The Murder of Aimee Willard
For this case I watched an episode of Forensic Files, this time on Netflix. It’s season 7 episode 20, titled ‘Telltale Tracks.’
A young college athlete is abducted and killed.
Background
Aimee Ellen Willard was born on June 8, 1974. She grew up in Pennsylvania, and was a star soccer player at her high school.
After high school, she attended George Mason University in Virginia, where she played soccer and lacrosse. She was named to the All-Conference team in both sports, and All-American team in lacrosse.
Aimee Willard
The Abduction
On June 20, 1996, Aimee had been at home in Pennsylvania, visiting her family for the summer. She told borrowed her mother Gail’s car, and told her that she was going to Smokey Joe’s Tavern. Aimee’s friend later said that Aimee left alone around 1:30am.
Around 2am, Aimee’s car was found abandoned on the shoulder, near an off ramp of Highway 476. The lights and radio were on, the engine was running, and the driver’s side door was open.
When the police arrived, they immediately knew that something awful had happened. A tire iron was found near the car, and blood spatter was found on the guardrail.
There were tire tracks found in the dirt nearby. They were photographed, and a cast was made of the impressions, and sent to the state crime lab.
A Horrific Discovery
Later that morning, about a mile from where Aimee’s car was abandoned, the police located a pair of underwear and sneakers. Gail later identified those items as her daughter’s.
That same day, children playing in an abandoned lot in North Philadelphia, had discovered the nude body of a young woman. Aimee was identified by her Nike symbol tattoo on her ankle.
The autopsy revealed that Aimee had died from blunt force trauma to her head and face. The medical examiner suggested that Aimee had died around 7am, about 5 hours after she was abducted.
Aimee had also been sexually assaulted. The DNA found on her body was sent into the crime lab.
The medical examiner made one more discovery. There was a diamond shaped pattern found on her upper body, which later would be on of the many pieces of evidence that pointed to her killer.
An Attempted Car-Jacking
About a year (some reports say a year and a half, one report said 2 years) after Aimee’s death, another young woman came forward about an attempted car jacking.
Her name was Patty Jordan, and she said she had been followed after leaving a local nightclub. Patty said the man had hit her from behind, and tried to get her to pull over. She refused, and sped away. Patty said that she was able to memorize the license plate number.
The car belonged to 38-year-old Arthur Bomar. He had been convicted of second degree murder in 1978 in Nevada. However, he was released on parole after 11 years.
Arthur had a very lengthy criminal history, mostly for assaulting young woman. On the night that Aimee was abducted, Arthur had been pulled over for an unrelated matter, just six blocks from where Aimee’s body was found.
A Monster
The police tried to locate Arthur to question him, but he was missing. That was until a woman called the police. She said that a man had tried to break into her third floor apartment.
When the police arrived, the man identified himself as Peter Thomas Love. In his pocket, the police found keys to a nearby Honda.
The police actually discovered that Peter was really Arthur Bomar, and that he had stolen the Honda from a woman named Maria Cabuneos, a 25 year old woman, also from Philadelphia. She had been reported missing from her family after she didn’t show up for work.
Arthur told the police that he had been at a birthday party on the night of Aimee’s murder, with a woman that he had been seeing. The woman later said that he was not with her, but had been at Smokey Joe’s Tavern.
The police also found dried blood inside the Honda, and the bumper had been scraped, just like Aimee’s had been.
The Evidence
The police still couldn’t figure out what that diamond pattern on Aimee was. Gail asked to look at the pattern, and determined that it was a burn.
The police believed that it was from Arthur’s car, which was now in the possession of a towing company. The car had been exposed to the elements for over a year, but the police took apart the car searching for evidence.
The police were able to match a tire, a Firestone 440 30-inch tire to the impression mark at the crime scene. There was also damage found to the front bumper.
Aimee’s blood was eventually found on the door of the passenger door, and they matched her burn to the oil panel underneath Arthur’s car. They believed that Arthur had run Aimee over, which left behind that diamond pattern.
Arthur’s DNA was also a match to the semen found on Aimee’s body.
The Conviction
Arthur’s defense said that he had been neglected as a child, and had a low IQ.
In February 2003, Arthur was convicted of first degree murder, rape, assault, kidnapping and abuse of a corpse. He was sentenced to death.
At his trial, he had many violent outbursts. After sentencing, he flipped off Aimee’s family, and told them to fuck themselves.
Arthur’s family also tried to fight the news reporters and photographers, which can be seen in the Forensic Files episode.
The piece of shit that is Arthur Bomar
Other
In 1998, Maria’s remains were eventually found in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Arthur Bomar has never been convicted for this crime.
In 2000, Aimee’s Law or The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, was passed. It encourages states to keep rapists, murderers and child molesters in prison longer. It will hold states financially accountable if they fail to do so.
U.S. Lacrosse has created a national award in Aimee’s honor.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This dude is a real piece of shit. I say that every time, but I think this guy is one of the worst I’ve read about. He also said that he was convicted because of the color of his skin. No, you were convicted because you’re a monster, and the evidence proves it. I don’t have much to say other except, he shouldn’t have even been let out in the first place. But, I hope he rots in prison.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aimee_Willard
https://mytruecrimestories.com/2021/06/29/an-athlete-murdered-young-death-of-aimee-willard/
