Lyon Sisters Case: Virginia Man Pleads Guilty To Abduction, Murder

WHEATON, MD — A Virginia man pleaded guilty Tuesday to the 1975 kidnapping and murder of two young girls from Montgomery County, according to media reports. Lloyd Lee Welch, 60, is accused of abducting 12-year-old Sheila Lyon and 10-year-old Katherine Lyon from the Wheaton Plaza shopping mall, radio station WTOP reported.

Authorities believe he burned the girls' bodies on a remote mountain in Bedford County, Virginia, where his family owned land, according to media reports. The bodies were never recovered.

Welch was scheduled to go on trial Tuesday, but his trial request was withdrawn last week. He pleaded guilty Tuesday in Bedford Circuit Court to two counts of first-degree felony murder, WTOP reported. (Get Patch’s real-time news alerts or like us on Facebook. For iPhone users, get the free Patch app.)

SEE MORE: Lyon Sisters Murders: Minister, Relatives Blamed In Kidnappings

Welch was sentenced to 48 years in prison under a plea agreement with prosecutors, WTOP reported. He is currently serving a lengthy sentence in a Delaware prison for sexually molesting a 10-year-old girl.

Under Tuesday's plea agreement, Welch will begin serving his Virginia prison sentence in 2026 when he completes the Delaware sentence.

As part of the plea agreement, Welch pleaded guilty to charges that he sexually assaulted a young girl in 1996 in Prince William County in Virginia, according to Bedford County Commonwealth's Attorney Wes Nance.

Earlier this year, a grand jury indicted Welch on charges of rape, object penetration, indecent liberties and aggravated sexual assault in the Prince William case, WTOP reported.

'An Emotional Day'

Sheila and Katherine Lyon were the daughters of WMAL radio broadcaster John Lyon and his wife, Mary. At a news conference in the Bedford courthouse after Tuesday's hearing, members of the Lyon family thanked all of the members of law enforcement who helped close the case.

John Lyon saluted the Montgomery County Police Department's Cold Case Unit for its "tremendous display of professionalism" in pursuing the 42-year-old case, and for making "a beautiful emotional investment in the case, and our family."

He added: "It's been a long, long time and we're tired, and we just want to go home."

John McCarthy, the Montgomery County State's Attorney, said at the news conference that it was "an emotional day for everybody."

The Lyon family "is part of the fabric of Montgomery County," he said, noting that John and Mary Lyon's son, Jay, is an officer with the Police Department.

John Lyon has served the county as a victim-witness coordinator, helping other families even after the disappearance of his two daughters, McCarthy said. "John and his family, they needed this resolution."

McCarthy also thanked the department's Cold Case Unit and Virginia authorities. "We are forever grateful to the people of Bedford County for the work they've done" on the case, he said.

If the case had gone to trial, Welch could have faced the death penalty, said Nance, the Bedford County prosecutor. But if the jury recommended a death sentence and the judge upheld it, "you were likely looking at years of appeals," he said.

"In my heart of hearts, I know we put one of the major perpetrators away" in this case, he said.

After the guilty pleas were announced, Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger released this statement:

"The prayers of countless Montgomery County police officers, past and present, are with the Lyon family today. Our community still grieves their loss. With this plea, we can all be assured that Lloyd Welch will never be free to victimize another child or destroy another family.

"I am eternally grateful to the prosecutors both here and in Virginia," the chief added. "I am grateful for the generations of cops who never stopped caring about this case, and I am most grateful for the Lyon family for their strength that inspired us all."

Image: The Lyon sisters (Montgomery County Police Department)