Lee Anthony Evans has been found competent to stand trial, according to this article from, oddly, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He’s charged in the “Clinton Avenue Five” murders of Randy Johnson, Michael McDowell, Melvin Pittman, Ernest Taylor and Alvin Turner, black teenagers who disappeared together in Newark, New Jersey back in 1978. Their bodies were never found and, if the prosecution theory is correct, are unfindable by now.
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The Charley Project Blog 
I wonder if their bodies are unidentified victims somewhere in the vicinty?
I believe they were burned along with the house.
I suppose it’s possible there might be bone fragments found.
Wow, Meaghan, I can’t wait to see how this case plays out. As tough as I normally am when it comes to crime & punishment, I failed to see a definitive link in this one when it was reported last year.
After the guys were rounded up & arrested in 2010, I read some older articles about the 1978 fire & the links between these guys and the boys, including working odd jobs & a supposable drug rip off, however, the articles mentioned no human remains ever recovered from the fire. I failed to see how 5 teenagers could have been burned to death & not leave one shred of forensic evidence behind. They also weren’t reported as John Does found in any nearby areas, and articles went on to say something else was built on that site long ago, so I wondered what it was about these men, or what kind of re-investigation led to their arrest.
Of course, I could be wrong and there could possibly be an admission down the line from one of them, but for now, I just don’t see it. As hard as it is for those 5 families to lose their sons, I know they want to see the right people held responsible, so I’m curious to see what kind of case the state puts together. Please keep us posted. Thanks!
Tracey in MD
It is my understanding (don’t quote me on this) that the police didn’t find bodies or forensic evidence at the time cause they didn’t look. They had no reason to suspect foul play at the time, and the house was known to be unoccupied, so after everything cooled down they just cleared away the debris and rebuilt.
P.S. If you go to google earth & look at the site of the 1978 fire at 256 Camen St, Newark, N.J., it’s now a townhome development. I wonder if any part of it has been razed for evidence, or if this case just rests on the now retractable statements of one cousin who originally said they were both involved. And why would one supposably go to police after all these years and make those statements, only to later plead not guilty?
Okay, this is gross, but if there was even just one person in the house when it burnt down, somebody should of smelled it. I have family that are firefighters and they say that a burning human makes a smell that once you smell it you never forget it and you always know what it is.
You haven`t updated in a while, Meaghan. Are you doing alright?
Of course I’m not all right. I’ve had a headache for four months as of February 13 and I’m taking heavy doses of morphine every day, which is known to sap one’s energy and motivation. I go to school every day and come home dead. Last weekend I slept a 36-hour stretch from 12 am Friday night to 12 noon on Sunday. So, yeah, I haven’t been updating lately. I need to post a notice on Charley about my illness but I can’t even find the motivation to do THAT.
I`m very sorry, I am hoping you get some relief soon. Don`t worry about updating, I was just wondering.
OFF TOPIC: did you know Nancy Grace is doing a 50 missing people in 50 days?? I haven’t been able to watch them. Has anyone?? Wondering if there is any new info about some of the well known missing people mysteries.
What is it, Nancy Grace’s 50 Missing Beautiful Blondes and Tots? B/c that’s realy she seems to focus on.
I can’t stand that woman. She’s not an investigator, all she is is a talking head that thinks she’s pretty slick. She’s not any different from Maury Povich or Jerry Springer if you asked me.
She does dramatize things for tv and viewer ship. I haven’t seen the missing people show so I was wondering what it was like.