Terre Haute is perhaps best known by outsiders for Larry Bird, Rose Hulman, and the federal penitentiary's that put Timothy McVey to death. Now, it made news late Friday afternoon for the wrong reasons when Indiana police recovered the car of a suspected homicide victim, Scott Javins. The vehicle was literally a few hundred yards from where the police station was located at the time of the death. The car and the victim disappeared on May 24, 2002. Javins has been the subject of posters, t.v. shows, newspaper articles, thousands of rumors, and even web cites (link) for over five years.
Seems like every suspect arrested in Vigo County had "information" as to Scott Javin's disappearance that they would offer prosecutors in exchange for a favorable plea. None of the so called "tips" ever really panned out until recently; nevertheless the legend of how and why Scott Javins disappeared continued to grow. Friday, the mystery of where Javin's car was located ended as divers pulled the submerged 2002 Honda Civic from the Wabash river near the east bank of Fairbanks park in down town Terre Haute. Police would not initially confirm whether the car contained any body parts; however, it clearly did!
Merv and Dorrena Javins, Scott's parents, watched video monitors as they pulled the car from the river. It was covered in mud. Terre Haute Police Chief George Ralston said other sections of the Wabash River had been searched in the past; however, this particular location had never been explored before yesterday. A tip received two weeks ago resulted in two other vehicles being removed Sunday from the river. (Local fisherman Don Kyle, 53, discovered a car and a van in the river two weeks ago and informed local police.)
Vigo County Sheriff John Marvel said a forensic pathologist will begin processing the car. Indiana State Police Officer, Sgt. D.I. Jones opined that the car went in the river a little North of where it was found because it would float for a few minutes. (This would put it close to police head quarters when it went into the river!) Don Kyle concluded by commenting on the local police, "I really think they did their job. Actually, I think that they wouldn't think to look that hard in a place this obvious."
Any tips? Call Wabash Valley CrimeStoppers:812-238-STOP or 812-238-7867
Update 10-11 Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt officially announced that a skull and some skeletal remains believed to be Javins were found in the car.
Update 10-23: Dr. John R. Mast confirmed the bones and skull were Javins.
Update 12-18: Coronor rules Scott Javin death was accidental. His parents dispute findings.
Update 3-31-08: A comment questions the similarities with the death of Brad Henley. Lt. Jeff Stephens investigated the Henley case. An annonnymous lettee to police suggested Henley's death was no accident. His body was found in his jeep in a pond not far from his home. Rumors speculate that both Javins and Henley may have been recreational drug users who may have upset the wrong people. (These are rumors and not to be taken as facts.) If you know anything about Henley contact the Plainfield Police Department.
If you have any information on the Javin's case which was ruled and accident, share it with the Terre Haute Police. If you want to remain anonymous, share it with Legal Pub.
Posts
29 comments:
Wow, talk about crime happening in someone's own back yard. Sounds like it happened real close to the police station. When do you think they will know if a body is in there?
I am sure they know now whether there is a body in there but they are not releasing the information yet. If not a body, there may still be evidence of blood etc. The vehicle was real muddy so we will have to see.
For those requesting more information about his disappearance, the Javins web site had listed:
"Missing since May 24th, 2002 from Terre Haute, IN. Scott was last seen at a gathering of friends in a residence in the vicinity of 22nd Street and 1st Avenue. Scott, a student at Indiana State University and an assistant manager at a local True Value hardware store, lived at home with his parents and called his mother as he left his friends at around 2:00 am.
He never arrived at home and no trace of him has been found."
Thanks Legal Pub. You always seem to have interesting Saturday morning stories for those of us who get up early. I hope this boy is still alive and it is just his car they found.
Brenda
That is one muddy car!
I wonder why they assume it is a homicide. Could it not be an accident?
Homicide has always been suspected. This disappearance has been talked about on many t.v. shows etc. Seems he was at a party... seems he may have been involved in some drug use or transaction. He disappears...
Five years later his car is found in the river in a place where it could not accidently get there...
I think Legal Pub is right on on this one.
I am not that familiar with this location, even though I have visited the fine city of Terre Haute, in the past. Is it really impossible for this to have been an accident? It seems like most rivers could have cars accidently driven into them, but maybe not in this case. Is anyone familiar with the location enough to explain why this is not possible?
Yup, I am local. No chance it was accidentally driven in here!
The car was not recovered anywhere near the police station. The Police station is location nearly 2 miles away. The Sheriff's department is a little over a mile away.
Legal Pub is wrong about the location. Sorry.
The car was not recovered anywhere near the police station. The Police station is location nearly 2 miles away. The Sheriff's department is a little over a mile away.
Entry point was 2 or 3 minutes up stream because the car would float. Cop station until recently was at the corner in basement of city hall on ohio. Sherrifs dept is just North of city hall. Car found by ywca. Entry point was definitely within a few hundred feet of the police staton.End location was not two miles away.
It is believed there are human remains. More details will be out.
what was in the other 2 cars they recovered? i would imagine they probably had some sort of link ? Ive lived in T.H. all my life(31yrs),I personally think the lawEnforcment are hiding something ? Why did it take 2 weeks to respond to fisherman tip? & GET THIS! police scuba divers train in the exact location??....Come on,Im a painter not a Forensics Fool the river flows the same direction everyday?
anyone else feel this way?
what was in the other 2 cars they recovered? i would imagine they probably had some sort of link ? Ive lived in T.H. all my life(31yrs),I personally think the lawEnforcment are hiding something ? Why did it take 2 weeks to respond to fisherman tip? & GET THIS! police scuba divers train in the exact location??....Come on,Im a painter not a Forensics Fool the river flows the same direction everyday?
anyone else feel this way?
Legal Pub, your story was right on. I knew you would know.
Local Painter, I am with you. What were they doing delaying the search. They even announced the time they were extracting the car. Were they inviting the killer to the scene to watch?
As for the other cars, were there human remains in them too? Who did the vehicles belong too?
River is real commonly used in this area. None of these cars entered by accident.
What else do you know that you can tell Legal Pub?
Larry
Incidentally, divers have apparently found a fourth vehicle in the river. They have decided to leave it in the river because of the expense of removing it. However, police have indicated that it has nothing to do with Javin's death.
Incidentally, divers have apparently found a fourth vehicle in the river. They have decided to leave it in the river because of the expense of removing it. However, police have indicated that it has nothing to do with Javin's death.
javins wasnt from the avenue? was he? i was & i never ran in 2 him but i am abit older anyway ,my point ,the streets told me ,''scott was seen on Chestnut & around Kent, after 2 am ,now if hes not from the avenues , at that hour u can only get 2 things Trouble(carjacked possibly?) & Drugs(crack?....im jus saying maybe it was something new 2 him i dont know & lets say scott maybe knew 1 of the gals i spoke bout earlier? for drugs??& then the female called her dealer ? Calvin? he shows up ? maybe scott might of flashed acouple hunds in front of oboy or anything, kills scott ,dumps the car ,then kills the females ? before they tell??? ..............my thoughts on javins case
Local Painter...
Could be a valid theory. Or he may have owed money to someone and been made an example of...
Personally, I do not see an arrest in sight anytime soon unless someone talks...
By the way, in the painting business, many of the locals use "supplements" to take their mind off tedious work. Your theoried may be on track...
Baller
Yeah baller, right! Like a local painter would have inside information on the crime. Seems to me that one of the guys serving time in the local slammer have a better opportunity to "sing" in exchange for a plea agreement.
Nancy
Legal Pub Update. A dentist, Dr. John R. Mast, has confirmed that the bones matched Scott Javin's dental records. This came as no surprise to most people. The local law enforcement officers are keeping tight lipped as to leads. However, Sheriff John Marvel has said,"We've waited five years for this day."
Other than confirming his death, not much else can be gathered from the Sheriff's comments.
They will never catch the perpetrator.
They seldom solve cold cases unless some one talks. Barring some one squealing or a confession, this one will unlikely ever be solved.
Jimbo
Update 12-18:The coroner has ruled that the death of Scott Javin was accidental. His parents, do not believe this to be accurate and will continue their search for the truth.
Hard to believe it could be an accident.
Accident my a@@! To me it looks like authorities just wanted to close the books on this case...
Hendricks County / ISU Grad, IN
Not a fan of conspiracy theories, but check out the story on Brad Hensley in Indy. There more than a few similarities... Jeep in pond, poss. drug nexus, police led in a circle for a couple years. Probably not same perp, but creepy similarities... legal pub, please take a look and let me know your thoughts...
There appears to be similarities with the Brad Hensley case. What does it mean? Similar impaired drivers or similar retalitory gang style like killings?
I would like to get more input on both these cases. Scott Javins disappeared after he attended a party on May 24, 2002, in Terre Haute. The car was found about 200 yards from a boat ramp in Fairbanks Park. Previous searches apparently did not include this specific area.
Merv Javins and his wife, Doreena, are still searching for more answers. Perhaps Legal Pub can find some true closure for them with the help of readers?
what if you know something about this case?
Post a Comment