MissingthreePREVIEW

PART I THE

CRIME

“Crime butchers innocence to secure a throne, and innocence
struggles with all its might against the attempts of crime.” –
Maximilien Robespierre

Springfield Police Ask For Information – 20 years After the Crime
Detectives believe that someone, be it a former girlfriend, a past friend or associate, or a relative
of the kidnapper, has information that can help solve the case. Given the passage of time,
detectives hope that people who may have potentially useful information, even if it seems
somewhat unimportant to them, or they think that someone else has already filed a similar report,
or the information does not completely fit with previously reported information, will come
forward. Ultimately, detectives want to solve the case and provide closure to the community and
the victims’ families.
Since the disappearance, a number of different case theories, names of possible kidnappers, and
vehicle descriptions have been made public. The police department remains open to all
possibilities, and it stresses that it does not want previously released information to keep someone
from contacting authorities.
The kidnapper clearly spent a considerable amount of time out and about from late at night on
Saturday, June 6, 1992, into the morning of Sunday, June 7, 1992. The kidnapper had to have
been unaccounted for at the time of the crime. Someone who knew or lived with the kidnapper in
1992 likely would have been aware of this fact. In addition, in order to explain his whereabouts
on the night of the crime, the kidnapper may have fabricated a story regarding his activities.
Around the time of the crime, the kidnapper may have spent a considerable amount of time in, or
may otherwise have been familiar with, the area of the crime, and he may have frequently been
out and about at odd hours. The kidnapper also may have developed an interest in the victims.
People who know the kidnapper may not believe he is capable of committing this type of crime,
and he may not have a history of committing crimes of violence.

Anyone with information is asked to call our Crime Stoppers tip line at 869-TIPS (8477) or to
directly call the police department.

The Beginning
The Days Before
Springfield, Missouri in 1992 was like many small cities in the Midwestern part of the United
States. Quiet residential streets were intersected with major boulevards that took the residents to
commercial and industrial sections of town. Children played on the sidewalks in relative safety
and parks were filled with residents during the warm summer months.
The winter hadn't been especially harsh and by February 28, 1992, temperatures had warmed into
the 40's. Of course, by February most of the city's children were busy spending their school days
by thinking of the upcoming summer and time away from the classrooms. For the Class of 1992
in the high schools of Springfield thoughts were focused on more pressing matters, like the
potential for attending college or entry into the full-time workforce. Some even thought of a life
in the military.
Murder wasn't on their minds. In general, few homicides in Springfield go unsolved. The city also
has a relatively low rate of homicide when compared to other Missouri cities - about half the rate
of Kansas City and a third of St. Louis.
It was a normal existence in a normal enough town in the country's midsection.
The news was filled with both good and bad, as it is in any given year.

On February 1, President Bush and Boris Yeltsin proclaimed a formal end to the Cold War that
had daunted both America and Russia for decades.
The U.S. Supreme Court had reaffirmed the right to abortions in the country and Democrats had
nominated newcomer Bill Clinton as their presidential hopeful.
None of the stories that made headlines really impacted the younger members of Springfield,
though - at least not just yet. No, it was a quiet and secure lifestyle they enjoyed in 1992.
Sherrill Elizabeth Levitt was not a child in 1992. She was 47 years old, twice-divorced, and
working as a hairdresser while trying to raise a teenage daughter. Like most mothers, some days
were filled with dramatic moments between the teenager and the parent and Sherrill struggled to
find the right way to handle her offspring without alienating her completely.
Levitt was a small woman, about 5 feet tall and 110 pounds. Her bleached blonde hair and freckled
complexion made her look slightly younger than her age.
She and her daughter moved to the Springfield area in the 1980s from Seattle, Washington.
Sherrill had divorced her first husband, Brentt Streeter, shortly after Suzanne's birth. She told
friends that Brentt believed they should divorce and continue living together. His plan would allow
Sherrill to qualify for welfare assistance. Sherrill decided to end the relationship instead. She
moved into an apartment complex in Seattle and stayed home with Suzanne and Bartt, her older
son, for six months after Suzanne's birth.
Sherrill received free rent while performing repair work around the complex. In fact, fixing up
things was something Sherrill enjoyed doing, and something she would look forward to doing
when she finally found a new home she could call her own.

Sherrill and her daughter moved into their home on East Delmar Street in April 1992 and Levitt
was employed at New Attitudes Hair Salon on West Sunshine Street in Springfield. She had 250
clients. According to the salon owner, she was well-liked by all of her customers.
However, not everything was as it seemed on the surface. Sherrill's 1989 divorce from her second
husband, Don Levitt, impacted her finances and she elected to relocate to the smaller residence
with her daughter. Don's creditors began asking Sherrill to pay his debts after their divorce. She
hired an attorney to locate him without success. The stress of the debts, the cost of the attorney
and the handling of her teenage daughter made life a little more difficult for Levitt than her co-
workers imagined.
Suzanne wasn't always helping her mother's stress levels much either. She had arguments with
her mother, as many teens do, and at times had even moved away from her. However, for the most
part, mother and daughter got along well and had a close relationship.
Suzie lived for about three months with her boyfriend at his grandmother’s home during 1991. In
September, she moved back to her mother's apartment.
Then, in 1992, she moved in with her brother, Bartt Streeter, 27. After a fight about two weeks
later, she moved out following an altercation with Bartt and back in with her mother. The
altercation was the end of the relationship between Bartt and his mother. Bartt was a young man
for whom alcohol had a strong draw, and he would often drink until he fell asleep.
In 1992 Bartt told a reporter that his mother decided to end contact with him.
"Mom chose at that time not to have a relationship with me. Well, that had happened quite a few
times in the past. If we had times where we did not get along, we just did not see each other for a
while. Then when one of us wanted to talk to the other one, we called and we talked over our

problem. We always gave each other space we needed during the time that we felt either person
stepped on the other person."
Asked why his sister had left his home, Bartt said, “There was an argument over the stereo because
I had the volume too loud. We had a little shoving match. Suzie and I had moved into a house
together and there was a bunch of extenuating circumstances why it didn't work out. There was
some boyfriend problems. There were some partying problems on my part. There was a situation
of me being 28 and Suzie being 18. We jumped into it too fast, and it didn't work out. And Mom
expected me to be the protector and to bend my life.” (Springfield News-Leader, 1992)
The incident at the apartment effectively severed Bartt’s ties to his family. He would never again
see his mother or his sister.
Suzie was slightly bigger than her mother. She stood at 5-feet two-inches but was a little
underweight at 102 pounds. She had bleached blonde hair like her mother, and brown eyes.
Suzanne had a scar on her upper right forearm. She has a small tumor (slightly larger than a dime)
on the left corner of her mouth which gave her the appearance of chewing tobacco. She had
discussed the possibility of getting it removed in August of 1992 with her mother.
“It would be after graduation, and I could get it done in Little Rock,” she told Sherrill.