Gerald Richard Andrews (May 18, 1943 – Oct 25, 1992) was a good employee and part of the STL trucking family. Then-STL Transportation owner Chip Johnson considered the man who went by “Bucky” a friend.
In the Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York, of December 19, 1993, Johnson remembered that Bucky had only been with his company for two years. When he was hired, he did not know a lot about transportation or trucking. However, he learned fast and soon enough handled his trips like a pro.
There is not a lot online about this case, but Andrews has not been forgotten. His friends and family still wonder what happened to him and why. This is the Case of the Month for April 2023.
What do we know?
In October 1992, Lt. Ronald O’Brien from the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office investigated the murder of Gerald “Bucky” Richard Andrews. Andrews (49) was found murdered at STL Transportation, Greig Street, Port Gibson, New York, where he had worked for the past two years. Superior Truck Lines (STL) still exists. It is a family-owned business. Andrews was about to hit the road again. This trip would take him to the New York City areas.
The Monroe County Medical Examiner conducted the autopsy. Andrews had died from blunt force trauma to the head. In other words, he had been beaten on the head and sustain injuries that led to his death. In the few newspaper articles I found, there was nothing about a possible weapon or an object that could have been used in the attack. I am not sure how many times he was hit or exactly where on his head he sustained his injuries.
Andrews was found on Sunday October 25 on the floor of the company’s break room. There were no signs of a struggle and no evidence of forced entry. Whether that referred to just the break room or the entire building was not clear. Maybe Andrews opened the door to someone, or this person had means to get inside undetected.
According to the family, Andrews’ wallet was missing but the Sheriff never confirmed that. We do not know the exact content of the wallet either. We also do not know if his wallet might have been found later inside his home.
The Sheriff did confirm that an oxygen-acetylene torch unit was missing. It could have been stolen if it played a part in Andrews’ murder. It could have been used to beat him and then taken away from the crime scene by the attacker to avoid detection. That does imply that this person had the knowledge to avoid leaving fingerprints and/or to remove the object from the crime scene. In this case, it would be interesting to know if the autopsy showed any residue in Andrews’ hair and head wounds that could point to welding equipment.
Was Andrews hit on the head near the place where the torch was usually stored? If Andrews was not hit on the head inside the breakroom but elsewhere, we have a secondary crime scene somewhere in the building or the grounds to consider. Is it possible that his attacker, already inside, thought that they were alone and then heard or saw Andrews come in? Did he interrupt someone?
According to the papers, Andrews had been robbed prior to his murder. That case was about to be sent to the grand jury. I have not found any further details in the newspaper archives so it isn’t clear to me what was stolen from him, whether he was injured during that robbery, where it took place, who knew about it, how many suspects were involved, or whether there might be a connection to his murder. I do wonder about the timespan between these two crimes. Did any other crimes happen on Greig Street shortly before or after Andrews’ murder?
According to the Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, NY of Dec 19, 1993, this was Ontario County’s only unsolved homicide at the time they wrote that article.
The authorities conducted over seventy-five interviews and followed up on all tips, however, according to Lt. O’Brien in the papers, there was no physical evidence. Then slowly, the case grew cold. I assume that there were no witnesses and no CCTV to explore further. However, there is no statute of limitations for murder so should any new leads surface, the case can be picked up again.
I hope that the clothes Andrews was wearing that day have been preserved. There is a small chance to find biological materials that might give us a DNA profile. However, if Andrews was not aware someone was approaching him, say from behind, he might have been hit and fallen without the attacker ever touching him. But, if his body was moved we might find touch DNA unless of course, the attacker wore gloves. I am not sure if any dragging signs outside the break room were found or if Andrews’ shoes showed signs of dragging.
Andrews’ family has not forgotten the man who preferred to be outside, who was fit and strong. He left behind two children, a son and a daughter, who were young teens when they lost their dad.
I hope that with this post, we can give his case renewed media attention.
Contact Information
If you have any information please call the Ontario County Sheriff’s Department at 1-800-394-4560. There is a CrimeStoppers page but at the time of writing this post, the cases on that site did not go back further than 2009.
**
In the series “Case of the Month” I highlight old cold cases. These posts are not an in-depth analysis and of course, more information can be found online and in newspaper archives.
We need to get these cases back in the mainstream media, to get people talking again, and if anything, to make sure that we do not forget the victims. Just because their cases are unsolved does not mean that we can forget about them.
With the advances we made in modern forensic sciences, we may have a chance to find clues that previous remained hidden because we did not have the technology. Now that we do, let us review all these old cases once more.
I encourage you to share this post on your own social media platforms. By sharing these posts online, the cases reach new networks, new connections, and new news feeds. One day these updates may pop up in the right person’s news feed. That may be someone who can help advance the case and that is my goal.
Rest in peace, Gerald Richard Andrews.