PA PA - Christine Wise, 18, Reading, 21 Feb 1967

Murder or natural death ?

''District Attorney Eshleman was "disturbed" that the Leesport Police had not contacted outside aid on this case and the state police were asked to investigate. When her body was found, her shoes were not on her feet. One was found near her body and the right one was never found. The stockings on her right leg was ripped off several inches from the ankle. Medical test showed the soles of her feet were smooth indicating that she had not walked without shoes, but was placed in the field''



"On Dec. 26, 1968, police closed the case, saying no violent crime had been committed. The coroner said she died of heart failure due to exposure and exhaustion."

''In 1967 another Reading girl was found dead in Leesport PA. When the Reading Times published the photo of Christine Wise an annonymous caller directed the Times to "check its files for a photo of Dorothy Schlappig". March 9 1967 the Times then ran photos of both girls side by side to illustrate the similarities in appearance''

http://www.yearsoftears.org/christinewise.html

If I understand the article, Christine stayed home from school with a cold on February 21, 1967. She was seen by her parents at 9 pm that night wearing a green jacket, tan sweater, brown trousers, and loafers. (The color of her clothes differs slightly in two articles.) Her mother reported her missing on February 22.

On March 3, children flying kites found her body in a ditch at the edge of a Leesport farm, nine miles from her home. She was fully clothed, wearing the same clothes she had on when last seen by her parents the night of February 21.

Christine's shoes were not on her feet, and only one was recovered. Her stockings were torn at the right leg, but the ME determined she had not walked in the woods because the bottoms of her feet were smooth. The body suffered no truama, and cause of death could not be determined.

Off the top of my head, I would guess that she left home that night without her parents' knowledge, and was abducted and driven to the field or somewhere nearby. Lying on her back, she kicked her attacker (causing one loafer to fall off her foot), as he ripped at her stockings. The stress of the attack caused her heart to fail, and halted the attack. When the perp carried her body to the ditch to conceal it, the second loafer fell off nearby. The first one might have remained in the perp's car.

That, is a very good scenario.
Walking 9 miles with a cold would be a bit of a stretch, if it was bad enough not to be in school. Any physical activity (fighting off an attack) would definately put a huge strain on the heart.It may not have been known back in the 1960's, we were told not to exercise at school with a cold but that was mid 1970's. I would guess if she died there and then in front of her attacker he would have been put off continuing.

It kinda reminds me of the Debra Van Horn case

Bumping this old case up. It has been over 56 years since Christine died.