Kelly Rothwell

Kelly Rothwell
Much Loved Sister, Daughter, Friend

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Eight Years Later, Kelly Rothwell's Family Still Has No Answers, No Closure...

Eight years ago today, a beautiful, vibrant young woman made a very brave decision. That brave decision was to break up with her controlling, possessive boyfriend of three years, David Perry.
 She had made some very big changes in her life; she decided to join the St.Petersburg Police Academy after a long career in Hospitality. She was a month from graduation from that Academy when she left a friend's house, where she had spent part of the weekend, and returned home to her condo in Indian Rocks Beach to break up with Perry. Afterwards, she had plans to meet up with  some of the other cadets  later that evening and she was looking forward to a fresh start in all aspects of her life.
Kelly Rothwell walked into her condo and was never seen or heard from again.

 Later that evening, David Perry took off for his hometown of Elmira, New York, where he had still maintained a home. He arrived at his home on Church Street in Elmira  21 hours later and told his daughter and her husband who had been living in the home, that "they would hear a lot of bad stuff about him, but that it wasn't true"... then Perry took off again, coming back to the home later. He refused to allow N.Y. State Police, who had been contacted by Pinellas County Sheriffs , to search his car and he ran from police when they tried to question him.

Back in Florida, Pinellas County Sheriffs Office started a search for Kelly, and local and National Search and Rescue groups come down from North Carolina and Texas to help in the search for the missing police cadet. But the search was frustratingly brief and Kelly was never found.

David Perry is and always has been the ONLY suspect in her probable murder but has eluded questioning for eight years about what he knows about Kelly's "disappearance." Having been a Corrections officer , Perry knew enough about the law to know what he could get away with. He knew that as long as he kept his mouth shut. he couldn't incriminate himself, so he refused all attempts by police to question him. He refused to give a DNA test.

I believe that David Perry murdered Kelly Rothwell when she walked in the door of the condo that late afternoon. I believe he lay in wait for her, grabbed her from behind and strangled her,  throwing her on the floor several times. The downstairs neighbors, Ken and Mary Williamson heard loud thuds and banging on their ceiling, which would have come from Kelly's master bedroom, then a sudden quiet, then repetitive vacuuming. Perry, who had OCD and was known to vacuum several times a day, apparently went into overdrive; the Williamson's heard the vacuum for at least 20 minutes.
 Then... silence.

What happened next? No one really knows. But I have ALWAY maintained that Perry, who had planned Kelly's murder, had already packed his blue Honda in readiness, took Kelly's body, wrapped in it the plastic shower curtain liner and placed her in his 6 foot kite sail bag, along with her collection of Geodes. Kelly, who had been a Geology major in college, had a large collection of crystal cut rocks, some as heavy as 20 lbs. None of Kelly's geodes were ever found at the condo.
I think Perry put the kite sail bag containing her body and the large rocks in the back of his Honda, disguising it as camping equipment and left Florida, taking her body with him.
Why do I think that? Because Perry knew that the Pinellas Sheriffs would never think to look for Kelly in New York, which had thousands of acres of land and several lakes. One of the lakes, Lake Seneca, was a popular spot that Perry and his friends would frequent in the summer. Several of his friends had boats and it was these friends that I think Perry called when he got to New York. He needed help because Perry's idea was to drop Kelly's body, weighted down with all of her heavy geode rocks, into the depths of Lake Seneca. To this day, I think that's where Kelly's body is.


I think often when we read about violent crimes, we are caught up in the heinous act perpetrated against a victim by someone evil, like David Perry. A domestic abuser, a liar, a fraud, a reported drug runner, Perry was every woman's nightmare, yet he came off as charming and generous. This is how he reeled in women that he became involved with. He left a trail of misery, deceit and pain. Now he's in jail... again.... after violating parole for a second time. He's been able to game the system for a long time and now it's finally catching up to him.

But what about Kelly Rothwell? For Kelly Rothwell's family, there is no closure... the crimes Perry was arrested for, first fraud and grand larceny, then criminal trespass have no bearing on Kelly's case in Florida. New York State detectives and the District Attorney's in two county's ALL believe that he killed Kelly. The problem is the cases are technically unrelated. Without Kelly's body or evidence of  a murder, the Rothwell family has no real outlet for closure or anywhere to go with their anger and grief.

What happens to the families of murder victims? How are they supposed to cope?  Where can they take their grief?

For Kelly's sister Kristen, coping has been something she's had to relearn.

"I was into a lot of bad stuff... I'm not talking just popping pills. I was into hard drugs, I made really bad choices and I hurt a lot of people,especially my family. Kelly was  really upset with my choices and I always felt that I disappointed her the most. We even had words about it on the phone. My last words to my sister were said in anger, which makes me really sad. I had just gotten out of rehab and was in recovery when she was killed. Her death just threw me and I  spiraled out of control. There was no way for me to deal with losing her. I felt so guilty; I always thought if anyone would die in our family it would be me, because of my addiction and bad choices. I would have never thought we would lose Kelly."

Kristen said she has what feels like survivors guilt.

"I kept saying it should have been me.. I was the one doing everything wrong, hurting myself, hurting my family.. I alway thought it would be me , that I would be the one to die. And it hurt my Mom so much. Parents shouldn't have to mourn their children."

It took several tries , but Kristen is now clean and sober, she is finishing up a degree in Social Work and Counseling and she works with recovering addicts. She credits it all to Kelly.

"I felt Kelly's spirit with me the whole time when I finally got clean in recovery. I honestly feel that she was watching over me. It made me stronger to know that somehow she was around me.  Kelly used to journal and once she told that she saw me working with people, she saw me healthy. That really gave me the strength I needed to see my recovery through. Now I'm a counselor and I help others like me.  I'm not ashamed anymore about my past and what I went through.I'm comfortable with who I am now. I feel that Kelly is watching over me. But my biggest regret is that she didn't get to see who I've become in my recovery; I know she would be proud of me. I just wish she was here to see it."

I asked Kristen what would constitute closure for her with Kelly's case, as it seems more and more likely her body will never be found.

"I want the truth from him, I want him to come clean and confess about what he did to my sister.But the reality of it is that the truth may never come out. And that's something I'm learning to deal with."

Kelly's Mom Nancy doesn't think she'll ever really have closure either. She told me this;

"To take away from this Earth such a beautiful, peaceful and compassionate woman, he can only look forward to his dark soul burning in hell. But in the meantime, every day he spends in jail protects other women from this evil being.We will always be deeply grateful for the never-ending love, prayers and support that have been shown to our family. Words cannot adequately convey how appreciative we are, to the wonderful people in New York and those in Florida, Maryland and all over.. My family would like to thank the Pinellas County Sheriff's Department for putting fresh eyes on Kelly's case. We understand there is a new detective, Chris Lyons, who has been assigned to Kelly's case. We're told he is a Cold Case Investigator, which is what Kelly's case needs. Our family would also like to thank the New York State police for keeping such a close eye on Kelly's killer David Perry. He's violated parole twice and is now back in jail for a year. While we know that is not TRUE justice for Kelly at this point we are grateful that he's off the streets and not harming another young woman..
Kelly was a bright light in this world. She wanted to help people which is why she joined the police force. She was kind and funny and her joy was infectious. What that monster did was take away a vibrant, vital young woman who had so much to give to the world.Our family misses Kelly every day. We've planted a tree in a local park in her honor, where her niece and nephews can see it when they play there. She may be gone physically but Kelly's indomitable spirit stays with us... she will forever be in our hearts. "

Kelly Rothwell "disappeared" on March 12, 2011. She was killed by David Perry. One day he WILL answer for his crime.

                                     Meanwhile Kelly Rothwell is STILL MISSING.

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

David Perry in Jail on Charges of Criminal Trespass

As I said in my post last night, David Perry was arrested and taken to Steuben County jail yesterday. Originally I wrote that the charges stemmed from criminal impersonation, which were the original charges.  According to Steuben County Sheriff Jim Allard, Perry was sentenced to up to a year in jail for the charge of Criminal Trespass in the second degree, a Class A Misdemeanor.  The trespass charge is from when Perry moved in with the woman from Painted Post under the assumed name of David Jones, claiming he was a retired from the Department of Homeland Security. He was arrested in the woman's home after she called police when she realized his true identity. A Grand Jury indicted Perry on 37 counts of burglary; using the times he entered the home using the false name. The charges were eventually defined as Criminal Trespassing.

As I had surmised, this conviction was due to a previous arrest in the Village of Painted Post, where he had lied to a woman he got involved with, staying in her home and traveling with her to North Carolina These were all violations of his parole, which stipulated that he not leave the county of Chemung where he resides, nor get involved with anyone unless he informed his parole officer, which he did not.

This is at least the second time that Perry has violated his parole; I've been tying to decide if he is just incredibly stupid or just thinks he's above the law. I'm assuming both. He's a cocky bastard who, because he thinks he got away with Kelly Rothwell's murder, thinks he can skirt around the law. But finally, New York has started to catch on and he has been paying the price for his arrogance. Perry has violated his parole twice now and I find it interesting that he was allowed to go back on parole after the first time, Now with a SECOND violation, and conviction of NEW county charges, Perry will have to serve at least six months, which puts his possible release date in early September 2019.  Currently Perry is in the Steuben County Jail convicted of criminal trespass. These latest charges ALSO violated his parole. With this parole violation, I would assume that he is going back to prison, possibly Clinton, the maximum security prison where he was incarcerated before. But that's not a guarantee. Based on this conviction and parole violation, Perry could have his parole revoked, serving first his sentence for the county conviction (from Painted Post) in the Steuben jail and then would have to go to any one of over 50 prisons in the State of New York until his max release date which is in 2026.

Maybe we'll get lucky and his guilt will be such a burden that he confesses to Kelly's murder.
Or he could screw up again and stay in jail, where he belongs anyway. Either way, he's once again a convicted man.

                                       Meanwhile , Kelly Rothwell is STILL missing.....



DAVID PERRY IN CUSTODY .. UPDATES TO FOLLOW

David Perry, the only suspect in the disappearance and probable murder of St. Petersburg Police cadet Kelly Rothwell was picked up today and place in custody at the Steuben County Jail in upstate New York, According to a source at the jail, the court required the jail to keep him after he was found guilty and sentenced today after being arrested last month for criminal impersonation. However, others said that the charges were criminal trespassing. Although there is no information yet (as if this writing, ) about these newest charges, Perry was arrested last year for criminal impersonation after using a false name when he met a young woman in Painted Post, New York, staying with her in Painted Post and traveling with her to North Carolina, both instances in violation of his parole.  Perry never told the young woman who he really was until a friend of hers recognized him and told her who he was. She called the police and Perry was arrested at her house last year. Perry had also used a false name to troll porn websites with searches for both women AND men, according to another source, also a violation of his parole.
Perry had been required to stay in the city limits of Elmira, Chemung County where he owns a house, per his probation requirements.  This could very well be the culmination of those charges, but it's not yet known. 
         On his booking photo today, he looked a tad unhappy.,AND REALLY OLD
         Maybe it's all the GUILT he's been carrying around since he killed Kelly Rothwell in 2011....

            There was a "release date" of Sept 4, 2019, which would mean that Perry will serve 7                          months, but for what it's not clear at this time, or even where he will serve it. He may go                     back to Clinton, upstate to finish out his parole.
           Whatever it is, you can be sure that David Perry will screw it up... he always                                        does...he still thinks he's the smartest guy in the room.. he's still lying about his name
           and chasing pretty young girls around at Planet Fitness, thinking he still got game.

           But he's NOT that smart.  He keeps getting caught doing stupid things. And one day he                       WILL be caught and prosecuted for Kelly Rothwell's murder.
             
           There will be more on this tomorrow.

           Try and get some sleep tonight you bastard...but keep one eye open.

           You know what prisoners think about ex corrections officers...

                             Meanwhile, Kelly Rothwell is STILL missing...

Thursday, January 10, 2019

SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN 43 TODAY. 8 YEARS LATER STILL NO ANSWERS

On January 10th,  1976, a beautiful young woman was born to Nancy and Tom Rothwell, a lovely family in suburban Overlea Maryland. The oldest of four daughters, Kelly Lundy Rothwell grew up a normal kid, roller skating with girlfriends like Erin Hansel (ne Smith) who went to school with Kelly 1st through 12th grade and Marie Bossert, a neighbor who attended a different Catholic school. Kelly went sailing with her father and sisters Kristen, twins Lauren and Lindsay, she loved going to the beach, giggling over boys and having sleepovers with her close friends.  Kelly remained close to her tight group of friends, which also included Kelly's long-time beau Sean Greenwood and his friends Brent and Leah. Accordingly, Kelly had many friends who loved and admired her. She graduated from Overlea High School and was in the top 5 of her graduating class.

 According to Nancy Rothwell, Kelly's mom, Kelly had been enrolled in Honors classes at Overlea High and was "always going to school"...Nancy said Kelly loved learning and was constantly looking for new things to learn about.

"She was always curious, even when she was really little, " Nancy said.

 Kelly's curiosity took her first to Essex Community College for two years, then on to Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado, where she finished her undergrad and then went on to a Masters in Geology. She and Sean Greenwood had moved out west together, but grew apart as they both pursued other interests. Kelly met Doug, a ski instructor, got married and settled into married life; she in the hospitality business and he in the mountain ski life. They raised two Golden Retrievers in lieu of kids. Sadly, one was hit by a car , but Lucy, the female stayed with Kelly until she and Doug decided to call it quits. Kelly wanted to move back east and picked Florida as her home base. Lucy stayed behind with friends. A few years after Kelly's disappearance/murder at the hands of David Perry, her sister Lauren arranged for Lucy to come east, to live with her.... a piece of Kelly that was all that was left of her life in Colorado. Lucy passed away in August of 2016, much loved and well-cared for.

Since Kelly's "disappearance/murder" in 2011, a LOT has changed .. Kelly's sister Lauren has a new little boy, Garcia Lundy. She works as a nurse and is happily ensconced with her beau Christian in a house Lauren bought a few years ago. Lindsay, Lauren's fraternal twin, says she mostly feels anger now, instead of the acute pain she once felt. Lindsay has been living on her own and working, sharing parenting duties with Nancy, who has taken Lindsay's two children into her home. The sound of little feet and noisy children's repartee once again fills Nancy's home, long after her own children have  grown up and moved out.

Kelly's middle sister Kristen, has become a success story.  For years she battled her own demons and is now happily and healthily headed for an Bachelor's degree in Addiction Counseling,  headed towards a Master's degree in the future.

Kristen still keenly feels Kelly's absence.

"If I had to say just one thing today", she said, " it would be if only she could just see me now! We   were estranged for the last couple of years because of my lifestyle and the things that I was into.And I've turned myself around and I've got to say that through it all I believe shes been with me and rooting for me and she's been on  my side. I miss her dearly and  I wish I could share this experience that I'm going through, this whole life-renewing experience.  You know she always had so many great things to say. Today I sang Happy Birthday to her... I do it every year. Its something small but it's from me. It doesn't get any easier with her gone."

Kelly Rothwell in front of her Dad's sailboat.
So tonight, on what's left of Kelly's Birthday, I want people to understand that what happened to Kelly didn't JUST happen to her... it happened to her whole family. It happened to her friends and her co-workers.  Each person has their own type of pain they've experienced since David Perry killed their daughter, sister, friend. But nothing seems more acute than the pain and the loss Kelly's family feels. And for what? Perry could and SHOULD have just walked away. He should have just let her go. Instead he chose to break up a family, kill the woman he professed to love and deprived the world of a beautiful soul, a soul that only wanted to help people.

Said Nancy Rothwell, " The pain never goes away, but now we accept that it is what it is. We miss her all the time and especially on her birthday. But I know she will always be forever in our hearts."

Blessings to the entire Rothwell family on this day and every day since March 12, 2011, the day their daughter, Kelly Rothwell, was murdered by David Perry
.
Justice is coming , but AGAIN we ask...

DAVID PERRY,  WHERE IS KELLY ROTHWELL?

Perry

Perry
David Perry mug shot