The Clocktree
Click below to learn more about those who knew the Pelley family and the people who were connected to the case.
Click below to learn more about those who knew the Pelley family and the people who were connected to the case.
Robert “Bob” Pelley was the pastor of Olive Branch United Brethren church in Lakeville, Indiana.
First appears on Episode 1
Dawn Pelley was Bob’s second wife whom he married in November 1986.
First appears on Episode 1
Janel Pelley was the 8-year-old daughter of Dawn Pelley.
First appears on Episode 1
Jolene Pelley was the 6-year-old daughter of Dawn Pelley.
First appears on Episode 1
Ava “Joy” Pelley is Bob Pelley’s first wife and the biological mother of Jacque and Jeff. She died of cancer in 1985.
Photo source: Jacque Pelley
First appears on Episode 1
Edward Huber is Dawn Pelley’s first husband and biological father of Jessica, Janel and Jolene. He died under accidental circumstances at his home in 1985.
First appears on Episode 1
Michael Ross is the former pastor of Fort Myers First Church of the Nazarene. He was a close friend of Bob and Joy Pelley’s when they lived in Cape Coral, FL.
First appears on Episode 1
Robert Jeffrey “Jeff” Pelley is the surviving son of Bob and Joy Pelley.
Photo source: Saint Joseph County Police
First appears on Episode 1
Jacque Pelley is the surviving daughter of Bob and Joy Pelley
Photo source: Jacque Pelley
First appears on Episode 1
Jessica Pelley-Toronjo is the surviving daughter of Dawn Pelley.
Photo source: Jamie Collins
First appears on Episode 1
Jamie Collins is Jessica’s cousin and niece of Edward Huber.
Photo source: Jamie Collins
First appears on Episode 1
Dave Hathaway was the Sunday school superintendent for Olive Branch United Brethren church. He discovered the deceased bodies of Bob, Dawn, Janel and Jolene on April 30th, 1989.
First appears on Episode 2
John Botich is a retired Saint Joseph County Police detective who was lead investigator on the Pelley homicide case in 1989.
Photo source: John Botich for Sheriff
First appears on Episode 2
Mark Senter is a retired Indiana State trooper who assisted in the Pelley homicide case.
Photo source: Plymouth, Indiana
First appears on Episode 2
Dr. Rick Hoover was the forensic pathologist who visited the Pelley crime scene and conducted autopsies on the four victims.
Photo source: South Bend Medical Foundation
First appears on Episode 3
Sheila and Harold “Irish” Saunders were the Pelley family’s nextdoor neighbors on Osborne Road in Lakeville, Indiana.
Photo source: Delia D’Ambra
First appears on Episode 4
Jack and Mary Armstrong were Jeff Pelley’s biological maternal grandparents who lived in Kentucky. They accompanied him during his May 1st, 1989 police interview.
Photo source: Saint Joseph County Police videotape
First appears on Episode 5
Jon Herczeg was a young man who was friends with Jeff Pelley in 1989. Jeff stole petty items from Jon leading up to Spring of 1989 but was never charged for it. Jon died in February 2020.
Photo source: Legacy.com
First appears on Episode 5
Steve Diller was the man who sold Bob Pelley a 20-gauge Mossberg pump-action shotgun in December 1987.
First appears on Episode 6
Kurt Schafer was one of Jeff Pelley’s best friends and lived on Osborne Road. He witnessed Jeff driving his car on April 29th, 1989.
First appears on Episode 7
Dennis Nicodemus was a gas station clerk at Lakeside Amoco station where Jeff Pelley was seen fixing his car at 5:20pm on April 29th, 1989.
First appears on Episode 7
Lois Stansbury was an eyewitness who claimed she saw Bob Pelley alive standing his driveway at five o’clock on April 29th. She claimed he was holding a shovel and talking to an unknown man in a black truck.
First appears on Episode 7
Craig Whitfield is a retired cold-case investigator for the Saint Joseph County prosecutor’s office. He reopened the Pelley murder investigation in 2001/2002 and eventually convinced the district attorney at the time to charge Jeff Pelley with the crime.
Photo Source: Delia D’Ambra
First appears on Episode 9
Alan Baum was Jeff Pelley’s defense attorney.
Photo source: alanbaum.net
First appears on Episode 10
Frances Watson is Jeff Pelley’s current post-conviction defense attorney.
Photo source: Delia D’Ambra
First appears on Episode 11
Phillip Hawley was a longtime family friend of Bob Pelley’s from Fort Myers, Florida who read letters on Jeff’s behalf at his sentencing.
Photo source: Fort Myers News Press
First appears on Episode 11
Clarence “Eric” Dawson was a real estate developer and investor in Lee County, Florida. He was murdered in September 1988 and his death is still unsolved.
Photo sources: Jason Dawson
First appears on Episode 14
Susan Dawson was Eric’s wife.
Photo source: McGregor Baptist Church Directories
First appears on Episode 14
Jason Dawson is Eric’s youngest son.
Photo source: Family photo, Jason Dawson
First appears on Episode 14
Thomas Kontinos is a retired Lee County Sheriff’s Office detective who was lead investigator on the Eric Dawson case in 1988.
Photo Source: eGuarded
First appears on Episode 15
David, Danny and Paul Hawley were three of Phillip Hawley’s five sons who were ultimately charged with felonies related to forgery and land theft in relation to Eric Dawson.
Photo Source: Fort Myers News Press
First appears on Episode 15
Sheldon Zoldan is a former editor for the Fort Myers News Press who covered the murder and investigation into Eric Dawson in 1988 and the years to follow.
Photo source: Delia D’Ambra
First appears on Episode 16
Michael Braun is a reporter for the Fort Myers News Press who re-investigated the unsolved murder of Eric Dawson in 2018.
Photo source: Delia D’Ambra
First appears on Episode 17
Patrick Zirpoli is a nationally-recognized crime scene assessment and recreation expert. He is retired from the Pennsylvania State Police.
Photo Source: Sherry Black Foundation
First appears on Episode 18
Elaine Sherer is the current owner of Phillip Hawley’s old family property in Fort Myers, Florida.
Photo source: Realty in the Sun
First appears on Episode 20
Trish Routte is the director for Southwest Florida Crimestoppers.
Photo source: FPRA
First appears on Episode 20