I think I will do a quick outline of Kathy's case here for people who are just finding the thread.
Kathy was 12 years old and had blonde hair and blue eyes. She had been given a pair of rollerskates (white leather boot skates) as well as $1. She was going to go to the All Weather Rollerdrome and Krispy Kreme. Both of these were located on Thompson Lane (523Thompson Lane for the rollerdrome. it's no longer there. And 408 for the Kripsy Kreme. The original store is gone, but there is a Krispy Kreme still at that location.)
The Rollerdrome had a bus to drive kids to and fro from the neighborhood Kathy lived in and it mainly ran on Saturdays. The driver of the bus was Edward Warner Adcox. He was nearly prosecuted for Kathy's murder in 1977. He raped a little 8 year old boy sometime between 1969 and 1977. This is confirmed by Nashville police.
Kathy lived at 304 Lutie Street, Nashville. This is in the Woodbine neighborhood. Her house was built in 1945. The houses in the neighborhood still look similar to the way they looked in 1969. The houses are pretty close together, but otherwise just regular 2-3 bedroom houses. The neighborhood was working class to middle class. It was considered to be a safe neighborhood.
November 29, 1969 was a cold day. Although earlier in the day, it was warm enough a little girl might want to go for a walk to the skating rink and doughnut shop. The night temperature got down to 23 degrees. This is bitterly cold to a little Nashville girl, so that as well as the late hour she would've gotten home make me believe the 7:45 time in articles is when Kathy's mother Nora called the police.
I've always been told Kathy was told to come home by dark. Sunset was at 4:30. It would have been full dark by 5 p.m.. The moon was waning, but 73% full still when it rose later that night.
November 29, 1969 was a Saturday. It was also part of the Thanksgiving weekend. There may have been people in Kathy's neighborhood who weren't normally around... friends of friends of Kathy's. Several little girls in the neighborhood were good friends of Kathy's. These little girls attended Woodbine Elementary School.
Some people saw Kathy walking toward Thompson Lane carrying her skates. But, somewhere along the way she disappeared. For some reason, it is unknown if she disappeared enroute to these places or if she made it to one or both.. basically, the case is missing exactly where Kathy went missing.
Kathy was found dead in a weed covered lot behind the Krispy Kreme. Her hands were bound. Her clothing was wadded up and thrown down beside her. Her purse and skates were thrown down as well. She had suffocated on a sock that had been stuffed down her threat. She was found Monday December 2 around noon. The coroner decided she'd probably died Sunday December 1.
Kathy had been viciously raped. She had a very bad neck wound as well as some wounds to her chest. She had also been beaten very, very badly. She had bruises that looked black. By at least 1998, Kathy's murder was considered by police to be the worst child murder in the history of Nashville. This is the opinion of police who were not at the original scene, but have seen the photos. (ETA: And definitely by the police who actually saw her body where it was left.)
They polygraphed some individuals. The police say they investigated heavily for six months, then got pulled onto other things. They have gone back over Kathy's case several times over the years. This is the truth because they have contacted people in my family and reinterviewed them.
My father saw Kathy before she was fixed up for her funeral, but not at the crime scene. He always said a "nurse" told him that Kathy had been beaten by "someone with big fists". My father was convinced Edward Warner Adcox had done it. But, other member of my family believe someone else did it (a certain person named Russell whose last name is in the title of the thread). I do not know who murdered Kathy. My father died so I cannot ask him about this.
Many people in my family have died. This is why it seems no one is pushing for Kathy's case to be solved. There aren't as many of us as there used to be. But, no one has forgotten about Kathy. Nora and her sisters Linda and Faye (all three are now deceased) were torn up about this. At this point, Kathy's younger brother Kelly has also died. I'm crying thinking of Kelly... he was a nice guy. But, Kathy's immediate family is with her again.
