FBI offering reward in 40-year cold case, suspect has Fort Wayne ties
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Fort Wayne’s NBC) - The FBI is asking for the public’s help in locating a longtime fugitive with Fort Wayne ties they say is wanted for allegedly murdering his girlfriend in 1981.
Officials say Andrew Peter Dabbs allegedly murdered Robin A. Shea on October 10, 1981. They say the couple was driving through Norton, Massachusetts, when Dabbs allegedly shot Shea in the chest and left her body along Route 123, where she was later found by a passing motorist.
Now for the 40th anniversary of the case, the FBI is offering a reward of up to $20,000 to anyone who can provide information about Dabb’s current whereabouts.
The FBI said in a release that Andrew P. Dabbs, also known as Peter Dabbs, should be considered armed and dangerous.
Dabbs is described by the FBI as having brown eyes and would now be 78 years old. His wanted poster above includes an age-progressed photo, depicting what he may look like now at 78.
At the time of the murder, they say he weighed about 180 pounds and was roughly 5′10″ tall. He had a mole on the right side of his nose, a scar on his arm, and skin grafts on his leg from a burn. Dabbs was an auto mechanic and may have possessed weapons and was known to use drugs.
His last known address was in Derry, New Hampshire, but he also has ties to Massachusetts, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Officials say his ties in Indiana are to the Fort Wayne area.
“Someone out there knows where Andrew Dabbs is, and we’re asking you to contact us. We are in the final stages of this investigation and we’re doing everything we can bring him to justice and provide some much-needed closure to Robin’s family who has already endured enough heartache,” Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, said.
Robin Shea’s sister, Joyce Carter, said, “The reality is that this is really unfinished, it’s unfinished in the sense that I’m talking about it and he’s out there somewhere. Maybe he’s dead, and if he is, I would love to know that, I would love to know more of that detail, and if he isn’t dead, if he’s alive, he needs to pay for what he did.”
On Nov. 3, 1981, Dabbs was indicted for murder by the Bristol County Superior Court in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and a state warrant was issued for his arrest.
On September 20, 1982, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Dabbs by a United States Magistrate in the District of Massachusetts, after he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Anyone with information on the case should call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). Tips can also be electronically submitted at tips.fbi.gov.
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