Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 26, 1990 TAG: 9007250010
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: NEAL THOMPSON NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
Relatives of the 27-year-old man from Pulaski County's Allisonia section say they are frustrated with the pace of the Pulaski Police Department's investigation.
"They're dragging their feet or they're just not having any luck or something," said Prim's mother, Margaret, of Pulaski. "It's frustrating."
But police say they, too, are frustrated - with a lack of progress, with people's unwillingness to talk and with false rumors flying around the county.
So they created their first-ever joint task force. It consists of Pulaski investigators Robert Smart and Terry Smith and Pulaski County sheriff's investigators Ralph Dobbins and Jim Davis. The four have been pulled off other duties and will concentrate solely on Prim's killing.
Prim's body was found May 3 at the base of Gatewood Dam in a remote section of the county.
Since then, rumors have been flying that Prim's body was mutilated and marked with swastikas.
Smart said Prim was shot a number of times and was badly beaten, "But with the exception of that, all the rest is rumors."
Another rumor is that Prim, who was black, was dating a white woman and that the slaying was racially motivated. Smart said: "We're checking that out. But as far as we know, that's a rumor, too."
Smart said they check all leads. They've gathered some new bits of information, but progress is slow.
Police had issued to state police a description of a possible suspect soon after Prim was found, but that person hasn't been found.
Smart also said Prim's friends and neighbors have been reluctant to talk, making it difficult to gather clues that could lead them to Prim's killer.
Now, they plan to "start from the beginning," Dobbins said.
"We will redo everything that's been done," he said. "We'll hopefully turn a few more rocks and find out who's responsible."
Since neither office is large enough to have a homicide department, it's often difficult to keep up with murder investigations while handling other day-to-day cases.
"We're spread thin. We work everything. Whatever happens, we have to work it," Dobbins said.
Being relieved of general duties will help them concentrate on this case.
"We're not going to have the daily distractions of other cases to work on. Our main concern is to get these people behind bars," Dobbins said.
Margaret Prim also wants to see her son's killer or killers behind bars - and soon.
"I wish they could hurry and catch them so I can look them in the eye and see what kind of person could do this," Prim said. "[Timothy] was one sweet child. He didn't bother nobody. He'd give you the shirt off his back if you asked for it."
The task force asks people with any information on the case to call members at 980-1220 at the Police Department or 980-2040 at the Sheriff's Department.
by CNB