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1994 Friend, Lynne August 28 1994; Miami Fl 35 YO
Topic Started: Mar 8 2012, 09:02 PM (399 Views)
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After 17 years ex-husband indicted for killing mother and dumping her body in the sea after she won their bitter custody battle
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By Daily Mail Reporter
UPDATED: 14:14 EST, 8 March 2012



A man long-suspected of killing his ex-wife and dumping her body in the sea has been indicted for her murder, 17 years after she disappeared.

On August 28, 1994, Lynne Friend, 35, vanished after winning a bitter child custody battle with her ex-husband Clifford, 56, over their son Christian, then five.

Friend has since been the prime-suspect in the Miami murder in which Lynne's body was never recovered.
On August 28, 1994, Lynne Friend, 35, pictured, vanished after winning a bitter child custody battle with her ex-husband, her body has never been recovered

On August 28, 1994, Lynne Friend, 35, pictured, vanished after winning a bitter child custody battle with her ex-husband, her body has never been recovered

However, several efforts to bring the alleged killer to justice had failed over the years, Ben Allen, the victim's father told the Sun-Sentinel.

Allen, 80, who lives in Texas said he had last heard from South Florida authorities nearly two years ago.

'That was the fourth time they said, 'We got him, we got him. It's been frustrating, to say the least.'


However, he is hopeful after being informed about the recent indictment which has been made possible after investigators discovered new evidence. 'This is great news. It really is.' he said.

Lynne had planned to leave Florida and start a new life with her fiance, Ed O'Dell after winning primary custody of her son.

But Friend was against the move and had vowed to stop it, according to witnesses and investigative records, reports the Sentinel.
Clifford Friend, 56, has been long-suspected of killing his ex-wife and has this week been indicted for her murder, 17 years after she disappeared

Clifford Friend, 56, has been long-suspected of killing his ex-wife and has this week been indicted for her murder, 17 years after she disappeared

On the night she vanished, Lynne told her fiancé that Friend has called her and asked her to drive to his Pembroke Pines home to pick up a child support cheque, reports the Miami Herald.

That night, U.S. Customs officers spotted Friend and Alan Gold, a friend of his, racing out on his 30-foot Chapparal boat.

The officers saw the men throw something over the side of the boat before speeding off on a chase for one mile, according to the Herald.

'Since 1994, the investigation of this crime has been an ongoing police priority,' Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle told the Sentinel in a statement.
Police believe Friend killed his wife before dumping her body in Government Cut, Miami Beach,pictured

Police believe Friend killed his wife before dumping her body in Government Cut, Miami Beach,pictured
On the night of Lynne's disappearance, officers saw Clifford Friend throw something over the side of the boat in Government Cut, pictured, before speeding off on a chase for one mile

On the night of Lynne's disappearance, officers saw Clifford Friend throw something over the side of his boat in Government Cut

'With the passage of time, my prosecutors and these dedicated law enforcement officers have been able to develop the additional evidence which allowed us to bring this case before the grand jury.'

That evidence has not been revealed but Fernandez Rundle expressed confidence in it.
On the night Lynne vanished, officers saw Friend and Alan Gold race out on his Chapparal boat, similar to the one pictured, and dump something in the sea

On the night Lynne vanished, officers saw Friend and Alan Gold race out on his Chapparal boat, similar to the one pictured, and dump something in the sea

'The long, long investigative process has finally come to an end,' she said.

The couple's three-year marriage ended amicably in 1991, but things turned bitter during the battle for custody of their son.

Lynne's family urged her to leave Florida with her child over concerns for her safety.

'My son and I both had warned her to get out of town and get away from that man [because] he's going to kill you,' Allen said.

Now Allen is hoping prosecutors can get his daughter justice when the case finally goes to trial.

'I'm sure they have a good case after all these years or they wouldn't have brought it up, but I just hope they get him this time,' he said.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-21...l#ixzz1oa4biAPl
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-21...o=feeds-newsxml
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Murder indictment in 1994 case of missing Hallandale woman
By DAVID OVALLE The Miami Herald

By DAVID OVALLE
dovalle@MiamiHerald.com

A Miami-Dade grand jury on Wednesday afternoon issued a murder indictment against a Lighthouse Point man long suspected of murdering his ex-wife and dumping her body in the sea off Government Cut in 1994.

Shortly after the indictment, state agents arrested Clifford B. Friend, 56, for the slaying of Lynne Friend, whose body has never been recovered since she vanished on Aug. 28, 1994.

The story of Lynne Friend’s disappearance has long vexed investigators.

Back in August 1994, her life had been reinvigorated. The Hallandale woman was set to move to Tennessee to be re-married. In court, she had just won custody of her 5-year-old son, Christian.

But that night, Lynne Friend was talking on the phone with her fiancé in Nashville when another call came in. She told her fiancé it was her ex-husband, Clifford Friend, who wanted her to drive to his Pembroke Pines home to pick up a child support check.

About an hour later, a witness told detectives, a man was seen parking the woman’s 1989 Mercury next to a field on Northeast 26th Avenue in Northeast Miami-Dade. He hopped into a black sports-utility vehicle — similar to one owned by Clifford Friend — and the vehicle screeched off.

Police later found Lynne Friend’s Mercury, the right front tire cut as though it had been stabbed with a knife.

That night, U.S. Customs officers spotted Friend and a pal, Alan Gold, racing out on Friend’s 30-foot Chapparal boat. The officers followed, lights out, before catching up and surprising the men with their spotlights.

The officers saw the men heaving something over the side of the boat. Friend’s boat sped off, leading the agents on a chase for one mile. Agents reported finding light-gauge rope and two cement blocks on Friend’s vessel.

Friend and Gold were detained, and ultimately were charged with illegal dumping at sea. Law enforcement seized the boat.

But despite a massive effort — including help from the U.S. Navy — investigators never recovered the body and Friend and Gold refused to cooperate. Gold has not been arrested or indicted Wednesday.

The law enforcement effort has always been extensive. Hallandale police first investigated her disappearance. When her Mercury was found in Hallandale, Miami-Dade police and later the Florida Department of Law Enforcement joined in. So did the FBI.

The U.S. Navy, the Coast Guard and oceanographers at the University of Miami also helped in the effort to find the body at the bottom of the Gulf Stream.

Clifford Friend, a pawn shop owner, re-married in 1995. He and his wife, Janet Friend, own a home in Lighthouse Point, records show.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/07/2681...l#storylink=cpy
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/07/2681...-1994-case.html
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http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/Man-Charged-W...-141890483.html
A South Florida man indicted on murder charges in the 1994 disappearance of his ex-wife was ordered held without bond Thursday.

Clifford Brett Friend, 56, was indicted on a first-degree murder charge by the Miami-Dade County grand jury nearly 18 years after ex-wife Lynn Friend went missing, according to the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office.

Friend was booked into jail Wednesday night and made his first appearance in Miami-Dade court where he was ordered held without bond.

Friend's attorney, Peter Heller, said his client is innocent and that he intends to vigorously defend the case.

"I don't know what they have that's new, this is a case that been before the grand jury several times, but we're certainly eager to get started and get to the bottom of this," Heller said Thursday outside court. "I'm not aware of any new evidence."
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According to the State Attorney's Office, Lynn Friend disappeared on August 28, 1994, shortly after winning a contentious custody battle with her ex-husband over their son, Christian.

Lynn Friend, 35 years old at the time of her disappearance, was planning to relocate out of Florida with Christian, and Clifford Friend had fought the move and vowed to stop it, the State Attorney's Office said.

During the lengthy investigation, authorities discovered Friend and an associate were seen dropping a large package from a boat in the Atlantic, the State Attorney's Office said.

Lynn Friend's body was never found. State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle expressed confidence Thursday that one is not necessary for a successful prosecution, however.

“We have done bodyless cases before, and we have been very successful. You don’t always need a body in a case," she said. “Eventually, all the evidence, the circumstantial evidence that we have in this case, will become public."

Rundle said that using circumstantial evidence, Miami-Dade Police, Hallandale Police and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement were able to put the dots together as they investigated.

She said significant evidence will be made public soon in a special sort of court hearing that is held someone who has been indicted by a grand jury.
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Sunday, May 02, 2010
Politics & Justice in the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office


The Murder of Lynne Friend.

Below is from the Sun-Sentinel, a south Florida based newspaper, September 7, 1994.


All Ed O'Dell wants is his fiancee back.

O'Dell is willing to deal with whoever is responsible for her disappearance 10 days ago. Lynne Friend, a marketing employee for Parkway Regional Hospital, was going to marry O'Dell on Oct. 7. Friend, 35, a divorced mother with a 5-year-old son, is described as very responsible and reliable.

Investigators from the Hallandale and North Miami Beach police departments and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are puzzled. On Sunday, investigators searched the North Miami Beach home of Friend's ex-husband, Cliff Friend, and removed some swords, knives and his 1992 Ford Explorer.

Lynne Friend's 1989 blue Mercury Marquis was found abandoned in north Dade County, at Northeast 26th Avenue and 207th Street, police said.

O'Dell, a Tennessee-based executive for a company that builds and designs hospitals, thinks that his fiancee is alive.

"Every day we don't find her makes me more hopeful she's still alive," O'Dell said on Tuesday afternoon. "We will agree to any deal to get her back."

Police are not so sure.

"We're terribly concerned about the well-being of Ms. Friend," Hallandale Police Chief Kenneth R. Wagner said. "We have a lot of suspicions about where she'd be. We're hoping she's OK. We're very skeptical."

Lynne Friend told her friends and O'Dell that her former husband had threatened to kill her on several occasions, starting after she and her husband divorced four years ago.

Within the past few weeks, Lynne Friend told her close friends that she feared her ex-husband would prevent her from moving to Nashville, Tenn., with her son, Christian.

Christian is in the care of Cliff Friend, police said. Cliff Friend could not be reached for comment on Tuesday evening.

O'Dell, though grateful for everything law enforcement officials have done, has hired a private investigator to help find his fiancee.

Lynne Friend's friends have taken to the streets with fliers depicting the missing woman and her car.

Carole Odom, an executive secretary for nursing administration at the hospital, is a close friend of Lynne Friend.

"It is so difficult," she said. "We've gone so many days without anything."
http://publicoccurrenc.blogspot.com/2010/0...state_4948.html
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