The Mysterious Disappearance of Leigh Marine Occhi – Part III

July 29, 2009

Part three of a four-part series - click here to read part II

Yesterday, I continued the four-part series on the case of Leigh Marine Occhi, a 13-year-old girl from Tupelo, Miss., who mysteriously disappeared on Aug. 27, 1992. Part one of the series covered Leigh's disappearance and left off with authorities launching a large-scale search to find her. Part two provided information on who Leigh was and her relationship with her father. Now, in part three, we go back to the time of her disappearance and learn what police think of the unsolved case.

One of the Tupelo police investigators who was originally a part of the Leigh Occhi case and who also continues to work it today is Captain Bart Aguirre. He remembers vividly the day Leigh went missing and has been an active participant in the investigation to find the person responsible.

"I remember we had Hurricane [Andrew] coming through and it was just a stormy day that day," Aguirre said. "I think we received a phone call from the mother [at about] 9 a.m. It was pretty early, and our detectives responded out there, and at the scene, we found blood splatter on the interior door facing the kitchen area and a pool of blood on the carpet in the hallway leading to her bedroom … [the blood] wasn't hard. It didn't have what I call a 'skin' over the top of it. It was fresh … When we started looking at the bathroom area, [we could] actually see where somebody had attempted to clean up the crime scene. The mother, she wasn't hysterical. She had her own mother and father at the scene when we arrived, and they tried to comfort her and to figure out what events took place in the house."

According to Aguirre, one of the first places Leigh's mother, Vickie Yarborough, took police was to Leigh's bedroom.

"There was a bloody nightgown [on] the floor in Leigh Occhi's room. That nightgown was collected for further use. If we are ever able to find a suspect, we could use that nightgown to trace hair fibers and determine [whether] the blood on it is actually Leigh Occhi's or the suspect's."

Based upon the evidence found at the scene, Aguirre said it is likely that Leigh was killed inside the house and then transported elsewhere. In addition, Aguirre said that elements of the crime scene were not typical of what his department would expect to find in this type of case.

"There [was] no sign of any kind of forced entry to the house or anything like that. The house was not torn up or in disarray. There was evidence there that would lead [one] to believe that Leigh Occhi's head struck that door frame, received an injury, and laid there on that carpet and bled. There was quite a bit of pooling of blood, not a huge pooling of blood, but it was probably about the size of my fist. An area about that big, and it was still wet, very wet … A [random] criminal would not take the time trying to clean up and wipe down the bathroom countertop and the sink to make sure all the blood was washed out of there. There was definitely blood on the countertop – a very light pink haze was on the sink countertop and down in the bowl, and there was a swab that was taken and tested and proved to be blood, so it makes me very suspicious. The child was awake and had eaten breakfast with her mother before [the latter] went to work. Now, if you look at that timeline, from the time she left and went to work and the time she started calling and getting no answer – probably an hour, hour and a half – our perpetrator, whoever it may be, is going to come in that house, assault Leigh Occhi, and clean up that crime scene in that hour, hour and a half time frame?"

When the case was first covered in the media, reports surfaced that a pair of scissors with a reddish stain on them had been found on top of a refrigerator inside the home. According to Aguirre, the substance was later found to be irrelevant to the case.

"We took a look at that [and] there [was] some rust on them," Aguirre said. "We did a presumptive test on them and it wasn't blood."

In addition to the Yarborough home, authorities also searched the family car.

"We took the liner out of [the] car - out of the trunk of her car," Aguirre said. "I don't know why we took that but I think that we felt like it may hold some evidence of some sort, and I know that was sent to the state crime lab and it was gone over, but nothing to my knowledge came of that. Even if they found blood or hair in the trunk - unless it was fresh blood or something like that - [we] wouldn't have been able to do a whole lot with it. Even if we found some traces of hair or fibers from some of her clothing, unless, I mean, why wouldn't her hair be there? She [could have] threw her clothes and her other gear in the trunk of the car, there could have been a transfer, and some of that stuff could have fallen off in there; and if it was in there, so what? That is quite normal for people, for hair to be in their car. So, unless [we] found big knots of hair with the roots pulled out, it wouldn't be too suspicious."

As the investigation continued, police conducted both ground and aerial searches in an attempt to locate Leigh. In addition, some 130 citizen volunteers searched large areas of undeveloped land in the surrounding area. Despite everyone's best efforts, no sign of Leigh was found during any of the searches. The case was coming to an abrupt standstill, but all that seemed to change on Sept. 9, 1992, when Leigh's mother contacted police and informed them that she had received a mysterious package in the mail that contained Leigh's missing eye glasses. Nothing else was included in the package. The glasses had arrived in an 8-inch envelope, addressed in block letters to "B Yarborough." The return address was listed as the same. The address contained one misspelling; instead of 105 Honey Locust, it read, "105 Hony Locust."

"Her glasses were mailed from a city about 30 miles north of here," Aguirre said. "[The package] had a postage stamp on it from Booneville, Miss."

The envelope was sent to the state crime lab in Jackson for handwriting analysis and DNA testing; however, Aguirre says, "nothing of evidentiary value" was found. Despite this, investigators began to shift the focus of the case.

"We polygraphed the mother. The mother was the last one to see her alive," Aguirre said. "She was polygraphed three different times, once by a local polygraph examiner and twice by the FBI. She failed it 3 times."

According to Aguirre, Vickie Yarborough's husband, Barney Yarborough, was also given a polygraph, but he passed the examination.

"He was very cooperative. He was not living with Leigh and her mother at the time," Aguirre said. "He lived in an apartment complex here in Tupelo and he was very forthcoming and tried to assist us in any way to try to help locate her. He would join us anytime we went out to search fields and woods or whatever. [He] was always willing to assist and to help, but he later died."

Despite the passage of time, Aguirre said that his department continues to receive tips from time to time.

"I believe the last tip we may have gotten was back last year sometime," he said. "We have departments that call and want us to check and make sure that our files are up to date, especially our NCIC (National Crime Information Center) files about our missing persons. We get people calling, wanting to know if Leigh Occhi is still missing, and the last tip we got is from a psychic … So we have been told to look under a storage shed at a certain address, but it's hard to go out there and convince a circuit court judge to give us a search warrant for a piece of property based on conjecture or a psychic's tip. The best thing we can do is go to that property, knock on the door, and say, 'We are investigating a cold case file. Would you give us permission to go over there and look under that shed?' Once they give us permission, we can go over there and look under dog houses, sheds, and everything else."

Today, the case is cold because investigators have been unable to obtain enough information to make an arrest or name an official suspect; however, Aguirre said his department has evidence it has not made public, as well as a person of interest in the case.

"There are still some things that we know that we are not releasing or talking about to the public, which could possibly tie a suspect to her death," Aguirre said. In regard to a possible person of interest, he said, "I don't think it would be wrong to call Vickie a person of interest, [but] we definitely don't want to call her a suspect at this time … Until Leigh's body is found, and until we know exactly the cause and manner of death, [the case] will always remain open."

To be continued...

Click here to read Part 4 of this in-depth four-part series on the mysterious disappearance of Leigh Marine Occhi

Check back tomorrow to read the fourth and final part of this in-depth series on the mysterious disappearance of Leigh Marine Occhi, and find out what Vickie Yarborough thinks about the case and what could have happened to her daughter.

Photo Credits: Clippings: Daily Journal; Bart Aguirre: Carla Lohr; Tupelo Police Department: Carla Lohr; Tupelo Police car: Carla Lohr

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission from Discovery Communications. All quotes must include a link back.

Comments

[j.stephen.h]

I think the mother is probably involved and had an accomplice. Unless there was somewhere she could have hidden the body close by until later removal...the time is too short. It's odd too that she says she Called her mom and told her to check on the girl, yet the mother didnt? why not? As was stated a random offender would NOT take the time to clean up afterwards..but also someone Cleaning up wouldnt leave behind bloody clothing/evidence unless it was intended for staging. (staged domestic homicide made to look like a revenge motivated killing in retaliation against the stepfather) Theres too many conflicting problems with this for it not to be someone known to the girl, and I dont think Lust was a motive. For the blood to have been fresh, that means the mom (if she did the actual killing) would have to have Waited until AFTER she got back from work to kill the girl. And then hurriedly cleaned up and stashed the body somewhere relatively close by until she could put it elsewhere later. This makes me consider that perhaps (if her workplace supports timeline and alibi)there was a second party involved. Its also fair to note that Usually someone who was acting on revenge motivations would have chosen the bloody clothing over glasses to send back...because they would want to illicit the most shock value from the individual they have a grudge on.

[Angel]

It sounds to me like the mother knows more than she's telling. "Not hysterical??!!" I am a mother, and if anything ever happened to one of my children, I would be BEYOND hysterical. You would need to put me in a padded room in a straight-jacket. Also, she failed 3 polygraphs. Now, I understand that polygraphs have a margin of error, and are not admissible in court, but this just sounds strange to me. I feel for the father and hope the mother will get her just desserts. If not on this Earth, she must still face Judgement Day. And if she is guilty, she will not escape that justice.

[betty]

i wonder, if Vickie failed 3 times the polygraph, WHY the police didnt do anything and why they let her go. i wonder if she "KNOW" something. I feel sorry for the father, i can't imagine the pain in his heart. I hope someday we find the monster who did that to Leigh.

[Tezi]

Great reporting once again Mr. Lohr!

I too think the mother is hiding more than she is telling. Failing a polygraph three different times looks really suspicious. At first, my prime "person of interest" was the stepfather, but after reading that he passed his polygraph and the mother failed three of them, I changed my mind.

I look forward to reading the rest of the story tomorrow!

[lisafer]

This local case has always bothered me.

This is the first I've heard that the mother failed 3 polygraphs. I wonder if a mother-daughter fight got out of hand...

I can't wait to see what she says now.

So sad and horrible. May justice one day be served for Leigh Occhi.

[jeremy]

vicki, as miss angel rightly pointed out polygraphs are not admissible in court...also they didnt have any physical/trace evidence or witnesses to use against her...you cant convict on suspicion no matter how strong unfortunately.

[betty]

I think the same like other person that post a comment here, i think the mother is hidding something, and i hope and pray that finally somebody had to pay for what they did to that Beautiful little Leigh and this time the police do something and put that monster in jail. Why they dont bring vickie back to tupelo and and ask her again about what happen that nite or that morning, PLEASE somebody need to do something this time.

[betty]

Thank you so much and God bless you Mr. David Lohr,for the interest in the Leigh Occhi case. I hope you can help with these reports to finally CATCH the MONSTER .

[Dean]

Vickie has many things pointing against her. "not hysterical". Also, look at part one. The time frame is very odd. She said she called her mother, who lived 5 minutes away from her house, before she went home. Vickie had gone home from work then searched the house THEN called 911. After the 911 call, her mother then went to her house. Odd isn't it? There's more than she's telling us.

[Rev. Lynn DeLellis]

How sad and tragic. I will not rush to judgment because too many innocent parents have been falsely accused in recent years. We have to wait and see what the police have uncovered before deciding who is guilty.

[Helen]

I do not understand why -redacted- here in Tupelo was not mentioned in your articles. Leigh was known to be very friendly with him and he gave her rides to and from various activities. Is it possible that Leigh had a miscarriage????? or that pregnancy could have sent someone over the top - whether accidently or intentionally. Could this not have been determined by the blood tests?

[Betty]

Hope "YOU" Who Murder Leigh, wake every morning thinking what "YOU" did to to her, she deserve's to live and be happy and "YOU" cut her life too soon, "YOU can hide to eyes of the Humans and the justice at earth but "YOU" never escape to the justice of GOD, and hope God dont have mercy with you like you didnt have mercy with Leigh, Hope this time finally they came and arrest you and pay for what you did .

[j.stephen.h]

Helen..he wasnt mentioned for the obvious reason that it's hearsay and you can get sued for defamation of character...these guys(crime writers) deal in facts and probabilities, not speculation. For instance its a FACT that the Mother failed three polygraphs, and from a matter of probability when something like that occurs its usually probable that the individual who failed is hiding something or was involved. Anyone can play "stick it to the local pedophile" for the convenience of shifiting the focus of the investigation...and i'm sure that this man was profiled and his character didnt match with whats known about the case. Since you seem to be a local, what do you know about his personality? (without mentioning a specific name) did he mail stolen items from other victims to the families? was he violent? did he murder any of his victims? did they live in that immediate area? How organized was he in his assaults? did he form relationships with the victims for months before hand, or take them at a moment when the opportunity arose? Pedophiles range from the power assertive types who seek to form loving relationships, to the preferential sadists who need to inflict pain to arouse them...theres usually no in betweens..its one or the other, and they Rarely escalate into violent types from power assertive.

[j.stephen.h]

I just realized a fault in my above post, I meant to say Power-reassurance type, not assertive. I was on about 2 hours of sleep in 4 days when i made that slight...it happens. The power reassurance types seek to form loving relationships or validate their self worth they feel they're lacking. The power assertive is the egotistical predatorial type who has no concern for the well being of the victim and use them primarily for sexual gratification, while at the same time degrading and often abusing them.

[Newbie]

J.Stephen.H., I'm curious, What do you do?

[Joe Mullins]

Leigh hated storms.. my mom has told me that many times while I was growing up.. as well as telling me I used to mispronounce her name as "sister wee(Leigh)".. showing me a photograph of her at the pool.. she did look pretty happy..
I also wonder if she(mother) called her daughter from work.. the daughter is freaking out due to the storms.. she goes home to see if she can solve the problem.. the girl stays hysterical and says things along the line of "mom stay.. don't go.. don't leave me here alone" the mom says "such and such will be here later to pick you up.. you'll be fine" Leigh continues to freak out -redacted- I don't recall meeting the mother but I'm sure I did while we were there searching.. Sorry if this seems odd.. but.. I've had years to ponder the situation.. and now I'm old enough to understand why her father was always a *bad word insert* after this unfortunate event.. She'll be found.. one day.. and the scum who did it will be hopefully sent to death row as donald says..