Murder of Eileen Virginia Standley

At 5:10 pm on August 6, 1978, 53-year-old Eileen Standley's boyfriend came to her apartment at 415 W. Haskell Place #B Osage Hills Apartments in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Inside he found Eileen dead in her bathroom.  She was partially nude and her throat was slit. The crime may have been sexually motivated. There were signs of forced entry into the apartment, but there were no signs of a struggle inside. 

SOURCES:

Tulsa Police

Uncovered

Oklahoma Cold Cases

Tulsa World August 7, 1978

The Daily Oklahoman August 10, 1978

Murder of Carl Charles LaChel

On January 24, 1981, 36-year-old Carl LeChel was reported missing from his home at the Lincoln Park Apartments on Mammouth Rd. in Hooksett, New Hampshire. At 10:30 a.m. on March 31st his body would be found by loggers in a wooded area off of Currier Rd. in Concord. He had been beaten about the right side of his head and his throat slashed. 

Carl had a criminal history. In 1976 he was prosecuted for the kidnapping and attempted murder of a 7-year-old girl. He was found not guilty due to insanity and was sent to prison and then to the state hospital in 1977. He was released the November before his death. 

SOURCES:

New Hampshire Department of Justice
Find a Grave

Concord Monitor April 2, 1981

Murder of Kenneth Allison Cermak

On the night of January 29, 1988, 66-year-old Kenneth Cermak and another man met at the Corner Pocket Bar and Billiards in Santa Cruz, California. The two would then go to Kenneth's condominium on East Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz. The two would then be attacked between 2 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. the next morning. They would be beaten and their throats slashed or stabbed. Kenneth would be found dead in his bathtub and his guest would be taken to the hospital and survived

SOURCES:

Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office

Santa Cruz Sentinel Feb. 2, 1988

Murder of Clara L. Batton

At 11:45 a.m. on  Feb. 12, 1992,  a home health nurse came to a home at 416 W. Nichols in Springfield, Missouri. The nurse was suspicious about the back door being ajar. Inside she would find 67-year-old Clara Batton was in a pool of her own blood on the kitchen floor. She was stabbed in her upper chest and her throat was slit. She was last seen by a neighbor the evening before. 

At the time Clara was living with her 96-year-old father who was deaf and blind at the time. He was unharmed and was found lying in his bed.  Her light blue 1984 Dodge Omni was missing from the home and was found parked on the lot of a local convenience store. There was no evidence of a break-in. Clara was known to keep her doors locked and wouldn't let a stranger in the home, so it's likely her killer knew her. 

SOURCES:

Springfield Police

Springfield News-Leader Feb. 13, 1992

Urban Legend: The Boyfriend's Death

Photo by Ivana Cajina

One afternoon a girl and her boyfriend decided to drive around. As they drove it became darker and darker and it seemed on their little adventure they turned down a road that went through dense woods. They were not familiar with it and they only seemed to see only woods on either side.

The boyfriend forgot to make sure that he had enough gas, and while hoping they'd happen upon a gas station the car would run out of gas.  The girl began to panic as it was after midnight and they were stranded in an unknown place. There were no signs of homes or other roads just woods.

The girl kept asking her boyfriend to do something as she was scared. He knew that the only chance of leaving that night was to make it back to the highway and have someone help him get gas. He'd kiss her goodbye and tell her to keep the doors locked and windows rolled up. She watched scared and alone as her boyfriend made his way down the creepy woods.

The woods unsettled her. Every shadow and every little noise spooked her. She hoped he would return soon. Out of nowhere loud taps began happening on the top of the car. Something was on top making the sound. This would terrify her. She tried to peer out the window, but it was too dark only being able to vaguely see trees in the moonlight. She was too scared to get out of the car to investigate. All through the night the taps continued and kept her on her toes, but eventually, she was able to fall asleep.

When she woke up the sun was up. There was a relief that she was scared for no reason. She then wondered where her boyfriend was, Maybe the highway was further away than they thought and no one was willing to help him get gas.

The sound of a car horn startled her and she turned to see a police officer.

"Is there anyone in the car?" The officer yelled at her.

"Yeah, I'm in here my boyfriend went to get gas." She responded about to get out of the car.

"Come out, walk to me, and don't look back." 

That was a strange request she automatically turned to look out the driver's window towards the woods, but there was nothing there. She had a feeling in her gut something was wrong. She got out of the car and began walking towards the cop. She paused what could he see from there she couldn't see from in the car.

"Don't turn around."

The girl screamed as she saw her boyfriend hanging above the car. He was hanging upside down with his throat slit. His fingers were slightly brushing the top of the car.

SOURCES:

Scary For Kids

Snopes

Murder of Lockey M. Mitten

 

On July 28, 2007, a friend of 64-year-old Lockey Mitten went to go check up on her. At 6:42 p.m. her friend would arrive at the mobile home at 214 Indiana Avenue in Williamstown, New Jersey. She was found with her throat slit. 

There is a $10,000 reward for the arrest and conviction in the person or persons involved in this case. 

SOURCES:

Gloucester County

Find a Grave

Inquirer July 29, 2008

Murder of Lecia McGee

 

On Jan. 22, 1978, 17-year-old Lecia McGee went over to Whaley's home to watch movies and eat pizza. The Whaley's were former neighbors who moved four miles away from their home in Fort Worth, Texas. Lecia would leave around 12 to 12:30 a.m. to return home, but she would never arrive.

When Lecia's older sister came home with a friend her mother sent the two out to look for Lecia. Thinking that Lecia was still at the Whaley's they drove over to find she wasn't there. It was lightly snowing at the time and Lecia's sister thought it was possible her car had broken down. The two would drive around looking for the car, but after a few hours of searching nothing was found. 

Fear would set in and Lecia's mother would call the police. Family members would set out to try to find Lecia. Later that morning her car was found with a flat parked at 2300 S.W Loop 820 in Fortworth. This was only a few miles away from where she lived. 

There was blood on the back bumper and inside the trunk was Lecia's body. Her throat had been slashed and she had been stabbed several times. There was a great struggle inside the car. Blood covered the front seat and there was a broken back armrest. Her jacket and scarf laid in the back seat and her car keys and two billfolds were found tossed nearby near a fence several feet away. 

It's possible that someone under the guise of helping her with her flat attacked her. But it seemed that she had wounds indicating that the attacker grabbed her from behind and may have been in the back of the car already when Lecia left the Whaley's home. She was not sexually assaulted, but police believe that it may be possible that was the initial motive of the attack and Lecia was killed while fighting back. 

A cigarette at the scene contained DNA from a man named Robin Carter. He lived in the area at the time and has been in and out of jail over the years for violent crimes. He claims that he had nothing to do with Lecia's murder. The case against Carter is considered weak and charges have not been filed. 

SOURCES:

Fort Worth Police Department

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Ledger-Enquirer 

Murder of Leigh Ann Wilson

 

On November 2, 1978, around 10 p.m. 36-year old Leigh Ann Wilson left her apartment in Jefferson, Missouri. She had gone to a nearby gas station to get a pack of cigarettes. Around 11:30 p.m. someone saw a grey 1970's vehicle possibly a Pontiac parked along the median of U.S. Highway 63 south of Highway 163. The vehicle was parked with their flashers activated. They also saw a white man with an average build and dark hair hitting her. This would be the last time anyone would see her.

The next morning her body was found in a grassy South Hardwick Lane, just north of a roadside park near Ashland. She had been stabbed in the back and had her throat slit. It's believed that she was killed where she was found.  Her vehicle was later located in the parking lot of a grocery store in Jefferson City. It's possible that she had gotten into her killer's vehicle willingly and knew them. 

 SOURCES:

Boone County Missouri

Cold Case USA

Kansas City Times Nov. 7, 1978

St. Joseph News-Press Nov. 7, 1978 

St. Louis Dispatch Nov 7,  1978

The Kansas City Times Dec. 29, 1978

Murder of Christine Susan Munro

On June 24, 1995, 37-year-old Christine Munro's body was found along the Sacramento River Trail, in Redding, California. One source stated that her throat had been slashed. She had been jogging that morning and had been attacked and killed. 

Micheal Vielbig confessed to killing Christine in 1997 after going to jail for rape and attempted murder. At the time he also claimed to kill three other people. He was a suspect before his confession. There is not enough evidence to convict him. 

SOURCES:

City of Redding

Record Searchlight April 24, 1997

Action News Now- December 23, 2019

San Fransisco Gate- April 27, 1997

Flicker

Murder of Charles Saunders

Around 11:30 p.m. on April 3, 1977, 64-year-old Charles Saunders was found dead on the bedroom floor of his home he operated as a rooming house on 68 Woodward Ave. in Norfolk, Connecticut. The room was not his own, but of a female tenants. When she came home she found Charles on the floor. He had his throat slit. No motive could be found in this case. 

SOURCES:

Norfolk Connecticut 

Norfolk Connecticut (PDF)

Hartford Courant 

Murder of Martha Jane Maxwell

On Jan. 20, 1994  51-year-old Martha Jane Maxwell was last seen by her daughter Hilda McKoy left for work at 8:45 a.m. Her husband, Johnny, came home around 12:30 p.m. to find that the storm door and interior door was unlocked. which was strange even if someone was home.

When entering the front door he found her Martha's body lying on her back. She was stabbed and her throat was slashed. There were signs that she fought against her attacker.

SOURCES:
North Carolina State Bureau Investigation 

Murder of Hannah Latham

18-year-old Hannah was an orphan who lost both of her parents when she was young. She was taken in by William Blenkinsopp and his wife. When she was old enough she worked for Nellie Jackson and her family in Brignall.

Hannah spent New Year's Eve of 1812 in Barnard Castle, England. She had saved some money to buy little presents for the family and was carrying the money in her purse.

She spent some of the evenings at the Ship Hotel on The Bank. She had left before 10 p.m. to walk four miles home through the snow to Brignall. She was able to travel two miles past the Holy Trinity Church in Startforth and up to a narrow road towards Cross Lanes. This is where she met her killer.

There was evidence she fled from her killer escaping into a field before returning to the road. He had caught up to her though. Unfortunately, she had been raped and her throat was slit. One article stated that her head was nearly cut off.  She was found on New Years morning.

Crowds came and trampled the scene destroying any evidence that may have been there. Many wondered if the killer had attended the funeral and if they knew the killer. It was never found out who had ended the young girl's life so viciously.

SOURCES:
The Times
The Northern Echo

Murder of Joseph Hedley

80-year-old Joseph Hedley was a master at quilting so much so it was his job and people nicknamed him Joe the Quilter. People claimed he was very welcoming and described as a harmless and inoffensive man.

It was believed that the crime happened on Jan 3, 1826, Joseph was found inside his cottage in Northumberland, England. It had started in his cottage, he was hit upon the head with a coal rake. He was able to get out of his home, but the killer followed behind. The struggle continued across the road from the cottage where the killer continued to beat the old man. The killer then dragged him back to his home where it caused him to lose his shoes and tear his clothes. The killer then began to use a clasp knife on him. His throat was slit and his face mangles. He was still alive when this happened as he had cuts on his hand from the knife.

Having not seen Joseph for a few days neighbors got worried and went to check up on him. What they found was a bloody mess. The room seemed to have been covered in his blood. The killer even wiped his hands and then folded the towel and placed it upon a quilting frame. The cupboards and drawers seemed to have been rummaged through. Money may have been stolen.

It was believed that Joseph knew his killer.

SOURCES:
New Castle Weekly Courant
The Bury and Norwich Post 
Caledonian Mercury 
BBC
Unsolved Murders

The Connecticut River Valley Killer's Suspected Victims

The Composite Sketch of the Possible Serial Killer

From 1978 to 1986 there were several women violently murdered along the New Hampshire and Vermont border in the Connecticut River Valley near Route 91. There are at least 6 connected murders that are believed to have been done by the same person. It's been noted that there are similar M.O.'s, often used dumpsites, and wound patterns that linked the murders. He seemed to include the attempted murder of a pregnant woman. All the victims were stabbed to death and their throats were slit. It's believed that the women listed here are possible victims of the same killer.

Cathy Millican

On October 24, 1978, 26-year-old Cathrine, "Cathy" Millican was taking photographs of birds at the Chandler Brook Wetland Preserve in New London, New Hampshire. She was found where she was last seen and had been stabbed over 20 times. 

Mary Elizabeth Critchley

On July 25, 1981, a friend of 37-year-old Mary Elizabeth Critchley was dropped off near exit 13 of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Framingham,  Massachusetts. She was planning to hitchhike to Waterbury Vermont where she lived. On August 9, 1981, her body was found in the woods off of Unity Stage Rd. in Unity New Hampshire. It's unknown how she had died. She is currently seen as a possible victim of the Connecticut River Valley Killer though.

At the time Mary was attending classes at the University of Vermont. 

Bernice Courtemanche

On May 30, 1984, around 3:30 p.m. Bernice Courtemanche was last seen in Claremont, New Hampshire trying to hitchhike to Newport to see her boyfriend. She was reported missing and two years later on April 19, 1986, her skeletal remains were found just off Cat Hole Hill Road in Newport, New Hampshire. She had knife wounds to her neck and a head injury.

 At the time of her disappearance, Bernice was a high school student and part-time nurse's aide.

Ellen Fried 

On July 22, 1984, just after midnight 26-year-old, Ellen Ruth Fried was last seen talking on the payphone outside a convenience store in Claremont, New Hampshire. On September 19, 1985, her body was found in a wooded area next to the Sugar River in the Kellyville area of Newport, New Hampshire. The cause of death is undetermined, but the findings at the scene indicated she was sexually assaulted before her death. 

At the time of her death, she was a nurse at the Valley Regional Hospital.

Eva Morse

On July 10, 1985, 27-year old Eva Morse was hitchhiking on Route 12 in Charleston New Hampshire. Her body was found in West Unity, New Hampshire. It was determined she had stab wounds to the neck. Her body was found 500 feet from where Mary's was found.

Lynda Moore 

On April 15, 1986, around 3 p.m. a family member of 36-year-old Lynda Moore found her body inside her home in Westminster, Vermont. She was the only one home at her time of death. She was the only one of the possible victims to have died inside her home and not abandoned. 

Barbara Agnew 

On Jan. 6, 1987, 39-year-old Barbara Agnew went missing. Her vehicle was found in the northbound rest area in White River Junction. Her body was later found on March 28, 1987, in Hartland Vermont. Her body had been abandoned in a wooded area.  Barbara was a nurse at the time of her death. 

In 1988 Jane Boroski was seven months pregnant and was attacked outside of a closed convenience store. She was stabbed many times and was able to drive to a friend's home for help. She and the baby survived and she described him to the police and create a composite sketch. It's possible that she was a surviving victim of the Connecticut River Valley Killer.

SOURCES:
Unsolved Mysteries
Wikipedia
New Hampshire Department of Justice (Cathy)
New Hampshire Department of Justice (Mary)

New Hampshire Department of Justice (Bernice)

New Hampshire Department of Justice (Ellen)

New Hampshire Department of Justice (Eva)
Vermont State Police (Lynda)
Serial Killer Podcast

Murder of Anthony Adams

On November 6, 1978 friends of 25-year-old Anthony, Tony, Adams were worried about him. They hadn't seen or heard from him in a few days. Rev. Bob Waldrop, Bill Woodbury (Tony's boyfriend) and another friend went to his apartment at 125 1st Avenue in Salt Lake City, Utah. When they didn't get an answer Bill crawled through a window to find his boyfriend had been murdered. Tony's body was found in his bedroom he had been nude and covered in blood. He had been stabbed in his neck, chest, and his throat sliced with a butcher knife. He had been dead for several days and more than likely died on November 3rd.

Tony Adams was an African American activist who fought for Gay Rights. He even had a hand in organizing the Anita Bryant Protest in 1977. Anita Bryant was a singer and former beauty queen who was against gay rights. The Anita Bryant Protest was a big step in Gay Rights in Utah. Tony wanted to see the world changed for the better and have it be more aware. He was even called a "True Freedom Fighter," by Rev. Bob Waldrop.

The Salt Lake police were already investigating another cold case in the area. Coincidentally another murder of 16 year old Sharon Schollmeyers happened in the same apartment building. It isn't believed that the two were murdered by the same person.

It is believed that Tony Adam's murder might be one of many hate crimes that were happening in the area against homosexuals. It could also have been because Tony was a campaign manager for Bill Hoyle in the Nov. 7 election, so it could have been politically motivated.

Other Images:

SOURCES:
https://qsaltlake.com/news/2009/11/07/the-murder-of-tony-adams/
http://www.slcpd.com/1978/11/06/anthony-adams/
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=118356459
http://www.slcpd.com/1977/12/05/sharon-schollmeyers/