The Murder of Meghan Landowski

Written By Kiley Baumgartner

Warning, this case does discuss the topic of sexual assault.

For this case I watched an episode of Unusual Suspects. It’s season 7 episode 2, titled ‘Last Dance.’

A 16 year old dancer is found dead in her home.

Background

Meghan Landowski had a passion for dance. She started in ballet, and began branching out to different genres. She attended a prestigious high school to focus on dance, but wanted to go to a regular high school, so that she could be at school with her friends from the neighborhood.

Meghan was described as vivacious and kind. Her parents said that it didn’t take her long to meet new people, and she liked to be friends with everyone.

Meghan Landowski

Meghan Landowski

meghan .jpg

The Murder

On April 10, 2008, Meghan had an early release day from school. Her mom Angela, told her to call her when she got home. She said that Meghan left her a message, told her about her day, and told her she loved her.

Meghan was just about to start making lunch, when she heard a noise. Meghan was then bound with tape, sexually assaulted, and stabbed 43 times.

Her step-father Chris Shortt said he left work around 4pm, and found Meghan dead. He called 911, and told them that his daughter was bleeding everywhere. He even named the person that he thought was involved (more on this in a bit).

The Investigation

The Portsmouth, Virginia police arrived. They immediately noticed the brutality of the crime. Meghan had been stabbed 43 times, 11 of those were post mortem. She was also found naked from the waist down, and her arms were bound behind her with tape.

The police searched the home for any forced entry. There wasn’t any, but they did find a leaf in the home that from the bush right outside the window.

The police also were able to determine that Meghan’s attack had started in her bedroom. Her underwear was on the floor, and the role of tape was in there as well. There was blood on the role of tape, and it was sent in for testing. The police also collected the pillows, sheets and blankets from the bed.

Meghan had been assaulted in her room, but was able to escape. She ran downstairs, where she was killed. The killer had walked around the house, leaving behind footprints. They also washed their hands in the sink, and left one of two murder weapons in the sink. The other knife, that had been taken from the knife block in the kitchen, was found in a storm drain not far from the home.

A Dark Secret

The police spoke to Chris and Angela, Meghan’s parents, about who would have wanted to do this to her. Chris immediately gave them a name: Robert Hicke. Robert was a fellow Navy tech that worked with Chris. Chris said they became fast friends, and even invited the Hicke’s over several times.

Meghan had become withdrawn, and her grades dropped. Chris asked her what was going on, but Meghan didn’t want to tell him. Chris told Meghan that she needed to tell him, and she finally told him her secret. Robert Hicke had been sexually abusing her. Chris was disgusted. He severed all ties with the Hicke family, and they reported the abuse.

The NCIS was asked to join in the investigation after this development. Dana Shutt, a special agent with NCIS, said that Robert had groomed Meghan. He had forcibly kissed her, and forced her to perform oral sex on him.

They were prepared to go to an Article 32 hearing, and Meghan was set to testify.

A Shocking Discovery

The police brought Robert in for questioning, and had agents search the computer in his home.

He denied killing Meghan, and said that he never left the base on the day of the murder. However, when agents spoke to his co-workers, they learned that there was a chunk of time where Robert hadn’t been seen by anyone.

The police obtained surveillance footage from the base. They hadn’t seen any sign of Robert leaving the base, but he still wasn’t completely ruled out.

When they searched his home computer, there was obvious signs that he had tried to wipe his hard drive. The police were able to see that Robert had over 200 illicit photos of underage children. He was charged with possessing child pornography, and was released pending trial. He was also given a other than honorable discharge from the Navy.

The police continued to surveil Robert, and were disappointed to learn that his DNA wasn’t a match to the DNA found at the crime scene. Meghan’s parents were stunned.

A Unique DNA Test

The police did look into other suspects, including friends of Meghan’s, but everyone they looked into was ruled out.

The police decided to do a very expensive and unique DNA test. There was DNA that had been collected on a door handle in Meghan’s home. The sample was sent in for biogeographical ancestry analysis. It would determine the killer’s ethical background. When the results came back, it said that the killer was African American.

The police learned that Meghan had attended a youth camp at the Navy shipyard, and that she became really close with a camp counselor.

The camp counselor seemed to want to cooperate at first, until they asked him to give a DNA sample. He said maybe at a later time, but never showed up at any of the appointments.

The police decided to do an opportunity test. They found his car, and collected a DNA sample from his car. It wasn’t a match.

“He’s A Good Kid”

The case stalled for about six months, until the police received an anonymous tip. The tip led them back to Churchland High School. The tip was from a bus driver, and she said that they should look into a 16 year old that Meghan became friends with.

The teenager’s name was Robert Barnes. He was a violin major, and a close friend of Meghan’s. He had been to her home, and her parents said he was very nice and polite.

Robert was asked to come into the police station. He told the police that Meghan was sweet, and that they had been in recitals together. He also said that he and Meghan would hangout from time to time.

The police asked Robert to provide a DNA sample. He told them he’d have to ask his mom. However, a few days later, he gave them his chewing gum to test. When the results came back, they realized Robert had duped them. The DNA had come back as female. Robert had obviously switched his gum, and thought he’d get away with it.

On October 23, Robert was again asked to come into the station, and this time he was accompanied by his mom. The police confronted Robert with his gum switch. He then said that on the day of the murder, Meghan had asked him to come over. He arrived, and knocked on the door. When he didn’t get an answer, he slipped in through the window. He said Meghan was sitting on her bed, and a man was inside.

He said the man told him to sexually assault and kill Meghan. The police also showed him the footprints, and asked why his footprints would be there, but not the other man’s. Robert said the footprints had come from his Nikes.

Robert’s mom told Robert to stop talking, and told the police that he was a good kid. Robert’s DNA was a match, and he was arrested for Meghan’s murder.

In a petition, Robert would later say that his mom was of little help, and said she was like a potted plant in the interrogation room.

Robert Lee Barnes

Robert Lee Barnes

Kiley Baumgartner
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