NY HEIDI ALLEN: Missing from New Haven, NY - 3 April 1994 - Age 18

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Gary Thibodeau dies in prison at age 64

Gary Thibodeau, the man convicted for the disappearance of Heid Allen 23 years ago, has died.Thibodeau's attorney confirmed to CNYCentral that Thibodeau passed away Sunday evening in hospice care at the Coxsackie Correctional Facility, in eastern New York.

cnycentral.com

Gary Thibodeau dies in prison at age 64​

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by CNYCentral Monday, August 13th 2018

COXSACKIE, N.Y. — Gary Thibodeau, the man convicted for the disappearance of Heid Allen 23 years ago, has died.

Thibodeau's attorney confirmed to CNYCentral that Thibodeau passed away Sunday evening in hospice care at the Coxsackie Correctional Facility, in eastern New York.

Thibodeau was serving 25 years to life behind bars for the kidnapping of Heidi Allen, who has not been seen since her disappearance in 1994. Thibodeau is the only man to be convicted in the disappearance of Allen. He was found guilty in August of 1995. His brother Richard was acquitted of the same charges at trial.

 

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Heidi Allen's sister: What if Gary Thibodeau took her whereabouts to the grave?

Lisa Buske did not celebrate the death Sunday of Heidi Allen's convicted kidnapper.

www.syracuse.com

Heidi Allen's sister: What if Gary Thibodeau took her whereabouts to the grave?​

Updated Jan 29, 2019; Posted Aug 13, 2018



New Haven, NY -- Lisa Buske didn't celebrate the death Sunday of her sister's convicted kidnapper.

Heidi Allen's older sister said Gary Thibodeau's death in prison may have left the ultimate question unanswered forever. 'Where is Heidi? Heidi Allen was 18 years old when she disappeared from a New Haven convenience store on Easter morning 1994. She hasn't been seen since.

"The thought that Gary took her whereabouts to the grave with him, that's a lot to carry today," Buske said in an interview with Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard.

She said she is grateful that there will be no more hearings, no more court cases to bring her pain back to the surface. Thibodeau's case had been appealed at the time of his conviction and again in the past several years, when new evidence led to a probe against three other people.

"That I am thankful," she said in the podcast. "Because that's very stressful for the victim's family."

Buske called it a "sad day" for both her family and for Gary's family. She would never celebrate the death of another person, she said.

"I don't see it as cause for celebration," Buske told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. "I feel for his family. He's convicted of kidnapping and killing my sister. That's a fact. The jury found the evidence was there. But he still has a family."

Buske also thinks of her family: the fact her mother died without knowing what happened to her youngest daughter. Her father, in bad health, may never know, either.

"That's hard," Buske said. "My mom passed away without knowing where she is. My father is aging. If we have to say goodbye to another parent without knowing..."

Her voice trailed off.

The case is not closed, she repeated. "The convicted kidnapper and killer has died. But the case is still open. We still don't know where she is."

 

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Guilty until proven innocent — the lesson of Gary Thibodeau's case: Matt's Memo

Guilty until proven innocent. That’s how the justice system works. That’s how the public perceives the accused. That’s how jurors view a man accused in the kidnapping of an 18 year old girl.It is our nature to see the person led into court in handcuffs as

cnycentral.com

Guilty until proven innocent, the lesson of Gary Thibodeau's case: Matt's Memo​

by Matt Mulcahy
Monday, August 13th 2018

Guilty until proven innocent. That’s how the justice system works. That’s how the public perceives the accused. That’s how jurors view a man accused in the kidnapping of an 18 year old girl.

It is our nature to see the person led into court in handcuffs as the one who did it. The police said he did. The prosecutor said he did. And our gut says he did. That is why judges sitting on the bench, prosecutors at televised news conferences and law enforcement sending out news releases of arrests always add some element that reminds us to pause. Our system goes against the grain of what our eyes may tell us. It actually presumes innocence until guilt is proven.

After nearly a quarter century in prison, Thibodeau died Sunday night, maintaining his innocence right up until the end.

Let the story of Gary Thibodeau offer this as inspiration. When you’re the journalists covering the story, ask questions until your satisfied. When you’re the juror called to duty, be the one who stands up to say 'let’s slow down.' When you’re the detective in the police station, be the one to say what about those other guys. When you’re the prosecutor before a grand jury, be the one immune to the public pressure in the streets. When you’re the judge hearing an appeal, be the one who thoroughly reads the briefs and sees all the evidence. Be the one with the open mind and remember it is not guilty until proven innocent. It is the other way around.

 

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Here you can watch the Dateline episode which featured Heidi's case in 2016. It's a good summary of a very complicated and convoluted case.

FULL EPISODE: The Informant

Heidi Allen, an 18-year-old college student and convenience store clerk in Oswego County, NY goes missing in broad daylight on Easter Sunday 1994.

www.nbcnews.com

 

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A 2019 documentary into Heidi's case by investigative journalist Matt Mulcahy. Illegally hidden files and evidence were unearthed in this documentary.

 

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Peebles For The People Archives - Underdog Podcasts

underdogpodcasts.com

Peebles for the People

This is the story of 18-year-old Heidi Allen, who was kidnapped in a small town where corruption got in the way of justice. In school we are all taught that the justice system punishes bad people for doing bad things. The justice system is here to protect us, but sometimes that is not the case...

player.fm

Here are links to the ''Peebles for the People'' podcast. It is a 19 episode investigative podcast and is probably one of the most in-depth and excellently researched podcasts I've ever listened to. Which makes sense since the host is Alex Peebles, the son of Gary Thibodeau's fierce and relentless public defender. Alex was able to obtain all the court documents from the originals trials and the numerous hearings and investigations from over the years. And of course, the exhaustive amount of evidence that surfaced in recent years that implicated three other men in Heidi's abduction.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Newest age-progression to age 46 (circa 2021/22)

Have you seen this child? Heidi Allen

Missing From: NEW HAVEN, NY. Missing Date: Sun, Apr 03 1994. Heidi's photo is shown age-progressed to 46 years. She was working at D&W convenience store in New Haven, New York, before she went missing on April 3, 1994. Heidi was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt and white tennis shoes. She...

www.missingkids.org

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

For 30 years, it’s been the biggest question in Oswego County: ‘Where is Heidi Allen?’

Heidi Allen disappeared on Easter Sunday, April 3, 1994 while working at a gas station. Her body has never been found.

www.syracuse.com

For 30 years, it’s been the biggest question in Oswego County: ‘Where is Heidi Allen?’​

It’s the question that has been asked in Oswego County for 30 years now.

“Where is Heidi Allen?”

The question has appeared on signs posted across the county. At one point it was on balloons lining the ceiling of a church on her 19th birthday. It’s been asked in two trials, countless articles and TV specials.

Yet 30 years later it’s still unanswered.

Marking 30 years since Heidi Marie Allen's mysterious disappearance in New York

Wednesday marked 30 years since 18-year-old Heidi Marie Allen disappeared from New Haven, New York.

mynbc15.com

Marking 30 years since Heidi Marie Allen's mysterious disappearance in New York​

Wednesday marked 30 years since 18-year-old Heidi Marie Allen disappeared from New Haven, New York.

On Easter Sunday on April 3, 1994, Allen was working alone as a cashier at the D&W Convenience Store on the intersection of State Route 104 and 104B in New Haven. She opened the store at about 5:45 a.m. Just over two hours later, the store was reported to be vacant at approximately 7:55 a.m.

She rang up her last transaction at 7:42 a.m. and has not been seen since.

Allen's family held a vigil at the New Haven Fire Department, where they held the first one for Allen 30 years ago.

Decades later, the investigation into her disappearance continues, and support continues to pour in for Allen's family.

"We're never alone when you have people showing their support and love. Sometimes it's a hug, a smile or a handshake, but it doesn't have to be big stuff," said Lisa Buske, Allen's sister. "Tonight is big stuff to me."

At the time of her disappearance, she was 5 feet 11 inches, 145 pounds with long curly light brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt with a plaid "SU" logo on the front and white sneakers. She wore glasses or contact lenses and had pierced ears.

In 1995, Gary Thibodeau was convicted of kidnapping Allen. He maintained his innocence for nearly 25 years until he died in prison in August 2018.

Richard Thibodeau, the brother of Gary Thibodeau, was accused of the same crime but was found not guilty in a separate trial. He passed away on Jan. 2.

In 2019, on the 25th year mark since Allen's disappearance, her sister Lisa Buske maintained her belief that her sister was kidnapped and murdered.

WRGB aired the "Heidi Allen Files" special in 2019, detailing a year-long investigation that revealed a hidden document in the case.

The investigation continues and anyone with information into Allen's disappearance is asked to contact the Oswego County Sheriff's Office at (315) 349-3411.