Since I posted my first story on the Lizzie Mae Collier-Sweet story (March 26, 2007), I have found myself becoming increasingly drawn to the story.
This blog also appears on the Fox2 News website and my column has generated several comments there. I have also received several emails since that time and one in particular was rather surprising. It was from my uncle. Turns out he was Lizzie Mae’s supervisor at her former place of employment. I met with him and found some troubling information. I will reveal more later, but it turns out that Lizzie had confided, before leaving her job to go on a medical leave in early December, that she had purchased a shotgun because she had become fearful of her abusive husband.
I have also since spoken with the lead investigator in the case, Detective Lieutenant Richard Grant of the Brownstown Township Police Department. I am meeting with him further on Friday, one day after the scheduled dredging of an area of the Rouge River nearby Ms. Collier-Sweet’s, and her husband’s, former place of employment. The river will be dredged on Thursday based on an informant’s tip that Ms. Collier-Sweet’s body may lie there. I plan to be there, but it is with a bit of uneasiness that I will be attending.
On the one hand you know if the unthinkable becomes reality, and her body is found, at least that part of the mystery will be solved. But it also would extinguish the sliver of hope that Ms. Collier-Sweet’s family holds out that she may still be alive.
Louise Collier, Lizzie Mae’s sister, told me that while the family is realistic, they still hope beyond hope that maybe she is “in Paris, France or on a beach somewhere.” Don’t misunderstand, Louise understands and expects eventually to have to deal with the most unwanted of news in her sister’s disappearance. But it doesn’t make it any easier and the unknown is taking its toll on the family.
So many questions surround this case. Not the least of which is why was Roger Sweet allowed to even walk the streets for these past 17 years. The 1990 death of his first wife, Marlene Sweet, is now widely believed to be a homicide but the investigation, thanks to mistakes by the medical examiner, allowed Ms. Sweet’s death to be classified as an accident. It took Lizzie Mae’s disappearance to bring this fact to the light of day. Also, Mr. Sweet is now accused of child molestation. So we not only have potentially another homicide victim in Lizzie Mae but a child has been allegedly harmed at the hands of Mr. Sweet when he should have likely been behind bars.
These are areas I intend to address and get more answers in my investigation and it is gratifying that the media seems to have suddenly regained some interest in the case.
But right now my thoughts are on Thursday’s dredging of the Rouge River. I dread what may be found but I also wish nothing more than for Ms. Collier-Sweet’s family to begin to get some answers.
I know Louise waits by the phone. I don’t know however if any answer can begin to ease her pain.