| 1/4/2007 11:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | New break in Dattilo case
Peggy Vlerebome
Courier Staff Writer
The last person known to have been with Molly Dattilo before she disappeared is believed to have been a man she met on an acquaintance's porch that day, her family said in a statement today. Dattilo went on a rowboat ride and ate dinner with him, the statement said.
Her family identified the man as John E. Shelton, and said that at the time he lived at Chapel Knoll Apartments at 9115 W. 10th St. in Indianapolis.
In the statement, Molly Dattilo's oldest brother, Benjamin, said the family learned Shelton's identity "through our own investigations."
One of the two John Sheltons listed with directory assistance in Indianapolis said this morning that he never lived at those apartments and the other could not be reached.
Dattilo, a Madison native, disappeared two and a half years ago Saturday from the area of her apartment at the Westlake complex in Indianapolis. Benjamin Dattilo had a press conference in Indianapolis this morning and was scheduled to have one this afternoon in Madison to reveal Shelton's name and the sequence of events in the hope that it will lead to information about what happened to Dattilo on July 6, 2004.
"To the best of our current knowledge, this is the sequence of events as they transpired," Benjamin Dattilo's statement read. "Earlier that evening of July 6th, Molly encountered and spoke with Carolyn Warmouth, who was on the porch of her then-Westlake apartment home. It was there at Warmouth's residence where Molly likely met John E. Shelton. From there, Molly accompanied Shelton for a rowboat ride on Westlake apartment property. They then ate dinner at the Taco Bell restaurant located at 6215 Crawfordsville Road.
"Following their dinner, they arrived at the nearby Thornton's gas station on 5760 Crawfordsville Road in Indianapolis," the statement said. "We have every reason to believe that Molly placed her last phone call in Shelton's presence from a pay phone at this location around 11 p.m. This call was disconnected when her friend picked up to answer.
"We do not know what happened after this phone call, but it is our family's sincerest hope that others may have information about what happened that night, what happened to Molly, or where she is now," the statement said.
"We ask that anyone who knows anything please help us in our efforts to find Molly by contacting the able detectives of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department at (317)327-6984," Benjamin Dattilo's statement said.
There still is a $100,000 reward for information leading to the discovery of Molly Dattilo and the arrest and conviction of people involved in her disappearance, Benjamin Dattilo said. "We do not know when this reward will expire," he said.
Molly Dattilo, the youngest of nine children, was 23 when she disappeared. She had shoulder-length, light brown hair and green eyes. She weighed about 100 pounds and was about 5 feet tall, with a runner's wiry build. She had a dime-sized birthmark on the upper outside of her right arm, just below the elbow. The tip of her left thumb and thumbnail were what her brother described as "noticeably deformed" because of a childhood accident, with the thumbnail having "a rounded-off or hook-like appearance."
At the time of her disappearance, she was living with another brother in Indianapolis while she attended college summer classes. She had planned to attend her fifth year at Eastern Kentucky University that fall, having completed a four-year running scholarship before starting summer classes. One of the classes was a voice class she was taking in preparation for auditioning for "American Idol."
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Reader Comments
Posted: Thursday, January 04, 2007
Article comment by:
John Shelton
Hello
I'm John E Shelton. I'm a 56 yr old farmer at Hanover. As might be imagined, I'm upset. Is there no description of this other John E Shelton.
Simply a name with no description leaves people to wonder.
I never met Molly and certainly had nothing to do with her disappearance.
Please clarify this for your readers.
John E Shelton
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