The ramifications of the tragic events of Aug. 31, 1985 are still felt throughout Livingston County 40 years later.
On that day at approximately 3:45 p.m., serial pedophile Ronald Lloyd Bailey, 26, kidnapped 13-year-old Shawn Moore of Green Oak Township off his bike on Whitmore Lake Road (Old US-23) between Lee Road and Maltby Road in Brighton.
Two excruciating weeks later, on Sept. 13, 1985, Shawn was found dead in Gladwyn. Bailey had sexually assaulted Shawn at a cabin in Gladwyn and killed him. Bailey subsequently fled to Florida, where he was captured on Sept. 14, 1985 upon surrendering to authorities. He stood trial in 1986 and was found guilty of kidnapping and murder. Bailey is currently incarcerated in the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia, serving two life sentences for killing Shawn and Kenny Myers, a 14-year-old from Ferndale, whom Bailey molested and killed in 1984.
“Depraved Obsession: The Gripping True Story of Law Enforcement’s Hunt for a Sadistic Serial Killer”
The horrific details of this case are chronicled in the book, “Depraved Obsession: The Gripping True Story of Law Enforcement’s Hunt for a Sadistic Serial Killer” (Wild Blue Press $19.99),” written by Rod Sadler, of Charlotte. A retired police officer, Sadler has authored five true crime books that occur in Michigan.
“It’s really difficult for the community to this very day,” said Sadler. “I know that this case today is fresh in their minds as it was 40 years ago. The reason why I say that is I was contacted by a library that wanted me to talk about my book. They contacted me again, ‘We’ve changed our minds. This case is still too fresh for the community.’ ‘I completely understand.’ There were no hard feelings. After 40 years, it’s very still difficult for the community to talk about that and to relive that horror because it was absolutely unfathomable what happened.”
Sadler wasn’t involved in the case. He had just started his 30-year law enforcement career at Lansing Community College when Shawn was kidnapped.
“I was a young police officer at the time. I can remember very distinctly because it was so unusual to have a kidnapping in broad daylight of a teenager—a teenage boy—my mind was racing,” he recalled.
Sadler was acquainted with then-Green Oak Township police officer Dave Ostrem and then-Deputy Ed Moore (no relation to Shawn) of the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office. Both men were involved in the case from the very beginning.
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“Ostrem was flagged down by a witness who reported the kidnapping. That’s how it all started. As he was taking down information and radioing it to dispatch, Moore’s was the closest car in the area. He was the first person on the scene and found Shawn’s bike alongside the roadway,” explained Sadler.
Ostrem encouraged Sadler to write about this case.
“It wasn’t written to glorify Bailey in any way, shape, or form. I don’t want to glorify the killer. That is not my intention,” said Sadler. “It memorializes Shawn and Kenny’s lives. All the victims.”
Sadler conducted extensive research and interviewed the majority of the key people involved, including Ray Cassar, one of Bailey’s attorneys, whom he said was instrumental.
“Rod did a very good job with the book,” said Cassar. “He interviewed many people and put together a balanced outsider’s view.”
It took Sadler three years to research and write this book.
“When I started ‘Depraved Obsession,’ it was at the request of (Ostrem) to memorialize the whole case because it was such an unusual case,” he explained. “Law enforcement from the local, state and federal levels worked hand-in-hand to catch Bailey. Something else developed during that case: The suspicion that there are other unsolved cases out there that Bailey was involved in. If this book brings that to light and someone says, ‘Hey, I think he was involved in this one or that one,’ maybe we can solve a few other unsolved cases.”
Sadler continued: “What surprised me about Bailey is that on the stand at his trial, he admitted that he had kidnapped anywhere from 12-15 young boys over the years. I was absolutely shocked at that. I had no idea that there were that many victims out there. Understand, he didn’t murder 12-15 boys; I’m saying he admitted to abducting as many 15 boys—he lost count. That began when he was 13. That tells me Bailey is, clearly without any doubt, a pedophile that I think cannot be rehabilitated. He is a very sadistic predator.”
A loss of innocence for the community
Sadler also spoke to Frank Del Vero and David Morse, formerly of the Livingston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, who prosecuted Bailey. Both told the author Livingston County was forever changed by this case.
“They both said it was a loss of innocence for the community,” said Sadler. “Before this happened, it was a much simpler time. By today’s standards, it was a time of innocence, if you will. If you talk to any parent from 40 years ago, they’ll tell you innocence was lost when Shawn Moore kidnapped and murdered.”
