Hi-
I read your blog regularly, and I'm not even a resident of Salisbuy- in fact, I live in The Northern Neck of Virginia, but I regularly visit Salisbury as part of my job. I'm an itenerant merchant, and I visit conveince stores in the Deleware and Eastern Shores of Maryland and Virginia on a regular schedule.
I was kind of taken aback by the negativism I've encountered in Salisbury, and I don't quite know why. The people are great, good hard working honest American dream chasers, like me, but there seems to be an underlying discontent with there town---they say the traffic is horrible, the streets aren't safe, the press and the goernment ignore their needs,etc, etc. There's a pretty easily found website which lists all sorts of cities across America, with the usual demographic stats one would expect, and an area where people can leave comments. and there is not one positive comment about Salisbury.
Being an itenerant merchant, and one whose focus is on conveinece stores, my interest gets piqued when someone starts mentioning high crime rates, so I did some research of my own. A simple google search of "conveince store robberies salisbury md" brought me to the cold case page for the Salisbury Police.
It was here that I read about the case of Irma Jane Smith who was killed in a Shore Stop in 1994. I found it kind of distressing that this person is the charter member of your cold case club, the first on the list, and there is almost no information about who she was or what happened to her that night in 1994. For some odd reason, that disturbs me.
I mean, here is a person who is trying just to make an honest living and working at the c store in a shady area of town and gets killed. There, but for the grace of God, goes you or I, right?
Who was the person? Has her own community forgotten her merely 16 years later? More importantly, what did her death teach the citizens of Salisbury, Md? Was it entirely in vain that she bled to death on the floor of a cstore?
Now, I know that I am an outsider, someone who comes and goes thrrough your community and only sees a glimpse of the whole picture, but sometimes it takes someone who is not in the picture to point out things others can't see.
Don't you think that it would beneft the community as a whole to remember viligantly those who have perished needlesly in the face of violence? Dosen't the community at large have a reponsibility to itself to remember those who fall needlesly? I guess what I'm trying to say is that if the community seems complacent about something as drastic as being stabbed to death while at work, it might seem to people who are inclined to act in this antisocial way that the citizens of Salisbury just don't care if you gun one of their own down.
Before you start beating me up, and I'm sure you will, let me stress that I'm not condemning your city or it's residents. I was deeply moved at how people turned out selflessy on Christmas morning to look for the little girl who was murdered last year. I know in my heart and from talking to people that the citizens of this city are much like the citizens of any city, but for a town of around 25,000 people, a murder should be a huge and jarring event especially when it is not gang related or drug related....it's a robbery and murder of a person just trying to eek by, and that is highly offensive.
I was a journalist years ago, and to this day have the reporter's curiosity.When I read the blurb from The SPD Cold Case File regarding Ms. Smith, I tried to find online information about the case, I mean 1994 was not that long ago, but there is nothing. Someone out there knows what happened to Irma Jane Smith, but the case is so buried, what are the chances that someone will come across it? Ms Smith was someones sister or mother or aunt or best freind....something. But, now, she's just a mention in a three paragraph article on The SPD Website. If you put a face and personality and realness to that mention, then maybe somebody who knows something feels guilty enough to come forward. Maybe.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
10 comments:
I remember. It was the Shore Stop on Riverside Drive. The store is no longer there but I remember the incident rather well. After that they didn't keep the stores opened all night any longer. I remember the Troy Krause murder as well.
Jane worked with my mother at that shore stop. Actually, my mother was to be the one working that night but her and Jane had switched shifts. I do not and will not go into the details of how she died. I will tell you it was not a good way to go. My mother cried for a long time about this. She was a very nice lady that I had the chance to meet on a few occasions before her murder. It was a senseless act of violence. I often wondered if they had ever found the persons responsible for this horrible crime. Guess not... but that's the SPD for you. RIP Mrs Jane Smith. I know my mother thinks of you often, and so do I everytime I drive by that store.
10:28 I'm sorry to tell you this... it was the Cherry Street Shore Stop. I remember this very much all to well. I was in the store the day after with my mother hugging her as the tears were streaming down her face. She stopped working there shortly after.
Go away McGuire.
I also remember this. It was the Cherry St Shore Stop. I worked with Janes husband at the detention center when she was murdered. I too am very sorry the coward who did this is still running our streets. With any luck he/they met the same fate shortly after this crime. RIP Jane
If this is the one I remember the criminals actually went to court and in the middle of the proceedings court was stopped and dismissed. A good friend of mine was on the jury. Is this the same thing that I am remembering or am I confusing it with something else?
not a fan of local law enforcement's track record of solving crimes in this area. WBI, MD state or SBY. Not much confidence if it were my family.
God grants the justice is all I can say.
I was on the jury for that trial. They had the boys dead to right (they stole the security video and sold copies of it for $50 in the Coverdale slum area.) They got off because the main witness was told that if he talked then his family would get sliced and diced like the victim....No credible witness and no video...no conviction. We KNOW who did it. Can't pin it it on them....at least that is my recollection of the incident...the pictures we saw and the details of her murder were horrible...sometimes viglante justice doesn't seem to be such a bad idea....
My friend said the pictures he saw would for-ever be in his head, awful. He started crying when he was talking about it to me.
They did attempt a trial and the thugs got off on a technicality from what I understand.Too bad they werent accidently shot by someone on the way to court.....that would have been street justice.
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