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Darlene Messer

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Darleen messer

Darlene Messer

Real Name: Darlene Iona Messer
Nicknames: Darlene Teney, Darlene Grant
Location: Lake City, Florida
Date: September 18, 1989

Case[]

Details: Thirty-six-year-old Darlene Messer of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, was the mother of sixteen-year-old Angela Teney. In 1987, Darlene moved to Middleburg, Florida, to be closer to her pen pal, Charles Messer. He was serving a prison sentence for his involvement in the robbery and murder of a convenience store clerk in West Florida. He and Darlene married in June 1988. He told her that he was serving a twelve-year sentence and that he would become eligible for parole in September 1989; however, this was not true.
In early 1989, Darlene moved from Middleburg to Lake City, Florida, and got a job at the Suwannee Swifty convenience store, which was located on State Road 100. In September, her mother came to visit. On September 18, Darlene was working the 11pm to 7am shift at the store. At around 12:35am, a couple from Georgia stopped by the store. They were the last people to see her alive. After purchasing coffee and snacks, they sat in their car for about fifteen minutes.
As the couple was leaving the parking lot, they noticed another vehicle pull in. Minutes later, at 12:55am, the store’s silent alarm went off. A few minutes after that, a customer entered the store and found it in disarray. Money and items from the counter were strewn on the ground. Darlene was nowhere to be found. Her purse, which contained a handgun, still sat on a crate by the counter, untouched.
The customer drove to another convenience store and called the police. A few minutes later, officers arrived at the scene after being alerted by the silent alarm. It was discovered that about $100 was missing from the register. A trail of money led into the parking lot. A man’s belt, looped through at the end, was also found at the scene (possibly used as a restraint). Displays and other items had been knocked over. It appeared that Darlene had struggled with her assailant(s). The register tape indicated her last sale was completed at 12:54am.
Two days later, on September 20, Darlene’s body was found lying face down in six inches of water under the Swift Creek Bridge in Union County, about thirteen miles from the store. A railroad conductor had spotted her as he went over the bridge. He stopped his train and flagged down a Florida Highway Patrol trooper.
Darlene’s body was fully clothed; however, an earring, a necklace, and one of her shoes were missing. She had been beaten to death, possibly with a ball peen hammer. It is believed that she was killed shortly after her abduction. It is not known if she was killed at the bridge or in another location. However, based on blood droplets found on the bridge, it appeared that her body had been tossed from it into the creek. An oil stain was also found on the bridge.
Investigators soon learned that Darlene was not the first store clerk in Florida to disappear on the graveyard shift. One month earlier, on August 6, 1989, twenty-nine-year-old Donna Callahan disappeared from a convenience store in Gulf Breeze, Florida. She was three months pregnant and left behind a two-year-old daughter.
Just one day after Darlene’s murder, fifty-year-old Eileen Mangold was abducted from the gas station where she worked in Riverview, Florida. The next morning, she was found raped and beaten to death. Five months later, on February 4, 1990, twenty-six-year-old Deborah Poe disappeared from the convenience store she worked at in Orlando.
Suspects: The couple who last saw Darlene before she was abducted encountered another vehicle as they left the parking lot. They said it was an older model, possibly a 1976 or 1977 Pontiac Grand Prix, in a “Heinz 57” or rust-red color. They were unable to see the occupant(s) of the vehicle.
A few days after Darlene’s murder, a thirty-one-year-old man was arrested in Gainesville, Florida, for two convenience store robberies there. Police suspected that he may have also been responsible for her murder. A witness had seen a blue car in the area with a woman screaming inside. The man had a violent history and was driving a blue car at the time, which belonged to his wife. She reportedly made statements implicating him. The car was impounded and searched for evidence. However, nothing was found to link him to the murder.
Ten days before Darlene’s murder, she had called the police to report two suspicious men in the store’s parking lot. The men, known as “Bob” and “Roger,” were arrested after it was discovered they were carrying weapons. The arresting officer believed the two were planning on robbing the store. At the time, they were driving a rust-colored Grand Prix, which matched the description given by the couple.
Bob and Roger had previously worked with Darlene at a restaurant in Middleburg. While there, she reported them to the manager for stealing beer. It was discovered that their car had an oil leak; investigators believed that the killer’s vehicle had one. However, they denied being in the area that night, and Roger’s father backed up their alibi.
A few months before Darlene’s murder, she reported to the police that a man named Linwood had been peeping in her apartment windows. It is not known if he is considered a suspect in her case.
Some rumors alleged that Darlene was having an affair and that Charles found out and hired a hitman to kill her. The police, however, do not believe he had anything to do with her murder.
Extra Notes:

  • This case first aired on the November 6, 1991 episode, which focused on Deborah.
  • It was also featured on the Down and Away Podcast.
  • Some sources incorrectly stated that Darlene was shot to death. Some sources also state that a group of correctional officers were the last people to see her.

Results: Unsolved - When the police examined the blood found on the bridge, they found two DNA profiles: one from Darlene and one from an unknown man. The belt found in the store also contained DNA. The samples were compared to the known suspects in the case; however, no matches were found. Her case remains unsolved; however, there are persons of interest that the Columbia County Sheriff's Office is pursuing. They have also not ruled out Bob and Roger, as it is possible that they had an accomplice. A $1,000 reward is being offered.
Donna’s case was solved in 1996; William Alex Wells confessed to killing her and led police to her body in a remote area near DeFuniak Springs, Florida. Wells then implicated his half-brother, Mark Riebe, in the murder. Both were convicted and are serving life sentences. Riebe later confessed to killing several other women. It is not known if they are considered suspects in Darlene’s case.
Eileen’s case was solved in 1999; DNA and palm print evidence linked the crime to Franklin Smith. However, in 2000, he was acquitted. It is not known if he is considered a suspect in Darlene’s case.
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