Chances are, you've heard of the Blaine Whitworth case. As of early June 2013, it was featured as a Yahoo! news story, along with the Associated Press. Since the murder, there have been many rumors and many conflicting press reports. Namely, the recent Yahoo story (reprinted on several local news stations' sites), doesn't quite match up to everything else that has been reported since the murder last fall.
So what's truth and what's fiction? And why is this a nationwide case from a town of less than 20,000? Let's start at the beginning. The players are as follows:
--Blaine Whitworth- (Victim) 25 year old UCM graduate who returned to Warrensburg after working on the oil rig for several months. (As he returned to Warrensburg, he purchased a home, drove a new truck, and leased/bought the two bars). When he returned, he poured several hundred thousand dollars into renovating Bodie's (a Warrensburg townie bar that's been around for 30+ years) & purchasing/leasing Molly's, formerly Johnny's Pour House. While several people have claimed that Blaine "owned" both bars, he did not. He was likely under a lease for both, but he definitely did not own Bodie's, which has been owned by the Bodenhamer family for years. Blaine approached the owner with a few other fraternity brothers and they leased it to update it and reach a different population. Before the "new" Bodie's opened, some of the fraternity brothers were cut out of the deal, and Blaine was the person they said that cut them out.
Blaine was rumored to have made "over $100,000" while working on the rig, and in Warrensburg language, a 25 year old making that kind of cash was considered "rich". But think of it this way- if he did make over $100k, and then he returns to Warrensburg, "buys" two bars, owns a home, drives a nice truck, and has to keep both businesses afloat, $100k just simply isn't going to go that far. Yes, he probably was mortgaged to the hilt. But in a 2012 economy, exactly how much credit would a local bank extend to a 25 year old?
NOTE: The Warrensburg bar scene took a major hit in 2008 and has never fully recovered. Fitters, arguably the most popular bar/restaurant in town, took over a decade to become what it is, and they still have slow nights.
--Reginald Singletary- (Suspect #1) Reginald "Reggie" Singletary was a 27 year old college student at Missouri Valley Community College. He was a college football player/coach, and is divorced with two children. At the time of the murder, Reggie was working for Blaine. Some rumors say that he was fired right before the shooting. It has been referenced in several articles, but we will know more when the case goes to trial.
--Ziyad Abid- (Suspect #2)- Known as "Prince", Ziyad is a Saudi Arabian national who was studying aviation at UCM. His roommate was Reggie Singletary. Ziyad was frequently seen downtown at all of the bars, namely Molly's, Blaine's bar. He wore expensive watches, was reported to always be purchasing drinks for ladies at the bar, and flashing money on his Facebook page and downtown. He told many people he was a "Saudi Arabian prince", which later would lead to rumors that he would be receiving "immunity" for his crime.
What follows is an account of what happened to Blaine on Sept 1, 2012. This version of the story is from reports from Molly's employees and sources close to Blaine at the time.
On Sept 1, 2012, Blaine was leaving his home to go to Molly's for the Saturday evening shift. He was showered and had one of his bar shirts on. As he exited his home, he was shot twice. (Rumors have claimed it was twice in the head, execution style. This has not been substantiated thus far) The cops arrived and found him in his front yard/driveway around 9:30 pm. He was dead. In his truck was the cash box for the bar, holding several hundred dollars. It was untouched. Rumor quickly spread throughout Warrensburg of Blaine's death. That evening, Ziyad Abid was seen at Molly's before the news arrived. He also joined a group of friends to mourn Blaine's death that evening.
This happened to be Labor Day weekend, so Police Chief Bruce Howey announced that the Major Case Squad would be investigating it Tuesday morning. By Tuesday evening, Reggie & Ziyad were arrested. Reggie had allegedly confessed to shooting Blaine, at the request of Ziyad. Reggie told the police that Ziyad had paid him to kill Blaine. Other rumors state that Ziyad threatened to kill Reggie's family if he didn't kill Blaine.
.........But why would Ziyad want Blaine dead? Good question. Sources close to the case have stated that Blaine knew his life was on the line, and expressed this to his managers and close friends. Police interviewed Molly's & Bodie's employees and were informed of this right away.
-Part of this blog is to explore, and possibly dispel rumors related to the case. One of the biggest rumors that has been floating around Warrensburg is that Ziyad had given Blaine a loan to keep his business(es) afloat, but wanted a part of the business after the deal was made, and Blaine refused. Ziyad felt that by killing Blaine, two bars on Pine Street would be available for purchase. As mentioned before, Blaine was considered "rich" by many people in Warrensburg. He was living the American Dream by "Owning" bars, making money- that's what people saw when they looked at him.
What if he had come up short, and Ziyad offered a solution? He was known to many as a "Prince", everyone believed he truly was royalty and just like with Blaine, he was thought to have unlimited cash flow. This rumor has been widespread but not published in the paper or any other news stories- but I'm not surprised. Maybe they're keeping it in their pocket for trial. Since Blaine's death, no one has uttered an ill word about him- he was the hometown hero.
I have a feeling that the trial will show a different side of the three players that we haven't quite seen before. There was a reason Blaine was killed. I'm not saying it was a good or valid reason- but there was a reason. Rumors have swirled around drugs, money laundering/loans, and more. We don't quite know what the prosecution or the defense has to bring to the table... but I'm pretty sure it's going to change the way that this town remembers Blaine- and maybe everything wasn't what it once seemed.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Welcome to Central MO Sleuth!
Central MO Sleuth is a new blog for all things crime in Central Missouri- the inspiration from this blog came from the current murder case making headlines- the murder of "bar owner" Blaine Whitworth- hometown hero, who was gunned down in front of his home on September 1, 2012. But we'll get to that later...
Central Missouri happens to have more crime than one would think. Maybe it's because we're kind of in the middle of nowhere, with lots of wooded areas, state parks, farm land, and well, meth heads. As with all small towns, this area is home to a lot of people with ahem, how should we say this... biased views.
This blog is an objective one- open for ideas and discussion- but racism will not be tolerated. I'm a college educated professional- I don't claim to be a cop or attorney- in fact, that's what makes this so great. Viewing these cases from the outside in is the best way- and anyone else can add the information that they know in the comments.
Email me at centralmosleuth@gmail.com if you want me to feature a story/case.
Happy Sleuthing!
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