MA DEBRA MELO: Missing from Weymouth, MA - 20 June 2000 - Age 30

http://www.stopabuseforeveryone.org/lib ... month.html

AN UNBIASED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

WRITTEN BY RICHARD L. DAVIS, SAFE SPEAKER


EGREGIOUS INACTIONS

In 1996 in Bristol County, Massachusetts Debbie Melo asked for and received a restraining order against her husband Luis. In an affidavit before the court she wrote that Luis made threats to do bodily harm to himself, her or both. She was afraid of what he might do to her or their daughter.

In 2000 Luis Melo reported to the police that Debbie disappeared after they had a road side argument. Debbie Melo has never been seen or heard from since. The last person to see her alive was Luis Melo. No report of using credit cards, no phone calls and no attempts to reach either of her two children. Luis Melo, for good reason, should be more than a person of interest to the criminal justice system.

In 2004 the live-in girlfriend of Luis Melo would appear in a civil court to get a restraining order because she and her daughter were afraid of Luis Melo. She has good reason to be afraid because Melo had beaten her in the past. Court records document that Melo is a dangerous man who should be feared. Earlier in a Bristol County court Melo had pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend.

For that previous assault Luis Melo received no jail time and was placed on probation. Luis Melo is a man that many believe may have murdered his wife. He is a man with a history of violent abusive behavior. And he is a man with no respect for the court system.

Apparently domestic violence awareness month must slip by, year after year, unnoticed by the Bristol County District Attorney and this judge.
 
Debra Melo's home
60 Baylies Rd, Taunton, MA



oC8cwfH.jpg
 
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic ... uzo9uWQtSk


Family vow: Continue search

Taunton Gazette
June 28, 2000


Reward posters line telephone poles in an effort to locate Debra Melo.


TAUNTON -- Although police in Weymouth have called off their search for a
Taunton woman missing since last Tuesday, the family is vowing to keep
searching for their loved one, with their hopes now dwindling.
Debra Melo, 30, of 60 Baylies Road, disappeared along Route 18 in Weymouth last
Tuesday, following a brief argument with her husband, Luis, over money. The
husband claims she requested to be let out along Route 18 and after obliging,
he said he then returned to check on his wife to no avail.

"I am continuing to search and hang posters," said Steven DeMoura, Debra’s
brother-in-law. "Every day is hell. All I know is she would talk to my wife
nearly every day and she wouldn’t just disappear without saying good-bye."

The Melos, who were married in 1985, currently manage a Dunkin’ Donuts in
Braintree. They have two children, Alyssa, 13 and Louie 10.

Police in Weymouth said they have reached a dead end in their investigation
into Melo’s disappearance, however, investigators from both the Norfolk and
Bristol County District Attorney’s Offices, confirmed yesterday they are
assisting in the investigation into a cause of the disappearance.

Luis Melo, who left his Baylies Road home with his children on Monday for an
undisclosed location, has been cooperating with police, voluntarily allowing
his home and car to be searched, authorities said.

Debra Melo’s mother, Marilyn Gagnon, said she continues to pray daily for her
daughter, but ultimately fears the worst.

"I think she’s been killed and dumped somewhere," said Gagnon, clutching the
rosary in her Oak Street apartment "Everyday I pray and wait for police to call
me."

Gagnon says her daughter’s marriage to Luis has been highlighted by numerous
arguments and bruises, which she said were caused by Luis Melo’s temper.

In March of 1996, Debra applied for and received an emergency restraining order
against her husband over alleged threats made against Debra.

"He makes threats to do bodily harm to himself or me," Debra Melo wrote in the
affidavit. "I am in fear of him and my safety."

Gagnon said her daughter’s large heart and gullibility led her to avoid
filing for a divorce.

Gagnon said Debra had been talking a lot lately about how she was afraid of her
husband. "Every time she would say she is leaving him, he would talk about his
rough times as a child and he would take her on a vacation or buy her something
new. She has a heart of gold, but he was running out of excuses," Gagnon said.

The idea that Luis Melo may have caused the disappearance of his wife has been
refuted by their neighbor Kerry DeSousa, of 72 Baylies Road.

"Anyone who thinks Luis would harm his family is insane," said DeSousa. "I have
never seen a problem between the two. They are an extremely happy family."

Anyone with information can contact Weymouth police at 781-335-1212 or the
Taunton Police Department at 508-824-7522 or 508-821-1475.
 
http://www.patriotledger.com/subscriben ... 1466618173

10 years later, questions linger about Debra Melo’s disappearance

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10 years later, questions linger about Debra Melo’s disappearance
The 30-year-old Taunton wife and mother hasn’t been seen since her husband Luis Melo let her out of their car on Route 18 in Weymouth on June 20, 2000. Investigators are pursuing the case as a homicide, but leads haven’t gone anywhere -- and Luis Melo isn’t talking anymore.


Posted Jun. 18, 2010 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 18, 2010 at 6:11 PM

WEYMOUTH
Debra Melo and her husband Luis Melo were in the middle of an argument on the afternoon of June 20, 2000, when she asked him to stop the car and let her out.
Luis Melo says he pulled onto the side of Route 18, near the old South Weymouth Naval Air Station, and watched the 30-year-old wife and mother walk away.
No one has seen her since.
Ten years later, the Taunton woman’s disappearance remains an open case in Bristol and Norfolk counties. The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office is investigating it as a homicide.
But no fresh leads have turned up since Bristol DA Samuel Sutter revived Melo’s case in 2007. With little more than Luis Melo’s account to go on, Sutter is again urging the public to call his office’s tip line at 866-765-8307.
“Any little piece of information can break open a case, even if it’s 10 years old,” Sutter’s spokesman Gregg Miliote said.
Miliote noted that the office has solved nine cold cases since 2007, one of them from 1986.
Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating’s spokesman David Traub said the county’s investigators check all new leads, and share any information with Bristol County and with Taunton and Weymouth police.
The Melos together managed a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise in Braintree. At the time of Debra Melo’s disappearance, Luis Melo told police they were arguing about money and that he let her out of the car and drove off believing she would return home later. He told police that he changed his mind and returned to the spot, but she was nowhere in sight.
Police said Melo did not report his wife missing for 24 hours. Along with extensive air and ground searches in Weymouth, Taunton and other locations, police also searched Melo’s house and car.
Questions about Luis Melo lingered, especially after he failed a lie detector test, but police stopped short of calling him a suspect.
Debra Melo’s mother, Marilyn Gagnon, said the couple’s 14-year marriage had been “rocky.” Debra had filed a restraining order against her husband in 1996, but withdrew it after 14 days.
Luis Melo didn’t join Debra’s family and friends for any of their vigils, Masses and informal searches. He hasn’t made public comments about his missing wife in years, and couldn’t be reached this week by The Patriot Ledger.
Debra Melo’s mother, Marilyn Gagnon, couldn’t be reached this week, either. Melo’s brother, Richard Whalley, died in 2008. He had led an awareness campaign about his sister’s disappearance.
Luis Melo moved on with his life – though not without further incident. In 2003 he was arrested for domestic assault on his then girlfriend, Samira DeOliveira, and was given one year’s probation.

In 2006 he divorced Debra on grounds of abandonment and married DeOliveira.
 
QnODf67.png


In 1996 in Bristol County, Massachusetts Debbie Melo asked for and received a restraining order against her husband Luis. In an affidavit before the court she wrote that Luis made threats to do bodily harm to himself, her or both. She was afraid of what he might do to her or their daughter.

http://www.stopabuseforeveryone.org...biased-domestic-violence-awareness-month.html

In 2004 the live-in girlfriend of Luis Melo would appear in a civil court to get a restraining order because she and her daughter were afraid of Luis Melo. She has good reason to be afraid because Melo had beaten her in the past. Court records document that Melo is a dangerous man who should be feared. Earlier in a Bristol County court Melo had pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend.

http://www.stopabuseforeveryone.org...biased-domestic-violence-awareness-month.html

The girlfriend of Luis Melo - the Taunton man whose wife mysteriously disappeared four years ago - has received custody of their daughter and a restraining order against him after she told the court she feared he might kill her.
"I'm afraid for my life," Samira DeOliveira wrote in papers filed at Taunton Probate Court, according to the Taunton Gazette. "(Melo) is a violent man and has a lot of issues that he has to deal with."
Melo pleaded guilty to shoving and threatening DeOliveira, 22, last year, and was sentenced to a year's probation.
https://business.highbeam.com/3972/arti ... girlfriend

Luis Melo moved on with his life – though not without further incident. In 2003 he was arrested for domestic assault on his then girlfriend, Samira DeOliveira, and was given one year’s probation.

In 2006 he divorced Debra on grounds of abandonment and married DeOliveira.

http://www.patriotledger.com/subscriben ... 1466618173
 
https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7864633.html

GOOD REASON TO BE AFRAID

The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
September 15, 2004 | EILEEN McNAMARA | Copyright


Luis A. Melo has a court appearance this morning, but it is not in the criminal session, where his missing wife's family has long maintained the Taunton man belongs.

Instead, Melo is due in New Bedford Probate and Family Court to answer to a live-in girlfriend's allegations that he is a threat to her and to their 21-month-old daughter. She wants a court order keeping him away from them because, in the words of the affidavit she filed last week, "I am afraid for my life."

If history is any predictor of future behavior, Samira DeOliveria has reason to be afraid. Last year, Melo pleaded guilty to assault and battery after he pushed her and threatened to beat her with a telephone during an argument. …
 
www.patriotledger.com/article/20120621/.../3062192

The couple managed a Dunkin' Donuts on Ivory Street in Braintree

www.sweetcandies.us/company-dunkin-donu ... e-ma-41397

Luis Melo the Manager of Dunkin' Donuts, Bagel in 240 Ivory St, Braintree, Massachusetts 02184.

http://www.sweetcandies.us/company-dunk ... e-ma-41397

Dunkin' Donuts
COMPANY NAME:
Dunkin' Donuts
LOCATION STREET:
240 Ivory Street
LOCATION CITY:
Braintree
LOCATION ZIP:
02184
COUNTY:
Norfolk
STATE:
Massachusetts

CONTACT NAME:
Luis Melo
CONTACT ROLE:
Manager


M6QRjf5.jpg
 
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic ... 8wOXaBJn78

40 police officers and 19 body-sniffing dogs turned up no evidence.

Taunton Gazette
August 9, 2000

Excerpt 1:


Police are still classifying Melo’s case as a "missing person" investigation,
but for the first time yesterday O’Berg publicly cast a shadow of suspicion
on Melo’s husband, Luis.

"The husband has not been actively involved in searching for his wife which
poses some question:Why?" O’Berg said at the morning press conference. In the
afternoon conference, O’Berg added, "It’s troubling and puzzling to me that
he wouldn’t be out here searching for his wife."


Excerpt 2:


Luis Melo did not go to either of yesterday’s sites during the search, police
confirmed. Knocks at the Melo family’s home went unanswered.

O’Berg would not comment on whether officers had been assigned to keep an eye
on Luis Melo. But, after publicly announcing the search plans on July 28,
police waited almost two weeks before carrying out the actual searches.

Several members of Debra Melo‘s family did attend the searches. In the
morning, her cousin, Kelly Walczak, brought fruit and cold drinks for the
police and press.

Walczak came back in the afternoon with Debra Melo’s mother, Marilyn Gagnon.

Gagnon personally thanked many of the officers for joining the search, and she
answered questions from the press.

When one television reporter asked Gagnon whether she suspected Luis Melo in
the disappearance of her daughter, Gagnon paused for a moment fighting back
tears and trying to get her voice back.

"I believe he hit her, dragged her in the woods and killed her," Gagnon replied
emotionally.

full story:

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?news ... t_id=24232
 
http://www.currentobituary.com/member/obit/53251

O'Keefe-Wade Funeral Home
70 Washington Street
Taunton, MA USA 02780

Richard F. Whalley
8/16/2008


RgYRVMU.jpg


In Boston, August 16, 2008, Richard F. Whalley husband of Robin A. (Prince) Whalley died suddenly at New England Medical Center in Boston at the age of 44. Born and educated in Taunton, Richard is the son Marilyn (Walczak) Gagnon. Richard was employed at Swank Co. in the shipping department, before that he worked for Towle Silver Co. and Reed & Barton Silver Co both in Taunton. Richard loved spending time with his family, fish and mowing lawns for his friends. He was the father of Justin, Brian, Richard Jr. and Heather Whalley all of East Taunton. Brother of Patricia Demoura of Taunton, Debbie Melo of Taunton and Steven Whalley of Taunton. Calling hours will be held at the O’Keefe-Wade Funeral Home, 70 Washington Street in Taunton Wed August 20th from 5-8 pm. A graveside Service will be held at St. Joseph Cemetery in Taunton Thursday at 11 am. In lieu of flowers donations in Richards’s memory may be made to his family.
 
http://www.wgbh.org/includes/playerPop. ... 42&rssid=3

I found a great article about Debra Melo. This is a video of an interview of Debbie's sister and her sister in law talking about her disappearance. The Massachusetts state police doesn't tell the family anything. They do not consider Debra's husband a suspect and it is classified as a missing person and not a homicide. They are very unsatisfied with the way the police have handled the case.

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http://raynham.wickedlocal.com/news/201 ... ebbie-melo
“Cases like this one, and this isn’t the only one, are very frustrating. I meet with my state police detectives regularly on unsolved cases, asking what more can be done. I don’t use the term cold case, because they are not cold for the families left behind and they shouldn’t be cold to us,” Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey said.

The disappearance of Debbie Melo remains under the jurisdiction of the Weymouth police department as a missing persons case, but information and resources are shared between the Norfolk and Bristol county district attorney’s offices and Weymouth and Taunton police, officials said.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said his office continues to assign a State Police investigator to the case. Weymouth police Capt. Richard Fuller said the disappearance of Debbie Melo – the only unsolved missing persons case in the department’s files – continues to frustrate detectives.

“Over the years we have received several tips. We investigate each tip and also share the information with the other jurisdictions. I have to believe that there is someone out there that knows something and I hope that person will come forward,” he said.
 
http://www.patriotledger.com/news/20170 ... ebbie-melo

What happened to Debbie Melo?

WEYMOUTH - Behind the treeline along Route 18 in South Weymouth, dozens of posh new apartments and condominiums are taking over the wooded area where police once conducted a massive search for a missing 30-year-old mother from Taunton. Seventeen years ago, police used officers, dogs and a helicopter to comb the closed 1,400-acre South Weymouth Naval Air Base, now the Union Point development, in search of Debbie Melo. There was no trace of her on the air base or the area around Hartstone florist across the street where her husband told investigators he dropped her off after an argument. Investigators say the search in June 2000 missed nothing, and there are no plans to repeat that effort as the air base property is developed. Even Melo’s family, who once held vigils along Route 18, say there are likely no answers in Weymouth. Instead, the family and investigators are left with the same question they had 17 years ago: What happened to Debbie Melo?

Debbie and Luis Melo lived on Baylies Road in Taunton and managed a Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant on Ivory Street in Braintree. They had a son and daughter, then 10 and 13. They had been married for 14 years, but family members described their relationship as rocky, and said that Debbie Melo was planning to file for divorce. In 1996, Debbie Melo filed a restraining order against her husband saying she was fearful of him

On June 20, 2000, her husband picked her up from a dermatologist appointment on Route 18 in South Weymouth. The couple headed south towards home in Taunton. Luis Melo, told police she got out of the car on Route 18 in Weymouth near the flower store during an argument. He told police he continued a short distance down the road before turning back for his wife, but she wasn’t there. He figured she would go home, so did not report her missing until the following day, investigators said at the time. White said she and other family members have questioned the chronology of events the day her sister vanished. “She did go to the doctor’s appointment. That was the last place she was seen,” White said


Case frustrates police
Even now, White hopes that a hunter, hiker or construction worker, whether in Weymouth, Taunton or elsewhere, will stumble across a clue. Thoughts of her sister are with her constantly, White said. “You’re driving and your constantly thinking ‘Could she be here? Could she be here?’ What happened? How come I don’t know? What has she said to me in the past that I’m not remembering that could help me with finding her?”

Investigators also hope for fresh clues. “Cases like this one, and this isn’t the only one, are very frustrating. I meet with my state police detectives regularly on unsolved cases, asking what more can be done. I don’t use the term cold case, because they are not cold for the families left behind and they shouldn’t be cold to us,” Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey said. The disappearance of Debbie Melo remains under the jurisdiction of the Weymouth police department as a missing persons case, but information and resources are shared between the Norfolk and Bristol county district attorney’s offices and Weymouth and Taunton police, officials said.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said his office continues to assign a State Police investigator to the case. Weymouth police Capt. Richard Fuller said the disappearance of Debbie Melo – the only unsolved missing persons case in the department’s files – continues to frustrate detectives. “Over the years we have received several tips. We investigate each tip and also share the information with the other jurisdictions. I have to believe that there is someone out there that knows something and I hope that person will come forward,” he said. Back in Taunton, White and her former husband, Steven DeMoura, said they too have never stopped searching. They do not believe Debbie Melo would have left her children or family to start a new life. DeMoura, who was still married to White when Melo went missing, said he has searched hundreds of locations, trudging through swamps, forests and abandoned properties. “It was a full-time job during the first three years.” DeMoura, 45, of Taunton said. “We followed up on leads. The police can’t usually follow up on a lead unless they have some kind of evidence. Not just because Joe Schmoe says it’s in your backyard or it’s over behind that house over there. They need search warrants and everything else. We’ll go out at 2 o’clock in the morning, 3 o’clock in the morning just because somebody said something.”
 
There was no trace of her on the air base or the area around Hartstone florist across the street where her husband told investigators he dropped her off after an argument

Hartstone Flower, Inc.
1275 Main St,
South Weymouth, MA 02190


GZJnvji.jpg
 
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMyst ... stigation/

[–]baekd 2 points 17 minutes ago

Friend of their next door neighbors from Taunton, MA. Haven't heard any confirmation yet, but the kicker is that where they are digging is two streets down from the house the Melo's lived in -- at the time it was a wooded lot. I, like many people, always suspected that she never made it out of the vehicle. The husbands behavior immediately after the 'incident' was extremely bizarre, and he wasn't the nicest person to begin with. Not saying anything definite yet, but I hope the family gets closure.
 
http://www.wcvb.com/article/crime-tape- ... d/12092953

Crime tape surrounds Taunton home; backhoe digs up front yard

Search around home may be connected to Debbie Melo disappearance

Crime tape surrounded a home and a backhoe was brought in to excavate the front yard of a home in Taunton Thursday.

5 Investigates said the search, which took place in the front yard of the home on Bryan Drive near the corner of Ashleigh Terrace, may be related to the disappearance of Debbie Melo.

Witnesses at the scene said the backhoe dug a deep hole and a parks and cemetery crew was called in to take down a big tree in front of the home.

Sources tell 5 Investigates police were using a cadaver dog at the site throughout the day.

Melo disappeared in the summer of 2000 after an argument with her husband.

Melo's husband Luis Melo claimed that the two had an argument and that she demanded to leave the vehicle which was on Route 18 south of the former Weymouth Naval Air Station.

Luis claimed that he later drove by the same road but she was nowhere to be found.

Neighbors said the area was once a wooded area that was developed into single family homes in recent years.

The current homeowners appeared to be fully cooperating with police, and neighbors said they have only been living at the location for approximately a year.

Police left the scene around 7 p.m. Thursday.

A spokesperson for the Bristol County District Attorney's Office said the search was part of an ongoing investigation. "We do not comment on pending investigations," the statement said.
 
http://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/Act ... 79613.html

PYHldrl.jpg


Authorities are digging at a site in Taunton, Massachusetts, in connection to the disappearance of a woman back in 2000, a source told the NBC Boston Investigators Thursday night.

Taunton Police confirmed that they are on scene at Bryan Drive as part of an "active investigation," but authorities are saying very little. A source, however, says the investigation is tied to a 17-year-old cold case — the disappearance of Debbie Melo in June of 2000.

Melo was last seen in Weymouth. Her husband, Luis Melo, claimed she got out of his car during a heated argument on Route 18 and never came back.

Luis Melo failed to report his wife missing for almost 24 hours. Still, police have never been able to tie anyone to a crime.
 
http://www.enterprisenews.com/news/...w ... ebbie-melo

Former brother-in-law: Digging in Taunton yard was for Debbie Melo

TAUNTON - Former brother-in-law of Debbie Melo, Steven Demoura, confirmed Friday morning that a police search done in the front yard of a Taunton home Thursday night has to do with the woman who vanished 17 years ago in South Weymouth.

“This has nothing to do with anybody else. This is for Debra only,” Demoura told the Patriot Ledger.

Demoura is the former husband of Patricia White, who is Melo’s sister. White could not be reached for comment Friday morning.

State Police detectives along with Taunton police cordoned off a section of the front lawn of 10 Bryan Drive with crime scene tape Thursday.

Neighbors said they watched as a backhoe at first dug around and then tore out a large tree in order to dig a wide, deep hole in front of the home.
 
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