Interview via Facebook with Davey Perry, David Perry's Son on March 25, 26 2011

I contacted Davey Perry on March 25th via Facebook the WEEK after Kelly went missing. As you can read, I tried to get him to meet with me to talk about what happened. This was AFTER he was caught attempting to remove a cardboard from Kelly's condo. This was ALSO after he had left Florida abruptly, going to New York, before returning to Florida a few days later. When I read his FB page while he was in  New York, he made mention that he "had to" be in New York at that time. 

I thought his FB answers then were odd and a bit rehearsed or coached. My impression was that this is what he was TOLD to say and HOW to say it. Again, this was the WEEK after Kelly went missing. NO other journalist had even contacted him yet. 

Leigh Clifton

Leigh Clifton March 25 at 11:01pm

Hey Dave,
My name is Leigh Clifton and i'm a reporter /photographer in St. Pete. I was wondering if you would feel comfortable meeting me for a drink and talking about what's been going on with your Dad and Kelly's situation. No pressure and I certainly would not want to upset you. But I heard you were back in Florida and thought maybe we could meet?
Im free Saturday, late afternoon or Sunday, anytime, (Except NOT before 11am LOL) . I could come to meet you anywhere on the beach (i used to be a bartender on the beach for a long time,) so you name the place... you can call me if you want...
Thanks!
Leigh Clifton 

Dave Perry March 26 at 9:45am Report

I just lost the two most important people in my life, I feel like my heart has stopped and will never work again. My father and Kelly were the most Wonderful people and always optimistic about everything that happened everyday in life. I just want kelly back and for her to tell me everythings going to be alright. Dave R Perry

Sent via Facebook Mobile

Leigh Clifton March 26 at 9:49am

Oh Dave. I'm so sorry

Sent via Facebook Mobile

Leigh Clifton March 26 at 9:50am

I can't imagine what ur going thru

Sent via Facebook Mobile

Leigh Clifton March 26 at 9:56am

Did you get a chance to ask your Dad whats happened? All of Kelly's friends have told me how sweet she was.. I didn't know you were close with her...

Leigh Clifton March 26 at 9:59am

Her smile in her pictures is just so happy... did they seem happy together? Their pictures look like they are.

Dave Perry March 26 at 10:06am Report

I never knew they were breaking up till it was on the news. My father wasn't angry, he was a caring guy who would do anything for you at the drop of a hat. Kelly's the most amazing girl, she would talk to me all the time and help me figure this crazy world out. Biggest heart ever. They seemed perfect.

Sent via Facebook Mobile

Dave Perry March 26 at 10:07am Report

They were very happy

Sent via Facebook Mobile

Leigh Clifton March 26 at 10:09am

Thats what makes this all so sad!

Dave Perry March 26 at 10:11am Report

The neighbors down stairs used to argue with Kelly and my dad about the my nephews running around upstairs when they came to visit. They are 2 years old let them run. They used to yell at my dad and Kelly about having a grill on there patio deck on the top floor. They couple below them are very old and rude people, Kelly and my dad used to complain to me about them all the time.

Sent via Facebook Mobile

Leigh Clifton March 26 at 10:12am

They've been together for a while, havent they?

Dave Perry March 26 at 10:13am Report

This whole thing is a nightmare and will never end

Sent via Facebook Mobile

Dave Perry March 26 at 10:15am Report

Yea I think 3 or 4 years

Sent via Facebook Mobile

Leigh Clifton March 26 at 10:17am

hey, I have a sports thing to cover today in Gulfport, but I'm free around 4-5 or so... Wanna meet for a drink at Daquiri Deck or someplace up your way?

Dave Perry March 26 at 10:19am Report

I'm sorry no

Sent via Facebook Mobile

Leigh Clifton March 26 at 10:26am

But Dave ,
when you were young, was your Dad really tough you? You sure you don't want to talk about it?

Leigh Clifton March 26 at 10:35am

Why do you feel you've lost your Dad too?

Leigh Clifton March 26 at 10:39am

I just can't imagine how sad this is for you! I just can't imagine...but your dad is still here... is he very upset about all this? He's GOT to be...

New York State Insurance Fund Located in Broome County

New details are coming to light about the arrest of David Perry last night that might explain the reason he was arrested and held without bail in the Broome County jail in Binghamton, New York, rather than Elmira, where Perry lives. The warrant issued for his arrest was initiated in Broome County, where the New York State Insurance Fund is located. The fund is responsible for the payments of Workman's Compensation for injury claims for Region 2, which includes the Elmira area where Perry had filed a claim for a work-related injury. The New York State Insurance Fund would be the injured party to Perry's possible fraudulent claim of injury and would seek recovery of any money paid out to Perry for that claim. The charges of felony grand larceny and fraud would in all likelihood be tried in the Broome County Court system.
Perry's attorney Thomas Reilly is in Elmira and would have to travel a substantial distance to represent his client.
Perry remains in the Broome County Jail and is being held without bail.

David Perry Arrested in Allegany County on Fraud, Grand Larceny Charges

5-6-11
David Perry,46, the man wanted for questioning in the disappearance of  missing Florida police cadet Kelly Rothwell, was arrested by New York State Police Thursday night in Allegheny County on a  warrant issued from the New York State Police in  Broome County, Binghamton, New York. Perry, who was stopped in a traffic stop on the warrant, has been charged with Felony Grand Larceny and Fraud. 

Perry was arraigned in front of a judge at 2 a.m. Friday morning and is being held without bail in the Broome County Jail at this time, according to a Sgt. on duty at the jail. The case will go to a Grand Jury for indictment on felony charges, which can result in federal jail time. Perry is being investigated for filing a fraudulent injury report when he worked as a corrections officer at the Elmira Correctional Maximum Security Prison in Elmira , New York. He reportedly ran toward a fight among inmates, then claimed to have injured his back in the ensuing fight. Perry carried two long-term disability insurance policies from two separate insurance companies and received a disability pension from the State of New York. He also filed a successful claim with Social Security Disability.


What Perry was doing in Allegheny County is anyone's guess although  Perry was spotted last week on Rt 17, which runs across Chemung and Steuben Counties into Allegheny County. The area is known for it's great trout fishing and boating on Red House Lake, a man-made lake located in the Allegheny State Park.


News of Perry's arrest hit the local Elmira New York news station YNN and the local paper The Star Gazzette, then quickly spread on Facebook to the several sites devoted to Kelly Rothwell's disappearance.  While Perry has not been charged in Kelly's disappearance, her family and friends feel very sure that Perry had something to do with it.


"I think he killed my friend," said Kelly's best friend Donna Scharrett. "I think he put her somewhere and we just want to bring her home."


"We are just ecstatic," Kelly's mother Nancy Rothwell said by phone early Friday morning. 
"We're glad that at least he's been arrested .. now hopefully we'll get some answers. Sooner or later, when you do wrong, it WILL catch up with you," Nancy Rothwell said. 
Lauren Rothwell, Kelly's younger sister was hopeful that Perry's arrest would make him more cooperative with police about her sister's disappearance. 
"I hope if he sits in jail, he''ll decide that he wants to help us find my sister," she said by phone.


 Perry has so far maintained his verbal silence, although there have been many posts on the various Kelly Rothwell pages that have been taunting and vile about Kelly and ridicule law enforcement. These posts appear to come from fake profiles that adopt a hit and run style of abuse and are almost impossible to trace. But the sheer volume and the tone suggest that David Perry may be responsible for most of them. 


Monica Caison director of the CUE  Center for Missing Persons, a search and rescue organization from Wilmington, NC arrived in town with cadaver dogs Wednesday night. She spent most  of Thursday morning with the Pinellas County Sheriff Office's  detectives Mike Bailey and Amy Plourde, being briefed about Kelly's disappearance and subsequent ongoing investigation. Caison spent the afternoon checking out GPS coordinates and mapping out a search area. The rest of her search team and dogs are due to arrive Friday afternoon and a full-out search will begin Saturday morning, based on her GPS mapping and a famous "gut feeling" that has made her so successful in finding missing persons in the past. She plans on searching the parks and Nature preserves in and around the area where Kelly lived with Perry in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida.

CUE Center for Missing Persons to Help Search for Kelly Rothwell

As speculation mounts about the disappearance of Kelly Rothwell, rumors have swirled about the possible involvement of her then -boyfriend, David Perry. It is widely thought that he, at the very least, has firsthand knowledge of her movements when she returned to her condo the afternoon of March 12^th. At the most extreme, it is surmised that he killed her in a fit of rage as she tried to break up with him, disposed of her body somewhere, and took off for Elmira, New York, his childhood home, where he remains to this day.

If that widely held scenario is accepted by most, it then begs to question, where is Kelly Rothwell?

The straight-line route from Indian Rocks Beach to Elmira New York is approximately 1039 miles. On Wednesday night, Monica Caisson from the CUE Center for Missing Persons in Wilmington, N.C. will be arriving with cadaver dogs and a host of volunteers to begin the search for Kelly Rothwell in the Florida area. She and her teams of searchers will develop a perimeter and work outwards from that, concentrating on cell phone tower locations along the route from Florida, north towards New York. The CUE will search only Florida at this point but may expand the search as necessary.

Kelly Rothwell’s cell phone and purse were never found and were not among her belongings left in the condo, according to her mother, Nancy Rothwell, who came down to Florida from Baltimore to recover her daughters personal effects the week after Kelly went missing.

The question still lingers... Where is Kelly Rothwell?

A Town Adopts a Missing Woman as Her Ex-boyfriend Taunts on Facebook

The tiny town of Elmira, New York pulled together last Saturday night to honor missing Florida Police Cadet Kelly Rothwell.  With candles and song, poetry and love, they walked around Eldridge Park lake, with Kelly's sisters Lauren and Lindsay, to pay tribute to a vibrant, beautiful woman whose only fatal mistake was to try and walk away from her then boyfriend, Elmira native David Perry. She went home to their shared Florida condo to break up with him March 12th and was never seen or heard from again.

Perry, who has a police-documented history of domestic violence, has steadfastly remained silent, although many messages and comments to the Facebook sites and blogs started for Kelly by her friends, have been riddled with vile and disgusting comments by  bang-and -run  Facebook entries. After investigation, almost ALL of these profiles have been found to be fake, leading most to believe that Perry himself made them up. People in Elmira that knew him when he lived there have all called him 'arrogant, belligerent and egotistical',  and many have surmised that it is Perry himself that has been posting the comments and vague threats of retaliation. Admins of the Facebook pages dedicated to Kelly have been strident in capturing and deleting these posts, although not before copying them and sending them in to law enforcement. Internet stalking, know as Cyberstalking and writing threatening or malicious words to cause harm to another person is a crime in New York as well as many other states.

The postings are taunts and grisly summations of what may have happened to Kelly and are too graphic to be posted here. Suffice to say that they are, in the least, the rantings and attention-grabbing ravings of an  ego-hungry maniac. Could they be the confessions of a cold-blooded sociopath who knows what really happened to Kelly and is reveling in the publicity?

Statistics state that any "normal" innocent person would not taunt nor degrade a person with whom they had shared a life with, yet Perry has consistently berated and verbally abused  his ex- wife Luana, to this day, sending her disparaging emails and calling her unspeakable names. The posts from other sites,  purported to be from "Whoopisisobese, UKguy, Justified, Reasonable1234 and NYJRT  ALL contain virtually the same language, including the misspellings and syntax There is a discernible pattern of speech  that those who knew Perry say they recognize. The names on the different sites may be different, yet the verbiage is almost identical. Most who have read the posts on the various sites and this blog agree that the speech patterns fit Perry. It seems the entire town of Elmira has an opinion of Dave Perry.

The good people of Elmira honored a woman Saturday night who they never met, didn't know and will never  have the opportunity to meet or talk with..... because someone cruelly  took her life. A life she had worked hard for and was looking forward to, a life of service to her community and and a life with good friends and a loving family. She tried to run from a horrible situation with David Perry....
She just couldn't run fast enough.

Why Doesn't She Just Leave Him?and other Myths in an Abusive Relationship

One in EVERY four women will experience domestic violence in their life time…25% of the female population...

 An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.

85% of domestic violence victims are women.

Almost one-third of female homicide victims that are reported in police records are killed by an intimate partner.

In 70-80% of intimate partner homicides, no matter which partner was killed, the man physically abused the woman before the murder.

Less than one-fifth of victims reporting an injury from intimate partner violence sought medical treatment following the injury.

Historically, females have been most often victimized by someone they knew.

These facts, derived from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, NCADV, are staggering.

With the Kelly Rothwell case, I’ve been hearing a lot of “Why didn’t she just leave him” murmuring and some say they don’t understand why, if Dave Perry was so abusive, she didn’t just leave. The truth of it is, it’s not that simple nor is it that easy. Luana Greenfield was married to Perry for ten years during which time, according to Luana, he was physically, emotionally and mentally abusive to both her and their children. The thing about controlling obsessive types like Perry is that they worm their way insidiously into the very fabric of their victims’ lives. They are predators, always on the lookout for something better to come along.

In Kelly’s case, Perry started out as a charming, wealthy guy with a good income from “stocks”, so he said. He smiled, he joked, and he carried her groceries. He sent flowers to her work, to look attentive and sweet. He called her all the time, saying he missed her. She was charmed; Kelly had had a prior marriage where all of the attention was deflected AWAY from her, or else was non-existent. She was charmed by Perry’s attentiveness; the flowers, the phone calls, the constant texts were all directed to get her to fall for him. When, after three weeks, Perry moved down to Florida, he moved into KELLY’S condo and promptly made her put him on the lease. 

That’s what predators do.

The first steps of an abuser are to ingratiate themselves into a victim’ life and become indispensable to that victim. Perry quickly started doing all the housework; he shopped for groceries, cooked the food for them, washed the dishes, did the laundry, and even ironed her clothes for her. Perry had the cell phones put in HIS name, an Elmira area code and number, even though he stayed in Florida for almost four years. It was his way of controlling who Kelly called and when she called them. It was his way to keep tabs on her. He did all the banking, paid all the bills and started manipulating Kelly, keeping her from her family and friends, isolating her from others. His car was still registered to a New York address.

That is what a predator does. A domestic violence abuser is usually a control freak and often his victim will just give in to a situation rather than spark a fury. In Luana’s case with Perry, HE controlled the money and would take her paycheck when she walked in the door. He kept her off balance with tremendous mood swings and fits of violent rage. He threatened to kill their children; he threatened to kill Luana as well. He was physically very strong, he worked out a lot. Statistics show that a lot of abusers are compulsive about their physique; they are vain and obsessed with themselves. Part of the hold they have over their victims is then ability to convince the victim that they are worthless without the abuser, that they couldn’t POSSIBLY get along without the abuser in their lives. With children in the home, the cost is doubly sad. Children, especially boys, who witness violence from their parents, are 50% MORE likely to be violent with their OWN children. It is a learned response.. It is all they know.

Kelly Rothwell decided she needed a career change. Perhaps she was embarrassed that she found herself in a relationship where she realized she was being controlled; she didn’t tell her family of friends about it, she kept it to herself. She thought by placating Perry that she wouldn’t make waves. She tried to play nice. But as she started her new career as a police cadet, she began to realize that the videos on domestic violence required for class were mirroring HER life. She began to feel empowered and she eventually made the decision to leave David Perry.  But for those who say “why didn’t she just leave” Kelly’s decision just wasn’t that simple  OR easy. Cut off from family and most of her friends, she was starting over, again. New job, new career, new life. She needed to find a place to live; she needed to get her ducks in a row, all the while still living with her abuser. He felt her pulling away from him so he stalked her, called her constantly and then texted her incessantly when she wouldn’t answer his calls. He followed her, and then would accuse her of cheating on him. 

 He did the same to Luana during their marriage.

When Kelly was finally strong enough, felt self confident enough, she told Perry they were through. His pleadings and crying turned ugly and mean.

 On March 12th, 2011, Kelly Rothwell decided to take her own life BACK from David Perry.

It now seems he just may have taken hers…..

Waiting for Justice for Kelly

Good morning all~~
What you are about to read is graphic in detail; parts of an interview with Luana.. they may be upsetting to read, but they are the TRUTH and I felt it necessary to write it.. thanks..Leigh

I had a long and interesting discussion with Luana, DP ex-wife yesterday. As some of you may know, I had interviewed her extensively several weeks ago; she was incredibly brave and helpful. I purposely DIDN'T publish a lot of her interview, because at that time I was afraid for her safety. She had told me weeks ago the same info that was published that week, that she thought DP killed Kelly; he had threatened Luana multiple times in their tumultuous 10 year marriage.
"He told me  that he knew how to kill somebody and get rid of the body so that NOBODY would find it," Luana said. " He talked about using a wood chipper and dumping the body parts in the river.. He said that nobody would find any of me." He also held a gun to her head and made her urinate into a Tylenol bottle to avoid a random urine test while working at the prison. He grew pot in their basement. It was also convenient that he was trained in the testing procedures and was able to fake his test. It's widely thought that he did it for others in the prison; a small group who were his "friends" and fellow drug dealers.
What is remarkable to me is the absolute HELL this man not only put Luana through, but his children as well. He used to hit his daughter Brandi all over hers legs and thighs.. she would often go to school with bruises all over them.
"He would get mad at her"whining".. he would pick her up and throw her down on the ground.When she tried to run upstairs to her room, her would chase her up the stairs. All I could hear was yelling and slapping. he used his fists on her. And nobody was allowed to go up and help her... if you did, you got the same treatment.," Luana said.
Luana's other two children, Davey and Britney also received like treatment at their father's hand. He would  regularly slap them and belittle them... they tiptoed around him, never knowing if something innocuous would set his temper off.  A certain thing out of place, laundry not done properly.. it all made him mad.
"Dave would get down on his hands and knees and BEAT the floor, screaming 'WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME?'   all the time. It's like he would lose him mind or something." Luana said. "then he would start swinging, and he would say.. see? you MAKE me  do this.. it was sick, JUST sick."

"He kicked Britney out .. she was 18 and had a little baby.. she stayed with me for four months, before she ended up staying with her boyfriend, now husband.
I am learning more each day about this psychopath... Luana would vacuum the house.. he would grab it when she was finished and do it again.. and again...
"When I saw that the neighbor in Florida said he could hear vacuuming all the time, I knew that was the truth. I lived it."
Dave Perry is a waste of flesh and bone.. let's bring him to justice.
Leigh~~

Elmira New York to Hold Candlelight Vigil Saturday April 30thin Eldridge Park

Elmirans are coming together on April 30th at Eldridge Park, in Elmira at 7:30 to honor Kelly Rothwell, the missing police cadet from Florida who lived with Elmira native David Perry. The vigil will be set around the lake in the park's center and the local news media has finally gotten involved.

This case has certainly galvanized this small town, where a large percentage of the jobs market is centered around the Elmira Correctional Maximum Security facility, otherwise know as "the  Hill." Since  I started writing about this case, many people have come forward with information and opinions.
The feelings in this town are predominantly AGAINST David Perry; there are those who think he's guilty of the murder of Kelly Rothwell. I include myself in that group. What emerges from the psyche of this small, tight knit community is a dark and sordid picture of a man who severely beat his wife and children, who was a obsessive.compulsive with a major drug problem, a sociopath who bullied the women  and family in his life. It is widely believed that he faked an injury during a minor inmate scuffle at the Elmira Correctional facility where he was employed as a Corrections Officer, and used the incident to garner a 3/4 Pension from the State of New York and disability paid for by Social Security.

Many Elmirans have joined the Bring Kelly Rothwell Home Facebook page and posted loving comments to Kelly's family and friends. But Perry, ever the control freak, has been posting on the sites as well, in a hit and run fashion, changing names and email addresses when caught. He is obviously following blog sites, where he has made disgusting and accusatory comments about Kelly, ALL of which are false and have been discounted  and removed.
What makes this case doubly sad is that Perry cannot be compelled to talk to police and he has retained lawyer Tom Reilly, known for his strict defense of right's law. The fact that Perry has constantly been taunting Kelly's family and friends with seeming impunity is a double insult to Kelly's memory. His taunting shows a twisted, sadistic man who thinks he's gotten away with murder...literally....

 Rothwell has been missing since Saturday March 12th from their Florida condo in Indian Rocks Beach, after she left a lunch date at Chili's with her best friend Donna Scharrett earlier that day.
 During that lunch, Rothwell told Scharrett that she was breaking up with Dave Perry because of  his obsessive compulsive nature.Kelly Rothwell went back to their condo to confront David Perry. She hasn't been seen since. Perry fled to Elmira and had been in hiding, refusing to speak to police.He surrendered his car to authorities only after NY State Police executed a warrant and is still refusing to provide police with a DNA sample.