1. Birth, Birthplace, Birth/Adoptive Family Speculation
Samantha Lawson Telfer Dowls (henceforth, Sam) was b. October 18, 1976 (
link).
Arrest reports list Sam’s birthplace as Hammond, Indiana (
link). In a livestream with Yaba, Sam claimed she was originally from the South Side of Chicago (LINK?)
@Dog Prom 3D recalled that Sam’s father died when she was very young. Sam’s mother, unable to care for both Sam and Sam’s brother, had Sam adopted by a second cousin (
link).
Sam stated her father was murdered in Gary, Indiana in 1998, a murder which remains unsolved (
link). She would, of course, have been a young adult by then. Per the adoption hypothesis, it is conceivable Sam is describing a man her biological mother married following Sam’s adoption.
For now, this “father, not dad” issue remains an interesting, open question. Along with Sam’s mother.
Likewise, one cannot be sure of an inter-family adoption. Having said that, an inter-family adoption is highly plausible, with the Telfers as the adoptive family.
Were Sam adopted, she was perhaps born Lawson, with her surname amended to Telfer. It’s otherwise unclear why she would have Lawson as a middle name. Lawson isn’t, for instance, her “adoptive” mother’s maiden name (i.e., Nora
Dalton Telfer,
link).
In 2010, Sam commented on the obituary of David M. Lawson (1981-2010), identifying him as “Cuzzo” (
obituary,
guestbook |
link). Other Telfers regularly greet Lawsons on Facebook (screenshots available).
The Lawson-Telfer connection is traced to Raymond J. Lawson, the great-grandfather of David M. Lawson and Sam. Raymond J. Lawson’s son Raymond Hurless Lawson is the grandfather of David (
obituary).
Interestingly, Raymond Hurless Lawson was born in Hammond, IN, the city cited as Sam’s birthplace.
Raymond J. Lawson’s daughter Mary Ellen Lawson (
obituary) married Robert J. Telfer Sr. (
obituary) and is the grandmother of Sam (or
adoptive grandmother, per the adoption analysis).
The relevant generation of Telfer children would therefore be second cousins to the relevant generation of Lawson children. Sam’s birth mother could therefore be one of Raymond Hurless Lawson’s daughters.
In the interest of full disclosure, Raymond Hurless Lawson has an additional sibling, Jean Campbell. As her daughters did not carry the Lawson name, I’ve set them aside as immediate candidates. I’ll also set aside further speculation on the matter generally.
2. Assault, Bootcamp, Meeting Harold
Regardless, Sam was raised by Robert J. Telfer Jr. and Nora Dalton Telfer in Titusville, FL. Robert is a now retired personal injury attorney. He served as mayor of Titusville from 1976-1978 (
link,
link). Nora, a homemaker and member of the Junior League, died in December 1994 (
link).
@Dog Prom 3D recalled Sam being abducted in her early teens, raped, and possibly held hostage (
link,
link).
@shameful existence suggested this may have occurred while Sam was hitchhiking (
link).
Due to its impact on her behavior, Sam was sent to a “rehab camp for girls,” which emphasized “strict and rugged schedules” (
link).
In a September 2020 livestream, former friend Arabia (Billie Jehan/
Jehaan Fulton) confirmed that she and Sam met at “a boot camp for troubled kids” (
timestamp, 00:11:24 | have archive). Taken literally, Sam and Arabia met when they were 13-14.
Based on Sam’s Facebook likes (
link; see pic below), the camp is likely Camp E-Nini-Hassee, an “outdoor therapeutic program for girls at-risk… struggling with school, causing family conflicts, experimenting with drugs, experiencing depression… exhibiting emotional problems and behavioral issues” (
link).
Sam says she met her eventual husband Harold Benjamin Dowls Jr. when she was 16 (
timestamp, 00:35:27 | have archive). Harold (b. June 6, 1972) would have been 20 (
link; see pic below). These dates are consistent with a tweet from Sam (
link).
The circumstances of their meeting are unknown. A private investigator’s report suggests Harold at some point was using Sam’s social security number (
link).
3. Pregnancy, Estrangement from the Telfers
In January/February 1994, 17-year-old Sam becomes pregnant by Harold with the first of their five children. At some point prior to December 1994, the couple settles in South Bend, Indiana, as evidenced by Sam’s mother’s obituary (
link).
No mention is made of Harold, nor of Sam and Harold’s daughter, who was born in October (info from e-case searches, Facebook posts; screengrabs available).
Sam has characterized Harold as a pedophile and their move to South Bend from Florida as a “kidnapping” (
link; thread discussion begins
here; thanks to
@Dog Prom 3D for the
lead).
Per Florida law, the age of consent is 18. Harold would have faced at least one felony charge, prison, and mandatory sex offender registration for a sexual relationship with Sam.
Florida adopted a “Romeo and Juliet” statute in 2007. Even if Florida had adopted the statute in 1994, Harold would not have qualified. The statute allows for no more than 1,460 days (i.e., four years exactly) between parties; Harold was over the limit (
link).
Harold therefore transported a minor across state lines in the commission of a felony (
link). Though not applicable, the age of consent in Indiana is 16. To what extent the Telfers pursued charges, if at all, is unknown.
Given their already rough history with Sam, and Nora’s poor health (likely cancer), her father might have “washed his hands” of her, as has been suggested in the thread.
On October 3, 1998, a week before Sam’s 22nd birthday (and about a year after the birth of their 3rd child), Sam and Harold wed (
link,
link).
Per her court records, sometime between June 2000 and September 2000, Sam takes Harold’s name.
Though she will later allude to the Telfers (
timestamp, 00:56:08 | have archive) – her father’s career as a lawyer, her brother’s career as a judge (
link) – Sam remains estranged, stating the Dowls are “literally the only family [she has] been a part of” since she was 16 (
link).
To what extent the Telfers have since pursued a relationship with Sam is unknown. Sam’s father, however, has been in contact with Sam’s children, as evidenced from Facebook postings (screengrabs available).
