MD MD - Sandra Knight Berkey, 23, Ann Arundel County, 2 July 1974

Posted On-line 08/11/2004
Victim: Sandra Knight Berkey age 23 at the time of her death.
Police Case 1974-045687
On July 2nd, 1974 the body of Sandra Berkey was found in her apartment located in the Marley area of Anne Arundel County. A co-worker found the victim after she failed to show up for work for two days.
Sandra Berkey was known to frequent a gym in the Glen Burnie area of Anne Arundel County and was employed with an insurance company.
The case is still open and Detectives are seeking information from additional witnesses. Anyone with any information pertaining to her death or related to the identification of witnesses or suspects, please call:
Sergeant Keith Clark
Homicide Unit
(410) 222-3456
Or give anonymous tips through:
Metro Crime Stoppers
Toll Free 1-866-7LOCKUP (756-2587)
E-mail: www.tipsubmit.com
Text Message: Send the letters “MCS” plus your message to 274637


http://www.aacounty.org/police/coldcases/Berkey.cfm#.Ub3P4JxMiSo

Bumpyyy

I have lived in Anne Arundel County, MD And within 10 miles of the Marley area my whole life and have never heard of this case. I've heard of other missing and deceased persons and have looked at the MD and Anne Arundel County missing persons and unsolved deaths sites and have never seen her on there either.

found an article in Ancestry.com that talks about the Cause of death. Sorry if it's been previously stated. I just couldn't find any info. This is a screencap that I've saved to photobucket.

http://s1299.photobucket.com/user/j...-82eb840c9362_zps14b2beed.jpg.html?state=copy

:rose: Sandra is our featured cold case from 6/15 to 6/23/2013 :rose:

Does anyone know what theories there were surrounding her death or any persons of interest?

Here is her death in the SSDI: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JGHB-73T

She was born on the 23rd of December 1950.

Does anyone know how far the Marley area is from Jessup? There are five correctional facilities in Jessup. This seems notable. It would be interesting if we could determine what violent/sexual offenders had been released in to her general area within the time of her murder. It didn't state she was sexually attacked, but as a young pretty woman that seems like a high probability. I wish we had a little more detail on her lifestyle and acquaintances....

Was wondering if there could be a connection between these 2 cases, both stabbed in their own home, same year and pretty close geographically ?
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9242230#post9242230

Does anyone know if DNA was collected from the autopsy or crime scene? Sounds like a violent assault and murder that would leave this perp's DNA all over? I wonder if it was ever entered into any database?

Did she have any men known to her that was a suspect? Or any suspects at all?

jenstar said:

found an article in Ancestry.com that talks about the Cause of death. Sorry if it's been previously stated. I just couldn't find any info. This is a screencap that I've saved to photobucket.

http://s1299.photobucket.com/user/j...-82eb840c9362_zps14b2beed.jpg.html?state=copy

Click to expand...

That article states that she is from Glen Burnie, that she had apparently been raped before she was stabbed to death and that her body was found on July 2nd in her St. George's Gate apartment.

There is another article on ancestry titled "Who Killed Sandra Berkey?".
(NEWSPAPER: The Capital PUBLICATION: 23 Oct 1975 - Annapolis, Maryland)

Some information from there:

- This article does NOT refer to her has Sandra Knight Berkey but as Sandra Lee Berkey
- The detective on the case is Dett. Darryl Hagner
- 100's of people were interviewed/questioned
- She lived alone and had been killed the early evening of June 30th
- evidence indicated that she had been a victim of a brutal sex crime
- she had friends at Aetna Life and Casualty in Baltimore who were questioned
- she was separated, had many friends, and was "choosy" about the men she knew
- "a woman who knew her own mind and acted accordingly"
- she was a claims adjuster at the same firm mentioned above (Aetna Life)
- she was found by co-workers when she failed to show up for work the previous Monday and Tuesday
- they came close to charging one man but he "was cleared by polygraph and other factors"
- the case "had certain ritualistic things involved" which go along with sex crimes
- the detective speculates that she may have left the door unlocked or ajar
- the body was too decomposed to determine if she had been a victim of a sexual assault
- she was found partially clothed and lying face up on the floor
- police found a considerable amount of evidence including hair and blood samples
- a number of fingerprints were not identified
- known sex offenders were questioned
- other similar crimes were investigated including one that had occurred in Florida a few months earlier
- many of her friends contacted police to see if they could help
- "She was tremendously well-liked."

alllads said:

Here is her death in the SSDI: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JGHB-73T

She was born on the 23rd of December 1950.

Click to expand...

Her SSC was issued from The District of Colombia

Cold Case: 1974 Murder In Severn

"Upon arrival, the police found Mrs. Phyllis Bohle dead from multiple injuries. Mrs. Bohle’s maiden name was Gray and she had graduated from Archbishop Spalding High School. She was 23 years old at the time of her death."

http://www.eyeonannapolis.net/2011/10/26/cold-case-1974-murder-in-severn/

Phyllis Bohle killed in 1974; reward offered:

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/10/phyllis-bohle-killed-in-1974-reward-offered-68258.html

The police file for this woman's murder is pathetic. Do they know that there are computers and that people actually know how to use them?

Do they know how to use them?

Geez...Could one of them take 10 minutes to update her file and provide information that might be google-able? It took me a lot of time and effort just to pull up the old article that was "formally" in the public domain. Can't they find a minute to update info on an almost 40 year old COLD CASE?

moo

ETA - Is it any wonder that this case hasn't been solved?

Pink Panther said:

The police file for this woman's murder is pathetic. Do they know that there are computers and that people actually know how to use them?

Do they know how to use them?

Geez...Could one of them take 10 minutes to update her file and provide information that might be google-able? It took me a lot of time and effort just to pull up the old article that was "formally" in the public domain. Can't they find a minute to update info on an almost 40 year old COLD CASE?

moo

ETA - Is it any wonder that this case hasn't been solved?

Click to expand...

I agree, there is nothing at all out there about her, which is such a shame. Only one photo, minimal information... It's frustrating.

UMfanforever said:

Posted On-line 08/11/2004

Victim: Sandra Knight Berkey age 23 at the time of her death.
Police Case 1974-045687
On July 2nd, 1974 the body of Sandra Berkey was found in her apartment located in the Marley area of Anne Arundel County. A co-worker found the victim after she failed to show up for work for two days.
Sandra Berkey was known to frequent a gym in the Glen Burnie area of Anne Arundel County and was employed with an insurance company.
The case is still open and Detectives are seeking information from additional witnesses. Anyone with any information pertaining to her death or related to the identification of witnesses or suspects, please call:

Sergeant Keith Clark
Homicide Unit
(410) 222-3456
Or give anonymous tips through:
Metro Crime Stoppers
Toll Free 1-866-7LOCKUP (756-2587)
E-mail: www.tipsubmit.com
Text Message: Send the letters “MCS” plus your message to 274637


http://www.aacounty.org/police/coldcases/Berkey.cfm#.Ub3P4JxMiSo

Click to expand...

She was killed by someone living in the apartment complex.......They should look at the employees there again.........maintenance man, grounds keeper etc..........I knew she was stabbed before i looked, frontal assault i would speculate...You can tell the investigators above she may had one or both nipples were cut off either during the attack or as some kind of horrific torture session that went on for probably hours that evening...THAT will get there attention.

I don't believe for one second that she "left her door ajar". No way. She was a responsible young woman (going by her work record). There is another explanation. Someone rushed in with her as she was going into her apartment or tricked her into opening the door. Or it is a person who had the ability to open her door.

The fact her gym is mentioned in one of the few reports makes me think the police were looking there for a suspect.

employed with an insurance company.

Click to expand...

Somehow I missed the implications of the above. What did she do for this insurance company? Could someone have been very, very mad about a decision she made there?

If not, then that gives one more place (besides the gym) where someone might have seen her and started stalking her.

[FONT=&quot]Sandra Knight Berkey
Age: 23
Residency: Marley area of Anne Arundel County
Date of death: Found dead July 2, 1974.
Scene of the crime: Her apartment in the Marley area of Anne Arundel County

Details surrounding the crime: The body of Sandra Knight Berkey was discovered by a co-worker after she went to the victim's apartment to check on Berkey after she had not shown up to work in the past two days. Berkey, employed with an insurance company in the area, was known to frequent a gym in the Glen Burnie area. She was found stabbed to death. A 1979 edition of the Capital notes similarities between the death of Berkey and Phyllis Veronica Bohle, including multiple stab wounds.

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