Article

1981

Events that took place in Fairfax County in 1981:

January

• January 8 – 30-year-old John H. Wright is convicted of murder for the fatal shootings of 29-year-old Gary Cook and 54-year-old Grover Glass in the Nightingale Trailer Park in Alexandria on July 8, 1980.^[1]
• January 10 – The frozen corpse of 19-year-old John Shepard is found in a sleeping bag in some woods near Lake Anne in Reston.^[2]
• January 21 – 22-year-old Nguyen Xuan Phang is stabbed to death by his cousin, 19-year-old Nguyen Bong Van, to settle an argument in their shared apartment at 5835 Oakview Gardens Drive in Bailey's Crossroads.^[3]

February

• February 2 – The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors makes permanent a temporary restriction imposed on December 8 limiting new head shops to the county's four regional shopping malls: Tysons Corner, Fair Oaks, Springfield, and Seven Corners. The zoning change does not affect the county's roughly six existing head shops.^[4]
• February 2 – A stolen 1975 Mustang is rigged to crash into the gym of J. E. B. Stuart High School, causing $15,000 worth of damage. ^[5]

March

• March 5 – 15-year-old James L. Cornbrooks is fatally injured when he is shot in the head with a flare gun loaded with a shotgun shell at his family's house at 2204 Basset Street in Alexandria. Cornbrooks is taken to the Mount Vernon Hospital, where he dies about an hour later.^[6][7]
• March 17 – 17-year-old James L. Lathon is convicted of second-degree murder for strangling his 15-year-old girlfriend Karen M. Benson to death at his brother's house in Groveton on September 24, 1980.^[8]

April

• April 4 – 83-year-old Juanita G. Esparolini wanders away from the Leewood Nursing Home and is struck and killed in front of the home at 7120 Braddock Road in Annandale by a 1974 Opel driven by 25-year-old Johnny Ray Brown.^[9][10]
• April 14 – 19-year-old Jonathan P. Reinemer is convicted on four counts of involuntary manslaughter for causing the November 9, 1980 crash that killed his three passengers, 18-year-olds Alana J. Klingebiel and Wallace Simpson, Jr. and 17-year-old Deborah L. Rodgers as well as the driver of another car, 22-year-old Lawrence O'Brien.^[11]
• April 21 – James D. Fries shoots and mortally wounds 48-year-old Franklin D. Sumpter with a shotgun during a botched early-morning robbery at the 7-Eleven at 7724 Telegraph Road in Alexandria.^[12][13] Sumpter is discovered unconscious on the floor of the store and taken to the Mount Vernon Hospital, where he dies later that morning.^[12]

May

• May 13 – 34-year-old Richard L. Whitley is convicted of capital murder for beating, strangling, and stabbing his 63-year-old neighbor Phoebe C. Parsons in her Falls Church home on July 25, 1980.^[14]

June

• June 12 – Fairfax Circuit Court Judge F. Bruce Bach sentences 34-year-old Richard L. Whitley to die in the electric chair for the brutal murder of 63-year-old Phoebe C. Parsons in her Falls Church home in July, 1980.^[15]
• June 19 – 27-year-old Army Staff Sergeant Terry L. Simmons strangles his live-in girlfriend 29-year-old Caroline H. Yoo and fractures the skull of his 3-month-old daughter Julie C. Simmons, then puts their corpses in a closet of the couple's apartment at 3606 Barcroft View Terrace in Falls Church to rot.^[16][17][18]
• June 29 – In a 9-0 vote, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously approves the route for the proposed Springfield Bypass through the western and southern region of the county.^[19]

July

• July 2 – The groundbreaking ceremony for the Fairfax County Police Department's new Mount Vernon District Station is held in Alexandria.^[20]
• July 19 – 23-year-old Otis B. McCray drowns when his canoe overturns in Lake Fairfax in Reston.^[21]

August

• August 3 – The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously appoints 39-year-old Carroll D. Buracker chief of the Fairfax County Police Department.^[22]
• August 5 – 39-year-old murder suspect William B. Gates is shot to death in the parking lot of the Loyal Order of Moose lodge at 7701 Beulah Street in the Franconia area of Alexandria when he draws a .44 magnum caliber revolver on the Fairfax County Police officers waiting to arrest him. Gates is taken to the Mount Vernon Hospital, where he is pronounced dead.^[23][24]

October

• October 1 – 62-year-old Morton C. Grossman and his wife, 58-year-old Sylvea, are shot to death in their home at 9015 Edgepark Road in the Wolf Trap Woods neighborhood of Vienna.^[25]
• October 30 – Following five and a half hours of deliberation, a Fairfax Circuit Court jury finds 27-year-old Army staff sergeant Terry L. Simmons guilty of second degree murder for strangling his girlfriend, 29-year-old Caroline H. Yoo, in their Baileys Crossroads apartment on June 19.^[26]

November

• November 10 – Acting on a phone tip, Fairfax County Police spend several hours digging around a partially demolished house on Moncure Avenue in Bailey's Crossroads before finally discovering the skeletal remains of William H. Miles, Jr..^[27][28]
• November 21 – 11-year-old Bruce J. Tiemens is shot to death by his 10-year-old playmate at his home in Annandale.^[29]

December

• December 2 – Following his arrest on drunk driving charges by officer Paul Crossfield, retired Navy Captain Cecil E. Harris celebrates his 65th birthday by hanging himself in his cell in the Fairfax County Police Department's Groveton Substation at 6210 North Kings Highway in Alexandria.^[30] The unconscious Harris is discovered shortly after midnight and taken to Mount Vernon Hospital, where he is pronounced dead.^[31]
• December 15 – The 911 emergency telephone system is activated in Northern Virginia.^[32]
• December 18 – Circuit Court Judge Richard J. Jamborsky sentences 27-year-old Army Staff Sergeant Terry L. Simmons to 20 years in prison for strangling his girlfriend Caroline H. Yoo at their apartment in Baileys Crossroads on June 19.^[33]
• December 22 – Storer Cable Communications, a subsidiary of Miami-based Storer Broadcasting Company, becomes the second company to withdraw from the competition for the county's cable TV franchise.^[34]

References

1. ↑ Hiatt, Fred "Man Convicted OF Murders at Trailer Park"Evening Star, 9 Jan. 1981, Three Star NIGHT FINAL, p. 59. NewsBank. Accessed 17 Dec. 2017.
2. ↑ Bruske, Ed. "Frozen Body of 19-Year-Old found in Sleeping Bag in Va." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 2. Jan 12 1981. ProQuest. Web. 27 Aug. 2016.
3. ↑ "Man is Slain with a Knife; Cousin Charged." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 1. Jan 23 1981. ProQuest. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
4. ↑ "New Head Shops Limited to 4 Malls By Fairfax Board"Evening Star, 3 Feb. 1981, Three Star TUESDAY FINAL, p. 50. NewsBank. Accessed 23 Dec. 2017.
5. ↑ Winner, Christopher P. "Rigged Car Smashes Doors, Stops In School Gymnasium." Evening Star, 3 Feb. 1981, Three Star TUESDAY FINAL, p. 40. NewsBank. Accessed 23 Dec. 2017.
6. ↑ Piantadosi, Roger, and Mike Sager. "Virginia Boy, 15, Fatally Wounded with Flare Gun." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 1. Mar 06 1981. ProQuest. Web. 8 Oct. 2017.
7. ↑ "Shotgun Blast Kills Teen-Ager" Evening Star, 6 Mar. 1981, Two Star NIGHT FINAL, p. 60. NewsBank. Accessed 8 Oct. 2017.
8. ↑ Collins, Denis. "17-Year-Old Convicted of Murdering Girlfriend." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 1. Mar 18 1981. ProQuest. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
9. ↑ "Annandale Resident, 83, Killed on Braddock Road." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 1. Apr 06 1981. ProQuest. Web. 25 Dec. 2017 .
10. ↑ "Elderly Resident of Nursing Home Wanders Away, Is Killed by Car." Evening Star, 6 Apr. 1981, Three Star MONDAY FINAL, p. 47. NewsBank. Accessed 25 Dec. 2017.
11. ↑ Boodman, Sandra G. "Driver Convicted In Va. Collision That Killed Four." Washington Post. Washington Post, 15 Apr. 1981. Web. 11 June 2016.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} "Va. 7-Eleven Store Worker Killed in Apparent Robbery." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 1. Apr 22 1981. ProQuest. Web. 19 Aug. 2014.
13. ↑ Shiver, Jube, Jr. "Fairfax Man, 19, Convicted of Convenience Store Killing." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 1. Dec 02 1981. ProQuest. Web. 19 Aug. 2014.
14. ↑ McGinley, Laurie. "Fairfax Man Is Convicted in Slaying Of Elderly Neighbor; Jury Urges Death" Evening Star, 14 May 1981, Three Star NIGHT FINAL, p. 82. NewsBank. Accessed 15 Dec. 2017.
15. ↑ Tarpey, John P. "Fairfax Man Gets Death For Murder" Evening Star, 13 Jun. 1981, One Star SATURDAY MORNING MARYLAND, p. 3. NewsBank. Accessed 15 Dec. 2017.
16. ↑ Hockstader, Lee. "Woman, Baby found Dead in Apartment." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 2. Aug 18 1981. ProQuest. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.
17. ↑ Sager, Mike. "Baby's Death Laid to Woman." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 2. Oct 30 1981. ProQuest. Web. 22 Feb. 2014 .
18. ↑ "Soldier Sentenced to 20 Years for Murder of Woman." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 1. Dec 19 1981. ProQuest. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.
19. ↑ Hockstader, Lee. "Springfield Bypass Wins Approval." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 2. Jun 30 1981. ProQuest. Web. 6 Feb. 2014.
20. ↑ Courtney, Daniel P. History of the Fairfax County Police Department, 1921-1990. Fairfax, VA: History4All, 2009. Print.
21. ↑ "Boat Accident Victim Identified in Fairfax." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 1. Jul 21 1981. ProQuest. Web. 21 Aug. 2014.
22. ↑ McGinley, Laurie. "New Chief Is Named in Fairfax" Evening Star, 4 Aug. 1981, Three Star TUESDAY FINAL, p. 42. NewsBank. Accessed 10 Sep. 2017.
23. ↑ Latimer, Leah, and Denis Collins. "Fairfax Police Shoot, Kill Murder Suspect in Franconia." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): B4. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1995). Aug 06 1981. Web. 10 Mar. 2012.
24. ↑ Giegerich, Steve, and Larry Evans. "Beach Murder Suspect Killed by Fairfax Police." The Free Lance-Star [Fredericksburg, Virginia] 6 Aug. 1981: 1+. Print.
25. ↑ Bruske, Ed. "Couple found Shot to Death in Fairfax Home." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): B1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1994). Oct 04 1981. Web. 3 Feb. 2012.
26. ↑ Sager, Mike. "Staff Sergeant found Guilty of Va. Murder." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 2. Oct 31 1981. ProQuest.Web. 19 June 2016
27. ↑ "Remains of Man Found." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 1. Nov 11 1981. ProQuest. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
28. ↑ "Skeleton is Identified as Missing Va. Man." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 1. Nov 18 1981. ProQuest. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
29. ↑ "Boy's Family Files Wrongful-Death Suit." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): VA11. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1994). Mar 04 1982. Web. 1 Jan. 2012.
30. ↑ Sun, Lena H. "Fairfax Police Cleared in Suicide at Lockup." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 1. May 04 1984. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1996). Web. 27 Nov. 2012.
31. ↑ "Prisoner at Groveton found Hanged in Cell." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 1. Dec 02 1981. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1996). Web. 27 Nov. 2012.
32. ↑ Bohlen, Celestine. "911 at Last: N. Virginia Starts Today." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 2. Dec 15 1981. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1996). Web. 11 Dec. 2012.
33. ↑ "Soldier Sentenced to 20 Years for Murder of Woman." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 1. Dec 19 1981. ProQuest. Web. 19 June 2016.
34. ↑ Hiatt, Fred. "2nd Firm Withdraws from Fairfax Cable-TV Race." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 1. Dec 22 1981. ProQuest. Web. 17 Dec. 2017.

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Fairfax County by Year
1980	·	1981	·	1982

Fractured Fairfax is Copyright © 2011 – 2017 by Chuck Hoffmann