In 1986, pretty Jane Prichard, 28, of Clarksburg, Md. was a graduate student at the University of Maryland. As part of her program, she was to conduct botany experiments in the field. On September 19, a Saturday, she drove up to the Blackbird Forest State Park, in Delaware, 115 miles from her home, to conduct her work. She arrived at around 7 a.m.
She had been to the park many times and had spent many hours
there in past.
A squirrel hunter named Michael P. Lloyd recalled seeing her at
10 AM.
At 5:30 p.m, an elderly New Jersey couple who were camping in
the forest went for a walk and found Prichard’s body sprawled near her truck,
a 1980 Chevy Blazer. She was partially disrobed, with a gunshot to her back.
The body was about 20 feet from her equipment, and the shot to the back would
indicate that she had gotten away from her attacker and ran for the truck when
she was shot with a shotgun. There was no sign of a struggle.
Detectives figured that Jane’s murder was a crime of opportunity
and the suspect was one of the 25 to 50 hunters that were at the park that day,
as it was the start of squirrel hunting season. She worked undisturbed for a
while because she had an opportunity to set up her equipment. Then the intruder
arrived. She was sexually assaulted or in the process of being sexually
assaulted when she ran for her car.
Michael P. Lloyd, the squirrel hunter was home watching the news
when he learned about the murder. He had been there that day and recalled
seeing Jane Prichard. He phoned the police and gave them a description of a man
he had seen there. "I thought it was my civic duty." He said later.
When the police asked him to come down to the scene of the crime, he did. He
said he saw Prichard talking to another hunter at around 10 AM and that the man
was a white male, around 5'9" with a medium build and wearing a brown
jacket and blue jeans. He helped them to create a drawing. But instead of
thanking him, the police made him their number one suspect.
Remarkably he was charged with first-degree murder and weapon
possession. Mike Lloyd, a janitor, was released from prison after ten months
after his bail was reduced to $10,000. The next day the state announced it
would drop the charges for lack of evidence. What actually happened was that
the cop's case fell apart when DNA testing of a hair found at the scene proved
conclusively that he could not be the killer.
"I would never make that mistake again" (Trying to
help the police) Mike Lloyd said when he was released from prison. "My
advice is, 'Don't get involved. When I first got out I had to pinch
myself," he said. "It wasn't till Sunday when I drove my truck that
it finally dawned on me. Yeah. I'm out."