year sentence. Then, Florida authorities found out about Robert's convictions. It was enough evidence for them to bring charges against him for Sharon's murder. He was extradited back to Florida.
At Robert's 1988 trial for the murder of Sharon, testimony showed that on the evening of December 30th, 1978, Robert returned to the motel he was sharing with his parents. His mouth was bleeding, and he was missing an inch of his tongue. He explained that he got into a fight and bit it off. But expert testimony proved that Robert couldn't have bitten off his own tongue. The way that the teeth marks came down on his tongue proved that someone else had bitten it off.
Sharon's family believes Sharon bit it off while fighting for her life. Other evidence showed that Sharon's car had a shoe print in it, which matched a military boot. Blood and hair samples in Sharon's car also matched Robert. In the end, Robert was found guilty and sentenced to death. But then, in December 1989, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the jury didn't have enough information to convict Robert.
He was acquitted and then extradited back to California to serve the remainder of his nine-year sentence. With Sharon's killer free, her parents kept close tabs on Robert. They often called the California prison to check up on him. After Robert was released in 1990, he moved to Springfield, Missouri to live with his parents. The Zellers kept in touch with his parole officer there.
This is how Dorothy knew Robert was in Springfield when Cheryl, Susie, and Stacey went missing. When Dorothy called the Springfield police, they had no idea who Robert Cox was. He hadn't come up in their investigation yet. They looked him up and found that he was indeed living in Springfield. Investigators interviewed Robert, who said he had nothing to do with the disappearances. He says he was attending church with his girlfriend on the morning of June 7th. Later, Robert's girlfriend corroborated his alibi.
Robert said that he did know one of the victims, but not directly. He had once worked at the same dealership Stacy's dad was employed at. Robert explained that he was currently working as a utility locator for S&P Conduit Inc. Robert worked all over Springfield, but he couldn't remember if he worked in the neighborhood where the abductions occurred.
Many parts of Robert's story were questionable, but because Robert seemingly had an alibi, police moved on to other suspects and leads. Within a week of the disappearances, the Springfield police took the case to a national level. They believed that if the abductions were a part of a serial crime, someone in another state could offer help. After Susie, Cheryl, and Stacey were featured on America's Most Wanted, police received 29 calls, but none led anywhere.
Next, the case was covered by 48 Hours, who apparently shadowed Springfield Police for weeks. They were also supposedly given unprecedented access to the case. They were allowed to air and print tips that came in. The program also showed footage of two suspects undergoing a polygraph.
Prosecutors were appalled when they saw this, saying it was a quote, total violation of the disciplinary rules. In the end, the 48 Hours episode didn't lead to any solid tips. A week after the disappearances, on June 14th, police found out that a letter had been left in a Springfield Newsleader rack at a Smitty's grocery store. The letter contained a rough drawing of the Bolivier Road apartments, with the phrase, quote,
Use ruse of gas man checking for a leak, end quote. Police searched the apartments, but didn't find anything useful. The following day, police investigated a tip that a person described as a transient was seen near Susie and Cheryl's home in the days before the disappearances. A picture of the man, who had long hair and a full beard, was released.
Then, on June 16th, a woman told investigators that on the morning of the disappearances, she was sitting on her porch in East Springfield when she saw a moss-green colored older model Dodge van pull into the driveway next door. A young blonde girl who looked just like Susie was driving, and she looked scared. The woman on the porch heard a man say, quote, don't do anything stupid. The woman said she waited several days to call in the tip because she had been too scared.
What the woman didn't know was that other people called in similar tips about an older model Dodge van. Sometimes tipsters said that the van was dark blue or dirty brown instead of moss green. Police spring into action and release a photo of a Dodge van that was similar to the one seen. Then, a man told police he was sitting in a parking lot of a grocery store near Cheryl and Susie's home when he saw a van with a young blonde in the driver's seat.
She was waiting for someone in the store. The man just had a feeling that something was strange about this and the van, so he wrote down the license plate on a newspaper, but he later threw it away.
The next few tips that came in wouldn't be as similar. On June 24th, police received a tip from a waitress at Georgia's Steakhouse, one of Cheryl's favorite places to eat. The waitress said that she saw Cheryl, Stacy, and Susie at the diner between 1am and 3am on June 7th. They all arrived together and left together. Susie seemed giddy, possibly intoxicated. Cheryl was trying to calm her down.
But a tip from a convenience store clerk refuted the story. The clerk said Cheryl rushed into the store at 2.15am to ask if Susie, Stacey, and Janelle had been there. But the same clerk also said Susie and Stacey went into the store between 10 and 10.30pm on the 6th, which can't be true because Stacey called her mom from a party at 10.30pm.
Months passed, and investigators weren't getting any closer to finding out what happened to Cheryl, Susie, and Stacey. Tips slowed down, and the case was no longer as heavily investigated.
In 1993 and 1994, police searched a few areas, but nothing was found. Then, in 1995, Springfield police found out that Robert Cox had been arrested for aggravated robbery in Texas. On November 11th, 1994, he robbed a woman and a 12-year-old girl at gunpoint in a salon.
He then put the woman, child, and a 5-year-old girl in a closet and fled the salon. The case went unsolved for several months, until Robert was identified after an unrelated offense in Plano. During the Plano incident, Robert followed a 22-year-old woman home.
Just after midnight, he attempted to enter her apartment. She was physically unharmed and no charges were filed. However, the vehicle Robert drove during the Plano offense matched the description of the vehicle used at the salon, so Robert was arrested. He was found guilty of aggravated robbery for the salon incident and was sentenced to life in prison.
And this is when it comes out. Following Robert's arrest, his former girlfriend told police that she lied when they asked her about Robert's possible involvement in the disappearances. Back in 1992, she told detectives that he was at church with her on the morning of June 7th, but the truth was he hadn't been with her, and she had no idea where he really was. She lied because he'd asked her to.
The DA's office submitted all this new information to a grand jury. Robert's former girlfriend testified about lying to police during their initial investigation, but in the end, no indictments were handed down.
Springfield officers went to Texas on two occasions to interview Robert. According to the Springfield Newsleader, that's when, quote, the game began. Like Ted Bundy, the infamous rapist and murderer Robert once met in a Florida prison, Robert told police enough for them to think he knew something, but not enough to incriminate himself, end quote.
Robert played games with the media as well. He told the Springfield News leader that he knew the women were killed and buried in Springfield or close by, but that their bodies will never be found. Robert said he could tell police where the bodies are, but he won't because then he'd be charged with the murders and possibly sentenced to death.
Robert told the newsleader that Cheryl was the target, but he never explained why. He would only say that Stacey and Susie weren't supposed to be home that night, and they, quote, just happened to get caught up in it all.
He then described the many ruses someone could have used to get the women out of the house. For example, someone could have posed as a utility worker. Robert added, "'It's very easy to control three people. When somebody comes into the room with a gun, the common person will follow what direction they're led. Three women can be very easily laid down, tied behind their backs and transported.'"
It seemed pretty clear that Robert was the man responsible, but in a confusing turn of events, Robert said that while he knew about the murders, he wasn't responsible. He was in bed while the women were killed.
Following Robert's admissions, Springfield Police checked sewers and other places known to him, but there was no sign of Cheryl, Susie, or Stacey. Unfortunately, investigators have never been able to gather enough information to arrest Robert. He says that when his mother dies, he'll give more details on what happened to the Springfield Three.
But who knows if that's true. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for inmates serving long or life sentences to make up stories, or confess to crimes they didn't commit just for attention, or even just to leave the prison for a day to be interviewed. According to Cheryl's uncle, many family members believe Robert is the person responsible for the disappearances. The way Robert smiles when he talks about the case, and the way that he toys with the police are what led them to believe that.
But on the other hand, the family knows Robert may not have had any involvement and could just be playing a sick game with the police. That's why they need to know for sure.
In 2020, in a small California mountain town, five women disappeared. I found out what happened to all of them, except one. A woman known as Dia, whose estate is worth millions of dollars. I'm Lucy Sheriff. Over the past four years, I've spoken with Dia's family and friends, and I've discovered that
Everyone has a different version of events. Hear the story on Where's Dear? Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. In 1997, at the five-year anniversary, police announced they couldn't continue working on the case, even at a part-time level. They just didn't have the money or manpower. The only thing they'd investigate were incoming tips, but only the ones that looked viable.
Four years later, two detectives were assigned to the case. They went through old reports and leads and came up with a list of 10 suspects who couldn't be ruled out. The person at the top of the list was Robert Craig Cox. They couldn't ignore the fact that Robert had a history of stalking, harassing, raping, kidnapping, and murdering women. In 2002, Springfield police wrote a letter to Robert requesting an interview. He declined. So they continued looking into other leads.
That same year, Robert spoke with the Springfield Newsleader. He told them he worked all over Springfield, including the area where Susie and Cheryl lived. This was a huge deal, because in the past, Robert told officers he worked all over Springfield, but he couldn't remember if he worked in the neighborhood where the abductions occurred. Even with all of this, with this new admission, police didn't have enough to charge Robert with anything.
From 2010 to 2012, the Springfield 3 case was reviewed. Information was presented to a panel of 25 criminal justice investigators assembled by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The panel's recommendations were not publicly released, but a police spokesperson says that they were incorporated into the investigation.
Following the panel, an investigator told Ozarks First, quote, I will tell you that we are constantly reviewing evidence that is found at the scene, and we will, I think, have the opportunity to have some things retested.
One of the main questions everyone wants answered is, how and why did Cheryl, Susie, and Stacey leave the house? Friends and family believe more than one person could have abducted the women, but police say it could have been a single person. Investigators believe the strongest theory is that one man used a ruse to access the house. Possibly he posed as a utility worker and warned the women of a gas leak, making them leave the house. Then he kidnapped and murdered them.
By 2015, police had logged 5,200 tips, compiled over 27,000 documents, and administered countless polygraphs to friends, family, and potential suspects. They had also searched acres upon acres of woods and fields and chased leads into 21 states. But the case remains unsolved.
Which brings me right to our call to action. The Springfield Police Department is actively looking into the disappearances of Cheryl, Susie, and Stacey. Their families are still searching, and they deserve answers. Please take a moment to share their story and their pictures. You guys know that sometimes it just takes that one extra puzzle piece to be able to finally solve the case.
As a reminder, all three women went missing from Springfield, Missouri on June 7th, 1992. Cheryl Levitt is white, 5 foot tall, 110 pounds, brown eyes, short, bleached blonde hair, naturally curly hair,
She has a thin build and has freckles on her neck and upper chest area. Cheryl was last seen wearing a floral print dress. Susie Streeter is white, 5'2", 102 pounds, brown eyes, straight bleach blonde hair. She has both ears pierced, with the left ear having two piercings. Susie has a 3.5-inch scar on the top of her right forearm and a small tumor in the left corner of her mouth. Susie also has birthmarks on the right side of her chin and right arm.
She was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and pink shoes. Stacey McCall is white, 5'3", 120 pounds, blue eyes, and dark blonde hair to the middle of her back with sun-bleached ends. She has a cleft chin, freckles on her face, and a dimple in the middle of her chin. Stacey was last seen wearing a yellow shirt, floral bikini underwear, brown sandals, a 14-inch herringbone necklace, a ring with a small diamond, and a flat gold initial ring.
A reward fund of $43,000 has been established for the location and prosecution of the persons responsible for the abduction. Anyone with information can call the Springfield Police Department at 417-864-1810 or Crimestoppers at 417-869-8477. But as always, thank you, I love you, and I'll talk to you next time.
Voices for Justice is hosted and produced by me, Sarah Turney, and is a Voices for Justice media original. This episode contains writing and research assistance by Haley Gray. If you love what I do here, please don't forget to rate and review the show in your podcast player. It's an easy and free way to help us and help more people find these cases in need of justice. To hear more stories hosted by me, check out my other podcast, Disappearances, only on Spotify. And
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