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1996 Fledderman, Linda Aug 17 1996; Manatee Cty Fla
Topic Started: Mar 2 2009, 12:37 AM (529 Views)
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http://www.bradenton.com/847/story/1261284.html

Sunday, Mar. 01, 2009
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Video: Mystery still shrouds Myakka couple’s fate
Detectives consider 1996 death, disappearance a ‘cold case’
By NATALIE NEYSA ALUND - nalund@bradenton.com


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tool goes here MYAKKA CITY — The scene inside the cozy cafe along State Road 70 in Myakka bears no resemblance to the days when it was known as the Myakka City Bar.

Patrons from more than a decade ago remember the crowd as rough and the atmosphere as fierce.

Brawls were frequent, especially among patrons who weren’t regulars.



“People would come from the east and west, and if any strangers came in, they got into fights,” said long-time resident Rodney Teuton. His wife, Suzanne, now runs the restaurant there, Susy Q’s II.

The crowd trickled into the Myakka City Bar most days after the sun went down.

During the early morning hours of Aug. 17, 1996, the crowd included local residents Linda Fledderman and her fiancé, Jefferson Blanton, both 33. With them was Larry Parks, now a convicted murderer in the 1999 stabbing deaths of Sherry Brannon and her two young daughters.

That was the last time anyone saw Fledderman and Blanton alive.

The couple lived a few streets away at 37855 Sixby Road, a private dirt road in a heavily wooded area. At 6 p.m. that evening, Blanton was found shot to death in a hallway inside their home. Fledderman was nowhere to be found.

Almost 13 years later, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office detectives are still trying to solve the case.

Fledderman was a technician at L-3 Aviation Recorders in Sarasota; Blanton was a construction worker. Investigators never found Fledderman’s body.

Her family had her declared legally dead, claiming she would never have left behind the couple’s then 4-year-old son.

“There’s no question in any of their minds,” said attorney Jay Baily of Sarasota, who represents Fledderman’s family. “They were adamant Linda would never have gone and left her child.”

But some of Blanton’s friends and family say she’s still around.

“Some of his family members think that her relatives are hiding her,” said one of Blanton’s cousins, who asked not to be identified.

Only two suspects

The sheriff’s office has an ongoing missing persons investigation into Fledderman’s whereabouts, but it’s considered a “cold case.” There have been only two suspects in the case — Fledderman herself and Parks, who in 2002 was convicted of the Brannon murders.

No arrest has been made.

Detectives found Blanton’s body after Fledderman failed to pick up her son from her sister, Tina Beal, who had been babysitting. Manatee Sheriff’s Det. Bud Johnson responded to the crime scene in 1996. When he arrived at the home, Johnson recalls, he saw that someone had forced their way through the back door.

He found Blanton laying in a hallway with several gunshot wounds to the upper body. The gun was never recovered.

There were no signs of struggle; nothing was taken from the home.

Two vehicles — Fledderman’s navy blue Ford F150 pickup and Blanton’s smaller green pickup — were parked at the residence.

“Nothing was missing but her,” said Fledderman’s sister, Vicki Sinclair.

A violent relationship

Investigators had considered Fledderman a suspect in Blanton’s death, as their relationship was mired in violence. The couple lived together on and off for about seven years; records show Blanton had a chronic drinking problem and Fledderman had sought police protection from him on several occasions.

In 1991, Blanton was arrested and charged with spousal battery after he slapped Fledderman around during an argument.

In 1993, Fledderman requested and was granted a restraining order barring Blanton from coming near her. In petitioning the court for the order, Fledderman wrote that Blanton often came home drunk and had recently punched her in the mouth and left a large bruise on her arm.

Blanton also had threatened to kill Fledderman and flee with the couple’s son, then 15 months old.

“He also threatened to put a bullet through my head if he found out I was cheating on him,” Fledderman wrote in the 1993 report. The couple later reconciled and the restraining order was dismissed.

In 1995, deputies reported a domestic disturbance at the couple’s residence. Fledderman called for a sheriff’s deputy to accompany her back to the residence to get some clothes after fleeing from an argument with Blanton.

For now, however, sheriff’s Sgt. Pete Rampone said it’s safe to say Fledderman is dead.

“It’s reasonable to believe her demise was in conjunction with the death of Blanton,” said Rampone.

Fledderman’s family had her declared dead in 2001.

Under the law, a person who is absent for five years is presumed dead, their attorney says. He and Sinclair believe she was a victim because, if she were alive she would insist on being with her son.

“She would never leave Brandon,” said Sinclair, who now has custody of the 16-year-old boy.

She said Brandon doesn’t talk much about what happened to his parents.

“He’s a teenager, and at this point he just wants to go on with his life,” Sinclair said during a telephone interview from their home in Brooksville. “Years from now, I don’t know.”

What does Parks know?

After detectives ruled Fledderman out as a suspect, they investigated Larry Parks in Blanton’s slaying. The investigation began in 1999 after a witness placed Blanton, Fledderman and Parks at the Myakka City Bar the night before Blanton was found dead and Fledderman disappeared.

Parks’ fingerprint was found in one of the trucks parked outside Blanton’s home.

Parks was never arrested in the Blanton-Fledderman case, but detectives say he is still a person of interest. He now is serving a life sentence in the Florida Department of Corrections.

“We don’t have any reason to rule him out, but there are no solid suspects,” Rampone said.

Blanton’s sister, Liz, of Sarasota, believes it’s “highly probable” Parks is responsible for what happened.

“There were just too many related incidences between how Larry Parks operated, the fingerprint in the truck,” Liz Blanton said. “And there’s all kinds of rumors that Larry had something going with Linda, but that’s just rumor as far as I know. Jeff and Linda were getting along well at the time this happened.”

Blanton said her mother and other sister are not convinced Parks was involved.

Sinclair agreed.

“I’m not sure he did it, but I think there’s a real possibility he knows what happened,” Sinclair said.

For now, detectives will continue to seek the public’s help in solving the mystery. And Liz Blanton and Sinclair want closure for their families.

“On the days I’m reminded of it, it’s heavy on my mind,” Liz Blanton said. “We just all want to know for sure.”

“I hope someone with information comes forward,” Sinclair said. “Anything to let them lie in peace. We just want to know what happened.

“We both just want this solved.”
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Melee unfolds as Parks pleads to murder charges
posted 03/02/02 RELATED COVERAGE
SLIDE SHOW:
Brannon's attempted attack on Parks



BY TIMOTHY O'HARA
and HOWARD M. UNGER STAFF WRITERS


BRADENTON -- Dewey Brannon unleashed more than two years of rage Friday, leaping from his courtroom seat and launching himself toward the man who killed his estranged wife and two young daughters.

He almost reached Larry Parks, who stood before the court in a blue jail jumpsuit to confess to the crimes and accept three consecutive life sentences as his punishment.

But Brannon's attempt fell just short, thwarted when a group of sheriff's deputies caught him in mid-air and wrestled him onto a courtroom bench.

After order was restored, Brannon stood at the rear of the courtroom, visibly struggling for control.

"There's only one reason why you ain't dead right now: Because I couldn't get to you," Brannon said, pointing to Parks. "If I could, you wouldn't be going to prison. You'd be going straight to hell today."

The time since the Sept. 16, 1999, murders has been its own hell for the family of Sherry-Ann Brannon and her two daughters, Shelby, 7, and Cassidy, 4. After he discovered the crime scene, Dewey Brannon fell under a cloud of suspicion, as law enforcement and Sherry-Ann's family wondered if he could have been involved in the murder of the woman who would have soon been his ex-wife.

But as part of his plea agreement, Parks, 47, admitted to the crime -- and admitted that he acted alone. Under the deal, Parks agreed to provide details of the murders; prosecutors agreed to take the death penalty off the table.

The court hearing Friday was to accept the plea and sentence Parks. A routine part of any plea proceeding calls for the prosecutor to outline the case he would have made had the defendant gone to trial.

As prosecutor Art Brown described the stabbings to Circuit Judge Durand Adams, Brannon fidgeted in his seat, lowering his head into his hands. He tapped his toes, and his face turned red. Veins began to bulge on his forehead.

Brown began describing the stabbing of 4-year-old Cassidy. Dewey Brannon found the little girl barely alive when he entered the home, hours after the attack. She died on the way to the hospital.

It was as that description began that Brannon lunged forward. He took two steps toward the courtroom rail separating him from Parks, jumped on it, then leapt toward the killer.

A row of 13 sheriff's deputies also separated Brannon from Parks. Five of them caught Brannon in mid-air and tackled him. Others surrounded Parks, who, until that point, sat emotionless.

From the crowd, Sherry-Ann Brannon's mother, Dolly Meyer, cried out, "You murdered our babies!" Other spectators screamed at the deputies to let Brannon at Parks.

Judge Adams cleared the courtroom, calling it back into session 45 minutes later. Brannon, his T-shirt torn in the melee, was ordered to sit in the back. A deputy sat next to him.

When his time came to speak, Brannon told Parks that he had taken the lives of Sherry-Ann and her children, destroyed the souls of those who loved them, and reserved for himself a place in hell as a result.

Parks faced forward, never once looking at Brannon.

Friday's hearing ended 21/2 years of legal maneuvering and Manatee County's most intense investigation in history.

Sherry-Ann Brannon's father, Bob Meyer, says he still holds Dewey Brannon responsible for the murders, even though Parks' confession cleared him of any involvement. Meyer blames Brannon for bringing the family to Manatee County from St. Petersburg just months before the killings, then moving out and leaving Sherry-Ann and the girls alone in the remote house.

Meyer, who came to prosecutors with the idea of taking the death penalty off the table in exchange for a confession, even brought his own expert to hear Parks' confession Tuesday night.

"It would be nice, but I don't think it's going to happen," Meyer said of a reconciliation with Dewey Brannon. "He left them there so Larry could come there and butcher them."

Dewey Brannon said he feels bad about the division and once thought of Meyer as a father figure.

"How can you be friends with someone who once considered you a murderer?" Brannon asked. "They live their lives and I live mine."

Friday, however, friends and family members, who wore heart-shaped buttons with pictures of the murder victims, focused all anger on Parks.

"Sherry may be dead, but your life is not worth living," Mary Nevitt, Sherry-Ann Brannon's twin sister, told Parks.

"Sherry is the one who identified you," she said, referring to the fact that a tiny bit of Parks' skin was found under one of Sherry-Ann Brannon's fingernails.

"Every time that cell door closes, remember those three little girls put you there."

After she finished, the crowded courtroom of more than 150 spectators applauded.

Meyer then spoke, trying to explain his decision to accept a plea agreement. It was a battle of getting the truth versus getting justice, which Meyer equated with the death penalty.

"But justice is only a word for legal revenge," he said. "A court much higher and powerful than this will give us justice."

State Attorney Earl Moreland called the plea agreement a tough decision for his office.

"What you saw today is what we've seen since the beginning," said Moreland, who watched the hearing from his office. "It's been a very emotional case."

Although the judge found Brannon guilty in contempt of court for his outburst, the judge said he could understand why Brannon acted the way he did and let him back in the courtroom.

Marty Nevitt, the husband of Sherry-Ann Brannon's twin sister, was ordered to spend the rest of the afternoon in jail for his role in the melee. Sean Stover, Brannon's cousin, was ordered off the courthouse grounds.

The quietest person Friday was Parks, who said only "yes" or "no" in a mousy voice in reply to the judge's questions.

Judge Adams told Parks that his actions place him beyond the reach of human mercy.

"The first thing you'll think of every morning and the last thing you think of every night is what you did," Adams told Parks during the sentencing.

In a letter, Parks' family blamed drug addiction for leading him to murder.

"We feel the people who sold him the drugs should also be held accountable for these crimes," they wrote. Parks asked them not to attend Friday's hearing, they said.

Staff writer Kevin Smith contributed to this report.



As part of his plea agreement, Larry Parks, 47, admitted to the murders -- and admitted that he acted alone. He agreed to provide details of the murders; prosecutors agreed to take the death penalty off the table.


Family members restrain Bob Meyer, father of Sherry-Ann Brannon, and grandfather of Shelby and Cassidy Brannon, as Larry Parks pleads guilty in the 1999 slayings. Parks won't get the death penalty, but Meyer said, "A court much higher and powerful than this will give us justice."


STAFF PHOTO / ROD MILLINGTON / rod.millington@heraldtribune.com

Elizabeth Brannon, the stepmother of Dewey Brannon, takes a

break on the steps of the Manatee County Courthouse steps after Circuit Judge Durand Adams ordered a recess, because of a courtroom disruption by Dewey Brannon.

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/2074/melee.html


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Here's what I got:

Family says missing woman was killed; Linda Fledderman, who vanished in 1996, was once suspected of murdering her boyfriend, Jeff Blanton.(B SECTION)

Publication: Sarasota Herald Tribune

Publication Date: 17-AUG-01

Author: Tim.ohara@herald-Trib.com, O'


COPYRIGHT 2001 Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Byline: TIMOTHY O'HARA tim.ohara@herald-trib.com

MYAKKA CITY -- Five years ago, Linda Fledderman vanished and her boyfriend, Jeff Blanton, was found fatally shot.

Authorities initially treated Fledderman as the suspect. For years, detectives tried to track her down, traveling as far as a family reunion in Indiana. But never a trace.

Her family now suspects she was abducted and killed by a third person who may have been with her that night. Police are investigating whether Larry Parks, who is about to be tried for three murders, also killed Fledderman and Blanton.

In the meantime, Fledderman's family has started the legal process to have her declared dead. They have hired Sarasota attorney Jay Baily for that purpose.

"We need to bring closure to this," Baily said. "With the findings so far the family presumes she is dead ... We need to get into court and get this finalized."

For years, Fledderman's picture was on Manatee County's top five most wanted list. But the picture was taken off that list after Parks was arrested on charges that he killed Sherry Brannon and her two daughters in their east Manatee County home on Sept. 16, 1999.

A Parks fingerprint was found inside Fledderman's truck and he had been seen at the same bar as the couple the night before Blanton was killed. All three were residents of the small community of Myakka City.

The body of Blanton, 33, was found in his home, 37000 block Sixby Road in Myakka City, just after 6 p.m. on Aug. 17, 1996.

Fledderman, who dropped her son off at a family member's home that morning, has not been seen since.

Under Florida law, a judge can declare a person dead after five years if enough evidence exists to presume death.

"The person's death is presumed to have occurred at the end of the period unless there is evidence establishing that death occurred earlier," according to the statute.

Baily, who is working on behalf of Fledderman's sister, Victoria Sinclair, is still researching and has yet to file any paperwork.

Saturday will mark the five- year anniversary of Fledderman's disappearance and Blanton's death.

In the three months since Parks' arrest, cold case squad detective Sgt. Keith Keough has spent his time tracking down leads in the Blanton murder.

"At this time, the Larry Parks' lead is no more significant than any other lead," he said Thursday. "You can't put all your eggs in one basket."

CAPTION(S):

Jeff Blanton was found shot to death at his home in August 1996.

Linda Fledderman has not been seen since the same morning.
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Linda Louise Fledderman
Missing since August 17, 1996 from Myakka, Manatee County, Florida
Classification: Endangered Missing
•Date Of Birth: February 18, 1964
•Age at Time of Disappearance: 33 years old
•Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'6"; 125 lbs.
•Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; green eyes.


Linda Fledderman and her fiancé, Jefferson Blanton were last seen at the Myakka City Bar on August 17, 1996. With them was Larry Parks, now a convicted murderer in the 1999 stabbing deaths of Sherry Brannon and her two young daughters.

The couple lived a few streets away at 37855 Sixby Road, a private dirt road in a heavily wooded area. At 18.00 that evening, Blanton was found shot to death in a hallway inside their home. Fledderman was nowhere to be found. The gun was never recovered.

Detectives found Blanton’s body after Fledderman failed to pick up her son from her sister, who had been babysitting. Someone had forced their way through the back door. There were no signs of struggle; nothing was taken from the home. Two vehicles — Fledderman’s navy blue Ford F150 pickup and Blanton’s smaller green pickup — were parked at the residence.

Fledderman was a technician at L-3 Aviation Recorders in Sarasota; Blanton was a construction worker. Investigators never found Fledderman’s body.
Detectives first considered her as a suspect in Blanton's homicide, as the relationship was violent, but they now believe she was a victim.

Fledderman's family had her declared legally dead, claiming she would never have left behind the couple’s then 4-year-old son.


Manatee County Sheriff’s Office
941-747-3011

Agency Case Number: 960029659

Source Information:
The Bradenton Herald
FDLE
http://www.doenetwork.org/
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