The cold case of Albert Edwin Seaburg (March 4, 1926 – Sept 4, 1997) is the Case of the Month for September.
Albert Edwin Seaburg (71) was murdered while he was traveling through Florida. His home state was Illinois.
The Florida authorities believe that he was shot during a robbery. He was found dead in his Best Inn motel room on North Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL.
I have not found:
- how many times he was shot UPDATE: twice as people in other hotel rooms heard two pops
- whether he was shot in the chest or in the back,
- what caliber was used,
- the exact time of death,
- how long he had been dead before he was found, and
- who found him.
Mr. Seaburg was an aircraft mechanic for the US Navy at the Air Naval Station Deland in Florida during World War II from Oct. 5, 1944 – July 20, 1946.
After his discharge, he went to the University of Illinois, Chicago. In 1954, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from the University of Denver.
Mr. Seaburg helped construct the Dresden nuclear power plant (IL) in the 1950s. He remained active after his 1986 retirement, and worked on the remodeling of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL.
There is very little information online about the exact circumstances of this crime, whether the motel had more robberies in the days before Mr. Seaburg’s arrival, what exactly was stolen from Mr. Seaburg, and whether any stolen items were ever recovered.
I have not seen any information about security camera tapes from the hotel or from establishments (banks, parking garages, ATM machines, etc.) around the hotel.
Here is a sketch of one of the two men who may have been involved. There is no sketch from the second man.
Witnesses told police that two men were “casing” the motel’s parking lot. They were seen driving in and out of the parking lot during the day and parking across the street from the motel. The car was a mid-80s Honda-Accord with a Mississippi licence plate. Both men were young, maybe in their 20s, with blond shoulder-length hair.
One last detail for those interested in old air crafts. In the grid you see Albert standing on an air craft. I asked a friend if he knew what kind of plane that was. “It is a WWII era transport (small cargo) C-45 plane, the WWII version of a Lear Jet.” You can find out more about this plane here.
“Seaburg’s image was one of 104 in a deck of Cold Case Playing Cards distributed to Florida prison inmates in 2007 in an effort to close missing-persons and homicide cases. Seaburg’s was one of seven Tallahassee cases featured in the first two editions of the cards.” So far, no tips, no leads.
A $25,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Albert E. Seaburg’s killer(s). Anyone with information can contact Leon County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) at (850) 606-3300. You may also call the Violent Crimes Unit, Tallahassee, FL, (850) 410-7578.
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Resources:
The Seaburg family (Photography used with permission. Images enhanced and placed in a grid by me.)
H/T to GN for identifying the plane.
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In the series “Case of the Month” I highlight old cold cases. These posts are not an in-depth analysis. Often more information can be found online or in newspaper archives. The goal of these posts is to get the cases back in the spotlights, to get people talking again, and if anything to make sure that we do not forget the victims. Just because their cases are cold does not mean that we can forget about them.
If you have any thoughts about this case then I encourage you to post them on your own social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, etc.) Every time that we mention Albert’s name online we enhance his digital footprint.
We must make sure that he maintains his web presence if we ever wish to find answers in this case. You can help by linking to or sharing this post.
Thank you for remembering Albert Edwin Seaburg with us.