Bags Burned Smelled Like 'Death' Says Lyon Sisters Witness

The smell of death emanated from two heavy duffle bags stained red that accused murderer Lloyd Lee Welch had a cousin help him burn in 1975.

Residents of Taylor Mountain, VA, tell investigators that the fire burned for days and smelled like a cremation.

What prosecutors must now prove to a Bedford County, Virginia, jury is that the bodies of sisters Sheila Lyon, 12, and Katherine Lyon, 10, were in those bags. The girls were last seen walking home from a mall in March 1975.

On July 10, indictments were handed down by a Bedford County, VA, grand jury that charged Lloyd Lee Michael Welch Jr., 58, with first-degree felony murder in both sisters’ deaths. Welch is a convicted sex offender incarcerated in a Delaware prison.

Smell of Death

According to affidavits just unsealed in the case, a relative of Lloyd Welch told police that in the spring of 1975 he came by unexpectedly with a duffle bag of bloody clothes that he wanted the relative to launder, reports WUSA.

A cousin, Henry Parker, also told detectives he helped Lloyd Welch burn two 60- to 70-pound duffle bags stained red and smelling of decay, reports The Washington Post citing a search warrant. The bags smelled like “death,” Parker said in court documents.

Parker told the Post in a phone interview that he didn’t know what was in the bags that were burned. He told the newspaper he didn’t see the Lyon sisters.

Other family members warned Parker to stay away from Lloyd Welch, saying: “He’s trouble. He’s trouble all the way around.”

In May, investigators served a search warrant at the home of his uncle, Richard Allen Welch Sr., in the 4700 block of Baltimore Avenue in Hyattsville. He was previously named a person of interest in the case of the two girls and has denied any wrongdoing.

Pursuing All Leads

Prosecutors said at a Wednesday press conference that the charge filed against Lloyd Welch includes the allegation that during his abduction of the sisters with the intent to defile them, he killed the girls.

John McCarthy, the state’s attorney from Montgomery County, at a press conference Thursday, pledged to continue to pursue anyone who harmed the girls, and those who have lied and misled investigators.

Authorities said the investigation continues in Maryland and Virginia, and other charges are possible. While investigators have not found the girls’ bodies, that search continues.

“Life was never the same for any parent who tried to raise a child after the disappearance of these little girls. We’ve never forgotten the Lyon family or the Lyon girls,” McCarthy said.

Capt. Darren Franke, head of the Major Crimes Unit of the Montgomery County Police, said that Parker, Richard Welch, his daughter, Patricia Welch, and others will be investigated further.

“I believe there’s someone out there that knows a lot more than they’ve shared so far,” Franke said. “I believe they’re waiting for the right reason to come forward.”

Authorities on Thursday noted that many residents testified in grand jury proceedings in Bedford County, which resulted in Welch’s indictment. But their work isn’t done.

“We will be relentless in finding the facts of this case,” Franke said. “Look at your conscience, remember back then, remember now as this conspiracy goes on. Call us, we’re listening.”

If people have a lead, they can call (434) 534-9521 or email cybertip@ncmec.org.

In February, investigators said they believed the girls were taken by the convicted sex offender and later sexually assaulted by his uncle, according to court documents.

The information was contained in search warrants executed as Montgomery County Police, the FBI and sheriff’s deputies searched for traces of the sisters on Taylor’s Mountain in Bedford County, VA. The area is the one-time home for both Welch men, authorities said, and two searches of the region have been done.

Timeline of Girls’ Disappearance

The girls walked to Wheaton Plaza (now Westfield Wheaton Mall) on March 25, 1975, but never returned home, Patch previously reported.

The Washington Post cited documents that say Lloyd Welch told detectives he took the girls when he left the mall the day they disappeared, and that he later saw his uncle sexually assaulting one of the sisters.

“Our department and our partners in Virginia remain committed to determining what happened to Katherine and Sheila Lyon,” said Montgomery Police Chief J. Thomas Manger in February 2015. “We believe that there are people, including family members of Dick and Lloyd Welch, who have information that would further this investigation.”

Police named Lloyd Welch a person of interest in connection with the kidnapping of the Lyon sisters in February 2014. Welch, who was charged with sex offenses against girls in several states, has been in a Delaware prison since 1997, according to police.

Montgomery County Police said that Welch was “noticed paying attention to the sisters the afternoon they disappeared.”

His uncle was named a second person of interest in the abductions in October 2014. The elder Welch was a security guard in the Wheaton area during the time of the sisters’ disappearance, Patch previously reported.

Investigators believe Richard Welch owned property at Taylor’s Mountain in the Thaxton area of Bedford County, WJLA TV reports.

Montgomery County Assistant Police Chief Russ Hamill Hamill said previously he thinks “there’s a good chance” the girls are on the mountain.

In an earlier letter to the Post, Lloyd Welch denied any involvement in the disappearance of the sisters. Richard Welch’s daughter told the newspaper the allegations are a lie.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Montgomery County Police at 240-773-5070.

»Photo of Lyon sisters from Montgomery County Police; screenshots of state’s attorney John McCarthy, Capt. Darren Franke and prosecutor Randy Krantz from WUSA

Earlier Patch Coverage:

• Investigators Return to Mountain in 40-Year Search for Lyon Sisters
• Missing Lyon Sisters: Police Search Virginia Mountain for Remains
• Missing Lyon Sisters: Second Person of Interest Named
• Lyon Sisters Cold Case: Carnival Ride Operator Named Person of Interest
• Sex Offender Admits Taking Lyon Sisters: Court Records