Kelly Rothwell

Kelly Rothwell
Much Loved Sister, Daughter, Friend

Friday, March 13, 2015

Four Long Years and Still NO Trace of Kelly Rothwell

It's been four long years since St. Pete Police Cadet Kelly Rothwell went missing after going home after lunch with a friend on a Saturday afternoon to tell her then boyfriend David Perry that she was breaking up with him. 

She was never heard from again.


Perry took off for his hometown of Elmira New York in a rush  later that Saturday and has never answered questions about Kelly's disappearance, nor granted a police interview. Neighbors who lived below the couple reported hearing several loud thumps on their ceiling, then frenetic vacuuming before Perry left hurriedly.  Three months later he married Melissa Walker, an Army Reservist he supposedly met on Craig's List, meeting her briefly in Hawaii to marry her, take her last name, then return to Elmira New York.  Walker divorced Perry a year later, but not before defending him as a "sweet, kind and caring, thoughtful person." 


Kelly was much more than a missing police cadet; she was a sister to Lauren, Lindsay and Kristen, daughter to Nancy and Tom, Aunt to Alex, Hollie and Hannah, ex-wife to Doug, and countless friend to so many... those who grew up and went to school with her in Maryland, those she worked with and was friends with in West Virginia and Colorado and the people whose lives she touched in Florida... Kelly had an impact on so many.


Today the Pinellas County Sheriff's office is no closer to finding Kelly than they were 4 years ago. A perfunctory search of the local area led to little clues and it always boggled everyone that there was not a more strident and thorough search done. After all, Kelly was one of their own, a fellow cadet, soon to be a graduate and out among her peers. But a breakfast held for her to raise money to pay for additional search and rescue efforts fell pathetically flat: and only one of her fellow cadets bothered to even show up.

I have and will always maintain that David Perry, laying in wait for Kelly to come home, killed her as she entered their shared beach-front condo and then, after a frantic cleaning of the condo including bleach and antiseptic chemicals, took Kelly's lifeless body, put her in a canvas sail bag, placed her in the trunk and took off WITH her body to Elmira, New York, his hometown. 

Many people including local law enforcement here in Florida have denigrated this idea, theorizing that NO ONE would drive ALL the way to New York with a body in the trunk. But I think he did; he knew that if there was NO body, there was NO case, at least in Florida. And he was right. He was a former Corrections Officer at a prison, he knows the ropes, knew not to answer ANY questions and ran like a coward when approached by law enforcement. He went back to an area he knew very well, places where he had hunted and fished all his life. I believe Kelly is up there. I believe that she is somewhere on or near the Catherine Trail, a place that Perry was known to have frequented AFTER he moved back home. According to sources, he went there OFTEN.... Being a control freak and OCD sufferer, Perry likes to control every situation and this would be no different. He had a friend with a boat on Lake Seneca, it was his bailiwick and he KNEW that Florida law enforcement  had neither the manpower nor the belief that he could ever do such a thing... drive with the body of the woman who was his 'soul-mate"... the "love of his life" etc etc.
I would bet the farm he did just that. And he's getting away with it.

But not TOTALLY away.. he sits in a jail cell at Clinton, in upstate New York, convicted on Work Comp related fraud charges in two different counties. Sadly although both convictions were a triumph for New York law enforcement, (who by the way, ALL think he killed Kelly and some believe that he brought he up there as well,) Perry received two sentences that were concurrent instead of consecutive. He has at least two years and maybe more before he is eligible for parole.

This is NOT enough time served for a psychopath that killed a beautiful, talented, spirited and loved woman named Kelly Rothwell. Who knows? I know that NO strain of conscience will suddenly make him confess; he has neither soul NOR conscience. He has a violent past, a history of abuse to family, wives and girlfriends. How poignant it is to me that Kelly wanted to make domestic violence a concentration in her law enforcement career. 

So today we sadly commemorate another year gone by without Kelly Rothwell in this world. Her mother Nancy sent me this:
"On this day, March 12, the fourth anniversary of my beautiful daughter Kelly's disappearance, I weep in silence. Four long years of not being able to feel her warm embrace, not being able to have a mother/daughter chat on the phone, hear her adorable giggle or just catch up on what's going on. Kelly was a loving daughter, a caring sister and aunt and a devoted friend to many. She was always a radiant light bringing incredible joy and happiness to her family and friends. This world most definitely lost a wonderful person that day, but what gets me through this wrenching loss is that I know she is one of God's most precious angels... a quote from Rose Kennedy, a mother who suffered many losses in her lifetime-
'It has been said that 'time heals all wounds'... I do  not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.' "

I heard a song today on the radio by James Blunt, called Carry You Home..I thought of Kelly through tears. I pray that her spirit is never forgotten.

                                                           "Carry You Home"

Trouble is her only friend and he's back again.
Makes her body older than it really is.
She says it's high time she went away,
No one's got much to say in this town.
Trouble is the only way is down.
Down, down.
As strong as you were, tender you go.
I'm watching you breathing for the last time.
A song for your heart, but when it is quiet,
I know what it means and I'll carry you home.
I'll carry you home.
If she had wings she would fly away,
And another day God will give her some.
Trouble is the only way is down.
Down, down.
As strong as you were, tender you go.
I'm watching you breathing for the last time.
A song for your heart, but when it is quiet,
I know what it means and I'll carry you home.
I'll carry you home.
And they were all born pretty in New York City tonight,
And someones little girl was taken from the world tonight,
Under the Stars and Stripes.
As strong as you were, tender you go.
I'm watching you breathing for the last time.
A song for your heart, but when it is quiet,
I know what it means and I'll carry you home.
I'll carry you home.

6 comments:

  1. You know I have agreed from the minute I heard about Kelly that I felt he not only killed her, but took hey body to Elmira and dumped it, probably in the woods somewhere that he hunted. He is a scumbag womanizer, and deserves to sit in prison for the rest of his life! LD

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  2. I think we know who did this don't we ? Very sad for family and friends that this case is still open.

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  3. He took the plea deal as a way to be out in the next few years. He's never come out and said it but he avoids any conversations about his life in Florida(getting upset over it) just saying that he hopes they find whoever did this to Kelly because he did care for her very much. I still believe also he did this horrible thing but believe because it's been so long there is no way of connecting him to it other than the location of the body...he's going to be out on parole shortly and nobody is going,to be able to stop it but he will slip up one of these days...Clinton has a way of breaking the toughest monsters.

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  4. Thanks for your blog. I lived in Tampa at the time of her disappearance and wondered if cops were ever able to pin it on Perry. I have since moved to California, but I found your blog with a google search. I would love to see her killer brought to justice. Too bad Perry has been just barely slick enough to stay ahead of authorities. I knew when cops couldn't get him to meet with them this was going to be a tough case to solve. Its almost like a textbook how to get away with murder case. OJ Simpson and Ray Lewis both come to mind. Anyway, here's hoping Mr. Perry drops the soap everyday in the jail shower while the guards pretend not to hear his cries. Thanks again for keeping up with the case.

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    1. He's in a max security prison...he's highly unlikely to have much contact many other prisoners as he is an ex corrections officer. The only reason they don't put him in a medium security is bc the state knows there are ppl out there that would ass rape the state if a convict recognized Perry and did injure or kill him. Sadly he'll be out in a little over a year because he's been on his best behavior and will get parole. He was at least smart enough to take the plead deal and not rot in prison but it allows him to prey on other women....hopefully he'll age so bad that no woman will ever want him again. But time will tell. As for closure for Kelly's family...I'm sorry to say there may never be closure...and as each passing day that's how it looks. I pray every day that he is haunted by her and the guilt.

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  5. Right now our West Elmira Community is suffering a tragic loss of a beautiful young Mother (Sister, Daughter, Aunt, Friend, Neighbor) Kelly (Stage) Clayton was murdered the other Day while her two children where home. (Rumor has it the motives in both cases are identical(I'm not saying I would know for sure with this new case but It's what's out there)) Now this coincidence makes me sick and upset. Now Perry was just paroled in the same week. Justice may find him. It's not a good time for those who may wish to commit domestic violence in our town. If he wants to pretend to be innocent, maybe he could cooperate with the investigation. Truly shows a lack of humanity on his part. Please view Charlie and Cullen on GoFundMe.com Both of these tragedies are beyond unfathomable. But rest assured that our entire community is on your side 100%. I will ultimately keep faith that the Lord will have his justice. The BEST thing for anyone to do after they wrong others, and GOD, is to confess and pray that the Lord have mercy on your soul. If anyone you know is in a dangerous relationship please encourage them to find a safe way out.

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Perry

Perry
David Perry mug shot