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Haunting Clue Examined in Murder Case

By Ann O'Neill
,
CNN
posted: 1 DAY 14 HOURS AGO
comments: 342
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(July 2) - Police wonder whether a photograph found in a prison cell a decade ago might lead to the bodies of two children who disappeared and are believed to have been murdered.
Karen and Michael Reinert, who lived with their divorced mother in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, were 11 and 10 when their mother was murdered and they vanished in June 1979.
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A former high school English teacher was convicted in the murders of Susan Reinert and her children. But the children have never been found.
The photo turned up in the prison cell of William S. Bradfield Jr., who died of heart failure in 1998 while serving three life sentences for the Reinert murders, according to investigators.
The photograph, which police say was developed in 1986, depicts a stone marker that resembles a hooded figure. The stone is surrounded by fallen leaves, with woods in the background.
Although dozens of tips came in when the photo was released a decade ago, investigators have been unable to locate the marker, said Trooper Brian Krause of the Pennsylvania State Police. He made the photo available again in response to media inquiries on the 30th anniversary of the Reinert murders.
Krause, who works out of the state police barracks in Harrisburg, is the lone investigator on a case that once occupied a task force of more than a dozen state police detectives and FBI agents. He described the investigation as open but "inactive."
Krause said he still receives occasional tips and follows up on them.
Susan Reinert's body was found early June 25, 1979, in the hatchback of her car. The vehicle was parked in the lot of a hotel in Harrisburg, miles from Reinert's home in Philadelphia's Main Line suburbs.
Reinert and Bradfield were English teachers at Upper Merion High School in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
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The school's former principal, Jay C. Smith, also was convicted in the case in 1986, but the conviction was overturned on appeal in 1992. The appeals court cited improper hearsay testimony and said prosecutors withheld evidence from Smith's defense. Smith remained free until his death in May.
Prosecutors have long said that Bradfield and Smith plotted the murders together, with the motive of money. Reinert had named Bradfield as beneficiary of her estate and life insurance policies worth $730,000. She thought she was going to marry him.
At the time of the slaying, Smith was in trouble with the law. He was sentenced in Harrisburg on theft and weapons convictions on the same day Reinert's body was found there.
Until they died, Smith and Bradfield both denied that they had killed Susan Reinert and their children. At their trials, each man pointed the finger at the other.
The photograph was found among dozens of boxes of Bradfield's belongings. They also include some writings that appear to be in code.
Krause said that at least one person who was never charged in the case may have intimate knowledge of the Reinert slayings. That person may know what happened to the children, he said.
"I would certainly say that there is a possibility of a third person out there -- a probability," Krause said.
Krause asks anyone with information about what happened to Karen and Michael Reinert to call 717-671-7537.
© 2009 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
2009-07-04 08:13:11
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03:25 AMJul 06 2009

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ChristiPi2

02:18 AMJul 06 2009

saintbrides that looks like cloth to me Im looking at it with a magnafying glass it is red,green,orange,black,blue it is showing on the one side of the stone. the stone?has a little colors in it to

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Xskunk3hx

07:48 PMJul 05 2009

easily tell that the scene is warmly lit, where as the blue thing seems to have no direction of light hitting it whatsoever. Lastly, if you look just next to it (on the edge of the image), you can see a small arch of white where there was text originally on the image. Being experienced with photomanipulation, I'd say that it's a watermark (sort of like a copyright).

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Xskunk3hx

07:44 PMJul 05 2009

Okay people, seriously, quit trying to matrix things out of the image. Here's some things to bring light on the situation of the mystery blue thing in the bottom corner.The size of the rock in relation to the blue thing: From the rest of the image, anyone with common knowledge can tell that it's about a foot and a half tall at least. How, you're wondering? Well for one the rock in the background is at least half it's size and for the leaves and the background rock to show up as well as they do for such a pixelated image they must be a good size. However the main stone still isn't very tall in relation to the plants. So, let's say that the rock is 1 foot and a half tall at the least, the blue "object" would be far too small (no matter what color) to show up as clearly on the image. It's also far too small to be ear warmers or shoes unless they were infant shoes and it's not an infant that went missing. Another clue that it's not an original part of the image is the lighting. You can

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Smith906

06:51 PMJul 05 2009

There are several books. And there are lots of people, like myself, who went to Upper Merion and saw this unfold. There is no way this crime could have taken place without those 5 knowing something. They were thick as thieves and made a pact with the devil because they continue to withhold evidence regarding a capital offense -- and if one speaks, they go down together.

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Sookyaya

06:42 PMJul 05 2009

Smith906 Do you happen to know if there's been a book written about this crime?

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Smith906

06:38 PMJul 05 2009

The information regarding "where are the children buried" is known by: Vince Valitis; Sue Meyers; Wendy Ziegler; Chris Pappas and Joanne Aikens. All 5 of them have knowledge -- some day hopefully one of them will get tired of staring at the blood stains on their hands and break the "covenant of silence". Upper Merion Class of '77 graduate

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Sookyaya

06:38 PMJul 05 2009

Mugsy- The appeals court cited improper hearsay testimony and said prosecutors withheld evidence from Smith's defense.

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NeffVW

06:37 PMJul 05 2009

I guess if they ddnt kill him they could have asked him.

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Sookyaya

06:35 PMJul 05 2009

ZELDA5444 Oh your right! I think it's behind the photographer though and the shadow is being cast on a rock behind the Stone.

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