Cold Case: Murder of Bill Comeans

New Rome was a law unto itself. Into this incredibly hostile, narrow isthmus of a Deliverance style environment, was born William Joseph Comeans. The year of his birth, 1965, was right smack bang in the middle of the decade that would be remembered as bringing forth world-wide a generation of peace and love. It seemed to have been tailor made for Bill, a gentle musician whose piano playing drew tears from those who listened. The first terrorist attack, in September 1979, was committed by two men who jumped on him while he was doing his paper route. They put a plastic garbage bag over his head, then they wrapped the inner tube of a bicycle tyre around his neck. A second attack followed in October 1979; by two men who jumped out of an “aqua-colored car.” They tied a rope tightly around Bill’s neck and left him under a tree. Bill passed out and amazingly, awoke five hours later. When he regained consciousness he walked home, severe rope burns clearly visible on his neck. The third time, they got him good.