Post by Scumhunter on Sept 5, 2022 8:32:32 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: syracuse.com)
From Syracuse.com: (Warning: Extremely graphic details in article)
One of the most cruel and disturbing crimes in Onondaga County history took place on this day, 26 years ago.
When a fisherman found Carol Ryan naked and severely wounded on Sept. 1, 1996, he thought she had been shot.
She was hanging on to life in the driveway of the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency, across the street from the Jamesville Reservoir.
The fisherman ran to a nearby security office to call 911, according to Post-Standard archives. He then returned to stay with Carol until the ambulance arrived. He repeatedly tried to ask her, “What happened to you?” She could not respond.
Carol was rushed to Upstate University Hospital and underwent emergency surgery, but her injuries were too traumatic.
She died five hours after she was found.
Carol, 42, had been fatally wounded in a horrific, unthinkable way: Someone had inserted an explosive device into her vagina and detonated it.
Her murder remains unsolved, 26 years later.
Onondaga County Sheriff Eugene Conway was the captain of the sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division in 1996. He vividly remembers Carol Ryan, and says many details of this case still bother him.
“I certainly have never forgotten September 1,” Conway told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard in a recent interview. “It’s an unsolved homicide... So to me, it’s unfinished business.”
What Carol wore
Carol spent her last night alive at the now-shuttered East Room bar in Eastwood. The building looks completely different today. It now houses Sinbad Restaurant, a Middle Eastern eatery.
Earlier that evening, she briefly visited Pro’s Grill, a small dive bar on Willow Street. It was torn down in 2007.
Witnesses saw Carol walking on James Street, alone, after the East Room closed at 2 a.m. She lived just down the road at Grant Village Apartments.
About four hours later, she was found fatally wounded near the OCCRA site off Route 91.
Witnesses remember seeing Carol wearing a silver shirt, black jeans, black boots, silver jewelry, and a black suede leather jacket with fringe on the front.
Two of her rings were left at the scene. Her clothes, shoes and silver pendant were never found.
She loved to dance
Carol’s son, Shawn Hamilton, has tried to help investigators seek justice for his mother. He distributed posters and worked tirelessly to ensure her death was not forgotten.
One of his last memories of his mother was attending a rock show together at the New York State Fair.
Carol loved classic rock. Bob Seger, Black Sabbath and Lynyrd Skynyrd were some of her favorite performers.
“She was real big into music and she loved to dance,” Hamilton told Syracuse.com. “She just looked at me that day with pride in her eyes. I still remember that day like it was yesterday.”
Hamilton was only 25 when Carol died. He speaks to his children about their grandmother and keeps photos of her around his home. He said he has one photo of Carol next to his coffee pot -- ensuring the first thing he does every day is say “good morning” to his mother.
Carol grew up in Boylston in Oswego County as one of seven siblings. Several of her brothers and sisters moved away and lost touch before Carol died.
In 1996, Carol’s sister Kathy Lane told The Post-Standard that Carol wanted to host a family reunion soon to reunite the siblings. But the reunion never happened. Kathy said the family grew even more divided after her death.
Maybe when Carol‘s killer is found, Kathy had said, they would find peace.
Kathy died this summer on June 15, 2022.
Unique challenges in a cold investigation
Detectives chased down hundreds of tips and conducted multiple interviews with the same leads, to fact-check statements and narrow down persons of interest.
A few hot leads early in the investigation were ruled out.
Conway, the investigator at the time, said a major challenge was an imperfect crime scene. Carol was found alive, so several emergency professionals had to rush her from Jamesville to the hospital. Potential evidence on Carol’s body could’ve been lost during the transport.
Additionally, every new footstep, tire mark or hair follicle at the scene may have sent detectives down a false path, wasting precious time.
Another big challenge for investigators was witness memory. Many of witnesses who saw Carol at the bars had been drinking themselves.
“Obviously, you have alcohol and you have people having their abilities impaired to recall things,” Conway said. “I mean, those are real things that work against you.”
Detective Alexander Hebert took over as lead detective on Carol’s case in 2021, after a previous detective retired from the sheriff’s office. Hebert hadn’t heard of Carol’s case before it was assigned to him, and he found the details “gruesome.”
“How could anybody even fathom doing this to another human being?” Hebert told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. “It definitely stays with me. There’s a heavy weight. There’s pressure from wanting to give closure for the family.”
After researching the case for over a year, Hebert said he believes the original detectives did a thorough job collecting evidence and conducting interviews. But limitations in technology, he said, worked against the sheriff’s office in 1996.
“I just wish the technology that we have now was available back then,” Hebert said. “You know, cell phones… now you have cell towers that you can use for these investigations. But then, that wasn’t a thing.”
Capt. Daniel Brogan currently heads up the Criminal Investigations Division for the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, and he worked as a detective with the team on Carol’s case back in 1996.
Brogan agrees that better technology could’ve made a world of difference, especially in developing a clear timeline for where Carol went that night. Detectives relied largely on witness accounts.
“It’s not like today’s day and age,” Brogan told syracuse.com. “If you were to go in that same area today, you’d be on camera a hundred times, with all the businesses that are there. That’s not so back in 1996.”
Police officials also recognize the killer could be dead by now.
“We’re doing everything that we can, following every lead that comes in,” Hebert said. “Ideally, we would be able to find the person before they pass. And hold them accountable for their actions.”
How can a 26-year-old cold case be solved?
Murder is a felony in New York with no statute of limitations. If found and convicted, Carol’s killer could be sentenced to life in prison.
Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick believes Carol’s case could be solved using new advancements in DNA technology, or a using new detail provided by the public, something investigators may have overlooked.
“My confidence is diminished by the sands of time, but my earnestness is not diminished at all,” Fitzpatrick told syracuse.com. “This is a case that just screams out for justice.”
Forensic DNA analysis in 1996 was in its infancy. Back then, a much larger amount of cellular material was needed to create a profile of a suspect. Today, even a tiny, molecular speck of DNA evidence could solve a case.
“It very well may be that there’s a piece of evidence that’s been preserved,” Fitzpatrick said. “And I’ve solved cases from the 1970s.”
How you can help
Your information, no matter how small, could help solve this case.
If you have any details about this case, contact the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office at 315-435-3051. To submit an anonymous tip to the Sheriff’s Office, text TIPONON and your tip to 847411.
www.syracuse.com/crime/2022/09/carol-ryans-cold-case-horrific-syracuse-murder-remains-unsolved-26-years-later.html
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