Orbach Murders: 25 years later and still unsolved
I worked at Orbach's at the time this happened and it was just horrific. Syl was a really kind and nice man as was his wife.
There was much speculation about all the because only months earlier his son had taken over the business and it was very extended... They had gone from a men's and boy's store at 50 Penn to having Varsity Shops, women's clothing and a bunch of different locations. Then, the oil bust came along.
It wasn't long before the stores started to close and the whole business was slowly driven into the ground.
It's pretty clear this was a professional job but the reasons for it remain a real mystery:
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Thu July 19, 2007
Leads dry up, but police not giving up on '82 case
By Ken Raymond
The Oklahoman
Somewhere along the line, the handyman's son took a wrong turn. Seeking the bathroom, he instead found the den.
His screams could be heard outside.
July 1, 1982, the 9-year-old boy became the first innocent to see the savaged bodies of Syrl and Christine Orbach. The prominent Oklahoma City couple lay dead in their home, their heads battered and their throats slashed.
Everett Owen, the boy's father, was the second witness.
"He come out crying and screaming, said Owen, 65. "Of course, I didn't know what went on. I just ran in there and was right in the middle of it all. I just found them, that's what I seen. I just found them two and called their son and then called the police.
During the past 25 years, Oklahoma City police have exhausted hundreds of leads trying to find the Orbachs' killer or killers.
But somewhere along the line, the investigation took a wrong turn. The evildoers were too careful, too smart or more likely too lucky.
Despite the best efforts of some of the state's top detectives, the Orbach case grew cold.
A man in the house'
Christine "Chris Orbach started the final day of her life by taking her black dog for a walk.
The 68-year-old woman, who volunteered at the Christian Science center near NW 63 and Western Avenue, paused at one point to chat with a neighbor about flea powder. He later described her as "just as happy as she could be.
She had good reason to be happy. After 19 years of marriage, she and Syrl "Sy Orbach, 87, were building their retirement home in the Arkansas Ozarks. Her husband was finally ready to relax.
Sy Orbach's success was built on boys' clothes. In 1919, he and two associates started a clothing business and leased the boys' section at a department store. He'd grown the business from there, once telling The Oklahoman that boys should always dress up because "a thing of beauty is a boy forever.
In time, he extended the clothing lines to include men's and women's apparel. He also launched stand-alone stores in downtown Oklahoma City and at area shopping centers.
And a few months before, after working so hard for so long, he'd turned the business over to his son, who declined an interview request for this story.
Now the Orbachs were selling their $350,000 home in an affluent area near Nichols Hills. The leafy, quiet area was so safe and peaceful that one resident proclaimed it "the most crime-free neighborhood in the city.
That was about to change.
By 10:30 a.m., Chris Orbach was back at the house at 2200 NW 56. Her last known words were spoken to a friend over the telephone.
"Jan, she said, "Sy just let a man in the house. Hold on a minute. A pause. "Jan, I've got to go show him the house. Call me back. We'll be home all day.
There was no life left'
Sometime in the next 30 to 60 minutes, a neighbor watched as a stranger pulled up outside the Orbachs' home in a blue Toyota station wagon that looked very much like the Orbachs' own car.
The man had a ruddy complexion and a solid build. He seemed to be about 35 to 40 years old, two inches shy of six feet tall and about 180 pounds. His wavy hair was sandy or reddish blond. Wearing a pink shirt and blue pants, he walked toward the house "at a very determined fast pace.
The neighbor didn't notice when he left.
Nothing else seemed amiss until 3 p.m., when Owen's son entered the house and found the bodies.
There was nothing unusual about a member of the Owen family going into the Orbach home. Owen had worked for the Orbachs for years, maybe decades, and the families were close. The Rollins alarm system at the Orbach house was set up to ring Owen's phone any time it went off, and Owen had remodeled part of the Orbachs' home including the den where the couple died.
He raced to that room when his son screamed.
"I know exactly what all was there because I tried to help them, Owen said, "and then I seen there was no life left, and that's when I went back out the room again. It was terrible.
According to police records and autopsy reports:
β’ Sy Orbach had been beaten and stabbed, and his throat was cut. His wife was lying face up on her left side. She, too, had been beaten, and her throat was slashed.
β’ Both were fully clothed but wore no jewelry, not even wristwatches. Each clutched several strands of their own hair, leading investigators to theorize that they'd been forced to lie down on the floor with their hands behind their heads before they were beaten and killed.
β’ Jewelry had been stolen. Newspaper accounts estimated the value at $50,000, but a police document indicates the jewelry may have been worth three times that much. Missing items included a rare 1878 $3 gold piece, an 18-jewel Patek Phillipe man's watch in 18 karat gold with a yellow gold mesh band and a woman's 14 karat gold Kelbert watch. A small brown-and-white checked bag, which the killers may have used to hold the jewelry, also was taken.
β’Aside from the den, the Orbachs' home was immaculate. There were no signs of forced entry, and the rooms had not been ransacked. The killers almost certainly wore gloves, and no murder weapon was recovered. Police later described the scene to reporters as "incredibly clean.
β’ The couple's station wagon was gone. It was found about 7 p.m. in the parking lot of the Penn Square shopping center, about half a mile from the house. The steering wheel was "blood-soaked, and blood streaked the driver's door and the rear driver's side seat. No fingerprints were recovered from the car.
A hideous type crime'
So what happened inside the house once Chris Orbach hung up the phone?
Part of the police theory is spelled out in a two-page case summary, provided to The Oklahoman:
"The victims may have let the suspect(s) into the home on the pretense of buying the home and was taken to a secluded area of the home where the male victim was forced to lie down on the floor, face down, was beaten and the female victim forced to get or take a suspect with her to get the jewelry and also open a floor safe.
"Possibly the suspect(s) did not find exactly what they were looking for, money, etc., and then beat the female victim. ... The suspect or his possible accomplice ... cut their throats making sure of their death.
The killers may have left the house after beating the Orbachs, then returned later to make certain they were dead, said police Capt. Steve McCool. That would explain the witness sighting of the wavy-haired man exiting the Orbachs' car. Police released a sketch of that man to the media. He has never been found.
By July 9, 1982, the trail had grown cold enough that Crime Stoppers offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the killers. This was unusual. In most cases, Crime Stoppers rewards were only $1,000, and very few other cases, if any, went to Crime Stoppers after only about a week.
A police spokesman explained Crime Stoppers' early involvement as being "because it's such a hideous-type crime, committed in broad daylight in a residential district.
But the money wasn't enough to nab a suspect.
Almost a year after the deaths, The Oklahoman ran a story headlined: "Police investigators say Orbach slayings case will be solved eventually.
A story published on the second anniversary lacked even that hint of optimism. Its headline read: "Two years later: Mystery of Orbach killings still unsolved. The story quotes a police officer as saying, "We don't consider any case unsolvable. Twenty-five years later, McCool said, that still holds true.
Somewhere along the line, someone found out something about the Orbach case. A lover has suspicions. A cellmate has heard a confession. A killer needs to clear his conscience before death. Until the solution is finally revealed, the case will remain cold. But police won't stop looking.
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Originally Posted by Jettmiester
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