It was an argument that led to Jill running away from home. She and her oldest, Jill, would butt heads and on one occasion in December of 1976 they did just that. Karol Robinson had three daughters and was recently divorced. She was described as a loner and a smart, good student.

She lived with her mother in Royal Oak and visited her father regularly. Jill Robinsonįamily history: Jill’s parents were divorced. Brooks Patterson, who was the Oakland County prosecutor at the time, said Mark’s body was washed by an autopsy team, washing away any finger prints. It appeared that Mark was also sexually assaulted. The autopsy showed the cause of death as asphyxia by way of smothering, but the report also showed rope burns on his neck, wrists and ankles. His strawberry-blond hair would have likely been covered by the hood on his parka as he walked in the cold, thin air. He stood 4 feet 8 inches and weighed about 100 pounds.

Mark was a 7th-grader at Lincoln Junior High School. That means there was a 2-hour-and-15-minute window in which someone or some people dumped Mark’s body in the area. If that’s true, Mark’s body wasn’t there at 9:30 a.m. He said if that body was there at the time, his dog would have found it. The man said his dog was on a 20-foot leash and they walked that part of the lot. It was the lifeless body of 12-year-old Mark Stebbins.Īnother person told police that they walked their dog around that parking lot, just so it could get some exercise. But as he got closer he knew he stumbled into a situation much more grim. He saw what looked like a mannequin dressed in a blue jacket and jeans. 19, 1976, a businessman named Mark Boetigheimer left his office building and headed toward a drug store located inside the New Orleans mall at 10 Mile and Greenfield roads. On his way something caught his eye in the northeast corner of the parking lot. He never made it and at 11 p.m. that night Mark’s mother called the Ferndale Police Department to report Mark missing.Īt about 11:45 a.m. He was letting her know that he was leaving the American Legion Hall to head home. Mark was last seen and heard from at 1:30 p.m. He came from a Roman Catholic family and he was described as a loner - a quiet and good student. Family history: Mark’s parents were divorced and he lived with his mother.

Mornings in the Light by Timothy King