Four Year Old Unsolved Murder Solved

May 11 - May 18, 2000

On Thursday May 11, 2000 I was in the church during the apparition of Our Lady to Gianna, as always during the silence of the apparition I was saying my usual prayers of thanks for petitions already answered and a few new ones when suddenly my mind went completely blank. My mind at this point was so blanked out that I don’t think I could have even recalled my own name. A few seconds later when my thought processes resumed the first and only thing that ran through my mind was the four and five year old unsolved murders in my hometown of Culpeper and the surrounding areas. I felt the need to pray for the murder victims but I could not remember their names except for one of them, Thelma Scroggins, whose name popped into my mind very suddenly and very clearly. I do not personally know Thelma Scroggins and I had only heard her name in the past from the media coverage of her murder 4 years ago. I remember saying this prayer to the Blessed Mother that night during the silence of the apparition: “Blessed Mother as you know we have several unsolved murders and the persons responsible for these crimes need to be caught. I know you know who they are. The only victim I can think of by name is Thelma Scroggins so I am saying a special prayer for her. ( Hail Mary ...) I am also praying for the others but I can’t think of their names. If it is God’s will please intercede and help these murderers get caught.” After this I went back to my usual prayers but I thought it was a little strange that these murders should suddenly consume all of my thought during the apparition. Exactly one week later to the day on Thursday May 18, 2000 as I was leaving for my weekly trip to Emmitsburg, I stopped at a convenience store in Culpeper. When I walked into the store my body and soul became numb when I saw the front page of the Culpeper newspaper. After 4 years Thelma Scroggins murderers had been arrested!!! Thelma Scroggins was murdered on July 13th 1996!!! While at St. Joseph’s on May 11, 2000 I felt compelled to pray for Thelma Scroggins and one week later her killers are in jail. I have enclosed a newspaper clipping covering the arrest of the killers. They need our prayers too.