Linda LePordo, 20, Murdered 22 October 1973
Murder in Stratford
It was Oct. 22, 1973, and LePordo was a no-show at her job as a secretary with Murphy Trane Air Conditioning in Maple Shade.
That prompted her boss to call Stratford police.
"At about 10:50 in the morning, the Stratford Police Department responded to her home for a well-being check," Morello recounted...
"After entering the apartment, they found Miss LePordo dead within her bedroom."
Though the apartment was sparsely furnished, John Hunsinger, a homicide detective with the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, indicated there were signs of a struggle in the bedroom.
According to newspaper clippings from the time, police assumed LePordo knew her killer and had let him in. There were bruises to her face and neck...
Authorities at the time also speculated she was killed the night before. Neighbors reportedly heard screams from her apartment unit on Oct. 21, according to previous news accounts.
"There was some talk that individuals did hear commotion that night in the apartment," Hunsinger noted. "I know when detectives went to do the well-being check, the TV was still on in the apartment."
Morello said Lepordo's body was exhumed later in 1973 and additional evidence was gathered, but a suspect was never identified.
"The investigation continued for approximately two years, at which time the case went cold," he added...
LINK:
Stratford pursues new leads in 1973 murder