girls had been abducted from Wheaton Plaza and taken to Bedford County.
Investigators believed they were killed there and that their remains were ultimately disposed of on property associated with the Welch family.
But investigators still had no remains to present.
The case therefore became one of the oldest cold-case prosecutions in the United States involving victims whose bodies had never been recovered. Montgomery County Police later described the prosecution that way in its annual report.
Four decades of waiting led to one courtroom
The legal process continued for another two years.
Welch was already incarcerated in Delaware.
The prosecution had to coordinate with Virginia authorities.
Defense attorneys prepared for trial.
Investigators continued examining evidence.
The case was expected to go to trial in 2017.
Then, shortly before the trial was scheduled to begin, Welch changed course.
He agreed to plead guilty.
On September 12, 2017, 42 years after Sheila
