Once authorities arrived to the small house on Beck Road there were 10 – one ounce bags of marijuana, stolen musical instruments, and floor plans for 12 Lancaster area banks located on the premises.

COURT DATE & INVESTIGATION

The court scheduled a preliminary hearing for the following Friday at 1 p.m. after the arraignment for Downs was held before Judge Joseph R. Ralston on Tuesday morning, August 12th. Downs entered no plea and was held at the Fairfield County Jail where bond was refused to be set. Sheriff Dan Berry stated, in his interview, that he theorized Downs allegedly killed all three individuals so they would not later identify him. He added that the house was already a suspected pivotal point for drug traffic and believed the killings were drug related. Chief Deputy Mike Norris stated his theory on Tracy Lynn’s attempt to hide from Downs as evidence pointed to her being dragged from underneath a bed and shot in the back of her head. He followed with, “We think she recognized the assailant or assailants and they did away with her.” He added how Steve and Connie were found on their backs; Bailey with several shots to the head laid on the front lawn and Connie lay about five feet from him, shot once to the head and also to the shoulder. Based on their positioning, Norris believes Steen came out of the house to see what the commotion was when Bailey was shot, and then she made an attempt to run back into the house. They were both last seen in Lancaster, Friday night at around 7 p.m., leading them to believe they had been dead for 24 hours. Police found a pocketbook on Connie’s corpse containing $12 and an Aid to Dependent Children card for Tracy. Tracy was found lying on her left side, half under a bed, and covered with a rug. No murder weapons were found on the scene, however, upon the investigation, spent shells were on the lawn and they were led to believe a 16-gauge shotgun was used, and reported they have suspects in mind.

RELEASE AFTER AUTO THEFT

Within the past year the Mansfield Reformatory released Bailey after time served for auto theft. There was an individual arrested in Whitehall who was later released as belief dissipated to his involvement in the incident.

OBITUARY

The article in the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette on Tuesday, August 12, 1975 ended with the three persons’ obituary, funeral, and burial services information.